Yang spent the remainder of the week working by Faust's side in the forge. Every day was more of the same; keeping the workshop in order, shoveling coal, and tending to the fire. After the third day Faust began teaching her more about the intricacies of his work. He showed her the different ores he used in his creations, the proper way to fold and hammer heated metal. How many different sheets of steel were needed to create a single sword and the techniques of hammering out imperfections.

He yelled at her frequently. The same threats of throwing her in the fire. After a while though his yelling became a reason to smile rather than feel fear. She learned that, despite his rough outer appearance, the grizzled veteran was actually very soft on the inside. She could tell he appreciated her company, even if he never admitted it aloud. From him, she learned more about the camp. How it began and how it was run.

Apparently (F/N) had come from a clan of bandits, and after having taken over in his youth, he had grown it into what it was today. Alastair had been with him every step of the way it appeared, from the founding of the Family of Sins, to the first wars with the Branwen Tribe. It was why he was the second in command, and why (F/N) placed so much faith in him. Faust spoke to her of his tenure as the original Wrath. How he served for nearly a decade before he had been honorably relieved of his command. Since then he had acted as the forge master and armed the clan with weapons of his own design.

When she asked him about it, Faust told her of the last person to have challenged (F/N) for his title. His Envy. He said they had served on the council together, and that the last Envy had always wanted the tile Head of the Demons for himself. That protocol dictated her challenge (F/N) in single hand combat. Other than this though, Faust knew very little. They disappeared inside (F/N)'s tent, and when (F/N) had emerged, it was with Envy's severed head in his hand.

Faust told Yang about how (F/N)'s territories extended across the entire Kingdom of Mistral. How the camp she was in was only the main camp, that there were dozens more spread throughout the continent of Anima, and how the authority over each camp had been divided amongst the council. He told her of the current council. Lucian Ebonwood, the Family's Pride and head of camp security. She remembered him as the one who had instructed to have her killed on her first night. Celine Rouge, who she already knew as Wrath. Mason Shar, (F/N)'s Greed and Minister of Finance, who oversaw the dowries and taxes of each of the clan's members. There was Bezalel Oren, Gluttony and Minister of Agriculture whose job it was to head the fields. The Minister of Diplomacy, a beautiful seductress, the council's Lust, Lilith Lila. Envy, Minister of Trade, Levi Evergreen. And the large Balthazar Kulrang, Sloth and Minister of Labour, who oversaw the camps slaves.

Working with Faust, Yang had plenty of encounters with other members of the clan. Bandits who needed their weapons repaired or were seeking an upgrade. Most of them treated her much like Celine had, with hard looks and ominous threats. Their words frightened her and made her feel small, but Faust was always there to beat them off, smacking them over the head with his hammer. Despite Raven having crippled him, he didn't seem to hold any resentment over her daughter.

Eventually the week came to an end, and Alastair informed her that her time with Faust was over. On their final day together, Yang thanked the stout man for his kindness. He grunted in response and made a bit too much of a spectacle thanking the gods that she was finally out of his hair. When she reported to Urdin that evening, he was holding Faust's final assessment of her performance from the week in his hands. He told her nothing of what it said, and instead informed her that next week she would be assigned to a new overseer. When she returned to her tent that night though, it was to a cot with a soft mattress and several blankets, additional rations in her supply.

The next week was spent with one of Celine's officers. There she served as a stable hand, cleaning up after the large battle horses, supplying them with water and hay, and keeping their coats well groomed. The smell was atrocious, and the beasts' droppings stench caused need for long showers after each day. It wasn't completely terrible though, as halfway through the week she began learning the ways of horseback riding.

From the stables she was assigned to the fields, planting seeds, watering crops, and tilling the soil beneath the heat of the sun. Then she became a tax collector, accompanying Mason Shar himself, surveying each of the member's properties and charging the appropriate dues. Her week working security was an interesting one, and quite possibly her favorite. She slept during the day and spent her nights patrolling the perimeter of the camp, occasionally dispatching of the creatures of Grimm that strayed too close. Her time with Sloth however, turned her stomach. She never actually saw the slaves, instead having been assigned a desk job where she helped determine the division of labor for any given day. Still, it made her sick thinking about the poor people she had seen inside the cages and the horrible conditions they were no doubt living through.

Two months passed by extremely quickly, and since the first week, she hadn't seen much of (F/N). Until her final night working for Balthazar, one of the clan members approached her outside her tent and handed her a sealed scroll. It was from (F/N), a message that she had been excused from work the next day and was to meet with him in his tent. There hadn't been a specified time, so she figured she would be alright if she were to sleep in.

