Altair walked towards the separated house that Sief had come around when she first arrived. It was the one with the fence around it and the small farm outside. She was completely guessing as to which house was his. But, this one was also the closest to the exit from the maze-like interior and it provided her some cover from the children that were playing on the other side of the building.

So, Altair went with this one first so that she could eliminate it from the list if it proved to be incorrect.

She made no effort to conceal herself when she was walking towards the building. It would be too easy to arouse suspicion from anyone who even glanced in her direction and she didn't want the children to see her in the first place. If the children saw her, then they would probably want her to play with them since she appeared to be a child too. That would completely defeat the purpose of her being here.

As soon as Altair was out of sight of the children though, she immediately ducked into a crouch and quickly approached the side of the building. She placed her hand on the rough, but fine, wood it was made out of as she stepped over the fence for extra balance when she got to it.

Then, she crept along the edge of the house as she approached an opened window in the side. The sun was pouring down straight into the window from where she was as afternoon was edging over into evening. This resulted in her needing to be extra careful when she planned to peek in through the window. It would cast her shadow straight into the house and if anyone was in there they would immediately know she was there if they were looking towards the center of the house.

She could hear movement within from two different areas. One of them was the clatter of ceramic dishes that was close to where she had snuck over the fence. The other was the sound of steps coming from above her, but they were also getting slightly lower as they went.

As she approached the window she heard a woman's voice from where the ceramic dishes were being manipulated, "Honey you can't really be serious about it. It's almost time for dinner." As if to reinforce her claim of food that was soon to be done cooking, the smell of cooking meats and vegetables came out from the window. It was lacking spice though, so it wasn't as enticing as it used to be for Altair.

Sief's voice replied from the other side of the house, "I know you don't believe me, but I have to go and find out."

Altair's ears seemed to perk up a little when she heard her brother's voice again. It seemed she had found his home. She just had to leave and come back when it was dark out to leave the gift. However, the next words she heard caused her to pause.

The woman asked in a doubting tone, "Are you sure it was even her?"

Sief sighed, "It looked just like her. It was like she stepped right out of my memories."

"Didn't her hair and eye's change though? I even remember how her skin turned so white it was like she was a ghost. How could someone like that be able to walk around on the streets with how the church is?"

Altair could feel her brother shaking his head as he replied, "When I say that she stepped out of my memories, it was just like that. She still had the same hair color and she looked normal. There was nothing different about her."

"But the neighbors all said that she was obviously a noble girl. They're even worried that she'll seek retribution for you touching her so aggressively."

Sief's tone changed to one filled with pride as he claimed, "Even if her clothes change I can still identify my sister."

The woman's voice to one filled with worry, "But what if she isn't? What if she's really a noble?"

Sief responded in a tone filled with self-mockery, "Then I guess I'll apologize while I'm beheaded?" He then laughed loudly a few times before the clatter of dishes interrupted him.

The woman suddenly shouted at him, "What are we supposed to do if you die?! Do you think Allie will have a good life without her father here?!"

Sief's spoke with words filled with care and love as he replied, "Sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood. You know I wouldn't just give up like that."

'He's still the same as always,' Altair thought to herself as a smile came to her face. She finally stepped further away from the window and started to make her way back the way she came. 'If I stick around here, he'll probably find me again. Can't let that happen.'

The voices that came from inside the house became muffled. It was nearly impossible to tell what they were saying as she drew back towards the fence. It was obvious that the people inside had approached each other at some point and were talking while they were close together in some fashion.

As Altair stepped over the fence, a girl came around the corner of the house and ran right into. It knocked Altair's balance off and she fell back into the small gated farm that Sief had.

Altair looked up as the girl before her rubbed her butt with a wounded expression on her face. The girl wasn't looking at Altair at that moment, but Altair now had a name to go with that vaguely familiar face. 'That's probably Allie,' she thought to herself as she examined the girl.

She had chestnut colored hair and her cheeks still carried baby fat on them. Her eyes were the same color as her hair that hung freely on her shoulders, and her features that could be seen were slanted towards Altair's sister, Aselia. This was strange for Altair.

'Shouldn't she resemble my brother or his wife and not my sister?'

The girl finally looked up and saw Altair and her wounded expression turned to one of shock and then to joy as she immediately sprang back up to her feet as if she hadn't just fallen down.

Altair could tell where this was going immediately and she attempted to jump up and cover the girls mouth as well but she was too late as the girl cried out, "You're that gi-"

Altair practically collided with the girl that was two heads shorter than her with her hand over Allie's mouth. Her free arm wrapped around Allie to prevent the girl from falling back down. She then fell into silence next to her as she wondered just how she was going to get out of this situation.

The girl looked up at her with her big eyes filled with innocence and confusion. She obviously had no idea why Altair was acting the way she was and soon her face started to turn to one of worry.

Altair felt her heart ache as if she was looking at her little sister again. She then slowly let Allie go as she whispered, "I'm hiding from someone. You need to be quiet so I don't get caught."

The girl nodded with a confident expression that appeared out of nowhere. As soon as Altair's hand was off her mouth she covered her own mouth, as if it could help her keep quiet, and sweetly asked, "Why are you hiding here?"

Altair wanted to scratch the back of her head but she resisted the urge. Instead, she replied, "It seemed like a good spot at the time." Even she knew the excuse she blurted out made no sense. She was standing in direct sunlight while she was exposed to basically everyone who could see around the house. She stuck out like a lone tree in a grassy plain.

The little girl didn't seem to mind as she quickly spoke through her hands, "More importantly, do you really look like my aunt? Does she really look like you?" The girl's eyes wandered up and down Altair's body like she was trying to absorb every inch of how she looked into her soul.

Altair's lips twitched slightly as her mind raced for an answer. 'That's right though. She's my niece isn't she?' She thought to herself. She then quickly came up with a different idea instead of an answer as she asked in return, "You're Allie, right?"

The girl nodded her head vigorously as she took her hands from her mouth like she forgot why they were there in the first place. She then sweetly asked, "How did you know?"

Altair kneeled down to eye level with her and smiled at her. She then softly said while brushing Allie's hair with her hand, "I'm Aria. I know your aunt personally."