Haemon had never seen Rania in pain before. She had never been hurt in battle since he had known her or, if she ever was, she had never shown it. He had taken her inside and laid her on a bed in the guest room, where he had left her breathing hard and sweating from the wound. When he had returned from temporarily hiding the body that had been lying in the clearing, she was in a much worse condition. She had somehow managed to roll herself onto her side and was sobbing, trying to cover her arm with her hand, but unable to touch it. Haemon felt nauseous looking at it, as the bone was clearly showing and the dark magic was slowly eating away at her muscle. The room smelled of burning flesh and there were small tendrils of smoke coming from her arm. When she spotted him in the doorway, she groaned, “Cut it off. Cut it off of me.”

He hesitantly stepped into the room, telling her, “Kethren will be here and will take care of it.”

“I do not want it. Get rid of it. It hurts.” She bit down hard on her lip, stifling a scream and flinging her head around, she buried her face into the pillow. “I cannot do this...,” she panted, turning her face around. “It is too much. I just want it off.” Haemon saw her eyes turned towards his dagger that was hanging from his waist and immediately stepped back.

“Don’t even think about it,” he snapped, seeing her weakly raise her good arm. She paused, raising her eyes to his and then covered her face with her hand, sobbing in earnest and grinding her heels into the bed. He grimaced, glancing at her arm again. The muscle was almost all burned away on one side of her arm. “Where the fuck is he?” he muttered to himself. Rania was panting and had taken a hard grasp upon her shoulder, writhing against the bed.

I can’t even do anything for her, he thought bitterly, watching a stray tear leak down her face. He drew in a deep breath and willed himself against the sick feeling in his stomach, moving towards the bed and settling on it beside her. She blinked up at him blearily and more tears dripped down. He raised a hand and paused, uncertain, before he took her hand from her shoulder and gripped it hard in his own. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, “but there’s no point in cutting off your arm.”

“I feel like I am dying,” she whispered hoarsely. She groaned, turning her head away and digging her nails into his hand. “It is killing me.”

Haemon said nothing, falling silent and letting her scratch his hand when the pain got too bed. When he heard the thumps of rapid footsteps up the stairs, a wave of relief washed over him and he released Rania’s hand, hurrying out of the room. “In here,” he called as Cayden and Kethren appeared at the top of the stairs. Kethren brushed past him to go inside the room, while Cayden stopped in front of Haemon. “Is he going to be able to fix it?”

“I’m unsure,” Cayden said with a shrug. “He didn’t say anything to me on the way here. I really do think I was closer on their relationship than you were.” Haemon blinked, taken aback, but put it aside for a different time. When he turned and re-entered the room with Cayden, Kethren was kneeling by the bed, removing stoppers from the glass vials within his leather bag. “Can you help her?” Cayden had drawn closer to the bed than Haemon.

“One can only hope,” was Kethren’s cryptic reply as he set the vials down on the floor. After they had all been unstopped, he looked up at them. “Are you sure you want to be in here while I do this?”

“Yes, of course,” Haemon replied firmly. Kethren met his gaze briefly before nodding, turning back towards Rania. He pulled out a roll of thin cloth and tenderly took her damaged arm, rolling out the cloth underneath it and covering the wound with it.

“Bear with me, Rania,” Kethren murmured softly to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and then took a vial with his other hand, pouring it over the cloth covering her wound. After the potion soaked into the cloth, there was a bitter, acrid smell and shortly after that, Rania jerked against Kethren’s hand, crying out, trying to rise off from the bed. Haemon and Cayden were both startled by the reaction and Cayden took a step away from the bed. Kethren, for his part, held a calm façade and his grip did not loosen. While she continued to thrash and scream, Kethren rested a hand over where the potion had dampened the cloth and held it there for a moment. She had calmed somewhat, but there were unbidden tears pouring down her cheeks. Without even looking at her, Kethren wrapped a layer of the thin cloth around her arm and continued on with the next potion. The smell rose up into the air again and she again tried to pull away from him, crying out from pain.

