They didn't approach the Governor immediately, not when they were both high on adrenaline and slightly panicked. Instead, they went back to Spencer's room, where they went over how they were supposed to tell her about what they had stolen. At one point, Spencer tried to convince him to store the vireen he had taken in the bag with his own piece, but Vincent felt safer with it in his pocket.

They spoke for more than an hour about what they were going to do, how they were going to do it. Vincent couldn't look away from the letter in his hands, his mind racing. It made no sense for Nicholas to lie about what the Queen wanted for Ilsania, but he had anyway. Would Charlotte listen to them even if they didn't have a reason for his actions?

It was hard for them to come up with what they needed to do. Spencer was supposed to guard Charlotte the next day, which meant they would have to wait until she was alone, awkwardly facing Nicholas's glares. But Vincent wouldn't be with him, he was on wall patrol duty for most of the day.

Eventually, after more than an hour, it all became too much. He was exhausted and worried, not even adrenaline was enough to keep him going at that point. Nothing would get done if they couldn't even keep their eyes open. He stood up to leave, legs heavy and eyes drooping, but a hand on his wrist stopped him.

"Just stay in here," Spencer said in a groggy voice. "I can get something set up on the floor for you."

"I shouldn't," he replied, but there was already a pillow and a blanket on the floor for him. It wasn't anything he was unused to, sleeping on hard, compact ground. With a shrug, he sat, flashing the smallest of smiles at Spencer on the bed. He was too tired to walk down the long hall to his own room and wasn't particularly in the mood to be alone with his racing thoughts.

Spencer fell asleep with ease, his face squished against the pillow. Vincent watched him for a while as the stars arced across the sky outside, a gnawing in feeling in his gut that told him to leave. Spencer was an ugly sleeper, but at least he could fall asleep. Vincent was left alone with warring thoughts, some that told him to get closer, others that told him to leave. Overpowering them all were the ones about Nicholas and how dangerous it was to do what they were doing.

Who would have thought he'd be fighting to save an entire population when he took the job for the Governor? All he had wanted was gold and vireen, but there he was, trying to save people. Not even Spencer thought it would work, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.

Spencer was gone by the time he awoke the next morning, bleary eyed and an ache in his back. On the bedside table was a note written in messy handwriting, telling him that he would find him when the time came. The letter from the Queen was gone, hopefully with Spencer while he waited for the right moment.

Sighing, Vincent went back to his room and changed into a fresh set of uniform, ignoring anyone that dared to look at his disheveled appearance. It was another uncomfortably warm day, spring about to turn into summer. It wouldn't be long before his skin would redden and sometimes blister. Not even the shade was enough to protect people in summer.

No one said a word to him as he started his patrol, eagerly keeping an eye out for any sign of Spencer. He shed his grey jacket within moments of starting his hours-long patrol of the manor, tying it around his waist. He wasn't told off for it, but it didn't do much to cool him down. His adrenaline and anticipation only seemed to make it worse.

As he came around the front corner of what felt like his hundredth circle of the manor, a familiar face turned towards him. Mira took a moment to recognise him, but when she did, her lips parted in shock. Vincent winced at the surprised cheer she let out and braced himself as she jogged to meet him.

"When did you- You're alive?" she asked, one hand reaching out to grab his shoulder as if she didn't quite believe he was standing there.

"Just took us a bit longer to get back is all," he answered, giving her the best smile he could.

"Us? Bowers is here too?"

He nodded, resisting the urge to shrug off her hand. "He's with the Governor today," he said. "I'm sure he'd be happy to see you." Spencer was always better with people than he was, despite neither of them actually working well with others. Except each other. As much as he didn't want to believe it, they did work well together.

Finally, Mira pulled her hand away, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I saw the flames and the... the vines. I was sure you two had died, so were the Governor and Mister Ulandra," she said in a soft voice. "You need to explain everything to me."

He didn't owe her a single thing. "Of course," he replied.

