Sunny winced, preparing for an explosion of emotion.
"Skinwalker vessels? Why, that's wonderful!" Noble felt her heart lighten as her body lifted an extra millimeter off the ground.
"Yes, though I don't think wonderful is the right term." The shadowy Saint wondered if Noble had hit her head on her way over.
The Skinwalker was hardly something to be relieved about, especially three vessels that were so close to Ravenheart. Sunny knew he was a bit crazy, but thinking that Skinwalkers were anything but terrible was insane even for him!
Noble shook her head. "Don't you see, if the people were already taken over by monsters, then it wasn't an act of treason! It was self-defense, and you helped to protect the Song Domain. "
Sunny wasn't a cold-blooded killer of emissaries. Not that Noble had ever truly thought that he was, but it was still nice to have the fact confirmed once and for all. This was a case of man versus monster, and thankfully, Sunny had been more than enough to finish off the wretched vessels and render them useless.
He was a hero.
"Ah, yes. Well, that much is true." Sunny conceded.
Child of Promise began to pace as she thought. "So, we can bring Rain home to explain what happened. She can tell them honestly about the Skinwalker, and Lady Seishan will understand that..."
"Seishan? What does she have to do with this?" The shadowy Saint's emotions spiked.
"The princess is the one who came to interview Fort and me." Noble paused and tilted her head.
"I see," Sunny unconsciously shivered. "That woman is something else..." he muttered more to himself than his companion.
Noble wasn't sure what to make of the comment. Obviously, the two knew each other. His discomfort at her mention suggested that much. Unfortunately, Noble didn't have time to delve into their sordid history.
"Perhaps she is," the professor shrugged, "but Lady Seishan was willing to hear Rain out. The princess is tenacious but reasonable. She said she will help Rain if she is innocent. This can all be fixed if we tell her."
"Tell her what exactly?" Sunny frowned. "That the representatives were taken by the Skinwalker, but the Saint in your daughter's shadow took care of the vessels for her?"
"It's the truth!" Noble countered.
"It will raise more questions than it answers!" Sunny took a deep breath. "I want to protect Rain, and I cannot reveal that version of myself without harming that goal. She would be put under scrutiny for hiding me, and you would be as well, since you knew. Even Fort will be investigated before it is through. Once they start digging, they won't stop. Are you comfortable with what they will find?"
"Fort…"
The ambassador and Lena had been working hard to slow the march toward war for years now. It was a small miracle that they hadn't been caught yet, though Noble suspected that Fort almost had been today.
Kai and Fort had panicked when Seishan arrived even before they knew it was about Rain. What else would two government agents want to hide but their blatant undermining of Clan Song's militant aspirations?
If the princess went back and took a closer look…
'Fort would lose his job, maybe even his life…'
While the government would defend Fort's actions, the ambassador lived in Ravenheart, and the Queen's word was final and inescapable. If Ki Song willed it, everything they own could be wiped out, and the rest of Noble's family could all be simultaneously thrown into their first Nightmare or worse! That simply could not happen.
Noble balled her fist. "Still, I can't just sit by and do nothing!"
"That's exactly what I'm asking you to do," Sunny took a small step back as Noble's temper finally flared. The world around them shifted as Sunny felt the pressure of her anger. His eyes opened wider. "Let me explain..."
The mother was no longer in the mood to listen. Sunny wanted her to turn her back on one of the people that she loved most in the world? No!
"I'm not going to abandon Rain! You can't keep her from me. I just need to talk to her and then…"
The handsome Saint shook his head. "You can't go."
Defiance danced in Noble's eyes. "Watch me!"
Noble floated higher from the ground to take off, but Sunny caught her arm.
"Wait!"
"I'm done waiting." Noble tried to shrug him off, but his grip tightened.
That didn't matter; she would cart him along with her the whole way if he wouldn't release her. She was pretty certain she could make it. If he wanted to be a human kite, so be it!
Her determination was absolute.
Noble sped off across the landscape, pulling her passenger with her. Only he didn't stumble as she expected. He sailed along beside her without issue.
Looking down, Noble realized the bottom half of him was in its incorporeal form. The rest of him could turn to shadow, too, for all she cared!
Did he really think that he could stop a mother from seeing her child, simply by holding on? He had another thing coming!
"I don't want to fight you, but you are making a grave mistake. Just stop and think for a second..."
Noble ignored him, wondering if she could somehow make his tunic heavy enough to throw him off balance and force him to let go. Unfortunately, she was strangely unable to enact her Weight of Doubt Ability on inky black fabric, either because it was part of the man who wore it, or it had no mass since it, too, was made of shadows.
Before she could figure out what it was, the shadow of the closest hill suddenly rose to meet her.
Noble summoned her Zenith, but it didn't come fast enough. The shadow enveloped her, wrapping around her middle and then tethering her to the ground like a link in a massive chain.
"Sunny!" Noble struggled against the chain as her sword continued to form.
Saint Sunless landed lightly on the ground.
"I know you are angry, both at me and the situation." Sunny looked up at the floating woman with a somber expression. "But take a moment and think about what you are about to do."
Noble railed against the shadow. Each time she pried herself out of one part, a new one came.
"What is there to think about? Give me one good reason," Noble grunted. "One good reason why I shouldn't see my daughter!"
Sunny gritted his teeth.
"The moment you see Rain, you can't go home. If you do, Clan Song will find out about the rendezvous. As soon as you are implicated, Fort will be by association. Then everything you have done so far will be for nothing. The only option will be for you to leave your loved ones behind. Are you willing to give up on protecting Fort and the boys for a conversation? To leave them without the woman who worked so hard in secret to shield them from the coming doom? Because that is what will happen."
"It's just a few words. I don't think…"
"You don't think it's as serious as that?" Sunny shook his head. "Those few words...the ones that you want to have so badly will make you just like Rain—a fugitive..."