4.

"He has already gone." Harper taps her best friend's shoulder, who has been staring after Kitchener.

"Why does he had to go to your dads?" Runa tries to sound innocent, but she couldn't deceive Harper.

Harper likes machines more, than people, but she noticed the vibes between her cousin and her friend. She wasn't blind, she even noticed, that the affection is mutual, but neither of them have made a coming out. Neither of them have even planned. Both of them suppress the love for the other, and they both do a great job. Harper doesn't want to offend either of them or their feelings, but also doesn't want to go against her parents' wish. The latter would be dangerous for her allowance, and that would cause bigger problem than separating two loving people from each other. So she has decided to tell the truth.

"I think they want to speak about our wedding."

Harper has been right, Runa suddenly reels for a second, and pain rise in her eyes.

"That's… good, isn't it?" She has managed to smile on her friend.

Harper has to console her, so she hugs her tightly.

"I am sorry, I know."

"What do you know?" Runa asks undeniably with some bitterness in her voice.

"I know that you love Kit."

The two girls eyes meet, with understanding and love in Harper's eyes, and with pain in the other one's.

"Do… do you love him?" Runa moans.

"I won't lie to you. I love him, but I am not in love him. Kit is also in love with someone else."

This makes Runa even more sad. He already has someone precious. She lost either way.

"Then why..."

Harper is listening to the tears in her best friend's voice, but it would make no sense to lie to her.

"Why will we marry? Because we have been told. We both know from our early childhood, that we will have to marry each other one day. Our fathers want it, so we will do it."

"Why don't you run away?" Runa still couldn't accept the authority of the rich parents.

"Running away?" Harper laughed with a little bit of bitterness in her voice. "Where?"

Runa stays silent. She also has no idea. Where to run? Nobody is able to hide among the walls, and outside the walls is also out of question. Harper is right, there are nowhere to run.

"We are at least lucky. None of our brothers knew their wives before the wedding. I don't think they are too happy in their marriages, but they behave. Kit and I at least know each other. We love each other. Not with romantic love, but with love. We also respects each other, and it is important to live a life with somebody. If you have to marry someone, at least these things should be there to live a peaceful life."

Runa doesn't say a word. Sometimes there aren't any words to say.

"Don't worry. Kit and I will not marry tomorrow, we have more than 4 years until graduation. So you could disappoint from him until then. If you will still love him at that time, I think, I could accept your relationship."

"Do you mean I could be his lover?!" Runa exclaimes indignantly to the idea.

"Since you two can't marry, we could simply live like now. We all live together, but you and Kit will have a nice big bed. In a separate room." Harper smiles to her, and Runa at this moment has great respect for her friend. She couldn' t share her husband with Harper.

"Come on! The door won't repair itself, while we are caressing our souls!"

They both stand up, and starts to gather the material and the tools for repairing the broken entrance door. They are in the middle of the work, when a fair-haired upper-class student has arrived to the dormitory. It means one thing: a professor needs an errand. The lucky ones are able to hide in their apartments, but Runa and Harper have a half-repaired door, so they are not able to run away from the task. The student goes directly to the two girls, and she recognizes Harper. She is coward enough to ask a rich student for an errand, so turns to Runa, who looks like a common student.

"Professor Rudra needs some help with the vent hood in his laboratory. Please go there and see, if you could repair that." She hands over a piece of paper to Runa, and leaves the dormitory.

"Uwaaah. Vent hood. This will probably be a cleaning." The culprit whines.

"How do you know?" Harper wonders.

"This professor Rudra is working in the Biology department. So the problem is probably a clogged filter or pipe… or pipes. If the structure has deteriorated, a repairman will be called instead of a student."

"I don't know, a student works for free...

"That's why I think it is a simple cleaning."

" Brrr. Biology department...this will be a very though cleaning task." Harper feels sorry for her, it is definitely not a lucky day for Runa. "I accompany with you, and help in the cleaning. It halves the time."

"Really?" Runa becomes really happy.

They together put back the entrance door, but the hinges are not screwed back on to spare time, just put some glue to keep that in place, and they cheerfully set out for the department.

"You are not helping."

Runa says irritably, when Harper starts to cling tightly to her arm.

"But the sun is already gone down and we are walking to the Biology department!"

"Yes, but why are you afraid of the Biology department?"

"Chi...chi..chi...mmme...raaas." Harper statters.

"I hardly believe that there would be any chimeras in the university. Or among the walls."

"There are ones. Definitely."

"Don't worry, they are harmless beings. They don't attack anybody, just want to find the cure for their condition."

"Are you sure?" Harper gets some hope, and loosen her grip a bit.

"I am sure. This professor Rudra is probably one of the cure-researchers."

"How do you know him? We don't have biology lessons!"

"I think my brother mentioned his name."

"Brother? Do you have a brother?" Harper wonders, and forgets about her fears. Her curiosity has risen.

"Yep. I have one. Biologist. He is studying the cure. Two years older than me."

"Do you really have a brother? You have never said before!"

"I don't really like him. I am not very proud of him. "

"Really? He is studying the cure!"

"We were never get along well, and after the rest of the family left us, we didn't want to live together. We sometimes meet, and chat a bit, once in half a year. Neither of us needs more."

"So professor Rudra is..."

"Probably a jerk, assuming that my brother loves him, but he is a simple scientist." Harper starts to laugh.

"I have never heard this word from you!"

"He is adored by my brother, so he could be that. Nah, we are here. Let's go, and finish the work as soon as we can, to go home."

They have arrived to the building, where the laboratory is.

"The whole building is dark!" Harper's fears immediately have returned, and clings again tightly to Runa's arm.

"Don't worry, nobody would keep the lights on the whole building. Nobody works at night. We will turn them on and on, while we going into the lab."

They are moving slowly in the dark building, and Runa turns the lights on, along the way. Harper is still afraid of the darkness, which is hiding monsters in her head, but they haven't met any until they reach professor Rudra's laboratory.

"This is the lab!"

The girls enter the room, and turn on the light. It proves to be peaceful, and no one is there.

"Where is that vent hood?" Harper asks, and Runa stretches out her arm and points to the other end of the lab.

They both set out over there, when the door suddenly closes behind them with a huge click. The two surprised girls feel a metallic smell, and the same taste in their tongues, a sharp light rise and they both fell to the darkness.

Meanwhile Kitchener is having moderate fun. His mother has caught him before he entered the house, so he had a big, scented bath, and a new set of clothes. His mom even shaved him, and cut some off his hair. Now he really looks like an elegant gentleman. He perfectly fits for the small party of the family, which he really hates. He has to chat with his family, but they don't have nothing in common. So Kitchener is forced to have a talk with his brothers, and cousins and their wives. Fortunately all of them is so self-centered, that they are talking, and not in need of a partner in conversation. Kitchener sometimes nods, humming something, and this is enough to satisfy them. His father and his uncle is the same, as his offsprings. The only difference is, that they introduce a young woman to him. Kitchener finds her a colorless, uninteresting person. Well, everyone is uninteresting comparing to Harper, and colorless, comparing to Runa. The girl also has brown hair, like Runa, but Runa's hair is most lively comparing to hers. The rich girl's hair is well-combed, full with beautiful and expensive golden hair ornaments, and still. Kitchener prefers Runa's disheveled shiny brown hair, even if she ties up with the wrench numbered six. He is in love with her after all, and everything reminds her.

"Do you like her?" Kitchener's father ask him suddenly.