The rest of the afternoon passed by with very few issues, and Agnea was beyond grateful to have the chance to breathe after the horrors of the earlier stages of the day. She felt like she was finally able to rest again after watching so many people lose their lives, and all she wanted to do with it was try to calm herself down as much as she could. She was certain the rest of the travelers felt much the same way. They had all suffered a lot that day, and Agnea knew they would never forget what they had been forced to watch. 

Agnea was glad she had been able to talk to Temenos about it though. He had helped her significantly in easing her fears and giving her something to look forward to beyond the limits of Oresrush, and Agnea could never thank him enough. If he had to be aware of the worst parts about the world, then Agnea was glad she could talk to him about it and take some degree of comfort from his wisdom. She was certain all of them would benefit from hearing Temenos speak every once in a while. He may have had his own flavor of distaste for the church and some of its teachings, but he had wise words to share when he was willing to set his teasing aside. Agnea was going to have to ask him for advice more often if she found herself in a crisis where she wanted outside reassurance. 

For now though, Agnea had something else on her mind: she wanted to go back to Cropdale. The travelers were going to be in the area on the way to Sai, and Agnea was hoping to at least pay a brief visit to her father and sister while she was in the area. Seeing Partitio talk to his father while the travelers were in Oresrush had reminded her of just how much she missed them, and Agnea wanted to take advantage of the chance while she had it to see what they were up to. Agnea had vowed before that she wouldn't come back until she was a star, but surely one visit while she was already in the area for unrelated reasons wouldn't hurt anyone. If anything, it gave Agnea a little bit more to look forward to so she would one day be able to share even more of her adventures with them. She couldn't let her time in New Delsta be the only set of steps she took toward stardom. 

Agnea and Temenos were the first to go to the tavern when it was time for dinner, and they sat in silence for quite some time as Temenos wrote out a letter and Agnea thought about how she was going to introduce the idea of going to Cropdale to the rest of the group. She wanted to give them a reason to agree to it other than just the fact that she wanted to. It would feel selfish if she wanted to back by herself while none of the others were interested, especially since they needed to get to Sai as soon as possible. Perhaps Agnea would be able to find some other way to phrase it so she would feel a bit less bad about throwing their plans off track for a while. 

"What are you writing?" 

Agnea yelped at the sound of Throné's voice, and she looked up to find the thief walking over to their table with a frown. Throné had an almost uncanny skill for appearing out of nowhere without anyone noticing she was there, and now, Agnea could only assume it was an extension of her time in the Blacksnakes. She had been taught how to surprise people for the sake of carrying out her missions, and she was very good at it too. Agnea didn't know if she would ever be able to get used to that though. Her heart certainly wasn't used to it yet. 

Temenos, on the other hand, was entirely unbothered by Throné appearing out of nowhere. He didn't even look up from the letter he was penning. "I'm writing a letter to Crick," Temenos answered. "It would feel wrong to not keep in touch with him after all we did together in Canalbrine. He can read all about our adventures once he arrives in Stormhail at the Sacred Guard's headquarters."

"I'm glad to know the two of you are as close as you are," Partitio remarked as he revealed he was just behind Throné. He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, pressing his elbows against the table. "It was nice to see you talkin' to someone like that. I never would've expected the two of you to be such fast friends."

"I didn't either," Temenos admitted. "But perhaps there's something about going through unexpected circumstances that simply helps you to bond with a person. Who can say for certain?" When a particularly large blot of ink fell out of his pen, he leaned down to blow on it and dry it out as quickly as possible. Once he was satisfied, Temenos leaned back and looked at Throné and Partitio in muted curiosity. "What did the two of you do today?"

"Well, we were able to see to the arrest of the saddlery owner," Throné answered. "Partitio's father couldn't let him get away after learning that he knew about this for all the time it was going on and then didn't do anything to stop it. That should be all of the people who were aware of this behind bars now, and we just have to wait for Partitio's friend to get back with a few of the Sanctum Knights from Canalbrine for everything to work out."

"Harry will be back in a few days, I'm sure," Partitio assured the rest of the group. "I'm sure everythin' will work out just fine when he gets back here. Even if we have to leave before then, I know we can count on the rest of the folks here in town to watch over the people who were arrested. They were able to help me knock Giff down a couple pegs, and they're not gonna let anyone involved with a slave tradin' ring get away without a fight."

