As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted with her mother. "Where have you been?" her mother demanded, glaring down at her with crystal blue eyes.

"Just outside," False mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact.

Her mother sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through her short brown hair. "Whatever, now go clean up and put on your nightgown."

"Nightgown?!" False whined. "Why do I need to wear a nightgown?! I'm just going to sleep!"

"You need to start acting like a proper lady False," her mother explained, turning to start making food. "You'll never get a husband if you don't look presentable. Now, go clean up and then you can help with dinner."

False grumbled, but went to quickly shower and begrudgingly change into her nightgown. It was a baby blue with frilly white lace and ruffle sleeves, possibly the most uncomfortable thing to try and sleep in. She went back out into the main room of the small house and started peeling potatoes with her mother.

"So Mom uh, how's work been?" False eventually asked, looking up and trying to break the awkward silence between them.

"Normal," her mother replied, continuing to chop carrots. "We're very lucky that the King is letting me work in the palace."

False grimaced, despising the way her mother praised the King considering how little she was paid for all the work she did. "You're lucky to be an intelligent woman," False countered, trying to cool her temper. "Not many women get this well paying of a job."

"And thank the King for being so generous." False frowned and decided to continue working silently, figuring there was no point in trying to talk sense into her mother.

They eventually finished and sat down to eat, making a bit of small talk between mouthfuls.

"So how've things been with Xisuma?" her mother finally asked. "I hope you've been courteous and kind to him."

False groaned, abruptly putting down her fork with a clatter. "We've talked about this Mom," she sighed exasperatedly. "I don't want to be his wife! Besides, there's more to life than just being the handmaiden of some prince."

"False dear, I know you have an adventurous soul and crave danger," her mother said in a calm tone, getting up to start washing her dishes. "I did too when I was younger. But you have to learn that in this world, that kind of attitude isn't going to get you anywhere. You're 16 False, you have to let go of that childish attitude sooner or later."

"Besides." Her mother sighed, gently drying the plate with her hand towel. "You'd be very lucky to end up as the prince's wife. Not many women get the opportunity to become royalty," she said, mimicking False's earlier words.

False frowned and turned away, dumping her plates into the sink. "I'll do them in the morning," the blonde muttered, heading towards her bedroom. "I'm going to bed." She flopped onto the mattress and curled up under the covers, slowly sinking into sleep.

* * *

A quiet clatter rang through her ears and she jolted up, ocean-blue eyes wide with panic. False jumped out of bed, grabbing her goggles, and dashed out of the house. Nerves on the end of their wire, she crept out of the shadowed house, listening for danger as it was much too dark for her to see.

"What the hell is this?" a voice quietly grumbled, the noise of shifting metal near the house next door to hers. "Ugh, stupid trash..." Iskall's house.

False narrowed her eyes and slunk through the darkness, creeping around to the back of the shack and where the noise had come from. In the pale moonlight, the blonde could barely make out a figure with long wavy hair, stance frozen as vibrant green eyes glowered at her.

"Who the hell are you?!" False yelled, trying to make as much noise as possible as to hopefully alert others. Unfortunately, people were unlikely to come for a teenager's cry for help, way too tired to try and deal with some kid's antics.

The figure growled under it's breath and then suddenly darted away, making a run for it past False. Luckily the blonde, with her lightning fast reflexes, managed to grab at the person's shoulder. Her fingers slipped, but the motion was harsh enough that it made the person stumble, letting False grab at their wrist.

"Who are you?" she demanded again, quiet this time. Closer to her now, she could start to make out features in them. Ruffled ginger hair, a tattered off-the-shoulder shirt, slightly greenish skin... "Wait... are you that girl from the tunnels?" False muttered, loosening her grip slightly. "Cleo right?"

The girl's stance relaxed from a fight-or-flight position into casual standing. "Uh yes, yes I am," she replied hesitantly, still wary of her current position. "Who are you again?"

"I'm False," the blonde said, letting go of Cleo's wrist. "Say um, why're you out here?" she asked, lightly scuffing her feet on the ground. "You're definitely not supposed to be here."

Cleo looked away for a moment, regret flashing in her dark eyes. "Can I trust you not to tell anyone?" she asked lowly, not daring to look up.

False nodded, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Of course. I'd never rat out another girl friend."

The zombie hybrid muttered something about the word "girlfriend" to herself, but eventually sighed quietly and spoke. "My friend got taken by a group of hunters," Cleo explained, still looking away with a pained look. "It sounds really stupid and dumb, but I came here to save him and-"

"That's not stupid," False interrupted, making Cleo jerk her head up. "You just wanted to rescue your friend. It's mighty brave of you to even come here by yourself."

Cleo eyes went wide with surprise, but her mouth eventually curled into a grin. "Thanks," she replied bashfully. "I actually came here to look for one of you, the humans who were with uh, Icicle? The one with the mechanical eye. Anyways, I thought maybe you could help me look for my friend?" Cleo smiled awkwardly.

False tilted her head thoughtfully, thinking about the offer for a moment. "Well, that sounds pretty dangerous," she murmured, making Cleo's smile drop. "But you know what? I'm always up for danger! And this is a rescue mission so of course I can't pass it up! Yeah let's do this!"

The ginger in front of her smiled widely. "Oh thank you so much!" she exclaimed. The human nodded back, grinning just as widely. "Let's meet up tomorrow morning in those tunnels alright? Then we can discuss our plan of action."

The two agreed to the plan and waved their goodbyes, rushing back to their respective homes and grinning to themselves all the way as they slunk through the darkness.