The Missing Guest

Noble forced out a smile. "Sarai is here with the food, I'm going to peek out and make sure it goes on the correct table."

Lena clicked her tongue, "Hurry back dear. And don't overwork yourself. It's just a wedding."

But Noble could feel how touched the bride was by her daughter's care.

The professor dipped her head. "I'll be right back, Mom." Noble looked at Rain.

The teen frowned slightly with an open question on her face, but Noble waved her hand lightly in response.

"Keep up the good work. Oh, and the synthetic flowers look gorgeous!"

Backing out of the room, Noble closed the door with a sigh.

Most of the guests had arrived and were looking for seats. A few lingered at the tables in the back as if trying to decide if they would stay or not.

Noble greeted them as she passed by. "The bride and groom have said all Sleepers are welcome. Please take a seat and don't be shy!"

The young guests lowered their heads in thanks and moved farther into the room.

Noble moved in the opposite direction toward the corner with the buffet table. Already she could feel the angst behind Sarai's pleasant smile.

"All the food is here and accounted for!" She announced a tad too loudly.

"It looks and smells delicious!" Noble peeked inside one of the covered trays.

"I have all of their favorites as well as the cake over there. Jolly made another masterpiece if you ask me." Sarai pointed to a simple but elegant confection.

"Speaking of cakes, you said it has an extra layer?" Noble asked quietly.

"Everything here is fine." Sarai tilted her head toward the door. "But you may want to speak to Fort. He was on the fence about if he should bother you."

'Bother me?' Noble got a sinking feeling. "Thanks for contacting me. You finish setting up. I'll handle it."

Sending her senses out into the hall, Noble's uneasy feeling only increased. Fort was in a small office across from the auditorium. He was not alone. And the person he was talking to was not who she expected.

"Are you sure? Maybe..." Fort's voice cut short as the door swung open. His creased brow was replaced with a forced smile. "Hello, My Love!"

"Hi, Fort." Noble gave her husband a hug from the side. "Hello, Chancellor Gui," she greeted her old friend. She glanced around the small office and frowned. "A strange place for a reunion, don't you think."

"Gui and I were just catching up. It isn't often I get to see him outside the office," Fort's eyes darted away.

"Indeed, I imagine you don't leave work very often these days," Noble acknowledged the Chancellor's efforts. "Mother will be glad you are here."

"I am happy to attend. It is a nice change from...everything else." Gui motioned toward the hall. "Your mother and this Teacher Julius have quite a long list of friends! I feel like half the government agents residing in the NQSC are here."

Noble glanced across the hall at all the chairs. "They wanted to make it a small affair, but the more people they invited, the more they wanted to invite. Between Mom's government contacts and Julius's time at the Academy, I was worried that we were going to have to find an even bigger place."

"It is quite a turnout." Gui smiled warmly. "I suppose we all needed something to celebrate."

"Indeed we do," Noble agreed easily.

"Speaking of celebrating, I thought you would be with your mother," Fort shifted uncomfortably. "Did you need something?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought by now that you would be with Julius, not holed up suspiciously with the leader of the Waking World." Noble turned the question back on her husband.

"Oh, I uh, I was with Julius, but then he asked again if I had contacted Master Sunless. I was honest with him that we were trying our best. He said not to worry about it too much. I decided to give it one last try and who better to ask for a favor than the Chancellor?" Fort's smile faded.

"I take it you do not have good news." Noble looked between the two men.

The Chancellor hesitated.

"Ah, I see." The professor shut the door. "Tell me."

"I was explaining to Fort that I had no idea that The Devil of Antarctica was so close to Julius. He didn't list anyone on his military forms."

"The Devil of Antarctica…is Master Sunless?" Noble tried to process that information.

Their neighbor was a fierce fighter based on what he had taught Rain, but Noble couldn't marry the slightly mischievous lecturer with the devilish terror reported by the news outlets.

Rain had been in contact with her former tutor. Why had she never mentioned it?!

Of course, Noble was both a professor and Queen Bee, so who was she to judge?

Pushing past the confusion, Noble held on to a much more important piece of information in what the Chancellor had said.

"Why would Julius need to be contacted about Master Sunless?" Noble's feeling of dread increased.

Fort and Gui exchanged glances, and the Chancellor sighed. "The details are a little sparse, but during a battle in Antarctica, three Category Four Gates opened and pinned in forces of Valor, Song, and the Government. The Awakened forces were devastated. Saint Cor escaped to the Dream Realm or we might not know anything that happened at all."

"And Master Sunless was there when this happened?" Noble bit her lip.

"He was," Gui confirmed.

"But he is a Master. Surely he escaped to the Dream Realm like Saint Cor!"

Hadn't the Chancellor called him the Devil of Antarctica? Noble refused to believe that someone like that would go down even in the face of certain death.

"He might have. In fact, the government believes he did. But the place that Master Sunless was sent is a Death Zone." Fort tried to soften the blow but found the task impossible.

"Godgrave?" Noble thought about the place between the Song and Sword domains. If he had been sent to the edge of the bones of the ancient god, he had a decent chance to escape.

"Not Godgrave." Gui shook his head. "But somewhere just as harrowing. Cor brought back those he could but four of the government Masters, including Master Sunless, have yet to return."

"How long ago was this?" Noble hoped that this had just happened. Then the lack of information would make sense.

"It has been five days. Officially Master Sunless is missing. Unofficially, we have to face the possibility that—"

"No!" Noble covered her ears.

She was not particularly close to her neighbor, but people she cared about were. Their hurt was hers as well.

"We cannot assume anything except that he is missing." She added more calmly. "It's only been a few days as you said. Wasn't he a survivor of the Forgotten Shore? Surely anything else would pale in comparison." 

Gui remained silent for a moment. "It's possible." 

"It's not just possible. It's true. Soon he will find a gate and return. I'm sure of it." Noble wished more than anything that her emotional sense extended from the waking world into the Dream Realm. For now, she would have to live on faith instead. 

"I hope you are right." The Chancellor meant his words. 

The government had lost many of its best and brightest in that catastrophe. Getting even one of the Masters back would be a miracle. 

"I am," Noble answered with conviction. "You'll see." 

They went silent for a moment before Fort brought them back to the present. 

"That's all well and good," he said slowly. His expression became taut. "But what do we tell Julius?"