Watch & Sword: The Watch-Hand Stops

"No!" Zooey stamped her foot on the ground, a small dust cloud emitting from the impact.

"Sophia..." Luca was shaking.

"What!?" Zooey was in disbelief. "There had to be people here, she wouldn't just go with them! Why didn't anyone help her?! Why didn't anyone help?!"

"They don't care." Luca sniffled back the tears, "we're nothing to them."

"They probably watched the spectacle and laughed! A good evening show for them! Damn them!"

"Alexandra," Luca tugged on her sleeve, "what, what do you think is happening to her, do you think..."

"No, and don't you think about it either," she said firmly. "Sophia's all right, I just know it. She's just waiting for us to come get her."

"We can't go in there," Zooey was now peering at the darkness down the alley, "you know where that leads. We'll never get out again."

It took a whole lot to make Zooey hesitate.

"We have to try!" Luca was shoving back his own fear and was trying to be as determined as he humanly could.

"They'll take us too! The creatures that live in there!" Zooey never showed her fear of anything, but the Dark District and the evil people that lived there is the one thing in her life she was deathly afraid of.

"She's got no one else but us," Alexandra too was trying to fight a rising feeling of fear, "she's in there all alone and we're the only people who care."

"There are soldiers nearby," Zooey looked around desperately for any alternative plan, "maybe they can..."

"They won't." Alexandra wasn't taking her eyes off of the alley, "they'd just be happy another one of us is out of their sigh.t"

Luca nodded, "Alexandra's right, there's no one who would lift a finger. It's up to us to rescue her from whatever put they've dragged her down into."

"But...we won't get out," whispered Zooey, her voice trembling.

"And neither will she if we don't try."

The truth in Alexandra's word shamed Zooey. She was afraid of things in her life but she always projected the tough image and overcame her fears through sheer force of will. The Dark District is the one place she had trained herself to fear, to avoid, to wish away from her dreams. Now they were intending to walk straight, just as the sun was going down. It sounded like the worst possible plan, but it was the only one they had. Sophia could not wait, and no help was coming. Even during the day, the Dark District was an evil place, at night it was unimaginable. Zooey swallowed, hoping her fear went down with her saliva.

"Right, OK." She pulled her blade, "let's not stand around waiting, we need to make suire Sophia's home for dinner"

"She'll be so happy to see we have milk," Luca was trying to pretend that Sophia was all right and nothing bad was being done to her at that very moment. "She won't know what to say."

"She'll share hers and make sure we have enough, goody-two-shoes," Zooey's usual swagger was back, albeit mostly forced.

"Everyone stay close," Alexandra picked up a piece of metal debris lying on the street, wiping the accumulated dirt from it, "this is going to be rough."

Alexandra in front, Zooey right behind her, and then Luca bringing up the rear, they began cautiously down the alleyway towards the dark. The further and further they went down the path, the more oppressive it felt. The streetlights becoming an infrequent sight while the sounds of the city behind died away to only be replaced by worse. Instead of the usual activity of the city, such as the sounds of carriages, people happily chatting, or even the typical night sounds of the slums, it was all different in the Dark District. Machines clanked away from the dark recesses of lost streets and blackened buildings, their purposes unknown. Luca and Zooey walked in closer to Alexandra, occasional screams piercing the night air, sending cold shivers down their collective spines.

Their eyes slowly adjusted to the lower light levels, even the stars in the partially-cloudy skies above seemed remiss in sending their light to such a place as this. Red lights from dilapidated third-story windows glared down on the broken streets, bonfires dotting the side streets with shadowy figures around them and just inside the darkened windows all around.

The Dark District was certainly not abandoned, it was a very active place. All the activity however was criminal in nature, things better left hidden and kept out of the light of day. Shops were open on the sides of the streets as the three of them huddled close, stolen and illegal wares on offer. Smoke rose from chimneys and other small smokestacks dotting the immediate horizon. Standing in the middle of the street, Alexandra with her two-foot metal pipe before her, Zooey's blade drawn close, and Luca with his knife ready to swing, stood and surveyed the Dark District for the first time. They had seen it at a distance, a mass of coal-stained buildings and fog; it was a place so close to their home but a place they had never even seen with their own eyes. Despite not being attacked as soon as they entered as they were kind of expecting, they stood ready to fight anything that came close.

People crossed along both sides of the streets, men and woman, faces unseen in the night going about their hidden business. Occasional sword hits were heard ringing out of the maze of back alleys but no one came up and challenged them. They saw what look like a tavern, the sign out front half-missing and faded, but people were constantly going in and others stumbling out obviously drunk. It surprised them, this place acted like its own self-contained world totally away from the eyes and knowledge of the city that surrounded it on all sides.

"Well, we're not dead yet," Zooey tried to find a bright spot.

"I can't believe this place," Luca said amazed, "all the business, all the people. I can't believe all this goes on in here."

"Evil people are a world to themselves." Alexandra knew they were still in danger, anything could happen at any moment. "Makes sense for them to have their own mini-city in which to do it."

"I can barely see the stacks from Coal City," Zooey pointed at the sky in front of them, "all these buildings are obscuring them. It's like the rest of the city doesn't even exist from here!"

"Just remember how easy it is to get 'lost' in here, we need to make sure we know how to get out of this District once we find Sophia."

"Look at this!" Luca had wandered over to a storefront on the right side of the road.

"Luca!" Alexandra hurried to him, nervously glancing around lest they be accosted from the shadows that lingered all around..

"Don't step away from us!" Zooey scolded him, coming up to the storefront in a flash.

"I'm sorry," he knew he had messed up. "But look at all these things this store is selling. There's nothing like these in the Market District!"

Luca was correct in his assessment of the store's wares, items the like of which they had never seen before. Clothing risqué enough to make all three of them blush, nasty-looking swords, poison vials, and other assorted items. He picked up one such item that appeared to be a small tube eight inches in length with a single button where the holder's hand rests.

"Careful with that!" a gravel-course voice called out from the back of the shop.

"Who's there!" Zooey's blade was up in an instant.

"The proprietor of course! Put your weapon away, I'm too old to try anything with you lovelies," the man limped to front of the store, scars on his face with more than a few teeth missing from his toothy grin.

"What is it?" Luca worked up the courage to ask, his curiosity getting the better of his fear.

"It's a whip," cackled the shopkeeper, "go on, press the button."

