Inside Fort's office, Noble tugged at the suit that was not quite the right size.
'I don't feel good about this. I didn't ask permission to borrow these.'
Fort shook his head. 'They are Teddy's emergency clothes.'
The ambassador might have been taking the term differently than his assistant had intended, but he was sure that Teddy would not mind lending them to the person she considered a mother figure.
Noble sighed. 'This is certainly an emergency. I'll get them cleaned and get her a thank-you gift.'
That was the least she could do.
Fort cupped her cheek. 'Hurry and find our girl.'
'I'll return in time to pick up my tail from Song before they grow restless.'
Noble could feel the stationary people amid those moving along the street. They had been there since Seishan's exit and were certainly watching for her and Fort to make their move.
Time was of the essence.
Seeing the sadness in Fort's eyes, Noble kissed her husband. He rested his forehead against hers.
'Be careful.' Fort placed his palm behind his wife's head.
'I will.' Noble knew what was hanging in the balance.
They were trying to evade the Sovereign of the land where they lived. Being caught would only end poorly.
Noble kissed her husband once more and pulled away. This was the sweet spot between when the princess had left and when those spying on them would settle in to wait.
Noble fed their restlessness with some of her own. She ran her fingers through her inky black hair and shrugged on Teddy's spare coat, turning up the collar slightly.
Her comb that changed her hair color hadn't been used in months, but now Noble was glad she had hung onto it.
'Here we go.'
Fort handed her his half of the Memory, and it dissolved into sparks. He squeezed her hand, and Noble gave him a reassuring smile.
Then, without a word, she slipped out of Fort's office and down the hall. Instead of going to the front entrance, Noble recited the instructions to go out the back way. Thankfully, no one stopped her.
Extending her second sight, Child of Promise watched the two people whom she believed were monitoring the back of the building. It had been good that Noble had not tried to take the papers out of the building earlier, for they certainly would have intercepted her and done more than Seishan's passing glance.
It had been fortunate that Noble had a few old pages in her storage Memory. Kai had been able to spread them on top of his actual work in order to hide it in plain sight.
Noble wondered what the actual papers held, but that was a problem for later. For now, she needed to slip past the man and the woman who were pretending to chat idly across the street.
Waiting until a few people were coming from down the path, Noble pricked the woman with just the slightest bit of indignation.
If the man had said something even slightly irritating, then hopefully the lady would respond. She did. Her emotions spiked, and the conversation became more lively. Instead of intently watching the door, the two individuals turned to each other and began to bicker.
'Surely I didn't have that much of an effect.'
Noble knew she was powerful, but her guess was that she had keyed in on an existing problem and aggravated it. For the woman, the restlessness Noble had sensed earlier had been more than just waiting for their mark; it had to do with the entire situation.
Noble was momentarily distracted by the turn of events, but not enough to miss her cue. She flooded her golden bracelets with essence to obscure her presence and slipped out the back door just as the pedestrians crossed in front of it.
Noble held her breath and kept her heart rate steady even as the people walking made room for the newcomer. She was careful not to crowd them with a relaxed smile like she had been there all along.
The emotions of the two lookouts did not spike at her appearance. And now Noble could clearly hear the argument in its full glory.
"I don't see what the big deal is. I wanted a snack!"
"You snacking means endless minutes of chewing so loud that the dead gods can hear it. And worse," the woman brushed a speck from her cheek, "You talk with your mouth full and get particles all over me!"
Noble could feel the heads of the other people turning as the volume behind her increased, but she continued casually onward as if it were none of her business.
'I don't even want to know how long that lady had been holding in her complaint!'
The floating Saint shook her head slightly. She took a sharp right at the next intersection, and when she was sure no one was following her, Noble quickened her pace.
Her mind focused on locating Rain, and the familiar pull toward her loved one took hold.
'There better be a good explanation for all of this.' Noble hid her worry in her frustration.
At least Rain still seemed calm, if not a little sad. She would certainly be less tranquil when Noble arrived.
Reaching the city wall, Noble furrowed her brow. If only she still had the portcullis key, her fear would be more than enough for her to phase through the stones!
Instead, she let a little trail of sparks form beside her. The buildings on this side of the wall were crowded and tall compared to other parts of the city. Noble could get most of the way to the top before being spotted from a distance.
But she didn't want to be spotted at all.
The sparks never fully materialized, yet Noble could hear the soft buzzing sound of their owner.
'Operation Buzzkill—go!'
Nectar moved up and down in what the professor could only assume was a nod and sped up the wall. Noble followed her as far as the tallest rooftop and then paused in the shadow below one of the wall's parapets.
Nectar went on, and Noble monitored her through their shared senses.
Only one Awakened was watching this particular stretch of the wall. He was looking outward, completely oblivious to anything going on inside the city. People were allowed to leave as they pleased, so why should he care what they were doing if they stayed? His job was to keep out monsters, not police the streets.
Leaning on the wall, he took a bite of fruit that had been bought from a merchant that morning. The fruit was sweet, but the man frowned. He waved his hand around his head to ward off the high-pitched buzz.
"Not more fruit flies! Of all the things to make it through the gateway into the Dream Realm…" the guard let out a string of curses, swatting feverishly at the air.
Only, what if it wasn't a mundane fly? What if it were one of those Nightmare Creatures who could lay eggs in his ear and make him their host!
The man's swatting became more feverish as he spun about to locate the source. Unfortunately, no matter which way he went, the buzz was always out of reach.
Harrowing moments passed as the man tried to save his fruit and himself from the most horrid beast he had ever encountered.
"Shoo, fly!" He screamed.
Then all at once, the buzzing stopped.
The guard froze, wondering if he had at last become the incubator for some hideous thing. But nothing happened. Finally, he relaxed.
"That's right, you better run…" he muttered triumphantly.
The man took a bite of fruit and continued on his walk along the wall, turning back only after a feminine form had disappeared across the horizon.