Ghent tilted his head back, stunned that the spell had produced something so akin to the fireworks on Earth. The sight was nostalgic somehow, enough to earn the smallest hint of a smile from him. He turned to see what his companions thought of his work, but his relief was quickly doused by dread. Drust and Elayra were furious.
	Ghent gulped. He eyed Elayra like a dog waiting to be scolded. He was certain that she would be the first to address his latest failure, and he was right.
	[b]'How stupid are you?'[/b] Ghent's mouth twisted into a grimace. His own retort caught in his throat when she pointed her sword at his chest, the tip mere inches from his flesh. "The pants wouldn't..." he wanted to point out that the pants wouldn't have fit him, but Drust's voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter.
	[i]He's losing it.[/i] Ghent exhaled. Unwilling to contribute further to Drust's mental decline, he did his part by quickly shutting up. He avoided eye contact as Elayra took the reigns, unsure how to feel about the princess coming to his aid yet again.
	Ghent tensed as Drust took a knee. The sight of the man battling his demons was a terrifying thing. It was even more terrifying not knowing if -- or when -- he would lose that battle. 
	"Should we..." Ghent trailed off, his voice no more than a whisper. Something about this time was worse than times before. Much worse. He looked to Elayra for help, as he had no experience with appeasing the man. 
	Rather than pose a solution, Elayra motioned for Ghent to return to their belongings. A nagging sense of self-preservation told Ghent to follow the order, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her with the madman.
	"Elayra," Ghent whispered again, mindful of his volume. "Drust...he needs his space, you should listen to what he..."
	Too late. Elayra's decision to stay backfired.
	Ghent recoiled as Drust jumped to his feet. The Knight dropped his sword, but that brought Ghent no comfort. Drust was deadly even without a weapon, and now he had Elayra by the collar.
	"Elayra!" Ghent forced himself to run toward them. He was seconds away from intervening, but Drust acted first. The Knight tossed Elayra away from him, as if ridding himself of the temptation to commit murder.
	Ghent never broke his stride. The scene had changed, but his mission had not. He hurried over to Elayra, stooped, and grabbed her by her upper arms. Once he pulled the princess to her feet, he released one of her arms, and tugged her along with the other. He shot her a warning look, his expression tight and unusually serious.
	"Shut up before yourself killed," he hissed, "okay?"