AKARI

Having seen Sekai in his black suit whir out of the room with a flash of purple and black by his side, I decided to follow after him and Gambit to see if something was wrong.

As I'm walking around the castle grounds, I spot them standing out on a balcony, the glass doors having been opened to the terrace, the bright blue and green lights in the night sky visible from the balcony's perch, planters on either side of the balcony itself.

"Wow," Gambit breathes out, turning to face the lights, her dark purple gown with a corset top and a black bow in the back swaying with the breeze, revealing her dark purple stilettos as well, her long and wavy black hair shifting in the wind too. "It's beautiful out here."

"Yeah," Sekai smiles, his eyes focused on Gambit instead. "It really is."

As if aware of Sekai's double meaning, Gambit's breath hitches and she turns to meet his gaze.

"Look, Gambit," Sekai clears his throat, running a hand through his black hair. "When this is all over, when things are finally settled. I was wondering if you'd want to move back to Elvenowl with me."

"What?" Gambit's purple eyes widen as she looks into Sekai's sheepish blue ones full of hope.

"I mean it," Sekai continues. "I want you to come home with me-- back to our home."

"Sekai," Gambit sighs, her eyes sad. "You know that I have a duty."

"I know," Sekai says. "I know that you do, but you also have a life. It's okay to want things for yourself, you know. And nobody ever said that you had to stop what you were doing. You can still continue to use your abilities for the greater good, leave on missions whenever you have to. I don't know what the future holds, Gambit, but all I do know is that I want a life with you."

"Sekai?" Gambit questions whenever he slowly gets down on one knee and my eyes widen, my right hand coming up to cover my gasp of surprise.

"I know that I'm a mess. I get that," Sekai starts. "And, I'll never stop being a mess, but without you, I wouldn't even exist. And I know that I don't deserve it, but I'll be damned if I walk away from it, or if I let you get taken away before I have the chance to tell you this. You're the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, that will probably ever happen to me. You're strong, confident, beautiful, wise, kindhearted, loyal to a fault, and as honest as anyone could ever be. And I could never not want to be by your side. Being with you was heaven, and having to live without you was hell. I don't-- I don't ever want to go through that again. In five years, in ten years, in forty years. I want to always be by your side, through the worst and the best, while we're young and when we're old. And that's why..."

"Sekai?" Gambit repeats, stunned as she looks down at him.

"And that's why," Sekai says once more, reaching into his pocket to pull out a silver ring with a black diamond that's surrounded by small amethysts, "that's why I'm asking you, Gambit Lychn, will you marry me?"

Tears begin to pool in Gambit's eyes as she brings her hands to her mouth and nods happily, making Sekai beam with joy.

"Yes!" Gambit exclaims with a laugh. "Yes, of course!"

As Sekai moves to put the ring on her finger, I begin to back away with a smile on my face to give them some privacy, hearing Gambit's joyous laughter clear from down the hall. As I slowly continue backing up, however, I run into somebody just as I'm about to turn around, making my eyes widen. Their one hand comes up to rest on my elbow to steady me in the process, making me grateful that I didn't trip and fall in the process.

"Oh, sorry," I start, turning around to apologize to whoever I nearly ran over, and I'm about to thank them when the words die in my mouth upon seeing Reverence standing before me in a black suit, an orange dress shirt underneath.

"Akari--" Reverence frowns, and I immediately step backwards, holding up my hands defensively.

"No," I cut him off. "No, no, no. What are you doing here? How did you even get here? And if you're here, then that means..."

"Akari?" Kaito calls out, and my eyes flicker hopefully over to him as he walks into sight. However, my hopes die whenever he walks right passed us.

"Why are you hiding us?" I lower my hands, my right hand clenching into a fist. "Drop the illusions and fight like a man if that's what you're here to do."

"I'm not here to fight you," Reverence sighs, glancing around warily, and it's then that I notice he looks more tired than ever. "Look, I just want to talk to you. You're correct in assuming that where I go, Carmin follows, so we don't have much time to spare. Either you can stand here until he shows up, you can refuse to hear me out and head back to the party to warn everyone, or you can listen to me. Please, Akari. I'm begging you. Just hear me out."

"Fine," I say after a few moments, crossing my arms and going against my better judgement. "Five minutes."

"Thank you," Reverence's eyes hold some semblance of relief.

"But you have to drop the illusion," I add, and Reverence nods.

As the illusion around us drops, Sora comes into sight from around the corner down the hallway, as well as Penelope. Kaito, however, is off somewhere still roaming the castle grounds for us.

"Reverence?" Sora breathes out, his expression growing concerned and his eyes flickering over to me.

"It's fine," I sigh. "I agreed to talk to him. Although, now that you're here, I'd like you to join us. And...what're you doing with Penelope?"

"I saw her run out after you and Kaito, and I wondered what she was up to," Sora explains, and Penelope rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "After running into her, I asked her what she was doing and she told me she had something important to ask you, but that she was glad she had found me as well."

