The instant they had reached Balet, only one of the knights went towards the castle. Just about everyone else was dropped in the Medicen building. Or rather, they went to the Medicen building and it was cleared out of all non-emergency cases and only then were they allowed to go inside.

It had been a miserable week after the attack.

But right now was not the time to be miserable. Now was the time to be angry, furious, hysterical if need be. It was the time to tear things asunder and destroy any who stood in her way.

Alice found herself wanting to tear off the head of two particular people. They just so happened to not be within the Medicen. Thus she marched up to the “palace” that looked more like a fortress. So far there had been four failed attempts to stop her, but having learnt how women like Miss Dodson got her way, she wasn’t about to relent.

“Get moving!” She proclaimed at the poor guard that she knew too well did not deserve what she was throwing her way.

“Alice?”

A single word, surprised, shocked, and it made the former psychology teacher whirl around to look upon the first of her targets. Her brain had been already half-way through her prepared rant that she nearly stumbled as she saw Rick standing in front of her. It took her a fraction of a second to recognize him for who he was.

He’d cut his hair short.

That was the first thought that came to mind.

The second was he was dressed like some sort of medieval soldier. A poor one. A strap of leather covered his chest, with several others protecting his arms and shins. There was a short-sword at his hip, and he looked like he was about to go stand guard somewhere.

“Rick.” She stated. It was a declaration of the name just to make sure she believed she was looking at the man she’d once known as a fellow teacher. “How… I mean.” A very quick shake of her head. “They have May.”

Suddenly, there was something in his eyes that gave her the briefest moment of pause.

“Let’s get something to drink. And you can explain from the beginning.”

 

---

 

“Talk to the Earl.”

And just like that, the twenty minutes worth of conversation and explanations of the ambush and the trap, of May getting kidnapped, of the black-haired maiden that had both attacked them and protected them… it all came to an abrupt end.

“What?”

“Talk to the Earl.” Rick replied, setting down the glass he’d been drinking from. “Or rather, I expect he knows about it already and is going to see what can be done.”

And just like that, the wind got knocked right out of Alice’s sails. She’d expected some sort of reaction out of him, not… this.

“And… you?”

“I’m leaving. South.” Rick said. “I need to… check on some things. And I’m likely going to have to deal with my own kind of problems. I think someone’s trying to stir trouble and I’d rather nip it in the bud.”

Alice leaned forward. “Rick, what’s going on?”

“I was attacked, one of them was a Vampire, the other a Sabertooth… like Monica.” He frowned. “Something’s wrong, and Monica’s been… off ever since. I don’t think we can stick around for much longer before she can’t stand it anymore.”

“Stand what?”

“The maidens, the sound, the smells, the rules, the tight constraining self-restraint that she has to keep going day in and day out, the horrible food, the timetables, the…” Rick paused, then grimaced. “Something’s off. About her, about me. I need answers, and my only leads are the Tigress clans.”

Alice leaned back as she heard this, grasping her hands and looking down at them as she tried to put together the pieces. She found there was one missing. “You suspect something else.”

“I do.” Rick nodded somberly. “I think that what the Baron did to me, those… that damage to my mind. It left holes. And I think my bond to Monica has helped, somehow, I don’t know. It’s like I know new things without knowing them.” Grimacing, he shook his head. “All I’m sure of is that I need to know more about Monica as a maiden, and not just as… Monica. Maybe she needs to know more about herself too. Either way, the answers aren’t here.”

How could Alice answer that? She couldn’t. She wanted to ask him to stay, to help. She wanted to tell him about her project, that the other students were on their way. Maybe… no. She shook her head. She’d never seen Rick this determined.

“Tom and Kat and Mister Gabriel doing alright?”

Rick grimaced. “Yeah, they want to tag along. Or more like Kat wants to tag along and the other two are getting dragged into it because of her.”

“You planning on slipping away in the middle of the night or something?”

“I think they could do more good for themselves and others staying.” Rick scratched his chin. “But that’s not really my choice to make. I’m just hoping more reasonable voices prevail.”

“You’re one to talk.”

They shared a laugh at that. Rick ordered another drink, taking the chance to look around the bar that was almost entirely humans. A great of them men. The former chemistry teacher leaned back against his chair, something in his eye appearing to get drawn to the bartender. A maiden with light blue skin.

“I want to find a home. For Monica and Dia. I want to settle down.” The words came out of nowhere, he took a long sip from his drink. “Maybe I should just… ignore everything, find a corner to lay low and vanish. It feels like trouble is chasing us and I don’t like it.”

Settle down.

Now there’s a thought Alice had not allowed herself to consider for months. Her former boyfriend, her former life, her former career, her former… everything. She looked unto the idea of the world around her and…

“I don’t think this world could be my home even if I tried.” She proclaimed with a loud annoyed snort. “Too many things to fix.”

Rick looked at her sideways, raising a brow. “You planning to start making signs and starting rallies and protests?”

“Something like that.”

There was a moment of pause as he considered this.

“Don’t let your ideals blind you from reality.” He said solemnly. “That black haired girl you mentioned? If I were in your shoes, I’d look to bond with her.”

Alice almost recoiled at that. “What? Why?”

“Because she’d know where May is. That, and she attacked her own leader. You said as much yourself, something doesn’t seem right.”

“But why me?”

“Why not? If you have plans to change the world, then having someone with an outsider’s perspective to things would be useful.”

That made her scowl. “You’re talking as if she’s a tool.”

“For now, she might as well be.” He shrugged in response. “It’s up to whoever owns her to decide if she ever gets to be anything else.” A small laugh escaped him. “I’m also betting you’d thought about doing that already.”

Alice half considered emptying her cup on his face. But resigned herself to growl instead. “Yeah, I had. Helga’s… weird about her. Said the girl seemed more confused and lost than actually trying to fight. Maybe she was under the effects of something.”

“That and you might make her talk without needing to torture her.”

Her lips thinned. “That too.”

The sigh was a tired one.

“Got lots to do, it seems.” Rick nodded. “I’ll be hitting the road sometime next week. Have to finish preparations.”

“You’re just being a coward and running away before Miss Dodson shows up.”

They shared another laugh. “You got me.” He declared between chuckles. Then nodded along, and stood up, clearly ready to leave. “Take care of yourself, Alice. Things are a lot more dangerous than we thought they were.”

“I was ambushed, Rick. I think I know what’s up.”

Rough hands grasped her own. “Alice.” Rick looked into her eyes, and for a moment, Alice saw a flicker of blue within them. “I got a hitman sent to my house, for reasons I don’t really yet understand. And it doesn’t seem like I’m getting away from this mess any time soon.”

A chill ran down her spine, and she could only assent slowly.

Things were going to get complicated.