"Are you sure?! Why would he be there? I haven’t even been there!"
Morning light stread through the tall windows of the castle as Sylvie and Clentine rushed down the hallway, their breaths sounded hurried, and from their pale face and slightly frizzy hair, it was obvious they’d just woken up.
"Yes," Sylvie panted. The usual grace in her gait, nowhere to be seen. "Alfred said he’s been in there for hours."
"What? Why?!"
The sisters continued to march down the hallway until they saw a large set of heavy oak doors slightly opened. The two glanced at each other for a mont before walking inside at the sa ti.
And there, they saw Adam.
He was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, surrounded by dozens of open books scattered in circles around him. He looked... incredibly disheveled. His clothes were wrinkled, and this was the first ti they’d seen him actually look physically exhausted.
"Adam?" Sylvie called out, stepping carefully between the books.
Adam didn’t respond, however. But he did speak. He was talking to himself, his lips moving silently as his fingers trailed across the book he was reading while hunched.
And without looking up, he reached for another book, flipped it open to a seemingly random page, and continued reading.
"Adam!" Clentine also called out, screaming this ti.
Still nothing. They moved closer, careful not to disturb the organized chaos of literature surrounding him. As they approached, they could hear him whispering to himself—but the words weren’t English. They... weren’t French either.
"What language is that?" Clentine murmured, kneeling beside one of the open books.
Sylvie peered over her shoulder at the text. The script was... familiar to her. But it took a mont for her to actually recognize what it was.
"Latin," she breathed. "He’s reading Latin."
"Latin...?" Clentine raised an eyebrow. "Like in exorcisms?"
"Adam!" Sylvie called again, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
Finally, he looked up. His eyes were... well, they weren’t red. But they were wide, incredibly wide.
"Oh." He blinked, seeming to notice them for the first ti. "Good morning."
"Good... morning?"
"Ah..." Adam looked around him, noticing the sisters were standing between the books. "Sorry about the ss. I’ll clean it up."
"What’s wrong?" Clentine asked, settling down beside him. "You look fucking terrible."
"I..." Adam hesitated, his gaze drifting back to the books. "I don’t know yet."
"Yet...?"
"It... turns out I can read Latin." Adam raised the book he was holding, handing it to Clentine, who hesitated to grab it. "I saw a painting in the hallway last night with Latin on it. At first, it was weird, you know? I didn’t think much of it—maybe I just recognized it since it might be a famous quote..."
The sisters didn’t know whether to be shocked at him being able to read Latin... or the fact that this was probably the first ti he’d talked this much in one go.
And he wasn’t done.
"But then I rembered you have a library, and so I ca here to check, and..." Adam gestured helplessly at the books surrounding him. "I can read all of this...? I don’t have a problem with reading them at all."
"Sir Adam..." Sylvie also kneeled down beside him, her voice filled with worry. "...Have you slept?"
"It’s okay. I don’t need to sleep." Adam shook his head and then grabbed another book. Before he could read a single word, however, Sylvie gently placed her palm on the pages.
"Adam," she whispered. "You need to rest. Or at least eat. I can have the dostique bring so of the books to the dining hall."
When Clentine heard that, she quickly glanced back at the door, signaling the curious staff there to do what Sylvie said.
As for Adam, he stared at Sylvie for a mont... and then finally sighed.
"Thank you. I just..." Adam closed his eyes. "...I really need to go ho and find out more about who I am."
***
In a windowless room thousands of miles away, Bjorn sat motionless in a tal chair, barely even fitting on it.
He kept his head down, massive hands folded in his lap, waiting.
"Relax, my friend."
He glanced at the person sitting at the desk in front of him, and he looked down again when he saw the person smiling at him.
"I didn’t call you here to fire you, Bjorn," the person continued. "On the contrary, I’m here to tell you that our little friend is coming ho."
Bjorn looked at him and then signed sothing with his hands.
"I don’t understand what you’re trying to say." The person, however, dismissed him entirely. "But yes, I heard from our people that Adam is returning to the country. Do you know what that ans, Bjorn?"
Bjorn was about to move his hands, but the person cut him off.
"This is your last chance to retrieve him. I trust you understand the consequences of another failure?"
Bjorn remained still for a mont and then nodded.
"Excellent. Don’t disappoint again."
***
Several hours later, in the blistering heat of the sun and a long airstrip, Adam stood between Sylvie and Clentine, his single bag slung over his shoulder, staring at the small plane that would carry him back to Arica.
"Are you really, really sure about this?" Clentine asked for the tenth ti. "I think you’ll have a better life here."
"I’m sure." Adam glanced back at the plane, then at the sisters who had given him more kindness than he’d known in years.
"Thank you. For providing a private plane. And for everything."
"It’s nothing," Sylvie said softly. "Just... take care of yourself. And please, don’t forget. You need to register as a Hero. You... don’t need more of your country’s governnt trying to chase you. It—"
"For fuck’s sake."
Sylvie couldn’t finish her words as Clentine suddenly cursed. She looked to where her sister was looking, only to see photographers with long lenses, hiding in the distance behind the buildings.
"rde," Clentine muttered, then suddenly smirked. "Well, if they want a story..."
She stepped closer to Adam, her expression turning mischievous.
"We should give them sothing to talk about."
"What do you—"
Before Adam could finish the question, Clentine grabbed his face and kissed him firmly on the lips. The kiss lasted several seconds before she pushed him away, waving cheerfully.
"Au revoir, mon chéri!"
Adam stood frozen, while Sylvie’s mouth fell open in shock.
"You’re welco," Clentine said to her sister with a satisfied grin. "Now the dia will focus on instead of just you two. Much safer that way."
"You—" Sylvie’s eyes blazed with fury, but before she could respond, Adam quietly walked toward the plane.
It... was ti to go ho.
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