While walking to my room, I see Mr. Bellard. I nod slightly as thanks and acknowledgment. Without someone like him, we’d have nowhere to stay and Aunt Millicent and Dylan might very well be chained up somewhere by now.

“Young man. Rainen, was it?”

I nod, “Yes, Mr. Bellard. Thank you for taking us in.”

“No worries. I have already stated my reasons for doing so. This is more like repaying a debt and doing what I think is right.” he smiles at me, “How was my daughter as a fellow student? Was she acting proper?”

Proper… I wonder if I should sugarcoat a few things. “Our relationship wasn’t a very close one. Rather, she was a friend of an acquaintance.” Now that I think of it, that’s hardly a relationship at all. “Our longest interaction was one where she asked me for details about myself.”

“Ah…” Mr. Bellard rubs his hairy chin most likely thinking of what to say next. “Well, I hope you two can get along in the future. Anyway,” he looks up and down the hallway, “What are your ties to the Yurfray family? Millicent said you were her nephew. Which sibling do you belong to? I know only of her eldest brother so I am curious to learn about the others.”

I hesitate, “My mother is Ayleth, Aunt Millicent’s older sister."

His eyes narrow as he examines me from head to toe, “I’ve heard of your mother before. When I was younger, she made a few waves in the nobility.” he continues to stare as if he’ll gain some profound knowledge from looking long enough.

I can imagine. Considering how far my grandparents were willing to go to separate me, who looks much more like my dad, from Aisha is a testament to that. Not to mention buying out the Twelve here to kidnap her. They’d rather have their granddaughter disappear rather than another stain on the family name.

Mr. Bellard takes his hand off his chin as if to drop the topic. “I’m sorry I can only offer such little help to you four but with a possible war on my hands, I cannot do anymore.

“Apologies aren’t needed, Mr. Bellard. I’m not a fan of them.” I nod before walking back to my room.

As I pass him, he says, “It may be rude of me to ask this, so there is no need for you to answer if it is but where did you get that sword?”

I point at my back, “This one?”

He nods.

“It’s something… I won ownership of,” I say as I walk away.

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I awake in the middle of the night and reach for the sword. It’s still there, all wrapped up. I rise out of bed feeling small tremors as I head for the door. In the hallway, servants rush through with various pieces of armor and weapons. A woman greets me once I step out and assures me everything is fine. She tells me to go back to sleep.

I ask her about the situation at hand. She does a quick double take, her face streaked with tension. She implores me to go back to bed, as I’m a guest, but I press on. I know it’s tough on her but I need to know. If it concerns Aisha in any way then I need to know.

“Monsters are attacking the city again,” she says, sighing. “Please, the master would not be happy if you were to get yourself caught up in the fighting. The other young Yurfray has already offered assistance but the master refused and ordered us to keep the Yurfray in the house. It’s for your safety, please understand.”

“I understand,” a wave a relief washes over her. “But I want to see what’s going on. I need to see what I’m going to be facing out there once Mr. Bellard leaves tomorrow.” I don’t plan on going blind. Now that I know I have to take care of Aisha, I have to gauge every threat.

Dylan and Aunt Millicent seem to have set up another place to go, and they believe it to be fairly safe, however, these monsters won't just disappear. I know I'll encounter more when looking for my master.

The woman’s face drops but she doesn’t argue, instead, she turns and follows the rest of the servants. I quickly throw the sword over my back and go with them.

Mr. Bellard stands in front of a mirror watching as the servants scramble to put his armor on. The head guard who greeted us earlier today paces back and forth, rubbing the back of his head while mumbling to himself.

Mr. Bellard’s eyes drift to the doorway, widening as he notices my presence. He looks at all of the servants who turn away from his stare. His arms drop to his sides and once the final strap is secured, walks over and shakes his head.

“I already know what you’re going to say and I refuse,” he motions for the captain to join him. A servant brings over his sword. “You need to think about the safety of your family and yourself. If someone sees you, it’ll be nothing but regret you’ll feel.”