It was a little after ten o'clock when she arrived at his tent. The two guards posted on either side stepped aside to allow her entrance. Clearly, they had been expecting her arrival. Lifting back the folds of the entrance, Yang stooped inside. (F/N) was sitting at the wooden table in the middle of the room, two teacups, a kettle, and a chess set sitting upon it.

"Sit." He said, indicating the seat across from him.

Yang did so, a cup of tea being handed to her as she sat. She muttered her thanks and took a small sip from the cup.

"Do you play?" (F/N) asked, gesturing to the board.

"A little." She said.

Her father had taught her how to play when she was younger. He always said she was a natural, though she wasn't sure if that was truth or simply a lie told to a small child to make them feel good about themselves. Regardless, she never had much interest in it, the games on her scroll being far more entertaining than the simple wooden pieces on the board. (F/N)'s board, however, was far more elegant than the one she knew growing up. The tiles were of black and white marble, and the pieces were finely crafted, not of the usual standard shape most sets included.

Noticing that the white pieces had been set before her, she took the queen pawn and advanced it two spaces forwards. (F/N) responded by mirroring her move, their two pawns blocking each other from advancing any further. Next, Yang moved her C pawn, so it stood beside its partner.

"The queen's gambit." (F/N) chuckled. "Just like your..."

He stopped himself before finishing, instead moving one of his pawns to deny her challenge.

"Why am I here?" Yang asked as she moved her bishop.

(F/N) was silent, thinking over his next move before he responded.

"I wanted to see how you were adjusting." He said. "Alastair says your supervisors describe you as a hard worker."

Yang had no response, so she said nothing.

"So, tell me, is it everything you thought it would be?"

"I don't... really know." Yang said as she watched one of her pawns get captured. "I wasn't really expecting to stay here this long. I guess I didn't really think it through."

"That was obvious from the moment we first met." (F/N) said. He released an agitated sigh as Yang took one of his knights for her own. "You've been here quite a while. Needless to say, your father is worried about you."

"You've heard from my dad?"

(F/N) reached a hand into his inner coat pocket and produced a sealed envelope, placing it on the table.

"It arrived a few days ago." He said as Yang took it, eagerly reading what her father had written. "I've taken the liberty to inform Taiyang that your well, and that he is welcome to visit any time. Of course, you are free to write him yourself whenever you so desire. Alastair will see to it that your message gets delivered."

"But I still can't go home."

"Not yet, no."

"Not yet?" Yang asked hopefully. "So, I will get to?"

"Eventually, yes." (F/N) answered, more preoccupied with the game than the conversation. "Just as soon as you've learned the lesson I am trying to impart."

"Which is?"

"Focus on the game." (F/N) said, ignoring her question. "It's checkmate in three."

Yang wanted to press the matter further, but she kept quiet, turning her attentions to the board. She managed to spot the checkmate and escape it, prolonging the match. (F/N) complimented her on her abilities, and after ten minutes the board had been half cleared.

"Can I ask you something?" Yang said.

(F/N) nodded.

"Those people in the cages." She said.

"What about them."

"How can you keep them imprisoned like that?" Yang asked.

"Is this a question of morality or practicality.

"Morality."

(F/N) sighed and sat back in his chair.

"Do not worry yourself over them." He said. "Trust me when I say they are not there without reason."

"But isn't enslavement a little harsh?" She asked. "I mean, it's just trespassing."

"You're making assumptions." (F/N) said. "I do not imprison people simply because they strayed within my territories."

"You threatened to do so with me."

"Lucian threatened to do so." (F/N) corrected.

"It's the same thing."

(F/N) stood, startling Yang. He turned his back to her and walked towards is desk, hands folded behind his back.

"You see, yet you do not understand." He said. "Life is a game of chess. In order to succeed, you must not only be focused on the present, but also on what is yet to come. You still lack understanding of this concept. You fail to see the consequences your actions have. It is the reason you came here so recklessly, and it is the reason you find yourself in your current situation."

"I-I don't..."

"Think." (F/N) said impatiently. "You came here in search of information about your mother but failed to see the possible paths your actions would have. You only ever think about now, and only think about the future when it arrives. But life is chess, not checkers. You must always be looking ahead."

"Okay." Yang said slowly. "But why tell me this? Why spend your time trying to teach me?"

"Because," (F/N) said. Walking back towards the table he moved his rook and placed Yang in checkmate, "I understand the bigger picture."

He moved around to his desk and sat, picking up his quill and beginning to write a letter.

"Tomorrow you will work with my Minister of Diplomacy, Lilith. The two of you will ride under my banner to the village of Springbrook. Is this understood."

Yang nodded.

"Good. When you return you are to deliver a written report to me detailing everything you saw, as you saw it."

"Why?" Yang questioned.

"Because," (F/N) said, "you need to see the bigger picture."

With that, she was dismissed.