Ember tried to dissuade Priest Beslen, pointing out that they didn't have the money or space to house a knight. Unfortunately, the priest already had an answer, stating the knight could take care of his own food and was used to roughing it if need be. Knight Vantosia didn't object so that was the end of it.

She tried again with different arguments but the priest seemed amused at her protest. He pounced on her every excuse with common sense and solutions. Eventually, she gave up and besides with Knight Vantosia around it would help to keep her family safe until the Choosing. The only problem was that the knight would be watching her and she wouldn't be able to continue with her plans to rob the other houses. Even her plans to practice her abilities wouldn't be possible. She couldn't chance the man having a high magic sensitivity and finding out she was a Seedling.

She would wait until they reached the city. Then she could be free and start working on getting stronger and recovering her abilities. Maybe even start getting some new ones. Still, there was one thing she needed to do and she would have to do it quickly. So when Priest Beslen and Knight Vantosia brought her back to her family and started going over their decision to have a knight guard her, Ember decided to take the opportunity to get her plan underway.

"I need to go to the toilet," Ember stated.

"Me too," Rowan piped in.

Ember frowned at her brother but he just gave her a knowing look.

"You two," her mother said, embarrassed. "You don't have to announce it. You know where it is."

Knight Vantosia started to stand but Ember waved her hand at him. "I can go by myself."

"It's dangerous," the knight said.

She stomped her foot, looking very much her age. "I don't want you coming with me. It's bad enough my brother is coming along."

"Hey!"

"It's fine, Knight Vantosia," Priest Beslen said. "Give the girl a little privacy. She has had a long day."

The knight scowled but he sat down. Ember immediately darted out of the room with her brother following behind her. Once they stepped out of the back rooms, Rowan spoke up.

"So what are you really up to?" her brother asked.

She put her finger to her lips and looked around. Instead of going to the outside sege house, she moved to the section of private prayer rooms on the outskirts of the center room where the stone tree stood. She peeked into one. It had been taken over by an acolyte for the worst injured of the townspeople. They laid on makeshift beds while an acolyte treated them. She moved to the next room which was fortunately empty. Ember gestured for Rowan to follow her as she darted inside.

The inside was made of a prayer altar covered with a cloth and several cushions on the ground. There were two small tables on either side of the room with a bowl of water. Ember went to one of the tables and carefully lifted the bowl and set it on the floor. Then she dragged the table and pushed it against the door.

Rowan watched her, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "You're like a spy or an assassin."

"I'm neither you know." Moving the table was a small thing but she found her breathing grow heavy from the act. It looked like all her fighting and sneaking around town was getting to her. She pushed it away. There was still a lot to do.

Ember called up Keeper's Hold and pulled out the box she had stolen.

Now that she wasn't in a rush, she had time to look at it. It was black and from what she could see there was no latch or even a slit to indicate it wasn't just a block of wood. As she examined it she noticed the box began to vibrate. Then pain lashed over her hand.

She flinched, dropping the box in the process. She looked at her hand and noticed that it was bleeding.

"What the hell?"

As Ember looked at her hand, she noticed sharp marks cutting into her fingers and they seemed slightly burnt. At first, she wasn't sure if they were new burns or the burns she had already suffered from earlier but they were too uniform, making an imprint like a bite.

"Um, Ember, is that box growling?" Rowan asked, staring at the box.

Ember blinked and immediately turned to the box. It was indefinitely growling. It was a low rumble and with each growl the book shook.

Ember's eyes lit up. "It's a beast box!"

"Beast box?" Rowan asked, staring with interest at the box but not quite daring to get closer.

"It's a magical item made from the skin of a beast and embedded with its essence."

"Uh huh. So how do you open it?" Rowan asked, stepping a little closer.

"You have to befriend it which takes a long time and sometimes is near impossible when it has a strong bond with its owner."

"Befriend a box?"

Ember nodded. "That's the best way. Of course, you can just destroy it but that could damage what is inside and beast box are very strong."

"I guess you'll have to make friends with it then?" Rowan nudged the box with his foot and then jumped back as it moved with a short jerk.

"No, I don't really have time for that," Ember said, looking thoughtful.

"Then are you going to destroy it?" Rowan asked and there was excitement in his voice. Always destruction with that one.

"No, that would be a waste," Ember said and she crouched down in front of the box. "But luckily there's a third way." She called up a small fire within her hand and then she pressed it to the box.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"I thought you weren't going to destroy it," Rowan said as he watched her.

"Just watch," Ember said. The box gobbled up the flame. Ember poured more of the elemental flame into it and the box swallowed it down greedily.

Ember pushed out a steady stream of flames until she started to feel light-headed from the expenditure. When she was sure that she wouldn't have enough magic to fuel any more of the flames the box finally opened.

"Wow," Rowan said.

Small pants spilled from Ember's mouth but she was grinning. "Beast boxes aren't too hard to open if you have the right type of magic. Each beast type has an affinity and if you feed it that affinity then it'll open right up. It's one of the drawbacks of a beast box but still useful against commoners and most seedlings."

She then reached into the box. Inside were two pouches. A peek into one had her grinning. It was filled with copper coins. The other was even better. Though it wasn't full it had at least 30 silver coins, even a few silver bril. But what really made her eyes widen was the one gold coin gleaming in the mix of silver. It was a gold flat, so the lowest gold coin grade but even that was more money than she expected. One gold flat was worth 1000 silver flats and 40,000 copper brils. With this her family would be set for life. And that wasn't all the box had to offer.

Within the box were two gleaming monster cores and a small pelt of soft teal fur. The monster cores she couldn't do much with since she wasn't a crafter but depending on the quality, she could get something made with them or just sell them. The pelt looked familiar but she couldn't place it but the teal color at least meant it would be worth something.

