Days passed tediously. Scarlett went to meet some new friend for hours at a time. She said only a little to me regarding them, but I supposed I had no right to interfere. I search my mind frequently but found no answers to any of my pressing questions. Where was Avi? How could we stop the Chaos Sickness from spreading further? Why did I have these powers? Why were my dreams so fragmented? Question upon question but no answer to any of them.

I awoke late and spent the afternoons in the balcony café, looking out at the sunlit Hanging Gardens. One afternoon, someone unexpected surprised me when they took the other seat at my table.

“I’m getting sick of this place,” Neptilia said.

I watched as the girl pulled up the chair beside me and sat. I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me, or simply talking to no one in particular and I just happened to be in the vicinity. Her eyes didn’t meet mine, and so it felt more like the latter.

“Where’s Basil?” I asked.

“Finally having his audience with the king. I wasn’t allowed to listen in.”

She didn’t sound bitter over about this, more like resigned to the fact of her exclusion.

“Why’d you come here?”

She gave me a face. “Why do you think? To look at the gardens. I’ll be damned if there’s anything better to do in this place.”

I gave her a look. I felt there was some underlying motivation she didn’t want to let on. She noticed my gaze and made a ‘hmph’ sound.

“Don’t get any funny ideas. I didn’t sit by you because I enjoy your company. I just prefer not to sit alone…”

She said the last words with less harsh a tone. I could relate to the feeling. I suppose I hadn’t realised how much I’d come to enjoy having a travel companion. Being alone in my own thoughts for the better part of the past few days had left me empty. We sat in silence for a while. A waiter came by but we both waved him away. Eventually the knight spoke up.

“Actually, there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

I turned to her; my eyebrow raised.

“Don’t you find it odd that despite being a knight of New Sparta, your girlfriend doesn’t have any back up on this supposedly important mission of hers?”

I would have cringed at the word ‘girlfriend’ if the rest of her words had not struck me so hard. Thinking about it now, what she said was true. Scarlett said I could be useful on her mission, but why me when there were undoubtedly many other Lunar Knights who could accompany her instead? Neptilia laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, becoming irritated with the knight.

“Seeing you with that stumped look on your mug. Listen, Sander, I’ll tell you why.”

I looked at her expectantly.

“She got cast out of New Sparta. She has no faction. Sander, she’s been lying to you.”

I wasn’t sure how to react.

“It was some months ago, oh I don’t know, maybe ten? It took a while for word to reach us in New Athens. She got caught in her mentor’s bed. That alone wouldn’t have done it, but the next day she got her mount killed during a storm whilst out on a practice flight.”

I listened intently but I struggled to comprehend what Neptilia was telling me. Scarlett at the centre of something like that was surprising to me.

“Look I’m only telling you because I’m worried that you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You’re a civilian, right? There’s no need for you to be putting yourself in danger like this and –”

“Hey,” I said. I’m not sure where the words came from.

“Huh?”

“You want to get a drink?”

***

When we’d arrived, the bar had been relatively quiet. It had gotten busier as the hours drew on, but now, as closing time approached, we found ourselves alone with the bartender. A bit of alcohol did wonders breaking down Neptilia’s icy exterior and she listened intently as I spoke of my past. When I mentioned Scarlett, she was noticeably displeased. I was still troubled by what Neptilia had told me, but I thought little on it as we got lost in drink and aimless conversation.

Later, she talked about herself and life in the Lunar Colonies. Her rivalry with Scarlett went years back, though Neptilia tried to avoid speaking about the other knight as much as possible. As I listened with interest to her speak, she paused occasionally and gave me an awkward glance. Though she was speaking to me, our eyes never met. As she was rambling on about New Sparta, I stopped her.

“Two kings?”

“Yeah, crazy, isn’t it? When the colony was formed it was a collaboration between the Mage’s Society and the Future Foundation. Magic and Science, working together. Who would have thought?”

I’m not sure how we’d gotten onto this subject, and, honestly, I’d lost track of how many drinks we’d had, but in essence, we were pissed. From around the bar we’d received several looks whilst there were still people around, but we hadn’t paid them any heed.

“Democracy is, of course, a superior system. Who wants to listen to what some old guy says? I control my own destiny, thanks.”

“I can see why you clash with Scarlett. You two are more similar than you’d care to admit.”

Neptilia pulled a face. “Ugh, why’d you have to bring up that bitch again? Scarlett this, Scarlett that, you must really like her.” Then, her expression changed. “I bet she’ll be pretty ticked off when she hears how I had you to myself for a few hours.”

I was trying to form a response when the knight placed a shaky hand on my shoulder. She was visibly swaying as she leaned in towards me. She could certainly hold her drink better than Scarlett, but by now she was well past her tolerance. Her index finger moved slowly to the base of my chin and from there up to my lip.

“Why doesn’t anybody give me that kind of attention?”

Silence hung between us. The only thing I heard was the hot exhalation of our breath, meeting in the small space of air. Her diffident eyes met mine, the reflection of my own stunned face visible in those amber mirrors. My concentration was broken by the sound of the bartender’s voice. He was asking that we pay up and leave.

I nodded without looking his way, my eyes still fixated drunkenly on the girl in front of me. I swiped my card and we left together without another word.