Gathered inside of the city, we could finally see firsthand the chaos and destruction that had flooded it. Several buildings had collapsed while others somehow stood, in spite of the fires that raged inside.

Bodies littered the ground. Mostly of men, but there were occasionally woman and children with them. Nearly all of them had been cut or stabbed through the back.

Huddled between two buildings that had miraculously remained untouched by the destruction, our group hid with a larger number of people, desperate to escape from the death that roamed the streets. The soldiers were actively cutting people down, killing them on sight and proclaiming justice against traitors.

The entire city was awash with fear and bloodlust. I’d never felt such a thirst for death in any other person before, but it seemed like every soldier in the city was worse than the last.

I could hear footsteps mixed in with the crackling of the fires nearby. They were getting closer until, eventually, a soldier stepped into view. Armor reflecting the glow of the sun, the man turned and looked at all of us.

Snapping his head to the side, the man shouted. “There’s more over here!”

Drawing his sword, I couldn’t see his face, but I knew I wouldn’t like the expression. Slowly, his boots crunched against the gravel that littered the roads as he stepped closer. Another two soldiers appeared soon after. Crouched at the head of the group, I tensed, preparing to attack, should I need to.

I wouldn’t need to, though, as one of the soldiers drew their weapon and the other two dropped silently to the ground. Wiping the blood from their weapon on their sleeve, the soldier sheathed it and removed her helmet.

“Dame-” I stopped as she lifted an eyebrow, “I mean, Ayun.”

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.” She kicked one of the bodies aside. “I’ve found a better place for us to hide.”

Putting the helmet back on, she walked back to the end of the alley and peered around the corner before waving at us.

It had been several hours since we had all regrouped on the road into the city. We initially planned to have the Ayun, Astrid and Damian all sneak into the city, bring Veria and Licilia out so we could escape. The girls that Charlotte and I rescued, however, pleaded for us to save their families too.

Without proper knowledge of what we would be facing, we couldn’t make a proper plan, so Ayun volunteered to go and gather intel. That was more than two hours ago. In that time, we’d found several others hiding and they ended up following us.

The size of our crowd of refugees continued to grow, and the more it grew, the more attention we drew. With Astrid and Damian, fighting off a small group of soldiers was easy, but the sound of the fighting only brought more of them. In the end, we decided that hiding was the best way to stay safe.

“So where are we going?” Astrid asked. With Damian’s lack of an arm, she was forced to work harder, and it was taking a toll. She was tired and visibly dehydrated.

“These guys are thorough, but only on their first run. After they’ve searched an area, they don’t go back. Most of them are gathered around the Wark’s estate, gawking at the walls.” She explained. “We’re heading to the Renae estate. It was the first place they searched. There should be supplies in the emergency storeroom.”

Hearing where we were going, I glanced over to Charlotte. Outwardly, she only sighed, but I could feel the turmoil that raged inside her. Some part of her, though small, still loved her parents. She probably knew that her parents did terrible things, but to have it thrown in your face like this was overwhelming.

Taking out a small map, Ayun lead us through the city, going through the areas that had already been searched.

Seeing the city like this, I felt a knot form in my stomach. I had no real attachment to the city or its people, but seeing the drastic shift was sobering. The places that I had so frequently visited, by myself or with the Warks or Charlotte. Some buildings still stood, but there were dark and hollow. Like the life had been stolen from the city itself. The spirit of joy and the sound of laughter that I’d grown so used to had been ripped away.

There was no doubt in my mind that my father had something to do with all of this. At every point in my life where I felt even a semblance of peace, he was there to drown it in sorrow. He got some sick pleasure out of ruining others’ lives, and I was no exception.

But I still had some joy to cling onto. Things are definitely bad, but they could be far worse. I still have my real family: Damian, Astrid, Ayun, the Warks and Charlotte. We lost Pert, but I believe that his death was not in vain. In that short moment before she ran, I could feel it. The dark feeling that had always lingered in her mind had been utterly crushed. We just have to find her.

I felt confident, now more than ever. I had a strength that my father could not take away. If he ever tried to take away this joy, then I would tear his heart out and crush it underfoot.

Seeing the Renae estate, my mind returned to the party that Jaime, Veria and I had attended together. It had looked like a paradise back then, like a haven of gold and sugar. Now, nothing remained. Anything of wealth had been ripped from its resting place. The grass was torched and trampled. The trees were the only thing left undamaged.

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Walking up to the building, I stared through the doorway, the doors having been ripped from their hinges, stripped of all metal and then tossed aside. Oddly enough, the home felt not much different from before. It was cold, dark and silent.

Ayun hurried through the doorway, everyone following closely behind her. The only person who stayed behind was Charlotte. Standing right beside me, she stared up at the building in silence.

I was about to try and read her emotions, when a single tear dripped down her face.

What good was knowing what she felt if she didn’t understand it, herself?

That day, when I found her in the tree hollow, deep in the forest. I read her emotions, but the thing actually helped was when we just talked. She opened up, and I just listened.

“Hey,” I turned and said, drawing her attention, “I think I know where some spare supplies are.”

She paused for a moment before turning to look at the forest behind the house.

“I didn’t think of that.” A slight smile formed as she turned back to me. “I’ll let Ayun know where we’re going.”

I watched as she hurried into the building following after the stragglers at the back of the crowd and followed shortly after.

