All it would take was a little more time and a little more wine, and Milon knew he'd probably be getting some before the evening was done. Desktop or floor, it didn't matter -he could sense the lust in the air, and Milon was damned horny by this point in the game. The girl in question was one of the servants within The Guild, and Milon could not figure out how he had not noticed her before for the life of him. The young (and very leggy) blonde was currently sitting on his desk, a glass of wine in her hand and giggling nonstop -from his years of drunken debauchery, Milon knew that she was probably too drunk to remember her own name by this point. Which really wasn't that much of a problem, seeing as Milon didn't remember her name either...

Milon caught himself staring at what's-her-face's legs for about the thirtieth time that evening, absently wondering how they would look wrapped around his head. She had been talking nonstop for the past couple of minutes, and Milon took to only saying 'yeah' and nodding every once in a while. Of course, she really didn't seem to notice, and continued to yammer on. <Maybe she'll shut up after I lodge my tongue down her throat>, he thought hopefully. The girl had to have been fully aware of why she was in Milon's office -he did, after all, have his reputation. Patience, that was the name of the game at this point. But of course, patience wasn't part of Milon's nature.

And neither was being subtle for that matter, as was apparent when he put his hand on what's-her-face's long, goddess-like legs. She cast Milon a quick glance, smirked, and continued to talk as she began to rub her sandaled foot along his arm in a slow, rhythmic motion. That cinched it. The girl said something afterwards along the lines of "You're such a flirt" which Milon immediately interpreted as "I need a brand of loving that only you can deliver, screw me until you hear my mother screaming". Milon wasn't exactly sure as to what happened in the time immediately following her statement, but the next thing he knew, what's-her-face was lying on top his desk with her legs raised slightly, and he was working fiendishly at removing her skirt.

He had her top halfway over her head when he heard that god-awful noise coming from the halfway. It sounded as if someone was being killed right outside of his very door.

"Cripes, not now..."

He half debated ignoring it until he finished giving this girl the best two minutes of her life, but knew that it wouldn't be possible. Not that he was all that concerned with what was going on out there, but he knew that he's have a hard time concentrating on the task at hand.

Milon immediately jumped up. "Don't _move_," he breathlessly commanded as he snatched his rapier from the wall behind him, fully prepared to go out into the hallway and beat the fool out of whoever saw fit to disturb him and his piece. The girl stayed still on top of the desk, her green eyes wide with confusion as she pulled her top back down to cover her naked chest. Milon proceeded to throw his door open angrily, his rapier ready at his side.

Before he even had a chance to open his mouth, Milon suddenly had to duck in order to keep a flying sandal from colliding with his face. The deadly piece of footwear bounced off of his door loudly, convincing Milon that had it struck him, it probably would have delivered unto him a large, swollen eye and an even worse mood. Carefully looking up, he saw what had launched the black sandal at him.

Gagged, partially tied up, and held between Dunne and Thadeus was an extremely upset-looking dark haired young woman, kicking and thrashing about madly (and missing a sandal, Milon quickly observed). Thadeus was trying in vain to hold the woman's kicking legs, but seeing as the Imp was covered in bruises, it would be easily determined that he wasn't having the best of luck. Even with her mouth gagged, she was making more noise than a witch being burned alive.

"Who the hell is this?!," Milon finally shouted. Thadeus turned around to answer, but upon turning his attention away from the girl, she took the opportunity to deliver a swift kick to where no man, Human or Mystic, should be kicked. Thadeus immediately went down in a red-faced heap on the ground, forcing Dunne to work all the more hard to keep the girl restrained. He lifted her off the ground and turned her away from Thadeus, but she continued to kick her legs and fight.

"This is that Lily girl!," Dunne hastily managed to explain. "We found her!"

Milon shook his head. "If she was making this much noise in the streets, then you've probably also got the attention of half of Brightsand..."

"Oh no boss, Reuben knocked her out!," Dunne quickly explained. "But then, she woke up and, well..."

Milon was pleased at the response, but was still a little disturbed that this 'relatively harmless' girl was causing such a ruckus. He helped Thadeus back to his feet, who tried to put as much distance between him and the girl as possible, before being forced back into place by the harsh glare of his boss.

"Hey!" Noticing that the girl paid him no mind, Milon then motioned for Dunne to spin her in his direction. He did so, and Milon made it top priority to keep his distance from the girl's short, but nonetheless dangerous flailing legs. "HEY!," he shouted again. This time Lily stopped, and gave Milon a look that seemed to convey the message of 'I hope you die horribly, you miserable prick' quite well. "You have a choice here, girl," Milon simply stated. "Either you shut the hell up, or we'll give you something to scream about. Understand?"

Obviously this girl had been having a very bad day, because even with her mouth gagged, Milon could easily make out what she thought Milon should go do to himself. She did, however, shut up.

Milon nodded. "Smart girl." He then turned to Thadeus and Dunne. "Normally, I'd tell you to take her to one of the cells, but since she's going to be a good girl, give her one of the guest rooms." He turned his attention back to Lily. "Of course, if you start making that ruckus again, I'm sending someone in there to kick your cute little ass all up and down this Guildhouse, so don't test me."