Kethren continued this same procedure several more times, although Haemon noticed the smell became less sour and sweeter the more he did it. By the time he had poured on the last potion, Rania was breathing hard and sweating from her struggles and was lying limp on the bed, with stray tears leaking from her eyes. She did not even seem to comprehend that anyone else was in the room with her anymore. Kethren kept his hand on her arm for longer than usual with the last potion before he removed his hand and released a long sigh, ripping the cloth off and putting the unused portion within his bag. He carefully returned all the empty vials within it, as well, and then set the bag aside to look back at Rania. He gently raised her arm and unwound the cloth and when the last layer was taken off, both Haemon and Cayden stared in amazement. Her skin and muscle seemed to have been returned, but the skin was red and dark blue in some places where the wound had been.

“You healed her in barely any time,” Haemon said in a shocked tone.

“If I had gotten to her any later, I would not have been able to. She will be crippled for some time while her body heals itself. I have only accelerated the process and drawn the black magic from her. Have you buried the thing that attacked her yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Take this,” Kethren dug into his bag and handed him a long, white flower. “Bury this with the body. It will keep the land from being corrupted by its magic. It would be best if you do this soon, before they send reinforcements. You cannot stay here now that they know your location.”

“And my uncle?” Cayden prompted.

“Fynn will not kill him, he is too well known and is highly respected by the royal family. That does not prevent him from killing the rest of you, though. Let her rest for a bit, but you will need to find a place to lay low. I would recommend talking to Zeke.”

“What? Zeke won’t let us stay with him if he thinks it will put him at danger.”

“His hideout is more secure than you would imagine,” Kethren told him dismissively. “They will be unable to sense you down there. There is a reason the crystals’ location cannot be pinpointed.” Cayden fell silent, but he seemed to be dwelling on what Kethren said. Haemon, however, was clueless as to what they were referring. “For now, just take care of the body and the rest will come later.”

Rania felt cold water on her face and woke up, feeling sluggish and sore. The first thing she realized was that her scarf was not on and she made an attempt to raise herself up, but a hand landed on her shoulder, pushing her back down. Her eyes turned up to Kethren’s face that was above her. “Do not concern yourself, the door is closed. You needed to get washed up first. I did not expect you to wake up.” The cold water was from a cloth rag that was in his hand to wash her face. He set it aside and reached underneath her back, helping her into a sitting position. There was a deep, sharp pain in her right arm when she tried to move it and she flinched.

“What happened?” she muttered, leaning against the wall, taking the dry cloth that Kethren offered her to dry her face. “I feel terrible.”

“Can you remember anything before you passed out?”

Rania frowned, her brow furrowing as she dried her damp hair around her temple, drifting back in her memory. She recalled waking in the stables abruptly and sensing something off in the air. She had gone to the shop to see if everyone was alright when she had been slammed into by Haemon and Cayden and then...

Of course, she thought. I was injured by black magic.

Now that she was more awake, she was better able to recall what had happened after being hurt. The memory of suffering, waiting for Kethren to arrive to help her made her arm hurt, so she simply nodded to him, saying, “I remember now. Thank you.” He inclined his head slightly in reply and handed her scarf to her. She wrapped it around her head, tucking it around her ears, but left her hair lying down.

“I will be truthful,” he said, “I thought you were dying. I did not think I would be able to help you.”

“I thought I was, too,” she admitted softly, looking down at her limp hands, feeling awash in embarrassment at allowing herself to be seen in such a state of distress. Kethren’s hands slid up her cheeks, tilting her face up so that they were eye-to-eye.

“I keep telling you to be careful, yet you somehow manage to continue to involve yourself in these situations. You could be safe if you left those bandits.”

“I have already told you my views on that, Kethren.” He sighed, shaking his head slightly and ran his thumb along her cheekbone. She eyed him and was able to catch the worry in his expression, even though he managed to conceal it so well. Feeling a sliver of regret at making him so concerned, she reached up with her good arm, pulling his face closer to hers so that their foreheads were touching. “I am sorry for involving you in my problems.”

“I would rather you turn to me for help than someone else.” He stroked her cheek and then leaned in, brushing his lips over hers tentatively and when she didn’t push him away, he kissed her warmly, his long fingers slipping through her hair as he cupped the back of her head. The sudden sound of people approaching made her pull away and he obligingly sat back just as Haemon and the other two bandits entered the room.

“You’re awake already, huh?” Haemon said with a raise of his eyebrows. Rania could feel his inquisitive stare on her face and wondered if she looked guilty. She was unsure why, but she did not want any of them to know of her intimacy with Kethren. She had never been in such a situation with a man before and as she was not sure how to define it, she felt it better to keep it behind closed doors. “That’s probably best. Cayden thinks he has a place where we can stay safe.”

