The room that was given to the two of them lay in the attic; the pharmacy itself spun the whole building - the base floor was the shop itself, and the first floor was designated as living areas for Haya, Inaya, and the keeper of the shop who allowed them to work there. The second floor seemed to be mostly rooms to treat patients, even though he was told that the office of their employer lay also there, only leaving the attic in which Midas and Skye resided.
The room was a bit dusty - not that Midas minded - yet it was much more spacious than the rooms for the patients, as the attic wasn't split into multiple rooms; any goods they stocked up when they needed to refill their shelves were stored in the basement, leaving this floor relatively empty. Skye was dressed in a simple nightshirt, its thin sleeves reaching to her wrists, with pants to match it - Midas wore something similar, the light brown tone reminding him of the northern desert just by looking down at them.
Both of them could feel the need to say something to each other; they hadn't properly interacted with each other for nearly a whole Trestempo. As Midas stared down at his intertwined fingers while sitting on a stool next to a tiny table beside the bed, he could feel Skye's eyes scan him; maybe she awaited some reason for him to show up and drag her away - but the only reason Midas really found was his feeling that she might have more freedom without being around the commander's son.
"I'm tired, Midas."
"Yes, me too."
The moments that had followed up recently had exhausted him greatly, with a filled-up stomach - only seeing the soft bed right in front of him in the orange shine of the candlelight beside him almost made him collapse forward on the stool. Forcing his limp body to comply, he rose from it, sinking down beside the girl with considerable distance - he didn't necessarily fear being around girls or feel obliged to make them feel comfortable when he was around, but even he was calmed by the sheer presence of Skye.
"Midas... do you still remember this...?"
Feeling the mattress beneath him dip slightly as Skye placed her palm on the space between them to lean towards him, he found his eyes staring down onto an emblem that was engraved into a medal; the blood and oxidation were gone now as it reflected the flickering candlelight. He remembered the rage he felt towards himself the day he had come across the corpse of the orphan girl in the middle of the Luvious Forest - the fact she held on to it so dearly confirmed the thought of this girl being her younger sister.
"Good thing I gave it to you; at least I was able to save something from her..."
Skye watched him, the soft curve of her lips flattening for a moment as he watched Midas lean forward on the edge of the mattress to think with furrowed brows. Eventually regaining it, as it evolved into a full-fledged grin - her thumb carefully brushing the medal before she came just a fraction closer.
"Thank you... Finally I get to tell you this. I waited to tell you from the moment you gave this medal back to me in Cascrender."
Slowly, he straightened his back again - the constant switching between thinking of where Qayid and the others had most likely been jailed and the memories Skye brought up in him made his head swirl slightly; thinking straight was hard enough given his lack of sleep, but with her beside him, it became sheerly impossible - especially when her dark brown eyes were set on him, almost black, as they ate up all of the faint light of the candle that lit their room.
"Of course..."
"I heard you have quite a lot of friends... Fils was always worried about your group, especially after the blind boy didn't come over to us anymore - he got really anxious after his sudden disappearance."
Fils must be the name of the head commander's son; the name reminded him of the elegant features of his father when he and his men raided the northern fort - even though that perception of him quickly changed once Alma was able to get a scar on his face. Skye had spent a lot of time with him; they reportedly ate with each other in the outside part of the cafeteria during the evening. Haya was among the knights that guarded them there - her expression made it easy to tell that she wasn't here because she wanted to be, from what Haya had told him.
"I can be lucky that he was decent enough to let you learn how to speak the northern tongue..."
She chuckled dimly, her thumb half-mindedly stroking over the emblem that was engraved into the metal as she looked at Midas more closely, an amused smile on her face while he tried to figure out how to best get the most information out of her about Fils without making her feel cornered or pressured.
"Oh, he is not that bad... He let me keep the book I was given back in the university to continue studying the language - it was rare, but sometimes he'd even exchange with me to help me with my spelling... There would be no way I would have learned this language as fast as I did without him."
"I see... unfortunately I only hear about the parts where he drags you away with him or sends out noble students to make sure people like Qannas, the blind boy you mentioned, and the rest keep being suppressed..."
What she told him made him feel somewhat conflicted; the only few times where he met Fils face-to-face ended in a fight. The times he had seen southerners beaten up by the children of Water Kingdom nobles were also mostly a result of his campaign to stay wary of any kind of foreigner. However, now from what Skye had told him, Fils actually seemed fond of Skye despite her origin; allowing her to study and even doing so with his occasional help meant she was perhaps more than just a possession to him.
