Unedited

Wylie's eyes watered as he read through the pages.

"I have fully integrated with the elven population. They are facinating creatures! I am starting to miss my family, however."

"I met a boy today, his name is Prentice. He was the first elf that ever bought my jewelry! My spy efforts are small, but Allesandro seems to be desperate for them. I'm glad to help him. For now he just has me doing in-depth scouting of certain cities."

"Prentice and I just got married, and I think I already fell pregnant. And though I am worried about my line of work and a home life, I know I can do it. I think it is a boy. I don't know what to name him. But in a much more dire situation, a woman has discovered my identity. A woman named Caprise Redek. But she has been a friend so far, but I need to keep her at a safe distance. I will not allow her to become a risk to my cause."

"Allesandro said he promises the guild will keep my baby safe, which helps. He also recommended the name Wylie. He heard it in his travels in the Neutral territories. It means crafty and clever. He said he would be just like his mother, just as clever as me. It has a ring to it, I'm not going to lie. I also think I want to make Allesandro the Rastus father. It seems appropriate. But I'm starting to feel guilty about keeping my identity secret for so long, especially from Prentice. I think I need to tell him."

"Caprise has been acting terribly down in the dumps since her and her husband split. Maybe, and just maybe, Allesandro can help. He knows what it is like to raise a girl alone, maybe he can help her if I introduce them-" Wylie shut the book, taking a deep breath. Sophie gave him his space, not quite knowing what to say.

"Let's take a break. I can get you more water?" She proposed.

Wylie shook his head, rubbing his hands over his face. "My mom... she was a spy? A spy, Sophie?" Wylie looked up, chuckling in cruel irony, "Your dad was the one that came up with my name." Wylie took a deep breath, his leg fidgeting. Sophie took a clean mug from the cupboard and turned to turn on the kettle. Edaline taught her how to work these elven kettles, so needlessly complex. The air was taut with tension, the shock settling between them.

Both Sophie and Wylie jumped as the mug resting safely on the counter dropped to the floor.

"Did you-"

"No." Sophie sat up slowly, kneeling to observe the shattered pieces. The apartment was empty. No one could've knocked it down. She carefully scooped up the pieces into her hand and slid them into the trash. Sophie pulled out a new mug and finished a cup of tea for Wylie, setting Cyrah's journal onto the table.

"I'll leave this with you to help you figure out your thoughts. But it is highly valuable, alright? You have to promise you will keep it well protected." Sophie whispered.

Wylie nodded, watching his mother's journal as if it would jump up and eat him. Sophie kneeled in front of him, "Hey. I know this is hard for you, but I should get back before I tip off the Council. Don't tell anyone about this, okay? Not until we can get to the bottom of it. But take it easy, okay? Being a half Vatarian can be difficult on the psyche and physical body. Ruy Ignis is half vatarian as well, and he says it can be difficult sometimes."

Wylie nodded, his head in his hands. Sophie opened her minyama, pointing to the code atop it.

"If you need to reach me, type in this code into your imparter. Or you can ask the Black Swan to see me, but don't tell them what for, okay?"

Wylie nodded, looking at her with teary eyes, "Okay. Can you do something for me?"

"Of course."

"Tell my Vatarian family that I'm okay? Or of my existence?" Wylie asked.

"Consider it done."

Wylie nodded, taking the mug from Sophie, "Where are you going after this? More crazy Mentore stuff?"

Sophie smiled, "I actually have a wedding to attend."

Ruy held Cato tight, laughing as his brother nearly tripped over his cape to run to his brother. King Dorian squinted at the sun, grimacing at it. Sarai hip-checked him, hissing at him to quit being annoying.

"It's okay, I understand you guys aren't that used to the sun." Ruy laughed, scruffiness up Cato's hair. Sarai strode forward, hugging Ruy tight, avoiding scraping her horns against his face. Sarai smiled as she took a step back, "You are glowing, you know."

Ruy quirked an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Sarai pinched his cheek, "I'm assuming things are going well above ground then?"

Ruy brushed off Sarai's grubby fingers, "Yeah, things are going alright. But I am wondering how things are going in the kingdom?"

Dorian finally stepped forward, hugging his son tight, "They miss their prince, but you should have seen the parties going on when they heard you were alright." Ruy looked so much like his old man, and it was quite jarring. He always thought he took after his mother more, having her pitch-black hair and azure eyes. But it was from his father that Ruy got his sharp jaw and almond-shaped eyes. They both had the same crinkles near their eyes from smiling. And they had the same smile.

"I missed you, my boy." Dorian smiled.

"I missed you too dad." It finally felt so natural to say that.

The Inner Circle came up politely from the guildhall, greeting the Royal family with Maria's manners.

"Would you like some tea?" Filomena asked from her wife's side, gesturing to the beautiful brunch spread she had set up on the back patio where they normally ate breakfast. Cato and Kalem were drooling at the sight of it, looking back to their mother, who nodded.

They all sat down, the Dunmer trying to get sued to the luxuries of above ground. Things like wind and sun.

They tried to avoid talking about business for as long as possible, yes. But it was inevitable.

