"Can you please walk faster, Ariya?" Nathaniel asks, his tone hinting his desperation subtly.

"I'm walking as fast as I can, Nathaniel." I reply calmly, glancing at my flat soled pumps shoes, "I'll fall face first onto the street if I walk any faster than this."

If there's one thing I've realised from how my Dad normally handles my temper tantrums, it's that two wildly unpredictable variables never do well in a single equation- in this case two panicked teenagers.

"Please Ariya this is important. We need to get home as soon as possible." He looks at me with a pained expression.

"We would have gotten home faster if Dad gave us a fucking car!" I state, annoyance plainly obvious in my tone, "And you haven't even explained this ringing thingy in your ears properly."

With a sigh Nathaniel pulls me close to him gently by my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine and drags me along determinedly. My feet almost fly forward trying to keep up but I don't stumble a single time. I suppose I just needed some support.

I stare into the blinking camera hiding behind a birdhouse installed at the gate when we reach the house, wondering if my Dad is watching us from his workplace right now. I'm sure the agents outside school have already informed him of our early exit.

As soon as we cross the threshold of the front door, Nathaniel nods a brief thank you before racing up the stairs to his room and locking the door.

"Hey, you were going to tell me about..." I shout after him but I doubt he can hear a word of what I say.

Shaking my head, I kick off my shoes and twiddle my free toes as I settle down on the small grey sofa in the front room.

Laying my head against the plush big cushion at the back, I pull out my phone to call Dad and tell him about the Latin threat.

"Hello Dad."

"Why are you home early, Ariya?" he dives straight to the point, "Did something happen to the prince?"

"Yes, about that." I exhale slowly, "Nathaniel seems to be hearing things. He says that the words, Et non abscondam a nobis, have been ringing inside his ears all day. And he ran upstairs before I could question him further."

I hear a thrashing sound upstairs. I push off the cushion and glance at the ceiling with a frown.

"Did he say anything..."

Another thud.

"No, nothing else. I'll call you if something comes up, yeah?" I cut him off, "Bye. Love you!"

I dart up the staircase, skipping alternate steps, to the second floor to Nathaniel's room.

"What the fuck are you doing Nathaniel?" I call out sternly.

I bang the dark wooden door hard two times, when I get no answer. A few pieces of the old white paint on the ceiling fake off because of the impact and float down onto my hair.

Suddenly, the row of lamps lining the stairwell flickers.

"Fucking dipshit!" I curse loudly.

I run up to my room in the attic and fling open the window. I crane my head to see if I can get a clue of what Nathaniel is up to but I obviously can't. His room is right below mine.

Grabbing a scarf from my accessory stand, I fasten it to the pipeline running about a foot outside my window, parallel to the height of the building. Without a second's thought, I swing my legs over the window sill and balance on the narrow ledge just outside on the balls of my feet.

I'm wearing a skirt. A fairly long in my opinion since it almost reaches my knees but I don't think the length matters. The wind rustles against the thighs, making me clench them closer to each other. Behind me the sun is beginning it's descent into the ocean's bosom, painting abstract hues on the sky in its wake.

Under normal circumstances I would have expected a picturesque oil colour portrait of the entire affair but I had more pressing matters to fucking attend to!

I was Flynn Ryder climbing down a tower to save Rapunzel.

"Oh my stars!" Nathaniel gasps from atop the box he's placed on his bed, as I kick open his window further and swing in. The two weeks of early morning workouts until date have worked well for me so far.

"Fucking hell Nathaniel! Are trying to kill yourself?" I cry out in panic, when I see the triad of electrical wires he's holding in his hand. He's trying to connect one end to his ear and the other is connected to the main supply through the ceiling.

"That is not what I intend to do, Ariya." Nathaniel closes his eyes and exhales, "It isn't healthy to jump to conclusions."

"Right." I answer in an aggravated tone, crossing my arms in front of my chest, "And trying to electrocute yourself by connecting a live wire to your fucking ear is healthy?!"

Nathaniel places the open end of the electrical wire on a rubber slipper when he jumps off his makeshift ladder, before turning away from me and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Taking a deep breath I start, "Nathaniel, you aren't telling me exactly what's wrong and it's scaring me. You can't fight all your battles alone and you might find that I can actually help if you just tell me what's going on."

Nathaniel casts a quizzical expression my way. Holding my gaze, he pushes his hair back and strides across the room in large strides.

"Do you see this wire here?" he tilts his head so I can see the patch of skin behind his ear.

A thin silvery grey wire runs up and disappears into his dark hair. I don't think I'd have ever noticed it if I wasn't particularly staring at his ears. One end of it is connected to the back of the tiny stud he wears on his earlobe.

"You have pierced ears." I surmise aloud, dwelling off topic momentarily, "A rebellious phase before you became such a prude?"