Luca thought about it for a moment, pointed the tube away from everyone and pressed the button. A small puff of steam shot out the back end while suddenly, almost too fast for the eye to see, a piece of rope flung out of the opposite end. It reached ten feet, maybe more before flying backwards into the tube like it had never happened. Luca stumbled back, surprised at what had just happened. He quickly replaced the item on the display.

"It's a wicked thing. I'm not surprised to find it here though." Alexandra did not like it one bit.

"It's not from here," the man laughed, "no, not by a long shot"

"Where would such a horrible thing come from?" Zooey had never seen the like.

"He he, got that from an inside job you know. Just cause I'm from the Dark District doesn't mean I don't have friends, patrons in lighter and higher places. Well, some of these friends might work in the College and some early production models missed being shipped out...made their way down here to some of us fine retailers. "

"Are you telling me this came from the College?!" Alexandra didn't believe it.

The College was a venerable institution of Prydain, a gathering place of the greatest minds and inventors of the nation. They were charged with improving the lives of the citizens through research and inventions, to explore the unknowns of the world. To walk the halls of the College was to be experience the cutting edge of knowledge and technology.

"Not like we see any of that," Zooey interjected under her breath.

Alexandra brushed away the comment, "no one would let them make something like this! It's awful!"

"Believe what you want baby," the man scratched his patchy bread, "the fine minds up in the upper-class district made this painful piece of work. A lot of my great stuff 'finds' it's way here from the College," the man turned to the rest of the store and picked up another cylindrical object with holes on both ends.

"What's that?" Luca was morbidly curious.

"Say you have a prisoner, you put a finger of their hand in one hole," he turned the tube so they could see the opening, "and then a finger from their other hand in the other side. Once both are in, if they attempt to remove the fingers, blades slide down inside the tube and, well, chop chop."

"That's terrible!" Alexandra's nose crinkled.

"We're all low-life scum down here," the seller said rather introspectively yet proudly, "only bright minds up at the College could design such ingenious devices. Of course you won't see them in the fancy shops in the Market District, ordinary folks don't need to know their country is making these things. They just end up in the hands of the people they were made for, and us enterprising types who pass it on the discerning consumer."

Luca felt a rock in his gut. "Who are these made for?"

"Oh now, you can't expect me, a lowly Dark District store owner to know such secret things. I just pass along the items I, eh, 'acquire' on to these people who want them and can pay"

"Let's go Luca," Zooey pushed him gently away from the storefront.

"Now, what would you three be doing in these parts?" the merchant frowned, "I can tell you're not from around here: not completely covered in slime like the rest of us."

"Just visiting," Zooey tried to move them on, hoping to leave this whole instance behind as quickly as she could drag them along.

"We're looking for The Guilty Lady, the... gentleman's club," Alexandra answered honestly.

"Gentleman's club! Whooee!" the man almost fell down laughing, "of course I know what it is. It's just the biggest business here in this District. All roads here lead to there."

"Very philosophical," came the sarcastic crack from Zooey, her disgust of this man growing more with each word her spoke..

"It's in the center of the District. Now, why would such innocent creatures like yourselves be wanting to go there? Maybe you lookin' for work, or maybe you lookin' for some fun. Into some freaky stuff huh?" He licked his lips, looking all up and down Alexandra and Zooey. "You'll find it all there."

"And how might we get there?" Alexandra could tell that the man would tell them anything she asked, his mind was currently preoccupied with the most salacious of thoughts and was determined to take advantage of it.

Luca stepped forward, putting himself more in between the shopkeeper and the girls, he did not like anyone looking at them that way.

"Yeah, yeah," the shopkeeper motioned down a large street that the road they were on branched onto. "Just keep going there and you reach the center, The Guilty Lady."

"Thank you sir," Alexandra smiled at him and hurried her companions on.

"Have fun!" the man called after them as he leaned out of the shop window, "great view!"

"Disgusting old man," Zooey consciously pulled down the fabric she called a skirt down a little farther.

"At least he didn't attack us," Luca's knife was back in his hand.

"He was pretty helpful," Alexandra reminded them, "now at least we know where we're going."

"Did you hear what he said though?" Zooey was worried again, "the center? We're going into the heart of the Dark District. It might never let us back out again."

Zooey hoped that the action of walking hid how much her legs were shaking, her knuckles white as she gripped her dagger.

"I won't let anything bad happen," Luca resolved.

"Nothing bad will happen," Alexandra assured them, also herself. "So far we're doing okay. We've met a creepy yet helpful merchant and figured out where we need to go. If we just stay focused, we'll get through this and we'll have Sophia back with us soon."

"I wish I could think like you," Zooey's held the dagger out a bit in front of her, "it sure would be nice."

"I'm still scared," she admitted, "but I'm confident if we stay true to our course then we will succeed."

"Succeed at what?" challenged Zooey, her nerves frayed more than maybe she event realized. "Even if we get out of here, it's just back to the slums, back to hunger and begging!"

"We'll deal with those problems when we come to them, and we will overcome them because we'll be together."

"I'm with you Alexandra," Luca agreed.

"Outnumbered huh," Zooey took a deep breath, trying to get her head back in the game. "Okay, I'm with you guys then too."

"Glad to have you along," Luca glanced at her, ribbing her with his elbow

"Happy to be wanted," she flashed a reckless smile, adjusting the grip on her dagger.

"See," Alexandra was glad that everyone's spirits were back up albeit a little, "everything's going to be all right."

They continued their slow and guarded walk down the large street towards the center of the Dark District. There was great activity in the alleys and behind the soot-covered windows, nothing distinctive though. The same eerie sounds they were hearing earlier were only magnified the farther in they went. The streets were mostly bathed in red lights now, what could escape through the soot that seemed to cover everything.

They passed several more taverns, drunken bar fights seemed to be occurring in most of them. They passed several food stalls but dared not approach, the rotten smell coming from the food was enough for them to keep their distance. Once or twice people would come close but Zooey's blade kept them at a few paces. The buildings passing by on either side of the road grew darker and more imposing, they seemed to be built closer and closer together. A feeling of claustrophobia was quickly setting in.

Stepping gingerly to avoid foul-smelling puddles in the street among the old cobblestone, they had left the rest of the civilized city far behind. Compared to where they were now, the slums they had lived in seemed a veritable utopia. Zooey had never thought she would miss their one-room shack, but now that is the only place she wanted to be. She yearned for the familiar gangs and people of the slums, the familiar buildings, streets, and even the familiar dangers.