I step back and hold his gaze. I haven’t said anything and I’m already getting lectured. I wonder if Iris’ dad knows my master. “I think I can blend in a bit better than my sister or my cousin Dylan. I’m not exactly like the rest of the Yurfray.”

He nods, “But you are still staying. The want young people have to seek glory is all well and good but it can lead to some very terrible places.”

"Wouldn't it be foolish to face those monsters in the future without knowing anything about them," I ask. I hope I don't need to sneak out. It would be quite rude of me.

“I can see where you’re coming from but the answer is still no. Besides, there is no need for you to learn. We’re leaving.” he gestures for the captain to follow. They make their way down the hall and disappear around the corner. The servants then come up and ask for me to return to my room.

I’ve caused them enough trouble today… “I will,” I say.

Back in my room, I tear open a box holding my clothes. I toss everything aside as I dig deeper. Everything from a winter cloak to my academy uniform is thrown onto the ground. Reaching the bottom, I begin pulling the disguise out when I hear a knock at the door. I do my best to cover my tracks, placing my clothes back in while kicking some under the bed.

I open the door, and the maid from before is there. She’s biting her thumb again as if she’s going to get in trouble for being here. “Dear guest, knights are downstairs. You must hide immediately!”

“What are they doing here,” I ask. It’s unlikely that Mr. Bellard would betray us like this after hiding Millicent and Dylan for so long. He also wouldn’t send his servant over if that was the case. Did someone see us entering?

“I know little about the situation at hand but please hide!” the woman suddenly pushes me back into the room closing the door behind her. Seeing all my clothes in a horrible pile inside the box, she does her best to stuff them back into the box, while telling me to hide.

The closet is too obvious. If the knights do come in here then that’s one of the first places they’ll check. Under the bed might be a good spot but I have a feeling that place will be checked too. There’s nowhere good to hide…

A minute later, the door opens. A group of people move around the room, their armor clinking as they tear off the bedsheets and open the closet door. One man asks, “What’s in that box? Just clothes? Whose?”

“Those belong to my son,” Mr. Bellard says, “He and my wife left for the capital a few days ago in a hurry. We did not have enough time to pack up all of their belongings.”

They seem to accept his answer, however, “That’s right… Commander Bellard, I would like to speak to your daughter about her conversation with a few knights of mine earlier today.”

“And what of that conversation, Captain Ryker,” his voice comes out harshly, a veiled threat. “I’m accused of housing criminals and now my daughter is being arrested? Do you know what it means to arrest a noble?”

“Please,” the captain seems to take a step back, “I mean no disrespect. We are not accusing you nor your family of anything. All that we have done today are following leads which may or may not be provided by the most trustworthy of individuals but they are leads nonetheless… I have never said we were arresting her. May I speak with your daughter?”

“No, no you may not. She has undergone a long journey to return home only to find she must go on another one. She will rest for today and I will not give up my stance. Once you find nothing wrong in this house, I hope you can accompany me to defend this city.”

A silence permeates the air.

“Of course,” the captain finally says.

They march out of the room and the door closes behind them. The maid’s teeth chatter as she opens the window, giving me the all clear. I pull myself up from the icy cold ledge and lean against the much warmer wall.

I sigh. The woman asks me if I need anything, offering both refreshments and blankets to fend off the cold. I have her inform me about Aisha and the others. She tells me of their trick to send the adventurers into their rooms to act as decoys.

Since I’m in a room farther away from everyone else, they didn’t have time to send someone over without arousing too much suspicion. I guess Mr. Bellard would have tried to play it off like I was part of the adventurer group if I was found. My hair doesn’t quite match the Yurfray description.

I eventually send the woman off under the guise of needing sleep. It looks like the situation will worsen as time goes on. Knowing that Aunt Millicent and Dylan already have a plan of where to stay next puts me at ease. If I can somehow convince Aisha to go with them, then I can head out south alone to find my master.

