By the time I had woken up, Aspen and Adrianne had already dismantled much of the camp. By now they were settled near the fire, leaving a pheasant's leg burning on a stick as they chewed through a wing and a breast each. Small growls echoed from my stomach as I finally stood up, hungry, and I shook the last drops of sleep from my eyes.

A sting of pain echoed from my rib as I released a sigh, forcing myself to shift more gingerly. A delightful start to my day, I suppose, but it was better than the fright he had caused me yesterday, what with the falling out of the tree and the nightmarish stories.

I shrugged off the sting, wandering over to the fire. At my arrival, Aspen finally took notice of my existence, waving me over as he tested the bird meat they'd set aside and deemed it edible.

He probably caught it. At least we won't have to starve now...

"Good morning, love. Sleep well?" He asked, handing me the meat as I sat beside him gently.

I groaned, rubbing my eyes, "I got as much as I could manage, after yesterday's little incidents."

He laughed along with Adrianne as she slowly peeled some meat off the bird, keeping the juices from staining her mouth. My friend had gained a few new injuries since last night: scratches scuffing her knuckles, a large welt on her forearm, a scrape on her shin and her hair in a tangled mess. A large red splotch kissed her cheek from when Aspen had slapped her, but by now that was barely noticeable. I chewed the pheasant leg thoughtfully, wondering what on earth she had gotten herself up to.

"Believe it or not, Liz, I killed the bird. I caught it and seasoned it!" She laughed at my stunned expression, nodding to the bloody dagger resting on a log nearby.

She did what??

For all our time spent together, never had I seen Adrianne in an unmanicured garden; the only place remotely similar to a forest was the Butterfly Canopy, and that was just before we had left home as well. Where on earth she found the time to manage a kill, I will never know, but an inkling of a thought tickled my mind, that my best friend was not really the sort of person I knew all that well.

A harsh thought it was too, digging into my psyche like a poisonous splinter dripping with contempt. I shoved it aside, focusing on her accomplishment.

At least that answers the injuries, I suppose.

"You are not being serious, right?"

"Of course I am, you silly toad. I caught, I killed and now I eat."

Lady Helena flashed before my eyes, her fan hiding a cruel smile. Shivers ran down my spine as memories of Adrianne's mother giving long dreadful lectures raced through my head. Forcefully, I threw myself back into reality, staring incredulously at the stupid girl in front of me.

"Adri! What would your mother think?"

"She's not here, is she?"

"So what? I'll still have to tell her! Yvonne's stars above, you're injured."

"I'm fine! Quit being a bother!" She mumbled angrily. By then, she had huffed herself into a fit, picking at the lukewarm flesh and licking the juices of the bird as she turned aside.

I shook my head, uneasy.

It's never that simple, you oaf.

"I'm still going to have to explain all this to her."

"Good luck to you then."

She huffed, tugging another bit of meat into her mouth until I gave up and congratulated her on her kill. She would suffer later anyway and I might as well credit her for trying. All the while, Aspen was oddly silent, as if he had gone mute, and he fixated himself with the dying embers in front of us intently.

Perhaps it was merely my speculation at that time, but he appeared to be lost in his own head. His tanned skin became pale, like blotchy cheese that was neither yellow nor white, but speckled with different shades as veins and arteries grew redder and starker against the surface. His eyes had glazed over, with a thin slimy film covering his pupils and his pulse appeared more vivid to me near his neck, thumping quicker as his chest pumped harshly. I was not sure what I was seeing nor how I could see it; he seemed more alive to me somehow, more in motion than anything else and yet I had no basis for that assumption.

I blinked, turning to Adrianne.

I saw... his pulse? What?!

I shook my head, rubbing my eyes; that should not have been possible.

Am I losing my sanity perhaps?

Adrianne appeared much the same, except her skin was fairer and more even. The lack of scarring allowed me to watch the network of blood shift organically underneath. Her eyes did not have that same slimy film and her heart beat slower as she worked on the camp, but I was not focused on any of those details.

I was scared, unbelievably so. This was not normal. Even the forest appeared more alive, with dust specks growing brighter as the light turned from pillars to rays to slits to points, piercing through the canopy overhead. Looming shadows became darker, peering at me from the abyss and I was thrown into doubt.

I have to be seeing things.

Fear returned, palpable and consuming as it echoed with every thump of my heart and a heavy pit grew in my stomach. I slowly brushed my hands through my black locks, desperate to keep calm.

Deep breaths, Liz. Deep breaths.

Slowly but surely, I had regained control of myself, watching as the jittering in my hands became less vigorous until they stilled. Both Adri and Aspen 'returned' to normal, no longer emitting those strange pulses, nor was their skin so webbed or speckled or pale or anything. Even the forest returned.

When I looked back at them all, they were perfectly normal.

Eliza...

