Lilly wanted to be brave. Expected it of herself, really. But she’d never faced death before.

She was young. She was Aeonic. She had lived a protected life under the watchful eye of her High Elder father and the Godknight. Death was still just an idea to her. A concept. Something that happened to other people. Older people.

Humans.

Lilly fixated on the blade. Not on the soldier who weilded it, but on the gleaming, razor-sharp metal. Raindrops danced off its surface, mingling with the thick blood at its tip, creating a crimson rivulet that flowed from hilt to the muddy ground.

She tried to be brave. But as the blade reached its apex and began the descent she knew ended at her throat, she couldn’t help herself. She put her hands up in front of her face and squeaked out a weak and pathetic plea for her life.

“Please!”

Lilly closed her eyes and cringed. For a brief moment, she wondered how much it would hurt and if it would be over quickly.

Then she was struck not with the sharpness of a blade, but the blunt force of somebody knocking her to the ground.

As she fell, she heard a distant boom, like the sound of drums pounding in a great hall. She recognized that sound, had heard it many times already in her life. Sometimes, when the Godknight flew at a high speed, that sound followed him.

She finally managed to look up and saw someone standing between her and the soldiers who had been about to murder her. For a moment, she thought it was actually him. The Godknight, come to save her.

But it wasn’t. To Lilly’s shock and surprise—was it fair to be so surprised?—it was Windham, putting his body between the soldiers and herself.

The soldiers had paused, their attention pulled towards the sky and the Godknight. As they did, Windham dropped down to one knee as if to protect Lilly. He held a hand up, his palm extended in a forceful “halt” gesture at the soldiers.

The soldiers exchanged confused glances with each other. One spoke up, said something Lilly couldn’t hear. The others nodded.

The one who had threatened her with his blade met Windham’s eyes and gave him a brief nod. Then they all turned away and began running towards City Center.

Windham’s back was still facing her, but his body language was easy to read. His shoulders slumped and his head bobbed low. What he had just done, Lilly realized, must have absolutely terrified him. Yet he had done it just the same.

For her.

Her own heart was pounding fiercely. It took her a moment to regain her wits and begin to stand. As she did, she was able to confirm the sound she had heard was, in fact, the Godknight. He was soaring just over their heads, straight towards the way she had come, the City Center.

“Windham!” she cried, and put her hand on his shoulder. He jumped, startled, and nearly fell over. “Whoa!” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “It’s just me, buddy. Lilly.”

Windham looked at her with wide eyes, his fear evident in his face and posture. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

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“Are you okay?” Lilly asked. She took a step towards him, studying his face, trying to reassure him.

“Yes,” he said at last, the word soft and wavering. He blinked rapidly, seemed to be working on regaining his senses. Finally, he cleared his throat and stood a little taller. “I mean, yes. Yes, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

Lilly looked herself over. “Back’s a little sore. And I’m kinda soaking wet. But otherwise… yeah. I think I’m okay.”

“Wow. Good.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, each assessing the other. More soldiers ran past them, now oblivious to their existence, focused on the arrival of the Godknight. Lilly felt like she was seeing Windham for the first time, or perhaps just in a new light. His bravery in stepping between the soldier and her had visibly wearied him. Which only made the act that much braver.

She flashed back to her own moment of truth, barely a minute ago, when she had been trying to find courage. She could hear her own pathetic “please” echoing in her mind, felt a self loathing she wasn’t at all familiar with. It was a reasonable response, she understood. A second or two more, and she would have been dead. But it didn’t make her feel any better. She knew she wanted to be more, wanted to be better than that. But in her first big moment, she had floundered. And had needed saving.

“Thank you,” Lilly said to him, her head lowered in shame and embarrassment.

“Lilly, we should go. Now.”

She looked back up at his face. The desperation was still there. The Godknight’s arrival had granted them a momentary reprieve, but the danger was still all around him. It was clear to her now how important she must’ve been to Windham; he could have left the city on his own, had obviously wanted to. But here he stood, seemingly unwilling to leave without her. Trying to protect her, still.

She looked at the people around them. Some were running in the streets. Others were laying among the rubble. Some still had fresh beads of blood flowing from their slashed throats.

These were her people. She had no interest in her father’s wish for her to some day become an Elder, but they were her people all the same, and she felt a certain responsibility for them. That responsibility, heaped on top of her feelings of shame and cowardice, made leaving the city not an option.

“I can’t go, Wind,” she told him, her resolve reforming. “I need to help these people. Or try to.”

“Are you crazy?” he practically screamed at her. “How are you going to help anyone?”

The question stung, and she was reminded of the Windham she had always known. She felt a twinge of loss but refused to dwell on it. He’d earned her respect, if nothing else, and she supposed she’d always feel like she owed him something.

“I have to try,” she said calmly. “But you should go.”

“Lilly…”

“No, really. You should. I want you to. Get out of the city, get safe.”

He rubbed his hands through his hair in frustration. “Lilly, for the love of everything holy—”

“Sorry.” She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek. He reared back as if she had bitten him. It made her want to giggle.

“Thank you,” she repeated, and touched his face where she had just kissed it. Then she turned and began to sprint back towards City Center.

She heard Windham shouting her name, but she didn’t turn around. Not until he yelled, “Wait up!”

Lilly stopped. He caught up to her.

“You sure about this?” she asked him.

His mouth hung open and he shook his head in exasperated resignation. But only shrugged.

“Good,” she said with a smile. “Let’s go.”

She started running again, Windham now at her side. She felt momentarily free, content that she was at last taking some kind of action. Doing the right thing. Somehow, some way, she was going to help.

In all the chaos of the day, Lilly never even noticed the strange red sash Windham had chosen to wrap around his waist…