"Huh, so that's how things ended up for you...." Alistair rolled a pebble he had picked up from the ground between his fingers with a thoughtful look in his eye. He hummed in thought, eyes staring straight forward into the sea. "And you've only been here a week?"

"A little bit over that," Arabella corrected, with her hands folded neatly in her lap. "Most of it was spent searching for you. No one here so much as mentioned you, aside from a foreign dressmaker who just happened to spot you in Nyotari."

The two of them had made themselves comfortable on a bench overlooking the port, the same bench Arabella had sat on with Aubrey a mere day ago. She had not anticipated she would be back so soon, let alone with such company. Sitting side by side with Alistair felt almost surreal and it took an active effort from Arabella not to pinch herself. She cautiously glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Alistair didn't seem much too fazed by any of this at all, rather, he seemed resigned.

She watched as the boy grasped the pebble in his hands and tossed it into the air, catching it and repeating the motion. A slight smile appeared on Alistair's lips, "I guess when it comes down to it, they really stuck to their words."

Arabella raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"My mother and I settled here when I was a kid. Since then, we were pretty reclusive, but the few people who did get to know us promised her that if anyone ever came searching, they wouldn't say a thing."

"Do they... know about your identity?" 

Alistair shook his head softly, his head of white hair flowing with the movement, "I doubt it. They know me as 'Al'. Hardly any nobles knew what we looked like, I doubt that anyone outside of high society would." He muttered under his breath, with a bitter sigh. "If there was anything that old goat was good at, it was hiding his shame."

Suddenly, the discomfort of the people Arabella talked to over the week started to make a little more sense. Perhaps it had less to do with her reputation, and more to do with this vow of secrecy they had held in honour of Alistair and his mother. Either way, she was glad to know that her assessment of him being within the Lockhart Earldom was correct in the end.

Though, Arabella did not fail to notice that she had gone through much effort to explain her experience, from his death up until now, and yet she had failed to hear the same from Alistair himself, "... I'm still missing some details about what happened after you went back..."

Alistair huffed quietly, crossing his arms and leaning back into the bench, leg crossed over the other in a relaxed motion. Arabella watched with piqued interest before he bluntly stated, "What's there to say? I died and then I woke up."

Arabella felt her brow twitch. With a sharp glare she snapped back, "That's all?"

Unfazed by her glare, Alistair sighed, "I just had business to attend to in Nyotari. It has nothing at all to do with this. Most of my week was spent travelling to and fro."

Despite her frustration with Alistair's secretiveness, Arabella instead chose to show some restraint and huffed in response. She got the sense that he wouldn't elaborate further, no matter what she said. But in a moment, a connection seemed to click in her head and she spun in her seat to face Alistair with wide blue eyes and her voice raised, "Wait... Are you the stowaway!?"

Alistair's violet-coloured eyes blinked owlishly for a moment at her outburst, but rather than refute the claim he laughed guiltily, "Ah, so you knew about that?"

Disbelief clouded Arabella's features as she gawked at him, "But... How did you? My brother would never have just let you walk free! How are you here?" 

"Well, I may have blindsided him a little... There was an... incident and I locked him in a cabin before I got away." Alistair explained himself with a beaming smile as though it was nothing. 

Arabella stared at him like he was going insane. To do something like that to Layton, he had to be crazy. No wonder there was such a strong police presence earlier, did Alistair really think he would get away with this? Her eyes darted around, surveying the area for the slightest glimpse of an officer searching for Alistair, "You must never have met my brother in the past if you think he would let this slide! What kind of plan did you have in mind, sneaking onto a Lockhart ship?"

Alistair rubbed the back of his neck and smiled lopsidedly, "Well, I didn't have a solid plan at all. Just that I needed to get back to Aurumia after spending the last of my money in Nyotari and that I needed to meet with Layton Lockhart so that I could eventually... meet... you...?" Alistair's speech trailed off when Arabella in one swift motion got to her feet, removed her cloak and threw it around his shoulders. The article billowed, and Arabella made sure to pull the hood firmly over his head, flattening his wavy white hair. Alistair stared up at the girl who seemed more concerned with the cape than with anything that was coming out of his mouth. Though he wouldn't complain; the heavy cloak was warmer than it looked. "What are you doing?"