"I'm glad to hear it," Agnea smiled. She had been worried about practically everything to do with the truth of the Slaver's actions in the foundry, but if Partitio was certain his neighbors and friends would be able to handle the situation, then Agnea was going to trust him. There was very little else she could do anyway, especially when the travelers were still set to leave Oresrush the following morning. "You still want to leave town tomorrow, right?"

"I think we can, yeah," Partitio nodded. "I would love to stay here and make sure all of the people who were arrested end up behind bars in Canalbrine or Stormhail, but I know we've got a lot of business that needs to be taken care of outside of Oresrush too. It wouldn't feel right of me to keep Castti waitin' for too much longer than we already have. It seems like she's the only one who hasn't been able to do much of anythin' to help her cause since all of us met up. Well, aside from Osvald, but we've already figured out why that's not exactly the best idea for us to pursue right now."

Agnea winced. That was right. Sai wasn't just a fun destination they wanted to go to; it was a place where Castti was hoping to recover a few of her memories. Perhaps going to Cropdale wasn't the best idea after all. Castti had been so patient leading up to that point, and Agnea didn't want to leave her waiting for any longer than was absolutely necessary. She would be able to go to Cropdale again after she had achieved her dream of becoming a star. Until then, she was willing to be patient. 

"What were you saying about me?"

As if on cue, Castti walked up to the table with Osvald by her side. They claimed two of the four remaining seats around the table, leaving only one final pair for Hikari and Ochette. "I hope you weren't saying anything too bad about me," Castti went on, a teasing glint in her eye. 

"Not at all," Partitio assured her with a shake of his head. "We were just talkin' about how we want to get to Sai so we can help you out with the next part of your journey to recover your memories. You've been kept waitin' for an awfully long time, and we don't want you to have to hold it off for any longer than you already have."

Castti's eyes widened before she shook her head. "I don't mind waiting a little bit longer than anticipated to go to Sai," she said. "I really haven't felt bothered by taking care of other business first. I understand that Sai is the last place we need to go right now before we can return to Conning Creek, but if there's something else you need to do, then I would be fine with waiting another few days."

"I still think we should go on and leave Oresrush as soon as we can," Throné frowned. "The longer we stick around here, the more we run the risk of what we did being found out. Anyone working with the Blacksnakes won't be able to go after an entire town worth of people, but they might be fine with taking a grudge out against the rest of us."

Agnea winced, doing her best to push the thought of anything retaliatory out of her head. She didn't know how Throné could speak of it so casually when the mere implication of it made her feel like she was going to be sick. Throné really was a lot more used to this than the rest of them. "Well... I had another thought in mind... That maybe we could go to Cropdale on our way toward Sai," Agnea began slowly. "We don't have to if you don't think it's a good idea, and we can just go directly toward Sai if there are any issues, but--"

"I think that's a fine idea."

Hikari was the one who had spoken this time, and Agnea looked up to find him wearing a new set of clothes. It was a stark contrast from his regular attire as the prince of Ku, but it was still the same red color as his previous ensemble. The primary difference was that these clothes didn't fit him anywhere near as well as they should have. The shoulders were a bit too large for him, and the trousers needed a handful of adjustments too. Hikari didn't seem bothered by it, but as the daughter of a tailor, Agnea had been trained to notice those sorts of things years ago, and once she saw it initially, she couldn't get it out of her head. 

"We would need to pass through that general area in order to make it to Sai safely anyway," Hikari went on as he and Ochette sat down at the table. "There are a few major sandstorms at this time of the year, and it tends to be safer to approach from the Leaflands if you want to travel to Sai. If we were going in that direction anyway, then we could stop in Cropdale for a short while too."

"And I have another idea of something we can do when we're there," Agnea suggested. "I think we should talk to my father about seeing if he can adjust your clothes for you, Hikari. They could fit a little bit better than they do, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable going forward."

Hikari's eyes went wide. "You don't have to do something like that... I truly don't mind them as they are now."

"But what if they get in the way when you're trying to fight?" Agnea pointed out, and Hikari immediately fell into silence. If his clothes were too lose, then they could easily end up impeding his movement, and given the travelers' natural talent to stumble into trouble, that was bound to be a death sentence. "He'll be able to help us, and your clothes will fit perfectly in no time. We can pass through Cropdale, see him, and then keep traveling toward Sai so we can see what Castti is able to learn there."

