Rinni Faithe was nervous, her heart racing as she headed toward Castle Phantasm. She never met a Lord before. True, she encountered the Alpha of a werewolf pack, but not the Lord of a castle. In truth, the closest interaction she got was aiding that princess in her escape. But she only saw her at a distance. She wasn't sure what to expect, nor what the Lord needed help with as the job simply stated he needed help in finding something important to him.

In her arms, she carried a small white ball of fluff, six fluffy tails curled upward between the hind legs that hung freely from below her grasp. Under the girl's chin rested the head on a snow-white fox, pale blue paws resting over her arms. Her ears pricked up, twitching curiously as her ice blue eyes took in the sight of the massive castle.

As the young girl reached the castle entrance, expecting to be greeted by a guard, she was surprised to find Lord Servas Phantasm awaiting her arrival personally. Her eyes widened as she released an audible gasp of surprise. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, Winter letting out a tiny squeak as the girl's arms squeezed the small fox tighter to her chest.

Realizing she was crushing her companion, she uttered a quick apology as she loosened her grip and approached the castle lord. Upon reaching him, she gave a short bow of respect, to which he told her was not necessary as he had been expecting her. He took her hand, leaving her to hold Winter in one arm, as he lightly kissed her knuckles causing the teen to blush.

"Thank you, Sir. I'm Rinni and this is my companion Winter. I came to offer my assistance. You said you were looking for something valuable?" The girl finally found the nerve to speak, once the shock and shyness of facing a Lord subsided.

"Yes. A flower." Lord Servas confirmed.

"A... flower, Sir?" Her voice was slow and skeptical. What was so important about a flower that he couldn't simply collect it himself or send one of his own servants to pick one?

"This isn't just any flower, my dear. It's my late wife's favorite flower. I need two of them for the... anniversary of her death." Lord Servas explained, smiling down at the smaller girl, though his voice cracked as he attempted to hide his sorrow.

Rinni nodded slowly. She understood the pain of losing someone close to her. She had only recently felt that sting when she lost Penumbral Guard, Ko Lesalt, and Lucian Crimson. If all she had to do was pick flowers, this task would be quite simple for her.

"I understand, Sir. And where can I find this flower?" She inquired.

"It won't be easy to locate. It prefers to grow in dark, damp places. There may be a few growing in the castle dungeons. But I warn you, it gets incredibly dark in that place."

"I have my own ways of dealing with darkness. I'll find it, Sir." She reassured.

With that, Lord Servas had the guards direct her to the Dungeon, to which she proceeded to descend the winding stairwell with Winter, now on the ground, following closely behind her feet.

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Now within the depths of the dungeon, the deeper they went the darker it became until it was eventually pitch-black darkness. The little fox whimpered nervously, staying close enough to touch Rinni's ankles so as to not lose her. For the teen werewolf, however, it was as clear as though a torch were lit. Her vision was unfazed by the darkness and she was able to take in the sights and smells of the Dungeon.

It was eerie and a bit sad. As she walked past the many cells, she noticed several had skeletons of previous prisoners' final resting places. There were spider webs everywhere, causing the girl to shiver as she prayed to not encounter any spiders down here.

She couldn't even imagine the kind of heinous crimes one would have to commit to warrant being locked down here at all; much less for the rest of your life. Her nose crinkled at the musty smells of death, dust, and mold. It was at times like this that having the sensitive nose of a wolf was more of a curse than a blessing. It made it difficult to track the flowers by scent, that was certain. At least she wasn't blinded by the dark, therefore decreasing her chances of accidentally destroying or overlooking a flower.

After about an hour of searching, she began to wonder if the flower was even down here. Was it truly that rare? Just as she was about to give up the search, a unique fragrance out of place with the dungeon's aroma reached her nose. Finally! A few steps ahead she spotted the flowers Lord Servas was seeking.

Moving closer, she squatted and gingerly plucked two of them from the ground. "These must be the flowers, Winter." She assessed, noting there were no other plants down here. "Let's return to Lord Servas."

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Once out of the darkness of the dungeon and back into the more appealing structures of the castle itself, Rinni approached Lord Servas and presented him with the flowers. To her surprise, the man burst into tears and couldn't seem to thank her enough for her help. As he handed her the promised payment, she couldn't help but smile. Though she accepted the reward, his happiness felt like a reward in and of itself.

Glad to have been of service, and to help in such a delicate personal affair, the werewolf bid farewell to the lord as she left the castle feeling uplifted despite all she's been through.

[WC: 500/500]