“And that would be everything,” said Veximarl as he leaned back in his chair. A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he glanced between Chickadee and Zaniyah. He was made all the more nervous by how much trouble he had reading their expressions.

The pair had come back around lunchtime. Once Veximarl and Alton had returned from their duties, they all met in Veximarl’s room. The trio began to tell Chickadee and Zaniyah everything. The secrets they had been hiding, and of Sybil’s death and mysterious recovery.

Chickadee looked over to Zaniyah. She was in a daze. Her eyes focused on nothing in particular and her head was held at a slight angle as her face was becoming blanker by the second. A swift jab to her ribs with his elbow made her let out a loud yelp. She looked around and then cleared her throat.

“Let me get this straight.” Her attention was now focused on Sybil. “Alton’s mom is half fish? So he’s, like, what? A quarter fish? He is literally a quarter of a fish?”

“That’s what you’re getting out of this?!” Alton glared at them.

Zaniyah shrugged. “I mean, it’s really been bothering me for what seems like forever. I ask, and no one answers. You say you’re not a fish, but you have scales and webbed feet, and Sybil here is telling me you are a fish... I’m just trying to get my facts straight,” replied Zaniyah.

“Fine. Yes.” Alton rolled his eyes. “I’m a quarter fish. You win at doing the math, Zan. Congratulations.” He twirled a finger in the air as a show of sarcastic victory.

“Yay!” Zaniyah clapped her hands together, happy that she had won something. “I’m glad that’s all cleared up then. No more questions from me.”

Why didn’t Sybil and Veximarl ask him if it was okay for them to ramble about his secrets? Alton was dong with bringing up his past. That and the whole being called a fish thing. He didn’t like that at all.

Alton continued to speak in a flat tone. “I’m so happy for you then. Everything is aired out and in the open. None of us have any sort of hidden secrets that we’re keeping from each other now, right?” Both himself and Chickadee tossed a look at Veximarl. Not a word of his necromancy had been mentioned.

Clearing his throat, Veximarl looked between Chickadee and Zaniyah. “Are you positive that there is nothing else you would like to ask?”

Zaniyah raised her hand again. “So some ghost saved Sybil?”

Sybil wasn’t certain. “It could have been a hallucination. No one seemed to acknowledge her, and she was rather transparent.”

Alton shook his head. It was definitely Semira. She seemed to hold interest in Sybil and must be following her around to some degree. How he could use that information to his advantage, he wasn’t certain. Duxton certainly wasn’t going to allow him to follow them around in hopes of spotting some ghost that no one else could see.

“The heart,” said Chickadee. His eyes narrowed all the more at Veximarl.

“I wasn’t sure how safe it was to keep near Sybil. Gwyn is keeping a hold of it until you were back and had a chance to examine it thoroughly.” Chickadee’s frown increased in its severity. “I was going to hide it at the hospital, but then it’s been touched by necromancy magic. Hospitals are a place of death, and it could lead to some ill reaction. Do you wish for me to message her and ask her to bring it by now?”

Chickadee gave it a thought. “Tomorrow. Mother should look at it first.” She would know better than he would about the blood iron that was worked into it. He made a grabby hand motion for Veximarl’s spear. “Resurgence. Modifications needed. Have new materials.”

Unhooking it from his waist, Veximarl handed the spear over and Chickadee scurried out of the room as quickly as he could. Zaniyah tensed up and Sybil pulled the blankets further over herself, as though she were hiding.

“Yeah, he is mad,” remarked Zaniyah. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen him that angry... When was the last time something like that happened?” She looked at Sybil.

“Aside from when Hayden got hurt?”

“He was a whole lot madder back then,” replied Zaniyah.

“When he had that argument with Caitlin about him eating the biscuits she was saving?”

Zaniyah bobbled her head. “That was it! Tell them about that!