Alexandra was keenly aware of many eyes upon them from the shadows. "I think we're getting close."

"Why don't you think anyone's really bothered us?" Luca was puzzled, he thought for sure they would have been set upon by unscrupulous Dark District gangs by now.

"Because we're intimidating?" Zooey hoped that was the answer and nothing more.

"We're new," Alexandra had already worked it out, "they're seeing what we're doing here, trying to figure us out. The sooner we leave, the better."

As if to punctuate her theory, a shrill voice suddenly echoed all around them.

"You!"

All three raised their weapons and huddled back-to-back. Alexandra's eyes darted all around, shapes moved in the darkness that permeated everywhere here. She desperately searched for the source of the loud noise.

A large woman with bouncing curly hair came from the shadows, her many mis-matched petticoats fluttering all around her.

"C'mon!" she grabbed Alexandra by the hand before she could protest and dragged her back into the shadows on the side of the road in a small alley between two rotted houses.

"Let her go!" Zooey roared, blade raising as she rushed after them, Luca just a step behind.

Alexandra did not know what was happening, one moment she was in the street, the next she was next to a large woman and a man who was leaning against the stone wall.

"Let her go!" Zooey screamed again as she came careening into the small space, her blade pointed at the woman.

"I got this one!" Luca jumped in, holding his own knife towards the man.

For a moment, no one moved.

"Are you okay?!" Zooey's worry was evident in her voice, catching her breath.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I think." Alexandra was confused, turning her attention to the man. "What do you want?

He was wearing a long black overcoat, oily unkempt hair sticking out in every direction from the top of his slightly-balding head. Covered in dirt, he took a long breath before speaking.

"You three look a little lost," his voice was slow and gravelly.

"Not really," Zooey defiantly replied, "we know exactly where we're going."

"No, lost in here," he put his fingers to his head, "struggling. Life is bad. I can help with that."

"Nope," Alexandra figured out what he was selling, "no thank you at all."

"Are you sure?" the scraggly man pulled a small leather pouch from his coat, "a little of this makes even living in a place like this a heaven. A little of this and up in your head you can be anyone."

"We're not dusters," Luca referred to the drug by the term it's users were colloquially called.

"It's not so bad," the man's continued undeterred. "Red Sand can cure anything you're feeling, it makes all the bad feelings go away."

"No thanks." Alexandra's rejection was level and firm. She then turned to the woman who was looking at the ground. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to work for him."

"I don't get any if I don'ts," she said quietly, eyes still downcast, the weakness of her voice at odds with the show of strength before when she had pulled Alexandra into the alleyway.

"You don't need that stuff," Alexandra reasoned with her as Zooey and Luca kept their weapons trained on the dealer, "you can get out here. Stop letting that stuff wreck you. Sure it takes away the hurt for a little while, but when it's gone, the hurt comes back even worse.

The man scowled. "Hey now, don't go and..."

The raising of Zooey's blade let him know it was the time to be quiet.

Alexandra ignored him. "You know this, you've lived it, you know that this isn't the answer. You don't need this guy, you don't need any of it. Just get out of this District, the slums are better than this. I can tell you have a big heart, but it's gotten clouded, you can change the way you are now and get back to the bright person I can tell you once were."

Alexandra had a gift for understanding people, almost seeing into them. Zooey called it creepy but in reality she admired the trait. She also had an even greater gift with words.

"People can't change," the woman wiped large tears away.

"I don't believe that," Alexandra told her firmly as they slowly back-stepped out of the alleyway, "you can, and I know you will."

It was a few moments of silence as they continued there way towards the center of the District.

"Everyone here is crazy," Zooey shook her head, "this place isn't real."

"I feel gross being here." Luca wiped some accumulated soot off his clothes.

Alexandra had stopped walking in the middle of the street, hey eyes staring straight ahead of them.

"What? What is it?" Zooey came up next to her.

"I think we're here," Alexandra motioned ahead with her improvised weapon.

There it was, in all it's reprehensible glory

Luca gulped. "That's big."

"Oh wow," Zooey craned her neck upwards to see the top.

The street in front of them dead-ended into a large triangle shaped four-story building. The outside was lit by bright red and purple lights festooned on the pathway to the building and up along the outside walls as well. It was the most brightly-lit structure they had seen since they had left the regular city behind.

One of the triangle points was the front of the building, two large wooden doors up a small set of stairs. Music was blaring loudly from inside, the sound of a constant party escaping through various windows on the building's sides. Laughs and screams of either pleasure or pain, or both, mixed in with the gaudy tunes.

The Guilty Lady. It stood as an edifice to man's degeneration and his sin, a monument to all that was unholy in Prydain. This was the epicenter of city's criminal activity, this was the black heart of the crime organizations.

"We need to tread carefully," Alexandra surveyed the giant structure, trying to take in as many details as possible.

"Heck with that," Zooey gripped her dagger even tighter, "let's bust in, smash some heads, get Sophia out!"

"I think we'd be outnumbered." Luca was not looking forward to fighting anyone, especially Dark District criminals.

"This where the crime lords rule from," Alexandra shivered, "spiders in the web. This is where are all the criminal acts are commanded, planned. I've heard rumors that the people who run this place run all the crime in the city."

"So, you're saying we should do this peacefully then?"

"Yes Zooey," nodded Alexandra gravely, "very peacefully. Let's stay our weapons. Hopefully it'll be so busy we'll be able to get in and get out before anyone discovers us or takes a real interest."

"Okay boss," Zooey affirmed as she slid her dagger back onto her belt; Luca put his knife back in his pocket.

Neither liked the idea of stowing their weapons, but each knew that Alexandra had the best notion of it: this was not an enemy to be directly challenged.

"Do you think they're just going to let us in?" Luca didn't believe it would be that easy.

"I'm sure there will be guards," Alexandra spotted a large man brandishing a sword just a few steps from the doors. "We'll say we're there to work or to pay, whichever one gets us in."

"Ugh, what if they demand money up front?" Zooey felt her hard-earned pennies still in her pocket.

"We don't have enough to fake it," Alexandra did some quick calculations, "we'll need to try to avoid that and talk past that."

"And if they don't buy it?" Luca did not think he would like the sound of a 'plan b'.

"Find another way in. But, those windows look a little high from the ground. Let's try the front door first."

