Warning: Subtle implications of self-harm towards the end.

"I assure you, it's not me who needs help-"

"Ugh, and will you let go of me?" The guard flicked off Emilio's hand, as if it was a bug. "Now, what's the problem?"

Emilio heard faint, distant shouting behind him. Whether it emanated from where the girl was, or whether it was from a different place, he didn't know. Yet it only heightened his worries.

Before he knew what he was doing, Emilio grabbed the guard's arms again. "Look, I don't know what happened, but my gut's telling me-"

"-Don't touch me!" The blonde broke out of Emilio's hold and, without hesitation, punched him.

Emilio stumbled back a few steps but quickly regained his balance. The sudden impact made his front teeth clench onto the side of his lip and split it. He pressed firmly on the wound with his forefinger, red smudging the appendage, and grit his teeth.

"The hell?!"

Brainwashed by the mayor, the Council guards despised Emilio and his family. But they were usually careful not to display any overt acts of aggression, so as to not agitate the visitors.

"I just finished my shift and I'm sure as hell not doing overtime for the likes of you." He turned on his heel. "If you look around a little more, there might be someone who can help."

With a snicker, he jutted his chin towards the grey skies and strolled ahead, as if he never heard the call of distress in the first place.

Emilio's jaw tightened. "I said I'm not the one who needs your help!" The guard was getting further away. "A girl does! I-I saw her with a bunch of men who want to tie her up!" Emilio's throat hurt from screaming so loud, as his voice battled with the thunderous rain. His wounded lip stung from being stretched so much.

And yet, the guard increased his pace to a run.

Emilio broke into a chase after him.

"Where are you going?!"

The two raced through the wet roads, aggressive splashes erupting under their feet. Warm, shallow breaths ejected from their dry mouths in transient clouds.

"An innocent person is in danger, damn it!"

They grew further and further apart. Legs cramping, Emilio couldn't keep up.

"Aren't you going to do anything, you useless–!"

He was gone.

"Bastard!" Now raspy, his frail voice cracked. He skidded to a stop and almost slipped over a puddle. "Argh, what do I do?"

Emilio bit his thumb and racked his brain for any ideas. Any would do. If only he had weapons on him, like the crowbar that sits just behind the Gatekeeper tower - only, the tower was on the other side of town. Not just that, but there was no one else to call out for help, with no sign of life anywhere in the streets and dead buildings around him.

Helpless, he was left with one option: running back to the Council building where Gael was.

From where he stood, it would take two hours by foot, and even longer in such atrocious weather. This place just had to be on the outskirts of town! Nevertheless, if he were to run fast enough, he should be able to make it in just over an hour. Emilio only hoped that nothing too serious would happen to the girl within the two hours it would take in total before Gael would come with Council guards. They always listened to the mayor's son, except for when the matter concerned Emilio's family.

The brunette also wondered where that Riley boy was. Did he not know that the girl had come here? Or, could it be that he was also in some sort of danger - perhaps from the same culprits?

Shoving his thoughts to the back of his mind, Emilio turned around and took a deep breath in and out. Throwing aside the useless umbrella, he took off his cloak and folded it over his forearm.

Then, he ran.

----

His knuckles turned ivory-white as Gael hardened his grip on the umbrella's shaft and pulled it closer to himself with both hands. But the gust was powerful, rippling through the black nylon and detaching yet another metal rib from its position. Just three more to go until the canopy shoots up into the raging clouds. The wind whistled in his ear, as if gloating its imminent victory.

'When did it get this windy?' Gael angled the umbrella forwards, in the opposite direction of the air currents. 'No matter, just a little longer until I'm home.'

Or at least, what was 'home' on a surface level. The Council building held too many traumatic memories for him to feel any sense of belonging within the spacious yet choking walls.

A yawn escaped his lips and he instinctively released a hand to hold it to his gaping mouth. He realised the mistake too late, as the umbrella slipped out of his grasp and pirouetted away.

"Wait!" He ran after the object, but it soon disappeared. "Shoot, and I bought that a few days ago too–"

He froze.

In front of him was the Council building, now a few minutes' walk away, yet his vision beheld an unconventional scene.

An ornate carriage was stationed right next to the stairs. Intricate golden designs embellished the silver body, serpentine in its course around the vicinity of the windows. Affixed to the door was a fancier version of The 28th Stop's insignia, which only meant...

'Why is an affiliate of The Glass Kingdom here?' The boy frowned. 'More importantly, how could they leave their poor horses out in this terrible weather? The nerve!'

Taking hurried strides toward the carriage, he eyed the pure white stallions. They were whining desperately, hooves occasionally kicked up in the air as if calling out to their irresponsible owners that they needed shelter. Their pained noises were like jagged arrows, striking through Gael's chest. He held back a sob.

