"Arthur!? What are you doing here?" Ms. Cecilia asked.

Ah, what do I do? How do I get out of this? What can I tell her to make this okay? I needed to minimize the damage as much as possible.

"Ah, well, I kinda got here by accident."

"You wound up in your father's closet by accident?" Ms. Cecilia asked in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah. I was exploring the secret pathways and I kinda got lost. When I got out I ended up in his closet."

"You know the secret pathways of the house? How did you find out about this?"

"Mr. Reginald showed Mary and me during the attack on the mansion. He was reluctant but viewed it necessary for our survival."

Ms. Cecilia sighed. "I guess I can't fault him for that. It was in a state of emergency."

I smiled. At least that's out of the way. Now all that's left is the interrogation from Father.

My father clapped his hands together. "So Arthur," he said in his raspy voice, "how much of our conversation did you hear?"

"Ah, not much of it really. I pretty much just got here, so I didn't really hear anything."

My father squinted his eyes and hardened his expression. "How much?"

I dropped my shoulders, defeated. "About when Ms. Cecilia said it's too dangerous."

"So you got the gist of it then," my father said.

"But why us specifically? Wouldn't sending more capable people be in your best interest?"

Ms. Cecilia sighed. "That's what I was trying to tell him. Even with Reginald present, it doesn't change the fact that you're basically children being sent to meet a bunch of wild beasts."

But my father was unfazed. "They're old enough to fend for themselves. Besides, it's about trust."

I looked at him, visibly confused."Trust? What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"You see, because you decided to eavesdrop on the conversation midway, there's a lot you don't understand," my father said.

"Like?"

"I'm trying to establish relations with the Amazon women so we can hopefully be on friendly terms. To do that, I need to send representatives of the house to meet them."

"And you want to send Mary, Tucker, and I for that."

"Realistically you and Tucker are the only vital members. Reginald and Mary are simply there to ensure your safety."

"But why us specifically?"

"As I said, it's a matter of trust. By you and Tucker, my two sons, meeting them in their home, it shows I'm willing to step outside of my comfort zone and meet them all the way."

"But for what?"

"That is none of your business," my father snapped.

You mean I'm being forced to go somewhere I could potentially die and I don't even get to know why?

"Actually," Ms. Cecilia interjected, "when you consider how much danger you are putting Arthur in, I would say it very much is his business. In fact, to make sure the meeting is successful, it would be in your best interest to give Arthur as many details as possible."

My father's stern demeanor changed ever so slightly, but not in a positive manner. He looked more annoyed than before, but by how slight it was, it was clear he didn't want it to show it.

"Well, if you want to be so adamant about it, then fine. It's not like it's a secret. I simply wanted to form a relationship with them for trade. There's a plethora of rare resources near where they reside and to take it without permission would most likely be viewed as offensive. It would be best for both parties if there was no animosity."

I mean, that's probably not all there is to it, but that's most likely all he's willing to tell me. Realistically, there's probably many details he hasn't even told Ms. Cecilia about but that's just who he is.

"Ok, and what do I have to do when I meet the Amazon women? Won't they just attack us if we just show up?"

"To be honest, you can present the black blade you've obtained recently. That should be more than enough proof of your residence in this mansion.

Ah, Essentia did come from the Amazon woman, didn't it? Although technically I'm not supposed to know that so maybe it's better to simply play dumb?

He looked at me with fierce eyes. "You so still have it on you, don't you?"

"Of course. But why would this blade mean anything to the Amazons?"

My father looked as if his eyes drifted off. "It belonged to them quite some time ago. Although it doesn't seem as if they care enough to want it back."

"Well when are we supposed to be headed there? And how do we get there?"

Ms. Cecilia looked at me with an almost concerned expression. "...Arthur, you're taking this surprisingly well. Are you sure you don't need at least some time to think about this? You don't have to do this, you know."

I couldn't help but smile a bit. Ms. Cecilia can be so caring when she isn't angrily contemplating ripping Tucker's head off. I wish there were more people as sincere as her in the mansion.

"I don't really have a problem with it," I said.

"And you're sure you don't need a few day's rest?"

"I swear I'm okay, Ms. Cecilia."

Unfortunately my father's calm but demanding voice interrupted the cute moment that was present.

