Media: In case anyone was wondering what a kubah looks like.

Music of the chapter: Red Clouds, Odyssey

She saw her father.

Cadence really did. He had stood there in front of her, his tired face impassive. She could still see the creases and wrinkles, the laughter lines around his eyes.

He was standing, on his own feet, without any support. It was weird, seeing her father without the wheelchair. Somehow, after five years of taking care of her bedridden father, it was the wheelchair-bound image that had burned a mark in her mind, not the father who still had freedom of his own actions.

Her father walked toward her, his eyes brimming with tears. Cadence ran, diving right into his bosom and hugged him right.

"I'm so sorry, Papa." She buried her face into his shoulder, unable to hold back the storm of tears. "I should never have trusted the Polong."

"No, child," her father said. "I am sorry."

Cadence stared into her father's eyes, watching the tears swirl and fall. "What are you talking about? I killed you, Papa. I killed hundreds of others in the Orelik mansion, and I am not even sure if there were any survivors. I'm a murderer."

"There is a greater picture than you and the Polong, shezinka. I wish I could tell you everything, but it is not up to me to tell you your future. Whatever happens, I want you to know that I'm sorry, and I love you."

"Wait!" Cadence cried out. "What do you mean?"

Her father kissed her on the forehead. "Tell your brother, I love him too."

Just like that, he faded into nothing, his warm hands becoming empty air in Cadence's.

Cadence opened her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Cadence!" Ales was shaking her. "For Orishas' sake, wake the hell up."

The pain in her stomach had dropped into a dull simmer. Groaning, she opened her eyes to find Ales' green ones glaring back at hers. She scabbarded backwards, cowering from the urgent concern and anger in his eyes.

"What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed if I hadn't turned up. Why were you consorting with a Walker Hunter?"

"A what?" Her world was still spinning. Arik and the others must had heard the commotion outside and were in hiding. She mustn't let Ales find out about the others, they would be penalized.

"Seriously, why are you out in the tavern at the middle of the night, masquerading as a Patrol, and without a formal permit? Are you crazy? Even if you didn't know the repercussions, surely you have considered the consequences!"

"I-I" Cadence gripped the silver-lined falcon mask tight against her chest. "I just wanted some fresh air, I can't stop thinking about my father and brother. I just wanted to know what it felt like to be powerful, to be Varya, what it felt like to be able to protect the people I love, and not let them die in vain."

"You." Ales shook his head, his face a mask of utter disbelief. "I really don't know what to do with you. This is just your third day in the Hall, and you're already committing great offenses."

"Take me back then," Cadence said. "Punish me."

Ales made another sound of disbelief. He grabbed Cadence by the wrist and helped her up to her feet.

"You're burning up," he said, concerned.

"Must be the mead," she replied. "It must be bad. I-I don't feel too well."

"You ought to know that mead is one of the few things that never go bad. Let's head back. You're in enough trouble already."

The stomach pains had sapped most of Cadence's energy. She went limp against Ales' side, who caught her just in time. Cadence didn't know what it was, must be the food, or the mead, regardless of what Ales had said. It happened because she took a sip of the mead.

She collapsed into the snow, unable to walk. Her arms and legs fell useless at her sides. The world was just a gear, spinning and spinning and spinning.

Ales scooped her up into his arms. Her hood fell back, and cloak dangled like silk over his arms, waving in the wind. Cadence felt small and protected within his strong, warm arms. He smelt like chocolate with a whiff of sandalwood. It reminded her of the days when her life had yet turned into disaster, when her father would buy chocolate on her birthday. It was better than candy, better than the honey-coated chips sold for a Stone a handful in the marketplace. Chocolate made her...happy.

Ales didn't say anything as he carried her out of town and toward the great Celestium gates. The only sounds in the vicinity was the howl of the night, winter gale and the cracks of branches which tried their very best to resist the wind.

Why didn't he ask her anything about sneaking out from the Hall? Did he actually buy her excuse?

"Why aren't you angry at me?" she whispered.

"Oh, it is not my place to be angry," he replied calmly. "There are many things that anger me in life, but what happened tonight is not one of them."

Cadence leaned her head against Ales' chest, inhaling deeply. She might never get to whiff chocolate again, or be this close to someone who gave her the feeling of being comforted and protected. It had been days since she had seen Cole, yet she couldn't even see a single trace of him since they were placed into their respective army divisions.

Just like a father cradling his daughter, Ales entered the gates without anyone asking any questions. The guard who approached him backed away at once when he swung his white wolf mask at him. Cadence didn't have to guess that the guard was spooked out by the silent fierceness of the white wolf, and the stealth and grace Ales had in his every movement.

Just like the white wolf that helped Orisha Sorokin, Cadence thought.

Ales took her right into the infirmary and set her down on an empty bed. "I'll find you a Healer," he said.

He turned to leave, but Cadence cried out and caught his wrist. "Wait!"

