- Fleeting Shadows

As Lia left the room, Wallace was left in shock.

His own rules that he had set in their negotiations to give him the advantage, were used against him in the greatest way he could have imagined.

'Not all questions should be asked. And not all answers should be given.'

He was still mulling over her last words before she had turned heel and left, leaving him in one of his most complex and troubled mental fits he had ever been in.

'Just how did she…'

Of course now he was certainly expecting Lia to come back through those doors, back into his office, and claim she knew the answer to her third question all along. The one he wanted to avoid telling her.

Their conversation was just that shocking and somewhat awe inspiring.

Before he could question her further however, she had left, and now Rian was kneeling by his side apologizing for her behavior.

"I'm sorry sir. I can give you the answer to her question if you want, but please don't take it on her."

"You care for her then I take it?"

"Yes sir…she's a friend."

"A person you entrust your back to in battle is more than a friend, Rian. That's family."

"...yes sir."

Hearing the word 'sir' repeated multiple times in their conversation, Wallace couldn't help but sigh.

'He's still calling me sir, even though I consider him a friend. I guess he won't shake off the debt he owes me, no matter how many times I ask.'

As he thought for a moment, Wallace came to an answer for Rian regarding Lia.

"You don't need to tell me anything. She's already done that for you."

"Sir?"

"You didn't get it? That's alright, let me explain. For a person who has no one whispering in their ear, they would simply say, 'I have no one pulling my strings.' For a person who can't name the one controlling them, they would simply say, 'I cannot name them.'"

Taking a moment to see if Rian was following, which he was, Wallace continued.

"But for someone who knows their name, and their goals…well, they certainly wouldn't have said, 'I'll skip that question.' Simply put, she had no reason to put it that way, unless there really was an answer to begin with. Meaning that, there does happen to be someone hiding in her shadow, yet she chooses not to name it."

Chuckling to himself, Wallace thought back to the conversation he had with Lia, and the many things he had learned from her through the several bits of information he purposely let slip.

'She really did know the answer to all her own questions. Or at least the one behind her did.'

"From what I've heard from you Rian, and from the girl, I can put the pieces together quite clearly. And I must say, if she truly is a puppet, dancing to the strings of her puppeteer on his stage, then the works of his wonders are something to marvel at."

"Sir?"

Rian once again asked, his mind still confused, though not on Lia's answer, but rather what his master was talking about.

"Rian, if i had to choose one thing to see in my life, then I can proudly say this: When that girl told me she did all this for entertainment, I questioned her sanity in many ways. But now that I look at it, I somewhat agree with her."

Flipping a coin in his hands, one from the bag Lia had rejected, saying that it was best in the miners hands, rather than hers, Wallace thought deeply on the anomaly he had just witnessed.

"If I had to see one of this world's many wonders, I can say with pride that I would be there, sitting at the front row to that puppeteers stage."

Rian's eyes followed Wallace's gaze, tracing to the door that Lia had left through.

'So would I.'

***

The streets of Neverdark were as loud as ever.

The passing stalls stocked with food, tools, and furniture, which the passersby bought out on a whim, their desires for window shopping getting the better of them.

Though none of this mattered to Lia, for her to see such a chaotic environment, somehow moving in order or one another, set her at ease.

The dozens and dozens of people moving about, bumping into each other, and shoving around. Yet they moved like gears inside a clock, each moving in a different direction, but fitting so effortlessly into the groves of the gears.

They made it look easy.

To Lia, who was in the midst of shoving her way through the crowd, interrupting their 'flow' yet having no effect on her whatsoever, she came to one steady conclusion in her mind.

'I hate this place.'

Of course, all good headaches Lia felt were not without that one little dabble of oil in the water.

Cain.

'You haven't even seen the entire city. There's miles and miles of this place, and you've only seen like what, a quarter of a quarter?'

Clearly he was still upset, as his words held nothing back from Lia, outright refuting her own words.

'I'm not mad.'

Cain said, though this time his voice barely held back his frustration, which was teetering on the edges of his lips.

'Yes you are. So just tell me what's the matter before I end up taking out my frustration on these damned people!'

'...sounds more like you're the one who's upset.'

'Shut up.'

Though Lia was the one to ask, she already knew the reason for Cain's 'indirect' approach to his anger management.

'I don't have anger management.'

'That's the problem.'

Shifting her way past two men who were currently yelling at each other for some issue with their carts.

'Fine, you want to help me deal with my anger, then perhaps you shouldn't have rejected that money.'

