“Lady Morgan! Lady Morgan!” Sebastian yells as he walks through the gardens.

  As he awakened, he rushed to Morgan’s room, only to find no sign of her. Asking the other servants and attendants he found nothing and no one who knew anything. Gathering some other servants, they began searching the grounds, with Sebastian going off the grounds in search of her entering the nearby forest.

  “Lady Morgan!” Yelling at the top of his lungs, he stomps forward.

  Sebastian falls over and stumbles onto the ground. As he picks himself up, a shadow comes over him, looking down on his figure.

  “You idiot,” Morgan says with disdain in her eyes.

  “Lady Morgan!” Sebastian shoots up. “I was so worried about you. I got some of the others and….”

  Morgan turns around and walks further into the woods. Sebastian picks himself up and chases after her.

  “Lady Morgan, please don’t run. The terrain is. terrible you’ll fall!” He yells as they run through the forest.

  “Then stop chasing me. I don’t want to go back. Just leave me here and….” Morgan stumbles, falling to the ground.

  Sebastian catches up and reaches out his hand with a smile. She takes his hand for a second, then pushes it away.

  “Damn it. Why… why is it that I can’t just hate you?”

  “Lady Morgan, whatever is happening, please let me know. I’ll do what I can to make you happy. Is my service unsatisfactory? Or maybe it’s something with your brothers? Maybe your father?”

  She sighs and turns away. “Fine, I’ll tell you.”

  “Lady Morgan.”

  “But don’t take this as anything understood?”

  “Yes Maim.”

  Sebastian sits next to Morgan as she explains the current situation: her impending marriage, her family’s loss of status and wealth, and Sebastian’s oncoming transfer. Sebastian listens without saying a word, nodding along to show he’s paying attention.

  “And there you have it. I’ve been screwed.”

  “Is this about the marriage?”

  “No. As the daughter of a noble house, it’s optimistic to think I could marry for love. No, my marriage would be arranged, and I’d be made to live as a bargaining chip for my family. I’m fine with that.”

  “Then what if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “You.”

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I’ve developed romantic feelings for you. It’s just. You’re the only person in that house that gives a damn about me as a person. My brothers bully and tease me, especially since Mother left. And Father ignores me. He’s too focused on raising my brothers to be proper nobles. For me, he just sees me as something to toss aside for money.”

  “That’s not true Lady Morgan. I’m sure your Lord Father cares deeply for you.”

  “Drop it!”

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  “What!?”

  “You don’t have to lie to him. I can tell you already know. Why else would some noble girl be found wandering the slums late at night?”

  “You… remember?”

  “It’s the only reason you’d be so nice to me. I was there because my father had forgotten me and my brothers pushed me aside. My Mother was the only one who cared to look for me and now she’s gone. All I’m left with is….” She reaches out and grabs Sebastian’s hand. “Is you? You’re the only one left who cares about me. For everyone else, I’m just a disposable tool, nothing more, nothing less.”

  “That’s not true, Lady Morgan. I know they care.”

  “Oh yeah. Then why haven’t they done anything for my birthday?”

  “Your birthday?” Sebastian pauses. “Drats, I forgot that was this week. I’ve got to go back to the bakery to pick up your cake. Oh, pretend I didn’t say that.”

  She smiles. “See, you’re the only one who cares. If Father cared, he would at least wish me a happy birthday or anything like that. I may feel better. But to be ignored and lose the one person who cares for me. It’s a little too much.”

  Sebastian pauses. “What if I remove my male organs?”

  “Huh?”

  “My lower half….” He blushes. “What if I take a knife and?.”

  Morgan slaps him. “Stop it.”

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t you dare mutilate yourself and say it was in my name? Your devotion to me is… scary sometimes. It’s like you don’t even care for your well-being!”

  “Lady Morgan…. I was abandoned at birth and lived on the street for most of my life. I’ve seen some people do worse than mutilating themselves just to make it to a new day. The day you found me and I went to the orphanage was a sign that I should dedicate my life to you and you alone.”

  “Why? I… I’ve been nothing but rude to you and uncaring and….”

  “And kind to let me sleep in, caring enough to get mad about hurting myself, and… well, this concerned about news of us separating.”

  Morgan sighs and smiles at Sebastian. “You know. We could run away together. It’d be a classic story of a lady and her servant running away to avoid the scrutiny of noble life.”

  “But how many of those stories end badly?”

  “Most of them, honestly.”

  “Besides, you said it yourself. You don’t care about me in that way. And I’m devoted to you, not in love.”

  She pauses. “I am aware.”

  “Then it’s a dumb idea. Besides, maybe your fiancé may be a good person. I’ll continue to work at the manor even if I won’t be your official attendant. Then, well, I’ll come find you.”

  “You find me?”

  “I did it before I’ll do it again. Then you can just hire me as your attendant or a servant or even a cook for all I care.”

  She laughs. “You a cook? I’ve seen you try to prepare a meal before, and it was atrocious.”

  “Come on now, I tried.”

  “Fine. As long as you keep me in your heart, then I guess I can push through. But I’m holding you to this promise. No matter what happens, we’ll find each other, got it?”

  Sebastian nods. “Yes Lady Morgan. I’ll find you no matter what.”

  “Now let’s….”

  Morgan stares up at the trees and spots something flying around them. “What is that?”

  “What is what?” Sebastian stands and looks up, sensing the gathering of Mana around them.

  “Lady Morgan, look out!” He leaps onto Morgan as the area around them explodes in a flash of light and flames.

  Morgan’s eyes snap open. She stares up at the ceiling of her own room in her bed covered in bandages and slathered in ointments. She sits up, her body aching as she spots a figure sitting at her bedside.

  “Where am I?”

  “Mistress Morgan. We were so worried if you’d awaken.”

  “Mistress?”

  She turns to see Sebastian standing at her bedside a smile on his face. But something feels strange. An unusual aura, different from the usual Sebastian, an almost sinister feeling. She struggles to speak as Sebastian leans in closer.

  “Forgive me for a moment. The doctor said to use this medicine to help you if you have some troubles.”

  He opens her mouth and pours a thick liquid into it. She swallows the bitter-tasting liquid and coughs, but her pains and aches fade away almost instantly.

  “What happened?”

  “There was some strange monster in the forest. It attacked us and I barely managed to get you out of there.”

  “A monster? No, there was an explosion, something above us and…” She struggles to think her memories fuzzy.

  She stares at Sebastian as one memory comes to her mind of him lying prone on the ground and something slithering up to him. She tries to focus, but as she grabs her head from the pain, Sebastian prepares more of the medicine. Feeding it to her, the memory fades and she stares at him.

  “Sebastian. Do you remember?”

  “Remember what Mistress?”

  “Our promise.”

  “Oh right. I promised I would never leave your side. That no matter what struggle or strife we’d find each other, no matter what. Right Mistress?”

  She smiles. “Right. Don’t dare forget it, Sebastian.”

  “I’d never forget Mistress Morgan.” He says with a wide twisting smile across his face. Inside his mouth, a series of eyes look out, focusing on Morgan as small tendrils curl around his teeth.