The stomping suddenly stopped. Emil watched as the demanding gaze pstered on Lucien’s face quickly faded. What was left was confusion, with eyebrows trying to reach the tops of his ears. It was clear that he was shocked, almost hurt, at the horse’s request. The now wide eyes pleading caused his anger to wane, but a quick shake of his head put him back on track.

  “I can’t live like this. Working for you is too much. This was my st job aiding your little operation.” Emil decred, trying to push his anger back to the front.

  Lucien lifted his hands and folded them. He shook them at Emil, pleadingly, while making noises with his bound muzzle. The dispy caused the horse’s face to twist from a gre to a grimace. He thought the dispy was beneath both of them as he did. Though the Greyhart name didn’t have much dignity left, thanks in part to their former heir’s actions, groveling wasn’t a good look for Lucien.

  “No, I am not finished. This was too much. Do you have any idea what this whole bloody operation cost me?! The favors I had to call in and, even more, the ones I had to make just pull your ass out of a hole! There are three new myrthiral coins with my blood in the cws of some very bad people!” Emil fumed. As he roared, his eyes went wide and nostrils fred. He moved close to the throne and loomed over Lucien,” Continuing this bsted arrangement is going to be the death of me!”

  Emil ended his ranting and stared down at the bound rabbit. The look on Lucien’s face caused Emil’s guilt to overtake the rage. Running a hand through his chestnut mane, he stepped back and took a deep breath to gain composure. There was a hesitation to look back at him. Even though he couldn’t stand him, Emil was a mortal being, and the want to forgive hadn’t been completely worn away quite yet.

  Against his better judgment, Emil looked back at Lucien. The rabbit was sitting with his hands in his p, and his back was straight against the chair. Something about the ‘good student’ pose caused him to roll his eyes before speaking again.

  “I suppose you do need your muzzle free if you are to answer me.” The horse reached back into his vest. From inside, Emil pulled a small circur piece of metal the same color as the muffler strapped to Lucien’s face. Tilting Lucien’s head back, he slipped the object into the indent. It began to spin and click until it eventually settled back into the housing. Three more clicks could be heard from the back strap holding the muffler onto Lucien’s head. Keeping hold of the front of the deceive, Emil counted to ten in his head before the fourth and final click was heard. The final step was fiddling around with a few csps on the rear strap before the muffler slipped from the rabbit’s face.

  As the metal ribbon grasping his tongue slipped from his mouth, Lucien took his first full deep breath of free air in five years. After Emil cut the cords binding his wrist, Lucien embraced the swelling feeling of etion as his hands caressed his cheeks. A content sigh slipped from Lucien as the train hit a sharp incline.

  Now free of the muffler, Lucien zily turned his attention to the annoyed-looking horse.

  “And the rest of the LeBnc stable. Do they, too, call for dereliction of duty?” Lucien asked, rexing back into his throne.

  Emil’s eyes narrowed further, now forming tiny slits. None of his anger phased Lucien. Even that pleading look was only to get what he wanted. If anything, Emil was more disappointed in himself for thinking anything said sunk into that thick rabbit skull.

  “No. Unsurprisingly, they are as loyal to your family as ever. Andre hasn’t spoken to me since I announced my intention to leave. Don’t know if the silence after or insults before are preferred at this point,” Emil answered with a half-hearted shrug.

  “My, my, that is a frightful development,” said Lucien. Standing up from his chair, he pced a reassuring hand on Emil’s shoulder, “I do so hate to see a family squabble. Let me talk to Andrè and see if I can get all this ugliness worked out.” The rabbit’s words ended as his other hand moved up to Emil's cheek.

  Said hand was quickly swatted away as Emil pulled back, “Appreciated, but my brother isn't your concern right now. I want ou-” The words were met with shushing from Lucien. As the rabbit condescendingly shook his head, he tried again to touch the horse's face. This time, a single finger across Emil's muzzle. A gesture that would have seen a less composed Emil would cost Lucien at least a finger. Maybe the whole hand. Instead, the horse simply pulled away while maintaining the gre.

  Lucien could only throw up his hands in defeat before returning to his throne once again. He could almost feel Emil’s glower dig into his skin. The daggers being pointed at him were not new and were as sharp as ever.

  “My dearest Emil, I am floored by your request. As, I can see your point. You do a lot for me and my-”

  “A lot?!” Emil erupted, “What I do for you is akin to moving mountains. This…whole operation. I worked a fucking miracle for you! I don’t know what contract Grandmama signed with your horde, but this had to pay it back ten-fold.”

  Seeing the fuming Emil seemingly did not affect the smiling rabbit. The gears in the rabbit’s head were turning, however. Looking away, Lucien studied the closed curtains before huffing, “Alright, fine. You do a great deal for me and my endeavors. To say I owe you is, indeed, very true. It's just your services are too valuable to me.”