'Your still on about that? I told you, it would be better in the victim's hands, in hopes to change the fate of those affected by this disaster. The money was not mine to take.'

'By will or right?'

'Both.'

Sighing, Lia could feel Cain's own breath leave his lungs. A feeling that was neither foreign to her or strange. But felt natural as if it were her own breath leaving her chest.

'Look Lia. I understand that you're a princess and all that -'

'Was.'

Lia interjected, her voice stern with meaning and emotion.

'Was, sorry.'

Knowing full well Lia's feelings on the matter, Cain didn't push his luck, and decided to draw back on his statement.

'But be that as it may you still grew up within a castle no?'

'I did, but what does that have to do with anything?'

"I know you have no concept of money, since you grew up in a castle. But 10,000 gold was enough to buy a f*cking castle!"

Flinching at Cain's sudden outburst, she could feel the bile of his anger surging inside.

'Never thought you were one to get upset at the concept of money.'

'I'm extremely powerful, not extremely rich!'

Chuckling to herself, Lia decided to test just how far she could push Cain before he realized it.

'So you're cheap?'

'Your sarcasm is deafening to my ears and oil to my flaming rage.'

Shrugging her shoulders Lia turned her attention elsewhere, attempting to change the topic of the conversation, avoiding Cain's further outbursts.

'What about those questions?'

'What about them?'

Thinking back, it was something that confused Lia greatly, yet she was never given a proper explanation on what was happening.

'I understand how you knew about the drugs and who Wallace was, but that last question. Why did you make me ask that?'

'The connection between the spiders, Wallace, and White Spice?'

'Yeah. That one.'

'Fine, I'll tell you. Do you remember how Wallace mentioned that he had discovered a way to make his drugs - particularly White Spice less addictive?'

'I do. He said it was the reason he could give the miners so much without any repercussions.'

'No Kingpin in any drug trade gives away valuable drugs, even if they can be cured.'

'So what did he mean then?'

'Simple. To Wallace, the spider's venom - which causes the infected to become queasy, and nauseous, acted more like a dulling ingredient that counteracts the effects of White Spice. Particularly the drug's nasty habit of attuning a person's hyper sense of awareness.'

Taking a moment to process the incoming information, Lia shockingly made a connection, viewing everything Cain said as perfectly reasonable.

'A dosage of a mind numbing poison would counteract the effects of hyper awareness. But why would Wallace give them out freely if that was the case?'

'Simple. The miners were already hunting the spiders, so he made them a deal. They would hand over the 'useless' spider corpses in exchange for a drug that helped them combat the monsters. That's why they view him in such high honor. It's because they never made the connection that it was a business agreement, not a kind gesture.'

'But he's still a good person, even if his mind was set differently back then.'

'Coming from the girl who once hated him for simply being a dealer.'

Shaking her head, Lia didn't bother to refute his words, knowing they were true ,and knowing that she couldn't deny them.

'But Wallace no longer wants to get involved in the drug trade.'

Suddenly, Cain's words shocked Lia, making her lose any focus she had on herself.

'Wait. What do you mean?'

'You were right when you said he was a good person. After helping out in the mines, Wallace got a chance to see the darker side of the world he lived in. It changed him. Now he's fighting to bring that side of the world into the light, to work for a better future.'

'But how could he do that? Reverse psychology?'

'Did you know that Neverdark has a yearly mayor run? Every year they vote whether to keep the current mayor, or move to another. Of course, being in such a high position would grant Wallace the power he would need, but it would come at a cost.'

'He's running for mayor? But how? With his drug trade he won't be able to.'

It was then that Lia's mind made the connection, fitting the pieces into an utmost unbelievable puzzle.

'He's giving it up.'

'All of it. He's hiding any traces of his connection to the drug trade. It was why he was so hesitant to tell you anything involving his business. It's also why Alan saw you as a threat to him, and attempted to use his fear against him.'

'The more I hear about him the more questions I have.'

'Those are the joys of mysteries.'

Dodging between two people heading in two different directions, Lia finally found herself in front of a large stone square.

The entire courtyard was filled with people, though most were condensed in the middle, a single path leading deeper into the city having been formed.

Along the sides, Lia could see the steady and calm expressions of those, who, like her, didn't seem to like the large crowds that occupied Neverdark.

'The gate. Huu…finally.'

After waiting a few minutes, Lukali hobbled out of the crowd of people who had formed a wall along the edge of the courtyard's rim.

The gate housed a large courtyard before it, allowing for anyone entering to follow a stream directly into the city. However, for people like Lia and Lukali, they had specifically bordered off the edges of the entryway, like a funnel to direct the oncoming traffic, and those who were trying to leave.