"Well, let's go then," I sigh before I turn to glare at Reverence, "and let's find Kaito too."

Reverence rubs the back of his neck sheepishly and throws me an apologetic look as I go to roam around the castle to find Kaito, wherever he may be. The others trail behind me and after about ten minutes of searching I finally find him standing outside of my guest room door. Upon hearing footsteps, Kaito looks over, about to say my name whenever he sees Reverence behind me with Sora and Penelope. Kaito clenches his jaw and walks over, and I place a hand on his shoulder to keep him from going and pulverizing Reverence.

"Kaito, it's okay," I say, and his eyes flicker to meet mine, uncertainty in them. "He just wants to talk, but we should hurry. Carmin will be here soon."

"Right..." Kaito nods, looking between me and Reverence before his gaze finally settles back on me. "Yeah, okay. Let's go then."

The five of us head into my guest room for some privacy while we talk. Sora, Kaito, and I sit on the bed while Penelope and Reverence sit on the couch that's just across from the bed, a coffee table in front of it.

"So," I raise a brow at Reverence. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you that...things have been...bad at Aria lately," Reverence clears his throat. "Nobody's allowed to leave anymore unless explicitly stated by mission. Visitors aren't allowed to enter. Several classes have been shut down due to not having instructors. All the while, I've noticed a change in Carmin ever since Evory's injury and Raciel's death. Maybe he's always been this way and I never noticed, or maybe he became that way after he thought that I had died, but I can't help but feel responsible for it. I feel like, maybe if I had come back sooner instead of hiding away that I could've saved him, that I could've saved Raciel. Carmin is still my brother, but...he's not my family. At least, not anymore. Not this person who he's become."

"What are you saying?" I frown, feeling a pang of sympathy for him.

"I'm saying that, with the time I have left, I want to help," Reverence says, his tired and sad eyes meeting mine. "Carmin isn't going to use the runestones to try and heal me, is he?"

"Reverence--" I start, wanting to give him some form of comfort.

"No," Kaito interrupts, making all of our heads swivel in his direction. "He's not."

"Kaito," Sora frowns. "Don't just--"

"Don't just what?" Kaito cuts Sora off. "Don't just be honest? What do you want me to do? Lie to him?"

"No," Sora sighs. "I wanted you to be kinder about it."

"Yeah, well, I value honesty over kindness," Kaito moves his gaze from Sora to Reverence. "Don't get me wrong, kindness is great, but often times it's blunt honesty that finally makes people see the truth for what it is."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to deliver that honesty so harshly," Sora counters.

"Maybe not," Kaito says softly, his gaze turning to land on me, "and maybe I'm just biased because that's what gets through to me. Maybe, I just want to make sure that nobody else makes the same mistakes that I did, the mistakes that I'll probably continue to make. We don't all have a saving grace, you know. I'm just lucky that mine never gave up on me."

"Kaito," I breathe out, my eyes widening.

"No, Sora," Reverence sighs, drawing our attention back to him. "It's okay. I knew ever since the fight with Evory and Raciel, I think. I just didn't want to believe it, believe that he'd choose the reason for his agony over the resolution for it. If my supposed death was the thing that made him that way, and he still chooses to exact revenge on Wrath over helping me, then he truly is lost in a way that I don't know if I can save."

"What exactly is it that you want us to do?" I ask softly.

"What I want you to do?" Reverence says. "I want you to save my brother, but I need you to save the world."

"He's telling the truth," Penelope says.

"How do you know?" I furrow my eyebrows. "I mean, I don't doubt that he is, but what makes you say that when you don't even know him?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Penelope smiles sheepishly. "Well, both Sora and Akari. I can see your auras."

"You what?" Kaito raises his eyebrows.

"I was born with the ability to read people's auras," Penelope elaborates. "I'm able to better read an aura when I know more about the person, but nevertheless, I can tell if a person has a good heart or not. I can see it in Reverence-- he isn't being deceitful. He greatly mourns the loss of who his brother used to be and their relationship, and he feels as if he may have been the cause of his brother's downfall or that he could have helped by being there sooner when his brother thought him dead, as he expressed to you all. He gravely regrets the lost time and the way that things turned out because of it. His heart is in a good place even if his actions don't always fall through."

"So, why did you want to talk to us about it?" I ask.

"Well," Penelope sighs. "I wanted to meet privately with you both. I don't share the same sentiments as Carmin. On my team, Layla is the jaded one, Dean is the theatrical one, Sapphire is the strategist, Kat is the honest one, and I'm the spiritual one. Layla doesn't have a bad heart, but she acts cold towards everyone because of her tragic past. It's made her unable to clearly decipher right from wrong, but not in the same way as Carmin. Dean simply wants to be a hero in the spotlight, to save the world and practice his crafts. Sapphire is calculating and unemotional, but she has fair intentions. Kat is honest to her morals, to herself, and to everyone else. She fights for equality and righteousness, and I know she's your friend. I guess, my overall point is, I just want what's right for the world, and so does my team, but I fear that only Kat and I are able to truly see what's right for the world-- and that certainly isn't Carmin."