"Piercings are not considered as acts of rebellion in Volatis, Ariya." Nathaniel answers patiently, "In fact everyone there gets their earlobes pierced when they turn two. Earlobes are said to have concentration points, which when pressed lightly align your positive energies."

I nod in response, impressed, and make a mental note to read more about this later.

"Right, you were telling me about the wire that runs behind your ear." I motion towards the side of his face.

"Yes. I understand that you know about Volatis' uranium deposits which make us an indispensable ally for the world." Nathaniel says grimly, eyes darting to the window behind me, "Well, years of natural as well as artificial radiation have produced several mutations in our bodies. Most are quite useful, but our lifespan is relatively shorter than your average human being. One of the mutations has enabled us to hear some ultrasonic frequencies. For safety purposes it's an ability that only the royal family has access to."

I bite my lower lip as I listen wordlessly with slight trepidation.

"Are you saying that the piece of code you heard repeatedly today was transmitted to the wire attached behind your ear at a higher frequency? And that it was done by someone inside the palace?" I ask slowly.

"I'm sure of it." Nathaniel replies confidently, "Only the royals have access to this particular frequency. It's supposed to be used only as a last resort when you need to call out for help. Not even the people of Volatis know of it, all stories of higher brain capacity are simply legends for them. So, if the perpetrators have got hold of this kind of information, Volatis is in far more danger than I thought. Whoever they are, they will need neither my sister or me once they find a way to access the mine. I must contact my sister, Jasmine, and warn her."

He bends down quickly and picks up the wire again. I watch as he fiddles with the live end carefully before lifting it up. That's when something inside me clicks.

I run forward with a sudden burst of adrenaline.

"You're high on emotion right now Nathaniel, and you're letting it rule you." I rip the insulated electrical wire out of his hand deftly and wrap it around my hand, careful to leave the open end a safe distance away from my skin, "You do realise that if you contact her, your location will be compromised. They're lying in wait, don't you see?"

He stares at me lividly for a few seconds before looking away like he's seen ghost.

He steps backward until his legs hit the edge of his bed and he sits down heavily. His agitation is making the veins on the sides of his head pop out as he struggles to keep a straight face.

"You think I haven't thought about it Ariya?" he snaps, refusing to meet my gaze, "If I don't respond, there's a fair chance that she will out of fear and they'll get to her. I cannot afford that. And losing my cover is a risk I'm willing to take for my blood."

"Fucking lord, Nathaniel!" I throw my hands in the air exasperatedly, "You're not okay right now. And anything you do will get either you or Jasmine killed."

Nathaniel's eyes turn glassy as he stares at the wall ahead of him and sniffs quietly before bending down and rubbing his face with his palms.

His back heaves a couple of times.

It hurts me to look at him feel so helpless. And the fact surprises me because I'm normally very self-obsessed and tend to forget to understand the needs of those around me except my family. I've never warmed up to a person so fast. Ever.

I don't understand what it is about Nathaniel- maybe it's his complex of doing everything on his own without asking for help that I resonate with, or his walled-up vulnerabilities that seem to be pushing through. I feel like, maybe when you study us down to our building blocks, the two of us aren't very different.

Without thinking, I pull him into a hug from the side. I've always associated comfort with touch and it is the first sensible thing I can think of doing.

Nathaniel remains stiff under my arms- he doesn't lean into the hug but doesn't pull away either.

"If it makes you feel any better I can ask my father to make sure that Jasmine gets your message. Communication is risky but we can make it happen this once." I say softly.

"Thank you, Ariya." He smiles before glancing down awkwardly at my arm around his shoulder, "But I think it's time for me to talk to Mr. Davis myself. It was foolish of me to keep this a secret. My gifts can prove to be both a weapon in disguise or the Achilles heel of this protection program."

"My point exactly! Besides, friends never let each other make bad decisions alone." I exclaim with a knowing smirk as I stand up, trying to lighten the situation but Nathaniel is bent on maintaining a long face.

"Does that mean you would have helped if I didn't agree to concede?" Nathaniel questions, knitting his brow.

"Guess we'll never find out." I shrug, "Now tell me what other gifts your prized uranium has bestowed upon you."

"I can tell when people are lying by listening to their heartbeat as long as they are within a six feet radius. It's again because of the enhanced listening, but a very trustworthy self protection radar when it comes to trusting people." He humours my curiosity.

"So if I say that you're a fucking pain in the ass, I'm telling the truth right?" I chuckle.

"Actually, your heart just began to beat one and a half times faster than before which means you are lying or at least twisting the truth." He states.

My face flushes as I laugh nervously.

I think after Izzy, I finally found someone who I wanted to be my pain in ass.

•><•

I really want to learn how to paint properly because I end up making something I'd like to believe is really terrible abstract art most times. Guess I'll never get an oil coilour painting of Ariya climbing down with the sun :'(

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