The rite was a week away now and from what Auntie told me the only good substitute for hard work was luck. I could hear her voice echoing in my head clear as day. 'Or you could skip all that boring stuff and impress a big shot.' Understood, Dear forge mother and her four lords please don't let my knowledge be wasted.

I'm not usually one for frivolous prayers but I spent my fifteen years of life doing nothing but studying and reading only to be told that I'll be lucky to avoid homelessness if my mother loses the house somehow. The sudden prayer was also one of Auntie's suggestions, she'd seen how miserable I'd been whenever there was no news of Alessia so she suggested forcing a joke now and then.

With my throat healed I didn't have much to do except wander our dirt streets in thought. I remembered what Hann said just before I left:

'There's no easy way to say this but everyone dies sooner or later, everyone experiences loss. It's not wrong to be worried for your friend but do you really think that she'd want you to attach nothing but misery to her name? Even if you never end up seeing her again, try to think positively, of all the joy she brought to your life that you could feel this low. You're a strong girl, you'll bounce back with enough time I'm sure.'

She's right, I needed to hold onto the hope that she's doing fine somewhere else and live my life so that I can stand tall when we meet again. It was easier said than done though. I just couldn't find peace until I knew she was safe. To that end, I was allowed to join the search tonight but that was still a while off.

I had been aimlessly walking for a while now. When I paid attention to my surroundings again I felt a hard lump in my throat. I'd unconsciously ended up back at Alessia's house. I stared at the flowers that she'd planted, even without her care they thrived. Her efforts led to flowers that wouldn't die out unless they were plucked. On a whim I got closer to the flowerbed and reminisced about the times each of them was planted, every time without fail she would shout 'Tadaa!' followed by their alchemical name and then their common name.

I looked at the lumps where she'd planted the new bulbs and saw healthy seedlings growing from all but one place. In her absence I took it upon myself to help the flower to grow, I'd memorised most of that book she loved so much so it shouldn't have been too hard to give it some help. I carefully dug into the dirt expecting to find a bulb. Instead, I jumped as my nails brushed against something long and smooth.

It appeared to be a relatively large surface buried just below the dirt. Quickly my curiosity had turned to surprise as I realised what I had unearthed. It was covered in dirt and badly damaged by the rain but I'd recognise that brass clasped book anywhere. 'The Floral Opus by Maxwell Strohm' My missing book! Why was it buried? My heart skipped a beat. Maybe Alessia had hidden a message for me!

With shaking hands, I undid the brass clasps and held my breath as I turned to the first page. Nothing. Second page. Nothing. Third Fourth Fifth. Nothing. I didn't know why she buried her favourite book but in desperation, I decided to flick through the whole thing just in case.

Up until page twenty-three, it was just a normal book, page twenty-three that's what the number at the bottom of the page said. Instead of text, the inside of the page was cut out, and the inside of all remaining pages were cut out. Leaving a hollow cavity, stored within the book's secret compartment was a cooking knife.

My blood ran cold, what was this? It was fairly unremarkable as far as knives go but I was having trouble with the absurdity of the find and what it might mean. She was hiding a weapon in a place where no one but her would think to look.

I scanned my surroundings but it seemed that luck was on my side, none of the people walking our dirt streets had seen what I'd unearthed or if they had seen me they looked uninterested in the girl doing gardening for her missing friend. I filled in the hole I'd made as carefully as possible to leave it looking just as I had found it before closing the dagger back inside the book and rushing back home.

Auntie Hann didn't expect me back so soon, especially not covered in dirt with a worm-eaten tome in hand. I explained to her what I'd found and even she thought I'd gone insane until I opened the book.

"Well I'll be damned, it seems like your little friend had some demons. I can think of many reasons to hide a weapon this well and none of them are good."

"I think–"

I cut myself off should I say such an awful thing without any proof? I was about to shrink away when Auntie gave me a warm smile.

"I think her father had something to do with this."

it was the first time that I'd announced my suspicions aloud, it felt like the boulder weighing me down had lost a chunk.

"That's a grave accusation I hope you realise. Talk to me."

I explained what I saw and felt that day:

First, her father lied about her being sick. His story only changed to a runaway daughter once the lie fell through.

Second, he tried to keep me away until I started making a scene. Even when I was allowed in he kept trying to get me out.

Third, her room was a mess but it didn't feel right between only one dress being missing, her shoes still being there and the mismatched undergarments.

Fourth, the books that she'd expressed an unusual interest in were out of plain sight at the bottom of her wardrobe.

Fifth, The guards were either not told about her disappearance or they were so convinced that it wasn't a problem that they just forgot.

Finally, the book she cherished the most was turned into a stash for a secret weapon and hidden where no one would think to look. She even planted actual flowers around it to avoid suspicion.

"Have you told anyone else any of this?"

I shook my head and got ready to speak but was cut off.

"Good, don't speak another word of this for a little bit. I've got a few favours I could pull to get some more experienced eyes on this. In the meantime act normal and try to pull a guard away from the group at tonight's search to ask them about what they saw in their investigation."

"Ask them what they saw? Why?"

"It doesn't matter if they knew how much clothing she had and how much she might have taken, the scene you described sounded fishy. Even if you're in a rush to grab whatever you can, no one just throws every piece of clothing they own onto the floor."

Auntie was already making her way to the door as she spoke.

"Ignoring that as well, how is it that she had the time and foresight to grab clothes for her journey but was in too much of a rush to take a minute to put on shoes? If she really did grab an armful of clothes and sprint out of the door she would likely have dropped something outside, like a sock. Yet she's disappeared like a ghost."

Just before she left me alone she turned back to me in the doorway.

"Remember, prioritise secrecy and your safety, I don't think this situation goes any deeper but it's better to be overly cautious than dead."