The emergency storeroom was located underneath the kitchen. The opening was hidden in the corner where Ayun carefully lifted a section of the flooring.

“Please,“ she started, “take only what you need and make sure that everyone gets something.”

Charlotte rushed over to the woman and spoke quickly. I saw Ayun nod just before Charlotte turned and ran back to me.

“She says to be quick.” She stopped to say before hurrying past me.

Charlotte reminded me of a wild rabbit as she practically sprinted through the forest. I was having a hard time keeping my footing with all of the underbrush trying to trip me. She would occasionally stop and turn to let me catch up, giggling whenever I would stumble. I was doing far better than the first time I’d followed her out here, but she could still leave me in the dust if she wanted.

The hollow tree was exactly the same as it always was. Clambering into the hollow, Charlotte and I sat down on the blanket. The baskets had some medical supplies, dried, wrapped food and a small pouch of gold chips and Crowns. After taking inventory, Charlotte turned to me. Her eyes were wet, though she wasn’t sad. She was smiling far bigger than I’d ever seen from her.

“I’m glad I met you.” Charlotte said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Me, too.” I smiled back.

Turning slightly red, she stammered. “A-and I know that I-I’m not a noble anymore, but… but I hope you’ll still consider the engagement.”

Engagement?

“I know that you spoke to my father about it, and after everything he’s done I doubt that anyone would take it seriously…” She looked up and stopped talking. I hadn’t realized it yet, but I was staring her right in the eyes.

When did we talk about an engagement?

Then I remembered when we had first been in this same position. I had mentioned a deal with her father and spending a lot more time with her. Did she think it was about marriage? Though…

Even more red in the face, Charlotte started to stumble over her words. “I-I can- I can understand if you want to call it- call it off…”

I was finding it hard to process what was happening. Never in my life has marriage ever seemed like a possibility. Yet here I am, feeling like I’m about to elope with someone at the age of thirteen.

The deal that her father and I made was that I would help keep her safe, and he would keep the Warks safe from the Watchmen and Lord Revan while I got a little spending money. The man had failed miserably at one of these, so I was well within my rights to forget the deal. Charlotte was family, though.

Marriage, though.

The only married couple I could think of were Licilia and Pert. Remembering the two of them and how they were together, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. I’ll continue to uphold my end of our deal, though I’ll be protecting Charlotte in a different way.

While in deep thought, I had not realized that Charlotte was rambling and growing even redder. What came out of her mouth could barely even be considered words at this point. She looked to be on the verge of crying.

Without a word, I reached behind my neck and lifted off my mother’s medallion. For the last two years, it had hung against my chest as a reminder of my mother. It was a promise I had made to myself, that I would find her, the only real family I had in this world. That promise changed, though I had not realized it until now. I still wanted to find her, but I had family with me. We shared no blood, but they were more than I could have ever asked.

Reaching over Charlotte’s head, I hung the medallion around her neck.

Frozen and practically steaming from her face, she looked down at the circle of wood. After a moment of pause, she asked. “What is this?”

“A promise.” I answered simply.

Lifting her head, she started to move her mouth, though she couldn’t seem to make any sounds.

“We’ll work out the details once we’ve gotten everyone out safely.” I said, reaching for the baskets.

It seemed funny to think that I looked exactly like her not too long ago, frozen and staring at a distance far out of reach. Recognizing that she would be there for some time, I started to bring the baskets out from the tree, stacking them just outside of the hollow tree.

Eventually, Charlotte emerged from the hollow, holding the blanket we’d been sitting on. She still had a distant look on her face, but it was different from before. She was worried about something.

“Ready to head back?” I asked, holding out one of the baskets for her carry.

Blinking rapidly, she took the basket and said. “Yeah, let’s go.”

She took off into the forest, slower this time.

Following after, I asked. “Is everything alright?”

“I… I don’t know.” She answered. “I was thinking of some things and remembered my brother.”

“Alastair? Isn’t he in the military?”

“Exactly.” She replied. “If they’re killing people here, just because they were nearby, then how are they treating him?”

“Your brother is strong.” I said. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” She said softly.

The trek back to the Renae estate was quiet, though it felt shorter than the trip out. We were welcomed with a cheer, especially when they found out that one of the baskets had a bug jug of alcohol.

“Why did you have that?” Ayun asked, watching as people passed the jug around.

“You said that alcohol can help stop infections.” Charlotte replied with a shrug.

“Well, find a seat somewhere. We’ve finished our plan.”

A short time after we’d found a place to sit in the kitchen, Damian, Astrid and Ayun all gathered at the end of the damaged table.

“We’ve finished our plan, but we need to move fast.” Astrid explained. “A small army is approaching from the northeast. They’re flying the royal ensign. They will enter the city before dusk, so we don’t have much time.”

“Judging from the actions of the soldiers, they are afraid of what will happen when the city is found destroyed.” Ayun followed. “They will no doubt try to blame the people of the city. You.”

“You have to fight these claims. Though, they will only believe you if you put the blame onto someone else.” Damian said. “So tell them that it was us. That we were acting in revenge for the death of our lord. Tell them that we are running east to Farrol.”

“The more serious the claims, the more obligated they are to believe you.” Astrid sighed. “And tell them that you and the rest of the nobility being accused of treason were all forced to by Lords Renae and Wark.”