A second of silence passed before Mira let out a choked curse. "I'm supposed to be searching around New Feridian again," she said and took a step back. "I need to go. I'll talk to you and Bowers later, alright?"

She was running off before he could say anything more, leaving him to stand next to the grey brick wall in confused silence. Nicholas still had guards searching for a native tribe that didn't exist. Or maybe they did but weren't attacking. Nicholas would have them killed anyway. Vincent wouldn't be that surprised if that was the case. What he couldn't understand was why the lie was continuing. .

He continued his patrol and all the while, he was lost in thought, barely paying attention to what he was supposed to be doing. The only motivation he could find for the lies Nicholas had told was his hatred of the native people, but surely it wasn't that bad. Surely, there had to be other reasons behind his actions. There was a part of Vincent that doubted it, whispering that hatred was as good a motivation as any.

He shook his head and kept walking. It was something he could figure out later, when they showed Charlotte the letter. That was if she even believed them. There might have been doubt in her eyes last time she had talked to them, but that didn't always mean she would believe them. All he could do was wait.

The hours passed slowly. When the sun was high in the sky and he was burning under its heavy gaze, polite chatter echoed over the walls. "I haven't been able to look after my tulips in quite some time," Charlotte said, a smile in her voice.

"Looks like they're in need of your attention," a familiar voice rumbled.

Charlotte hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know how many of them will survive. No one was looking after them while we were gone."

A silence followed, filled only by Vincent's footsteps on the other side of the wall. He didn't want to walk away, but anyone coming by would find it strange if he had stopped for no reason. Teeth digging into his bottom lip, he kept walking, focusing all of the vireen he had smoked that morning on his hearing.

"Charlotte, ma'am," Spencer said and took a deep breath, the sound of shoes scuffing against dirt filling the moment of silence. "Do you mind if I go and find Vincent for a moment? There's something we found yesterday that we want to talk to you about."

"Is this about the natives again?" she asked, but the words didn't sound as irritated as he expected them to.

Spencer made a huff of amusement. "What else?" he said and the sound of rustling paper filled the air. "Just... Read this. I'm going to find Vincent. He's the one who found it."

Vincent hurried to the manor gate when footsteps pounded away from the Governor. He hadn't expected him to give her the letter just like that, but he also couldn't see any other way to do it. The guard at the gate gave him an odd look as he jogged towards him, but Vincent was quick to assure him that nothing was wrong.

He rounded the corner and almost ran straight into Spencer, who gave him a bright grin that didn't fit in with the situation. "There you are," he said and grabbed him by the wrist. "She's reading the letter now. I left her with it, I wasn't really sure what else to do."

The nervousness within him didn't let up as they walked towards Charlotte. She had on her dirty gardening dress again, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Her gaze was focused on the parchment in her trembling hands, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. She didn't even look up when they reached her, not until she dropped her hands by her sides again and the parchment crinkled as she tightened her grip.

She met his eyes, confused and searching. "Where did you find this?"

Answering would give up any chance of being able to sneak around the manor again, but he needed to. "In Nicholas's desk," he said.

"Excuse me?" she cried, rage in her eyes. "You've been sneaking into my advisor's office? You've been stealing his things?"

"Because he's been hiding things!" Vincent exclaimed, gesturing at the letter. "How many times have you said that you've been doing what the Queen asked? Who told you that was what she wanted?"

"More importantly, have you ever seen that letter before?" Spencer asked.

Her hands were still shaking when she shook her head. "Never," she muttered, her eyes narrowed in thought. "Nicholas was the one who told me that the Queen wanted them gone. And I... I just believed him. He's my advisor, her nephew. I don't understand why he would lie, why he would hide this from me.

"Boys, are you- Are you sure you found this? I understand your anger at how the natives are being treated, but if you are making things up... I like your company, but there are some things that are inexcusable."

