Rumour about the love child of Torc Im being in the village was the hot topic for the next couple weeks. However, due to its low credibility, as it originated from a handful of young children, the rumour was quickly drowned out by other more important events – the successful raids and infiltrations and rebellions of the Garden of Irises. The military secrets in the Amber Manor were stolen for these reasons.

But the Tzappian government was quick to react: Eustacians were strictly prohibited from gathering after-dark and any offenders were decapitated without trial; mentioning the Garden of Irises could result in imprisonment; even planting irises would be fined.

After what happened in the alleyway, less and less was heard from Tar. In the beginning, it wasn’t all that bad. When Bern was teaching him about various things, he would ask some questions, and when the three of them were eating, he would participate in their discussion. But after a few months, Tar only responded to basic questions: How was your day? Fair, thanks for asking. How’s your injury? Much better, thanks to your care. How much food do you want? A bowl for me is enough, thanks for the meal. Some more time had passed and only when Bern and Ev were fortunate enough, words other than “good morning”, “thank you”, and “good night” were heard.

Ev woke up and felt a gentle breeze on her cheeks. She walked outside and gazed at the scenery while rubbing her chin. It was her habit to caress her stubble while thinking.

There were many glitters spread across the grassy ground. Upon closer inspection, she found out they were tiny dew droplets on the leaf blades, sliding from the base to the very tip along the midrib. “Was it spring already?” Ev did not feel happy about spring’s arrival, despite the refreshing scenery.

After taking the dried clothes inside, she told Bern and Tar to wake up and eat.

“Morning, Ev. Where’s Tar?”

“Probably still in bed.”

“But he’s never late. Once. In the past five years.”

“Bern, you know he gets talkative with Vidi when he visits. Tar must have been tired.”

“By talkative you mean answering simple yes or no questions? So that’s what talkative is in your dictionary.”

“Compared to us? Yeah! Tar doesn’t even speak to us much lately! Also, have you been spying on them?”

“Well, I… No… So…” Bern sighed. “Yes, I did. I just wanted to know if Tar’s unhappy being with us…”

“I know you’re embarrassed to say this out loud, but trust me I feel the same way too…”

“Anyway, off topic. Why’s he still not here?”

Ev shrugged her shoulder and walked into Tar’s room. “Tar? Are you up?”

No response. “That’s weird,” she thought.

Ev gave Tar, who was under the blanket, a gentle shake. “It’s time for breakfast, Tar!” But after a good number of shakes and nudges later, Tar did not wake up.

Feeling a bit puzzled, Ev flipped the blanket, only to reveal a large pillow. Ev let out a surprised shriek and started frantically searching everywhere. “Tar! Tar!” She repeated.

Hearing a shriek from his wife, Bern immediately dashed into Tar’s room. “What happened?” He shouted.

“Tar… He’s gone!”

“Have you checked bathroom?”

“Right… right… The bathroom.”

Surely, Tar must be in the bathroom. He couldn’t have just left the house without notice. He might be quiet, but he would never do something that would cause them to worry. That was Bern and Ev’s evaluation of him.

Ev hurried to the bathroom only to find out it was empty. Petrified, she heard the last thing she would ever want to hear. “The money Tar saved. All gone.”

*

Last evening, Vidi visited. After giving his greetings to the Compass’s, Vidi entered Tar’s room, as usual.

In these visits, Vidi always had stories to tell, some from after the war with Tzappians, some during it, but most before it. Tar learned much about Eustacia from Vidi.

At the time of Tar’s birth, King Abel’s health had already worsened so much that he could no longer handle any work, but despite being on the throne for more than a decade, Abel had no children, and the desperation for power in the imperial court could be experienced even for citizens living in the outskirt.

Tar never experienced national peace, so Tar was intrigued every time Vidi talked about what happened when peace in Eustacia was not superficial but once very much genuine. The Eustacia in Vidi’s stories was a neverland to Tar. One where doors need not be locked at the night. One where citizens chatted with patrolling guards every morning. One where dinners and gatherings and parties and holiday events were not lacking.

This day, Vidi told Tar stories about how he started working in the imperial court, how the court was and how the people in the court were.

“See you later, Tar.”

“Please take care, Mr Urn.”

“You’re not going to ask me about what the next big thing is?”

“Maybe I will stop asking. I figured I would not get an answer anyway.”

“Haha! Just keep your eyes peeled!” And with a laugh, Vidi left.

In the past five years, Vidi would hint at some “big things” occasionally. Of course, Tar never received answers about the “big things”. Usually, it was a handful of days after the visit that Tar would hear about some sensational news: a military official assassinated, the head of the Roonum family in East Frey kidnapped, large sum of imperial-owned jewellery robbed, and so on.

Tar knew that Vidi was involved in those incidents but try as he might, Tar never learned the connection between Vidi and those incidents, so he finally decided that he would follow Vidi to find out himself.

“Although Mr Urn never told me about martial arts, the stories he told don’t make sense if he doesn’t know martial arts. I should keep a good distance to prevent him from hearing me, since people with martial arts have heightened senses.” With that in mind, Tar took his saved-up money started following Vidi.