"Do you have any small clue of who Eira could be?" Mansi insisted, leaning forward, "Our mentore tried to contact her, but she escaped after she attacked her."

Sarai crossed her ankles, her hands perfectly folded in her lap, "We have no clue. We have gone through our records tirelessly and there are no missing people."

"But Amalia saw Eira escaping the caverns with another woman. How could there be no one out of place or missing if they are gone?" Alexios asked, swallowing down his tea.

Ruy stretched out his wings, carefully making sure they weren't dragging on the floor, "It could be possible that they knew we are looking for them. They could've returned to the kingdom to avoid attention."

Sarai quirked an eyebrow, the cogs turning in her brain. Eira, the daughter of Egil and part of Mephala's soul, is residing in her kingdom. She turned to Lysandra, who was quietly watching the meeting, "Lysandra, dear. Please get the reports of our population from our spy masters."

Lysandra gave her a quick curtsy, quickly striding towards the rest of the Dunmer convoy.

Maria cut in, "You know what? We can discuss this afterwards." Maria turned to Mansi, who was practically buzzing with excitement, "We have a wedding to get ready for."

Sarai turned to the bride, "Thank you for inviting us!"

Mansi got up from her seat, giving Ruy a tight hug from behind, "You are his family! And Ruy is Alvar's best man, so it only made sense!"

Maria rang a bell, which made nicely dressed attendants come running. Maria gestured to the royals, "Please escort them to the guest quarters. We will summon them tonight for the rehearsal dinner."

Sarai kissed Ruy's head as she departed, Dorian ruffling his son's hair as he gestured for his other boys to follow him.

Mansi loosened her hug from Ruy, glancing around the premises, "Where is Lia? It is unlike her to not welcome guests to the guildhall. Especially such important ones."

Ruy frowned, only now realizing she wasn't present.

"I-I don't know? Maybe she is in her office?" Ruy got up, carefully avoiding all of the ladies' dresses as he went to find her.

Sophie was nowhere to be found, not even in her bedroom. And though Ruy knew she was probably busy and completely fine, he started to worry. Until Ricin climbed into the window, Sophie dropped off his back with a worried sigh. Her bedroom was freshly cleaned, the maids making her room seem almost foreign seeing it with fresh-pressed sheets and her vanity mirror polished. The guildhall was cleaned top to bottom for the incoming guests.

"You missed my family." Sophie gasped at his voice, stumbling over her feet. Ruy caught her before she landed face first onto her floorboards. She looked up at him with his arms wrapped tight around her, "Hi." She smiled.

Ruy fought back the fluttering feelings in his stomach at one little smile of her.

"Soph, you missed my family today. We were welcoming them for the wedding along with discussions about Eira. It was kinda important." He repeated. Sophie's face dropped, the realization crossing her face.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I got distracted, Ruy." She whimpered.

Ruy crossed his arms, "Doing what?"

Sophie swallowed, trying to figure out what to say. With the physical touch, Ruy got the distant feeling of Sophie's emotion, almost feeling her heart racing as if it were his own. Ruy pulled her chin up to look at him, "Soph, you better not be thinking about lying to me." A fluttering of embarrassment filtered through him, Sophie's emotions like pins in the pads of his fingertips.

Sophie realized her boyfriend's empathy screening, pulling away from his grip.

"You know that journal I found in Cariana with Maha?"

"Yes?"

"Well, Maria cracked it. It belonged to one of those secret spies my father had." Sophie looked up at her boyfriend, quietly adjusting the collar of his shirt as she whispered, "Cyrah Endal."

Ruy's face dropped, "What?!"

She nodded, "I think she has something to do with the artifact my father has. But her journal ends one day before she died, and I had to leave before the Council picked up about my presence. I gave Wylie the journal to read through and analyze."

Ruy swallowed, "What are you going to do?"

Sophie shrugged, wrapping her arms around him, "I don't know."

They stayed like that for a moment, Ruy holding her tight before she spoke again, "Is it bad that I really don't wanna deal with this right now? Like, it's important and all, but I really just wanted to wear a pretty dress and go to my best friend's wedding. I mentally don't want to deal with this right now."

Ruy kissed her hair, "That is completely understandable. The journal isn't going anywhere, Wylie isn't going anywhere. Just take today and tomorrow to celebrate Mansi and Alvar."

Sophie looked up at him, smiling slightly. She pressed her lips up to his, tilting her head as she rubbed small circles in the small of his back. Deepening the kiss, Sophie was ready to pick up where they left off. Her hand drifted to the collar of his shirt.

"Hey Amalia, some of the boys said they saw you fly through the window. I have your Matron of Honor dress-" Mansi barged into the room, straight into Sophie and Ruy tangled up with one another.

Mansi stared open-mouthed, the dress clenched in her hand. Ruy opened his mouth to defend the two of them, but Mansi finally rebooted.

"Oh my gods!" She gasped.

"What is it?!" Ruy and Sophie watched as the rest of the Inner Circle came scrambling in. Ruy made eye contact with Alexios, separating from Sophie quickly.

Nour turned to Alvar, whispering with a monotone voice, "I told you they were dating. You owe me 15 gold."

Alvar shook his head, "Now is not a good time buddy."