"It looks like this was his retirement fund," Ember remarked.

"Whose? Did you steal it?" Rowan asked both intrigued and wary.

Ember decided not to answer that. Instead, she looked around the room before her eyes settled on the tablecloth. She took Mally out of Keeper's Hold and moved to the cloth. She tried to get Mally to shift into a pair of scissors but the soul weapon stubbornly refused. She sighed and focused on shifting it into a knife instead. Then she began cutting away part of the tablecloth.

"What are you doing?" Rowan asked.

"I'm making a pouch."

Rowan looked exasperated. "But you already have two of them."

"I don't want to chance anyone recognizing them."

She put 10 silver flats, 5 silver tons, and 1 of the silver bril in the makeshift pouch. It left her with 7 silver flats, 5 silver tons, 2 silver brils and 1 gold flat. She hesitated and put a second silver bril in the makeshift pouch. It was better to be save than sorry. Putting the small fortune back into the box and keeping the white makeshift pouch by her side, Ember had to wonder why Myron even stayed in Goros. Was he saving for something or was it pure greed? She suspected it might be greed. If his embezzlement had brought him this much wealth then there was definitely more he was hoping to gain. In any case, his greed was her good fortune. She closed the box and put it and Mally back into Keeper's Hold.

"I can't wait until I become a Seedling," Rowan stated as he watched everything.

Ember grinned. "I can't wait to see what abilities you'll get."

"They're going to be great. The best ones, " Rowan said cheerfully.

Ember laughed. "Okay, so this next part I'll need to do alone."

"What? Why?"

"It'll look strange if you're with me," Ember said and then she called up the familiar illusion of Bloom Larisel. "I'll be right back. Stay here until I'm done."

She took a step forward and a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her illusion flickered. She shook herself and forced the illusion to stay in place. She must have pushed herself too much. Her magic must be low and needed time to recover. It didn't help that she was still worn out from the battle.

Just a little more.

As she was gathering herself, Rowan had pushed the table away from the door.

"Thanks," she said and then hurried out. She had to make this quick.

She moved swiftly around the temple but it was crowded and several acolytes were running around helping the injured. They must have been acolytes from the delegation since the temple only had two. It took her longer than she liked to find Priest Octorin and by the time she did her illusion had flickered twice and beads of sweat were running down her face.

Still, she pulled herself up and mustered all the grace she could manage. "Priest."

Priest Octorin didn't say anything. He was too busy focusing on a distressed young couple, his hands gripping theirs.

"Priest Octorin," Ember said again, this time much louder.

"Just one moment," the priest said, not bothering to turn towards her. His attention stayed focus on the couple.

That's when Ember felt it. It was subtle, a trickle of magic that spread from his hands to the couples. The tension in their faces eased and their shoulders sagged.

The priest smiled at the couple. "Your daughter will be fine. The best thing you can do is rest and let her see your bright faces tomorrow."

"Thank you, Priest Octorin. We'll come by tomorrow."

Ember watched the couple go as Priest Octorin turned to her. "How can I help you..."

"Bloom Larisel," she said, frowning. "What ability was that?"

Priest Octorin looked at her in surprise. "Comfort. It's an ability to help ease and calm the soul."

"I never heard of such a thing before," Ember said.

Priest Octorin just smiled in answer. "How can I help you Bloom Larisel?"

She held out her makeshift pouch. "Here. I would like you to see that this gets to Maiden Ember. Please do not give it to her until it is time for her to leave with the delegation."

The priest looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand. Why are you giving this to Maiden Ember?"

"It is simply to help her while she is in the city. I would accompany her but I have other business that needs my attention." She met the Priest's eyes. "She informed me that you have provided for her to see some priests about her curse."

"Yes. It was unfortunate what happened to her. To have such a powerful cursed placed on her. I haven't seen anything like it." The priest's brow furrowed. "But...you're not staying for the Choosing?"

Ember raised her hand and three elemental spheres appeared in her hand - fire, water, and earth. It was both a sign of intimidation and a confirmation of who she was. "Like I said, I have other business elsewhere."

"Of course, I apologize for prying," the priest said with a small bow of his head.

"Apology accepted. Now please make sure that pouch gets to Maiden Ember and with not a single coin missing." Without another word, she stepped out of the temple. She walked a little while before circling to the back where the sege houses were only to freeze.

Outside was Knight Vantosia. It was clear he was waiting for her. She quickly dropped the illusion and took a deep breath. As soon as she stepped around the corner, the knight gaze snapped towards her.

"Where were you?" Knight Vantosia demanded.

"I needed some time to myself," Ember stated and the words were technically true.

"And your brother?"

"He's inside. I told him to wait for me in the prayer room."

The knight frowned. "That was dangerous. Someone could have ambushed you outside."

"I'm fine," Ember said, trying to hold back her annoyance and failing.

"For now," the knight said. "Listen, Maiden Ember, what you just did was dangerous. What Priest Belsen told you wasn't an exaggeration and even I can't protect you if you go running off."

"I understand," Ember said and she felt more sweat running down her skin.

"Do you?" the knight said. "This isn't a game."

"I said I get it!" Ember shouted. A wave of dizziness washed over her and her vision grew blurry. She tried to focus. Knight Vantosia was saying something to her but his words sounded fuzzy and she couldn't stop sweating. Why? She wasn't using any magic anymore so she should be fine.

Before she knew it the world began to tip on its side. She landed with a thud. She tried to get up but her limbs wouldn't move. She could see Knight Vantosia running to her side. His lips were moving. What was he saying? She tried to concentrate but she was just too tired.

Then it didn't matter. Her eyes drifted closed and everything went dark.