Unamused, Arabella looked down at him with a narrowed gaze, "Well, you never thought to tell me that you were a fugitive. Don't you know that your hair makes you stick out like a sore thumb?" She shook her head at the bold disregard he seemed to display and crossed her arms before settling back into her seat. "We should probably finish this before you're found out."

Alistair stared at her for a moment before pinching the hood further down on his head and going back to speaking, "...I thought I would be able to reason with him, but after seeing him... I guess I figured it wouldn't work."

When he put it like that, maybe he made the right choice after all. Arabella winced internally trying to imagine how that conversation would have gone down, though it certainly would have ended with Layton throwing him in a jail cell, regardless of what he said. It was quick thinking on Alistair's part. Reckless but it worked and Arabella couldn't help but be a little impressed. 

Arabella shook her head to herself, finding that they had lingered on the topic for too long. With a serious expression, she faced him again, "I have to ask..." Alistair tilted his head in her direction, indicating that she should continue. At his gaze, she suddenly felt a little self-conscious and looked down at her lap instead. "Of all things, I didn't expect at all that you would have also gone back in time. But even less so that you would be looking for me."

Even if she didn't say it outright, Alistair could hear the questioning tone in Arabella's voice and answered accordingly, "If you're asking why I came searching for you specifically. It's because..." He paused, pondering on how to phrase his thoughts by gazing out into the sea, leaving Arabella biting her cheek in anticipation of his answer. Finally, Alistair met her gaze with a side glance and a small smile. "You're the only person I could think of who showed me support back then."

"...What?" Arabella replied in complete bewilderment. What was he talking about? Support? They spoke once and if her memory was not failing her, it was not a positive conversation. 

"I thought it would be worth a try, even if it was a long shot," Alistair laughed softly, but his words seemed to be fully sincere. "You said something along the lines of disliking me because of our 'circumstances'."

"I called you annoying," Arabella corrected, still in disbelief over his thought process.

"Exactly," Alistair's smile morphed into an amused smirk. "And haven't those circumstances changed dramatically? Unless you're still fawning over Cecil." Arabella's sharp glare illustrated his point and he nodded firmly. "I thought so. And if you came searching for me too, then I'd say I did the right thing. You said you didn't wish any harm on me, and I suppose I was willing to take the gamble that you truly meant it."

Arabella opened her mouth but found herself speechless and settled for silence. She didn't have the heart to tell him that if by some chance, it was her actual 14-year-old self that he had met, his efforts would truly have been in vain. 

"By the way, you never mentioned it..." Suddenly, Alistair's expression grew somewhat serious and Arabella was dragged out of her thoughts, furrowing her brows in the slightest. "But the reason you searched for me. It has something to do with revenge against Cecil, isn't it?

Arabella frowned, "Isn't that much obvious?" She sighed and brushed back some hair that had fallen out of place. "Since I came back, it's all I think of. Don't you want some kind of retribution?"

Alistair spoke with a familiar sense of nonchalance, violet eyes staring straight forward into the distance, "I couldn't care less about what happens to Cecil. What I want is the throne."

Arabella eyed him for a while, trying to gauge his intentions... But to her surprise, there wasn't a cloud of dishonesty or insincerity in his tone. She furrowed her brows, "You're just... You don't care about what he did to you? Throwing you aside like you're just some piece on his chessboard? Toying with you like you're nothing?" She sounded more emotional than she had intended and bit her tongue to disguise it, frustrated with herself. 

Alistair paid no mind to her reasoning, "My death was inevitable. Cecil just sped it up. I said it to you back then already: I was fighting a losing battle," A sudden fire seemed to light in Alistair's eyes as he spoke. "Cecil played the game and won. This time, I'm going to win. It's that simple."

Stunned, Arabella studied his words. It didn't take long to figure out that the fire in Alistair's violet eyes was unadulterated determination. It was like he truly believed in his own words with a confidence that could not be replicated.  She swallowed before continuing, mustering as much conviction as she could, placing a hand on her chest,"...If you don't care about whatever state Cecil winds up in, then that's fine by me. I'll help you become king, so long as you don't deny me my own retribution."

A knowing smile crossed Alistair's lips as he once more met her sharp gaze, "Now, why would I do such a thing?"

"Arabella!"