But then there’s Axel and Istruan’s group. No, they’ll be fine. They’re not wanted by the government. Axel can spend more time with his family and Istruan’s group will be fine right here in the city.

With those slivers of hope in mind, I dig back through the box and pull out thief-like apparel. Putting it on, I find it’s almost made exactly the same as my old one with a collar strap and three small buttons. The noticeable differences come from the silver designs on the arms and hood.

It still has an intimidating look but I have a feeling it’ll be much easier to be seen now…

Bringing the sword with me would give Mr. Bellard clues about my identity if he were to spot me so I hide the sword in the closet, stashing it as deep as possible before leaving through the window. I can’t trust that the maid won’t come back tonight so I have to make this quick.

I teleport across the buildings until I hit reach the edge of the city. It takes seven max range teleports to make it to the buildings nearest to the walls. A round trip is pretty close to the amount I can do before I start coughing up blood.

Guards armed with spears hide behind the barricades waiting for a chance to strike. After each stab into the funnel of monsters, they reposition and repeat the process until the monster falls. The dead monsters then clog up the rest, slowing them down and giving the guards breathing room.

When one gets tired, they switch out. Spears snap, and parts of the barricades are chipped away at by the relentless monsters yet, they make little progress. Although the guards tire fast and their weapons break, they’ve been doing it long enough that their refined system holds a steady defense.

A guard stumbles backward, an arrow lodged in his chest. Two from the reserve surround him and pull it out. They remove his thick leather armor and check the wound. They lift him up and take him back to the barracks.

After about ten minutes of watching, new people appear, knights. It’s easy to tell them apart from the guards. The armor the knights wear are of higher quality, the usual plate compared to the guards’ padded leather. And, as I believe, once you’ve seen one knight, you’ve most likely seen them all.

I lean over the edge to get a better glimpse at them. A sharp pain and deep scratch leaves me in a coughing fit. The two knights’ attention turn to me.

“Stop,” they shout.

I start to run while focusing my eyes on where I want to teleport next. The earth rumbles and the two knights ride up on pillars of earth. My body’s overcome with the fuzzy feeling I get whenever I use my ability but I cough again, interrupting my ability.

A strong wind throws me off the building. I flail in the air landing on the soft padded snow. The entire right side grows cold and I shiver as some melt against my skin. Pushing myself up, I roll away. The place where I landed is blown away, all the snow in the air.

“It has to be him,” one of the knights says, “He matches the description.”

“No, I doubt this is him. If he was confident enough to oppose five knights, he wouldn’t have any problem against two. I’ve seen him too, something about this doesn’t look quite right,” the knight jumps off the building and raises a wall where I planned to escape. “If anything, he matches the description of this… Thirteenth.”

I hold my breath. What did he just say?

“Orders have changed then, huh?”

“Yes, we capture him.”

I’m being hunted?

The other knight, traps me in an earth cage in an instant. It’s similar to the one Anne once used. I wait for them to near closer and as the wind knight casts his paralysis spell, I teleport away.

On the building, I waste no time and teleport away again. Once I decide I’m far enough, I lay down to catch my breath. It’s cold, and it hurts to breathe. I like it cold but everything feels so weak right now. Using my ability that many times… it really takes a chunk out of me.

How many times have I used it today? Thirteen times? “Hah. What an unlucky number.” It’s great to know that I’m being hunted as both Rainen Weaver and the Thirteenth. I unsteadily rise to my feet, just a few more uses before I get back.

I reach the Bellard house by the sixteenth use of my ability. I strip off the clothing and put my original ones on. I toss aside the sheets and fall limp onto the bed.

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Waking up early in the morning, I repack my things and grab my sword from the closet. As I’m working on fixing the mess I made last night, someone knocks on the door. The servant bows, asking me to come downstairs in about twenty minutes.

After finishing up, I head downstairs. Everyone including Blue Hair and her friends are there. Mr. Bellard, with bags under his eyes and wet messy hair, asks, “Now it is my turn to ask for a favor. Will you take my daughter with you?”