"I really don't think they'll let us waltz in," Luca shook his head, the large guard near the door was giving him an uneasy feeling.

"He will," said Alexandra confidently, nodding her head, "we just have to look the part."

Alexandra hiked her skirt up to a scandalous level, Luca's eyed widened and he quickly looked away. She rolled her sleeves up and ran her hands through her hair a few times. Zooey took the cue and did the same, still making sure her weapon remained hidden.

"What about Luca?"

"Just play along," Alexandra pushed a stunned Luca forward towards The Guilty Lady.

He stumbled up the front steps propelled by Alexandra with Zooey in tow. The sky above disappeared as the building became larger and larger until it was all the eye could see. A monolith to the black heart, the Guilty Lady was a twisted tree who's roots stretched all over Avindr as well as across all of Prydain.

The two wooden doors suddenly were before them, inlaid-gold patterns of the most risqué nature decorated the paneling, matching the two large solid-gold door handles. No one would dare steal the gold from these doors, retribution would be swift and terrible. Above the law, the crime lords of The Guilty Lady were the unquestionable authority in the Dark District. From in between the seam in the center of the doors, a sickly red light emanated from within, betraying the wickedness that lived behind the old thick stone and mortar of the building.

Alexandra was just reaching for the handle when the distracted guard posted outside finally took notice of them. He quickly turned away from the woman he had been chatting up and bounded almost instantly to them, his hulking frame impeding progress.

"Where do you lot think you lot 're going?!" he demanded, a little miffed he had almost been derelict in his duty.

"Problem?" Alexandra put on a swagger. "Hmm what do you want?"

"Alex?" Zooey whispered imperatively, believing that antagonizing the large man was more than likely not a good plan.

"We want to go in," Alexandra nodded her head towards the doors, ignoring Zooey.

"Aye, and what for?"

"Obvious in'it?" she put on accent, their voices gave them away that they were not exactly from the Dark District. "It's the boy's birthday and we want to show him a good time," she pushed Luca forward again front and center.

The guard eyed him skeptically. "And you're going to give it to him?"

"Just need a good environment y'know," Alexandra kept up her deception without missing a beat.

"What? Both of you?" the hired muscle leaned to the side to get a good view of Zooey as well.

Alexandra glanced behind her before straitening her expression and turning back to the guard, "well yeah... it is his special day after all."

Luca was blushing red, he knew Alexandra was not serious but it was still embarrassing. It made him uncomfortable to hear Alexandra talk in such a way, he thought it was beneath her.

"Can afford a room here eh?" the guard's stance softened, "rooms are expensive, even when they don't come with built-in fun."

"Of course!" Alexandra pretended to be put off by the comment, "why else would be here?!"

"All right," the guard stepped aside and opened one of the doors, "go in and enjoy yourselves."

"We will uh-huh," Zooey got in on the act, trying to be helpful. She felt bad Alexandra always did all the talking.

"I bet you will," the guard laughed as they slipped passed him through the door, "and you," he grabbed Luca by the shirt suddenly, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yes sir?" Luca gulped, the man's huge fist very prominent in his vision.

"Have a happy birthday." The guard released him and started laughing again.

Alexandra pressed Luca through the open door and gripped Zooey's hand and pulled her along with them. They blinked once inside, trying to get their eyes to adjust the gaudy lighting. Before them was a large room, bathed mostly in the deep blue and red lighting they had seen before from outside. The ceiling was three-stories up and two large gilded staircases wound upwards across at the far side of the room. The multi-level room was filled with couches, chairs, and fireplaces.

On the various seats were men and woman carousing in the most unseemly manner. A band played from a stage on the left side of the giant chamber, setting the mood for the patrons of the establishment. This was the common area, nothing too extreme going on. It was up the two staircases across the room that led to the true darkness of the building. The din of the crowd was overwhelming coupled with the music. Standing at the front door, a sea of debauchery before them, Zooey and Luca in huddled closer to Alexandra.

Usually guests wishing to go beyond the common room had check in and be given a room for their activities. In between the two winding staircases across the room was a podium with another large hired guard behind it On the podium was a gigantic leather-bound ledger, the record of who was in what room, for how long, and what for.

"I don't see Sophia anywhere Alex," Zooey squinted and scanned the crowded room.

"She's special to them" reasoned Alexandra, "they took all the trouble abducting her. They're not going to keep her out here. No, they'll have her upstairs, they'll save her for an important slime-ball."

Zooey sucked in her breath, "we need to get her out here. Who knows what they've done to her already."

"They're not going tell us where she is," Luca correctly surmised.

"We could force it?" Zooey was getting anxious for action to replace her cold fear.

"No," Alexandra whispered though whispering was probably unnecessary given the noise. "We have to be quiet, we can't draw attention to ourselves. We need to find Sophia and get out of here before they figure out what's going on."

"Then how are we going to find out where they've taken her?" Luca did not see a way around the problem.

Alexandra spotted a drunk sprawled out on a couch very close to the podium. "I think the answer to our problems has arrived."

She took off quickly across the floor towards the drunk, Zooey and Luca scrambling to keep up with her. She suddenly stopped at one of the several bartenders serving in the room.

"All the money we got today," Alexandra turned to them, "quickly I need it"

Luca and Zooey dug deep into their pockets without question and quickly produced their earnings for the day from the Market District. Alexandra snatched them up and put them down on the bar.

"What can fifty-six pennies get me?"

The bartender looked in disgust and the trivial amount before reaching for a bottle on the floor and pouring half a glass of not-particularly-decent ale into it. He swiped the pennies up and moved on. Zooey and Luca were aghast as they saw their day's labor vanish in a moment, and for a cup of bad ale to top it off. Alexandra grabbed the mug off of the bar and continued her bee-line towards the man on the couch.

"Hey there," she smiled, sitting down next to incoherent drunk.

"Eh?" he blinked, "what'd you want?"

"You're here a lot right?"

"Every day!" he slurred proudly, "good drink and good women!"

"And you see everyone who goes upstairs right?"

"Sure do!" his head rolled back as he struggled to keep it level, "I sees everyone who goes up."

"Did a young girl go up today? Long dark hair and amber eyes?"

"Her eyes!" the man blurted out, "so pretty, so sad. Yeah, I saws her go up, led up by two of those big fellas they got working here."

The others stayed silent as Alexandra plied the addled man for the info they needed.

"Did you hear what room they took her up to?"