“Near Zeke?” Kethren queried, looking to the blonde male. Cayden nodded. “Excellent, that will be a good place while Rania heals.”

“Do you think it’s okay for her to travel while she’s wounded?” Ryker spoke up, putting a hand on his waist and eyeing Rania dubiously.

“I will be fine,” Rania assured them with a small smile. “It is what we must do, regardless of my condition.”

“Then we should get ready to leave now,” Haemon spoke up. “It sounds like we have quite a trek.”

“It will be easier to get there by yourselves,” Kethren said. “I can transport Rania and Cayden can meet me at the entrance. It will be safe for her to walk freely once you are there.” At Haemon’s suspicious glare, he added, “She will be safe with me. They are not looking for her, after all.” Rania caught the subtle reminder and could tell that it had annoyed Haemon. Frustrated by Kethren’s slur, she flicked her foot up and it smacked him in the shoulder, enough of a warning to keep him quiet.

“Fine,” Haemon grunted. “Just be careful, yeah?”

“Of course.”

After they had packed their bit of belongings, the three departed and Rania was left with Kethren, who had decided they would leave an hour or so after they had departed. Rania was given the chance to rest some until Kethren came to get her. He helped her into her robes and Deon had conveniently kept himself hidden after arriving with Ryker, as if to keep himself separated from them after the attack that had happened in his shop. “We will ride on horseback for a bit,” Kethren told her when they exited the shop. “And then we will walk from my inn.”

“Is it that close?”

“Not very, but it will be better than making you walk the entire way. I do not think you have that type of energy yet.” He raised her onto the horse with his magic to avoid hurting her and then swung up behind her shortly afterward. Rania was not one for being the damsel in distress, but she was able to recognize the fact that she would have to be a bit dependent while she healed. She let Kethren keep his arm looped around her waist while he maneuvered the horse through the city expertly with his other hand. Once they arrived at the inn, he helped her off by taking a hold of her waist and she braced herself against his shoulder with her left hand.

“Did you use your magic to heal me?” she asked him as they walked down the cobblestoned street. Kethren seemed to consider her question for a moment.

“Not entirely. I had to use some potions to draw out the black magic.”

“Is that something you can teach me?”

“Yes, but it takes longer to learn than most offensive attacks. This type of healing is more specialized and concentrated than what you are used to.” He glanced at her. “Are you that bothered by your lack of skills?”

“I cannot fight this with knowing so little,” she told him quietly, avoiding his gaze. “How am I supposed to even defend myself when getting attacked by that type of magic?”

“Would it be so bad to depend on someone else for that?”

“You have your own agenda that has nothing to do with us. You will not always be so available.”

Kethren seemed to be mulling over her statement, leaving Rania to her own thoughts. Kethren had been helpful, but she had no intention of depending upon him for assistance. His own position was precarious and, it seemed, made safe so that he could watch the city for Alastair. Rania was unknown for the most part, as any enemy she had run into she had been able to eliminate. Haemon and his two companions, however, were another issue. Ezra knew them very well and, because of the crystal, Haemon was being tracked. Kethren had mentioned the place they would be staying would keep them safe from Fynn, but that didn’t necessarily mean Ezra would not still be a threat. They weren’t even sure if it had been a member of Ezra’s group that had been sent to Deon’s or just another of Fynn’s servants.

Neither she nor Kethren said anything as they continued walking and once they arrived in an older part of the city, Kethren led her into a system of back alleys that led to old temple grounds. There were several crumbling statues, some intact more than others. The grounds were surrounded by the city buildings and it was clear that there was still a small sort of service that the priests held here. Kethren took her to one of the larger statues and she saw a small gap behind it that looked more like a crack. She could sense something there and as Kethren stopped, she put her hand where the crack was and it disappeared, the area around her wrist shimmering somewhat. He nodded for her to go in and she submerged the rest of her body through what appeared to be a barrier. Kethren followed her shortly after where she was staring around the darkened tunnel.

“It feels like home here,” she whispered.

