Char and Rath snuck into the barracks early the next morning, promising their mother that they'd come back later in the day. They didn't know how quickly news of Iris' disappearance would travel, and they didn't want anybody coming to their mother's house looking for them. The party gave them an alibi. Char hoped it was enough to remove suspicion from them until he could get Iris out of the mountain. He hadn't quite worked out a plan for that bit yet.

"Back to army food," Rath said glumly over breakfast, pushing what passed for scrambled eggs around the plate. "I don't think these even come from chickens."

"We'll be eating Mother's cooking again soon enough," Char reminded him.

Rath sighed. "Why don't we just skip out now? She's probably awake."

"We need to be seen here."

"Ugh, my head," Srot groaned, dropping onto the bench across from them.

Char glanced around to make sure nobody was looking and handed Srot the key under the table. "Tell Kara thanks."

"Yeah, sure," Srot muttered. "You two don't look like you got much sleep."

"Neither do you," Rath pointed out. The tell-tale dark circles under Srot's eyes were enough on their own, but the way he winced and shielded his eyes from the light filled in the picture.

"So, you and Kara are back together," Char commented.

"She's a great girl. What about you and Misa?" he asked Rath.

Rath shrugged. "We'll see."

"Char! Rath!"

Srot winced at Kelnor's bellow. "Here we go," he said, putting his head in his hands.

"Hey, Kelnor. Great morning, isn't it?" Rath asked cheerfully, meeting the hard red eyes of their commanding officer with a winning smile.

"Where were you two last night?" Kelnor asked, his voice dangerously low.

"Could you keep it down?" Srot moaned.

"Srot's girl had a party," Char replied casually. "We were there all night."

"I know about the party," Kelnor said darkly. "He asked for permission to go. You two didn't. And you don't look hungover."

"Ah, well, you see," Rath said, dropping his voice conspiratorially, "last night was more about the girls than the booze, you know?"

Char could have sworn Kelnor's lip twitched just slightly. "And I assume these girls will attest to the fact that you were at the party all night? Without slipping out around, oh, say, midnight?"

"There might be an issue with that," Char said sheepishly.

Kelnor's eyes sharpened, but he waited for Char to continue.

"I don't really know the names of all the girls I danced with."

Rath laughed. "Neither do I. Every time I looked, it was another girl. He was attracting them like flies. Were you wearing a new cologne or something?"

"I think it had more to do with the fact that you weren't letting go of Misa, so they had to go elsewhere," Char pointed out.

"Either way, we're missing something very important here," Rath said. "Something happened around midnight that we weren't a part of. Was it more fun than spending the night dancing with beautiful women?" he asked Kelnor.

"You two," Kelnor said, shaking his head with a wry smile. "I know you did it, but I have no way of proving it, so you're off the hook - for now. Better hope it stays that way."

"You're talking in riddles," Rath said, frowning. "What is it we supposedly did?"

"Just keep your noses clean and your heads down," Kelnor replied, turning to go.

"Wait, before you go, is it okay if we pop out to see Mother again?" Rath asked hopefully.

"That poor woman deserves better than you two. Fine, go see her. I'll be too busy today to babysit you anyway."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rath said, standing up and shoving his tray of food away. "Let's get some real food."

"Keep it down," Srot moaned, his face in his hands.

Char patted him on the shoulder as he got up. "It's Saturday. Get some water and go back to bed."

Char and Rath were out of the barracks and back on the street in a matter of minutes. There weren't any greetings from passersby this time. Most of the partygoers were still asleep or hungover, recuperating for another party tonight. Char wasn't interested in going out again, and Rath was unusually silent. Too much at stake if they were overheard.

Their mother's window was closed.

"Maybe she's still asleep," Char said quietly as he opened the door.

"It was a late night for all of us," Rath agreed.

But her humming drifted to them from the kitchen, along with the tantalizing smells of a homemade breakfast. They grinned at each other and headed inside, each of them giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm still mad at you," she said, smiling as she flipped a pancake.

"Why me?" Rath pouted. "Char's the idiot who fell in love."

"I am not in love," he said vehemently.

"Set the table and start explaining. You have a few minutes before she'll be out."

"She's awake?" Char asked, sounding more excited than he meant to.

Rath laughed and slapped him on the back. "You are so in love. I'll set the table, you talk."

Char rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the faces Rath kept making at him while he gave their mother a brief recap of the past week. He was getting quicker at the retelling, but he was also getting tired of it, and he was antsy about seeing Iris again. In front of his mother and his brother. Who were both sending him knowing looks that were making the back of his neck heat up.

"I expect you boys to behave," their mother said after Char finished. "That girl has been through enough without you two acting like animals at the table."

"We don't act like animals," Rath protested.

"You're right. Animals have manners. Sit down already."

"Yes, mother," they said resignedly, taking their seats.

"Um, hi."