"You gain nothing by coddling him Cecilia. He will only grow more spoiled than he already is."

Ms. Cecilia bit her lip in frustration but I personally didn't care. I'm used to the way my father speaks about me when away from the usual crowd and I know he always has my best interest at heart, even if his words don't present as such.

"To answer your questions Arthur, I'd prefer you leave tomorrow. I was actually going to announce it at dinner tonight, but since you decided to take the initiative and stumble in I might as well tell you ahead of time."

"And how would we get there? You can't exactly GPS the Amazon's Village, can you?"

My father closed his eyes, as if he was ashamed. "That is something I cannot help you with."

"What do you mean?"

"As you said, it isn't a place you can reliably pinpoint with a map or technology. The only definitive way to get there is to find a member of their tribe and that is all but impossible."

"Wait a second! Are you telling me that in addition to sending them off on their own, you are practically sending them off on a wild goose chase in the large forest!?" Ms. Cecilia roared.

"Calm down, Cecilia. While I do not have the exact location of their village, I know that they are situated near the edge of the end of the forest directly north of us. A simple compass should get you there without any problems."

Ms. Cecilia, who was still visibly agitated, seemed to hold her tongue to avoid future arguing.

"If that's all then it shouldn't be a problem," I said.

"Just treat it as an errand and get it out of your way."

You know, minus the fact that we are going to potentially die to an army of Amazonian women. And that's if the myriad of dangerous animals that live in the forest don't get to us first.

"Sure, it shouldn't be an issue."

"It would be best if you start packing for tonight then," my father said.

"Ok, I'll go do that now then. I'll see you both at dinner, I guess."

I turned and headed for the door as casual as I could muster. Sadly it wasn't enough.

"By the way Arthur," my dad started.

I stopped dead in my tracks but didn't bother turning around. Ah, of course he remembers, I thought.

"As my son who will in time inherit my position, I don't believe it is right of me to restrict you from exploring the secret passages. But I will say to be more cautious. You could end up in far worse situations than you did today."

"I'll certainly be more cautious," I promised.

And with that I turned the knob and walked out. I closed the door quietly, making sure not to accidentally slam it as I've done in the past. Once the door was closed and I couldn't hear Ms. Cecilia or my father's voice, a wave of relief washed over me. I started heading in the direction of my room.

I feel like I barely got out of that alive, I thought. That went a lot smoother than I thought it would.

Like I said, you didn't even get in any trouble, Ms. Mya said.

I'd rather not be put in situations like that to begin with though...

Sadly I can't help you there. There's very few things I won't do for knowledge.

Didn't you mention it had to be rare for you to care? I doubt the Amazons are that interesting.

Would this not constitute as rare? It's not exactly an everyday thing to travel and meet a race of people previously considered a myth.

But weren't you there before? What more do you have to learn?

Everything of course. But beyond that, the Amazons are very interesting subjects. Their lack of empathy, their views on pampered people; even their language is interesting.

Wait, they don't speak English? How am I suppose to reason with them?

No need for panic, she said. They learned English through very...unique methods.

I'd really rather not know.

And I'd rather not tell you. Nonetheless, communication is certainly possible. If anything, they are rather fluent in English for how scarcely they use it.

Now because I was so engrossed in the conversation, I walked past my bedroom's door. It also didn't help that I had gotten rather accustomed to having a hole where my door was. It took me thinking about how I'd walked for too long to realize I was now two doors away from my room. In reality, it was little more than a slight inconvenience as my room still wasn't that far away.

I walked back and opened the new white wooden door that hid the rest of my room. Inside was the same as it always was, except maybe a little cleaner than usual courtesy of the maids. I took Essentia and set the sheath on the nightstand before leaping and plopping on my bed.

Such a troubling child, Ms. Mya joked.

I ignored her.

I just want to lie here for the rest of the day, I thought. Too bad I can't do that. I have to go to the dinner in a few hours and I still have to pack. Although it's kind of hard to pack when I don't know how many days we'll be gone. I guess I can just bring a backpack. But what do I bring?

As usual, my thinking was interrupted by knocking by the door.

It was Ms. Cecilia, with her usual bun and maid attire. She had a soft expression on her face that I only saw during rare instances. It usually meant she was conflicted about something, I knew she wouldn't trust heavy problems with an immature teenager like me.

"Hello Arthur, may I come in?"

"Hmm, sure, I'm not doing anything."

She walked calmly into the room, her posture perfect. She lifted her hand which had been hidden behind her to reveal a book in her hands. On closer inspection it was the book that I left in the backyard.

She walked in front of me and handed me the book. The title of the book was called:

"Origins of the Eptá Ergaleía."

"I believe this is yours, correct?"

I smiled. "Yes, thank you. How'd you know it was mine?"

"As I was talking to one of the new butlers, he mentioned how a brown haired boy had tried to go into the backyard earlier."

I scratched my head nervously. "Ahah, yea I really wanted to read this book."

Ms. Cecilia gave me a serious glare. "Arthur, are you certain you want to go on this trip? You don't have to go and there's no guaranteeing your safety. Even with Mary and Reginald, you'll be at the mercy of the Amazon tribe."

Of course not, I thought. I just want to go to sit down and read a book all day or hang out with Tucker in town or maybe connect with Mary. This is the last thing I want to do. But obviously that's not what came out of my mouth.

"It's not a matter of wanting to do it or not," I said. "I feel like I need to go on this journey. My gut is telling me so."

My gut being Ms. Mya of course.

"And it's not to please your father, is it?"

I shook my head. "Definitely not."

"If that's the case then I'll wish you a safe journey and pray for your safety."

"Huh? I didn't know you were religious Ms. Cecilia," I blurted out without thinking.

She gave me a lukewarm smile. "Not anymore Arthur."

"A-Ah, well I appreciate you worrying about me. It's nice sometimes to be reminded that people care."

"I'll always worry about you Arthur. Even when you're an adult."

I couldn't help but blush, which led to Ms. Cecilia chuckling.

"Well, I need to go," she said as she started walking towards the door. "Don't be late to dinner. You know how important this one is."

"I won't," I reassured her.

She smiled. Ms. Cecilia walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving me once again in complete silence.

I pulled out my phone to check the time.

It read: 6:03 pm.

I looked at the book that was now in my hand. I guess I can read now, I thought.

I opened the book to where I left off, which was weird since I didn't have a bookmark or anything. It was around the middle of the book where I had opened and talked about the third weapon made by the goddess of destruction, Telàis.

It read:

"The first weapon made by the goddess of destruction Telàis, has had many forms. It feasts on the user's desires and changed its form accordingly. Inside the weapon houses a demon symbolizing the void, a trait it gets from its creator who represents all that ends. The creature satiates their hunger by feasting on matter around it. A cursed weapon that will always end with its wielder meeting a gruesome end."

What a terrifying weapon, I thought. Although it would pretty neat to have something as powerful as matter absorption on hand.

I kept reading and encountered the three weapons made by the goddess of creation, Archìa. Like with the goddess of destruction, the weapons seem to symbolize aspects of the goddess herself. They were interesting, but not as cool as the weapons made from Telàis. At least, in my opinion they aren't.

I don't know how much time had passed, but I sat on my bed while reading the book until I hit the last page. What I found weird was the title of the book implied there were seven weapons, but when I read it I only found six. I reread over some areas to make sure I didn't miss anything but I couldn't find anything about a seventh weapon. I decided to refresh my memory of the first weapons revealed. Maybe I'll find a detail or two about it, I thought. I skimmed over the first few chapters when I started the book a while ago so I don't remember much about them.

I got to the first page of the chapter and started reading.

"The second weapon made by the goddess of destruction, Telàis, is potentially the most destructive of the seven weapons. Chaotic by nature, this sharp blade symbolizes the essence of all living creatures. Naturally, this blade feeds on the spirit of that which breathes. But despite how chaotic it is, the blade does not relish in the expired. Rather, it would prefer to make allies of such enemies to increase its own combat ability. Inside the weapon hosts a demon with an obsessive nature concerning one subject within the realm of humanity. It does not feel hatred, grief, happiness, or sorrow. It merely camouflages."

...doesn't this sound a little too much like Essentia? It practically described Ms. Mya's abilities.

I was about to scream her name in my head and ask her about it, just as I thought about my phone buzzed.

What could it be this time? Huh, it was my alarm. It's...7:58!? I threw the book down on my bed, grabbed my blade and scurried out the room.

Time for the announcement, I thought. There's no way this is going to go well.