“The magic of our people is still well preserved here, even in the tunnels,” Kethren remarked, gesturing for her to follow him. “The thieves came upon this by accident, thinking that there might be gold around the statues and were trying to push the statue back and ended up falling in here instead. The ruins here are the original Keystun, the city of our ancestors that ruled here.”

“Nature feels more pure here than anywhere above the city,” Rania said, brushing her good hand against the walls as she walked with Kethren through the tunnels. She could feel tree roots poking out from the dirt. “Strange. There are roots, but no trees above us.”

“Trees from long ago, that were not uprooted properly, I believe. There are layers upon layers of soil here perfectly preserved by our ancestor’s magic. With the city built above it, the ruins have been more disturbed than I think the others would be in the mountains, especially with the thieves having been living here. It would be interesting to see our people’s past, nearly untouched, would you not agree?”

Rania cast him a sidelong glance. “Yes, I suppose so.”

When they got to the end of the tunnel system, Rania felt a cool breeze pass over her face that had warmed from the earthy layers. She looked around wonderingly as they stepped into the cavernous entrance of the ruins. She stepped towards one of the enormous pillars at the entrance, pressing a hand against it, feeling the etchings and markings in the ancient stone. Beneath it, she could feel currents of her people’s magic flowing through. Slowly, she lowered her hand and turned her eyes back out to the ruins. Even as Kethren had said “city,” her mind had not truly captured how massive the underground city must have been. As she looked out, she saw crumbled stone littering the ground and only after staring up for a long time were her eyes able to catch the distant glimpse of the arches above them.

“You got here safely,” she heard Cayden’s voice a few feet off, where Kethren was standing. Rania had stepped down on the steps to stare up, but presently turned around to face Cayden. Seeing her turn around, he said, “It’s amazing, isn’t it? You wouldn’t think this would be hiding under Keystun.”

“No,” she murmured, “I never would have imagined something like this would exist here.”

“Did you have any trouble getting here?” Kethren inquired.

“Not at all,” Cayden confirmed mildly. “I don’t want to linger, though – in case the thieves see us. They wouldn’t take to it well.”

“Very well.” Kethren stepped towards Rania, putting a hand on her back, drawing her attention from the architecture of the ruins. “Get as much rest as you can and I mean this when I say it, Rania – do not use that arm, let it heal. Especially do not use it in combat. You need to stay safe if you want to use that arm again.”

“I will be fine,” she said with a slight smile. “I can take care of it from here. Thank you.”

“You are welcome. I will be in touch.” He nodded to Cayden and then passed him to return to the tunnels leading back onto the temple grounds. Cayden watched him a moment before turning to Rania in question.

“Well, should we get going then? Or do you need to rest for a bit?”

“No, it would be best to get somewhere safe before I rest.” Cayden nodded and padded down in front of her, gesturing with a hand for her to follow. She followed him at a slower pace, looking around her as he led her through the maze of broken stones. She could make out subtle designs within the stones, although most were too worn to see well. In other blocks she thought she perceived bits of faces, as though from elven sculptures. She had stopped to consider one such sculpture, leaning over it. It looked smaller than many of the others and most of the face was still apparent. She could not remember there ever being any artifacts like these when she was with her people. She wondered if they had all been lost in the underground cities. “Do you know how big this place is?”

“No,” Cayden answered from a few feet ahead of her. “Nobody is even sure how far these ruins go on. We didn’t really think anything of it. We knew it had to be related to the elves, though. In some of the places where the stone frames are undamaged, you can see engravings and the ears are pointed on the people. If the elves were settled out this far, it makes you wonder how humans were able to back them into the mountains.”

“And whether there are more places like this in the south,” Rania added thoughtfully, recalling her visits to the south of the continent.

“That would mean the elves had control over the entire continent at one point.”

“Yes, which given this city being here, I would not be surprised if they had.” Rania was unfamiliar with much of her people’s history, as it was not widely known. There was a good deal of their past that was hidden from those outside of the village councils and even then, they were given only a piece of the information from the Council of Elders. Rania suspected this was in part due to the elves’ naturally reclusive nature, but also because there was too much of a risk of people learning about the mineral forces, now that she was aware of them.

“Damned if I know how they plan to find those crystals in this big of a space. The cities in the mountains have to be bigger.”

“That is a good question, though,” she mused aloud as he led her up a crumbling staircase onto a foundation of standing buildings. “How do they intend to find them, I wonder? They must have some sort of magic they will be using.”

