The following morning, no one seemed to know what to say to each other. The prophecy weighed heavily in the room and Willow felt its oppressiveness pushing down on her hard. The potion the night before had helped but the moment she awoke her mind was racing, trying to reason out the whole affair. Richard, Esther, and Siobhan kept exchanging looks between each other and Nianti when they thought Willow wasn't paying attention.

Willow felt isolated, alone with the knowledge that her own childish stupidity had put a massive target on not only her back, but on every person she loved. All she knew was that in a forest, somewhere unknown and alone, she would die. Nianti had no further insight, claiming her knowledge came from her grandmother and not lived experience. She had not been born yet when the King had taken over.

As awkward as everything was, she didn't feel she could talk to her family about it all. Even when she tried, the conversation went nowhere. In frustration, she readied herself to head out into the city, unable to face a meal but was stopped by a heavy hand on her shoulder, preventing her departure.

Looking up irritably, Richard said sternly, “Willow, you are expected to train today. You will need a proper meal.”

With a defeated sigh, Willow shrugged off his hand and ladled herself some porridge. She ignored her mother's reproachful looks and Siobhan's usual snide comments, still too angry and hurt to address the elephant in the room. She finished her meal gingerly, the usually sweet porridge tasting like sour dirt in her mouth and stalked from the home, Richard's eyes boring into her back.

Around the back of the house and way back in the farthest corner of their farm was a secluded glade surrounded by dense trees. The first farmers on the land after The King's takeover had discovered it was just outside of the King's reach and so had utilised it for many different attempts at rebellion. It was a miracle The King had never found out about the glade but then they had always been incredibly careful who they allowed to possess the secret. This was where Willow was headed. The cool morning air helped calm her some as she made her way to the clearing, annoyed at having to train at all. It was like her family enjoyed flouting the law as if it meant nothing!

Richard had always insisted on training both she and Siobhan how to use a sword and bow. The only aspect of Willow's education that had been neglected was, of course, any magic training. Magic was such a rare thing amongst people that there was no qualified person to teach her those things. Even if someone had aspired to such things, their magical energy would have tipped the King off to their presence. If Willow had not been able to hide it, The King would have had her executed, on grounds of unclean birth. Willow had kept her lessons with Nil a secret, suspecting that regardless of the benefit Richard and Esther would not have been happy with her using it in any capacity. Richard and Esther had just presumed that she had stamped down on it so hard that it failed to be an issue anymore.

As it was the training that Willow did participate in with Richard could also lead to execution. No citizen was permitted the use of a weapon and any caught doing so received an automatic death penalty. As Willow had grown older and more aware of the world she lived in, these lessons had made her increasingly uncomfortable; she was beyond terrified that The King would find out. Arms training prohibition aside, The King didn't believe in women working and it was strictly forbidden for a woman to do anything but keep a home. It was considered 'proper' for a woman to keep the house and raise children. If she needed to make money for some reason, keeping a stall of preserves, cooked goods or other homemade goods was permitted. Home mending and related home-based wares were also permitted for sale. A woman could also work in the back of a shop, so long as she was not seen in the front. It was a limited world, but Willow had made her peace with it.

Richard followed Willow out a moment later, Nianti in tow to Willow's distaste. As he neared, he tossed Willow's training sword to her. “Start with your warm-ups.” he instructed.

As she moved through the familiar movements, Richard attempted to engage Willow in conversation, but each time the conversation led back to Nianti or similar topics and so Willow refused to engage. She wanted nothing to do with the elf or the Resistance and so was reduced to short, clipped answers to his questions.

Eventually, they moved on to duelling and any attempts at conversation ceased as they circled each other. Richard was the superior sword master given he had many years’ experience on her twenty, but Willow was younger which usually resulted in a relatively even match.

However, with the unusual anger Willow felt, her blocks were far stronger, her strikes harsher than usual and her father was forced to concede far earlier than they were accustomed to. He had praised her easy defeat of him however and after he'd had a chance to catch his breath, said, “You were more ferocious than ever today. Good. You might need it one day.” He eyed her, something on the tip of his tongue. It was gone quickly, and he chose instead to add. “I want you to work on suppressing your magic with Nianti or another hour and then you are free to go.”

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Willow shot him a mutinous look. “Excuse me? Are you trying to get me executed?” She bit out. How dare he deliberately go against her wishes! “And my suppression is perfectly workable!”

Willow was shot down by Richard however, a note of authority Willow was well used to, forcing her to back down, sighing heavily.

