Tangled Hearts

“So, where were you last night?”

Rhett nearly hit his head on the low door frame when the first thing he saw upon entering his house was Naia, sitting at his table and sipping his good wine with a smug grin on her face. Rhett scowled and shut the door, sitting by her at the table.

“Who said you can have my wine?” Rhett said. “Can you even drink alcohol?”

“I can have whatever I want,” she told him. “Don't dodge my question.”

“I was here, I just left to do some errands early in the morning,” he lied. “Firewood errands.”

“Oh, please,” she smirked, rolling her eyes. “You've obviously been with a girl. There's lipstick on the collar of your shirt.”

Rhett's hand instinctively reached up to his rumpled shirt collar, where there was a faint stain there. He just shrugged again and leaned forward on the table, pouring himself a glass as well.

“Yeah, I was with a girl,” he admitted. “But not much happened. I mean, things happened, but I don't really know what exactly those things mean.”

“You're making things too complicated,” she said. “By the laws of Light, you should just let it happen. Worrying brings stress, which not only hurts you, but hurts those around you.”

“Well, you've become quite the teacher,” he said.

“That's where I am now, yes,” she grinned. “But aside from Light, it's human nature, too. The more you think about something and try to make it work by force, the less likely it is to work. You do understand this, don't you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed. “It's not just that. There's someone else. It seems he has a little thing for her. And for me. In a different way. He seems a little too frustrated with seeing us together. And he asks a lot about… The dark days.”

“Really?” she frowned. “Oh.”

Naia went unusually silent.

“What?” Rhett asked.

“It's just… Someone came by the abbey,” she told him. “They were asking for you, and we said you weren't there. They checked all of our rooms to see if we were hiding anything.”

“Hiding what?”

“You know what,” she said, lowering her voice. “We let them search. We had nothing to hide. It was strange, though. They haven't searched us like that in years.”

“And they asked for me?” Rhett asked.

“Yes.”

Rhett let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples. It must've been that Silva again. Soon enough, they'd be demanding to meet with Rhett, probably to question him. Rhett had distanced himself from that lifestyle long ago, but he wasn't surprised that they suspected him. Back then, he did run the whole shit show.

He stood up and went to his drawers, grabbing the two potion vials and going to the window. Naia watched him pour the contents out the window into the plants, handing her the empty vials.

“Can you get rid of those, for me?” he asked.

“I can't be seen with those,” she protested.

“Please, Naia?” he begged. “Because you're my best friend in the whole, wide, world? And you're wonderful and beautiful and the kindest woman in the world and everyone loves you-”

“Okay, fine,” she scowled. “Spare me the fake flattery.”

She took the vials with her on her way out, tucking them into the front of her gold robes. The guards wouldn't grope a Lumina, after all. Even if she seemed suspicious, they knew better than that.

Shortly after Naia left, Rhett also went out, heading towards the lower, more dangerous parts of town where the black market typically thrived. Guards were scattered, looking for suspects, but little to no one acknowledged Rhett. After the first time he'd been treated like the suspect, they all feared what would happen if they confronted the general. He kept his hood up and his head low anyways, slinking through the crowds until he made it to a shady pub. He used to frequent it, in his own criminal days, but ever since his life had received an upgrade, he'd avoided that part of town in general.

He didn't take down his hood until he spotted two people in particular that he was looking for, at a table in the very back of the room. It was secluded, much to Rhett’s relief. He approached it casually, pulling a chair over and seating himself at the table without a word. The two men who'd already been sitting there turned and gave him an annoyed look. The first was Sean Astley, a large man with a long, sharp nose and beady black eyes, which usually held some kind of confusion. The other was Clay Stratford, who was the opposite of Sean in appearance. He was small next to most men, unlike Sean’s hulking form. However, he was street smart, and you could tell that from the mischievous look in his eyes.

They both stared at Rhett until he took his hood off, the expression on their faces changing. They sure recognized him right away. Sean looked confused, but Clay just looked angry.

“Well, look who decided to grace us with his royal presence,” Clay spat. “To what do we owe the pleasure, General Howard?”

“I come here in total peace,” Rhett said quietly. “Come on, we’re friends. You're not going to actually talk to me like that, are you?”

“No,” Sean said with a friendly smile.

Clay glared at him and smacked Sean on the side of the head.

“Idiot, let me do the talking, remember?” Clay growled, before turning back to Rhett. “Friends don't move up to higher places by riding on the backs of their ‘lower’ friends. Todd is behind bars, thanks to you.”

“They offered you all amnesty,” Rhett reminded them. “It's not my fault Todd decided he was too proud to accept.”

“I liked Todd,” Sean said. “But I like Rhett more.”

“Will you just shut it?” Clay snapped. “Rhett, you have some real balls to come here. Especially after you start your business up again on your own, and throw our names out there. That's low. That's too low. The least you could do is actually give us our old jobs back.”

