CHAPTER SIX: TO GET TO KNOW Y*U.

The last problem of her 'unknown existence' was resolved when Kaira came home and explained that, because her power had no method of classification, the official saw no reason to conduct the whip net crystal test.

Sienna was at first relieved, but after a little while, she began pondering if maybe taking the test would have been for the best. It would have let her know her age, hell even her species.

If Sienna had still been working as an assassin, maybe she would have found a way to access the stones used to take the whip-net test. Still, the laws were changing faster than she could keep up with and as of two years ago, the crystals had been damn near impossible to find even on the black market, she had to suck it up.

Sienna had figured that it was a ploy for the Sylvester family to get more income due to testing, but propaganda was not doing her any favours.

The fact that they had dismissed Kaira's power without any inkling of curiosity meant only one thing; they had no idea how her power could be used, well except in the most obvious way like counselling or as a lie detector.

If she hadn’t been close with Kaira, or if she hadn't found her in an unexplainable state, then maybe she too, would have been fooled by the simplistic explanation of her power, but Sienna knew that there had to be more to it than that.

Was Kaira the first ever to have such capabilities…if so-?

"Ahem!" Spade cleared his throat. Sienna had spaced out again.

"Right sorry, the deal was for you to join the same guild as Kaira. I heard that you were selected to a stronger guild?"

"Yes, but I told him, the official registering me, that I wanted to be in a weaker guild."

"Have you selected one?"

Spade had always wanted to join a guild so that he could be strong, strong enough to never lose any-.

An image of his mother slumped on a carriage chair startled him. No, he just wanted to be strong enough to elicit fear. So when Sienna had suggested watching over Haru in exchange for babysitting Kaira he had, considered it.

Of course, he had expected her, as a disciple of Sienna, to be at least selected in a stronger guild, but when she wasn't, he had almost rejected Sienna's offer. He had been willing to wait three more years so that he could join with his sister instead.

But Sienna had whispered nine little words to him, and he realized that he had little to no choice in the matter.

'There are talks of war soon over neutral countries.' She had said.

Those words had chilled him to the bone; he didn't have time to wait three years. He'd seen what war could reduce a person's state to. He needed strength and fast.

"I'll wait for Kaira to choose then I'll pick the same one."

"So a weaker guild doesn't bother you? And by the way, how did the official respond?"

"No, it does not as long as you keep your promise that our agreement will not be nulled if I am chosen to participate in the stronger guild exam later," Spade stated then continued. "And I explained to the official that I wasn't ready for the exams, so he suggested a weaker guild because apparently, they also test confidence."

One could be selected or 'graduate' to a stronger guild from a weaker guild, depending on how they participate in their quests.

"Nice, so to make yourself less suspicious you made him suggest it first…good, they would have probably limited your choices of weaker guilds to keep an eye on you."

"Do they do that when someone rejects a stronger guild?"

"No, when someone tries to hide their strength. Strength is everything, especially in the capital. So hiding your strength implies that you are waiting for a more opportunistic moment to shine."

"So about our deal…"

"I will keep it, even after you are selected again into a stronger guild. This arrangement serves to buy time in a way. Anyway, because of the talks of war Haru and I will depart from Skala two or three weeks after the two of you leave." Sienna said.

"Okay, and will you teach her…I mean train her?"

"No, but I will find someone who will. I vowed that Kaira would be my last disciple. A vow is not something I take too lightly, so I poured everything I had in her, even better than I trained my previous students."

"A good trainer? Okay, where do you plan on going?"

"Aquellia." Sienna watched the colour seep from Spade's face.

"What!? That's a non-human continent!?"

"Yes, and it's not an empire, so moving from place to place will be easy. Plus it's not fully 'non-human'; there are humans there.  Each country in Aquellia has its ruler, different cultures as well as species. First, we are going to Craos. The King is my friend, so we'll lay low there. I can find her a trainer and a teacher from there as well."

"But-,"

"Non-humans aren't as bad as they teach you in schools and books, you have to know this Spade."

"I do…I do but-." Spade licked his lips. "It's different, I mean this is Haru we are talking about."

"Aaaand what's wrong with Haru?" Haru asked as she served purple coloured tea in dull ceramic mugs, then plopped down next to Spade.

"Oh, what tea is this? It smells like..." Sienna paused to sniff the air.

She had a powerful nose being a beast mage, but the fragrance wasn't as strong as she had expected from a floral tea.

"Lavender, do you like it?" Haru asked.

Sienna tasted the drink then moaned. "I thought it would taste like the flower but…it's quite bitter. It's not acidic just…"

"Refreshing?" Haru added, smiling. "Spade doesn't like sweet things, so this is his best drink."

"Oh, he doesn't look he likes them either. He hasn't smiled once since our conversation began. Can you believe it?" Sienna asked playfully.

