Sophia's hand reached out in the dark, finding the edge of the table on which she had placed her belongings. She felt around for a moment, eventually finding the wine bottle. She uncorked it and took a long drink, straight from the bottle. It wasn't an action befitting of a princess, but at this point she didn't care. She took one more drink before recorking the bottle and placing it clumsily back onto the table. She laid back onto the bed, her eyes piercing through to the ceiling. She could feel the wine taking effect, but still she couldn't sleep. "I used to think things like this only happened in stories. But... that thing we saw... Gareth, I've never been that scared before." Her voice was scarcely more than a whisper, but every bit of fear in her mind was conveyed through it. Taggerung. That name, that face, that thing would haunt her for the rest of her life.

 The cloaked figure shook his head. "What attacked you?" Eva's eyes fell to the floor. "They call it Taggerung, or Cain. It's... not human, strictly speaking." The masked man stared at her for a moment. "Eva, you know we can't interfere publicly, for us to just march into the palace... it'd be an act of war, they'd hang us all as spies." Eva's fist clenched at her side. "Then come up with something, find a way to justify you all being here. Don't act like that's not possible. You and I both know that Tosli could forge a royal decree with ease." Haeryn took another step forward. "Do you have any clue what the Empress would do if she knew her word had been forged?" Eva glared up at the man. "Not nearly as much as she'd do if her own flesh and blood perished due to your refusal to act." For a moment, the two stood in silence, their eyes locked. "I'll report back to Celeste, and she'll decide what needs to be done, but acting rashly in such a situation is dangerous." Eva looked to the floor. "Oh, and one more thing... who is the boy with you, and how much does he know?" Eva looked up, wide eyed. "His name is Gareth Harker. He knows very little about exactly what's going on, and he risked his life to save the Princess. There's no need to do anything about him." The masked man's eyes flashed beneath his mask. "Very well then, goodbye Stonewater, until we meet again." The man walked down the hallway, fading into the dark.