The small voice tingled at the back of my mind, echoing sadly as I pushed it aside. The others were arguing as I packed away my rucksack, pulling out a comb to go through the tangled mess on my head.

"...Aspen, are we to make it to Cheverton today?" Adri whined, rubbing her finger over a nail. She hissed at a thorn as she pulled back a bramble, tugging the skin with her teeth to dislodge it but only yielded more pain for her efforts. Poor thing, that thorn did manage to embed itself quite deeply. It would surely bleed out if she didn't wash it soon enough.

"Fear not, Kit; we shall arrive by high noon today at the latest. For now, go to the brook, down there by the ash tree, a little ways to the right and wash off the thorn gently. It'll loosen up by itself."

"Very well then. I'll see you later, you old crow. Eliza."

"You'll hear it before you see it," he called after her.

"Uh huh."

"Don't fall, Kit!"

I laughed at that, "Try not to hurt yourself on the way back, Adri."

"Shut up, you two," She grumbled, fading into the underbrush.

By that point, it was just me and the crow, standing around as we watched the branches sway in the breeze.

"Is she always like that?"

"She's worse most days, but that's not really why you sent her off, is it?"

He turned to look at me, raising an eyebrow with a smile as he said nothing.

"The brook's on the south to our left, not right. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

He laughed, turning to face me fully as he brushed a hand through his hair. I shivered lightly, still unnerved from the images I had imagined earlier, but pushed them aside.

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"Clever girl. Alright, love, you got me," he paused, becoming more serious as he bored his eyes into mine. His tone was serious, and for all my naivety, I hung on his every word, hungry to know.

"I need you to listen very carefully, Eliza. When we get to Cheverton, trust no one and speak of nothing. You will have to tread lightly once we get there, for the Butterfly does not like your kind."

"What..?"

"Do not say a word until we pass Cheverton, love. Promise me that. I cannot swear to keep you safe when we arrive if you don't."

He bored into me, emphasising every word as I peered up at him in confusion.

"What, why? What about Adri?" I hissed, confused.

"That hay-haired kit will be fine; she is expendable. I doubt her words will be weighed seriously anyway."

I barely heard the rest of his sentence, caught up in his previous statement.

"WHAT? Expendable? You ought to protect both of us, not just me! Adri's important too!"

"Sweet heavens above... I swore my oath to Alucard, not to Xandros," He sighed, rubbing his brow with a dusty finger, "You are my priority, not her. You will understand in due time,but for now, go get your things - we're leaving. In the meantime, I'll go find our wayward kit."

He gently pushed me aside as he went back to chase after the girl, disappearing behind the very brambles she had passed. Muttering something about her leaving his precious 'baby' all dirty, he pocketed his dagger and left me behind to ponder his words.

The Butterfly...?

When the two returned, I was still bewildered. The dazzling beauty of the Markyne forest was lost to me. I did not notice the vivid green vines webbing over the oak trees like netting, nor the voracious bushes as they ran over half-buried roots, like a brood of snakes in the pale, dappled sunlight. Instead, I chose to puzzle over his cryptic words until I could think no further, mentally drained. It would have done me no good anyway - I doubt he would've explained further.

It took about half a day before we could even see the edge of Cheverton and then another few hours before we reached the town at last. By that point, we were all exhausted, with Aspen and Adri marching on ahead of me as they bantered and asked about when it would all be over, fading into the dark twilight.

As we passed by, I carefully observed the residents' faces, disturbed by what the old crow had said and yet, everywhere I looked, I could not find a single thing amiss. The locals were amicable as they answered kindly when we asked for directions to the Dragon's Inn. They even offered us help in carrying our packs at points.

It was slightly off-putting; every person we came across peered at us when we passed, yet I merely chalked it up to innocent curiosity. There could have been no other explanation in my mind, yet how far I was from the truth.

Cheverton was a decent sized town; from what I recall, the entrance was at the north-western edge, facing the Markyne forest with small fields of wheat and barley growing at the opposite end, nearer the Leston River. According to Father, Lord Cheverton rarely ever left his castle except to greet him during the inspections, but the people were fond of him regardless and maintained order fairly well.

Long, smooth beams of oak and birch from the Shiner's Forest constituted much of the buildings in the town as well as the market stalls. Cloth banners hung from the balconies over the railing, identifying the barber's, the patisseries, the butcher's, the tailor's, the cobbler's and other shops beneath.

One particular shop caught my eye, standing apart from the rest - the apothecary. It was situated somewhat closer to the Dragon's Tavern, with loud laughter and the clinking of glasses bleeding into the shop's walls.

I watched the customers through the open door as they stood around, studying various dried herbs and roots and tubers all hung up from the ceiling. Grape vines grew on the inside along one particular wall and the scents of mint and thyme, horsetail and yarrow, fennel and hyssop all blended together in a fresh aroma that made me inhale the scent deeply.

