"You work for King Thomas?!" Patton's eyes lit up at the revelation. "That's so cool! And convenient!" Patton turned to Roman. "Must have been easy for you to stop by at the castle if you needed to while delivering those letters, too!"

Virgil rubbed his hands on his face while Logan sighed, smirking to himself. Roman simply chuckled and shook his head. "Don't ever change, Patton."

"Huh?"

"Patton, Roman wasn't delivering letters to just anyone in the castle town for me," Patton turned to the nobleman as he spoke. "He was delivering letters to the king at the castle."

"Really?!" Patton's face lit up and he smiled back at Roman. "You've been to the castle? You've met the king?!"

"I really had nothing to worry about with you, huh?" Virgil mumbled to himself.

"King Thomas was the one to assign me as Lord of this region," Logan explained. "He had met my parents and I at an event held at the castle. My relationship with my parents is a bit unsteady, but King Thomas heard me out and gave me this position as a way to take care of myself and get some freedom. I am extremely grateful for it."

Patton felt the tension in the air after that. There was the obvious burning question staring him right in the face that Patton held back. What happened between him and his parents? Logan almost looked like he was waiting for it to be asked. "Oh, well, that was super nice of him! Do you like being a lord?"

Patton saw Virgil smile a bit and duck his head as Logan gave him a rather surprised look. "Oh, well, yes. It's nice to be able to hear the people out and give ideas to the king as to how I think things can improve. Thomas genuinely seems like he wants to help everyone, which is a bit silly. He's spreading himself too thin, but... It's nice to see someone who can help others actually try to."

"He sounds so sweet! I'd love to meet him someday!" The other three glanced at each other, an unspoken message passed between them.

"Well," Roman spoke up, standing from his spot under the tree. They had been meeting more and more, enjoying the weather whenever they could. "I'm not quite sure about that. I don't know when I'll ever bring another letter back to the castle, if ever! Anyway, I must be going."

"Me as well. There is paperwork to be done."

"I should patrol the grounds again anyway. It's been a few hours."

As they all stood up and headed back towards the house, Patton couldn't help but feel like they were hiding something from him. Or, at the very least, he said something he should not have and made it feel awkward that they all had to suddenly run off. While he did feel welcome, there were still times Patton was reminded that he was still an outsider to their tight knit family.

Deciding to let drop it and not be nosy, Patton stood up and wandered back to the garden nearby. Pestering them to talk about something they clearly didn't want to share was a bad idea. They let Patton into their home and gave him a chance at life he never really had before and he was trying his darndest to not ruin it, not that he was succeeding very well. Patton stared at the garden as he got close enough and let out a sigh. Some things were alive and thriving, but the other half was either not doing so well or a complete failure. Just because Patton understood some things about gardening did not qualify him to be able to run one by himself, and especially one this big! Emile, the previous gardener, had definitely left enough material that Patton was learning a lot. However, he struggled to read the books coherently enough due to his schooling being cut short. Patton was beginning to think it was all hopeless for him, but he had gotten this far! He wasn't about to just give up now that he had gotten this far!

Kneeling down to inspect the droopy seedlings that had started to sprout, Patton wondered if he should just ask for help and admit his shortcomings, but he really didn't want to disappoint Logan. And he certainly didn't want to get himself fired and kicked off of the property since he couldn't do his one and only job correctly! Not that he was entirely convinced that Logan would even do such a thing. They had bonded well over the past few weeks as the other two were usually busy running around. He did enjoy Logan's company and it was fun to watch the nobleman dance around his feelings for a certain knight.

Patton pulled a few weeds that were trying to encroach on his garden when he heard a heavy snap come from the nearby treeline. He stopped and stood up, covering his eyes from the sun to squint toward the forest. Iit had to have been a big twig to make a snap loud enough to get his attention. Patton hadn't seen too much wildlife try to come out to feed at his failing attempts to grow food. Usually the deer and squirrels would wait until he had gone inside before feasting away at his hard work. Luckily, Virgil had been a bit more vigilant about his patrols around the grounds. Before Patton had arrived, he was a bit more relaxed but something had happened that caused the guard to up his searches, not that Patton knew why that was.