Upon reaching the two horses, he uncoupled the buckles and took their leads in one hand. The other hand glided over their wet, knotted manes, instantly recognising that their owner had not been brushing nor washing them properly. He felt a rush of anger course through him while he guided them to the side of the Council building. Here, the eaves of the roof extended further than those of the building's anterior, allowing better protection from the expeditious pellets.

Relieved of the downpour's wrath, the horses whinnied in rejoice and nuzzled against their saviour's cheeks to express their gratitude. The sudden action elicited a surprised giggle from Gael, who returned the affection with a hug.

"I wish I could accompany you longer," he said as he reluctantly pulled back and looked into their pleading ruby eyes, which reflected his gentle smile. "but I have to get going, and I might need to have a talk with your owner."

With a final comforting rub on the bridge of their noses, he tied the reins to a sturdy pipe and set off towards the entrance.

As soon as the grand doors opened, a piercing voice sliced through the air.

"Helloooo there~!"

Gael's shoulders sagged. 'Not her. Anyone but her.'

The girl bounded towards him and, before he could react, engulfed him in an airway-constricting embrace.

"Aaahh, I've missed you so much!" She dragged a loud inhale of his scent and sighed airily, much to Gael's discomfort. He tried gently pulling her arms away, but that only made her tighten her python-like grip.

"Miss Mallory, if you could please–"

"–How the heck do you smell so heavenly all the time?" She unearthed her face from his chest and stuck out her bottom lip, fluttering her false lashes behind her silver-rimmed glasses. "I'm jealous."

As soon as she loosened her hold, he subtly broke away from the girl and shuffled backwards, gaining a safe yet polite distance. He dusted off his coat, still wet from earlier but at least it stopped dripping.

'I simply shower everyday, instead of just lathering myself in ten layers of perfume. You should try it someday,' Gael wanted to say but refrained from doing so, for he wished to save face with his reputation intact.

There was no point in getting on the bad side of Mallory Dahl: the Glass Kingdom's top scientist and prodigy, not to mention a distant member of the Royal family. Despite her numerous accolades, she was best known for being the lead researcher who overlooked the machinery that converted negative energy to other forms of energy.

The boy spared a glance over her form.

She wore her usual white lab coat, that had her ID pinned on one side and was unbuttoned. Under it, she wore black fishnet tights and a short dark-blue dress that hugged her curves. Her necklace hid beneath the bodice, with only the golden chain visible around her neck. Her long luscious bubblegum blue hair cascaded down to her hips. It strangely complemented her golden cat-like eyes that sat behind huge circular glasses, which took up almost half of her face. He didn't need to look down to know that she was wearing her favourite black six-inch heels, considering her forehead contacted his neck when she normally reached his mid-abdominal region.

Her outfit screamed her self-proclaimed banner of a 'fashion icon' - a title she was more proud of than anything to do with her intellect. It was common knowledge that she, above all else, glorified the ideology of beauty and self-expression.

As if it were a god itself.

Suddenly, he heard a faint neigh from the horses outside, which snapped him out of his initial consternation. His gaze hardened. "What is your reason for coming here? The Glass Kingdom is terribly far away, so taking the trouble of riding here–"

"I–"

"–with two horses, which by the way you had left outside in this rain."

She blinked. "Yeah, I did. So?"

"They were begging for shelter! Not to mention, there's a chance of a heavy hailstorm coming sometime soon. Do you not see the problem here?"

"Oh, pish posh! They'll be okay."

'No, they wouldn't be. But thanks for your input, you absolute tool.'

"Well, I've addressed the matter and now they're in a safer part of the building," Gael responded. 'If only I could bring them indoors', he mulled. "Back to my initial concern - what brings you here?"

"As you know, I couldn't personally attend the meeting in the kingdom a few days ago. However, I was briefed on its agenda and outcome. Like, yeah, I get that this town is having blackouts 'cause somehow we didn't get enough negative energy from the outsi– visitors. Sorry, I forgot how sensitive you are about that," she giggled. "Anyway...I get that bit. I also understand the need to touch the emergency stores of negative energy back home."

"Yeah...? What are you getting at–"

"–But why the actual fuck would you take so much that it's almost become empty. EMPTY!" She liberated a breath, shaky from her pent-up anger. "Gael, darling, as much as I adore you...I really wanted to burn you alive on a stake when I found out. Still do."

Beads of moisture collected at his brow, which he wiped away. Did he really use up that much? He knew that a significant portion of the reserves was needed overall, to allow power restoration for a sufficient amount of time before enough was collected from the next few batches of visitors. But he honestly didn't expect to have utilised almost all of what was stored.

Gael grimaced. 'I'm sure we had heaps more, especially because we didn't have to touch it since The Disaster. In fact, there hadn't been a single blackout since then. What the hell's going on?'