"You need...a way out," I breathe out, meeting Penelope's eyes. "Or, if not a way out, you want to stay on your team with Kat in order for the two of you to keep tabs on Carmin while helping us, deterring them from doing too many accidental wrongs."

"Precisely," Penelope smiles sadly. "I haven't spoken to Kat about how I feel, but I think she feels the same about me-- that she can sense it, at least. I wanted to see if you guys would talk to her with me, and if you would work with me, to help fix what's been broken for so long, and to keep anything else from breaking. And...even though not everyone can read auras, I believe that everyone is capable of seeing the souls of others to varying extents. I can see that ability in all of you just as it is in me. I guess, that's why I'm hoping you'll help. You're the only ones who I know can see reason."

"Of course," Sora nods with a soft smile. "It's good to know that Kat isn't the only one on that team who can see things clearly. I was worried she felt alone, and if she did, she no longer will. I also think that Gambit could see the light in you whenever you first introduced yourself."

"Thank you," Penelope smiles in return, her eyes hopeful and her hands lightly clutching at the sides of her gold dress that's similarly styled to Akari's.

Shouting from outside gains our attention and we all share glances before we run to the door, going to see what's going on. As people rush down the hallways and we fight through the crowd, I begin to hear Clea's voice over the swarm of people.

"Sora!" Clea shouts and rushes through the crowd to us, her eyes wide.

"Clea, what happened?!" Sora shouts worriedly.

"It's Shae! He's been stabbed!" Clea exclaims, grabbing ahold of Sora's wrist and dragging him back towards the ballroom.

The rest of us rush after them and upon running into the ballroom, we find Isabella pressing her bloodied hands over Shae's side just below his ribcage, her eyes wide, and the two of them are surrounded by Sander, Kit, and the others, including Gambit and Sekai. Penelope's teammates are also standing in the background, all watching with different expressions ranging from shock to alertness.

"I just—" Isabella looks up to meet our gazes, "he told me to look out and then he jumped in front of me. He— he..."

"Hey, Shae," Sora kneels down beside Isabella and Shae, Sander and Kit sitting on the other side of Shae. "Stay with us, okay?"

"Yeah, you hear us?!" Sander shouts and grabs his brother's hand, squeezing it tightly, Kit's hand comfortingly resting on Sander's shoulder as she watches with sad eyes. "Stay with us. You're supposed to be the best man at my wedding, remember? You're the one who said that. You're not allowed to leave. You can't."

"Don't think—" Shae rasps out, his green-hazel eyes knowing behind his black glasses, "don't think it's any use."

A few seconds later, Evory rushes in with Darius, her yellow gown flowing around her legs as she runs.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry," Evory rushes out as she kneels down next to Shae, Isabella moving a little bit to give Evory room. "Cordelia had me tending to the wounded in the infirmary halfway through the gala. We came as soon as we heard."

"See," Sander chokes out. "Evory's here now too. You'll be okay. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Shae laughs hollowly before he starts to cough, blood coming out, "you were always bad at that."

Yellow light glows around Evory's hands as she presses her hands against Shae's wound and closes her eyes to concentrate, focusing on trying to heal him.

Shae reaches his free hand up to touch the side of Isabella's face, his other hand tightly squeezing his brother's in order to comfort him even though he's the one who should be receiving comfort, and Isabella leans down, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as they look at each other.

"Don't be sad," Shae says, locking eyes with Isabella as he slowly lowers his arm back down. "If anything, I should be the sad one. I started to love you, but I never told you. I guess— I guess should've."

"Shae?" Isabella asks worriedly whenever Shae's eyes slowly fall shut and his head lulls to the side. "Shae?"

"He's still alive, but he needs immediate medical attention. He lost a lot of blood," Evory says. "He'll need a transfusion. I can't fully heal the wound because a piece of the blade he was stabbed with broke off and got stuck. It'll need extracted."

"Let's get him to the infirmary," Darius says and helps Sander carefully lift Shae, Evory keeping her hand on his wound as they walk in order to keep the healing going.

Isabella goes to follow them, but Cordelia appears in the doorway and stops her, making her frown.

"I know the only thing you want to do right now is go after them, but you're the only person who witnessed the entire situation," Cordelia says. "We need to find out who did this and why they were after you. You need to tell us everything that happened, in detail. I've gotten the rest of the guests and the princess to safety. Now, it's time we figure this out. Until then, nobody else is leaving this room unless absolutely necessary."

"Right," Isabella's expression turns firm and she nods before she turns back to all of us. "I'll start from the beginning, then."