“My what?” Rhett frowned. “See, that's why I'm here. Someone's running that old business, and it's not me. I thought it was you, but you've made it clear enough that it's not.”

“It's not you?” Clay asked, confused. “But the activity is-”

“Exactly the same, I know,” Rhett finished. “People have been accusing me left and right. I know you're bitter about what happened before, and how I left everyone, but you have to understand that I would never throw you to the lions like that. Would I ever do that?”

“No,” Sean answered, bumping Clay. “He's telling the truth, Clay.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Clay sighed. “I hate you, kid. I hate those big eyes you do. Grown-ass man and you can still pull off a sweet little boy face to make people believe you.”

“I'm not lying, I promise,” Rhett said. “I think someone is trying to frame me for their work. I don't know who. I need you guys to help me. You're the only ones who won't try to turn me in if the evidence gets too strong.”

“What's in it for us?” Clay demanded.

“My eternal friendship?”

“Try again.”

“I'll pay you both,” Rhett sighed. “In gold.”

“Deal,” Clay said quickly. “It's that sleazy one, Rolf Bentham. You remember, the Jalecian?”

“How do you know?” Rhett asked.

“Who else would it be?” Clay shrugged. “He was your biggest rival, back then. Rumors are that he's still bitter about a ‘little kid’ beating him at a game he felt he invented.”

“Bentham,” Rhett repeated quietly. “Do you think you can spy a little for me? For old times sake?”

“For the sake of that money,” Clay said. “Fine. I'll find you if I learn anything.”

“Thanks,” Rhett grinned. “I owe you both. I could kiss you right now.”

“No, thank you,” Clay smirked. “Just get out of here before someone realizes you're an authority figure and tries to beat you up.”

Rhett nodded and saluted them both, paying for both their drinks before heading home as quietly as he could. When he got there, he was surprised to find Lara about to knock, with Baby at her side. She noticed him and stepped back, hand in Baby’s fur as if she wasn't sure what else she was supposed to do with it.

“I wasn't lurking or anything,” she said. “I literally just got here.”

“I'm sure you did,” Rhett chuckled.

“Why do you look so shady?” she asked, eyeing the dark hood.

“No reason,” he said, removing the hood. “What are you doing out here?”

“I was just out walking Baby,” she said. “I decided to drop by since I was around. Also you left this in my house.”

She handed over the gold necklace of the nine-pointed star that Rhett always wore around his neck. His hand instinctively went up to his chest to feel under his shirt, and he quickly realized that it was indeed missing.

“Keep it,” he told her. “I have more.”

“Oh,” she said, looking at it in the palm of her hand. “Isn't it blasphemy or something?”

“No,” he chuckled, opening the door for her.

She hesitated, but Baby trotted in like he owned the place, curling up on Rhett’s carpet. Lara tucked the pendant into her purse and smiled at Rhett, kissing his cheek before she entered. He checked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, a little paranoid about the guards now.

“You're acting strange,” Lara said.

“Strange? No, I'm just being myself,” he said. “I'd like to offer you something to eat or someplace comfortable to sit, but I don't have a lot of options at the moment.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine,” he promised her.

Baby’s head suddenly snapped up at the sound of chirping, and Gus bounced in from the other room. Upon seeing the creature, Baby completely lost it. Rhett had never seen the dog so terrified. He wasn't sure he'd seen him even a little bit afraid. But when Gus bounced and rolled too close, he whimpered in terror and backed up, burying his face into Lara's skirt. She frowned and tried to comfort him, watching as the floof bounced and chirped right behind Baby, almost giddy.

“Is my floof scaring your wolf?” Rhett asked, amused.

“I think so,” Lara said in utter disbelief. “Baby, it's okay. It doesn't even have teeth. Or feet.”

Gus was relentless, and Rhett had to pick him up and hold him away from Baby before the dog looked at it again, barking madly at it now that it was somewhat confined.

“Alright, alright, I'll put him in another room,” Rhett chuckled. “This is such a metaphor for life.”

As promised, he put Gus back in the box, and only then did Baby seem to have some ease of mind. He followed close behind Rhett to make sure the floof was imprisoned, and that Rhett didn't die on the way. When Rhett sat back down next to Lara, Baby surprised him by laying his big head down in Rhett’s lap, staring at him with big puppy eyes.

“Really?” Rhett said, raising a brow. “The trauma of that little thing made you realize you like me alive?”

Lara laughed softly when Baby whimpered in response. Rhett reached up to pet the dog’s head, but Baby backed up and growled at him. When Rhett pulled away, Baby returned, laying his head in Rhett’s lap.

“Alright, so that's where you draw the line,” Rhett chuckled, glancing at Lara. “I think I'm making promise.”

“I think so,” she agreed.

“You think I'm the weird one.”

“And I still do.”