Channelknight Fadran

"Maybe." She hadn't let go of him yet.

"You're a good person, you think? Or at least not a bad person?"

"Why... things that happen to people like you and me... hurt more than--" she swallowed. "Why hearing someone else hurt is more painful than hurting... yourself."

"I haven't... figured it out yet."

"Because I don't know what I'm thinking."

"I... I'm sorry, but..."

"On your missions, I mean. What... friends did you have to leave behind? What morals did you have to forget?" Her tone had turned dead-serious; desperate, even.

"I mean... what things have you had to do? What kind of life were you forced to live?"

"How much have you had to put up with, exactly?"

Ayia wrapped him in a hug.

"Would you like a hug or something?"

"If it's any comfort to you, then you can rest assured knowing that no date we'd have together would be... like the stuff you might've had to do."

"So you had to..." Ayia let that sink in. "What have you had to do in order to get your jobs done?"

"You only flirted for missions? What kind of missions were you doing?"

"Huh. Interesting. So nobody's ever flirted with you before?"

"A hard what now?"

"Well, I personally think it's super cute when you panic because of my pickup lines."

"So you just get flustered easily, then?"

"Then why do you get so bothered when I flirt with you? I mean, I flirt with everybody, but you're the only one who seems to be bothered by it."

"That would make sense. Why are you so averse to going on one?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that us dark lords really like popping in when it's most inconvenient for the likes of you."

"Hello. Uhh... Valve, right? You're a Narrator?"

Meanwhile, in Ivian's little hospital room... Ivian paced back and forth, growling inaudibly. After a few minutes, however, he stopped. "How long have you been in here?" He asked. "About ten minutes or so. I do love watching you fume." "Come on out," Ivian sighed, waving dismissively. "How'd your assignment go?" A woman named Yvonne, one of the King's Ladies, stepped out of the shadows. "Nothing much to say yet. One of them is embarrassed and the other is drunk, so I'd say our work is done for tonight." "Good, good. I'll start working on the first steps tomorrow once the lockdown is over. How about our... other project?" Ivian grinned deviously. "Six months into the works, my lord. It will be ready soon." "That's good. What's Caden doing? Is he interrogating the prisoners like I asked?" Yvonne shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I wasn't watching him. I think an assassin pulled his attention away, however." "Wonderful." Ivian rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep. Keep tabs on those two: it's imperative that our plan works out perfectly." "Will do. Good night, my lord." "Good night."

Sure. Why the heck not?

"Well now I want to watch Princess Bride again!" Selil shook his head. "No, no. Keep your head in the game, me. Let's get this done." The Dark Lord and Elgiloy both vanished from the throne room and reappeared inside the workshop.