Noble's emotions, which had been so high that they might have competed with the clouds, suddenly plumted. Her heartbeat sped up, and yet sohow ti also seed to slow.
A Sleeper? After days of searching, Noble could barely process the news. Yet she desperately needed to know more.
"Male or female?" Child of Promise tried to keep her voice even, but her stomach, full of food, felt like it might empty.
"Female." Rain lowered her head as she rembered.
That ruled out many possible candidates, but it left two glaring ones who had not yet Awakened from their slumber.
"Did she have ash colored hair or red hair?" Noble held her breath.
Rain frowned. "Neither. It was darker than night. It was pinned up, but I could see it was exceptionally long. Her eyes were cloudy, but I believe they were green. She was about my height, thin, and on the young side for a sleeper."
Noble was barely listening after the first set of information. She knew exactly who the young lady was.
"Gisel…" The word ca out as barely a whisper, yet it silenced the table instantly.
Fort took his wife's hand.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, her long, dark hair was rather distinctive." Noble would never get the image of those long flowing locks falling out of the sleep pod.
'So this is where she died: in the Song Domain.'
Noble had wondered more than once where the girl had t her end. It turned out it was in the professor's backyard, so to speak.
'If I had been here instead of at the Academy, could I have prevented her death?'
Noble was able to comfort herself with the knowledge that she could not. Gisel had died days ago and was only now reaching the Jade Palace. Even taking into account that Noble could fly much faster than a Sleeper could go on foot, it would have been impossible to reach Gisel instantaneously.
Once she entered the Dream Realm, the girl was dood.
'At least it wasn't Tamar or Fleur.'
Noble felt a profound sense of relief.
Gisel's story was tragic, but at least it was one the professor already knew.
Then ca the guilt. She shouldn't feel good about Gisel dying. Justified or not, Noble still felt so responsibility for what had happened. If only…
"Bee…"
Fort's hand flinched inside hers. That was when she realized she had been squeezing it.
"Sorry!" Noble released him. In her reverie, had she broken his fingers?
Fort lowered his hand under the table to flex it. "Don't worry about . My concern was for you. I know how much you care for all the students, but Gisel…"
"I know." Noble pressed her lips together.
"Is there anything we can do, Mom?" Brock's question brought a sad smile to his mother's face.
"You being here is enough for ." Noble rembered how determined he was to head into a Nightmare not so long ago. While he would certainly do it soday, she was very thankful for him to be at the table with her right now.
'I have to find a way to prevent what happened to Gisel from happening to anyone else. No one who wants to avoid the trial should have to go through it.'
That was the best the professor could do at the mont. The rest was out of her hands, and she would need to forgive herself and let it go.
"Do you need to go and let the Academy know?" Blaze asked.
Coming back from her thoughts, Noble shook her head. "I can eventually, but right now, all I need to do is listen to Rainy tell us about her hunt. I have a feeling she was just being modest before."
Rain's dark eyes brimd with pride. "I got a Stone Worm."
"Another one?" Brock leaned forward. "How big was it this ti?"
"Bigger than , that's for sure. I didn't asure, but if you like, you can co and see his scales before I sell them off tomorrow afternoon—assuming the weather clears. I should get enough money from the Monster to last a while."
Rain winked.
"It was a Monster?! Now I have to co by!" Brock was suitably impressed.
"I can't think of another mundane person who can make that claim." Fort nodded his approval.
"Can I co too? I would like to use the money from my cafe job to buy a piece or two so I can reinforce my machine." Blaze was already considering the repairs he needed to make.
"Of course," his sister nodded. "I'll even give you the family discount."
"Tell us how you took it down," Noble settled above her seat, relieved for a happier topic—if the murder of a Nightmare Creature could be called happy.
Rain picked up her utensils, holding them like a bow and arrow.
"I was down in one of the gorges close to the farming fields. After finding the nest of the one that had been terrorizing the farrs, I studied it and ford a brilliant plan…"
Noble noticed the shadows outside the windows shift. Soone else was listening.
Child of Promise wondered what Sunny thought about his sister's brilliance. He certainly spoke well of Rain whenever she was brought up in their occasional conversations. But having seen him teach more than once, Noble doubted Rain knew just how proud he was of his dutiful disciple.
Oblivious to her mother's musings, Noble continued with her story. "So there I was, hiding in the brush trying to be absolutely still. Then I popped up, and the Stone Worm charged. The first arrow pierced one of his brains."
"That must not have been enough since they have multiple," Blaze observed.
"You are right, smarty pants." Rain playfully stuck out her tongue. "That's why my second arrow lodged in his spine. Even that wasn't enough to stop that Monster's rage. I had no ti to get off a third shot. The worm was nearly upon ."
Fort's emotions spiked, but he managed to keep his face in check. Noble herself barely managed to keep the swirl of colors out of her eyes.
"What did you do?" Brock grew impatient with his sister's dramatic pause.
"What else? I let it co, welcod it even! I threw aside my bow and spread my arms." Rain smiled fiercely. "It was so focused on that it didn't see the pit until it was falling inside. I picked up my javelin and stabbed him with all my might. It wasn't the might of an Awakened yet, but it was enough."
"Nice!" Brock watched as Rain stabbed downward with her fork and envisioned the scene. "I wish I could have been there."
"Maybe soday soon, little brother. You'll get your turn." Rain promised.
She looked forward to the day she was strong enough that she felt comfortable taking her younger brother out.
"I've got a big hunt coming up. Who knows? After that, maybe we can try sothing together—with Mom and Dad's blessing, of course."
"We can talk about it when the ti cos," Fort wasn't willing to commit just yet.
"I'm sure we can work sothing out." If Brock was going, Noble would be able to monitor without Rain discovering she knew about Sunny.
Rain clapped her hands. "It's settled, then. After my big hunt, it's a date!"
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