Arine woke up to the sound of screaming. Arine jumped from her bed, not bothering to change her nightclothes. She heard it from downstairs so she raced down the stairs. When she looked up she saw Marvin going down the stairs too. 

"Did you hear that?" Arine asked him.

"Yes, it sounded like Eden," he winced. "It sounded like it was from the kitchen..."

Arine flinched. "Oh..."

Quietly, they went to the kitchen to see Eden, her mouth agape and clothes lightly powdered with flour. Her face was furious at the mess in the kitchen.

Arine leaned over to Marvin. "We forgot to clean this up, didn't we?"

Marvin nodded, abashed. 

"How did this happen?" Eden yelled, not facing them. "What caused this mess?"

Arine gulped. 

"Uh well, you see Eden..." Marvin trailed off.

"I KNOW WHAT I AM SEEING." Eden shouted.

Marvin took a step back. 

Eden took a sharp breath in and out. "Did you do this at night?"

They both nodded reluctantly.

"What were you doing?" 

"We tried to find the Graydown ring," Arine supplied. "And...while looking in the kitchen, we may have spilled the bag of flour and had forgotten to clean it up."

Marvin pointed at Arine. "It's her fault it was spilled."

"What?" Arine huffed. "It was dark! I couldn't see because you wouldn't make your light brighter."

Marvin opened his mouth to say something but then closed it.

 "Fair enough." he said. 

Everyone was silent for a while. 

"So...are we forgiven?" Arine asked.

Eden blew at the flour on her shoulder. "Fine. But only if you clean—"

"I nearly forgot to tell you!" Marvin interrupted. He raised his index finger with the ring. "I found the Graydown ring. Well er, me and Arine did."

Eden's eyes brightened and she seemed to forget about the mess in the kitchen. "You did?"

Marvin nodded, looking relieved.

"Oh this is wonderful!" Eden squealed, beaming. 

"It is," Marvin said, excited. "I could place the ring today at night and then all of the seasons will be restored in its correct order."

Eden's face darkened. "No."

Marvin crinkled his nose. "No?"

"You heard what I said, no." Eden declared.

"Wha-why?"

"Because you need rest. You just came back yesterday. It's too risky for you to go now when you're powers are just being restored." Eden reasoned. 

"But—"

"I don't want any further arguments."

"Eden..."

"Marvin I told you, do not argue anymore."

"Maybe if I came along—" Arine started.

"NO!" Eden screeched. 

Arine and Marvin jumped, afraid.

Eden let out a growl. "You will not go. I am the head of this castle and I will not grant you the permission to restore the Graydown ring."

Marvin looked at her with wide gray eyes. "Why do you think I'm so weak?" he whispered harshly.

Eden narrowed her eyes at him. "I never said you were weak. Maybe you overestimate yourself too much Marvin Graydown."

Marvin snarled and walked away from the dining table. Eden started to say to clean up the kitchen, then paused. Arine pressed her lips into a thin line and followed Marvin. 

Marvin seemed furious, which Arine didn't think was possible. Then again, she only knew him for a full day, and he was nice and humorous with Arine. He went upstairs to the 3rd floor. Arine was confused as to where he was going.

"Where are we going?" Arine inquired.

"The library," he grumbled. "The only place where I can calm down." 

They silently went to the empty room and Marvin stomped angrily on the floor. Arine recoiled at his anger, trying to keep a distance from him as they went downstairs to the library. 

They reached the library, and Marvin trudged to a table, pulled over the chair, the leg of the chair scratching with the floor, and sat down on it. He looked down on the floor, his red hair falling down on his forehead. 

Arine played around with her fingers, not knowing what to say or do. She twisted her ankle around and tapped her foot on the ground.

Marvin seemed to notice her uncomfortable fidgeting because he cleared his throat and started speaking.

"I'm sorry for lashing out my anger like that. It was mostly to Eden."

Arine bowed her head sympathetically.