It smelled absolutely divine.

"Oh come on, you toad! Even the crow's faster than you!" Adrianne broke through my reverie, marching ahead with Aspen up to the other side of the street.

Turning off to the right, the Dragon's Tavern stood head and shoulders above every other building, towering above us as the greened copper plate creaked in the breeze. The laughter and mingling of voices from inside soon became a cacophonous din, muffling the peace I had felt earlier outside. Loud rambunctious men drank heartily out of beer mugs, kegs of alcohol leaking out of faucets behind the bartender and the giggling of waitresses as they passed by served to cloud my mind with the noise and the crazed atmosphere.

Never before had I nor Adri beheld such a view, of men and women and rogues and couples all acting with such indecency in profane mirth. They were all together in one gloriously obscene room with no sense of restraint or the like. In the end, I felt my skin crawl, unused to the environment.

What in Fayer's name...

The old crow and Adrianne walked up to the bartender, conversing of our room which Denver had booked. Great plumes of alcohol vapours puffed up around us in one suffocating cloud until I could barely breathe, making me choke inwardly. I longed for the scents of the apothecary then, if only just a little while, for it brought me a moment's reprieve from whatever nauseous hell I was in at that time.

I wish I could burn this place down, it reeks...

Aspen and Adri were already at the front, speaking to the bartender as they asked him for the room Denver had arranged. Not long after that, he handed the old crow a wooden block and gestured vaguely to a set of stairs half-hidden in the corner as he turned to another patron.

I assume Adrianne stopped paying attention, peering up around my head instead of watching her feet up those stairs. A loud clattering sound suddenly forced me to jump, quickly spinning to see what the commotion was about until I finally laid my eyes on my dear little imp, lying on the ground with an already bleeding hand and another newfound welt on her other arm.

According to the waitresses downstairs, she had missed one of the steps and was sent sprawling to the ground, her finger bleeding more furiously than before as her hand knocked against the railing. She had gained several more bruises that day because of it, making me sigh as I walked back down.

"You really have to stop doing that. Are you really not into pain?"

"It's not my fault! I swear I'm not - it was an accident!" She cried as I pulled her up gingerly, sobbing lightly from the pain as the base of her spine popped into place.

The pang from my ribs echoed again as she shifted her weight onto me. I hid a wince, focusing on my friend.

"Look - at least you can still walk. You'll be fine, just take it easy."

At that point, her brown eyes were puffy and her skin had begun to go red again. Her voice went up several octaves, anger bleeding through her words.

"Easy for you to say; you broke your rib and you're still walking."

"Quit it, you wretch. The rib wasn't particularly my fault, but your little trip down the stairs is."

"Asinine fool! The rib was your fault; you fell out of a tree, remember?"

I shook my head, chuckling lightly, "Sure it was. Now then, let's get ourselves out of here."

By the time we had made it up those stairs, Aspen had already settled into the room, yanking out an old mattress from underneath the two twin beds. He was settled comfortably against the frame as he cleaned off the last of the blood from his dagger, glancing up once we made it to the doorway.

"Well now, what have you done this time, little Kit?"

I chimed in, "Oh, nothing much. She merely decided that falling down the stairs was a good idea after the bramble incident earlier today."

The hearty laugh that the crow let out was full blown and loud, a bellow heaving from his body as he doubled over at the skewed expression on Adrianne's face.

"Shut it, both of you! You ought to mind your manners, laughing at a hurting girl like that. And YOU-" she turned around, pointing her finger at me as I raised my hands in mock innocence, "You ought to keep your mouth shut! Ahavet above, no wonder Celestine prefers Marcus to you - you're insufferable!"

Stray tears slowly trailed down her face as she wiped them away, hissing in pain. She sat down on her bed opposite Aspen, turning towards the wall.

Stunned, I made my way to the other bed, not speaking much else after that. I figured she just needed space, thus my mind did not take her words all that seriously. I did, however, return to those very words frequently later on.

"Good night, Adri..." I muttered, leaving my pack on the floor as the old crow glanced between the two of us. He pulled out a sizable piece of wood from his pack, flicking the dagger against the block.

I turned away, facing the window to gaze outside at the endless sea of stars, vast and consuming. By the time we had all settled in properly, the night was fully awake, moonlight streaming gently inside. The old crow kept me company that sleepless night, whistling a solemn tune as the sharp swish of his dagger chipped away at the wood. Thankfully, fresh breezes rustled the curtains to clear out the fumes of alcohol from downstairs and the blanket managed to cut the chill of the darkness, allowing me to become still.

Pain came at me in full force, the ache of both my rib and my arm joining in with the chorus of groaning muscles. Exhaustion soon followed suit, pulling me into the arms of a deep, troubled sleep as Adrianne's careless words bounced around in the corridors of my mind, drowning out the drunken laughter from below.