Lila immediately went to Aurelia's side. She sat down and put a comforting arm around Aurelia's shaking shoulders. "No, they don't," Lila said, her voice soft but firm. "They're just scared. That Davian, he twisted their fear and turned it into hate."

"But what do we do now?" Aurelia asked, looking up at Riku. Her eyes were wide with panic. "We can't stay here. We can't go anywhere. They'll be looking for me everywhere."

Riku walked over to them. He knelt so he was at her eye level.

"Aurelia, look at me," he said, his voice calm and steady.

She met his gaze.

"They are not looking for you," he said. "They are looking for a silver-haired noble lady with stormy grey eyes. They are not looking for a plain girl with brown hair and a mole on her cheek."

He offered a small, reassuring smile. "My disguise will hold. For now, you are safe. No one will recognize you."

Aurelia took a shaky breath. His confidence was a small, steady anchor in her sea of fear.

"But you are right as well," Riku continued, his expression turning serious. "Our old plan is useless. We cannot simply travel to Silverwood anymore. Every guard, every bounty hunter, every ambitious citizen will be looking for you."

He stood up and began to pace the small room. "We need a new plan. A better one."

The small inn room felt like a cage. The muffled roar of the crowd outside was a constant, menacing reminder of their new reality.

Aurelia sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Lila sat beside her, a comforting arm around her shoulders. Riku paced the small space between the bed and the door, his mind racing.

"Alright," Riku said, breaking the tense silence. "Our old plan is a bust. We can't go to Silverwood. Not directly."

He stopped pacing and looked at Aurelia. "We need allies. People on the inside. People who know you. Who trust you."

He knelt in front of her, his expression serious. "Aurelia, think. Who in your life would believe you over Davian? Who would stand by you, no matter what?"

Aurelia looked down at her hands. "I... I don't know."

"Your father?" Lila prompted gently. "Lord Aris?"

"My father is a merchant, not a warrior," Aurelia said, her voice a low whisper. "He is pragmatic. He would not risk a war with House Boros over a daughter who has already been declared a traitor. He would... cut his losses." The words were painful, but she spoke them with a sad certainty.

"What about other members of your family?" Riku asked. "Cousins? Uncles?"

"My cousin Lyra is married into a minor house in the west," Aurelia said, shaking her head. "They are too cautious. They would never get involved in a conflict with a Great House."

She mentioned a few other names. A family friend who was a scholar. A retired captain who had once served her father. With each name, she found a reason why they could not, or would not, help. They were too afraid. Too political. Too weak.

Her world was shrinking. The list of people she could trust was dwindling to nothing.

Finally, she let out a long, defeated sigh. "There is... one person," she said, her voice barely audible. "But it is a foolish hope."

Riku leaned forward. "Who?"

"He is not an ally of my house," she said. "He is not a friend. He is... an anomaly. A ghost in our political circles. Lord Caelus."

Riku and Lila exchanged a look. The name was familiar.

"Lord Caelus? Caelus?" Lila asked. "Is it a boy who looks to be around 12 years of age?"

"Yes, he looks like a boy. However, that is not the full story." Aurelia confirmed.

"He is the last heir of an ancient house. They say he is cursed. That he has the mind of a 40-year-old man, but his body has been trapped as a twelve-year-old for decades. He holds considerable power and influence, but he never takes sides. He just... watches."

Riku's mind was racing. It couldn't be a coincidence. "Describe him," he commanded, his voice urgent.

"He has silver hair," Aurelia said, confused by his intensity. "He is quiet. Very smart. He speaks with the wisdom of a man four times his age."

Lila's jaw dropped. "It's him," she whispered. "It has to be. We met him before."

Now it was Aurelia's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about? How could you possibly know Lord Caelus? He never leaves his own lands."

Riku took a deep breath. He began to tell her his side of the story.

He told her about the strange, silver-haired boy who had appeared in the inn at Last Light. He told her how the boy had known all about the political situation in Eldoria. He told her how Caelus had guided them through a secret, forgotten path, allowing them to bypass the border forts completely.

"He just... left you?" Aurelia asked, her brow furrowed. "That doesn't sound like him."

"He said his job was done," Riku explained. "He got us into the kingdom safely. He said the rest was up to us."

Aurelia stared at him, still confused about everything that was happening. Was it just a coincidence? However, she knew that if Caelus still had the time to help outsiders into the country, it meant that he had not fully aligned with the others.

Finding him was her best bet.

A new, fierce light entered her eyes. The melancholy was gone. It was replaced by a single, burning purpose.

"We need to find him," she declared.

But then, a flicker of doubt crossed her face. She looked at Riku, her brow furrowed with a new confusion. "But Riku, are you sure? You said you met him at the border, in the Korvan Kingdom. Lord Caelus... he never leaves his lands. Why would a powerful, reclusive lord travel all that way to a remote southern town?"

"I don't think he came for us specifically," Riku replied. "It felt more like... a coincidence. Or fate."

"He came to argue with the innkeeper when we found him," Lila added. "He was defending Eldoria against the old man's stories. He seemed to be traveling alone."

Aurelia processed this new information. "Alone? Without a guard? That is... very strange."

A new sense of urgency filled her. "Then we must find him. He might be our only hope"

Riku nodded. Their aimless wandering was over. They had a new plan.

"Where would a man like that go?" Riku asked. "Should we check the forest where he left us?"

Aurelia shook her head immediately. "No. That's the last place he would be. Caelus never stays in one place for long. He once told me that predictability is a fatal flaw."

"So he's just wandering?" Lila asked, her hope deflating.

"Not wandering," Aurelia corrected. "He has a home. An ancestral estate. It's the only place he is ever guaranteed to return to, eventually."

She took a deep breath. "His family's traditional seat of power is in the city of Highwind."

Riku's eyes widened slightly. "Highwind? Caelus told us that was the largest merchant city. The domain of House Aris. Your father's house."

"Yes," Aurelia said, a complicated expression on her face. "It's... a very complicated situation. But it is our best and only chance of finding him."

Lila, remembering Aurelia's earlier words, suddenly spoke up. "What about Ash?" she asked gently. "You said you had a friend at the academy. Wouldn't they be able to help?"

Aurelia's expression immediately softened, but it was also filled with a new kind of worry. She shook her head.

"No," she said, her voice firm. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Lila pressed. "If they're your best friend..."

"That's exactly why," Aurelia interrupted, her voice a low, protective whisper. "Ash is a scholar, not a fighter. To involve them in this... to bring this danger to their door... I couldn't. It's too much of a risk."

Riku and Lila exchanged a look. They saw the fierce, protective loyalty in Aurelia's eyes. It was clear she would rather face this danger alone than bring trouble to the person she cared about. So that's how it is, Riku thought. She's protecting her sweetheart.

"Ahem."

Clara's voice echoed in his mind. It was dry and laced with a mother's disapproval.

"See, Riku? That is how a proper young lady behaves," she chided. "She protects the one she loves by keeping them out of her troubles. She does not drag them across the continent on a dangerous quest. You should take notes."

Riku mentally shook his head, a faint blush on his cheeks. It's not the same thing, Clara.

"Isn't it?" she retorted, her mental voice dripping with skepticism.

Riku cleared his throat, eager to change the subject. "Alright," he said, turning back to Aurelia. "Highwind it is."

"Let us get some sleep today. Staying here for long might not be a good idea, especially with those nobles around. Let me go and update the other girls on the plan, and then we'll leave in the morning."

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