“I expect to hear good things from Nianti,” he warned, “Nianti knows much. You will do well to learn everything you can while the opportunity is open to you.” With that said, he strode away and back to the house.

Willow sat in front of Nianti, a good distance away, waiting reluctantly. Nianti sighed but began by asking basic questions about the techniques she used, the intensity of her magic. Occasionally, Nianti would correct her breathing or technique but seemed overall impressed with what Willow was capable of doing with such minimal training. Willow didn't have too much trouble with nature-based spells, thanks to Nil's informal lessons, but the abstract was beyond her and left her feeling drained and frustrated. Her greatest strength was in keeping her magic suppressed, inaccessible not in using it for more than something basic.

Nianti also took great pains to teach her a simplified version of the magic she had been using to hide her ability. Rather than bubble her entire self away, a more refined way to do it would be to bubble just the part of her that dictated it. It was far more difficult for Willow to grasp, and she hadn't been at it five minutes before she had already decided to ignore the elf's advice and stick to what she knew would keep her safe. It had worked for how many years now. What difference did it make at this point?

As the hour ended, Willow rose to leave but turned back when Nianti called out to her.

“Why are you so repulsed by me?” She asked. “Surely you do not believe what your King spouts about my people? I can understand it after last night, but before…?”

Willow sighed. “It matters little what I do or do not believe regarding your people. Your presence here presents a significant danger to me, my family and those I hold dearest. Given the danger involved here, how could you be surprised?”

Nianti nodded solemnly. “I understand you Willow, daughter of Richard. We are done here. I am surprised at your skill given how little you have been taught. Your cloaking ability, in particular, is very well developed.

Willow gave her a bitter smile. “I've had lots of practice.”

Nianti studied her for a moment. “Do you know what happened to my people the day the King rose?” She asked, continuing to study her person like she was a particularly interesting puzzle.

Willow stared. “Of course not. No human was there that day and we have not been permitted contact with the other races since. No one knows those things.”

Nianti nodded, accepting this for the fact it was. “It is not a pretty story. I was not born yet,” she smiled, seeing that question written on her face. “Elves generally live for some three hundred years, no one left to us remembers the Fatane Tu. We only have the stories left behind by those who were. Even by our standards, your King has been in power for an awfully long time.”

“This is a story we tell both our young and old around the fire at night as a warning. It starts several years before the rise of the King. A man came to us, looking for help. We were the last of the other races he came to see and my people, sensing darkness in his heart turned him away, unwilling to be a part of whatever that darkness entailed.”

“And this was our downfall. While with my people the stranger spoke of a great evil that had taken his homeland, an island beyond the shores of our land. My people refused to help. We cannot stand close to darkness, Willow. My people, we are repelled by it. It is why the damaged of us have remained apart from the rest of our people: we repel each other.”

Willow nodded. “How does this relate to the King though?” She asked, unwillingly curious where her story was going.

“It was several years later. I don't know how long exactly, Elves have never traced time the same way humans do, but within that generation, your King rose to power. And the purges started.”

“Those that had chosen to follow your King in those days knew of some of our settlements, we hadn't seen a reason to hide our homes in those days, we often traded with the humans. Those were some of the first hit. It was brutal and it was merciless. No one, not even the infants were spared. Many would escape, only to find that they had been followed. We lost thousands of our race in those dark days. To this day we don't know how our ancestors managed to hide from it. We were separated for a time; some were alone for a generation before finding others of our kind. My own grandmother was alone for most of her life before she found our kind again, reunited with her mate and child, my mother.”

Willow wiped her eyes, stalwartly unwilling to cry in front of this woman. Nianti noticed however and smiled. “I thank you for the tears for my people,” she took a deep breath. “We say to this day that it may have all been prevented if only we had listened to that man's plight. He sailed back to his homeland at some point with his human following.” Nianti met Willow's eyes.

“None returned. We don't know of course, but we suspected that the great evil the stranger spoke of continued onward after disposing of him.”

Willow bowed her head, offering silent prayers to those that had been lost to stop the King's rise before straightening her back and pushing the feelings aside. Nianti studied her curiously.

Willow took a deep breath. “What ifs are worthless now. This is life now. What if's only torture and unsettle. They are best left alone.” Her thoughts trailed to her brother momentarily before she quickly shied away from the pain.

Nianti studied her for a moment longer before conceding. “Perhaps you are wise Willow. We make the best of the situation we are given. We survive.”

Willow nodded as she rose. “Survival is all we have.”