The Missing Stone

Reintroduction

He stares. She stares back, sword pointed at his throat. His eyes drift down the blade, lighting up in recognition.

"Where did you get that sword-"

"Answer the question." Mildred interrupts him, unwavering. The spirits are back, but they are silent. He swallows thickly, and sighs. He moves onto his knees, hissing in pain.

"I..." he grits out, arranging his legs and sitting cross-legged, clutching his right knee. "I am a traveler." Mildred's eyes narrow in suspicion.

He looks familiar...

"LOOKS LIKE GLENN!" Aelura and Mao scream repeatedly, and Mildred suppresses a grimace.

Quite helpful, but isn't he dead?

"They never recovered his body, you know," Chester sing-songs. It is a possibility, and the way his dark hair falls over deep blue eyes, reminding Mildred of a certain Fraldarius descendant, she feels more and more surprised. She lowers the blade slightly but does not drop her guard.

"I think I know who you are," she whispers, staring down her nose at him. His eyes widen for a split second before he ducks his head, huffing.

"Damn, the spell wore off," he mutters, attempting to stand. He leans heavily on his lance, drawing Mildred's attention to his wound.

"You're injured."

"And you're not running to tell everyone that I'm alive," he retorts, scowling. Her ears flick, confirming her suspicions.

"So you are Glenn Fraldarius, son of Rodrigue Fraldarius and the first heir for duke-"

"Stop, stop," he pleads, holding out a hand as if to physically stop the words from coming out of her mouth, yet she is out of his reach. "I am not worthy of those titles. Not anymore."

"What were you doing in the castle?" Mildred asks instead, lifting the sword again.

The memories come rushing back again, and he desperately pushes them off.

"I-" His voice breaks, and suddenly the words won't come out, something in his throat blocking them.

Mildred's facade breaks as the man slumps back down his lance, silent. She does not move but allows herself to feel sympathy.

They won't go away... He isn't supposed to relive those memories, he won't allow himself! He knows that if he were to give in and revisit those memories, he would break, and lose control of himself. He can't reveal his existence, it was a risk already begging Maris to allow him to deliver Claude's message-

The message. The message!

He reaches into his bag and shoves the scroll at the white-haired girl's feet, standing despite the throbbing in his leg.

"Take it," he says, preparing to warp. "Bring it to Dimitri. And keep them safe in my stead."

Mildred nods resolutely, tucking the scroll into her belt, never taking her eyes off of him.

"I will," she promises, and he disappears in a flash of magenta, just as the emperor did at the Battle of Gronder.

Instantly Mao screams, "WHAT WAS THAT?!" Mildred breathes deeply, dropping the sword and herself onto the ground, eyes wide in sheer disbelief.

We have a LOT to discuss...

-

He stumbles down the stairs, barely keeping himself upright. Maris is whistling at his desk, flipping through books like a madman when Glenn collapses onto the table. He looks up, eyes immediately narrowing on the trail of blood on the floor.

"Dude! You're leaving blood all over the floor- Glenn?" The mage flips up the former knight's hair to see glassy blue eyes. "You okay?"

"I delivered the message," he says simply, voice monotone. Maris frowns, glancing at the blood.

"Where are you injured?"

Glenn turns on his side, moving his right knee as a gesture. Maris sets to work, faith magic unfitting for someone trained for specifically reason and black magics. Glenn stares up at the ceiling, unseeing. Maris waves a hand in front of his face.

"Hellooooo," Maris calls. "Maris to Glenn, I require a response!"

"Glenn is unavailable," Glenn replies, closing his eyes. "Please leave a message. Thank you." He rolls onto his side and hides his face in his arms. Maris sighs, moving back to his desk.

"Sooo, did you find her?" Maris flips through another book, looking for the specifics of a certain machine. Glenn grumbles from his spot on the table.

"Of course I didn't," he growls, an underlying tone of irritation slightly muffled by his arms. "You weren't exactly specific."

"That's because you don't listen half the time," Maris retorts, throwing a pencil at Glenn, but he overshoots and it flies over him harmlessly. "I'll repeat what I said. 'Look out for the girl with white hair and cat ears'. Easy!" Maris throws his hands up at the end, turning towards the bookshelf and shuffling around.

Glenn sits up suddenly, making Maris look up again with a bored expression. "You're seriously going to ignore the fact that you nearly busted your entire knee out of your leg?"

"Yes."

"So what's got you suddenly ready to nearly blow your cover again?"

"The girl with the ears. She has gradient eyes, right?" Well, it's not like Glenn would actually blow his cover; he always gets the job done, one way or another. Maris fully faces him, lowering the book he was reading.

"Yes..." Maris answers hesitantly. "Why? Did you suddenly realize you saw her?"

Glenn scowls, "Shut up! And yes, but something about her seemed...off." He grimaces, clearly troubled. Maris leans against the desk, twirling a pencil between his fingers and waiting patiently. Glenn slides off the table, leaning his weight on his left leg.

"She has Felix's sword...the one that he always uses. And the coat that those...worms found her in, it's mended now, but with no hint of restitching otherwise. And it seemed like she was distracted, like she was hearing someone else talking to her..."

Maris is impressed. As far as he knows Glenn can be a bit thick-headed sometimes but is observant when he needs to be. Maris rolls his head, stretching his neck.

"Well, she is the Apostle of Holy Magic, which... " he pauses, turning to check an open book behind him on the desk. "...includes a certain degree of interactions with different types of spirits." He grins at his companion's surprised face.

"You read too much," Glenn scoffs. Maris shuts his mouth. Obviously, Glenn is not ready for that just yet. Instead, he moves on to the pile of reports on his desk.

"Alright, since you delivered the message we'll wait for Claude's permission then head out to either Sreng or Fodlan's Locket?" He looks up at Glenn for his decision.

"Fodlan's Locket," Glenn mutters, head turned to the side. Maris thins his lips, remembering that Sreng is near Faerghus... Sensing the tension in the air, he clears his throat.

"Anyway, we're going to have to wait until Claude joins us for a little talk about the Almayrans, you know, just in case... " Maris trails off, brows furrowing as he squints at a map. "Huh, so the Kingdom Army is going to arrive at Derdriu in about two weeks, right?" Glenn moves from his spot, snatching the map and glaring down at it.

"Wait, that doesn't give you much time to talk with Hubert does it?" Glenn frowns. Maris sighs heavily, raking his hands through his hair.

"I doubt I'll even be able to meet with him at all," he bemoans, then realizes something. "You know what, you could just meet up with Claude on your own-"

"You're crazy," Glenn interrupts, snorting at Maris' following glare.

"Whatever, check my notes for the next course and see you in hopefully less than a week!" With that Maris warps away in a flash, leaving Glenn alone in the dark.