"Right? Rude!" Haru laughed lightening the mood. "I mean, what if you had spent the entire night preparing jokes to slide in during the conversation and he doesn't laugh?! I'd be heartbroken!"

Spade blushed, uncomfortable with the present attention on him.

"Can we just-?" Spade tried to start but was interrupted.

"Oh, right. Aquellia is the safest place I can think of. Have you heard that Noi was opened up? More and more closed off lands are being opened, and after this whole fiasco of opening up lands is through, they will start expanding their territory by claiming neutral lands then-."

"So Aquellia is a target…just not at the moment?" Spade continued Sienna's explanation.

"Precisely."

"So…does that mean when the time comes to pick sides you-."

"I will guarantee that you and Haru stay neutral for as long as you want, but I have already picked a side," Sienna said as though she was closing the topic of her loyalties.

"What about Kaira?"

"She will pick her side as well when the time is right."

"So, all I have to do is watch over her?" Spade craned his neck to watch Kaira sleep. That was when he noticed her piette for the first time since he had entered the house. He sensed his pretty easily, could he not sense for others?

"She looks plenty strong." He said then sipped his hot tea.

The piette began pecking her head and pulling the strands of her black hair. Spade could not contain his laughter.

His bird had been quite well behaved, even now, all it did was walk across the table to Sienna. So, why did hers seem to dislike her? Did piettes have their own unique personalities?

"Strength is not what she lacks. Anyway, the guild missions challenge everything you believe in, and they can easily break a person."

"So what am I supposed to do, coddle her?"

"No, let her make her own choices, she will learn from them. All I want you to do is: Ask her how she feels after every mission small or big, you don't need to comfort her, just give her space to acknowledge how she feels. That's it."

"So you mean, I need to be her friend?"…and coddle her? Spade didn't add the last part, but it was evident in his expression.

-How weak is she anyway to have someone want to protect her this much?- Spade wondered.

"SHUT UP!!" Kaira groaned, startling him. The piette that was on her head flew across the room equally startled, and before he could stop himself, he was laughing.

PRESENT TIME.

The wind outside grew stronger by the second, but Kaira did not seem bothered by it.

"Down here!" she pulled a torch attached to the wall, and the sound of a latch unhook was heard. A small portion of the ground rose, pushing aside the snow that had collected in that area.

"Go in first, the door is timed, so I want to slide in," Kaira said.

"Oh, okay," Spade responded then lifted the wooden door on the ground and slid in.

Kaira followed a second later bumping into his body.

"Oh!" she laughed. "I thought you'd be faster."

Her laughter sounded like a soft melody, unlike her raspy unladylike voice. It was bewitching.

The door that they had gone through clicked shut, and the little room was immersed in darkness.

"Oh, shoot! I miscalculated that, I didn't think that you were this big…I'm gonna push you a little. I need to find the other latch that turns on the candle automatically. Is that okay?"

"Y-yes."

She was nothing like he thought she was. She had addressed him perfectly, professionally even. Why the hell did Sienna think that she needed help?

She pushed past him but because the room was not spacious, her body pressed against his.

"Whoops…sorry!" she moved further back, but he could still tell her body was only inches from his.

He tried to stop himself from leaning forward but he couldn't.

-She smells…so good. What is that scent coming from her hair?-

His nose bumped into the back of her head as the sound of another click caught his attention. Light filled the small room.

"Oh…were you…smelling me?" Kaira asked, touching the back of her head, where his nose had bumped.

"Oh? Oh! N-n-no," Spade moved back until he bumped his back against the wall.

"Are you a beast mage?" Kaira asked, moving closer. "Ah, but if you were one, you wouldn't need to get that close."

Spade could feel his ears burn. He tried to push further in against the wall when Kaira's expression changed to panic.

"Wait! don't-," but it was too late, the top compartment for firewood had opened. The wood fell on him continuously from the compartment until it pooled all over the floor.

"Ahahahahah! You are adorable!" Kaira held her sides and continued laughing. "Your ears are bright red, did you get hurt?"

"No…" If anything, he was embarrassed.

"I don't think we got a chance to talk properly." Kaira wiped a tear from her eyes then looked up at him expectedly.

"Right, uh which guild did you select?" Spade asked, needing to change topics desperately.

"Night Gladiolus, what about you?" she replied.

"I haven't selected yet. My piette is with Sienna. It seems to like her."

"That's probably because she is a beast mage, if I had known you'd smell my hair I'd stop using tea tree soap!" she giggled. "I can't use any scented soaps to wash my hair because sienna's nose is really sensitive."

"Ah! No..." Spade flushed, he needed to change the topic. "So…uh, why did you choose Night Gladiolus? It’s the weakest guild."

"Huh?" her expression froze.

Spade saw the exact moment that colour drained from her face. Had she not known?

"THAT FUCKING BIRD!!!" Kaira cursed.