Icefall City
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

As gentle as he could to avoid making a sound, Alec placed the book on top of his bedside drawer. He had been reading it for Krizton, and the little boy now lay sound asleep next to him. Alec leaned down and kissed his forehead before he whispered.

"Good night," he said, "and I'm sorry."

His attention went to the amber-eyed Draeling staring at him from Krizton's other side of the bed. He reached out and stroked her snout. "I'm sorry I couldn't help your Draeyer and his family on time, Elvyra."

A tiny growl came from the white Draeling, before she draped her body over Krizton's chest. She closed her eyes and slept. Alec suddenly wished his Draelings were still the same size as her so they wouldn't be sleeping in the stables with the others.

With a sigh, Alec pulled the covers over the two and stood from his bed. He stared down at them for a few more moments, before walking over to the door leading to a balcony. He slid the glass to the side, taking care not to let any of the cold air in, and stepped outside.

It was already late at night but sleep still refused to embrace him. After all that happened that day, his mind kept buzzing with different thoughts. His head hurt.

He stepped closer to the railing. He paused.

Something felt wrong.

His head raised and whipped back and forth. He could feel a pair of eyes watching him, and a heavy feeling settled in his gut. He straightened his shoulders and clenched his fists.

"Come out," he said. "I know you're watching me."

As soon as he said that, he turned to face the door he came from. From there, a figure moved out of the shadows and stepped into the light of the moons. Alec's senses heightened, deciding whether the person was a threat or not.

The figure wore a thick brown coat and a pair of snow boots peeked from under the long material. Judging from the build, he knew it was a man. A hood casted a shadow over his face, rendering Alec unable to see know his identity.

If it was another man who was after Krizton's life, he would waste no time in twisting his neck.

"I didn't expect you to sense me quickly," the man said. "You really are skilled, aren't you Alec?"

The voice sounded a bit muffled, as if something was covering his mouth as he spoke.

"State your business," Alec said.

The man gave a short chuckle before pulling his hood off. Alec soon found a plain black mask covering the entirety of his face.

"It's about Lady Areisha," he said.

Alec felt himself relax. He had a hunch who he was now. "You're Bran," he said.

As a reply, the man reached up and held his mask. As he took it off his face, Alec's eyes locked on to a grass green gaze. Herce, he thought in alarm. But as soon as the thought came, it went away once he saw the rest of the man's face. No scar could be seen on his lips. Instead of the smirk he saw on Herce's lips, there was a kind smile on Bran's.

"It's nice to formally meet you. You don't have to address me formally by the way," Bran said. "It's a little hard to believe that we only met now despite the fact that you and Lady Areisha were chained together these past few months."

Alec allowed a small smile to fall on his face. "It's nice to meet you too."

Bran gave small bob of his head. "Thank you for helping Lady Areisha in my absence," he said, surprising Alec. "She was almost...violated, because I wasn't around. I swear I won't allow it to happen again."

Alec noted the way Bran used a more mild word for "raped" in attempt to stop his anger from spiking. He was angered by the reminder of what almost happened to his friend, but quickly pushed it down. Kreis would be dealing with the bastard, and it was enough to reassure him that the man would suffer.

"I've said this before," he said. "I would do anything to help my friends. There's no need for thanks."

A different kind of smile formed on Bran's lips. Alec had no idea what it meant, but it left him confused instead of unsettled.

"I see," Bran said. "Speaking of Areisha, I have favor to ask of you."

Alec tilted his head to the right, asking the question in silence.

"Lady Areisha is currently...restless," he said, a grimace on his lips as he said those words. He also noticed how he rubbed his abdomen as if trying to soothe pain on it. Alec frowned. "As of now, I think you're the only one who has the nerves and strength to get through to her. If you manage to do that, can you tell her to sleep? She has a game tomorrow."

"Where is she?"

"In the large field of this hotel."

Alec turned back to look inside his room toward Krizton. He couldn't leave him alone.

It would seem Bran read his mind because he spoke. "Krizton will be fine," he said. One finger pointed above them. Alec looked up and saw three people perched on the roof. Their black attires almost blended in to the surrounding. They looked tense and focused on their surroundings. They didn't seem to be looking in their direction. "Those are Special Ryder Officers from the main base that were dispatched here for the Games. Lord Sheriun and Headmaster Donovan requested them after what happened. Security got tighter around here."

Special Officers, he thought. No wonder I couldn't sense them. Concealment is one of their strengths.

He took a deep breath and nodded to Bran. "What exactly happened to her?"

He got no answer.

———

He caught sight of Areisha's green Flames shooting up at the sky before he even saw her. He stood next to Bran as they watched her kick, punch, and swipe at the air as if she was fighting invisible enemies. Alec could tell that she was shivering from the cold, but she still kept at it. Every now and then, vines and other small plants would emerge from the Flame. But soon enough, they frosted over and died.

"So, this is what you call restless?" Alec asked Bran.

"I couldn't find a better word to describe her state," the older man shrugged. "I tried to approach, but she doesn't seem to notice me or anything for that matter. Her Flame struck me twice and I had to spend a good amount of time trying to untie the vines that wrapped around me after that."

Alec sighed before he his brows furrowed. "I wonder what's wrong with her."

Without any more words, he summoned his Flame. The blue power covered him from head to foot as he made his way toward Areisha. Green fire shot at him as he neared, but his own power acted as a shield and deflected it.

