Dying Lily & Wilted Rose

Listen To The Wind

"Hey, you knows those bodies of nobles that have been turning up? There's magically inflicted wounds on them. Our little menace might've gone apeshit," Lucy whispered to her colleagues as they continued the search for the crown prince and Penelope.

Alec's brows shot up. "Really? What on earth did they do for Little Penelope to resort to magical means instead of the good ol' fists?"

She shrugged. "She's straightforward and likes to immediately go for the kill. Her life must've been in danger for that to happen." Her expression darkened. "Whatever those dead nobles did, they probably deserved it."

"And how do you know that?" Charlie came up from behind them, nudging Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy fiddled with her hair. "After the uh," she blushed hard, "drinking incident, Penelope talked me through a gay crisis–one thing led to another and we learned a little bit about each other."

"Really?" her girlfriend teased. "A junior ten years younger than you talked you through a gay crisis."

The red on Lucy's face spread down to her neck as she quickly changed the subject, "As I was saying, the dead nobles all have some sort of connection to Marquess Allen. Do you remember last year's Hunting Competition?"

The humor left their faces and the mood turned grave.

"Yeah, I remember. Back when she was still a noble, Penelope pointed a crossbow at Lady Kellen," Charlie said, frowning. "I thought that Penelope was just some spoiled girl with a rotten personality, but she's nothing like that. She wouldn't have threatened someone for no reason."

"She gets angry quickly and shouts a lot, but she's never laid a hand on us outside of training," Alec agreed.

"Lady Kellen hosted the ladies' tea party that year," Lucy added. "And her fiance's Baron Tullet, one of dead nobles. It's all too suspicious to be a coincidence." She pursed her lips, not liking the conclusion she was slowly coming to.

A noble lady who was slighted by Penelope in the past; her fiance who turned up dead alongside at least six other nobles; magically inflicted wounds; Penelope and Prince Callisto missing.

"Let's just hope that we find her and his highness before the empress's people do–"

They all collectively shrieked when a head popped out from the trees.

Lucy clung to Charlie, who jumped at least a foot high into the air, while Alec instinctively swung out his heavy broadsword, missing their ambusher by a hair.

"God damn it, kid! I think I just lost five years off my life!" Charlie cried when they realized who it was.

Alec nodded frantically with a hand over his chest. "I'm getting old, take it easy on me!"

The newest of their squadron, Iklies, blinked his grey eyes slowly.

"That woman, Penelope, you said she used to be a noble?"

"AT LEAST APOLOGIZE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

—

"Penny, wake up."

Penelope woke up feeling more like crap than usual. She sat up grogily and turned to Yvonne. "What is it?" She yawned.

Yvonne stared ahead where the cave stretched farther beyond. "There's something really weird about this cave. Can you sense it?"

Confused, Penelope closed her eyes and reached for her magic. The action sent a spark of pain through her head, but nothing that she couldn't shrug off.