ROSES HAVE THORNS

Inside the dim, quiet bedroom, the muffled sobs gradually subsided into soft hiccups.

Kurt remained standing by the bed with his hand resting gently on Tristan’s trembling back until the boy finally pulled back, wiping his red eyes with the sleeve of his long shirt.

"Alright," Kurt pulled up a nearby wooden chair and sat down so he was at eye level with the young boy.

"Tell me what happened, Tristan. Maggie told me what she knew, but I want you to be honest with me."

Tristan looked down at his lap and squeaked out a cracking voice. "I-It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault because... because I got angry with her."

"Go on. I’m listening."

"Every night... she would talk about M-Mom and D-Dad. She would go on... and on about all the fun things we were going to do when they came back home from their adventure. Every night, she would ask me to teach her how to read... just so she could read those letters you and Mr. Dominik gave her."

Tristan swallowed hard as a look of painful guilt washed over his young face.

"And every time a parent came to visit the orphanage, she would refuse to greet them. She’d hide in the closet or be rude to them because she didn’t want us to get adopted. She kept saying Mom and Dad were coming back to get us as soon as they were done with their quest..."

*Sniff* "S-So yesterday... when she made that s-scene in the office with those nice people, she came running out to the yard to find me. She was laughing while telling me how she ruined it so we wouldn’t be taken away. And I... And I just... I lost my temper."

Kurt’s eye widened slightly as a sudden cold dread sank deep into his gut.

"I-I shouted at her! I yelled at her that Mom and Dad aren’t coming home! That they’re dead! And... and I told her that those letters were fake!"

Tristan looked up at Kurt with terror, bowing his head repeatedly as he cried, "I’m sorry! Uncle Kurt, I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to say all those things! I know how much effort you and Mr. Dominik put it in to keep it a secret from her! I know you did it to protect her! But she was being so... so..."

"Tristan," Kurt reached out and placed a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder, stopping his panicked apologies. "It’s fine."

"U-Uncle Kurt...?"

"One way or another... the truth would have come out eventually. I’m not angry at you. If anyone’s to blame here, it’s me. I’m angry at myself for thinking a lie like that could last forever. Or at least a really, really long time..."

He shook his head, pushing the guilt aside for now. "So tell me what happened after that. Why did she run away today?"

"A-After I told her that, she didn’t want to speak to me anymore. But then today, she wouldn’t stop annoying me. She got some of her friends to pick on me and call me a traitor. I got so angry that I pushed her on the grass. She got back up and... we started fighting. We fought until Ms. Maggie came and pulled us apart.

"When she did, Rupee ran up here and locked the door while I ran to the park. W-When we came back... she was gone. She took her clothes and pink backpack and ran away... Now I don’t know what to do..."

Fresh tears began to spill down Tristan’s cheeks again. "Uncle Kurt, I-I don’t want to lose Rupee, too..."

"Listen to me, Tristan. You’re not going to lose her. And I am going to bring her back. Do you hear me?"

*Sniff* "O-Okay..."

Kurt stood up and walked over to the open window behind the curtain. They were on the second floor, but running right alongside the window frame was an iron drainpipe leading all the way down.

"Is this how she got down?"

"Y-Yeah," Tristan said while wiping his eyes. "She’s really good at climbing. Better than me."

"Hmmm... Is there any place you think she would have gone?"

Tristan squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to think. "I... I don’t know... She packed some of her clothes... So maybe she went to a friend. But she has lots of friends. M-Maybe she went... home?"

"Home? As in... the slums?"

Tristan nodded hesitantly. "She should know the way home. We used to walk from our old house all the way to the big church across the road from here when Mom and Dad was still alive."

Kurt stared at him for a long second before giving a nod.

"Yeah. There’s a very strong possibility she went straight back to your old house."

He walked over to the door and placed his hand on the brass knob. "Tristan, I need you to stay here. As you already know, the slums are filled with dangerous people, many of whom are currently colluding with the Cult.

"You stay here at the orphanage where it’s safe. I’ve got some strong friends with me today. We’ll safely get your sister back, and then we can all make up... hopefully."

