After dinner, Mia retired to her chamber to sleep, but rest did not come easily. Her cheeks still burned as she remembered the way Lord Mars had called her "my lady." The words stirred something deep within her, and she could not help the quiet scream that rose in her thoughts. _Oh jeez, this man is great. If not for the fact that he is a dragon, he would be my ideal type of man._
In another part of the castle, Lord Mars stood in his chamber as Blake entered to give his report. His voice was grave when he asked, "How is it?"
"What the people are seeking is here in the village," Blake answered. "Perhaps a key, or something of that nature. Whatever it is, it has not left the village. We must stay vigilant, because they will not relent until they have extracted it."
Lord Mars frowned, considering the weight of the news. "What this key is, I do not know. But something is drawing them here, and we must be careful. The war we just fought was only a skirmish. The true conflict, the one waged against us supernaturals, is still coming. We will stand ready. Go and make the arrest. We will continue the investigation tomorrow."
"Yes, my Lord," Blake said with a bow before taking his leave.
The following day, Mia devoted herself to her studies of law, poring over the three books Lord Mars had given her. Lola often kept her company, for her duty was to attend to the lady. Mia would read in silence, only to pause now and then with questions, and Lola would answer them patiently.
But eventually, it was Lola who posed a question of her own. "Mia, what do you think about Lord Mars?"
Mia flushed at once, flustered by the sudden inquiry. "Nothing… nothing."
"I mean, you can't really describe what you feel about him."
"Well, he's handsome. I know, really handsome. And there's… there's something about him that makes you want to…" She trailed off, her face burning.
"Touch those abs?" Lola supplied with a teasing grin.
"Lola, stop it," Mia sputtered, even more embarrassed.
Lola only giggled, clearly enjoying herself.
"Why would I? What about you around Lord Charles" She caught herself and Lola blushed too.
"I mean, nothing is going on between us. Nothing."
"Even if nothing is going on between you two, are you not fantasizing about him?"
"Stop it! You're the one who started this," Lola protested.
"You're the first person to bring it up, you know," Mia rebuked.
Lola raised her hands in mock surrender, laughing. "Alright, alright, I give up. I surrender. I won't ask about such things again."
"Better," Mia said, though a victorious grin tugged at her lips despite herself.
In the eastern village, Lord Mars and Blake, with other guards, were moving around investigating the attack. Suddenly, an evil supernatural launched at Mars, almost hitting his vital points, when a young man quickly kicked him out and trapped it to the ground. The young man underestimated the evil supernatural because he was slashed by the supernatural claws, leaving him bleeding, and Mars quickly intervened and killed the evil supernatural without second thoughts.
Then he asked the young man, "What are you still doing in this place?"
"My Lord, I went away a few weeks ago, and when I came back, I found the village empty. As I was trying to locate my family, I saw this thing about to strike you, so I quickly intervened."
"What's your name?"
"My name is Nathan. Nathan."
"I shall reward you for your deed. What do you want?"
"My Lord, if you will take me in as your guard or slave, I will gladly do it."
"I won't take you as a slave because you saved my life. Blake, take him after you and your brother. Train him."
"Thank you, my Lord," the young man said, and Blake said, "Okay, my Lord."
"Alright. We will turn back to the Golden Castle. We will continue the investigation the next day."
As Lord Mars turned, heading back to the Golden Castle, Blake approached Nathan and saw the blood dripping from him. He lifted Nathan to his feet, saying, "You are lucky to be alive. Most men don't survive a hit from one of those."
Nathan gave a weak smile. "I was lucky my Lord was here."
Then he thought, _Hm, this weak being is nothing to me. I just have to win your Lord's trust, and I think I've gained that._
As they were going, they didn't catch the glimpse of the evil grin on the young man's face, the victorious grin that he was able to inflict. Then he turned back to his innocent-looking face as if nothing had ever happened.