“Can’t imagine they’d have anything else to help them.” There was the sound of footsteps as they approached a large façade and she spotted Haemon’s lean frame in the distance as he came to meet them. She peered up at the surprisingly large building looming over the others. She could just make out thin windows carved out near the top with strange, rounded instruments sitting within them. There were brown, thick vines growing from up the bottom, as if coming straight through the foundation and the thick carvings within the façade were of strangely familiar designs and on each side of the entrance to the building was a worn carving that Rania was unable to see. The carving on the right seemed clearer and it appeared as though it were a person standing, holding their hands up with their wrists crossed above their head. Her steps slowed as she stared up at the carving, her brow furrowing in concentration. She was almost certain she had seen that stance somewhere.

“Where’s the other one?” Haemon asked, his eyebrows snapping down in a straight line as he stopped in front of them.

“He left at the entrance.” Cayden turned to look at Rania, who drew her eyes away from the carving, offering a small smile. “This is where we’ll be staying for now. It’s away from the thieves and safe from anyone else, too.”

“How did you know it was here?” Rania queried, following the two men as they made towards their temporary home.

“I tried exploring the ruins when I was still here. I wanted to see them all, but it was easy to get lost. This is one of the farthest points I’d gotten from our camp. Nobody else really likes to wander around the ruins.”

“Really? Why? I would think a thief would have a natural inclination to explore.”

“We also have a natural inclination to survive,” he said with a grim smile, “and too many people disappeared if they went too far. Probably from not finding their way back, but still – we never knew if there might not be something else in here with us. While Zeke has been here, he’s never run into anything, but it’s too huge for us to know for sure.”

“I think,” Rania said softly, glancing behind her, “that we are quite alone down here.”

Cayden remained silent.

Inside the building, she saw that there were three floors, although the steps to the uppermost floor seemed to have crumbled and there was only a gaping hole where they had been. The second floor was still usable, but she doubted they would have any reason for that much room. “What do you think this was?”

“Ryker was thinking that it might have been a lord’s house,” Haemon said. “It’s interesting, though. It opens straight up at the top and doesn’t have full floors like you would expect.” He pointed up to indicate the hole that was at the top of the building. As Haemon said, it didn’t have full floors and the staircase was on the outside where the vertical gap was located. It seemed that the staircase went to the top, although the uppermost section looked ready to crumble like its second floor part had done. “We think that they had a fire in the middle here to let the smoke in.” He pointed at the wide open space they were standing in. “But honestly, that’s what humans would do. I feel like elves would have had an alternative for fire.”

“That is strange, though...,” Rania said, eyeing the space for a long moment. There was a small set of steps that led down into a lowered space while the staircase and rest of the rooms led into the other rooms of the building on the higher floor.

“It’s hard to know what any of these things are down here,” Cayden said with a shrug. “Best not waste time thinking about it.”

“No,” Haemon agreed, “which reminds me, you and Ryker need to get going now that Rania’s here.”

“I was thinking the same thing. I don’t want to run into too much traffic from the thieves in those tunnels.”

“Come on,” Haemon said to Rania, gesturing for her follow him. “You’re probably tired.” Cayden parted from them, returning outside. Haemon led her into a room that was warmed by a fire that had started in a makeshift pit in the back of the wall where they had moved around some stones. There was a pile of misshapen objects in the corner of the room and near the fire were some animal pelts spread out that she guessed they had brought with them. “Ryker was going through the other buildings around here trying to find anything that would be useful. We’ve found a few things, but nothing of substance. Most things here are ruined or broken. He and Cayden are going to head up to find more supplies, though. Unfortunately,” his mouth twisted, “they reminded me that I would be at risk up there, so I get to stay down here.”

“They are not wrong,” Rania told him with a sigh as she settled down onto the pelts, pulling her robes off gingerly. “You are going to have to accommodate yourself to letting them do the hard work for now.” When she looked to him, he had a shuttered expression.

“That’s what I’ve had to do since we came into this blasted city,” he said sourly. Rania contemplated him sympathetically. She could well understand how he might feel at a disadvantage needing protection when he was accustomed to being the protector of his other bandits. She had felt similarly frustrated in feeling her lack of magical abilities and this wound was only to intensify that emotion. “Anyway,” he continued, making an effort to shake off his mood, “at least we’re all safe and alive for now. That’s the most I could ask from this situation.”