"Why would I tell you that?" snorted the drunk, his mind clearing just a little.

"Because I have this for you if you tell me," Alexandra brought the mug of ale she had just bought into the man's wobbly vision.

"M...mine?"

"If I hear what room the girl with the amber eyes is in you get this all to yourself."

"Three fourteen!" the drunk greedily grabbed at the cup as he gave up the answer.

"Thanks," she handed the mug over and got up off the couch to face Luca and Zooey, "third floor, fourteenth room."

"Nice," Zooey was truly impressed. "I wouldn't have thought of that, so ridiculously simple."

"He's a drunk," Luca did not know how he felt about the strategy employed, "should we really have given him more ale?"

"No," Alexandra admitted, "but we don't have the time. Sophia needs us and she's more important. This was the best way to find out what we needed without putting anyone in danger."

"Yeah you're right. Okay, now we just waltz upstairs?" Luca was glancing around to see if there were more guards stationed around.

A large party had just arrived at the podium, seven couples all together. The man with the ledger was hurriedly scribbling down names and not keeping his eyes on the staircases for a moment.

"Now!" Alexandra whispered as loud as she dare.

The three stepped gingerly through the archway and bounded up the stairs as quickly as their legs could move them. The stairs wound around and around, golden handrails and red plush steps. They passed the first level and then the second, finally arriving at the entrance to the third floor.

On either side of the hallway now before them were simple wooden doors, benches lining the hall between every other door. A simple number in gold is all that adorned each door. The concave ceiling above was painted to resemble the sky during a partially-cloudy day, punctuated by crisscrossing pipes embedded in it going from room to room. Torches were spaced several feet apart along both sides of the wall. Some were masked with red glass to give off the distinctive glow that themed the establishment.

There was an eerie silence, the large oaken doors that lined the hall in conjunction with old thick walls kept the sounds contained there within. Occasionally some indiscriminate noise would escape through a crack, voices, male and female echoing quietly down the expansive halls. For a place they knew to be filled to the brim with people, the silence they heard was eerie and unsettling.

Other halls shot off from the main corridor they were now standing in, the sheer size inside the triangular building was unbelievable. The carpet was also very old, faded, but the elegant designs in it were still very prominent nonetheless. A deep maroon colour, it went with the mood lighting, interweaving golden-colour loops lining each side as well. If it were not for what this building now was, it would have been a breathtakingly beautiful place. Perhaps decades, even centuries ago, this building was a good place, but now the entire area of the city had decayed and everything in it re-purposed for nefarious needs. Alexandra had an sick feeling in her gut, she could almost feel the slime in the air. The atmosphere itself was oppressive.

She tried to shrug those feelings off for the sake of the others, they always looked up to her, whether some of them admitted it or not. She had never set out to be the leader of this little group of cast-offs, it had just happened. Occasionally it wore her down. Sometimes she just wanted to collapse under the weight of their situation, her own fears and insecurities.

But no.

She swallowed and rubbed her eyes: people depended on her. She could not let her friends down or left herself down for that matter. Steadying her trembling foot, she took in a big breath. The air was musty and unpleasant, Alexandra tried to only breath in through her mouth.

"So many rooms!" Luca could not believe the amount of doors and hallways they could see just from the landing at the top of stairs.

"And there's more floors than this," reminded Zooey, equally amazed.

"This place is its own world too," Luca mused, "no one outside knows any of this exists here in the Dark District."

"Except for all the nobles, soldiers, and commoners that frequent this place," Alexandra reminded them. "They brave the perils of the District to reach here, to spend a night here, or days maybe. Lots of people know about it, no one talks about it."

"Sickos!" Zooey spat, "and one of them is probably with Sophia right now!"

"We need to find room fourteen!" Luca had almost forgotten about Sophia, the faded splendor of the building had seduced his attention.

"Fan out, we'll find the right room faster," Alexandra took off, bounding down the nearest off-shoot hallway, "and wait for everyone else."

That instruction was mostly meant for Zooey. She had a tendency to leap into situations without much more than a moment's thought. Not a bad quality, she was person of intense emotions and bravery, often not thinking about her own safety. More than once Alexandra had to pull Zooey out of some scraps that she would have lost. Pretending it annoyed her when she was held back, Zooey knew she was impulsive and knew that Alexandra had saved her neck quite a few times.

The doors like silent watchers flew past as Alexandra ran down the hall, hey eyes darting side to side to catch the numbers as they passed by. She was in the thirties, but the door numbers were dropping, she knew Sophia lay somewhere ahead. Luca and Zooey had taken other hallways and were doing the same, all converging towards room Three Fourteen. Her heart pounding, Alexandra wiped a tear away from her eye as she moved. She was terrified for Sophia, she felt guilty, that it was her fault that she had been kidnapped.

"If only I'd been outside the gate sooner!" she cursed at herself in her thoughts, replaying her day in the Market in her head, trying to see times she could have hurried along and been there to stop Sophia from being taken.

Behind every door was a sad story, broken dreams, and fulfilled lustful desire. The black veins of Prydain's criminal underworld all extended from here. Certainly the largest, most organized, and most successful underhanded venture in the Dark District, the crime lords that ran this place controlled most of the criminal underworld. Far above the carousing and never-ending party of frivolity, the master planners stayed upstairs behind curtain-covered windows. They were ever scheming, ever plotting. This fact was well-known in the Dark District, and by the hundreds, maybe thousands of criminals that were 'employed' by the masters of The Guilty Lady. Outside of those circles, they were as a whispered rumor.

"Over here!" Alexandra heard the shout from Luca and she broke her course and veered down a side passageway she had heard him call out from.

Arriving at the same moment as Zooey from the opposite direction, they found Luca standing in front of door Three Fourteen.

They both stood there for a moment, catching their breaths. Luca was staring at the door, anger radiating from him. This door was the obstacle, this door was Sophia's cage. They could not hear any noises coming from within, but that did not mean that they were not being made. The Guilty Lady held its secrets tightly, keeping the activities inside it's rooms well hidden.

Zooey eyed the door, "so what's the plan Alex? We going to knock? I can't wait to see what you say to get whoever is in there to open the door."

"Actually," Alexandra shot her a strained smile, "I was thinking because of the rush we'd go with your way."

"Yes!" Zooey had a lot of pent up energy and anger about what was happening to Sophia, she could not wait to let it out.

They all turned towards the door and braced themselves for a quick and painful impact.

