"Guardian spirit? How did I get back?" Kazue asked. He sat on the edge of Rayna's bed—even with a death threat, he had made himself comfortable—while swinging his legs back and forth. His wide eyes were filled with confusion, though a spark of hope lurked beneath the surface.

Rayna didn't reply immediately. Instead, she busied herself with yet another stack of trade deals; she was somewhat irked when Dado delivered it earlier this morning but she was not one to shirk her duties. Besides, the Royal General had done all that was within his power to cut down the workload for her. In comparison to the documentation she reviewed yesterday, this was significantly lenient.

"A servant brought you back," Rayna mumbled as she hunched over her desk, refusing to look at the boy. "Now be silent or entertain yourself elsewhere." The last of her words rolled in venom.

Since Kazue had performed far beyond her expectations at the stables, she had to assign him lighter tasks for the day. Though, much to her annoyance, he had finished them an hour ago and it was only mid-afternoon. I thought yesterday was just a stroke of luck, she thought. Her hand clenched into a fist. But apparently, he's a natural born laborer!

"Oh," Kazue said, his shoulders slumping. He then perked up again. "Which one? I wanna thank them! They must've been super nice—"

"I said silence!" Rayna snapped.

Kazue recoiled from the outburst. "Y-yes ma'am."

The princess pinned him down with a glare, attempting to drink in his discouragement. Indulging in another's fears never failed to soothe her nerves but something tugged at her lungs, snatching away handfuls of oxygen. With a scoff, she turned away.

Contrary of what Rayna assumed, peace gradually settled over the chamber. Kazue had reclined onto his back with his hands resting on his stomach, fingers fidgeting as he stared at the ceiling. He'd rather not leave the princess's side, no matter how monotonous their surroundings became. Thus, familiarity returned to Rayna; it made a home within her mind, her body, as she fell into a rhythm of reading and marking declined trades. For once, they fell into harmony—

A knock at her door.

Rayna nearly slammed the scroll onto her desk.

"Princess? It is Hanh; I'm so sorry to intrude." Hahn—her dress maid and one of several personal servants. The woman didn't dare enter until she received permission to do so.

Fire burned up Rayna's chest to the back of her throat, but she swallowed it down. The façade could not be broken. Giving herself a moment to cool, she called out, "Enter."

True to Hanh fashion, she poked her head in and flashed a warm, achingly timid smile. However, Rayna noticed an added layer of intrigue in the servant's gaze as it kept meandering in Kazue's direction.

The princess's jaw clenched.

"Good day, princess," Hanh greeted. "The Royal General has sent for you and the child. He wishes to see you immediately." A pause, contemplation twisting her features, before it melted into fawning. "Also, your beauty is as radiant as ever."

Rayna forced a smile. Empty words from a loyal dog. "Thank you, Hahn. Kazue and I just need a moment. We shall meet the Royal General promptly." Her tone rested on the clipped side, her patience quite scant at the moment, but Hahn didn't seem to notice. The servant simply dipped her head in a bow and left the pair alone.

Rayna sighed, combing a hand through her hair.

Kazue shot up and gasped, as if raw realization struck him. "Was she the one who brought me back?!"

A chain of grumbles escaped the princess.

†

Dado's eyes raised as his doors swung open, revealing Rayna and Kazue. Yesterday, a chuckle would've weaved its way past his lips, low and rumbling. A twang of mirth would've glimmered in his eyes, especially at the sight of the boy clinging to her robes almost instinctively.

However, he did none of this; the anxiety welling up in his gut was too powerful to smother. Taking measured breaths, he began fumbling through the piles of scrolls covering his desk, some unraveled and crinkled while others stuck out of his drawer haphazardly.

Rayna restrained herself from quirking an eyebrow; for as long as she knew Dado, he never allowed his workspace to appear untidy. The craving for perfection, efficiency, and cleanliness she had was equally adopted from him as much as it was from Queen Sekhmet.

"Ah. Good. You're here, Rayna." Dado tried to smile but the action was a lost cause. Without tearing his gaze from Rayna, he unfurled a rather large scroll resting before him and approached her. "There's something I need to discuss with you," he said.

"You certainly didn't request my presence for a cup of tea and small talk," Rayna shot back, her expression as cool as the mudbrick walls. Again, Dado attempted to smile but the failure proved to be more painful than the last.