Seeing Midas's reluctant approach to knowing more about Fils, Skye's eyes practically shimmered - leaning more into him as her palms now rested on his thigh without much of a thought; the sheer proximity made the boy beside her grimace slightly.
"Fils pride is just too big to actually show how caring he is of me sometimes...! He makes sure I eat, get to spend time with my classmates, and continue my studies... and he buys me fancy clothing and sometimes even gives me an allowance to spend...!"
Hearing this made Midas stare at her in dim disbelief; she had no need to lie to him, so what she told him had to be at least somewhat true. Her excited tone was slightly saddening; all of these things should be the baseline of a human life - yet, for her, it was most likely a luxury, not that whatever Midas could offer her would be any better. Yes, she would be free to study and chat with her peers all she'd like when she joined their side; however, things like safety or allowance were something Midas couldn't give.
Perhaps, if he were fast enough, he could give her back to Fils if he were still there, which was likely, the thought of doing so creeping into his mind as he realized that Skye could most likely live a much more secure life with Fils.
"And you really wanted to come with me despite all of that...?"
Seeing his stern gaze, Skye's smile disappeared slowly; her dark brown eyes sank to form a thoughtful expression - her irises eventually snapping up at Midas.
"Yes... I want to go head back to my homeland. It lies far in the southeast, and the neighboring kingdom that lies next to it on the nearby mountains is extremely hostile towards it - so who knows when it will be my parents who get shipped off next..."
He could hear her tone change as it became more dim - a quiet murmur, as if a part of her had already given up the idea of one day coming back. Midas did come from the south, but he barely had any knowledge of the continent and islands that lay in the far east or south; he had heard about the western lands fleetingly here and there, but that was as far as his geographical knowledge reached, and as he noticed that, he quickly felt a sense of dissatisfaction - he visited this academy after all to also study.
"Then it would make sense to leave... I do want to eventually leave for the northern territories beyond the great mountains of this continent - I promised a friend of mine to bring them back to their family as well."
"If I join you... could you teach me about mana? That's the only thing that Fils forbade me to do..."
Midas sucked in a quiet breath as he could feel Skye's nail dig into his thigh; her brows were furrowed in unsure determination - she somehow reminded him of Jakal, just without the bitter hatred.
"Yes, I can do that... I planned on going to the library tomorrow to find a few books about Null abilities and the geography of the lands beyond this one - if you like, join me."
Skye's eyes lit up instantly at his suggestion, and the way her fingers clung onto his thigh, making him flinch in pain, as he watched a wide smile appear on her face - a sight that felt rare, since her expressions were mostly formal smiles, always having a muted characteristic to them, unlike now as she stared at him with pure excitement. Even though she had complained about being tired a few moments ago, she was now bouncing slightly on the mattress - unable to hide her interest in mana.
"Please...! Show me how I can do it - I want to create stone pillars too...!"
Maybe it was just because of her lack of experience when it comes to mana, but Skye - despite being roughly a Trestempo older or two - almost behaved like a curious child in front of him. The sight of her made Midas remember the old ruins that lay half-buried in the sand right around the northern fort - he spent a lot of time meditating there, as his grasp on his mana was nonexistent during that time.
No wonder people like Fils found a liking to her; whatever tragedy is thrown her way - whether it is being separated from her parents or losing her younger sister - the fact she was able to simply smile through it was fascinating in a way, even for Midas. Able to see himself staring at the reflection of his pale face in Skye's dark brown eyes - he realized how easily she could rip someone's attention onto her before they could react, a quality that was almost scary.
"Tomorrow... okay? I promise I will show you then. Just let me get some sleep tonight."
Letting out a tired sigh, Midas slid off the edge of the mattress limply, finding a good enough sleeping position on the rough fabric of the carpet that smelled like dust as he rested his head on his arm, lying on his side. Skye noticed him quietly lay down in front of her feet as she stayed seated on the edge of the bed, dimly confused; she couldn't help but laugh slightly.
"Why are you lying here?"
It took a while for Midas to find a good reason; her amusement made him stiffen up slightly - maybe he just didn't want to take any more chances, especially after his time in the ruins. Furrowing his brows slightly as he shut his lids and opening his mouth to speak, he could feel her finger press onto his cheek.
"...come up here. Come to me."
"...what, why...?"
"Please?"
Her finger lingered against his skin. Midas rolled his eyes to look up at her over his shoulder, seeing her slumped head as she watched him, as her smile was missing - her tone a quiet plea, seemingly not for help, but something different. Feeling weary, Midas reluctantly got to his feet and eventually lay on the bed as well - making sure he lay as far away as possible, a hand already lingering close to the handle of his weapon.
