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Chen stared at the princess in disbelief of her generosity as he asked; “But what do you want in return?”

With a slightly confused look on her face, Skye said; “Just come when I need you, and we’ll call it even, okay?”

As Chen looked at Skye, he tried to wrap his mind around why she was being so kind to him. Most had heard of the Alconian Princess healing her people free of charge, earning her the title of the Goddess Eir. But no one had expected her to do the same for the citizens of Sai.

As a wide smile stretched across Chen’s face, Skye grinned back, then looked towards the clinic’s doors..

Although she truly did want to foster and help Chen Dang’s talent grow, she also had an alternative motive for coming back to this specific clinic. Over the next several days, Skye would make it a point to figure out which were the busiest for the clinic, and come on those days to heal patients. Doing so would not only help to curve how much Fan Dang was overcharging sick people, but would help her get a better insight into his True business dealings..

Skye had a sneaking suspicion that Doctor Fan Dang was involved in more than just extorting his patients. She wasn’t sure exactly what yet, but the way his heart had pounded in his chest when he saw Mei’s husband seemed like off to her. Sure; he was most likely just a thief, but she couldn’t shake the suspicion that he had been far more scared than thievery warranted.

Once they had cleaned up and made sure that there were no more critical patients left, Skye and her party bid farewell to Chen before calling for their carriage. As they all loaded in, Skye glanced back and waved to the throngs of people cheering their gratitude. Scanning the crowd, she thought that she’d seen a familiar face..

Jumping out and sprinting into the crowd, Hana barely had time to follow after Skye without losing her amongst the people. After going about ten meters away from the carriage, she suddenly stopped, and quickly started to scan the crowds. Once Hana was standing next to her, she saw the strained agitation on Skye’s face as she asked in Alconian; “Did ya see’em?! He was right here!”

.....

With a puzzled expression; “Who?! Who was here?! You just jumped off of the carriage like a man on fire!”

“Ahriman! He was here not but a second ago! The bastard’s got some guts ta show himself ta me!” Skye yelled, though it sounded like a whisper among the noise of the crowds.

Hana’s face fell as she stuck her hand into the air, and made several hand signs with it in rapid succession. Skye had no idea what it meant, but based on the random appearance of a ninja: she was signaling for assistance. They whispered in Saianese for a few seconds, then the man disappeared again.

With a hushed voice, Hana whispered to Skye; “I sent Ryu to inform Master Jin of the sighting. We will have more escorts shortly, and a separate team will lead a search. If he’s still in the area, they will find him. In the meantime, we should head back to the castle.”

Skye sighed as she glanced around, then trudged back to the carriage behind Hana. If it were up to her, she would be tracking him, but to be honest: Skye didn’t know how. Animals were easy because they left tracks, but.. ‘How do I track a mage?’

As the thought crossed her mind, the train of thought was broken by Mei looking like she was nearly in tears. The moment that Hana had seen her distress, she’d practically ran over to Mei. After looking her over while asking what was wrong, a sweet smile covered her face as Hana fussed.

Once she had made sure that she was fine, Hana walked over to the coachman, and warned him of the coming extra guards. Skye watched Mei steal glances of Hana with a shy grin, then saw her cheeks flush bright red when she realized that Skye had been watching her. Not sure why, Skye also averted her eyes, then sighed when she realized that they were getting into the carriage.

The carriage creaked and shook as it rattled down the cobblestone road, an awkward silence filling the cabin within. Skye stared at the lining of the lush, dark-green upholstery until Peggy asked Mei; “Are ya alright, deary? Ya looked close ta tears a wee bit ago.”

Mei nodded while staring at the floor; “I-I’m fine. I was just worried about Hana and Skye.”

Peggy nodded with an exasperated expression; “Ima so used ta her runnin’ off in ta danger that it hardly registers anymore. So long as Tidas is wit her, anyway. I dinna worry as long as she’s wit him.”

Mei looked up at Peggy with curiosity; “Why?”

Peggy barked a laugh; “Cause if that man had his way without consequence: Skye woulda been locked away years ago. So I ken he’ll keep her safe.”

As Skye blushed with a slight grin, Mei’s expression dropped as she said; “How is that a Good thing? ...It’s a terrible thing.”

