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*Niam Henka*

"What will my answer determine?" I asked the mysterious woman.

She seemed to know Haru. 'Why can't I just continue my journey without hearing about him?'

"It will determine if I can trust you or not." She answered.

"Has my brother wronged you?" I asked.

"No, of course not. He wronging me? Come on..."

"I won't understand your words unless I get some information. Didn't we make a deal? You were going to tell me about yourself, but it ended up with me spilling. Are you a governmental figure perhaps?"

"Was. Not anymore. Also it will take all the excitement away if I already tell you who I am."

"You are saying I know you?"

"Everyone does."

"Is this a riddle?"

"Could be."

"I like this conversation, I have to admit. You are the smartest Bearer I've met so far."

"It was that girl before, right?"

"You mean her?" I said as I pointed up at the ceiling.

The woman nodded.

"So, what can I call you until you give me your real name?" I asked.

"Pantera."

Our conversation never ended. It was as if we were throwing a ball back and forth. And the longer I talked and drank with Pantera, the more fun it got.

"... he then fell of his donkey." She finished her story.

"HAHAHA!" We laughed.

"Who rides a donkey backwards? Hahah!"

The beers we drank had shown their effect not long ago, so our behavior changed accordingly. Everything was funnier than it really was, I think we both knew that, but we enjoyed it. The people at the other tables didn't even care about us anymore, seeing how we had fun and laughed like they did, they thought we weren't that much different from them.

"Now, Pantera. I think it's time to cut the bullshit. What is it that you know about my brother?" I asked seriously.

Pantera sobered up immediately. I still couldn't see her face but I knew her facial expression also changed.

"A year ago, I met Haru. He wasn't actually known as Haru for everybody else though. Only to me, he was Haru. We met at a club called 'Sun Side Seven'. This club, bar or whatever wasn't normal. Every week, at a certain time, 6 martial artist would fight in a free for all, and the winner would be allowed to fight the champion. All of it illegal, of course. Gangsters as well as normal people were there to be entertained and bet. He was champion at the time while I was a challenger. The Shining Swordsman, that was his alias. Mine was, The Panther."

"You beat the 5 contenders and got the chance to fight Haru?" I interrupted.

"Yes, made me save a couple of seconds explaining. Whatever. So, I get to fight him and I beat him."

"Yeah, come on. I saw it all. He never lost a fight against anybody else than my father."

What was this woman talking about? Was she drunk?

"This is my proof." She said and made a cutting movement with her fingers in front of her face.

I didn't say anything in hopes she would reveal what she meant instead of making me think about it more.

"The scars it probably left, [idiot]."

'Is she telling me that she caused the scars on his lip?'

"What do you want me to do now? Give you a medal? How does that explain anything?"

"You really like to ask questions, don't you? Well, I want to make something clear. Your brother, he is strong. Now imagine how strong he would be now. A Bearer that has trained in swordsmanship his whole life gets unnatural abilities." She paused. "Ah! Got you! You thought about yourself too. You are also strong because of that. Now, tell me. Wouldn't I be strong too? I defeated him after all.

"Maybe. I never fought against Haru. I never defended myself against him. My mother used to tell me that whenever a sibling of hers would mess with her, she would just ignore it and think about things she was better at than them."

"Confidence is what you both have, Niam. That won't be enough to do what you will do. I don't know your goal, nor do I care. Just so you know, Haru is the strongest Bearer in the European Union right now, and they have declared war on the Nordic Alliance already. Their first battle will be in 2 years."

"Tell me why this has anything to do with me."

"You really are enemies now?"

"No, he is just a nuisance who doesn't deserve the blessing he got."

"Sigh... Niam, we are so much alike."

"I know, Tana."

She froze up. She didn't expect me to find out about her identity. Tana, the first-born child of the Arabic Emperor.

"You got me. Tell me how, I want to erase my foot prints next time something like this happens."

"First, you won against my brother, that means you don't lack talent. He lacked more training than you. Second, you said you knew him before meeting him at the fight club. My mother told me that my father's side of the family was the one that protected the royal family before the industrialization. There is simply no way they didn't keep track of what the heirs did. My father was the heir, so they recorded my mothers name, then my brother and me. Third, you said we were alike. Smart, hidden and a lot of sibling issues, that's what I think about you. And when I compare that to me, it fits too." I explained.

["Waitress, is it possible to order something to a room?"] Tana spoke.

["Yes, you need to order down here though."]

["Perfect, give us a room and bring us the finest booze you have."]

["Give me a minute, please."]

"What did you say to her?" I asked.

"I asked her to give us a room filled with the finest liquor."

"Who will be paying, huh?"

"Me, I'm a princess, I'm rich. Hahah!"

She was back at her drunk-funny stage.

["That will be 120 credits."]

["Take this, and keep the rest. I will ask for different things with the rest of this money."]

Tana gave the waitress a sack full of credits and received a key.

"Let's have some fun, Niam."

'What is she thinking about?'

„Room 248"

„Is that our room?" I asked.

„It is."

We entered the room. The room had a floor-table that held liquor bottles of all kinds on it. Behind the table, a king size bed.

„Ever had liquor before? Beer doesn't count." She asked.

„No, not once."

„Wouldn't have expected that."

„I had better things to do, I didn't want to end up like my brother. It doesn't matter anymore, I changed, I have to change. Now take off that robe, I want to finally see your face. It's disrespectful towards me."

Tana proceeded to take off her robe. A woman not much older than me with short, blonde hair came forth. She had a darker skin tone than me and unnatural, yellow eyes that looked at me with empathy. She wore makeup around her eyes, a black shade surrounded them. She had a thin nose, a sharp jawline and sharp canine teeth. And the outfit she wore was a simple, black outfit.

„Can we drink now?" She grinned excitedly.

We poured each other's drinks. With every refill our guards were lowered.

„Let me sit next to you, the pillow you sit on looks more comfortable." She said.

Just when she stood up, she lost balance and fell into my direction.

„Whoa! Watch out."

I caught her fall and set her down next to me.

„You are cold. Are you ill?" She asked.

She was now sitting next to me, close enough for me to feel her breath on my face. Her yellow eyes looked deep into mine.

„I am always cold." I responded.

She closed the distance between us until she was right next to my ear.

„Tonight, you won't feel cold at all."

She was right. That night, she shared her warmth with me.