[center][h2]Anne Mayer[/h2][h3]Nieve — Mages' Guild[/h3][/center]
"Like I said, I don't know their true purpose either." Anne seemed lost in thought as she answered the princess. With her eyes fixed upon the small box and its contents, she gingerly picked up the necklace by the chain and watched it float again in the air, still pointing off in Aventon's rough direction. Now that she'd confirmed its function... It was as good a proof as any that Millie remained alive and safe.

[i]Safe.[/i] She set it back down, breathing a deep sigh of relief to herself even as Remilia launched into another childish outburst. Until she secured official aid for the town, the Knight could check on the tracker at regular intervals, and be ready to respond if it ever stopped working or drifted too far astray. In short, she could stay here and see her task through to the end without breaking her promise to protect the young girl.

Even as she realized this, however, the second part of the mystery lingered like a haze in the back of her thoughts. The jewel could be activated if a certain person died—did that make it a failsafe, a way for the Heralds to get whatever they wanted out of Millie in the event that she died? Or was Millie the 'inheritor' Serena had mentioned, meant to receive the jewel's spell once the time was right? Neither option sounded like good news, but at last a clearer picture was forming in Anne's head, a reason behind the Heralds' seemingly inexplicable actions.

She'd keep quiet about it for now. Until she had proof that the royal family could be trusted, she would investigate further herself, and find someone to crack the final piece of the puzzle. With everyone's attention momentarily drawn away by Remilia, Anne silently closed the box and stashed it safely out of sight in her coat.

[i]Now, before our noble Lady gets us all executed...[/i] The Knight cleared her throat. "Um, I apologize. I must have distracted her Highness at the wrong moment, so that she missed your obnoxious demands—" Oops, slip of the tongue. "—I mean, your request. Anyway, I'm sure everyone will hear of your magnanimity once you succeed at the Princess's, uh, important mission." Five more minutes of this and she was going to physically grab the vampiress by the hair and drag her along on whatever errand they'd agreed to do. For the moment, she simply made meaningful eye contact with Serena, hopefully enough to convey that it was best to simply move on and talk business.

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