"No, I didn't. But I'll be sure to do so next time." Suddenly, his nervous gaze fell on Kazue, who peered back at him with wide eyes. Noticing the look, the child waved with his free hand and grinned.

"Hey, big man," he chirped.

The Royal General's dread spiked but he returned the gesture clumsily, the corner of his lips quirking awkwardly. However, his attention latched back onto Rayna and he leaned in to whisper, "Rayna, perhaps the child should wait outside—"

"And why is that?" Rayna interrupted, "This street rat is my responsibility and well aware of the consequences if he acts like a manner-less imbecile." She drummed her nails along her arms, impatience bubbling within her.

She respected the massive man and his long list of military success but the trembling of his tone spoke otherwise. Ire steadily transformed into disgust and perplexity. Why is he babbling like a fool and tip-toeing around the topic at hand? she wondered.

Dado straightened his posture, a reply playing on the tip of his tongue; for some odd reason, he hesitated to answer and instead settled for shaking his head. "You're right. My apologies, Rayna."

Rayna gave no visible response—she only pinned the Royal General with an expectant stare, waiting for him to explain the summoning. An itch traveled up the back of his neck but the sensation went ignored. Clearing his throat, Dado presented the scroll to Rayna and said, "This is the child's personal records. I did not have the time to check it yesterday but I did today and...well..." He found refuge in the papyrus and eyeballed a section labeled Family & Legal Guardians. Growing irritated, Rayna seized the scroll from his grasp and skimmed it—

A lethal silence enveloped the princess.

"Unbelievable," she hissed before turning on Dado, who deflated under the fire burning in her eyes. However, she then directed her rage onto her new victim, Kazue. The boy in question tilted his head, clearly confused by her spike in mood. "You deceitful little peasant," Rayna spat, "You dare indulge in my personal chambers, when you have a home of your own?!" She angrily shoved the document in Kazue's face. He back-peddled and released a small yelp, nearly tripping over his own feet; like before, Rayna caught him by the collar and hauled him up. "Explain yourself! Why haven't you informed me that you're not an orphan!"

Something deadly and potent wafted from her, immersing Kazue in an invisible smog of warning. He would have to choose his next words wisely or else face a breed of rage few eyes have seen. Gulping, he fiddled with his robes while mumbling, "U-um, I don't know? You never asked, guardian spirit. A-and it doesn't even matter!" Steel suddenly flooded his visage as his hands balled into fists. "My home is here! With you!"

"Wrong," Rayna snarled as she loomed over him, a violent urge tickling at the cusp of her nerves. A beefy hand—Dado's hand—landed on her shoulder but she shook him off. She refused to let him pacify her like some child throwing a tantrum.

Smack the boy. Punch him. Stab him. Slice him. Screech at him. Punish him, someway, somehow—the images pelted her like the showers of a thunderstorm. Then a droplet fell astray, a tranquil drizzle contrasting against the righteous torrent. Stability. Logic. Clarity of the mind.

Emotions equate to weakness.

Rayna placed distance between herself and the child. She hid her hands in her sleeves as she allowed molten passion to ease from her person, inch by flaming inch, until she was once again the model figure of cold calculation. She purposefully turned her back on Kazue and settled her attention back on Dado, her eyes almost as shielded as the queen's.

Dado's lungs flattened.

"Call for my chariot, Dado," Rayna demanded. She glanced back at Kazue, whose already pale complexion seemed to have grown several shades paler. "I will personally return him."

Kazue clenched fistfuls of his robe over his chest, almost certain that his ribs were cracking under the assault of his racing heart. His breathing grew shallow and rushed as liquid heat trailed down his cheeks. "B-but I don't wanna go back," he wheezed, "I don't wanna. I wanna stay here! D-don't take me back! Please!"

Dado stepped forward with his hands raised in a placating manner. "Rayna, there's no need to—"

"Dado," the princess said sharply, "Call. For. My. Chariot. Now."

Dado's internal conflict became palpable; he remained rooted in his spot, as if the floor had branched out and coiled around his ankles. He openly stared at the princess, his gaze begging, before his voice dipped into a whisper. "Rayna, I only ask of you to look at that poor child."

Rayna had no intent of complying; however, she didn't need to, as the broken sobs ripping from Kazue's throat were impossible to ignore. The boy had fallen onto his haunches and pulled his knees into his chest, fruitlessly dragging his arms across his face to dry the tears. "Wherever his legal home may be, he is in no condition to work from there," Dado said. "We should at least identify a few alternative caretakers," or hopefully allow him to remain at the palace, he tacked on mentally. He prayed to Ra himself that Kazue could stay; without the boy's presence, he feared Rayna may never free herself of Queen Sekhmet's influence.

