Rinaye did not expect to carry someone seven years older than her that day but that's what happened. All she did was come down from the tower and her brother just collapsed on the floor. Now, Rinaye did not have any experience with caring for someone who has fainted. If she had any common sense, she would have checked to see if he was breathing for, you know, alive, but she simply just tossed his unconscious body on her back like a sack of potatoes and carried him out of the forest.

  With the most important person in the dukedom on her back, Rinaye did something only she would think to do. Carry him to the place where almost a dozen people are heavily armed and ready to attack anything at a moment's notice. Yup, the training grounds. The only thought that went through that head of hers was, Not the worst train of thought she's come up with but certainly not the best.

  What would happen if someone just entered your place of training with your unconscious boss on their back. You would probably be on guard! You know, point your sword at them, be threatening and all that. So Rinaye was just standing there, a twenty two year old man on her back with swords pointed at her by a dozen sweaty men. A few seconds passed. And someone started laughing.

  "Wooo! That's hilarious! Guys, put your swords down already." Arion came out of the washroom laughing his guts out. "Hey, sis! Why is Cassion unconscious?" Rinaye dropped her brother's body on the ground with a thump.

  "I think I startled him?" She said. "He was walking in the forest so I said hi from the tower. When I came down to talk to him properly, he just kinda fainted."

  "Oh, this is beautiful!" Arion wiped tears from his eyes as he continued laughing. "Hold on lemme get some water." Arion, still laughing, headed back into the washroom and came out with a bucket of water.

  In true comedic fashion, Arion poured the water right on top of Cassion's head and he woke up immediately.

  "AHHHHHHHHH!"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Well, that's certainly an entrance." Arion commented.

  "Thank Sol you're here, Arion! The demon's out!" Cassion got up from the ground and started talking to Arion as if his life depended on it.

  "Are you talking about me?" Rinaye asked him. Cassion turned around, just noticing that the demon was there! He naturally hid behind his little brother.

  "Dude, aren't you a prodigy with magic or something?" Arion asked him, questioning his courage.

  "Maybe...?"

  "You're definitely something, alright." Arion said, almost bursting with laughter. "Okay, my friend. That's our sister. She's harmless."

  "I don't care if she's our sister! She was locked up for a reason! How do you know if she's harmless?" Cassion shouted.

  Rinaye just stood there watching this unfold.

  "She's harmless because she's been free for a decade and nothing's happened." Arion explained to his coward of a brother.

  "What?"

  "She's been free for a decade?" Arion repeated.

  "WHAT? First off, how can you know if she's dangerous or not? She made a deal with a demon!" Cassion stood up, towering above his brother. "Secondly, HOW HAS SHE BEEN FREE FOR A DECADE!" It completely devolved into an argument between the two brothers. "Has she just been wandering around the estate the entire time?"

  "No, she either stays in the Tower or goes to town!"

  "SHE"S BEEN GOING TO TOWN?"

  "Yeah?"

  "What is she over there?"

  "She just hangs out and plays music from time to time!"

  "Music? She could be casting a spell on the town folk!"

  "Dude."

  Rinaye just kinda walked away after the argument started. It wasn't her fight! What would Cassion even do? Complain at her? She did feel a little bit betrayed that she had gotten Cassion hot chocolate from town all these years and he still didn't know that was her! Like, how more clear could she be in those notes! She called him brother like One hundred and fifty seven times! She was going back to the forest. If he didn't want to treat her like a person she wasn't getting him anything from town today.

  After his argument with is brother, Cassion had to go back to the office and record the status of everything in the forest. He got through just under half of it in four hours. A new record! He was completely exhausted from everything. Fainting in the middle of a forest was not on his bucket list, at all. On top of that, now he had to put out orders to monitor, what did Arion call her? Rinaye? Ray? Rae? Whatever she called herself. He needed to figure out what her motives were.

  He opened the door, prepared for the sight of hot chocolate and pastry to greet him at the foot of his door like it had for the past ten years.

  Nothing was there.