He and Areisha were an Admix. Their powers would either combine or deflect one another, depending on their will. They would never be able to hurt each other through their Flames.

"Roselintine!" he called out. She didn't hear him. He yelled out to her a few more times, but it all ended with him being ignored.

His yelling soon turned to grunting as he dodged and ducked her attacks. She seemed to be in a daze, never noticing that it was him she was fighting. She moved fast and managed to land a punch on his abdomen. He could retaliate, but chose to continue dodging to avoid injuring her.

Deciding to end what she was doing, he dashed for her. He ducked under the punch she aimed at his direction and grabbed her arm. With little difficulty, he tugged and lifted her over his shoulder. But instead of letting her hit the ground, he spun and dropped on one knee, outstretching his other leg in the process. It cushioned her fall as his hands held her arms down.

"Snap out of it!" he said. Almost immediately, she stilled in his hold. Before he could release a sigh, he let go of her when a sob escaped her lips.

Fat tears ran down her cheeks as one of her hands reached up to stifle her cries.

"Drae's shit!" he cursed. Like the first time he saw her cry, he was clueless as to what to do. His panic rose when her sobs got louder. On instinct, he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed circles on her back. "Stop crying. Please."

He looked up at Bran, who had approached them, to ask for help. Areisha's guard apparently looked dumbfounded by the sight of his ward crying.

"I'm...weak," she sobbed against his chest. "I'm so weak.... Why am I still so weak?"

By then, Bran had snapped out of his trance and knelt before them and outstretched his arms. Alec lifted Areisha gently to transfer her to his embrace. Once there, Areisha's hands grabbed a handful of her guard's coat and cried. Bran also rubbed comforting circles on her back.

"You're not weak, Isha," Bran said. "You've grown so much since I first became your guard. You are far from being a weakling. Do you hear me?"

She continued to cry.

As he watched them, Alec had figured out why Areisha was acting like that. Healer Kura told them that she might be a little emotionally unstable after what happened. She seemed fine earlier during dinner, but he guessed they failed to pay her a little more attention. With a sigh, he reached a hand out to rub her head.

"Bran's right," he said. "You're one of the strongest people I know. It's just that, there will always be people who are stronger than us, and we have to accept that. Losing to someone stronger doesn't mean we're weak. No one is weak. My brother always told me that everyone is strong, in their own way."

She still cried after he said that, but it was a lot less loud. He looked up at Bran to find the man looking at him with warm eyes and a fond smile.

"You're brother said that?" Bran asked. He wore the secretive smile he gave Alec earlier on the balcony of his room.

Alec nodded. "When I was younger, I used to think he was an old man stuck in a younger man's body because of all the wisdom he possessed," he said.

"And what about now?" Bran said.

Alec contemplated for a moment before he answered. "I still think that he was an old man stuck in a younger one's body."

Bran threw his head back and laughed. It was barely audible over Bran's holler, but he heard Areisha's half-sob-half-laughter too.

———

When Areisha finally lay sound asleep and tucked under the covers of her bed, Alec decided to go back to his room. Bran accompanied him to the door.

"Thank you for the help, Alec," Bran said. "As she grows up, it gets harder and harder to keep an eye on her."

"She's a handful, but you'll do fine."

"The only time I'll be free of her is when she finally marries—not saying I want to be free of her now," Bran said. His light green eyes narrowed inquisitively at Alec. "Say, are you one of the many interested in becoming her groom?"

Alec almost yelled out in disbelief, but stopped when Bran clamped a hand on his mouth. The older man's body shook from suppressed laughter. Alec narrowed his eyes as he shoved the man's hand off of him. "You should've seen your face."

"It's not funny."

"Sorry but I'm not sorry."

Alec huffed. He couldn't believe that he thought Bran was more mature than Gael or Kreis because he appeared a few years older. He turned to leave after muttering a peeved good night. However, Bran's hand fell on his arm, stopping him from moving.

Alec looked up. He frowned when he saw not an ounce of playfulness on the man's face. It looked stone cold serious. A heavy feeling settled on Alec's stomach.

"You need to release the Shcielle soon. You're running out of time," the man said. His words and grave tone clogged the words forming on Alec's throat. His eyes widened at the man. "Once the twin moons turn full, the Shcielle will Awaken. It must not fall into the Eimion Prince's hands or else we'll all be in trouble."

Alec was still speechless as he stared at Bran. He remained that way even when a bright smile returned to the older man's face. Release the Shcielle, he thought. What does that mean?

"Tell that to Gael, Kreis, and Headmaster Donovan, all right?"

Alec nodded.

"That's good. A pleasant evening to you..." he paused as he closed the door, "Little Drae."

The door shut closed. Alec felt all the strength leave his body at hearing the nickname Alen had given him. He slumped on the wall next to the door as he looked up at the ceiling. Questions swirled in his mind and his head hurt once again. Little Drae. A name he held so close to his heart and one he thought he would never here on another's lips.

The day started with Areisha giving him the red warning letter. Then fighting against murderers and witnessing the death of Krizton's father. Saving Areisha and Krizton. Finding out that they had limited time to release the Shcielle. And now finding out that there was someone who knew of his and his brother's past. It was official. It was the most tiring and mind boggling day of his life so far.

"Looks like I won't be able to get any sleep after all," he said.

#####

Wooh...that was tiring. I'm planning on updating Firmament and Agila's Baby. So for those who are looking out for either of those maybe you can expect one this week.