Tristan let out a tiny, relieved smile that broke through his tear-stained face. "Okay... T-Thank you, Uncle Kurt."

"There’s no need for thanks," Kurt smiled, opening the door.

He paused, looking back at Tristan with a mischievous wink. "Now wipe that moping face. Your girlfriend is waiting for you outside."

"G-Girlfriend?!" Tristan’s face exploded into a deep blush. "I don’t have a–!"

Before the boy could finish his outburst, Kurt pulled the door fully open. The blue-haired girl, who had stopped holding Maggie’s hand and had been pressing her ear flat against the wood to eavesdrop, lost her balance and slumped forward into the room with a startled yelp.

"Suzy?!" Tristan yelled. "W-Why were you listening at the door?!"

"I-I was just... I mean!" Suzy’s own face turned red as she stammered. "T-The wood was dirty, so I was inspecting it! D-Desu wa..."

Kurt patted the blushing girl on the head as he stepped past her.

"It’s all up to you now," he whispered to her with a chuckle, leaving the two flustered children alone as he sprinted down the hallway and made his way down the stairs.

Down in the lobby, Emelie and Reuben were standing by the front door alongside the anxious manager.

"And?" Emelie stepped forward. "You got the full picture? Did he give you anything to go on?"

"Yes, and yes. There’s a very strong possibility she headed for the slums. Back to their old family house."

Reuben raised an eyebrow. "The slums?"

"Mmhm. That’s where she and her family lived before her parents... well... died."

"I see. Then let us make haste. The tournament matches will not remain paused indefinitely."

They all turned toward the entrance. Behind them, Maggie clasped her hands together. "Please... bring Rupee back safely."

"We will." Kurt called out over his shoulder as they pushed through the doors.

A moment later, the three of them launched into the air. Emelie enveloped Kurt in her telekinetic field, while Reuben effortlessly sky-stepped with his hand in his pockets right behind them, his cape rushing through the wind as they sped across the skyline toward the slums of Eldoria.

As they flew, Reuben’s calculating eyes drifted toward Kurt’s back, silently taking in the visible lines of anxiety and worry carved into his face.

He didn’t say a word. He just analysed.

His gaze then shifted back straight ahead as the grand Victorian architecture slowly began to give way to rotting wooden roofs and smog-filled alleys.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the ugly, neglected underbelly of Eldoria.

"I was hoping we’d catch sight of her on our way here," Kurt muttered as he scanned the narrow streets below. "Guess we weren’t that lucky."

He gestured toward a rotting, two-story wooden house. "There. That’s the place."

Emelie adjusted her trajectory, bringing them down for a gentle landing in the center of the dirt road. Reuben descended right beside them, his boots touching the filth without making a single sound.

The area around them was eerily silent. There were no children playing in the dirt, people going about, and no laundry hanging between the buildings. It was a ghost town.

"They’re watching us." Kurt pointed out.

"Yeah. Almost as if they were expecting us to show up." Emelie dragged the hood of her jacket over her head.

Reuben’s stoic gaze subtly flicked across the shuttered windows of the neighboring shacks. Through his advanced wind sensory magic, he could hear dozens of faint breaths holding still, accompanied by the distinct malevolent eyes locked onto their backs.

"Does that mean Rupee actually passed through here?" Kurt asked, looking around the eerie silence. "This feels way too setup. It’s fishy as hell."

"Yes, most likely." Reuben replied calmly, his hands still tucked away in his pockets. "So... Rossana. What do we do now?"

Kurt glanced at the duke out of the corner of his eye.

’What, is he testing me or something?’

Reuben remained perfectly stoic, offering no hints.

Kurt looked back at the front door of the main house. "Let’s check the inside first. If we immediately start going after the guys hiding in the shadows and interrogating them, it might set off a chain reaction and trigger an all-out brawl before we even know if Rupee is in there."

Reuben nodded once.

Stepping forward, Kurt reached out and – to his surprise – easily pushed open the creaking, unlatched front door.

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