Rath's hand landed on Char's shoulder to stop him from getting up again. Iris was standing nervously in the doorway, her long chestnut brown hair wet from a bath, their mother's old nightgown and robe tied tightly around her waist and falling loosely around her.

"You don't love her, remember?" Rath whispered to Char, his words concealed by their mother's bright voice.

"Iris, honey, come sit here next to me," she said.

"Honey?" Rath asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't mind him," their mother said, shooting Rath a warning look as Iris sat next to her. "Feel better after your bath?" she asked Iris sweetly.

"Yes, ma'am, thank you," Iris said softly, her brown eyes flicking anxiously from Char to Rath.

"None of that. Call me Elera. Rath, don't you have something to say to this young lady?"

"Why me?" he asked.

"Apologize," Elera said firmly.

Rath groaned. "Okay, fine. Iris, I apologize for threatening to kill you. Is that good enough?"

Elera pursed her lips. "You could sound a little more sincere."

"Well, what about you?" he countered. "You threatened to kill her yesterday, too."

"Once, and not in front of her." She turned to Iris. "You'll have to forgive me, Iris. My husband was killed by a mage, and I was a little upset when I found out my sons were involved with one."

"A little?" Rath snorted.

"It's okay," Iris intervened. "I can understand how that would bother you."

Rath shoveled an overly full fork of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Elera sighed. "I promise I taught them better than this. Go on, start eating. You look like you need to put on a little weight."

Iris' stomach growled loudly, and she blushed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"When was the last time this girl had a decent meal?" Elera asked Char accusingly.

"How should I know?" he asked defensively.

"What day is it?" Iris asked.

"Saturday."

"Oh. No wonder," Iris mused, cutting her pancakes.

Elera frowned. "How long?"

"Last Sunday?" Iris replied, the uptick at the end of her statement making it seem more like a question, like she'd done something wrong and was worried about the repercussions.

"Last Sunday?" Elera repeated. "Char! Do you mean to tell me you didn't feed this girl at all?"

"She didn't eat breakfast the morning after we found her," Rath said defensively.

"Because you were talking about killing her," Char retorted.

"And then after that, she was in the army or magic tower dungeons," Rath continued.

Elera frowned. "Eat as much as you like. I can always make more. Char, Rath, you have some shopping to do today."

"Shopping?" Rath asked.

"Well, you can't expect her to keep wearing my old clothes."

"Mother, we can't really do that," Char said hesitantly.

"And why not?" Elera asked threateningly.

"Kelnor is already breathing down our necks about where we were last night," Rath explained.

"She's a prisoner of war. It's too dangerous to keep her here for long, and if anybody sees us buying clothes for her-"

"Then I will do the shopping, and you can stay here," Elera interrupted Char. "I need a new outfit anyway. Rath, you can come with and say you're buying something for your new girlfriend, what's-her-name."

"Misa," Char supplied, smirking.

"Misa? I thought you were over her," Elera said, raising an eyebrow.

"They were dancing together at the party all night," Char added.

"So, you did go to a party," Elera said triumphantly.

"Uh oh," Rath muttered.

"You left this girl in the magic school's dungeons while you were out drinking and dancing?" she thundered.

"It was our cover," Rath argued.

"And I got the key to the magic school and directions to find her from the girl throwing the party," Char interjected. "She works at the magic school, so she knew the best time for me to break in."

"Hmph. Well. That's better, then," Elera said, cooling down a bit. "So, where do you plan on hiding her?"

"I...haven't gotten that far," Char said sheepishly.

Elera shook her head. "Just like your father. You'll be safe here for a few days, anyway," she said, turning to Iris. "No need to worry about that."

"Thank you," Iris said, offering her a shy smile.

The conversation continued, and Iris watched and listened with rapt attention as she ate, the tension leaving her shoulders and her smile coming more frequently and more easily as the minutes passed. Char found his eyes drifting toward her whenever Elera and Rath weren't directly speaking to him. The amulet was nowhere in sight, probably hidden under her clothes. She wasn't as pale this morning as she had been the night before. He wondered how much of that she remembered. And how long Elera and Rath planned on being gone.

"Well, I'll just wash these dishes, and then we'll go," Elera said, standing up from the table when everybody was done eating.

"Oh, I can do the dishes," Iris volunteered.

"Nonsense. You are a guest in my home-"

"I really don't mind. Please. As a thank you?"

Elera smiled softly at her. "Well, if it means that much to you. What's your favorite color?"

"Oh, um..." Iris thought for a moment.

"You don't have a favorite color?" Rath asked incredulously.

"I've never really thought about it," Iris said, shrugging.

"Never mind. I'll find something nice for you. Char, help her with the dishes."

"Yes, Mother," he said, standing up and placing a kiss on her cheek as she headed toward the door.

"Come along, Rath," she called over her shoulder.

"Coming." He got up and winked at Char. "Remember to behave," he teased, darting out of reach before Char could punch him in the shoulder.