"That sounds like a fine idea to me," Castti agreed. "If there's anything else we need to take care of here in Oresrush though, I truly wouldn't mind staying here for an extra day. I would be fine with waiting a little while longer to make it to Sai and learn what I can there. If something needs to be done, then--"

"Nothing else needs to happen," Temenos assured Castti breezily. "If there was, then it would have come up by now, and no one has said anything of the sort. We can go to Sai without any other issues, and you have nothing to worry about."

Castti nodded, her gaze falling on the table quietly. She seemed almost flustered to know the group would be traveling to Sai once they were finished in Oresrush, though Agnea couldn't fathom why for the life of her. It had been ages since Castti was able to do anything to help uncover more about her missing memories. The last thing she had learned was where to go, and even that had been remarkably unhelpful thus far. She should have been excited to learn more about what waited in her past, but instead, she just seemed... Afraid. 

Agnea wanted to say something to try and soothe Castti's fears, but before she got the chance, the waiter arrived at the group's table for the night. Castti seemed glad to have the distraction, though Agnea couldn't shake the feeling that something else was on her mind. Agnea wasn't going to push it if Castti really wasn't comfortable with talking about it, but at the same time, Agnea hoped she would feel safe enough to open up about what was bothering her soon. Surely Castti had to know that nothing good would come of trying to bottle up her emotions so extremely. 

Everything would look up when they made it to Sai though. Agnea was sure of it. Even if Castti had been uncertain before then, the travelers would give it their all to learn more about her missing memories when they arrived in the city. Castti would get closer and closer to unlocking her missing memories, and the rest of the group would be there to support her no matter what she needed. Agnea would stand by Castti however she had to, and she was certain the rest of the group agreed. 