Vincent bristled, his hands clenched at his sides, but it wasn't him who spoke. "Charlotte, how could we possibly mimic the Queen's seal?" Spencer asked, a single eyebrow raised.

There were many times where Vincent remembered that Spencer was the more intelligent of the two, the more educated. He would have snapped, spouted nonsense that wouldn't have helped either of them. But Spencer was calm and collected, using logic to get their point across.

And from the look in Charlotte's eyes, it worked. "I... Of course, I'm sorry, I just- This doesn't make any sense!" she cried, distraught. "Why would he lie about this?"

"That's not the only thing he's lied about," Vincent said. He didn't care if he was overwhelming her, these were things she needed to know. "There were no natives during the attack in Riuta. There is no possible way someone as obvious as a native person could sneak all the way through this city to attack you without being spotted and caught. They're not the savages you seem to believe they are, they're people just like we are, people who are willing to help us."

He wasn't sure if it was enough, if she was actually going to listen, but then she sagged, the letter fluttering to the ground for Spencer to pick up. She ran a hand through her hair, pulling it free of the bun, tears welling in her eyes. "What kind of Governor am I if I can't even realise that my own advisor has been lying to me?" she asked, eyes on the blue sky above her. "I've been going against the Queen's direct orders for who knows how long."

"You can still fix it," Spencer said and handed her the letter again.

With every second that passed, Vincent expected Nicholas to come out of nowhere and somehow prove them wrong again, but when he looked around, the older man was nowhere to be seen. For the moment, they were in the clear. He took a shaky step towards the Governor, thinking through his next words carefully.

"I'm sorry we had to go to these lengths to do this, but we wanted you to know what was going on. We didn't want the natives to die when they never had to," he said, his voice soft despite the anger in him.

"You never did anything to that tribe in Riuta, did you?" she asked and Vincent shook his head. "Good, I'm glad. I should have been better, should have said no even though I thought they were trying to kill me. Maybe they still are, but this is a request from the Queen, I need to see it through.

"And you were right earlier. Working with them, learning what grows best here is the only way we can possibly survive. I've been so stuck in my own head, listening to Nicholas... I didn't stop to think. I'll fix this, I swear. Thank you for constantly trying to show me the truth, boys, as unreceptive as I was. But I don't want to hear of you sneaking around my home again, do you understand?"

Spencer let out a laugh, but Vincent stayed silent, a strange relief blowing through him. "Of course, ma'am," he said.

She spared him a glance, her lips pursed for a second. "I'll figure out what to do about Nicholas after my meetings," she said. "You should get back to work, Vincent, but I want you with me tomorrow."

All he could do was nod, his words failing him. Spencer nodded at him, the smallest of smiles on his face and pride in his eyes. Somehow, they had finally gotten their plans to work. He had quite come to terms with it yet. Charlotte had finally listened, finally believed that the natives of Ilsania were not the threat she had been told they were. He had been right to tell Spencer not to leave, but maybe they could soon without having to worry about what they were leaving behind.

He walked back out of the gate and with a deep breath, started his rounds again. For once, there wasn't a tense lump in his stomach, making him feel sick, there was peace and relief. The pleasant surprise that Charlotte had actually listened to them would stick around for a while, leaving him giddy. It had all happened so fast, but it was real.

He'd been the one to help fix Ilsania, to help fix relations with the native people. Or at least, he and Spencer had been the ones to push and start it. There would be a lot of work to do within the towns and cities themselves, as well as with the tribes, but he helped start it. He and Spencer. He just didn't want to be by the Governor's side all the way through, he wanted to go back to the life he loved.

As he walked, there was a strange feeling on his back, as if someone were watching over him. It hadn't been there while he'd been talking to Charlotte, but as soon as he started his rounds again, there it was. He turned, expecting Spencer to come running up to him with some kind of celebration in mind, but there was nothing. With a frown, he continued walking around the manor's perimeter and in seconds, the feeling disappeared.