“She locked him out of the house by replacing the door with a rock wall and sealing it with blood iron so he couldn’t move it out of the way. He then broke into a neighbor’s house, dug through their floor, and dropped down from the ceiling on top of her. They fought until the core guard showed up.” Sybil scrunched up her face at the memory. They were all small when it happened, but the incident was still sometimes talked about.

Zaniyah pointed a finger upward. “And then their dad grounded the both of them and that’s one of the reasons why their mom decided that they needed to move out of the core and into that ranch house… It turned out Millie was the one that ate the biscuits. Chi barely talked to either of them for a full year after that. And when I say barely talked, I mean maybe two words a month.”

“... It’s stories such as these that make me appreciate being an only child,” whispered Veximarl.

Alton shrugged. “I guess having brothers isn’t the worst thing.” He was worried about how Chi was feeling now, but there were more pressing matters. “Are you alright Zan? How are you feeling about this?”

She started to shift uncomfortably in her seat. “I get why you wouldn’t have told me… I mean, you guys have a lot of potential and you’re strong and can deal with all this on your own. I’m just… This. I’m probably not going to be any stronger than I am now. It makes sense that you’d cut me loose before I became a liability.”

“That’s not it at all!” Sybil clenched her hands into fists. “Of course I don’t feel that way about you! It’s just that everything was weird and that the secrets kept piling up and I didn’t know how to explain anything to you anymore. I can’t do any of this without either of you. You know that right? You’re more important to me than... “ She pointed at Alton.

“... Hey.” Alton understood the need to make Zaniyah feel better, but he resented that.

“I get it, really! It’s fine!” Zaniyah waved her hands about. “I’m going to keep training with Stonetoe and trying my best! It’s partially my fault too… I was so caught up with fighting and Vincent that I didn’t even bother to notice that you needed my help.” She let out a laugh and stood up. “I’m going to go out to the garden to do a hundred axe swings. We’ll talk at dinner, okay?”

A pained expression crossed Sybil’s features as Veximarl attempted to stammer out a reply. He wanted to stop her, but he didn’t know what he could say to reassure her. Alton reached over and grabbed onto Sybil’s hand, giving it a brief squeeze before letting go.

“Don’t look so worried. I’ll smooth things over for you.” He pointed to his love. “Sybil. I know Vex said you could move around today but don’t leave to go have dinner with that idiot tonight. You should work on resting.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m serious!”

Veximarl continued to mutter to himself, even after Alton and Zaniyah left. “I’m afraid that I have to agree with his assessment. As your captain, I ask that you cease your work arrangement with that man immediately. I will have a discussion with Sir Moss about having you start a safer post.”

“Are you seriously pulling out the captain card on me?” Sybil smirked at the idea. “If I don’t stand up for myself, he’s only going to get worse. I’m going to make it clear to Duxton that he only gets to work with me as long as I make the rules.” She clambered out of bed and patted the necromancer on the shoulder. “I’m going to get ready. If I don’t see you when I get back, have a good evening.”

Veximarl watched her leave and pinched at the bridge of his nose. This squad was going to be the death of him. However, he did feel a sense of relief after bringing Chickadee and Zaniyah into the fold. They’ll move through this together from now on but it might take some time to get there.+

He bid his farewells to Sybil and went over to Chickadee’s room. The plan was to sit in silence and pray that his mere presence was enough of a show that he was worried. Hopefully, that would be a good first step in calming the mage down.

Out in the garden, Zaniyah had chosen to ignore practice. She fell back into the snow and stared up at the sky in a lazy manner. Her dismay was so overpowering that she didn’t notice the footsteps walking towards her or the sight of a horse and an Alton looming overhead.

“Look who came back all on his own.” Alton pointed to Gypsum.

“I guess that means Vincent made it home safely.”

“This guy always gets the job done. I wasn’t worried about it.” He patted the horse on the side of the neck. “I raised this jerk from the day he was born. He hates being by himself and the only two things he likes to do is run around and get in trouble. Even if he is a runt, he’s never learned to act like one. He’s stubborn, plays pranks, and is nothing but a goof. Reminds me of someone else I know.”

