Gos had one simple rule: Food first, everything else later.

That was exactly what he told Lysth after it showed him the pouch. After seeing Serca waste a plate full of perfectly good food, he decided it would be a good time to eat. So what if the castle didn't give him a choice. He wasn't going to waste perfectly good food like Serca. No, he'll do better than her.

By the time he decided to open the pouch, it was the next day. No, Gos wasn't regretting his plan. He just wanted to enjoy the victory, nice and slowly. But that didn't matter now. He picked up the pouch from his bed.

Gos opened the little, red, leather pouch.

Inside was... a bunch of little beads. The same ones he'd found inside the Chest of Knowledge when Serca had opened it.

Well, Gos thought. That was disappointing. Again, he added it to his list of reasons not to like Lysth.

It reached into the pouch with his two fingers, and got one of the clear beads out. He had to squint just to make sure the bead existed. Gos put the bead back inside, and closed the pouch.

He turned to Lysth. "What is this? This is not the private information I was telling you about!"

Lysth sighed. "These are the only things that were inside the box, Gos. Your plan just said to steal the things inside the chest. And these beads happened to be inside the chest."

Gos was about to explode, but instead calmed himself down and sighed. "Okay, but won't anyone Serca know the information is missing? Unless you covered it up somehow."

Lysth just threw its head back and laughed. "Oh Gos, you're so clueless that it's hilarious. Serca can't see them. Only you can, and all the Chosen Ones."

Gos arched his eyebrows and blinked. "But... wasn't Serca nominated as the Chosen One or whatever?"

"Yes, yes, that's true. But who was originally supposed to be the Chosen One? You or your sister?"

"... Me?"

"Exactly. Now, do you have any more questions, or do you want to continue with your little plan?"

Gos tried to process what it had said. Serca can't see the beads? Only Trust Keeper cans? How can Lysth see it? If I can see it, why am I not the Chosen One?

"Wait," Gos stopped the spirit. "I have a question, like you said. If Serca can't see them, then... Why is she the Chosen One?"

Lysth stared at him, then waved it's hand aside. "Psh. Does that matter? In a few days, you'll be the next Chosen One. Then it'll rightfully belong to you, and you'll be able to see it. Now, let's get back to business."

The guy did not want to get back into business. He still had a list of questions to ask his spirit servant. Yes, he could order it to answer all his questions. But after what happened in the last few days, the spirit would've been more unhelpful if he demanded it for something.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Gos asked. "How do I know your not just making it up, just to watch me make a fool out of myself. You're the spirit of lies, aren't you?"

"Tsk, tsk. It's always the tiny details you're so worried about, Gos. Yes, I am the spirit of lies. But I'm also a spirit of honesty, 'kay? I don't lie."

"You just contradicted yourself." Gos pointed out. But now that he thought about it, it brought up an interesting question. "Hey Lysth?"

Lysth sighed and turned toward him. "What is it now, hmm?"

"How come you're the spirit of lies and honesty? Honesty and Loyalty, okay, I get. Same with betrayal and lies. But all four of it, and all together? That doesn't make any sense. Explain."

Lysth stayed silent for long enough, he thought that it was in the process of turning him into a flamingo. But finally, it replied, "Well, that's just the way things are."

"Wow, really? What a master of explaining. That just answered all the questions in the universe," Gos rolled his eyes.

"I didn't finish," it said, glancing at Gos. "Anyways, back to where we were. See, Gos, you have to understand. Betrayal and Loyalty aren't so different from each other. Neither is Honesty and Lying."

Gos didn't say anything. His face was the exact face people got when their siblings were being annoying or unhelpful in general (there was a certain someone that was exactly like that).

"I'm not understanding," Gos commented.

It was Lysth's turn to glare. "Look, Gos, here's the simpler version: When you're lying, you're just telling part of the truth. Whether it's the whole truth or not doesn't matter. You are telling the truth. And when you betray someone, you're still a loyal person. It's just that you're just placing your loyalty elsewhere."

"Still not understanding," Gos replied.

It sighed. "Really, Gos, I don't know any other way to explain it. If you get it, you get it. I'm the spirit of honesty, lies, betrayal, and loyalty because that's what the universe wanted me to be. That's all I can say."

"All I heard was unhelpful words and unanswered questions," Gos muttered.

Lysth turned to Gos. "And what were you doing? If I recall, you haven't tried to figure out how to work the beads. Now, if you ask me, that's being unhelpful."

Gos's cheeks turned red. "What, no! It's just that there's nothing you can do with this!" He swung the pouch around.

"Have you tried to do anything with it?" Lysth asked boredly, looking at its nails.

Gos hesitated. "... No."

"Exactly," it looked up. "That proves my point."

"Fine, if you want me to open it up so badly, I will. Jeez," Gos muttered. He sat down on his chair and sat in front of his desk. He laid down the red leather pouch.

That being said, Gos opened the (useless) pouch once more.

~~~
A/N:

If I were to guess, I'd say we're at the middle-ish of the book. Finally!

Compared to the first few chapters of the book, would you guys say that Gos is slowly improving? Just curious.

From what I had planned, this chapter should be like chapter 6 or something. And it should be connected with the previous chapters. But honestly... *shrugs*

I know I've asked this in the beginning, but... who's your favorite character now? After 11 chapters, has your favorite character changed from the beginning, now that you know more about the character, or has it stayed the same? Even if you don't have any strong opinions on anyone, that's fine too!

(I realized I'm sounding too much like a teacher now- oops.)

Well, I guess that's all for this week (or chapter, if your reading this in the future). Have an amazing day/night!