He didn't look at Skye, even though he was turned towards her - his brows sharp as he pressed his eyes shut. He couldn't let Gilt be faster this time; if Skye really had ill intentions for some reason, he wanted to be the first who reacted to her attack - running away and letting her live was okay for him if it meant her life could be spared and the time he spent retrieving her was not completely in vain.
The tension of him was palpable; Skye noticed it immediately, looking at his shut lids as she lay beside him on the bed - he lay right next to her; however, there seemed to be some sort of distance that kept him separated far away even now. Slowly, she risked inching slightly closer to him, her hand balling up slightly as she felt unsure how close she could come without the tension snapping - it was she who wanted him to be here next to her, so she needed to make sure he felt comfortable.
Slowly, she reached out, trying to pull him close as she wrapped his arm carefully around her neck, just as she could feel his hair brush her forearm. Midas grasped her wrist, twisting it behind her back and holding a stone needle against her throat with a speed that sucked the breath out of her throat. Her eyes widened as she stared up at the painfully alarmed expression in him - his teeth clenched and eyes wide and reddened by the lack of sleep and exertion his body went through in the last few days.
"S-Sorry..."
Alienated by what his body just did, he immediately let go of her and retreated away from her - stumbling out of the bed as the stone needle was discarded on the white fabric, his back hitting the room's wall as he wandered away from the bed - his sickle ready to be drawn as his hand rested on its handle subconsciously. He could make Gilt responsible for this - his heart was racing, and the possibility of the girl who looked at him with wide, confused eyes wanting him dead sucked the breath out of his lungs.
Slowly, step by step, without looking at her, he slipped into his boots and retreated out the door, hurrying down the stairs and out of the building. Able to create a big enough opening in the cobblestone walls of the building's foundation and quickly closing it up again, running down the street in the rain to get as far away as possible from her - hoping she would just be gone by the time he'd have to come back.
Huffing breathlessly as rain hailed down on his already soaked blazer he hurriedly put on, Midas fingers clutched his hair as he curled up against the gate of the academy, sitting on the wet ground as he curled into himself. He felt powerless - whatever goal he seemed to reach, the feeling of dread and constant fear never seemed to leave him, and to add to that, now there was Gilt, who was capable of not only observing his mind since they shared it but also using his body to do the things he dreaded most.
He had no time for this - clutching the metal rods the gate was made of to get onto his feet again, he slowly rose up to look at the distant academy building, a large shadow that spun high among the tiny blue lights the lanterns emitted to light up the campus walkways. He still had to find out if the knights kept any of them prisoner - a trip to the prison on the higher ring of Montcanal would be impossible given his condition, so searching here was the only possible option at the moment.
Creating a stone pillar that would transport him up over the gate - simply jumping and rolling off the floor to cushion his fall to save some mana - he quickly snorted up the blood that ran down his nose as he headed towards the building. Midas's face darkened slightly once he got through the main door and wandered the empty, dark walls of the basement with his sickle drawn, furious at himself as he felt shame for having fled from the situation, panic having gotten the better of him.
The quiet darkness that lingered in the halls was eventually disrupted by a distant chat of guards and by the sound of voices - two of them. Glancing at them from around the corner in the distance, they seem to be guarding one of the basements' doors; the rooms on the floor were mostly empty and unused or assigned as labs, possibly serving as a makeshift cell to keep prisoners while they could be transported off.
The drag of his limbs and the way his eyes seem to blur from time to time were impossible to ignore by now - the quiet sound of his blood splattering down onto the floor hulled slightly against the stone. Midas scowled quietly as he realized that taking on two guards armed with waterstones was impossible; however, Gilt had gotten the gold it wanted, so it owed him a favor.
Without question, Midas felt the sensation of the gold leaving his body and flowing through the pores of his skin - something he just couldn't get used to as the skeleton was already standing beside him, slowly beginning to wander towards the guards. The sleek shape of its bones and the edge of its jaw reflected the warm light of the torch one of them wielded - hearing it drop onto the floor as they lost their hold on it the moment they locked eyes on the golden skeleton.
Before, they could only shout a word; their bodies were both riddled by golden beads that shot through the forged metal and into their flesh - the sound of them gurgling in their own blood was the only thing that rang through the hall as Gilt glanced back at the boy who dragged himself towards the door. Letting the skeleton merge into his back again, he inspected the bodies for a key - not wasting much time as he unlocked the door with it.