"But here's the interesting part," Mallory continued. "I've analysed the amount taken and how it had been divided. It was evenly allocated to all parts of town, each receiving a reasonable amount that ensured the blackouts would stop within a few days from now, except for one place. Hotel Tempus - ever heard of it?"

Gael swallowed. She was onto him.

"Of...of course. It's where Miss Sara Chester works, as a receptionist."

"Sara? A girl...?" She cocked her head to the side, a flash of envy dilated her pupils. "Ahh, I see. So you love this girl, or one of her patrons, soooo much that you exploited over 50% of our reserves only to her hotel, just to make sure everyone there doesn't get a blackout and can live in luxury, while everyone else struggles? Oh, how vulgar! You're a horrible person, Gael."

'I know. It was an incredibly selfish thing to do.' His gaze flickered to the polished floor, which incorporated their golden-hued reflections. 'But after knowing about the impending blackouts, my first thought was to not let it affect Y/N. She's a precious asset and the key for my escape plans, so having any extraneous hindrances to her own movements would complicate matters, hence delay my freedom.'

"Oh, don't frown like that! You'll get wrinkles, which would be a tragedy for a flawless face such as yours." Mallory picked at her long, tapered nails before her eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, I almost forgot. I was told to inform you that your suggestion was rejected by the Kingdom. Her Majesty didn't appreciate the idea of letting the train also run during the daylight hours of the Outside World."

Gael clicked his tongue. He already had the sneaking suspicion that the Kingdom wouldn't stray outside the principles that were assigned by his ancestors, regarding the collection of visitors strictly at night. He could see the problem with allowing it during the day, when the train could attract much more unwanted attention and invite a huge influx of reporters.

It was a difficult balance to strike. Too few visitors meant that the quota of negative energy was unlikely to be reached, thus inflicting stress on the reserves. And too many visitors led to an increased risk of a reporter successfully investigating the town, while flying under the Council's eye and the memory-wiping system - the latter of which not as foolproof as he had once thought, if the incident a few months ago was anything to go by. Gael personally couldn't care less about the town's secrets being revealed; it was more of a concern for the Kingdom.

So when he proposed the idea of two time slots for the train's travel, he was instantly met with condemning stares.

"As I thought," he said. "So then, what of the Oracle?"

"Still nothing, but what can you expect? They've been out of our radar for the past couple of months. Who knows where they are, but they couldn't be far."

"Surely not."

With that, the room flooded with silence, brewing an unsteady tension that thickened every minute.

When the quiet became suffocating, even more so than Mallory's thick cloak of perfume, Gael spoke up. "Anything else you need to say?"

"Hmm..." Mallory coyly twirled a stray lock of hair. "Can I admit something?"

"Of course."

"...The main reason why I came here in person was to give you a bitch slap for what you did. But," She looked at her free hand and laughed weakly. "I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing. To taint your soft, porcelain skin with a hideous red mark. Pathetic, isn't it? Look at how weak you made me."

Before Gael could retort, Mallory poked his chest with a manicured finger and slowly trailed down his shirt, brushing the buttons. She looked up at him through half-lidded eyes, as a flirtatious smirk played on her blood-red lips.

"But that's okay," she said in a low whisper. "I forgive you."

Mallory gripped onto Gael's shoulders, pushing them down and imposing a force that glued his feet to the floor beneath. Although, it didn't take much strength, considering the boy's thin and weak frame that his coat hid so well.

"Miss–"

"Even if you are terrible, Gael dearest, you're way too beautiful to stay mad at in the first place..." Propping herself on her tip-toes, she leaned into his ear. "...even with all those ugly scars on your back and chest. Mr Mayor is to blame for those, huh?"

Gael's jaw tightened.

Her crimson lips, curved into a sadistic grin, ghosted over his ear lobe.

"But the ones on your arms? They're uglier. And they're not even from your father."

That was it.

He shoved her away and pulled the ends of his blazer together tightly, his breath becoming shallow. The force of his unrestrained manoeuvre almost made her lose her balance. When she regained her footing, she laughed.

"Hehe, did I strike a nerve?"

Gael crossed his arms, nails digging through his sleeves and into the flesh of his arms. "If...If that's all you have to say, then I ask you to leave."

"Awwh~!" She pouted. "Fine, alright. I'll see you soon, then. Good luck with your work and I hope you have a great day." Stating the last part with a sickly-sweet intonation, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek - too fast for Gael to stop her. Mallory whirled on her heels and flicked a wave behind her, while strutting to the grand entrance.

As soon as the doors slammed closed, Gael harshly rubbed the afflicted cheek, in an effort to abolish the noxious mark. He removed his hand and, observing the red stain on his palm, his mouth twisted into a deep grimace. His glare switched to the door.

"Good luck with your work and I hope you have a great day," he mocked in a high-pitched voice, before shifting to a bitter murmur. "Go to hell, witch."

A/N: Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! ^^ I pray that all of you lovely peeps have a fantastic 2020 <3