Mei’s words were far more stern than she had wanted them to be, but Skye had taken them as being more akin to emotional. A coldness overtook her gleeful expression, and her icy tone matched her demeanor as she asked; “Are you speaking from experience?”

Even Kari, who didn’t understand Saianese at all, had felt the chill from Skye’s words. Peggy’s face was pale as she imagined the worst like Skye had, and grabbed Mei’s hand as she asked with strained concern in her voice; “Oh Mei-Mei, has yer husband kept you?”

Mei’s eyes shot open in surprise; “N-No! Not like how you two are thinking! Hang is-is a very kind man. And he may not look it, but he cares for me a great deal.. And he loves Rukia with all of his heart.”

Skye kept her stony expression; “Is there truly room for you? I won’t lie, Mei: you are different from when we were children. And not just due to simple aging, either. You seem...sad. Like happiness is just out of reach.”

Seeing Mei’s eyes grow wide again at her words, Skye continued in Alconian; “I ken that we havena seen each other in years, but I still see you as me sister. I’ll always see you as me sister..”

“Remember what I told ya me life was like as a bairn? Well, you were the first lass that I ever actually got along wit that wasna at least two decades older than me. Ya showed me what it was like ta have that kinda bond.. Tis so dear ta me that I still canna put into words right. All I can say is that I dinna ever wanna see ya sad: yer too good a person fer that.”

Skye had started to fumble her words part-way, and was rubbing the back of her neck out of embarrassment by the time she had finished talking. It reminded Mei of her Uncle Jin, making her unable to contain her grin at the obviously-ingrained trait. As quickly as her heart had lightened, it just as quickly sank with despair in rapid succession.

Mei inwardly cursed herself for the pain that her selfishness had caused the ones that she loved. Her father was nearly shamed, her husband was nearly not her husband, and the person that she loved most aside from her daughter was constantly hurting because of her. Now Skye, one of the few people that she truly loved, was eventually going to learn of her shame..

‘Will Skye still think of me as a kind person? ...I already know the answer..’

“Mei? Are you alright? We don’t have ta talk about it if ya dinna wanna. Just ken that Ima always here if ya need a trustin’ ear, and a shoulder ta lean on,” Skye stated before hastily adding; “Or an arse kicked! Ima Really good at that, too.”

The excited look on Skye’s face when she had added the last part sent Mei into a small giggling fit. It had been a long time since she had laughed in such a carefree way that she’d forgotten that they were being watched..

Hana looked on from the window of the carriage with mixed emotions burning in her eyes. Between Genie’s briefing and what she had witnessed herself, Skye was a kind and mostly noble person. She still seemed a touch haughty to her, but Hana supposed that if she had half of Skye’s abilities.. ‘I would be cocky, too..’

It wasn’t Skye herself, but rather how close she seemed to be to Mei. As worry creased her brow, Ryu suddenly appeared at her side. Shoving her emotions down, Hana listened to his report with earnest ears..

“Master Jin has sent three teams to search for the Intruder, and one to guard Lady Mei and Princess Skye’s group. You are to remain with Lady Mei until she is in the care of her servants again. Master wishes for you to keep a close eye on the Princess as well. He fears that she will find trouble herself before it even gets a chance to look for her.”

Hana swallowed hard; “Well, it’s already found her, and he went running head-first after it, so.. Tell Master Jin that I will do as he orders.”

“What should we do if they are attacked?” Ryu asked with a slightly pertinent tone.

Ignoring it, Hana replied; “We will try to deal with it before the Princess gets out of the carriage.”

“And if we do not?” Ryu asked as he glanced at her.

Hana scoffed; “The we switch to guarding the carriage.. Once the Princess starts going, it’s...hard to stop her. As much as I hate to admit it, the woman’s tenacity is admirable.”

Ryu scoffed and spoke again right before he disappeared; “The fact that she was able to sway you at all is a miracle. But I suppose if one were to happen, then it would involve the Goddess Eir.”

Before she could think of a comeback, Ryu had disappeared into the shadows of the crowds. Hana sighed as she heard Mei laughing. A small, bitter smile touched her face before she had opened the coach door, stepped inside, then latched the door behind herself.

Smacking the roof of the carriage, Hana called out to the driver a bit more aggressively than she had wanted; “Take us back with haste! The Senators have most likely already started to arrive!”