But first, they had to go back to Cropdale, and Agnea was going to do a little something about Hikari's ill-fitting clothing. 

~~~~~

Throné let out a sigh as she stepped out of the inn into the nighttime air. Since the travelers were supposed to be leaving Oresrush the following morning, she knew she should have been at least trying to catch a bit of shuteye before hitting the road. She wasn't going to help her situation at all if she was exhausted when trying to navigate around the monsters between Oresrush and Cropdale. 

Logicality did very little to stop Throné from feeling like her heart was screaming its way right out of her chest though. She could hardly believe the way the day's events had gone. It didn't feel real to think that she had told the rest of the travelers the truth, much less that they still wanted to be around her once all was said and done. All of her deepest fears about being rejected had been for nothing, and she was going to keep traveling with the rest of the group for as long as they were willing to have her. She had even managed to dismantle a large piece of the Blacksnakes' work there in Oresrush, and she would only be able to make more progress from there. 

It felt as if a piece of her soul had been released from her chest. She hadn't realized just how much tension she was clinging to until it finally began to float away, but now, Throné felt like she could breathe again. She was safe. She had never been safe before in her entire life because of the Blacksnakes, but she had something to cling to now. She had been terrified of losing the only thing she thought she could ever relax into, but it had all been for nothing. She was fine. Everything was going to be fine. 

It barely felt real to think that she was secure that way. Throné had thought safety would never be possible for her because of the way the Blacksnakes worked. There wasn't much of a point in wishing for something better when she knew she was never going to find it as long as she was in the organization. In the end, it wasn't until after she left that she was able to look to the future for once. She should have seen it coming years ago. Regardless, the relief that washed through her was immense, and it felt like it was going to bring her to her knees. 

"I was wondering when you would be coming out here."

Throné also should have seen it coming that she wouldn't be alone outside the inn that night. She turned at the sound of Temenos' voice, finding him leaning against the outside of the building and staring up at the starry sky. "What are you doing here?" Throné asked. "I would have thought you would be sleeping before our big day on the road."

"I could say the same to you," Temenos countered, and Throné relented with a sigh. Neither one of them should have been out there, and they both knew it well. "I had a feeling I would find you here tonight though. You couldn't seem to focus despite your best efforts even after telling the rest of the group the truth about who you are and where you come from."

Throné could have responded with something defensive since she knew what Temenos was doing. He wanted to probe as deeply as he could into her emotional state while still never letting so much as a smile slip through his own mask of maturity and composure. Throné couldn't bring herself to push him away though. She wanted to feel safe and secure in a place where she knew she belonged, and asking Temenos to leave her be wouldn't do anything to help her decompress. He was the only member of the party who had figured out who Throné was ahead of time, and as such, she couldn't help but feel as if there was a bond between them. 

If she was being honest though, Throné felt like it ran deeper than that. Something about her was simply drawn to Temenos in a way that defied all words and expectations. She didn't know what she was meant to do with it, but she couldn't entirely leave him alone even when she felt she was at her most volatile. "I didn't know how anyone was going to react," Throné told him simply. "I thought there was a chance they would want me gone after everything came out. They don't have much of a reason to trust in a member of the Blacksnakes, do they?"

"Perhaps not... But I think you have proven they have a reason to trust in you, yes?" Temenos asked, and Throné hummed thoughtfully. "I told you that you were worrying too much. I knew you would be accepted when you told them everything, and I was right. I'm glad you finally came out about it. I could tell that keeping the secret was tearing you apart inside."

"You can tell a lot about people just from looking at them, can't you?" Throné questioned. She had learned the skill of uncovering the weaknesses of others simply from observing them for a time, but Temenos handled the same matter very differently. Rather than looking for physical obstacles to his protection, he was always searching for something deeper and more emotional. It was as terrifying as it was fascinating to Throné, and she knew she would always be interested in it simply because it was a skill she would never be able to possess. 

"I learned how to identify others' emotions young," Temenos told her simply, and Throné raised an eyebrow. His vagueness told her there was something else brewing behind the scenes of a seemingly simple statement, and she was going to have to try and get to the bottom of it one day. Temenos was fooling himself if he thought he would be able to get away with probing so deeply into Throné's soul while not expecting anything to happen in return. "I knew everything would work out though. The others are all good people, and if they were going to abandon you, then it would have happened quite some time ago. You are as safe as you can be as long as you are here."

"It's ironic. You say that doubt is what you do, and yet, you didn't doubt them believing in me at all," Throné commented. Temenos confused her in a lot of ways, and this was just one of many questions she had for him. With time, Throné was certain she would be able to sift through the strange layers wound around his heart. It would take a hell of a lot more effort than she was used to putting into her relationships, but with Temenos, it felt not only necessary but almost inevitable. "What happened to not believing in anything unless you could verify it?"

"It is true that doubt is an important thing to have... But faith is important as well," Temenos countered, and Throné hummed once more. She didn't know why Temenos of all people was lecturing her on having faith in others when he seemingly believed in his own skills above those of the people around him. His argument was almost strong... But it didn't hold water as long as Throné knew him even slightly. "I believe this group is a fine one for the both of us to travel with. It has already helped us both immensely, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah... I guess it has," Throné agreed. She felt like she was making at least a little bit of progress on the path to becoming a better person even if it was taking longer than she would have otherwise liked. It was certainly better than rotting away in her despair in a back alley of New Delsta. There with the travelers, she felt like she had a chance of actually doing something with her life beyond just sitting in her misery forever. Life could be so much better than it had been leading up to that point. Throné just had to be willing to pursue it. 