Alexandra planted her foot, ready to slam into the wood surface, "the door on three. One...two..."

THUD!

The door shook and stood for but a moment before it slowly fell backwards into the room. The dust cleared and then there was silence. The light entered into the room, making it's winding path through the upset dust clouds. A low red light emitted from deep inside the room, dark outlines being slowly defined.

"What's this?!" a panicked male voice demanded from inside

"Alexandra?" The whisper was barely audible but there was no mistaking it: it was Sophia's voice.

"Sophia!" Zooey drew her blade and plunged into the room, the others just a step behind her.

The space inside was small, a rectangle in its design. To the right of the door was a chest of drawers, a candle held in a red-tinted case hung down on a rusty chain from the high ceiling. Across the room was a double-sized bed, a short nightstand next to it that an additional candle-stand sat on. The bed had several musty old blankets on it that looked like they were very expensive and the height of fashion several decades ago. On the bed was a wiry young man wearing only his under-undergarments. His head was turned, looking startled towards the now-demolished door. He was leaning half-over Sophia, shoulders bare, sheet gripped tightly in her hand covering her chest, tears on her cheek, and a terrified expression on her face.

"Get OFF!" Zooey's voice was an explosion of rage as she bounded up to the bed and yanked the surprised man onto his back.

The man lunged for the side table and suddenly produced a long sword. He swung wildly in front of him, Zooey leaping back off the bed to avoid being sliced in half. He grabbed the candle-stand and through it with all his strength. Luca put his hands out to block it but fell backwards on the carpet. Alexandra was working her way along the side of the room to reach the bed but her path was suddenly blocked by the half-naked man, sword at her nose.

He reached out and pushed Alexandra with his free hand so hard against the wall that her necklace jostled hung out the front of her shirt. She quickly reached up to make sure her most prized possession was still attached to its chain.

"How dare you come in here!" bellowed the man.

Zooey was suddenly on his back, dragging him backwards.

Luca jumped at his legs and they toppled him back over the bed, tumbling to the floor. For his efforts, he got kicked towards the center of the room.

Zooey and the man grappled until he finally got his hand around, grabbed her by the back of her shirt and flung her off of him. Luca was back in action and flung his leg in front of him and kicked the man square in the chest.

Alexandra finally got to the side of the bed and climbed up, covering Sophia with her body, her back to the fight. Zooey and the attacker traded slashes, each ducking or dodging out of the way of the others attack. Luca would try to throw in his own knife jabs when he could but since he was only armed with a pocketknife, his range was exceedingly low and dangerously limited. Alexandra had been forced to ditch her metal pipe before they entered, it being too large to conceal like the other weapons.

The man kicked, trying to sweep Zooey's legs out from under her but she saw it coming and jumped, avoiding the threat. She swung wide but missed, giving the man a moment to regain his position and continue his attack momentum. The man's sword connected with Zooey's dagger with a loud clang. Her hand trembled with the impact of the much larger sword but she held her ground and pushed back with all her strength. Luca was back on his feet in an instant, moving forward to press the attack. Zooey threw the man off balance and Luca slashed with his knife causing the man to jump backwards to avoid the sudden onslaught. Zooey jumped forward and pushed the man down on the ground next to the bed, one foot on his chest, the other on the hand holding his sword. Luca rushed forward and yanked the weapon away from him and threw it across the room towards the door.

He stared up at them with pure hatred, and his gaze was returned in kind.

"Sophia," Alexandra leaned back, giving Sophia room to breathe, "are OK? Are you all right?"

"Alexandra..." she sniffled back the tears, "you came for me....you all came for me."

"Of course," Alexandra held her hand tightly, "we'd never let you go."

"Did this slime ball do anything!" Zooey's eyes were drilling holes in the man.

"No," she murmured, still clutching the bed sheet to her chest, "he was about to when you..." the tears welled up again.

"Shh," Alexandra whispered back, "he's not going to do anything to you."

"You're lucky you didn't," Zooey's pressed the dagger lightly between the man's eyes, "or else you'd already be dead."

"Sophia I'm glad you're all right."

"Thanks Luca," she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Here we go," Alexandra grabbed Sophia's blouse off of the floor and handed it to her gently, "let's get this back on and we'll get out of here. Tomorrow all this will just be like a bad dream and we'll all wake up together back home."

"I'd like that," Sophia finally had a little smile as she slipped her shirt back over her head.

"All better," Alexandra helped her pull her long hair out of the top of her top, "are we ready to go?"

"All ready over here," Zooey took a few careful steps back, the man remaining on the floor, not daring to move

"I'll check the hall," Luca ran to the door and peered out into the hallway. "Look's good."

"All right," Alexandra held Sophia's hand as she slowly got out of the bed, "let's just move to the door and we're on the way out."

"Stay down," Zooey threatened the man as she continued her slow retreat to the door.

Luca waited impatiently out in the hall, Zooey next slowly backing up, then Sophia, then lastly Alexandra guiding her towards the door from behind.

"Hurry up!" Luca was getting anxious, the silence bothering him, afraid people would start coming out of other rooms at any moment.

Unseen to them, the man had slowly worked his hand under the bed. Zooey finally turned her back to go out the door and that's when the man jumped into action.

Pulling another short sword he had previously hidden under the bed out all the way he propelled himself forward screaming in rage. He raised the sword as he crossed the room, bringing it down to strike.

Zooey turned to fight but she was already too far out the door to stop his blade with hers and couldn't get around Sophia and Alexandra in time to intercept. Alexandra spun around and blocked the others, jamming her eyes shut.

But the killing blow never came.

Alexandra opened her eyes slowly, not knowing what was going on. The man's short sword was inches from her chest, holding its position. It was also glowing a light blue colour. She had never seen anything like it, and judging by the expression on the man's face, neither had he. Noticing something out of the corner of her vision, Alexandra looked down at herself: the golden pendant she was wearing was glowing with the same light.

"What is this devilry!" the man demanded, horror in his voice as he stared at her pendant, "those engravings... no! It can't be!"

Zooey did not wait for an answer, she bounded back into the room and knocked the short sword out of his hand. With a swift kick, she sent the dumbfounded assailant back to the ground. Her dagger was now mere inches from his face. Zooey was embarrassed she had let someone get the drop on them, angry that he had almost killed her friend. It took all her will to not run him through.

"What happened?!" Luca was trying to see what was going on.