At the familiar shout of her name, Arabella practically leapt out of her own skin. The rapid sound of approaching footsteps sounded from behind her and before she could even turn to look, she was tugged off of the bench and pulled behind an imposing figure. Arabella looked up to a familiar head of dark blue hair and gawked, "Layton!"

He had made quick work of grasping Alistair by the collar with a scowl of pure fury, leaving Alistair staring back helplessly in wide-eyed shock. Arabella attempted to make a grab for Layton's arm only to be pulled into a sudden protective hold from behind. She gasped at the sudden embrace and was spun around to come face to face with Olivia's terrified expression, "Arabella! Are you alright!? You just disappeared and-and I thought something terrible had happened!" Arabella squeaked as she was pulled into a tight embrace again, a mixture of panic and relief was evident in Olivia's voice. "I searched for you everywhere, and when I couldn't find you I went to Layton immediately! My heart couldn't take it! I'm so happy we found you!"

Layton seemed to have noticed the familiar cloak he was grasping onto and glared at the young boy, "What did you do to her? Why are you wearing this?"

Arabella was overwhelmed with how quickly things had taken a turn for the worse. The overload of yelling and panicking made her head spin and she couldn't help but watch the scene unfold before her. Alistair, to her surprise, had kept calm even with her brother glaring daggers through his skull and raised his hands innocently, "I apologise for what I did on the ship, Lord Lockhart."

"Did I ask you about that? I believe I asked what you did to my sister?" Layton's grip only tightened in response.

"I ran from the ship because I was afraid, Lord Lockhart. And when I did I came across Lady Arabella..." His violet eyes flitted to hers for a split second, unfazed by his predicament and Arabella snapped out of her stupor and zoned in on his words. "...Some thugs were harassing her, trying to rob her. I stepped in as soon as I saw, My lord."

Ah, so that's how it was. Alistair's shameless lie was as impressive as his composure. It seemed she would have to put her years of tantrums and fake tears to good use for once. Little did Alistair know, she could be just as shameless as him.

Both Layton and Olivia jumped at the sound of quiet sniffles, turning to find Arabella holding a hand over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes, "I-I'm sorry for wandering. It's all my fault- I should have never strayed. But when those thugs cornered me I-I..." Covering her face in her hands, Arabella let the tears fall and emitted as pitiful a sob as she could muster. "I was so afraid... If Al didn't show up when he did, then I-I-"

Olivia rushed to her side in an instant, her blue eyes melting into sympathy as she rubbed a comforting hand on Arabella's back, "I should have kept a closer eye on you, so don't blame yourself!"

With a staged tearful hiccup, Arabella turned to her sister, "No, there was nothing you could have done. They were so imposing, it would have only resulted in you putting yourself in danger for me... I wouldn't have wanted that..."

Arabella had noticed that Layton's grasp on Alistair had loosened considerably, though stubbornly, he had yet to let go. Layton's eyes flashed with conflict, though his firm stare did not disappear. Finally, he sighed, begrudgingly releasing Alistair at last, "I...Give my sincerest gratitude to you for stepping in when you did." Alistair looked slightly eager until Layton returned to his cold stare. "But what happened earlier today cannot be ignore-"

In a blur, Arabella had pushed past her brother and embraced Alistair in a tight hug, causing her siblings to watch on in bewilderment. She cringed internally at herself, but unsurprisingly, Alistair had adapted quickly and returned the awkward hug without care. Getting back into character, Arabella stepped back with a bright smile, eyes flicking to Layton to ensure he was watching, "I can't thank you enough for comforting me, Al. Would you like to join us for dinner tonight, as a thank you-" Calculatingly, Arabella cut herself off and feigned disappointment after meeting eyes with Layton. She bowed her head and frowned. "Oh... sorry, my brother would never allow such a thing."

Layton opened his mouth to speak but was promptly silenced by a sharp elbow to the ribs by Olivia who immediately stepped forward, stopping in front of the two 'friends'. Olivia placed a hand on Alistair's shoulder and smiled warmly, "Ignore what Layton says. Al, you are welcome to join us tonight if you so, please. We must extend our gratitude."

Arabella smiled to herself. If Layton said no, then Olivia was almost always guaranteed to say yes. Alistair sent a subtle look of surprise Arabella's way before beaming up at Olivia, "It would be an honour, my lady."