Jayden

I looked up from my notes to look at the Elementorium once again. It was distracting, despite being an invaluable research tool. The trinket seemed to have a strange draw to it; I could see why Claire thought she was its rightful owner. Though I hadn’t given in to my curiosity and tested its powers, it was apparent that the longer you had it with you, the more attached you would become to it. I had done little more than carry it to the library and set it down, and yet it seemed to whisper at the corners of my mind, tempting me to keep it as my own.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I gazed out the library window into the green forest. The library was right next to the plum themed room Seraphine was staying in, and they shared a similar view of the nearby forest. I idly wondered what Sera thought of her new room, and remembered the smile she had when I first led her to the room. Surely she was satisfied with it? Some part of my mind conjured up an image of her in my navy blue themed room, staring out the window into the darkness…

At that moment I broke from my drifting thoughts with the realization that the last ray of sunlight had long since disappeared through the trees, and the only light left outside was the light coming from my house. My senses returning from their distracted daydreams, I could hear Joe fumbling in the kitchen--likely making dinner.

I stood and walked down the hallway into the main living space, taking the Elementorium with me after a moment’s hesitation. The clock on the wall read that it was now evening time, several hours since Sera and Claire had headed into town to buy new clothes.

“Joe, how long have they been gone?” I asked, walking into the kitchen.

“Hm? Oh,” Joe looked up at the kitchen clock and quickly replied; “about four hours now, I believe.” He was quite used to keeping track of time for me--I often shut myself in the library for hours on end, quickly forgetting time altogether.

“Is it… normal for women to shop for so long?”

Joe chuckled, not looking up from the vegetables he was cutting. “Yes, I’d say so. I did think they would be back by now though, with Miss Seraphine in charge,” he said, adding the last part with a bit of hesitation.

Fear prickled in my chest, and my mind began to race. It did seem unlikely that Seraphine would allow Claire to stay out so long, and doubtful that Claire would be comfortable away from the Elementorium any longer than necessary. Perhaps they ran into trouble, or were apprehended? Claire was being searched for by every guard on the continent, after all, even if they didn’t have leads on who she was or what she looked like. It was unlikely that the Rein council already knew about what had happened in Marxus, but if they did then there was no telling what kind of trouble Seraphine had gotten herself into. Though she could probably find her way out of such trouble, the chances that her powers would take over like they had last night were high. I didn’t want her to suffer any more, especially due to lack of control. Not if I could help it.

“I’m going out to find them,” I said, finally emerging from my thoughts. I turned on my heel and walked out of the kitchen, ignoring Joe’s flustered protests. Walking smoothly down the hallway opposite the library hall, I turned left at the first door and was welcomed by the familiar sight of my room.

Though I spent more time in the library, this room was my solace. When I found myself more distracted than I could bear, this was where I needed to be to clear my head. Tonight, though, the calm blue walls did nothing for my swirling thoughts. I slipped into a pair of socks followed by two black leather shoes. Pulling on a light jacket, I stepped back into the hallway to find Joe waiting for me.

“Ready, sir?”

“You don’t need to go with me, Joe, I’ll be alright. I’m sure they just got caught up at the store,” I said, half to Joe and half to myself.

“On the contrary, I’m sworn to protect you at all times. I’ll be of much more use to you helping to find Miss Seraphine and Miss Claire than I will be staying here and chopping carrots, Sir.” He added the last part with a little smirk on his face. I grinned and shook my head in defeat before leading my faithful companion out the front door.

We walked for several minutes in silence before coming across a city guard. He nodded to me politely, no doubt acutely aware of my status as the Uniflux bearer. I was tempted to immediately question him about Claire and Sera, but stayed my tongue. No need to jump to conclusions until we had confirmed they weren’t at the store.

As we turned the corner and the clothes store Sera and Claire had gone to came into view, it was immediately apparent that they weren’t there. An employee, most likely the manager, was locking up the building from the outside.

“Excuse me,” I said, startling the man.

“Oh! I-I’m sorry, we’re closed for the day,” He stammered. He was smaller than I first thought, and seemed to be shaking a bit. I wondered if Sera had done thing to scare him while she was here.

“I was just wondering if you remembered two women visiting your store today. One was about this tall,” I raised my hand to just above my shoulder height, “with black hair. She would’ve been with a younger girl with blonde hair.”

“Y-You’re with those two?” He sounded genuinely shocked and a bit terrified, fumbling his keys as the store’s lock chunked into place. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” He said quickly, bumping into me as he passed. I felt Joe tense beside me, but moved before he had a chance.

I grasped the shaking man’s arm with my left hand, the outline of the Uniflux peeking out from under my jacket sleeve. “I’m sorry, but I need you to tell me what happened to them before you can leave,” I said, tightening my grip on his arm. I wasn’t particularly strong for a male of my age, but I was still conscious of the fact that my grip might have been hurting the man a little. I didn’t care. If he knew where Sera and Claire were, he was going to tell us.

The man’s pale eyes shifted from me to Joe, then to the hand wrapped around his arm. His eyes widened, and he attempted to pull away from me, stuttering, “You’re him? Mr. Cortez? T-That’s the…” His voice trailed off, clearly terrified of the charm in my wrist. I was growing impatient. The Uniflux glowed lightly, sensing my desire to hurt the man I was holding if he didn’t tell us what we needed to know.

“Please tell us where those women went after leaving your store,” Joe interjected, before I could interrogate the man more. The man in my grasp trembled more, taking one more look at my wrist before finally answering.

“T-The blonde girl matched a description for the thief in Rune, s-so I sent word to the city guard and they arrested both of them.” Rage filled me in a way I had never felt before. Claire and Seraphine had been under my care for less than a day, and were arrested already? I exhaled and released my grip on the man, who fell to the ground in terror. At least there were no bodies nearby, which meant Seraphine hadn’t used her powers to kill everyone in range.

“Joe, let’s go,” I said, turning away from the frightened man.

“It’s unlikely that the council will be in session at this hour, sir,” Joe protested, following close behind me.

“Someone will be there, guarding those two.” I stormed down the vaguely familiar streets, wishing I could make myself simply appear at City Hall. I felt the Uniflux burn under my skin, but it didn’t fulfill my wishes.