"It is you!"
Lena's eyes welled with tears.
Noble should have known. No amount of disguise could fight her mother's intuition. Whatever had brought Lena to the cafe, the moment she had entered, the Master's fate was sealed.
Noble rose from her chair. "Mom, I..."
Overcome with emotion, Lena caught her daughter up in a hug. "My baby."
"I missed you." Noble rested her head on her mother's shoulder as tears streamed down both women's faces.
Lena clung to her daughter, her shoulders trembling.
"You're really here."
"I am." Noble held on tightly.
It had been years since she had last seen her mother. Almost three, to be exact.
While the younger woman had spoken to Lena via letter every few days, it was so much better being in the same place. Lena's hug, as usual, healed all wounds.
Noble wished the moment could last forever. But Lena's questions broke the tranquil silence.
"Your hair! When did you go blonde?" The grandmother pulled at her daughter's hood. "And your eyes. I've never seen them that shade of purple. I don't know if I would have recognized you in a crowd!"
Of course, this was an exaggeration. Lena had managed to do just that.
"I am trying out something different. I will go back to normal soon enough." Noble hedged.
"I don't care what you look like as long as I get to look at you." Lena waved her hand dismissively. "How are you here? Did you call in a favor with a Saint?"
'If only...'
Noble sighed. She squeezed her mother's hand with a sad smile.
"We should sit down."
Not that Noble could actually sit, but she didn't like the idea of being watched by most of the room with what she had to say.
While other patrons were still focused on their odd fixation with the kitchen, Lena took the seat opposite her daughter. Noble spoke in a low tone.
"I came here the long way."
"You traveled through the Dream Realm to get here?" Lena's hurried whisper conveyed her fear.
Indeed, Noble had.
Her journey had been less than ideal and fraught with misadventure. Reaching the Stormsea had been particularly problematic. Fort had insisted on traveling with her to the edge of the Song Domain, and it had nearly cost him his life.
When they met the boat at the dock, a nasty little surprise was hiding among the docking crew- a Skinwalker.
The moment the creature caught a whiff of Noble, it attacked, lunging for her and Fort without a word.
If not for Naeve, who had recently become a Saint, the situation would have been far more dire. With Noble to distract and support the Scion of the House of Night, the Skinwalker was dispatched to a watery eternal grave without any casualties.
Saying goodbye to Fort had been harder than she imagined, so much so that the Master almost abandoned her trip entirely. But the couple had spent over a year planning, and Fort wasn't about to let his wife give up at the last moment.
"We will be fine. The kids and I will be waiting for you when you return." With a squeeze of her hand and a final kiss, Fort parted ways with his beautiful wife.
He had government business to attend to in the lower part of the Song Domain, and Noble was supposed to be visiting her mother.
Or at least that is what she had told Naeve when asking for the transport. In reality, Noble had no intention of letting Lena or anyone else she knew see her in Bastion.
It was for their good.
It felt terrible to lie to Saint Naeve after he had been so kind to her, but Noble consoled herself that she did wish to see her mother very much.
And now, by a twist of fate, Noble's cover story had become reality. Lena was across the table, staring at her with an expectant gaze that filled the younger woman with warmth and guilt.
"I came from the Stormsea, yes. It wasn't easy. Thankfully, Saint Naeve is one of the best navigators in existence. If not for him, I'm sure the ship would have been lost."
Noble could float, so she could have tried to fly over the Stormsea or even Godgrave, but her fear of succumbing to her flaw if she fell asleep or was rendered unconscious won over her desire for speed.
That wasn't even taking into account her terrible sense of direction. Without Naeve, she would never have found the port that would eventually lead her toward Bastion.
"Do you still get seasick?" Lena tilted her head.
"Not like I did when we came to the NQSC. My feet didn't need to touch the ship, so the rocking was minimal." Noble smiled.
She had been afraid at first, but a few near-death experiences with the creatures of the deep had chased any fear out of her.
"That's good. A Master as brave as my baby girl would never let a little water stop her. Still, I cannot believe you came all this way. It seems like a dream! Does Julius know you are here? Don't tell me he planned this. Ah, did I ruin the surprise?!"
Lena watched her daughter's smile become strained.
"No, Mom. Julius doesn't know I am here."
"Tsk, you really should have told him." The mother waved her finger in censure. "No matter, Jules will be delighted! We have enough room for a house guest, so don't worry about staying anywhere else."
"As much as I would love that, I have to decline. I am not staying." Noble pressed her lips together, pushing back a new set of hot tears.
"What do you mean? You just got here." Lena frowned as a spark of recognition crossed her face. Suddenly, the change of hair and eye color made more sense. "You aren't here to see me, are you?"
Noble's eyes darted away. "I wasn't supposed to run into you."
Lena's frown deepened. "Then...what brings you to Bastion?"
Noble looked at the table, tracing the edge with her eyes.
"I want to tell you, but I can't. Not today, anyway. Please don't tell Julius that you saw me. Just act like I was never here!"
"Hm," Lena tapped the table lightly. "Does Fort know you are here?"
"Yes. I would never disappear like I did before." Noble glanced up, her eyes swirling blue with conviction.
"And he approves of what you are doing?" The grey-haired woman squinted.
"He does."
"Then that's enough for me." Lena nodded decisively. She leaned back in her seat. "You look pale. Have you been eating well?"
Without waiting for an answer, the matriarch raised her arm into the air.
Attending another table, Aiko blew out her cheeks. "Boss! I could really use some help out here!"
A young man with porcelain skin exited the kitchen, wiping his hands. His long, dark hair was drawn back in a ponytail at the top of his head.
All at once, the emotion in the room skyrocketed, causing Noble to roll her eyes.
Now she knew why all the women were fixated on the kitchen door. They were aching to get a glimpse of the owner of the establishment.
'And I thought being around Saint Kai was bad…'
The young man smiled and bowed slightly, causing a flurry of whispers about who the smile might be for.
Aiko pursed her lips.
"They need you over there, Boss."
"Of course. Can't keep the customers..."
The demure young man turned his head to look at the new guests. The gorgeous smile faded as his pale skin drained of any remaining color.
"...waiting."
Noble blinked, unwilling to believe her senses.
'What in two worlds?!'