[center][h3][color=a0410d]Audrey Springer[/color][/h3][/center][hr]

[b]"And now that all is clear, your friend's anger is more than justified. You have my apologies, young mistress, for all of this is peculiar and I did not think anything out of the ordinary until now. I will take it upon myself the task of searching for your matching bell, should the princess not have any insights."[/b]

Audrey bore the criticism of her friends with her arms crossed, and her newly splotched face set. It wasn't until Eckehart himself finally seemed to grasp the situation that she loosened up, dropping one hand to her hip, and lifting her other in a "there you go" gesture. 

[color=a0410d]"Yes! Thank you! But there's something else; this sealing ceremony is like a yearly thing. We ring the bell once a year, but this is the first time this has happened, right? "[/color] she looked around at the group at large, as if one of them would suddenly announce that their uncle came here every year and brought them souvenirs. 

Eckehart's genuine concern and confusion went a long way toward easing her anger, at least towards him. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like something nefarious definitely [i]was[/i] going on. 

[color=a0410d]"So it sounds like the matching bell is missing, and that that's weird. But it also seems like something had to be done on [i]this[/i] end for the bell to even work, yeah? Like, I dunno, they have to be rung at the same time or something? Look, I'm gonna go along, we'll talk to the princess. But it sounds like [i]someone[/i] did this to us on purpose, and if I find out it was her... Well, she's not gonna make friends that way."[/color]