Lily didn't make any noise in protest and just stood silently. Her eyes weren't focused on Milon like they were earlier; in fact, she didn't look like they was focused on anything. She just stood there, her breaths slow and steady. Lily suddenly retched, then again, but more violently. A stifled cough could be heard through the gag, followed by several others. Milon cursed loudly when he saw Lily look back up as he frantically reached for to untie the gag covering her mouth as Dunne immediately let go of her arms. He and Thadeus didn't quite know what to expect, but as soon as the gag was removed, Lily coughed loudly once again, immediately bringing her hands over her mouth. Even with that motion, she couldn't conceal all of the blood she had just coughed up.

Milon suddenly reached out and grabbed Thadeus (who happened to be the closest) by the neck. "I specifically said not to harm her!," he shouted. "What part of that did you not understand?!"

"We didn't do anything to her, I swear!," Thadeus hastily explained. "She ran, we chased her, that's it!"

Their argument was suddenly cut off by the loud thud of Lily's unconscious body falling to the ground at Dunne's feet. Milon cursed again. "Pick her up!," he shouted to no one in particular, to which Thadeus did so.

The door to Milon's office slowly slid open as what's-her-face's head slowly peered out from within, obviously curious as to what was causing so much noise. Upon seeing an unconscious and bleeding girl in the arms of a green skinned imp with Milon and some other guy standing around, she immediately screamed and took off running down the opposite direction of the hallway. Milon didn't even try and stop her. He was in no mood to at this point.

"Get her into one of these rooms, and get someone who knows what the hell they're doing in there to make sure she's ok..." Milon's voice was calm and cool, but there was a definite edge to it. "If this girl dies, then I'd suggest you leave Brightsand before I find out."

* * * * * * *

Lily woke up suddenly and with a loud gasp, immediately sitting up in a bed she had no idea how she ended up in. Her head throbbed painfully, and she had a horrible taste in her mouth. Clutching the corner of her blanket, her eyes began to focus enough for her to see where she was.

The room itself was dimly lit by several candles, lightly illuminating the majority of the room. Her surroundings were sparsely decorated, but tastefully so. There was a single window across from her; it was dark outside, but even then she could tell that the glass itself was tinted slightly. Her belongings rested in a neat bundle on top of a dresser against the wall. There was also a large wooden door along the same wall, presumably locked.

"What... happened?," she absently wondered outloud.

She really didn't expect a response, and jumped noticeably when it came. "You passed out," a man's voice answered. Lily slowly gazed towards the darkened corner near the door, from which the voice came as far as she could tell. She didn't catch sight of him after her initial search, but standing in the shadows was a figure, presumably the disembodied voice. It took two slow and deliberate steps forward, revealing it to be a man. He was tall and slenderly built, seemingly a part of the shadows because of his dark outfit. His hair was cut neatly and close to his head, as was his goatee and mustache. "I didn't mean to startle you," he offered as an apology.

Lily rubbed her temples slowly in an attempt to alleviate her headache. "I passed out?," she repeated.

"You did. After coughing up a disturbing amount of blood, I might add."

Lily stopped rubbing for a moment, holding her head in her hands. She remembered that part vaguely... she was tied and gagged, and then it started... she tried to cough, but couldn't... The man seemed to be anticipating her next question.

"From what I heard, you passed out earlier this evening. I showed up right after it happened, and from what I could gather from my nervous associates, you weren't breathing..."

The man paused as he saw Lily sit up a little more upon hearing of her previous condition. It took her a moment, but after a few seconds she was able to look at the stranger. "And then?," she weakly managed to ask.

"You were choking on your own blood," he simply stated. He paused again as he felt her gaze fall away from him, her face slipping back into the shelter of her hands. "I performed some breathing techniques on you, and was able to get the blood out of your lungs."

He paused again as he saw Lily slowly turning around to face him. "You saved my life..." She was noticeably paler than before, and trembled slightly. Her eyes wet with tears (of fear, gratitude, she couldn't tell), she managed a breathless "Thank you".

The man was silent for a moment. "You're welcomed," he eventually answered. There was an awkward silence immediately following. The man stood and watched Lily sit in the bed, her head in her hands once again. "We're a little concerned about your condition," the man finally remarked, breaking the tense silence. "Do you know what's wrong with you? If we had some idea, maybe we could help you..."

"The running... must have triggered something..." She slowly turned towards the man. "I'm fine, really," she responded, shaking her head.

The man nodded slowly. "I see." He turned towards the door and cast a quick glance over his shoulder. "I'll leave you to finish resting now," he closed with.

"Wait."

The man paused. "Yes?"

Lily looked up. "Who are you?" She sat up a little more. "And why am I here?"

The man paused for another moment. "Reuben," he answered. "My name is Reuben." He reached for the doorknob. "And as for why you're here, I can only assure you that your life is not in danger by our hands." With that, the stranger stepped out into the hallway, lightly closing the door behind him. There were a few clicks outside of the door, and Lily rightly assumed that she was locked inside.