  “There are other brokers.” Emil cut in.

  “But you know how selective I am about who I work with. You just happen to be the best.” Lucien shot back.

  “Well, ‘the best’ is subjective. Find someone else.”

  Lucien paused. His own eyes narrowed, though his smile never faded. He scanned his traveling partner and eventually held on the mud staining the bottoms of the horse’s fashionable shoes. Moving back up, Lucien rested a cheek in his palm. Finally, with a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes, Lucien said, “Fine. You can have your freedom.”

  “W-what?” Emil sputtered.

  “Under one condition, dear friend.” Lucien said while holding up a finger, “A simple request for someone such as yourself.” Lucien’s request was received with caution. The rabbit calling a scheme ‘simple’ could mean literally anything due to a bad habit of his. It wasn’t uncommon for him to never reveal the full span of those pns, usually to at least one person’s detriment.

  “And what exactly is this request?” Emil asked, trepidation clear in his voice.

  “I would like your assistance in capturing the Chime of Dusk. Again.”

  “Of course, it's that. No, you mad bastard! I would have to make deals with the entire Rumor Mill to keep the Wholshires off me! Even then, it wouldn’t be enough!” Emil roared in disbelief.

  “Please, Emil, I have a pn this time. If you’d listen, you would see it's a sound one. Goddess knows I wasn’t just sitting on my hands for half a decade. If you were smart, you would listen to me.”

  The sharpness of the rabbit’s words cut through the st bit of patience Emil had. The horse’s green eyes shrunk to near pinpoints as they held on the smiling Lucien. Though his lips parted to speak, the words pushed through tightly clenched teeth.

  “Delusional. You must be delusional if you think I am ever putting my ass on the line for you again! I don’t care how much time you spent dreaming up your newest inane scheme. There isn’t a force under the goddess’ eye that would make me even list-”

  “I have secured a second chime.” Lucien said ftly.

  With a single line, Lucien controlled the situation once again. Where anger sat a moment ago, now was cautious interest. Divine knew Lucien was a fan of bluffing but not on something like this. To the rabbit, a bluff needed to be at least half true, though which half depended on the time of day it seemed. Ciming something like that, to have one of the twelve chimes in his possession, was undoubtedly a big cim. Even knowing one’s location would raise an eyebrow without at least some physical proof.

  “I know I’m going to regret this, but I’m listening,” said Emil.

  “I knew you would,” Lucien beamed as he stood up from his throne and reached into the jumpsuit. Emil took a few steps back as Lucien retrieved a folded note. Lucien handed it over to his handler and watched as he looked it over. It was sealed with a glob of what looked like wax. The note itself was on a piece of looseleaf paper, and the wax imprint bore a crude facsimile to the Grayhart crest above Lucien’s head. Typically, notes like this would be etched onto high-grade parchment made from the finest milkweed with a house’s specific enchantments or fir. Such elements were hard to come by in a maximum security prison, so the rabbit made due. Emil broke the seal and read the contract. The Grayharts were, by trade, wyers and dealbrokers alongside their aristocratic position. So, while the physical conditions of the contract were cking, the content was rock solid.

  “What you have there,” Lucien continued to beam as he walked around Emil, “is the fruits of a year and a half of bor. Sometimes, mistakes become miracles. I do believe that was something your grandmama used to say.”

  “You secure a chime of creation for a hundred and fifty thousand credits? How do you know it’s legit? A price tag that low seems sketchy.” Emil asked, looking up from the paper.

  “Well, you see, my friend, I know who owned the vault they hit. I was actually scooping out the pce myself while I was setting up my st job. Of course, that was done without your help, and you know where that nded me.” Lucien said with a wave of his hand. He walked up to a window and ran a hand down the velvety curtain. “The crew boss was on the same wing as me, and we had a little conversation. Come to find a crew of nobodies might not be the best people to contain a destruction engine. A few hundred thousand credits and a gentleman’s agreement to help him escape, and here we are.”

  “I don’t…” Emil trailed off as Lucien slid up beside him. Lucien’s smiling face moved in front of the contract. He pulled it away and looked deep into Emil’s eyes. Those pools of icy blue started to draw the horse back in. There was a passion in them, something bordering on fanatical.

  “Mistakes into miracles, Emil,” Lucien said softly while pcing a hand on the horse’s upper arm. Gripping it tightly, he moved closer to Emil and continued, “The mistakes of many people led us here. Even the Goddess saw fit to bring you back to me. This is the st time I swear on my Grandfather’s soul. Win, lose, or draw, you will be free from the accord. Please, I need you.”