Dinner and Hope

"Y-You had a brother?" Edana asked, staring at Thorn with her eyes wide open, waiting for an answer.

After a moment of silence, he sighed, "Yes. Vine, my older brother... He was a Night Leader many years ago.", he paused for a moment before continuing.

"After he was given a mission to get information on the Cult of Mayhem, he disguised himself as a cultist and infiltrated them. We were in touch with him for over a year, but one day, he suddenly stopped sending us messages."

With his voice shaking, he added, "We…. I thought he was already dead." He looked at Edana with a firm gaze, "But the Grand Master told me he may still be alive."

"So you must find out if he is being held in this cell block." He pointed on the map once again.

Edana had a serious look on her face while she listened to Thorn. "Leave it to me, sir." She replied without hesitation.

Thorn let out a small smile and dismissed her. "Then you can go now, prepare well for the battle ahead."

Edana nodded courtly and left the room, leaving Thorn alone once again.

"Haah..." Thorn leaned back on his chair and looked towards the ceiling. He reached into the pocket of his coat and fished out a small hand watch. "Are you really okay, brother?" He thought out loud, his gaze firmly rooted on the broken hand watch.

---

Edana walked along the bustling streets of Arcturus, her thoughts wandering to the things that Thorn said to her.

"Look, a knight! I want to be like her one day too!" A young girl with missing teeth pointed towards Edana and exclaimed to her friends.

"Woah!" her friends, two boys of same age, also stopped and gawked at Edana. "Knights are so beautiful."

Hearing the kids, Edana fell out of her thoughts and turned towards them. When she gazed at the kids, they froze in surprise.

Edana moved her gaze across the kids and stopped at the girl. She gave a bright smile to the kids before going on her way.

Her steps slowed down until she reached a small one story house with a shabby wooden door. She stood in front of the door of her house and stared at it for a second. "Haah..." She sighed and reached for the door, opening it and heading inside.

"Oh? You're back Sister Edana?" Cadell, who was cooking, turned back towards her and greeted her.

"Yes." She smiled and nodded at him. "Hmm.." She started turning her head around the room.

Shaking his head, Cadell shouted, "Val! Dinner's ready, come out!"

A door opposite of the kitchen opened slowly and Valentina appeared from the inside. She walked towards the dining table and groggily sat on the chair. Her bright and cheery appearance was no where to be seen. Her once shining eyes were now empty and blurry, her pale skin now seemed dull and her white silky hair was disheveled.

Edana looked at her with sombre eyes before turning her gaze towards Cadell. He looked back at her and sighed.

"I'll plate up the dinner, please take a seat sister." He turned towards the kitchen and began plating up dinner for the three of them.

Edana slowly walked towards the dining table and sat down on the chair opposite to Valentina. Even though she sat facing her, Valentina had no reaction, she kept staring on the table with her empty eyes.

Edana started fidgeting her fingers while looking at Valentina. She opened her mouth a few times, but no voice came out. When she tried to talk again, Cadell came to the table with their dinner.

"Eat up!" He put the plates down, which contained meat curry and bread. He sat down with his own plate and started chewing on the bread after dipping it on the curry.

Edana looked at them for a moment and finally spoke. "Thank you guys."

He stopped chewing and looked at her in surprise. Valentina also moved her head towards her slowly and looked at her with blurry eyes.

"What are you saying sister? We should be the one thanking you." Cadell quickly replied.

Edana shook her head. "No. I.... You both have been like my real siblings. I've changed a lot after meeting you two." She let out a small smile.

"Cadell." She looked at him and spoke. "You're a dependable brother to me. Even though you're young, you're not afraid to take on responsibilities, and that makes me happy."

"Wha- What's going on with you all of a sudden!?" Cadell was dumbfounded.

Edana smiled and turned towards Valentina. "Val..." She spoke solemnly while Valentina stared at her with complex emotions.

"I'm very happy that you're my sister." She gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry about what I did to your brother." Valentina clenched her fists for a second when she mentioned Zane. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

After a moment of silence, Valentina finally spoke. "I-It was an accident. I know that.." She clenched her teeth and a tear rolled down her cheek. "But... I had finally got to see him again..." Her voice faded away.

Seeing Valentina like this, both Edana and Cadell frowned. Edana clenched her fist and thought about something.

"Val... Your brother, he may be okay." Edana spoke with a firm gaze.

Valentina widened her eyes and lifted her head, staring at Edana. "What?"

"Phew" Edana let out a long breath before speaking. "In two days, The Sacred Order is going to attack the Cult of Mayhem." She paused. "I have been assigned to free the prisoners of the Cult."

Valentina and Cadell listened carefully to what she had to say.

"Your brother... Although he was in that state, he was taken by that Zaros guy. That means they had some use for him." She continued. "I bet he's also a prisoner there."

Valentina's eyes sparkled. "Really?"

Edana nodded, "I think so, but this is just my theory. If this was not the case, he wouldn't have taken him in that state."

Valentina nodded fervently, "That must be the case!" Cadell also nodded slowly, "Let's hope that your theory is correct sister." He added. "So? What's the plan?"

Edana glanced at him firmly, "The plan, is that I'll go and free your brother, and you guys will stay here, and go to the academy." She crossed her arms.

Both Cadell and Valentina looked disappointed hearing this. "Alright."

"Phew" Edana sighed and looked at Valentina.

"But Val..." Valentina looked at Edana with anticipation. Looking at Val, who was now filled with hope, she couldn't bring herself to say what she was going to.

"Nothing." She shook her head. 'I can't tell her what will happen to her brother the moment they find out he's a rogue Seeker..'

"Thank you... sister" Valentina spoke out with difficulty, which surprised Edana who was lost in thought. She smiled brightly and laughed. "Thank me after your brother is safe."

Valentina nodded with a meek smile.

They began chatting and eating their dinner. The house was then filled with noise and even laughter after what seemed like a long time.