Not having much to go on, she decided that returning to sleep was probably her best, and only, option at this time. She slumped back into bed and slowly pulled the covers over her head. As she closed her eyes, she quietly prayed that it was all a bad dream, and that she would wake up back home, and all would be well. A lone tear ran down her cheek -she knew that it wouldn't happen like that. She had been through so much, and Lily knew that it was all very real.

Sleep soon came to the young lady, and eventually overtook her. It might have been a blessing to her tortured mind and body, but because of it, she was not conscious when the pendant around her neck reacted, ever so slightly...

* * * * * * *

It was a silent evening around the Guildhouse, and Milon for once, did not mind. Things had been a little too hectic lately -he honestly believed that the powers that be waited until his father and Omar were both out of town to let all sorts of hell break loose. Ever since the Tailor's Guildhouse went up in an explosion several days prior, he made it a point to step up security two-fold. He had no idea what that bomb was all about, and for that matter, who would want to blow up the _Tailor's_ Guildhouse... probably some lunatic, or some fruit that they refused to make a dress for.

Regardless, Milon wasn't about to get blown apart for whatever reason, and made sure that the Guildhouse was protected 24 hours a day. He was hasty, true, but that didn't make him stupid.

Milon sat silently at his desk, silently mulling over the days events as he reached for the two letters that had just been dropped off by two different couriers, literally minutes apart from one another. The first he had recognized -it was one of his father's messengers, which made that particular letter of a top priority. The second courier he did not recognize in the least -it was an Imp, dressed in head to toe in black, who was in and out of his office before Milon could even say anything. He also though it was odd that the courier would deliver the letter to him personally -usually, one of his guards would have caught sight of the guy beforehand and either asked what was his business, or kill him for trespassing. Either way, he should not have made it to his office.

Milon made a mental note to have security stepped up once again.

He silently unfolded the first scroll, the one from his father.

'Milon -It would appear that the business Omar and I have here will not be completed as early as we had both anticipated. And since neither Omar, nor myself, can leave at this point, I am forced to leave all Guild matters in your hands for the time being. This is not a license for you to start acting like a fool in my absence. Continue to conduct yourself in the appropriate matter, and do nothing that would bring disgrace to our Guild, or to myself. We shall be returning to Brightsand as soon as things are settled here, but that may not be for some time. I will be sending word to you once we know for sure our date of departure, so that you may have ample time to correct anything that may have fallen out of order within The Guild in our absence.'

To the point and distrustful as always, Milon thought with a smirk. "Hot damn," he remarked to himself. "I'm still the man here." Power did have its good points, even though it was a bitch to wield at times. Besides, this extended period of time was all he needed to prove that he was capable of running things around there. If nothing else, it could probably help him get laid.

He reached for the second scroll, and after determining that it was not a bomb or trap, he slowly slid the ribbon off and began to unroll it. He paused for but a second, but upon realizing what he was looking at, he immediately unrolled it fully. A noticeable gasp escaped his lips as his eyes shot open wide.

"Whoo boy..."

Milon immediately stood to his feet and began pacing about the office, scroll still in hand. "Crap," he mumbled. His pacing picked up in speed. "Crap crap crap crap crap..." Milon took a deep breath in an effort to relax. It didn't help much, but it calmed him down long enough to start thinking again.

He wasn't expecting that letter in the least -for a split second, he wished his father was back home so that he could deal with this. He had been hearing for years that the day may come where they received that letter, and here it was, in his hands, and during the time where his father or Omar was not around to handle it. Milon stopped pacing, and when he did, a realization came to him. This was his prime chance at proving himself; if he could handle this, then surely even his father would have to acknowledge his competence. A wicked smile slowly worked across his face -whoever said that he wasn't ambitious would soon see that they were terribly mistaken.

"HEC-TOR!"

Milon had no idea how his messenger was always within ear-shot, but whenever he called his name, it would only be a matter of seconds before he showed up. And this was no exception, for as soon as he called his name, a figure slowly began to materialize within his office. A dark haired man dressed in red and blue soon appeared, bowing slightly. Hector didn't say much, but was one of the most reliable people Milon had ever come in contact with.

"Go and find Seth, Lexa, Landra, Mongo, Reuben, and Lamiki, and tell them to meet me here in an hour. That should give them ample time to finish whatever business they have going on." He thought for a second. "Oh, and if they ask what it's in regards to..." He left the sentence hanging, finishing the thought by showing Hector the letter in his hands. The messenger's eyes widened slightly before he bowed and vanished from the room.

The Imp's presence now made more sense in Milon's mind. He casually glanced back at the letter in his hands, slowly working his way back to his desk. Written on the letter wasn't an elaborate explanation of what was going on. There wasn't a single word on it, but in the center of the page was a black symbol -kanji. Milon had no idea what it actually translated to, if anything. He only knew that if they had received it, it meant that something wasn't quite in order, and that The Guild was expected to assist in any way possible.

"Takamoto..." Milon shook his head. "Why now?"

* * * * * * *