Alexios stepped forward, his face dark, "What the hell is going on?"

Sophie stepped in front of Ruy, "Alexios, calm down."

Alexios's ocean eyes darted between his sister and his best friend, the situation becoming clear as day.

"My sister, Ignis? My sister?!" Alexios pushed past Sophie, pushing Ruy away from her. Alexios was snarling, but Ruy tried his best to remain calm.

"Alexios, dude-"

"Don't call me dude, asshole! You have been shagging up with my sister!" Alexios surged forward, pushing Ruy into Sophie's armoire. Alexios tried to hold him there, but Ruy kicked him off, the Morretti scrambling back.

"We never slept together-"

"You think I care, Ruy? Sisters are off limits!" Alexios tackled Ruy to the ground, Sophie staring at the mess of fists and wings in shock. She was finally able to force her muscles to move, throwing her brother off of Ruy with a scream. Alexios stumbled back, ready to go for another round at him, but Sophie stomped in front of him.

"Stop it!" Alexios and Ruy froze, both of them panting.

The Inner Circle also stood shocked in her doorway. Sophie pointed to the exit, "Everyone out!"

The Inner Circle hauled ass, closing the door behind him with a quiet click, their whispering starting before they were even out of earshot. Alexios glared at the door before turning to Sophie.

"Don't think you aren't part of this Amalia. Ruy?! One of my best friends-" Sophie got in his face, "Ruy is my boyfriend. We have been dating for almost two months. You have brought so many different guys and girls home, Alexios, I lost count! Yet you get mad at me for having an honest relationship with Ruy?!"

Alexios scoffed, "Lia, those people were different! They weren't Ruy! He has had messy relationships in the past that he tells me about all the time and he can do that to you-"

"I am my own woman, you jerk! I know the kind of person Ruy is, and that is someone I fell in love with. Ruy doesn't exclusively belong to you, and neither do I! I am tired of you playing the over protective alpha asshole! I don't need your protection!"

A vein tweaked in Alexios's neck, "Are you serious right now? Protective asshole?! I'm just-"

"I know that you think you need to protect me since my pater is gone. But even when I had him in my life, I could handle myself. I didn't need protection then and I don't need it now! What I do need is a supportive brother who supports me! And Ruy needs that too!" Alexios's eyes tore from his sister to Ruy, who stood behind her with a busted lip. One of his wings was protectively wrapped around her, ready to scrap again if need be. This was something Ruy wasn't screwing around about. He was just as serious about it as Sophie was.

Alexios clicked his tongue, spinning on his heel and slamming the door behind him. Sophie watched the door, her eyes watering as she sobbed and slumped onto her bed, sobbing into her hands. Ruy kneeled in front of her, "It's okay, Blondie. He just needs to blow off some steam. He will come around-"

"I don't want to lose my brother too, Ruy." Sophie sobbed from her hands. Ruy wrapped his arms around her, his wings creating a warm cocoon around her. He rocked back in forth as she sobbed, the stress tumbling out of her in the form of salt running down her cheeks.

They stayed wrapped up with one another, Ruy holding until her sobs changed to small hiccups. Ruy pushed her hair that was stuck on her cheeks back, smiling down at her.

"It's all going to be okay." Whenever Ruy tells her that, she can't help but believe it. Sophie ran her fingers over his busted lip, "He hurt you."

Ruy shrugged, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Sophie shook her head, getting up from her bed, "I have a first aid kit in my bathroom. I'll also get us some water."

Ruy held on her hand from the bed, only dropping it when Sophie moved away from arm's length to grab her first aid kit. She placed it on her bedside table, making sure everything was inside.

"I'm going to get the glasses form the bar cart in the parlor." She whispered to Ruy, kissing his forehead before slipping out of her room. Down the hall, the sound of Alexios and Maria arguing made her falter, but she tuned them out and continued to the parlor, picking up two glasses and filling them with water.

She glanced at the light blue couches, remembering Alexios and her having a jumping contest to see who could reach the chandelier. Instead, Sophie jumped too high and tumbled off the couch like an idiot. But Alexios was there to help walk her to Allesandro's office, tolerating her obscene crying in pain. The room was always dark, but the sun always made it seem so lively, just like the other rooms in the guildhall. But it filled Sophie with pangs of sadness now.

She spied a garment bag draped over the couch lining the wall outside her room on her way back. A small note was taped to it.

I'm so sorry I yelled. I was in shock and wasn't thinking.

Please don't be mad at me.

~Mansi

Sophie stared at the dress, sighing as she draped it over her arm. She opened her door silently, closing it with her hip before handing Ruy a glass of water. She threw the dress over her vanity chair, making a mental note to open it later. Ruy smiled when she tilted his chin towards her, noting the closeness.

"I should get injured more often."

"The amount of times I have patched you up is too many Ignis. If you want attention, you don't need to get mauled."

"Mauled? It's just a little lip cut, nothing too bad-"

"But it was my brother that gave it to you, Smolder." Sophie chuckled, trying to mask the guilt in her stomach. Of course, nothing got past Ruy.

"It wasn't your fault."

"I stood there and let it happen."

"You were scared."