“Yikes! That’s hot!” Akita yelped. She had just touched Bridget’s arm that had been leaning out of the carriage for a while.

“My metal body really isn’t made for the desert…” Bridget whined as she tried to wave her arm around to cool it down again, unsuccessfully so.

“I’m definitely not made for the desert heat,” Cassiopeiah yammered, fanning her face with her hand while trying her best to wipe all the sweat from her brow.

“There will be plenty of shade once we get to Alicendria. Streets will often have large pieces of cloth hanging over them to protect against the sun,” Lavini smiled.

“I hope you’re right, Gigabyte. This heat is bad for my equipment too,” Akita muttered.

Lavini chuckled. Akita had been transformed into a time elemental only two weeks ago but she had already taken on a unique speech pattern, calling people different kinds of ‘bytes’ and using all sorts of magitechnical terms. She had explained that ‘the amount of bytes dictates how much data she had on people’. To Lavini, Akita simply had new nicknames for everybody.

The most important thing though was that Bridget and Akita were together again at long last. Something that Lavini had been working towards ever since Bridget’s transformation. She did not expect that it would all lead to Akita’s transformation of course but that was definitely an interesting result. Of course, Cassie had asked Lavini several times if she was perhaps jealous of her two friends. That they had been rewarded for their devotion to the goddess whereas she hadn’t been. Of course, every time, Lavini had insisted that jealousy was unbecoming of a lady. Not that she wouldn’t want to be given such an honour at all…

“We will be arriving in Alicendria shortly, ladies,” a male voice from outside of their carriage said.

“Ah, excellent,” Lavini said. Coming back home after so long gave her mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was nice to be home again but this time, it was for some sad reasons.

“We’re here for you,” Bridget said, placing her hand on Lavini’s knees. Of course, she used the hand that hadn’t been baking in the sun just now.

“Yeah. You got us back together. The least we can do is be there for you in all this,” Akita agreed.

“And… I kinda tagged along as well…” Cassie added.

“Thank you all ever so much,” Lavini said. It was still quite hard to believe that her mother had gone missing. Her initial reaction was disbelief and denial. It couldn’t be real, right? And right as she was about to reunite her friends too. She would have postponed reacting to this whole situation even further too if Cassie hadn’t insisted on it. Something that Lavini was actually quite thankful for.

As the carriage finally arrived, Lavini was flooded with memories. Ever since she left her home for the New Stepolis academy, she had only been back home for short trips to visit her mother during vacations. It was also the first time that Bridget and Akita had accompanied her here. It was quite sad that it wasn’t a leisurely trip for them.

The coach driver helped the girls out in front of the city hall (though Bridget felt quite bad leaning with all her dense metal weight on the man). Her three friends were looking all around themselves at this town that was so alien from what they were used to. There was a market going on in the streets nearby. There were so many different different kinds of scents and people that probably caused a sensory overload to her three companions. It was something that Lavini was very much used to, especially considering that there was a time that this market was all she knew.

Entering city hall, the four were greeted by a silence that was quite jarring compared to the bustling market outside. Lavini took in a deep breath as she approached one of the desks where a man sat writing something.

“Good morning, sir,” she spoke.

The man looked up with a kind smile, though it momentarily vanished again when he spotted Bridget and Akita. Them being time elementals did make them stand out quite a bit after all. Bridget had grown used to that but since Akita’s transformation was only quite recent, she still felt a little uncomfortable when all eyes were upon her.

“Good morning, ladies,” the man said when he had overcome his initial shock.

“I was… sent a message about my mother, Oketra Providence. My name is Lavini Providence,” Lavini said, taking out the letter.

“Ah… yes,” the constable said. His smile faded as he realized that this matter was a little bit more serious.

“I am sorry for taking a while to respond,” Lavini said.

“No need to apologize. I can understand that it must have been quite shocking to you,” the man nodded.

“Indeed…” Lavini sighed.

“Let me explain a little. It began a few months ago. The neighbours realized that things had grown eerily quiet around the residence. Initially, people simply thought that lady Orketra had grown ill, or that she had maybe gone on a trip without notifying anyone. When it became clear no one was managing the grounds, people began to grow concerned. Several people tried knocking on the door and some even tried peeking through the windows but there’s been no response. That’s when the guard was finally notified and lady Orketra was marked officially as being missing. That’s also when we sent you that letter,” the man explained.

“What of the maid, Rashida?” Lavini asked.

“There have been no signs of her either,” the man answered.

Lavini fell quiet. It was so strange to hear all of this about her own mother. Her mother that she loved so dearly. “Were there… were there any clues left behind? Anything at all?” Lavini asked.

“We were unable to find anything on the grounds of the manor but we have yet to investigate the inside as the runic security symbology is still active. For that, we were waiting for you to give us access,” the man explained.

“I see. Naturally, I will do so,” Lavini nodded.

“Excellent. I will notify the guard. They will be there at around noon,” the man said.

“I suppose I will show my friends around town in the meantime then,” Lavini said.

The man reached into his desk and pulled out an hourglass. “Would you like a timekeeping device to make sure you are not late?”

Lavini turned around at Bridget and Lavini, who chuckled in response. “There will be no need for that,” Lavini laughed.

Showing her friends around town was actually quite fun but it was high time that Lavini faced the reality of the situation. As the group rounded the corner of her street, she felt herself freeze up in uncertainty.

“You can do this, Lavini,” Akita cheered her forth soberly.

“We’re right here with you,” Bridget cheered along.

“... What they said,” Cassie nodded, not really knowing what to add to the conversation.