Zaniyah let out a weak laugh as she sat up. Gypsum’s head leaned in and he started to gum at her shoulder. Must be a family trait, as she’d seen Bibi do that to Alton several times. “I never dealt much with animals before I went to Braytons. It's amazing how much personality they have... I really need to start saving up to buy one of my own.”

“Why? I’m giving you this guy.”

“What? No.” Zaniyah shook her head back and forth. “I can’t do that.”

“I’m asking because I need someone to take him.” Alton sat down next to her, and the horse flopped over as well. His head landed in Zaniyah’s lap, and she absentmindedly ran her hand through his mane. “He’s always breaking out since I’m not here to keep him busy. It’s driving Miss Iofea mad. Take him back to Braytons and I’ll help you train him into a well-behaved breeding stallion.”

Zaniyah shook her head again. “I don’t know if I’d be able to help. I’m crazy busy back there. Being here was a nice break and all, but it’s going to be work overload day after day the moment we return.”

He raised an eyebrow at the response. “Are you serious? What is it that you even do?”

“Well, first off, I have to put in extra studying because Nita says I’m slow headed when it comes to classes. Personally, I think that’s just her way to keep me from bothering her when Stonetoe is busy. I have to wake up Stonetoe around lunchtime and then I help him with his classes.

Then I do studying with Margie on how to become a proper lady…” Her voice trailed off in thought. “Right, I guess I don’t have to do that anymore… But I do have to help Vincent out with all of his- Oh... I guess… I-I guess I don’t have to do that anymore either…” Suddenly her face was covered in chilled tears. Zaniyah thought she was done crying by this point, but they flowed out now just as easily as they had before.

Alton put his arm around her shoulder and gave her half a hug. “We’ll make up a new schedule for you. Lady Marjoram won’t miss you much and Sybil will want company when she’s out with Oyster. If that isn’t enough, I’ll teach you how to play an instrument. I’ll let you have whatever you want from my collection.”

“Seriously?!” Her suddenly shout made Gypsum lift his head in alarm. “I want the big boat looking thing with the strings.”

“A contrabass would be too cumbersome to drag back,” muttered Alton.

“Then I want your moping machine,” she retorted.

“We’re not bringing the piano either.” Alton rolled his eyes. “I’ll pick out something.” He glanced her way, frowning as she was wiping up her face with her forearm. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about… Anything? There was a lot.” He wasn’t certain if any of it had settled in or not.

Zaniyah shrugged. “I can understand why you don’t like talking about you being disowned and whatever. If I had a dick shaped like a fish, I’d be embarrassed about it too.”

“What..?” He squinted. “... Wait, what?” Zaniyah squinted back with twice the scrutiny. “Where did you get that idea?! It’s not shaped like a fish! It’s perfectly normal!”

“Have you ever seen what a normal one looks like? And not just a changing room situation, but up close and personal?”

“Yes.”

Zaniyah blinked a few times. “Well, I don’t believe you. You can’t just say yes without giving me loads of details. Evidence is all that really matters when you’re trying to prove your point, you know?” Her eyes darted about eagerly before landing back onto his face.

“... Please change the subject.”

She frowned. “... So you’re actual blood cousins with that prince guy?” Alton nodded. “Are you sure it’s just cousins and not some weird complex thing where he’s actually your older brother or secret uncle?”

“I’m a half-human prince who was secretly raised in a cave before being kicked out of the family, Zan. The only thing I can confirm is that I don’t think it’s worth the effort to fact check my family tree.”

“But why did they get rid of you? Because you can’t stomp around in a giant suit of armor like that prince can?”

Alton let out a weary sigh. “I can’t use it. Siren magic is weird and apparently makes it impossible for me to ever learn Aconite magic. That and my father and the king never agreed on much. I was likely sent away because I’m only half-human, and have no way to prove that I’m an Aconite unless someone in the family vouches for me.”

