Astes (1)

[X/Ash]

"And here we are, Astes, my town."

It only took about ten minutes of walking down a small dirt road to reach the failing shack. The window shutters remained half open, swaying as they were pushed back and forth by the wind. There was one potted plant on the window sill, but it had clearly long shriveled up from lack of care.

They walked up the brick pathway that had more than a few missing pieces. Tessa knocked on the door. It creaked open, the hinges squealing, as a gaunt man with disheveled navy blue hair like Tessa's and light green eyes appeared in the doorway.

"Tessa! You are back!" He embraced her, excited. "Why are you back so early? Did you finally quit that job?" He paused. "And who are these two children? Tessa, you didn't kidnap them, right?"

"That was once!" She protested. "And I was a kid too."

"Exactly, you started from such a young age." He laughed. "All jokes aside, who are they?"

"They're my friends: Ash and Sephil."

"Ash and Sephil? Tessa! They can't be…"

"Yes. They are Duke Isvent's children."

"Tessa, this is-"

"Tessa!" Two carrot haired five-year olds burst into the room, barreling themselves into Tessa. "You're back!"

"Hey, move over, Crystal."

"I was here first, Stephen."

"No, you were not."

"I was."

"Was not."

"Both of you, stop crushing your sister." Her dad picked them up, one wriggling child in each arm.

"Wait a second." Stephen's eyes narrowed. "Who are they?" He pointed at X and Seventeen.

"Stephen, stop being so rude." Tessa chided. "These are friends, Ash and Sephil."

Crystal frowned, "We'll see about that."

"Both of you, go back to your rooms. Tessa and I have something to talk about. Alone."

"But dad, how come they get to stay?" Stephen whined.

He turned towards Seventeen and her apologetically.

"Don't worry, we can go with them." Seventeen offered dragging X along with her as they followed the two sulking children.

"Thank you."

---

[Tessa]

"Are those really Duke Isvent's children?"

"Yes."

"What were you thinking?" He sighed. "We can't afford the implications of this if people find out. Who has met them so far?"

"Only Evans. And no one would be able to tell anyways with how they look right now." She said. "Their parents won't care either. The duke is always in the capital with their older brother, and the duchess only cares enough to encourage a few maids to harass them."

"And what about you? I know that you want to protect them, but I can't let you get hurt in the process. Remember, Tessa, we are just commoners. They live in a different world than us." He sighed at her silence. "You can quit your job if you want. I can support us now. You can live out a normal child's life."

"What about the debt? We still haven't-"

"That's something for me to deal with."

"And what about the two of them? I can't leave them there."

"I know you want to help them, but Tessa, what can you do for them? If you insist on staying there, I can't do much to help you. What if you are put in danger? Tessa, I can't lose you as well."

She stood up. "I'm sorry, Dad. I can't give up on them. Not when they saved my life back then when you were..."

"Alright, fine. Then wait a moment." He pulled open a drawer revealing an ornate rosewood box. It had clearly been maintained carefully, standing out from the rest of the house over the years. "In this box, there are three transformation rings along with some other random items that may help you. We used to sneak out to meet with each other in town using these rings. The third one was supposed to be your birthday gift when you got older."

"Thank you." She smiled, rubbing the smooth edges of the box. "And I'll think about quitting this job."

If the twins were really dead, she was unsure of whether she would actually stay at the duke's mansion or quit. There was still the debt they hadn't finished paying off yet, but she could always find a job elsewhere. She was older now and had quite a few years of experience to put on her resumé; she could pick and choose with jobs now compared to her desperate younger self.

"Tessa, come play with us!"

Of course, that was only if they were actually dead.

---

[Seventeen/Sephil]

She could just barely make out a hushed conversation on the other side of the flimsy wall between Tessa and her dad as she stared at the two kids examining her.

"So, who are you to Tessa?" Stephen squinted his eyes at her and X, looking at them as if they were pieces of trash he had to take out.

"Friends."

"Impossible. We know all of Tessa's friends. You both are not any of them." Crystal jutted in, mirroring her brother's expression.

"We live at the duke's mansion."

"That place?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I knew you two couldn't be good people. Everyone there is terrible to Tessa."

"Yeah, we've overheard Dad talking to her about quitting that job." He added.

"I agree." Seventeen laid down, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. "It is a terrible place. That's why we finally left."

"Does that mean Tessa is going to stay with us?" He said, there was a hint of hopefulness underneath his unmasked distrust.

"Maybe." If Tessa finally accepted the truth, she may quit her job. It would be inconvenient for her because of Sephil's final wish, but if that was what Tessa wanted, she would make it work out somehow. That being said, she still didn't know what wish X had received from Ash. She looked at the pensive girl next to her; she would have to get to know X eventually. After all, considering the crown prince was currently only fifteen, just like Tessa, it would take years before he actually ascended the throne, and the destined ending happened. She broke out of her thoughts, meeting two overwhelming stares filled with anticipation. She sighed. "Either way, she will definitely come visit more often."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Because we're her friends."

"Fine, I'll believe you for now."

Seventeen grinned, proud of herself. Tricking five year olds was quite simple, especially when they were obsessed with their siblings' wellbeing. Perhaps it was because she knew that, back then, if someone had claimed that her younger sister was still alive, no matter how absurd she knew the claim was, she would hold onto the hope and ignore all her suspicions.

Crystal stood up, waddling to the wall separating the two rooms. She pressed her ear against the wood. "It seems like Dad is done talking with Tessa too. Tessa, come play with us!"