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"What would you do.."

Kel took a deep breath in.

".. if you found out Itzae was still alive?"

-12 Years Earlier-

"Dash! Dash!"

The plodding of small feet echoed off old stone walls while a filthy young child desperately searched for someone.

"Dash! Where are you?!"

Her cries gradually became weaker, her malnourished body exhausted from running.

"Kel!!"

She had scarcely turned a corner when she heard the call coming from behind her.

Whirling around, she tripped over her own bedraggled shoes, flailing straight into the arms of the person who had shouted her name.

"Dash! I thought you-" she gasped in between labored breaths, "got into a fight again."

"Hey, calm down," the boy clicked his tongue. "Why didn't you stay put?"

"I was worried," the young girl broke down into sobs. "I was really really worried."

"Ok I get it. Hush now," the boy soothed, embracing her. "Ever since the day I first met you, you've always clung to me like this."

The boy smiled a little as he patted the girl's back, remembering the tiny, dirty toddler who'd once latched onto his pant leg and refused to let go.

He never knew why she'd chosen him--a boy who slept on the streets at night and fought for bread crusts every day--but he was grateful. For someone like him, someone who'd been born with nothing and had never known anything of human love, she was his family.

And he was hers.

… Well, at least up until now, it had been that way.

"Kel.." the boy said softly, peeling her off of him, "I spoke with that man today."

"The man who bought my flowers?" the girl questioned, rubbing her wet eyes.

"Yes. That man," the boy nodded. "He said that, well, that…"

He trailed off, unsure how his emotional little sidekick would take the news he'd just received.

"He said that he liked the flowers?" the girl tilted her head, her blue-green eyes sparkling with the remnants of her tears.

"He did like them," the boy faltered, patting the child's head. "He said he wants to come buy more of them tomorrow."

The girl's eyes lit up.

"Really?!"

"... Really."

However, it was that very evening that the two children ran into the man once more--this time as he was accompanied by a carriage.

"I don't have any more flowers today, Sir!" Kel pouted.

"That's ok," the man smiled, reaching to pick up the small child. "We can gather some at-Urk!"

He stepped back with a surprised chuckle as the girl scurried behind the boy, her chapped lips curled into a snarl.

"She.. she actually bit me," the man remarked, trying to stifle his laughter.

It was the boy who managed to coax the wild girl inside the carriage, and she sat as far away from the man as she could, clinging to her friend's arm. 

"My name is Itzae," the man grinned, clearly entertained by the girl's behavior. 

Leaning a little closer, he rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head.

"You're quite special, Kel. Aren't you?"

It was during that carriage ride Kel learned her small family would be growing bigger by one person.

Itzae.

-Present-

"If I found out.. Itzae is alive?"

Calix echoed Kel's question, his eyes glazed over as if his mind had flown far away from where they sat in the carriage bouncing toward Pandreia.

He stayed like that for several minutes before closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"So Teacher ended up in Felion, huh?" he smirked. "Well, he always did have an obsession with strange and mysterious things."

Kel was hardly surprised that Calix had deducted the truth behind her question so quickly. After all, he always seemed to be two steps ahead of her.

Rather, it was something else about his response that sent a jolt through her.

"You already knew that Itzae is alive?" she questioned.

"If his body was left anywhere on this continent," Calix answered, "I would have found it."

They both fell quiet as the Emperor's ominous words hung in the air between them.

Outside, the carriage wheels continued turning and the chatter of soldiers hummed. They were excited, happy even, to be on a victory procession toward Pandreia.

Kel wished she could join in their lightheartedness.

But the weight of Itzae's note on her chest grew heavier with each passing minute.

"Will you run away?" Calix finally spoke up again. "To the White Mountains?"

Kel hung her head.

"I want to go there-no, I have to go."

Calix turned to look out the window.

"When?" he mused casually.

Kel glanced up, caught off guard. She'd half expected the man to threaten to lock her up or something.

"Uh, the winter solstice," she answered, only to immediately wish she hadn't.

Until now, she was the only one who knew the contents of the letter. But, like a fool, she'd just revealed all her cards, giving Calix the upper hand.

While she was sighing in frustration, Calix mumbled something else--something Kel didn't quite catch.

"What was that?" she asked reluctantly, knowing she was probably better off without hearing his answer.

Calix looked at her.

"Hold off until we've finished at Pandreia."

"Eh?" For the second time, Kel was taken aback by the Emperor's response.

"If we go on horseback, we should have plenty of time to reach the White Mountains before the solstice," Calix added.

"Y-you mean you're going to let me go?!" Kel gasped. "Wait, did you say 'we'?"

"I've come to realize that birds don't look quite so beautiful when they're locked in a cage," Calix shrugged as if that was enough to answer her question.

"Besides," he continued, grasping Kel's fingers and bringing them to his lips, "I promised I'd take you anywhere you wanted to go, right?"

A wave of relief washed over Kel. 

"Do you really mean-"

"You'd just run away anyway," Calix snorted, glaring at her from above their clasped hands that still lingered near his mouth. 

"Like a disobedient little bird."