Nonetheless, Rayna's hardened exterior persisted and she marched over to Kazue before yanking him to his feet by the wrist. "So be it. I shall request the chariot myself." As if her touch was a trigger, Kazue immediately latched onto her leg and buried his face into her dress, smearing his tears all over it.

"I-I'm sorry," he blubbered, "I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'll do better, guardian spirit! Promise! I-I'll clean the ladle, the s-stables again! I'll make it e-extra clean! I'll work real hard! Let me stay!" Rayna parted her lips to speak, to shut down his pleas, but her voice failed her and air once again evacuated her body. Her grip on his wrist tightened. Without a word, she exited Dado's office, plastering on a warm yet concerned expression as the doors swung open. Her hand moved to his locks and caressed them gently; it was nothing more than an act for the guards stationed on either side of her.

"Do not cry, Kazue," she cooed. He tried to reply but he was incapable of forming anything beyond clipped syllables; in the end, he could only strengthen his grip, holding onto Rayna for dear life.

Dado found himself unable to look away as the doors closed.

†

Princess and child sat opposite of the other, their forms swaying in tandem with the chariot. An overbearing chill filled the space between them, twisting and writhing and howling in their minds ear. As if he could feel that doomed coldness, Kazue curled into a ball, tucked his chin into his knees, and leaned on the wall; his eyes, just a scant of glistening ambers peeking over the top of his sleeves, drove into Rayna. The sobs have ceased by now, dried trails marring his cheeks, and he was now reduced to shivers and hiccups.

"Why can't I stay?" he asked, voice raspy and weak. Rayna had not been keeping count but the boy must've posed this question at least twenty times. She held her tongue, denying his existence in their shared pocket of space. It was another shackled moment, a moment like last night, when her assassin instincts buckled under the might of a thought untouched. Again, a bitter truth knocked at the back of her skull, something forbidden and unknown.

Something terrifying.

"I can't go there," Kazue pushed. Desperation began to seep back into this tone, though the absolute defeat never left. "S-she doesn't even want me there—"

"You're being absurd." Rayna grinded her teeth—she had no interest in conversing with the boy, yet her lips parted against her own accord.

There was a brief pause as confusion punctured the atmosphere. Kazue squinted, the cogs in his brain turning slowly. "Ab...absurd." The term tasted bland upon his tongue. "I-I don't know what—"

"Ridiculous. You're being ridiculous and overdramatic." A slither of Rayna's conscious cringed as a realization dawned on her—she adapted to Kazue's vocabulary struggles in practically a day.

"No, I'm not! She really doesn't want me! She, sh-she said so." Just as quickly as it came, the fire extinguished and his muscles weakened; his neck could no longer support his head and his visage fell into a silky cocoon of robes.

"Your mother, you mean," Rayna said. "You were groveling in the streets, without a guardian. You're a runaway. Surely she awaits your return." What am I saying? Her hands, which were resting in her lap, clenched until nails dug into her flesh. Am I...comforting him? A street rat? No. His please are agitating. I'm simply soothing my nerves by shutting him up.

"I ran away from her," Kazue interjected. "She's mean and always s-smells weird. And she's always gone! And, and..." His next words seemed to blockade his throat, threatening to suffocate him until he turned blue. Suddenly, he hacked them out, rushed and harsh. "And she calls me hybrid! All the time!" His bloodshot eyes latched onto Rayna's. "She c-can't even remember my name!"

Her body went taut as a memory jumped to the forefront of her thoughts.

"Guess what, guardian spirit."

"What," Rayna spat while cradling her hand.

"You finally remembered my name!"

The chariot lunged, forcing her to numbly rock forward, before it slowed to a creeping stroll. She barely reacted to the polite taps traveling through the wall behind her, before the slot peeled back to reveal the eyes of her driver. "We're almost at our destination, princess."

For once, Rayna forgot her façade; instead of flashing a sugary smile, forcing pleasantries, or stroking Kazue's hair, she nodded. Once, quickly, sharply, sans emotion. Luckily, her driver thought little of the oddity, and nodded back before shutting the slot. As she studied the child before her, the shackled moment grew by the second.

She worried, at this rate, that it would become eternal.