"How do you feel now that the truth has come out?" Temenos asked. "Now that the rest of the group knows the truth about who you are and where you come from, do you feel the weight on your chest has lessened at all?"

Throné nodded immediately. "Yeah... I do," she admitted. "Being in the Blacksnakes makes a person think their only choice is to fight and kill so they can get higher up in the ranks. There's no such thing as freedom in a place like that. But... I want things to be different here. I feel like I understand what freedom means to me now. At the very least, I'm starting to get it. I want to keep learning what I want to do with the rest of my life. Today hasn't changed what I'm really after. I want to get out of the Blacksnakes, and I want to make my own fate once and for all."

"And when the time comes where we have to take the next step to help you, then all of us will be here to help you," Temenos assured her. "Though I imagine we have quite a bit of training to do before then. The rest of us aren't exactly equipped to defeat incredibly powerful assassins the same way you are, so it will take a bit more time before we can consider ourselves able to help you."

"I'm going to need to get stronger too," Throné agreed. "I know I'm a good enough fighter right now, but I'll be nothing compared to Mother or Father right now. I would rather find a way to take the keys without having to kill them, but if it comes to that, then I'm willing to do what I have to. I was hoping we would be able to take Mother's key today without the need for something more, but... Father in particular will be a challenging foe. I need to be ready for both of them. I need to keep pushing myself."

"Then just remember that this isn't journey isn't yours alone anymore. All of us have agreed to stand by you, and I know you will stand by the rest of us as needed too," Temenos said. "We'll all do what we can to help you earn your freedom. Seeing even one person liberated from the shackles of misery... I'm certain it will help all of us."

Throné nodded with a light hum. It was probably going to feel strange for quite some time as she grew used to thinking there were others who cared for her this way. She was used to everyone in the Blacksnakes only being out for themselves. That was how a person survived in the organization, after all. She didn't need to be tied to the Blacksnakes forever though. Something was going to change for the better, and she was going to be the one to do it. She knew she could. It was just a matter of all of the pieces beginning to move in the right direction. 

"For now, I think we should both try to get some rest," Temenos continued. "We have a long day ahead of ourselves, and while Cropdale will be less intense than Sai, I imagine we have quite the hardships waiting in our near futures."

"Yeah. Going back to Conning Creek once we're finished in Sai is going to be a challenge and then some. Even if Hikari is disguised, we never know what we're going to get into," Throné sighed. She was hoping with everything she had that they didn't run into too many other issues on their second pass through town, but only time would be able to tell. If something happened with Osvald or Hikari, then the travelers were going to need to run, and Throné could only hope they were able to get away to the eastern continent in time to keep from being caught. 

Temenos pushed himself away from the wall at the edge of the inn and began walking back toward the door. "Goodnight, Throné," he told her over his shoulder. "I hope you can rest well. You clearly need it."

Throné chose to not ask how Temenos was able to figure out that she had been sleeping poorly ever since she began to worry more and more about the travelers finding out the truth behind her identity. If any one of them was going to figure it out, it was bound to be him or Castti. The two of them were simply too perceptive for their own good, and Throné was bound to fall victim to it again and again in the future. She wasn't going to talk about it too much that night though, so Throné walked after him toward her own room in the inn. "Goodnight, Temenos."

Throné split away from Temenos at the appropriate branch in the hallway, and she pressed her key into the lock before slipping into the room. Castti was already asleep, her fingers pressed against the journal that was guiding her toward Sai. She had no doubt been trying to glean anything she could from the bloodstains marking the pages when she fell asleep in the middle of it. Throné could already tell Castti had a nasty habit of overworking herself, and it was just a matter of time before it got worse. Castti told her patients to take care of themselves, but she rarely ever did the same for herself unless she absolutely had to. 

Throné sighed as she eased herself onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling with a neutral expression. She didn't need to be afraid anymore of what the rest of the group would think. She was as safe as she could have been. The Blacksnakes were still a source of danger, but they always were, and Throné had no way of getting away from that. She knew she would be alright one way or another though. This was the most hope she had ever held for her own future, and she wasn't going to let it go without a fight. If one of the other Blacksnakes wanted to take it out of her hands by getting rid of her, then they were going to face the consequences. 

Throné closed her eyes, and the darkness immediately began to creep up on her from all angles. She needed to rest, and she needed to keep fighting for her freedom. Even if it was a while before she had to go to Winterbloom or Wellgrove to pursue Father and Mother, Throné knew she was making steps to free herself in the meantime. Every time she woke up in the morning and did something with her life that the Blacksnakes would not approve of, she was getting closer. She was making progress no matter how slow it was. 

And one day, it would all come to a peak, and she would be truly free at last. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter time! Yay! 

This chapter acts as the end to the miniature arc focused around Throné's chapter two--well, her first one, I suppose--and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I love writing this cast, and I especially love having an excuse to write Throné and Temenos. I love dropping little hints about things that aren't going to come up for a while, sprinkling them around for anyone who is interested in finding them. It's amazing, and it'll hit very hard if anyone decides to read this story back after it has already been completed. 

I don't have that much else to say here though, and honestly, I'm craving time to play Octopath 0. The game came out today (if that gives you any perspective on how far ahead these chapters are written), so once I finish this, I'm going to keep playing. Next time, we'll start off our final crossed paths. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital