The ixi gradually slowed his pace after passing through the marketplace, and as he trotted down the street, he drew out a large, green headband from the satchel slung by his side. While he checked his reflection in the shiny window of a nearby shop, he adjusted the headband so that it fit perfectly on his forehead. Grinning, he continued along his way, then stopped at a sketchy-looking alley. He took a quick look around the area before darting into a rusty old door that creaked loudly as it closed.

“Liserim! Well there you are, we’ve been waiting for you! Hurry up and sit down,” a jelly techo said, with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Liserim quickly took a seat next to him before throwing his legs onto the desk in front, causing the skeith sitting on the other side to snort in contempt.

“Sorry Jaic, I went a bit – well – overboard with the thievery today. Man, those foreign chicks are loaded!” He nudged his satchel while winking at the techo, who rolled his eyes apathetically. However, the skeith in front seemed profoundly interested in what else he had in his bag.

“What have you got in there?” he questioned, squinting at Liserim as if trying to decipher his face.

“Nothing but a wristwatch worth about 20 grand, a jade bracelet, and a 24 carat gold ring – why do you ask?” he smirked, delighting in the skeith’s obvious disbelief.

“If you found that much in just a day, you wouldn’t need to steal for a living,” he laughed, his gold teeth glinting in the dim light of the room. His laughing fit was abruptly halted, however, when the ixi drew out the exact items from the satchel, slowly placing them upon the desk.

Before either of them could speak, the techo, who stayed silent for the last few minutes, suddenly interrupted. “Don’t flatter yourself, Lis – I taught you all you know. Anyway, remember what we’re here for,” he said sharply. After that, the room went quiet, and the techo gestured to the skeith to speak.

“So, as I was saying to Mr. Jaicobo before, I need you two to help me, er, retrieve an item in the castle,” the skeith coughed, adjusting his collar around his bulgy neck before he continued. “The item is an amulet – it’s a bit large, but you could easily fit it into the satchel of yours. I believe it’s in the king’s chamber – of course, those are just rumors I heard, but I daresay that they’re from quite reliable sources. The amulet’s also supposed to have some kind of mystical power - but exactly what, I’m not very sure.” The skeith stopped to stroke his mustache, as if deeply in thought.

Liserim gave a Jaic a quick glance, but the techo was looking straight ahead. Finally, after what seemed to be hours, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Oh, we’ll do it, alright,” Jaic said slowly, “but we wish to discuss the payment beforehand. You see, Mr. Skeithalo, Lis and I, we’re not your everyday thieves. We’ve got everything we want, actually – we steal for the thrill, and we usually only do it for those that are close to us. Your case, however, interested me quite a bit.” He paused, licking his lips. “This amulet you speak of – well, frankly, I’ve never even heard of one like it. If you want us to steal it for you, first, you’ve got to promise us that we’d be the first ones to use it. That’s the only payment we want. Otherwise, our deal’s off.”

Skeithalo widened his eyes, then shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Clearly, he wasn’t used to this type of thief. “A try, you mean? You just want to be the first to try on the amulet?” He questioned. Jaic and Liserim nodded, their faces devoid of emotion.

“Well then, we have a deal.” The skeith forced a tight-lipped smile, before shaking their hands. Before exiting out of the door, the duo looked at each other and nodded – this, they thought, would be one very unusual theft. And with that, they headed toward the familiar direction of the Meridell castle.

Tera stayed like that for a few minutes, the damp, cool air of the fog leaving traces of moisture against the surface of her skin. Out of nowhere, though, the sound of a trumpet jolted her from the surrealistic environment. She sighed and reluctantly dragged herself back to the top of the hill where the guests stood, each lowering their heads in respect for the hooded figure that proceeded up the hill.

“Queen Afghaen,” she muttered, bowing her head like the others, yet still tilting it up ever so slightly to glance down at the woman, as if searching for something unseen. As the queen neared the top of the hill, she caught Tera’s eye and gave a small nod that went unnoticed by the guests that surrounded them. Tera nodded back, glad to have at least one familiar face in the crowd of strangers that both repulsed and intimidated her with their sheer ignorance.

Following behind the queen was a small procession of men dressed entirely in black, each carrying a side of an ornate, intricately decorated coffin, their shoes squeaking against the mud puddles that caused the ladies before so much grief. Another man soon appeared at the top of the hill – the pastor, Tera thought with a grimace. Before she knew it, the guests had shuffled around the coffin, waiting for the pastor to deliver his speech. She arranged herself near the back of the crowd, before the pastor started speaking in a slow, steady voice.

“We are gathered here today to pay our last tributes and respects to the memory of our departed friend, Sir Draigh Darkshine, who was a loyal and honorable messenger to the Queen.”

As if the sky were weeping, the dark, grayish clouds that dotted the sky started pouring out rain, splashing the earth with the storm. Perhaps it was irony that allowed Tera to control the emotions of others, but gave her absolutely no right on the wave of anguish that washed over her, leaving her silently sobbing as the coffin was lowered into the ground. For once, she was grateful of the rain, shadowing the tears that ran down her face like droplets of ice that pattered along the roof of a battered, broken house. When the pastor finished his speech, the men who had carried the coffin up started shoveling dirt on the top of the cover. After they had finished, the coffin was nothing but a pile of dirt on the ground.

At long last, the people seemed to shuffle away, until the only people left were Tera and the queen. Tera stood silent, letting the rain drench her body, leaving cold drops of rainwater running down her hair and clothing. The queen placed a hand on her shoulder as if to reconcile her, and walked away, leaving her alone with her mentor.

Tera looked down, finally opening her eyes, her tears slowly dropping onto the patches of dirt that covered Darkshine’s body. She thought about the past – how she purposely failed her tests to annoy him, how she bothered him with his work while he was busy, and how he always managed, even with his sharp and demeaning manner, to make her smile. She thought about his lessons and the pain of failing and how he always helped her, no matter how tired he was or how difficult the magic. She thought about him, with his slightly eccentric way of talking, his hobble in his right leg, and the scowl that he would give her that actually showed his satisfaction with her work.

Tera took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of the damp grass, and kneeled down to face the ground. “I’ll never forget you, Draigh,” Tera whispered, her voice cracking as she spoke. And with that, she left, leaving the fragments of her sorrow buried in the deep, impenetrable depths of the grave.