"I'm not sure," Alexandra held her pendant, the glow fading, "it's unbelievable."

Sophia admired the quickly dimming light. "It's never done that before, in fact I've never seen anything like that before."

"What's going on?" Alexandra's furrowed brow betrayed her deep confusion, turning the pendant over in her hands.

"Sounded like he might know," Zooey motioned at the man she had pinned to the floor, "better start talking if you want to make it to tomorrow with all your bits intact."

"Go to hell, Oonskat," he muttered.

"That did not sound like helpful information," Zooey plunged her dagger into the floorboards right between the man's legs, barely missing him.

"Okay! Okay! Anything!" the man suddenly sang a different tune.

"First off," Alexandra stepped forward, her pendant clutched firmly in her hand, "who are you?"

"Lerrick," he said, then reluctantly added, "Lerrick Cornelius."

"From the Noble House?!" Zooey could not believe it.

"A Named Family member? An Actual Named Family member, here?" Luca was astonished, he could not imagine someone from the top of society being in the den of the lowest..

The importance and power of this man they had at weapon point could not be underestimated. By the way he gave his identity, he was truly a powerful noble, one that held a Family Name.

Alexandra recalled the name from overheard gossip and news. "I've heard of you."

"You'd better!" the man's arrogance rose again, "I am the third son of Radulfus Cornelius, brother to the heir of the House: Ulfarr Cornelius!"

House Cornelius was THE prominent house in Prydain currently, recognized as the leading voice of the nation after the previous upheaval of the noble families and course of the nation.

Sixteen years ago, the status quo of Prydain was overturned when unknown parties laid siege to the country estate of the oldest and most powerful Noble House, House Archdeacon. Related by blood to the now extinct Arkland family line, House Archdeacon was one of the first houses that ruled Prydain under Willem Arkland centuries ago. Their voice guided the nation towards the new era of prosperity it was enjoying and it's temperance led to a wide-spread peace across the nation.

Respected above all other houses, commanding the largest force of soldiers and having the biggest treasury, a surprise attack left the entire Family dead with no named heirs. The event shocked the nation and led to confusion and panic in the Landskyp. Trade ground to a halt as the course of the nation was unclear. House Cornelius quickly stepped up and took the reins of the nation, asserting sway over the Landskyp and the rest of the Houses. The forces that attacked House Archdeacon were never identified, though it is the common theory that it was Land Pirates from deep in the Distansera looking for wealth.

Officially, House Archdeacon still exists, on paper. The Watchers kept the name listed as a current House, despite there being no heir and their holdings now long abandoned. This was done probably out of respect to the ancient House that met a sudden and ignoble end.

"Why Sophia?" Luca demanded, "you could have anyone with your Name. Why her and why here?!"

Despite the blade trained on him, Lerrick could not hide his uncouth nature. "Typical high society girls can be so boring, no adventure or life at all. Got a message by courier; was told that that a new girl was available, someone really special. I'm kind of an important patron here, they always give me first crack, we scratch each others backs. The message said I should come down at once so I could be the first."

"Disgusting," Zooey sneered at him, "you're nothing but a two-faced lecherous swine."

"I'm not a property," Sophia whispered quietly from behind Alexandra.

"Don't mind him. You," Alexandra turned back to Lerrick, "do you know why my pendant is glowing? It only happened when your sword was near it."

"I don't," Lerrick then saw the look in Zooey's eyes behind her dagger, "I mean, I don't see it all the time. Uh, it's not common to see, I mean."

His attempts to hide his nervousness were not very good.

"What is it?" Zooey inched her dagger even closer.

"I just don't believe it." Lerrick was frowning.

"Better start believing it," Zooey pressed harder on his chest with her foot, just s lip of her wrist would end his life.

"It only happens when name relics are brought within close proximity. My short sword is mine, given to me by Radulfus Cornelius to confer the Family Name to me."

For a moment, that statement hung in the pregnant air.

"But, that would mean..." Luca's eyes widened as he looked at Alexandra's pendant anew.

"But, this isn't my relic from House Benham," Alexandra examined every inch of the pendant even though she had spent her whole life keeping it close. "There's no name on it."

"This isn't a named relic," Zooey told Lerrick, "stop lying to us!"

"I'm not! I swear!" he insisted, "it's a reaction that's caused when two name relics are close! I'm not lying! I promise!"

"The only thing on it is a line design etched into it, but no name. Name relics have to have a name," this was a fact that Alexandra was intimately familiar with given the nature of her banishment.

"The design, mean anything special?" Zooey tapped the dagger on the tip of her captive's nose.

"Uh, no, I mean. nothing..."

"Really?" she plunged the sword into the floorboards again but this time even closer to man's important parts, "because a minute ago you seemed very taken aback by the artsy engraving on it, shocked to the core I'd say!"

"It's a pattern used by Noble Houses back in the day!" he blurted out and instantly regretted it.

"What?" Alexandra could not wrap her head about what she was being told.

"Who are you Alexandra?" Sophia reached out and touched the pendant, admiring the complicated pattern-work on its surface.

"I thought I was no one," she replied, "now I don't know."

"How do you know about some random pretty lines on a pendant?" Zooey demanded, her increasingly anxious glare letting Lerrick know he had better offer up the information quickly.

"It's an old pattern, three concentric overlapping circles in a tying pattern, it decorates the columns and ceilings of the estates of the oldest Noble Houses. It's an ancient design from the tribes of Brithwyr before Prydain was formed. It's supposed to channel the energy of nature and ward off evil. It's just a bunch of superstitious nonsense if you ask me," Lerrick had spent all of his childhood in a life of privilege and comfort, he would have seen this pattern every day.

"No one has asked you about the nonsense," glared Zooey. "I'm still deciding which ear of yours to cut off as soon as the others aren't looking."

Lerrick bit his lip and stayed quiet.

"Maybe it's a second relic from when they named you 'Benham'?" Luca thought it sounded like a reasonable explanation.

"No," Alexandra shook her head, "my mother explained to me a little when I asked about my tattoo when I was younger: she said only one relic could be given to one person for the naming. She didn't know why or how, but she said it could only be done once. Only the heads of the Noble Houses even know how the whole process works."

"This is important," Sophia looked Alexandra straight in the eyes fore the first time since they had reunited.

Alexandra shook her head. "It can't be a relic, there's no name on it. Who would have even given me a Name? I've never known anyone, I've never been anyone special. I was banished when I was just a baby. None of this makes any sense!"