Rania smiled at the attempt at optimism and lied down on the pelts, holding her arm that was beginning to throb a bit from her traveling. “You are not very good at being positive, Haemon.”

“I’m usually better at it,” he pointed out. He blew out a breath and settled next to her on the floor, bringing up a knee and hanging his arm over it. He rubbed his face vigorously. “It’s just hard right now. You never realize how small your world is until you lose it.” Rania kept her face turned towards him, watching his worried thoughts play over his face. She noticed the tension around his mouth and eyes and wondered who exactly he was concerned for, since it did not appear his own wellbeing was enough to lose sleep over.

“You need to relax. You will never be able to get any rest if you are constantly feeling stressed.” He looked surprised by the comment and then laughed suddenly. She felt a bit of relief at the sound. She liked Haemon best when he was laughing and able to snap out a sarcastic rebuttal.

“I don’t think there’s any hope for me relaxing in this depressing place.” He turned his eyes around the room dubiously. “But...I guess it’s something to work with. We made a home out of dirt, I guess we can make a home out of an actual building. I’d much rather be out in the open than underground, though. If we get attacked, there’s no way of getting away really.”

“Kethren seemed confident that no one would be able to find us here.”

“Yes...true,” was his reluctant response.

“He would know better than we would – at least about this. I am not sure what type of power this place has, but I am sure the magic in here is stronger than Fynn’s or any dark magic.”

Haemon had raised his hand to prop his fingers against his head as he met her gaze, an unreadable expression crossing his masculine features. After a time, he closed his eyes, clearing his throat and saying, “I know I don’t have to say this, but...if by chance we’re not safe, I can’t protect you. I don’t have the means to guard against magic.” He opened his eyes, but turned his gaze towards the fire. “It’s actually very annoying.”

“You are bothered by being saved by a woman?” she asked in an amused tone.

A crooked smile lifted his lips briefly. “Not at all. It will make for an interesting legend. Imagine the title: ‘Rania: Heroine of Bandits.’ Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” She laughed at the ridiculousness of it. “Maybe not the best title I’ve come up with. But in all seriousness, Rania. It’s incredibly frustrating to go through life being able to kill and defend yourself and then suddenly be unable to so much as lift a finger against your opponent.” He sighed and closed his eyes again. “Not to mention being unable to return the favor of helping you as much as you have helped us. I couldn’t even help you when you got hit from that sorcerer. It’s...frustrating, that’s all.”

Rania struggled to a sitting position, causing Haemon to open his eyes and send her a questioning glance. She reached out and gently touched his arm with her good hand. “I am no stronger than you are, Haemon and I am very grateful to all three of you.” She hesitated. “I have never had friends before.”

“You don’t say?” he sardonically quipped.

She smiled. “Amazing, is it not?”

“Hardly. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to a rock.”

“I flatter myself that I am slightly above a rock,” she told him, drawing her hand back and laughing at the comparison. “I can at least hold a conversation and curse at you.”

“Well,” he sighed, a tiny smirk playing around his mouth, “I guess that’s something of an improvement, yeah?” She saw something cross his eyes before he asked, “And...what about Kethren? You don’t consider him a friend?”

Rania considered the question seriously. She had never really attributed Kethren to that word and while they had been intimate, she had never considered him her lover, either. Kethren was in a gray, indistinct area, although she felt most of their interactions was purely due to their common race. If not for their elven heritage, she doubted they would have any type of close correspondence at all. She knew that Kethren cared for her wellbeing and in spite of it being unclear as to the reason for that, she was grateful for the concern. “I suppose he is,” she slowly answered, “but we are not very close. I feel close to you, Cayden, and Ryker. Even if I barely know you three.” She lifted her right shoulder in an attempt at a shrug. “I imagine it must be because of what we have been through together in these past days.”

“Experiences bringing people together?” Haemon questioned aloud. “Makes sense to me.”

She smiled in spite of herself. “You could just accept my friendship without any reason behind it, you do know that, right?”

“Oh, I suppose,” he lazily replied with a teasing smile. “Might as well since we’re going to be stuck together in here for a while. These annoying circumstances will definitely bring us all together, yeah?”

To that, Rania simply chuckled.