Emma, who had been glaring into her stew as if it had personally offended her, frowned deeply, her small nose wrinkling. Grey's reaction was more physical. There was a soft, sharp snap from her direction. She looked down, seemingly surprised, at the two halves of her wooden spoon now lying in her lap. She quietly placed the pieces beside her bowl and went back to staring into the fire, her expression unreadable.

Snow, in contrast, looked the picture of calm. She took another delicate, slow spoonful of her stew, as if she wasn't offended by their interaction whatsoever.

But a closer look would reveal a subtle stiffness in her jaw, her shoulders looked a bit tense as well.

Her blue eyes, reflecting the flames, watched the exchange between Adrian and Amy with the calm, still focus of a snake observing a particularly active little bird that would soon become it's prey.

After their moment of laughter, Adrian, still intrigued, pondered for a moment.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Well, if you were from the capital, you must have been really young when you left. Your memories of the place have got to be pretty vague by now, right?" He then smoothly turned to Leo, clapping him on the shoulder.

" I think I'd rather hear about it from someone who's experience there wasn't close to over a decade ago."

"Why don't you tell us about it, Leo? You're the one who lives there. Lay it down on us, I think it'd be best if we learned the do's and don'ts."

Leo, who had been watching Amy with a mixture of awe and renewed nervousness, blinked.

He was puzzled for a second, why was Adrian deferring to him when this was the perfect opportunity to learn about her past?

But his confusion didn't last for long when he caught the subtle, almost imperceptible wink Adrian sent his way.

' He's giving me an opening.' Leo quickly realized.

This was a good chance to impress her. The realization sent a jolt of gratitude and fresh anxiety through him. He cleared his throat, which suddenly felt very dry.

"R-right. Of course." He shifted, sitting up straighter, trying to project the confidence of a native. "Well, the first thing you must understand is the sheer… scale of it."

" The capital is actually far larger than most think, the entirety of it is divided into several districts. "

"it isn't a village or a town. But more like a living organism, since the number of people in it is far too big to count in one sitting."

" It's also one of the centers of commerce in the kingdom, being a hub for lots of merchants and those of nobility." Reaching this point, there was a hint of pride in his tone, as if he were explaining to the other's how lucky it was for one to live there.

"The architecture is definitely like nothing you've ever seen before."

" There are old, sturdy fortress-style buildings from the founding near the citadel, with narrow, winding streets. But in the business areas, the building are more clustered together."

Leo continued to speak about the capital, the more he spoke, the more interested the others became, even Snow herself had her interest piqued.

Leo spoke of bustling market squares that smelled of spices and forge-smoke, of public gardens meticulously maintained even in winter, of the vast, echoing cathedral where the light streamed through stained glass to paint the floor in jewel tones.

He described a city that was a living, breathing engine of trade, politics, and culture. Ultimately a description of an 18th-century European metropolis plopped into this fantasy world Adrian had found himself in.

Adrian nodded along, genuinely interested, but his eyes kept flicking to Amy to gauge her reaction. He wanted nothing more for her to feel captivated by Leo and if possible, begin to show an interest in him, rather than her, but alas, Amy looked more calm than interested, as if she already knew of all the things he was speaking about.

After Leo had been talking for a good while, his initial nerves gone, Adrian pushed himself to his feet, stretching his arms above his head with a groan. "Alright, that's my cue. All that talk of rivers has reminded my own body of some urgent business."

Amy looked up. "Where are you off to?"

Adrian grinned, a boyish, unguarded expression. "Just answering the call of nature. Don't let the fire die down while I'm gone." He gave a casual wave and stepped out of the circle of firelight, the cheerful persona melting from his face as the darkness embraced him.

Adrian couldn't quite make out much of his surroundings but he was still able to walk properly, soon finding a secluded spot to finish his business.

" Uahh..." He let out a soft moan after relieving himself. He then pulled up his pants. " Good thing it wasn't a shit, otherwise I might be stuck here for more than I wished." He joked before walking back towards the campsite.

SWOOSH!

"..?!" Adrian was forced to come to a halt when an object flew through the air before striking at his thigh.

" URRGH!" He wanted to cry out in pain but another one pierced through his throat, causing him to let out gurgling sounds instead.

Now feeling the objects up close and personal, he realized that they were actually arrows that had been used to injure him.

' But who could have–' His words fell short when another arrow pierced right through his skull. In that moment he went blank, his body began loosing it's balance and yet, Adrian felt something approaching him in the darkness.

Before he feel to the ground with a thud, that same thing caught him, foiling his attempt to create a ruckus that might've alerted the mercenaries in the distance.

Due to the darkness, Adrian had unknowingly wandered farther from the camp than he should've.

As his consciousness quickly faded, he felt the approaching presence of another in the dark. The other figure approached the first and it looked like they were conversing but he couldn't hear a thing because he was already dead.

*******

" I wonder how long he's going to be gone..." Amy groaned as if she found it unbearable to stay here with him gone.

" Don't you guys think he's been gone for too long." She asked Snow, Emma and Grey. The three remained silent as if ignoring her, which irked Amy a bit.

"...?!!!" All of a sudden, the three girls expressions froze before darkening like a storm cloud, though they tried to restrain it, a chilling air permeated around the three.

Amy and Leo stiffened. Fortunately, Melissa and Ignatius were busy washing the dishes that they weren't here to feel it.

" Hey, I just asked a question, I don't think this is worth fighting over." Amy looked flustered, watching the three of them get up from their seats but when she expected them to approach her, the three of their dark gazes all turned towards the forest.

Amy was puzzled at first until she realized that, that was the direction Adrian had gone of in.

" Leo... Could you please wait here for a moment." Amy muttered lightly.

" Oh... Ok." Leo nodded his head yet staring at Amy's darkened expression as well, he couldn't help but feel that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

*****

" You blasted idiot, I told you to take him out, not waste three perfectly good arrows." Whispered a bald bearded man holding onto Adrian's corpse. " What would you have done if this guy had gotten away and alerted the others." He glared at his companion who was a skinny young man with blonde hair, and a bow in hand with a quiver on his back.

" The boss specifically told us to thin their numbers... Not face them head on. They're 4 bodyguards aren't for show, you know." He pressed on the matter, showing just how irritated he was at his colleagues blunder.

" Alright alright I've heard you, but at least we got him in the end didn't we?" His companion rolled his eyes, seemingly not intimidated by the bearded man.

' Why you!' The bearded man felt enraged but he gritted his teeth, afraid of alerting the 4 mercenaries in the distance.

' I can't let this idiot mess up this job. The client already payed a hefty sum upfront, if we complete this job, we'll be able to get even more.' At the thought of their gains. The bearded man took a few deep breaths before getting up with the corpse in his hands, he then quietly hoisted it over his shoulder.

" It's getting even darker out, let's deal with this body before coming back. We can't let them go to bed. The boss said this is the perfect opportunity to deal with them."

The blonde guy said nothing but followed after him.

" ARCK!" The bearded man groaned when he suddenly walked into something.

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