"Blame me," Chip whispered, pulling Noble from her racing thoughts.
"What?"
The reptilian Saint looked at her quite seriously. "Whatever the problem is, blame it on me. Valor's too busy to bother looking for me in the wilderness."
"Be careful, or I might take you up on that!" Noble narrowed her gaze. "Now shoo! Before Const hears you!"
Abandoning the tray, the provost gently took the man's elbow and guided him away from the door.
"A person with less self-confidence would think you were trying to get rid of them." Chip chuckled. "Good luck, Noble!"
Noble's arm passed through empty space as Chip blinked out of existence and returned to the Dream Realm. Stopping mid-stride, the provost retrieved the floating tray before making her way to the door.
Const stood expectantly in the special hallway connecting the office to the back door of the provost's living quarters.
"Sorry for the wait." Noble held up the tray as an excuse. I'm ready now. Well, as ready as I am going to be." The provost swallowed. "Did, uh, Lady Nephis mention what this was about?"
The passageway between the buildings was significant, but Noble could not discount that Changing Star might be able to hear them.
"She did not, ma'am." Const took the tray from Noble's hands and followed behind her as she strode forward at a measured pace. Thankfully, her feet were not touching the ground, because the Provost wasn't sure if her knees would hold her.
At the end of the passage, Const took the door that led around to the reception room while Noble placed her hand on the doorknob to her office. Forcing a smile that she hoped didn't look wary onto her face, the provost opened the door.
A stunning woman with silver hair sat in the chair opposite the desk. Noble had expected to see Nephis fresh from the battle wearing her armor, but the Princess of Valor was dressed in a soft grey suit, looking more like a businesswoman than an elite fighter.
Her calm expression was offset by the flicker in her eyes. No one except Noble would have ever guessed that a torrent of emotion surrounded that stoic beauty.
"Lady Nephis! I am Provost Noble. I am sorry to have kept you waiting." Noble dipped her head as she hurried into the room.
The Princess of Valor stood and held out her hand. "It is good to see you again."
Noble furrowed her brow. 'Again?'
They hadn't spoken before, had they?
Noble remembered seeing Changing Star in the audience for the awards ceremony just after the solstice. That was most likely the reference.
Hopefully Nephis hadn't noticed Noble at the assassination attempt. That would be awkward.
A small part of Noble worried that Nephis had found out that the provost had information about that terrible event, but if that were true, Changing Star would have come to her much sooner, wouldn't she?
'I'm being paranoid...'
Nephis did not elaborate on the nature of their acquaintance, and Noble decided it was best to move on.
"I did not expect to see you here with all that is going on. To what do I owe this visit?" Noble motioned for her guest to take a seat.
Nephis was a terrifying Saint, and not having her in the midst of the fighting would have been a significant loss for those around her. Noble was afraid to find out what could have pulled her from a battlefield.
"The news of Awakened Err has reached Lord Anvil." Nephis's words hung in the air for a moment.
It had taken time for the angry young man to get anchored to Bastion. Noble had contacted the government, which eventually caught Effie in an off moment to transfer him. From there, Noble guessed that getting information from a petty Awakened, even if he was a distant family member of the sovereign, all the way to the battlefield and before Lord Anvil's notice had taken considerable time.
"That was a regrettable development. I hope you will believe me that I was as shocked as you." Noble didn't have to fake her emotions because she wasn't lying.
The young man who should not have been transferred for awakening had been next door to the legacy. Noble had panicked in the morning when she had found out. Now she felt herself panicking all over again.
"You have my humblest apologies. I know there is no taking back the opportunity to experience his first solstice, but if there is anything the Academy can do..."
"This isn't an isolated incident." The flame in Changing Star's eyes grew stronger.
"Lady Nephis, I am not sure what was conveyed to you, but…" Noble paused as the princess of Valor lifted a finger.
"I have looked into the matter personally. You have an epidemic of Sleepers Awakening in the middle of the night."
Nephis eyed the Provost carefully.
Resisting the urge to gulp, Noble somehow managed to maintain her polite grin.
"I wouldn't exactly call it an epidemic."
"Over a dozen of your students have been impacted. At what number are you comfortable calling it that?" Nephis raised one eyebrow slightly.
Noble had just gotten Mori off her case that morning. It had been a profound relief to have the head of security agree not to pursue the strange late-night happenings that were wholly due to Child of Promise's meddling.
But Noble had gotten herself out of the frying pan and into the fire.
That fire was the flame in Changing Star's eyes.
"Ah, I suppose when you put it that way, it can seem like quite a problem, but I assure you—"
"I also noticed that all of these people that have been clandestinely moved between Realms have gone to Ravenheart." Nephis tilted her head.
"That is not entirely accurate." Noble hedged. 'Three of them were dumped in the wilderness of the Song Domain just this morning.'
Would that help or hurt her case? Noble wasn't sure, but she doubted it would add anything in her favor. None of the people who had been "promoted" had been sent to the Sword Domain on their first trip for one simple reason—neither Noble nor Chip lived there.
Unfortunately, Lady Nephis was not privy to that information. To her, it probably looked like a nefarious plot to get all the newest recruits to join Song.
Coupled with the fact that Noble now had many additional Song sisters under her care, the optics were not good.
"Provost Noble, you have a huge problem on your hands." Neph shook her head slightly. "These strange happenings cannot continue."
"I can explain!" Noble blurted.
Could she? Not without bringing a lot of trouble on her own head. Ah, why didn't she just keep her mouth shut? Almost anything she said now would either be a lie or misdirection, and Lady Nephis did not seem like the kind of person who would take kindly to anything but the whole, unaltered truth.
"You don't need to. I know exactly what is going on." Nephis's words threw off any explanation Noble was about to provide.
"You do?" The provost prepared to switch gears. "I'm so sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" Changing Star's emotions shifted in confusion before settling as she realized what had occurred. "I'm not here to punish you, Provost. I'm here to help."