Lia could only thank the gods that the side pathways were practically empty, there being no one but a few stragglers who talked amongst themselves.

But just as Lia was about to enjoy the fresh air of the outside world after so long within the 'never dark' cave systems the city was housed in, a sound came from behind her, interrupting her approach.

"Lia!"

Abruptly turning around, Lia witnessed a tall burly man rushing through the crowd, far better than she ever did before.

'Dang it. Why is he so good at that?'

'Because he's lived here for longer?'

'Shut up Cain. What happened to not stating the obvious?'

Cain feigned ignorance, pretending otherwise.

'Don't know what you could be talking about.'

'I hate you.'

'That's my job!'

Groaning, Lia backtracked her steps while Lukali remained closer to the door. Lia didn't believe that it was needed to make the trip back and forth for him.

Finally breaking free from the crowd, Rian rushed up to Lia, clasping her shoulders.

"Lia…you…forgot this."

He said through labored breathing, while holding up a small but fat coin pouch.

Instantly Lia could tell what it was , and attempted to hand it back.

"Rian, I told you, I don't need this."

"I know. I know. But Wallace said that he should pay for your expenses at least."

Confused by his words , Lia checked inside the small coin purse, only to widen her eyes in shock.

"This…Rian this isn't for traveling expenses. I could travel around Morden with this."

Inside the small yet fat pouch was a large and plentiful amount of gold coins. 1,000 if Lia had the time to count, but she simply made a rough estimate.

"This is far too much. It didn't even cost us anything to get here."

"Listen Lia."

Rian said sternly, causing Lia to stop and pay head to his words.

"For one, this isn't for getting here. Wallace knows you'll go on more Hunts in the future, so he thought it would be best for you to take this for future use. Also, he was the one who brought you here. It would look bad on him if he didn't pay you even in the slightest."

"But-"

"Trust me. This won't be a hindrance."

Lia contemplated whether or not taking the money would be a good thing, until she heard a raging voice from inside her head.

'Take the f**king gold!'

Clutching her ears, and receiving a strange look for Rian, Lia reassured Cain, doing anything it would take to get him to stop.

'Calm down. Calm down. I'm taking the gold, okay?'

'Good. It's not 10,000 but it's still 1,000.'

Shaking her head Lia thanked Rian for coming all this way to give them this.

"So you'll accept it?"

"I will, yes. Besides, it would do us well getting back to Kokono village, since we don't know if our contact will be able to come and grab us on his way back."

Sighing in relief, Rian placed his hands on his hips, and nodded his head.

"good . Good. We wouldn't want you guys stranded in the Glades*."

_________

A/N:

*Glades: The land in between villages and heavily populated areas. Preferably places with little to no human activity, causing the area to become infested with monsters.

_________

"That would be preferred, yes."

Lia said, rubbing the back of her head, secretly cursing herself for not having thought of that.

Suddenly, something Rian had said pulled her from her thoughts.

"Wait…Wallace? You called him Wallace and not 'Master.' Why?"

Now it was Rian to embarrassingly scratch his head , as he sheepishly smiled.

From the back of her mind, Lia could hear Cain getting ready for a remark.

'That look does not suit him.'

'Can you please be nice to the guy we nearly died with!'

'I'm just saying this, but what sentence should explain enough.'

'Ugh…'

Lia didn't bother trying to argue her point of view with Cain, and instead, turned her focus back onto Rian, waiting for an answer.

"Well…you see…"

And the answer she got shocked her to her core.

"I decided to leave his service. So he's no longer my master."

"You?! The guy who owed everything to that man, decided to leave his service?"

"Well, it was more like his idea. He told me that I should stick with those I can intrust my back to. A place I can feel trusted and welcomed. He told me that I was best suited there."

He said, gesturing to Lia and Lukali.

"You don't mean…"

Lia immediately put the pieces together, but had a hard time believing what she was hearing was true or not.

So she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"That's right. Wallace, the friend that he is, told me that I should stick with you, and become a Hunter as well as your party member."

He paused as Lia was trying to come over her shock on the matter.

"That is…"

He said, glancing at Lia and holding out his hand.

"If you'll have me?"

A sincere question from a sincere man. A man whom she had entrusted her back to, entrusted her own life to. A man she laughed with, and man she fought with, and bled with.

'A friend.'

Without so much as a shred of hesitation, Lia held out her own arm, clasping Rian's hand within her own.

"How could I refuse?"

→ End of the Neverdark Arch ←