“It’s not like you go around singing all the time either. It always seems like a last resort for you unless someone bothers you about it.” Zaniyah fumbled her thumbs together. “Does that mean you don’t like being a siren either? Do you hate your own magic?”

“I love the halves of me that are my mother and my father.” He tossed another glance at her. She kept her head down and was staring at her fumbling hands. “They also loved me.

The reason I don’t sing often is because everyone at Starsons learned rather quickly to start aiming at my throat. Braytons as well. As a singer, I have a duty to protect my neck.” Even if Irving went after it at every opportunity.

“So if you could use that kind of magic, you would?” She looked up at him. He nodded. “Even if those people were the ones that tore your family apart?” He nodded again. “They took away something important from you, Alton... They abandoned you and they’re still out to hurt you, or at least Sybil. You’d still want to use the same magic as them?”

He tilted his head to the side. “... I would, yes. Those people, my grandfather and Duxton, they aren’t me. They aren’t my father either. Magic isn’t something you decide, Zan. It’s as part of you as the color of your eyes or the scales on your back. Both bad and good people can share the same blood but only you get to decide what to do with your talents. That’s what being human is about.”

He was curious about why she would bring this up. Could she be referring to Veximarl and his necromancy? Did she somehow know about that as well? It wouldn’t surprise him if she did by this point.

“Yeah, but… That magic would always be associated with them, wouldn’t it?” She gave him a brief and vulnerable glance.

… She was probably worried about Veximarl.

“Listen, Zan.” Alton thought it over carefully. “Just because people think one way about a certain type of magic, doesn’t mean that they’ll always think of it that way. If I could become a giant magic knight, I’d not only do so but I would claim that magic as my own. I’m not going to cut out a piece of myself just to satisfy other people’s standards. I would do what I can to be an example of how wrong they were about their prejudices.”

Zaniyah blinked a few times. “... Okay. I think I get it now. Thanks, Alton.”

“You’re welcome.” They both stood up from the ground at once. Alton braced a hand on the side of Gypsum’s neck. “We got all night. If there’s anything else you want to talk about?”

She nodded. “Did you guys really resurrect an ancient god?”

“... That was an accident.” And it was not a very pleasant memory either. He mostly blamed Veximarl for that one. Alton was simply the sore witness to the events, forced to be there due to it being an emergency.

“The most awesome sort of accident!” Zaniyah’s visible excitement could not be contained. “I can’t wait to go back to Braytons! We should totally put together a hunting party and bring that sucker in. It’s going to be so amazingly fun. I can’t wait to meet an actual god!”

Zaniyah’s best trait was how quickly she could spring back after being depressed. Alton wasn’t comfortable with how excited she was to fight Tyrtain, but he didn’t feel like changing her mind at the moment. It was important to him that she was feeling better.

“Let’s go lock up Gypsum and head back to my room. I’ll have you try out a few instruments. We’ll see if there is anything that feels natural to you.” But secretly he was worried about her trying to play something by swinging it around like a weapon and he mentally noted to make sure she didn’t touch anything fragile.

They were walking up the stairs of the manor when Alton spotted a carriage through the window. His mood became instantly soured, but he didn’t let that show to Zaniyah. It wasn’t their fault that Barcus attacked Sybil. He knew that but he didn’t feel comfortable in letting Sybil go off to meet with the prince.

Sybil should have been strong enough to defend herself. Duxton and Shaw should have matured beyond the tormentors they were when Alton was a child, yet… The injuries that Veximarl had mentioned. They hadn’t changed. Those two had never grown up.

This was only temporary. He would speak to Trewarne about it later. Moss was a young knight and Braytons was three year post. His career was at risk if he were to make demands of the prince, but Trewarne wouldn’t bend to such threats.

For now, he was only saddened that Sybil hadn’t said anything when she left. He wanted to tell her he loved her. As many times as he could, he wanted to tell her that much. Now and forever, his heart would always be hers and hers alone.