Resolutely, Lavini began moving over to the grounds where the manor lay. It was a lavishly decorated mansion that was several times larger than the apartment that Akita and Bridget were living in back in New Stepolis. It was three stories and even had a large garden, though it had seen better days because of the neglect. Another stark reminder that there really was nobody living here anymore. Of course when they got to it, all three of her companions gasped in shock.

“THIS is your house?!” Akita asked.

“Well… yes. This is where I was raised,” Lavini said.

“By the goddess… I knew you were rich but this?!” Bridget said in exasperation.

Lavini couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “I do hope that money is not the only reason we have grown friends?” she teased.

Both of them instantly protested. “Not at all!” they said simultaneously. Meanwhile, Cassie blushed furiously. It had, after all, been money that had brought her and Lavini together initially.

Lavini laughed. “I jest, of course,” she said. It was nice to be able to laugh at this point. However, there was no delaying it any further as the guards rounded the corner as well and moved towards them.

“Lady Providence?” The leader of the guards asked.

“That is correct,” Lavini nodded.

“If you could disable the security system so that we could investigate,” the guard said nodding curtly to the glowing runes on the door..

Lavini didn’t respond to that, there were too many questions that were beginning to fill her mind. She turned around and walked up the porch towards the lavish looking front door. Getting her personal key out, she slid it into the locking chamber turning it a full 180 to open it. Finally, the symbols faded as the runic magic deactivated. Pushing open the door she was greeted by quite a sorry state. There was a layer of dust everywhere and there were even cobwebs in some of the corners. Lavini looked on sadly at what she saw. It really was true. Her mother wasn’t here anymore and she hadn’t been for quite some time.

Lavini sighed and nodded to the guards. “It has been done.”

“We ask that you not enter yet so as not to disturb anything, my lady,” the captain of the guards said. “We shall proceed with a preliminary investigation.”

“...Of course…” Lavini said absentmindedly.

As the guards entered the mansion, Lavini found herself staring inside. How could this have happened? Why did her mother vanish? How could Rashida have vanished alongside her? Why would Lavini be left alone like this? Why… how… what…

“Lavini?” came Akita’s voice.

Lavini did a minor gasp as she looked up at her.

“What’s going through your mind right now?” Akita asked, having removed her visor.

Lavini looked into Akita’s eyes. It was the exact same question that Lavini had asked her two weeks earlier. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. “I… never quite questioned anything. Certainly, I have been curious about why, out of all street children, I was taken in and given the chance to develop myself into who I am today. However, I always accepted that I had simply been lucky. My mother could just as easily have run into Persia, or any of the other urchins but she ran into me. Since then, I never had much doubt about my nobility. I never questioned it. I always accepted that I was a noblewoman because my mother told me so. Now though… I am finding that these questions are bubbling up after all. Why was I picked? Why was I raised to be a noblewoman, even though I was not born as such? Am I even worthy of that title anymore? Who am I really? I am realizing that these questions had always been there but I simply never asked them. I always found them too ridiculous to ask. ”

“That’s enough!” Bridget snapped, causing everybody to gasp.

“Bridge…?” Akita asked.

“Lavini, you are definitely a noblewoman. You have such a kind heart and you always try to hold everyone’s best interest. You were there for me when nobody else was after my transformation. Without you, I probably would have gone mad!” Bridget said.

Akita looked away for a moment, still feeling bad about leaving Bridget for so long.

“You helped me adjust to my new body. You made me laugh and smile again. You were a pillar of support that I could lean on. Well… not literally lean on because… that would crush you… but the point is, I am eternally grateful for that. Thank you. In my eyes, you are the noblest woman I know,” Bridget continued.

“...I agree,” Akita said softly. “If it weren’t for you, I would still be wasting away in my room. I’d just be drowning in self pity and crying about what I’d lost but you pulled me out of that when I needed it, even if I didn’t know I needed it. You brought us back together. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for all of that.”

“I always scoffed at the nobility…” Cassie started. “I thought they were stuck up snobs, just sitting on their money when people like me needed that far more than they did. When… you caught me stealing, I thought I was in a whole heap of trouble. I thought I’d go to jail or… face some other kind of punishment. I hated you… but you showed me kindness. You gave me food. You gave me shelter. I don’t know how to repay you for any of that and I probably never will. You are very much worthy of the title of lady if you ask me.”

Lavini looked between her three friends. She smiled and closed her eyes while multiple tears started streaming down her face. “I… feel truly blessed… to have such wonderful friends,” she said. She then gave Akita and Cassie a tight hug but she had to pass on Bridget because the desert sun had heated her metallic body a bit too much. She would give her that hug later.

When the guards eventually started exiting the mansion again, the captain walked up to the four girls. “I am sorry, Lady Providence. Besides the obvious state of abandonment we were unable to find anything of note.” he said.

Lavini had always expected it already but it was still sad to hear. Her mother had truly disappeared then… “I understand,” she said.

“You are free to enter,” the captain added.

“Thank you, sir,” Lavini nodded sadly.

“Will you be staying here in the meantime?” the captain asked.

“Yes, for two weeks at least. After that, I shall leave a spare key behind for you,” Lavini answered.

“That would be great, yes,” the captain nodded. As the guards left the premises, Akita, Bridget, and Cassie entered the house and looked around before nodding at each-other. “Well, time to clean up this place!” Bridget cheered.

“Yeah! Can’t have Lavini’s home be such a dusty mess!” Akita agreed.

“I’ll look for cleaning supplies!” Cassie added.

Lavini looked inside as her three friends began working on cleaning. She smiled at them, feeling truly blessed. She wanted to know what had happened to her mother. She wanted answers to her questions. But… for now… she was simply happy to have the friends she did.