Everyone in the courtroom, including Shinso, gazed at the unfamiliar figure. They were all equally taken aback by this sudden development. The man with ears and a tail suddenly pointed to Catherine and Carter, signaling for both of the Pollinators to free them. Both of the guards paused, unwilling to follow the strangers directions.

  “Who the hell are you to give orders to my men?” Captain Silas approached the taller humanoid.

  The fox-like man looked back at him, humming under his breath. “I’m someone that follows through.”

  He suddenly snapped his fingers, causing a small torrent of purple energy to swirl from his fingertips, coiling around the foreheads of the Pollinators standing beside Catherine and Carter’s containment block. The two guards moved almost monotonously, undoing the restraints and allowing the duo to leave.

  Catherine and Carter stepped out, twisting their wrists and adjusting to the unfamiliar sensation of being freed. Captain Silas’s brows twitched.

  “You can’t just—”

  “I can and I will,” The fox-like man responded, his voice low like an earthquake.

  “I’ll ask you this again, who are you and why the hell did you barge in here freeing everyone?” Captain Silas assertively stepped forward, grabbing the sleeve of the man's loose black robe.

  The fox-like man tugged his sleeve away, taking a short step back and brushing himself off. “I’m an agent of the Katshin Empire, dispatched here by the emperors’ inner circle to help keep things tame here.

  “Our previous ambassador was executed for sabotage, so me and my accomplices will be helping people here.”

  “There was an… ambassador here?” Humphrey raised an eyebrow.

  “You didn’t know? Strange…” The man with ears and a tail walked to the pair of side doors, pushing them open. He turned back to the group, signalling for them to follow him.

  “We have important business to attend to.”

  …

  As we headed back to Clifton carrying the rest of the ingredients, everyone swiftly approached us and took them away. Instead of fighting it, they let it happen.

  “What…they just—”

  “They know what to do already.” Cosette turned to me, smiling.

  I paused for a beat before asking a question. “How long have you been here for, all of you guys?”

  “We’ve resided in Clifton for about three weeks now, and we hold this gathering once a week. The Flamesrite Passage must be frequent if we are to please Him.”

  I knew I couldn’t inquire about this figure, as the Umbridge would either intervene or it would lead to corruption. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and watched everyone work.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “You can either accompany us back to the safehouse or wander as you please… just don’t run away, we’ll know.”

  Hearing this, I felt my heart tighten. “Wait… did Kael tell you or something?”

  Cosette shook his head. “There’s desire simmering within you. You still cling to hope, an optimism that’s misplaced.”

  He suddenly extended a hand, placing it on my shoulder. “How about I get you a drink?”

  Cosette began to lead me from the edge of the forest to the safehouse that was made for the charity organization. As we entered, the main lobby was a lot more populous, but it wasn’t like last night. I immediately caught sight of Ice Eyes on the far end of the bar, sipping his drink quietly.

  “You should be preparing,” Cosette cleared his throat and announced.

  The taller man with gaunt features froze, turning back to look at Cosette with a slightly flushed expression. His drink had been spilled across the counter, the reddish-colored water staining the wooden countertop.

  “Yes… I should,” Ice Eyes clarified as he stood up, making his way out of the bar with a slight stumble.

  I watched him leave, a mixture of unwelcome emotion stirring inside my mind. “He’s drunk, isn’t he?”

  Cosette nodded. “He does that often.”

  “Isn’t he here to replace Kael whilst he’s gone?”

  The blonde man didn’t answer, raising his goggles as he poured me a glass of water. He reached into his pocket, taking out a small vial of crimson powder. He slipped a small amount into my beverage, sliding it in my direction.

  “Drink up, this is the wine of the gods.”

  “Isn’t this the hallucinogen I had in my kit?” I pushed the glass away, revolted.

  Cosette replied with a smile. “It’s only a pinch. Did you sniff the whole bottle or something?”

  “Why do you guys have drugs to begin with?”

  The blonde man took a sip, swallowed, and replied. “For self-preservation, Silas.”

  “Self… preservation?” I asked, feeling a wave of curiosity flood over me.

  The ice cubes in Cosette’s drink bobbed around as he swirled the glass like a hypnotist, sighing longingly as he looked out the door and into the streets.

  “It’s very hard, what we do. We make the sacrifices no other would dare to make. We help those who can’t help themselves, we’re a charity, but also a bunch of blunt fools.”

  “So… you drink because you care?” I felt my stomach coil, slightly confused by the logic Cosette was presenting.

  “It was Kael’s idea. He said that the best way to help others is to help yourself first.”

  I nodded, slowly reaching for the drink. As I looked into the slightly red water, countless thoughts ran through my mind. I drifted to Kael’s logic—if I was to help others, like my friends, I had to help myself first. If I was to cling to that sliver of hope inside me, I had to be the best person I could ever be.

  I remembered the time Ruth, Daisy, and Oscar all belittled me because I refused to drink alcohol. Sure, it made me feel awful, but it also made me feel good about myself. I could stand up to them and tell them that I didn’t want to drink, I could tell them that I didn’t want to get drunk and condemn myself to a bottle.

  But that was the past. They’re out of my life now. I live in Clifton now, but I won’t be here soon. So, what’s stopping me from drinking right now, just a small swish?

  I want to help my friends, to assure them that I’m alive. To do so, why not make myself presentable?

  …

  About thirty minutes later, I collapsed onto my bed. My vision felt like it was swirling, and so did the room. I slithered to the end of the bed, burying my head into the pillow as I took deep breaths. It felt eerily good to get in this state. I felt dizzy as hell, but I also felt like this was me letting go. I didn’t have a father to boss me around and degrade me, I didn’t have Aizawa or Olivia to fester over me.

  I had people who laughed with me, who cared about me. Kael may be holding me here, but he’s never really hurt me. The only time he really slapped me was to wake me up from that vision.

  Rolling over on the bed, I looked to the ceiling. The wooden panels on the roof seemed to bend and swirl as if made of clay, drooping downwards. I could see stars and bursts of illusory color whenever I closed my eyes.

  “You can see why people love to drink,” a voice suddenly sounded in the bedroom.

  I snapped up, seeing a figure. They had crimson hair and elven ears—Kael!

  He was leaning against one of my bedposts, looking directly at me. He looked in the direction of my journal, humming in acknowledgement.

  “I see you dove into my journal? Find anything… desirable?”

  I couldn’t respond, the words lodged in my throat as if sealed with glue. I felt my eyes opening and closing over and over, my vision going in and out of focus.

  “Ah…you’ve drunk yourself silly, how cute.” Kael smirked to himself, flipping a golden coin up and down in his palm.

  I tried to speak, but my words came out slurred. My vision suddenly went black, and I slumped back into the pillows, habitually curling into a ball.

  Kael let out a low sigh as he approached the bed, placing his hand in the center of my forehead, just above my sigil. His hands gently parted my black hair, before running to my horns, tracing his hands up and down the slightly rocky appendages.

  “I hope you’ll be awake by the event tonight; it’d be a shame if you were to miss it.”

  I rolled over in my bed, mumbling something under my breath as I pulled the sheets closer to me. Kael watched in silence, his lips twitching into a warm smile, trotting to the edge of the room. He looked back at me one more time before opening the door, leaving the room as he shut the door behind him, the lock clicking from the inside.

  Kael moved down the hallway like a phantom, descending the flight of the stairs and greeting Cosette, who sat at the bar sipping his drink. The duo exchanged a glance, nodding as they both said in unison.

  “Praise the Crimson.”