So for an animal to be this close was a bit of a surprise. Patton gripped the wooden fence around the garden and jumped over it with ease. He approached the treeline while looking out for any other movement. "Virgil? Is that you already?" Another branch snapped and Patton could see a shape moving. "Virgil?"

The sight of a cloaked figure carefully emerging from the woods caused Patton to let out a shriek as he stepped back. "We meet again, Patton."

"Again?" Patton kept his distance as he examined the stranger. He placed a hand over his frantic heartbeat in a futile attempt to calm it down. "We've met before? I don't think I've ever met someone mysterious and... wait," Patton gaped a bit. "Are you the same person from the village? Who said they'd help me leave and go on an adventure?"

"I wanted you to realize your dream, Patton. Tell me, how did I do? Bringing someone to your family with heavily lined pockets and an idea."

"You... you're the one who told that family to ask my father to help with the house?" Patton smiled and felt his excitement bubble up inside him. "Yes, it was great! It worked perfectly! I had never seen my mother so excited, thank you!"

"Good. Now, have you kept your end of our deal?" The figure looked over Patton's shoulder to the house in the distance.

"My end?"

"You were to remain close to the messenger, Roman."

"Oh, right! Well, I um, sort of did?" Patton blushed and smiled a bit awkwardly. "We have gotten to know each other much better but I don't think we're that close, to be honest."

"No, I meant physically. Your emotional relationship is not my concern. Is the messenger nearby?"

"Oh... Oh, well, yeah. He is. Why?"

The figure nodded before looking away from the house. "And the package he delivered, it's here?"

"Package?" Patton frowned and thought back to the previous weeks he'd been living here. "Roman's brought a few things back since then, I guess."

"No, the package from the castle! The one he had when you met up with him and arrived here!"

"No," Patton shook his head, completely lost as to what the stranger was talking about. "He said he had a letter, not a package."

The figure groaned in frustration before angrily stepping closer, causing Patton to flinch back. "There was a package in his bag. It must be here! You are to locate it for me immediately!"

"W-what?! No way! I can't do that to them!" Patton shuffled away and glared at the figure. "Why do you even want it? Who are you?"

"That isn't of your concern. That package is important and I need it." They stepped closer and Patton bravely stood his ground. "I helped you, Patton. I helped you and your family so you could go run off without them."

"That's not fair, I-"

"What if that all went away?"

The words hit Patton as if it was a physical blow. He felt scared for the first time since leaving. He'd been running on adrenaline and guilt and excitement... but he had never stopped and thought about this figure and what they wanted. "What...?"

"Your family, Patton. Your darling mother who tries so hard. Your father who has settled back in taking over your chores and taking care of himself. Oh, and all those lovely little siblings of yours." Patton could hear the smirk in the mysterious figure's voice as his eyes widened with fear. "I gave that to you and I can take it away."

"No, no! You can't, that's not..." Patton shook his head, starting to fear the possibilities. What did this stranger even want from him? Why go through all this for some package? Patton gasped and began to notice his breathing had turned into shallow breaths as he tried to collect himself.

"I can and will, Patton, unless you go in there and give me what I want. I can even make a quick visit to Roman if your family isn't enough for you. I'd be sure to let him know it's your fault I had to stop by. Now, what shall it be? Your real family or this new one you're playing around with?"

Patton couldn't hide his panic as he held back his tears. "You can't, I don't... I can't do this. Please." Patton pleaded, grabbing the fabric of his shirt and bunching it in his hands. "Please, I, please... I can't."

"I will be back tomorrow night to collect. I expect to see you then."

The figure turned and walked back into the treeline, disappearing into the thick brush and trees before him. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, pleading for his heart to calm down and his tears to dry. What did they want? And what was he going to do? He wasn't even sure where to look! Unless...

"The third floor..."