Ales looked at her with mild surprise.

"Don't go," she said. "Please?"

She missed Cole. She missed him with her entire being. Cadence just wanted someone to be with her, not being stuck alone in the dark infirmary with no one but matrons, Healers and her nightmares to haunt her. The blossoming pain in her stomach was worse than her period pains, and it made her needy and whiny.

Ales sighed, but took a seat beside her bed.

"I still need to find you a Healer," he said. "I don't know squat about Healing."

"You will come back, right?"

He looked at her, his expression unreadable. "Yes."

Ales stood up, crossed the rows of beds and vanished into the dark section of the infirmary. He returned with Kashimi by his side.

"Well, what do we have here?" Kashimi said. "I just saw you two days ago, fresh and healthy, and now you're lying on an infirmary bed."

"Random stomach pains," Ales said. "I don't think its the food. We all eat the same food, and we're fine."

"Let's see then." Kashimi approached Cadence and took her wrist.

Cadence held her breath, waiting for him to ask for the inevitable—why was she, a Murka, dressed in Varya robes?—but the question never came.

"High pulse rate," the Healer said. "Fever."

He pointed a finger at her stomach. "May I?"

Cadence looked at him, puzzled.

"Skin contact is needed for me to accurately scope your energy field," Kashimi said. "You will need to pull up your shirt."

"Uhm." She would blush, but the blood refused to creep up her cheeks. "Ales..."

"Don't worry about him," Kashimi said. "The Patrols have seen more body parts than you could imagine, young recruit, even lady bits."

"That's not what I meant," Cadence said weakly.

Ales chuckled, but turned his back to her.

Kashimi undid the rope belt with careful fingers, then rolled up her shirt until it was right below her breasts.

"I need you to relax. You will feel a slight tingle, but it will not be painful."

A warm, golden glow emanated from his fingers which he pressed against her stomach, just like how he had done when he Healed Cole. The warmth traveled deep into her solar plexus, then hit a wall.

The Healer withdrew his hands. Ales turned around, arms folded. "Well, Kashimi?"

"I can't detect anything wrong with her stomach, Ales." Kashimi shook his head. "She has a fever, but other than that, her organs are functioning perfectly."

"Can't be," Ales said. "No one gets stomach pains for no apparent reason."

"Perhaps," Kashimi said. "It's a psychological cause. The human mind can trick the body to feel pain in order to distract them from the pain they're feeling up here." He tapped his head.

Ales bit his lip. "Maybe."

"Let the girl rest overnight," Kashimi suggested. "A good night's sleep is what the mind needs to heal and recover from whatever horrific ordeal it had suffered before. If you need anything, I'll be a door away."

He gave Ales a nod and left, long, white robes swishing against the stone floor.

"Why did you come here, Ales? The Law didn't apply to your generation. You didn't have to become a Patrol."

Ales crossed his legs. "I didn't have to, but I wanted to."

"You're dodging my questions."

"And you have plenty to answer to." Ales leaned forward. "How did you get out of the Hall?"

Cadence opened her mouth, but then thought of her friends.

"The door?" she said.

"Don't be a smartass."

"The Murka way." This way, she wasn't lying, but wasn't being entirely honest either.

"I cannot believe that a little shrimp comes to the greatest military concentration of Moskava and escapes undetected on her third day. We have all failed as Patrols."

"I wasn't escaping," Cadence said. "I told you, I wanted some fresh air."

"You've had enough fresh air for the day. Sleep."

"I'm in deep trouble, aren't I?"

"If words reach the High Priestess, I doubt that she would be lenient on those who leave the Hall without permission."

He tucked Cadence in. His hands folded the duvets in expertly, and then as if by habit, he leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, but caught himself at the very last minute.

"I'm sorry." He shook his had, golden locks falling into his eyes. "I shouldn't have let the past consume me."

He looked bitter and sad, it was the look he wore when he told Cadence about his sister.

"Is this about your sister? Did Derek have anything to do with her?"

"That bastard has everything to do with Aria." Ales' voice rose and shook, like a vase teetering unsteadily at the edge of a shivering table. "If you weren't there, I would have stuck a knife down his throat."

"Was he a Patrol too?"

Cadence could see the grief in his crowfeet eyes, the sadness that pulled down the corners of his mouth.

"He was my best friend."

Ales blew out the candle by her bed. The flame spluttered and died, dousing them in complete darkness.

"Goodnight."

Cadence watched the shadows move ever so slightly against the darkness—silver lines against silky blackness, reach the doors and they vanished. 

*****

A/N

I want to take this chance to thank everyone who's reading this version of the Hall of Games and giving valuable feedback. I'm almost done writing this story, currently breaking the 100k words barrier, and I'm very excited to share the whole thing with you. I don't care about rankings, so if you want me to do 3 times a week update, let me know in the comments and that can be arranged!

Much love,

Stef