"So, what brings you here?"

It was in the back room. Hundreds of containers and cabinets, piles of papers and files, were only half organised in the shelves and desks. In the center of the room, an oak table had two plates with bread and chicken. Steam rose as Daisuke poured green tea into a cream colored teacup.

Felicity was slouched back in her chair. Her jacket was hung on the back of the chair, her arms now exposed only as much as the half burnt bandages allowed. The girl seemed tired and heavy with somber emotions. Yet, within her darker green eyes, slits of a suppressed rage were barely noticeable.

She watched as Daisuke lifted the teapot and placed it at the table's center. He then sat down across from her. He picked up his silverware and began to cut his roasted chicken.

The girl closed her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. "I came to this town and discovered that your own family had set up a business as alchemists and medical doctors. By chance, maybe you were here."

"Yes," Daisuke put down his knife and fork. He reached for his own cup of tea. As he brought the hot beverage to his lips, he spoke, "But how did you come here? Where is your mentor?"

He took a small sip of tea. As he put the cup down, he saw a great amount of twisting thoughts race through her mind. Her expressions changed rapidly as events long past transpired in her mind. Finally, she leaned closer to the table. She rested her arms against the edge, resting her chin between them.

"I finally came to my senses and left her..."

Bitterness. A dark bitterness made up of unhealed wounds screamed through her small voice. Daisuke felt himself briefly lose his own sense of balance. He saw a war he had not heard of had transpired. Did his old friend really... become a monster?

"Then the rumors of an 'Executioner of the Wicked' are true-"

He was completely caught off gaurd when she raised a tightened fist. She brought it down against the table in a bought of brief rage. The plates shook, liquid sloshed from the teacups. Her face then transformed into one of an ocean of agony.

"Yes..."

Daisuke had to remain silent for the moment. Ashla Icebreaker had really changed for the worst. He closed his eyes as the realisation washed across him. Meanwhile, Felicity wallowed in her past year of sufferings...