"It's just..." he sighed. "You know, I love Eden. She's protected me for so long. But sometimes...she becomes too overprotective. She forgets that I'm a Tempus Praestes. She forgets I'm a son of a Greater Family. And Greater Families can defend themselves more better than normal Tempus families. Shouldn't that count for something?"

"Yes, it should." Arine agreed. 

"Exactly. It's like she only remembers how Greater Families are threatened. That they are in danger." Marvin crossed his arms, annoyed.

"Well...it is true, what Eden said. About, you know, you not being fully strong and restored with your power."

Marvin raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"But," Arine added quickly. "If I came with you to restore the seasons, it would be much safer and there could be a higher chance of fixing the seasons."

Marvin faced her thoughtfully. "That is true. I doubt that Eden would ever allow that. And I'm hesitant to it too. I don't want to put anyone in danger."

Arine walked over to the table Marvin was by and sat down on a chair next to him. "Greater Families are always in danger. We can face it together." 

Marvin smiled brightly for a moment. Then he looked up at the ceiling and put his head in his hands. 

"Being part of a Greater Family is a challenge. It always has. You're just fit into a category, and, just considered evil. No one wants to look deeper into them, except some very few people. And it all comes down to a family name. To your family." Marvin balled his hands into fists.

Arine put her hand on Marvin's gently. "It is unfair. People forget that a name, actions, emotions are not genetical. We're all our own people."

Marvin closed his eyes and started speaking again. "My family—my parents were bad. They, they used their magic for bad advantages. They became greedy and wanted to have the head of the whole Tempus Castrum. Nobody would allow it, which led destruction. And ever since then, people have been trying to find me and kill me, because they remember what my family has caused."

Arine looked at him with sorrow. It was a biased opinion people had, and it put Marvin in danger. Arine then remembered how the King's grandparents had died in the believed hands of the Graydowns.  

"The King's grandparents." Arine gasped.

"What?" Marvin asked, puzzled. 

"The King in my Kingdom believes that his grandparents have died because of the Graydowns. And that they have cast down a curse on those related to his grandparents, including him." Arine explained.

"Oh," Marvin looked pensive. "Well, it could be true my parents killed the King's grandparents, but I do not think they would be able to cast a curse." 

"Really?"

"I'm not fully certain, but I suppose so."

Things started to make much more sense for Arine now. She felt hatred to the Graydowns for ruining thousands of lives, including the King's grandparents and Marvin's. She felt horrible for the past Greater Families who had to deal with discrimination, and the hate Marvin got too. Arine had yet to experience the troubles of being a Greater Family, but Arine feared it would happen soon. 

Arine saw that Marvin had gotten out of his seat and looked out of a window, hands clasped behind his back. Arine walked over to him, worried. 

"All those people trying to catch me, stab me, kill me," Marvin whispered vulnerably. "I-I just want to have a chance to prove to them. Prove to them that I'm not like my family. I'm not evil. That I'm a Tempus Praestes for good purposes for everyone."

"It's proving yourself that's always so hard. No matter how well you do, there are people who still look down at you. When I was in the Kingdom, I had always wanted to be part of the royals that had meetings, and that helped organize the Kingdom. I was always "too young" or "couldn't understand yet"," Arine squared her shoulders. "I know my story is nothing compared to yours, but I just want you to know I understand."

Marvin face went soft and a tear fell down his cheek. Arine realized that she was crying as well. 

"I know I have only known you for little time," Marvin said. "But I feel you and Eden are the safest people that I trust. The world is full of danger, and there is no place where there's safety. But when there are people, it is everything."

Arine touched her heart and looked at him with many emotions. "That is such—it's such an honor to be there for you. You've been there for me as well. I'm aware we have only known each other for a bit of time, but I know one thing that is certain about you. You are nothing like your family. You will always be your own person," Arine looked up and smiled at him. "So what do you say about proving ourselves as good and honorable people by restoring the seasons correctly? And well, also cleaning up the kitchen."

Marvin smiled brilliantly. "I say yes to it."