"Alexandra," Sophia's voice was firm but gentle, "something has happened here that proves that your pendant is something very special and important, there's no other way of looking at it."

"What's she talking about?" Zooey was the one now confused.

"Well," Alexandra could not believe what she was saying, "good old Lerrick here, a representative of House Cornelius has stated that my pendant is a name relic, maybe. This is not the relic from my old House, the one I was named into as baby. The only people who can tell me what is going on and what this means is the Watchers."

"What?" Zooey was stunned.

"What?! No!" Lerrick echoed, suddenly a great deal more panic rising in his voice.

"It's the only thing I can do," Alexandra was now determined, "only the Watchers can tell me what this is. This pendant is the only thing I have of my father, the father I never knew. I need someone to tell me what this is, what this all means... and maybe who my father is."

Zooey did not think it would work, "they won't ever let us get close to the Watchers."

"They'll have to," Sophia corrected her, "when someone presents themselves with what they claim is a name relic, the Watchers must pronounce a verdict, they cannot turn you away. Outcast or not, they have to take a look at the item, even if it's fake, they have to examine it to declare so. Then they will kick you out if they say it's not real."

"I'm right behind you Alexandra," Luca stood next to her.

"No!" Lerrick cried out from the floor, "you can't.... it's not possible! You can't go to the Watchers!"

"Shut up you," Zooey gave him a swift kick as she finally took her foot off of him as the group exited the room.

Luca checked the hall once more, surprised that all the commotion they had been causing had not raised an alarm. Of course, the building was meant to keep sound in, it was not too much of a surprise that no one had noticed. Sophia was next, guided by Alexandra's hands on her shoulders, then Zooey, keeping her dagger turned towards Lerrick who remained obediently on the floor.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Luca was remembering the large party and guards downstairs.

"Out a second story window," Alexandra had already plotted their escape route, "it's a bit far but if we can land on some barrels or something it won't be too bad"

"It's so high up," Sophia shivered. She did not like the sound of jumping out of a window.

"I'll go first," Zooey was always the first to jump into a situation, figuratively and literally.

"And I'll be right behind you with Luca," Alexandra reassured her, "then we'll just stroll right back home."

They quickly made their way back down the main hallway to the two winding staircases in the back of the building. Not seeing anyone else, everyone either asleep now or preoccupied, they descended to the second floor. The sounds of the party in the main room on the first floor just a flight below was still going, the sounds of glasses and voices mixing in the air. Peering out the sporadic windows in the hall, they finally spotted one that looked like it would serve their purpose. A large stack of barrels was set next to the building, it was just a short fall from the window to the barrels. Luca forced the window open and Zooey swung one leg out the window, then the other. She wiggled her toes in the cold air before lowering herself out the window. She fell for a moment before hitting the barrels, the stack rocking slightly side to side. She carefully picked her way down until she was safely on the street and motioned for Sophia to follow.

"It's too high," Sophia leaned out the window.

"You can do it," Alexandra encouraged her, "I know you can. Here, we'll help."

Luca held one of Sophia's hand while Alexandra held the other. Sophia crawled backwards out the window, shaking in fear but doing it because she trusted her friends. Once she was out the window, they leaned out and gently lowered her onto the barrels. She gripped them tightly as they swayed before she quickly made her way all the way down, Zooey helping her the last few steps. Luca was next, making it to the street in two jumps, then looking up quite proud of himself. Up on the second floor, Alexandra took one last look around the hall, this was a disgusting place and she could not wait to quit it. She then looked at her pendant.

"What does all this mean?" She turned the pendant over one more time in her hands, feeling its familiar surface.

It looked the same as it had the last sixteen years it had been with her, but now it was mysterious, something she seemed to know nothing about. The pendant was the only thing her father ever gave her, her mother repeatedly told her that when she was a child. It was nothing but an heirloom, a link to a lost past. Suddenly though, now this pendant was the source of confusion and worry deep in her heart. Part of her was excited, something new had happened, something out of the ordinary. On the other hand, she was worried that this would cause her friends trouble, she was scared of what it could mean, whatever it did mean. She tucked the pendant back under her shirt and climbed out the window to join her friends on the ground.

Dawn was only an hour or two away; the activity in the Dark District was dying down before the sun rose. Soon the day criminals would emerge, those that did business there in the sunny hours, those that went out and plied their illegal trades in the other parts of the city. During the lull in between criminal shifts, Alexandra and her friends moved quickly back the way they came towards the slums where they lived. It appeared as if they had managed to get out of The Guilty Lady without alerting anyone to their presence or rescue of Sophia, no one seemed to be following them as far as they could tell.

The shadows were still present in the side alleys and behind the soot-covered windows, but they receded as they sensed dawn approaching. Zooey was on guard for any highwaymen, or dust sellers, but no one approached them. Alexandra was busy talking with Sophia, making sure she was all right, trying to coax a smile or laugh from her. It was a slow process considering what she had been through but it looked liked Alexandra was getting there.

It was five in the morning when they arrived back at their home in the slums, making it out of the Dark District without any further confrontations. They were weary from the fighting, lack of sleep, and the unnerving fact they had been to the black heart of the Dark District. Sophia got into her bed with all her clothes on and curled up, a smile creeping across her face as she was back in safe familiar settings surrounded by her family.

Zooey yawned, put her dagger next to her bedding and got in as well for what was left of the night. Luca, always looking up to her, put his pocketknife next to his bedding and also got into bed. Alexandra sat down on her pile of hay, examining her pendant one more time. When the dawn arrived and after she had stolen an hour or so of sleep, she would set out for the Watchers.

Alexandra decided to leave before the others awoke, she did not want to get them involved in anything that could dangerous. She was an Oonskat, and exiled named family member to boot, about to travel to the upper-class district to present the Watchers a strange pendant that a lecher in a brothel told her might be important. She smiled: it was all so ridiculous. But even so, she had to know what the pendant was, why it suddenly started glowing.

She tucked the pendant back under her blouse, and lied down. All she wanted was to sleep for a day, she was exhausted from their travel and being wracked with her worry for Sophia and the rest of them as they were in the Dark District. She knew she had to rise soon, that she had to leave for the Watchers before they knew she had gone.

"I have to know what my pendant is," she thought as her eyes quickly fell closed, the view of their room fading away, "even if they throw me out at sword point...I just have to know."