Surya seethed as she tried to move her hands. The forest floor made the wooden carriage rattle her and the other passengers around, making it difficult for her to find how they had knotted the rope around her wrists. The people around her cried, adults reassured children, trying to get them to calm down as they were brought to their unknown destination. Surya wanted out, she wanted to take one of the crows' weapons and kill every single one of them. Her rage calmed down as she realized that out of everyone in this carriage of steel and wood, she was the only human. There were goblins, ttacs, hlêgs, cûs, even some orc children. Her past as a thief was done, Darya had shown her what kindness and patience could bring for the past five years, and to honor her name she’d never leave those people behind. With rage in her eyes she looked around the carriage, through the metal bars. She observed the crows, all in their black cloaks, hiding their faces with crow masks. Some had swords, others had axes, but one thing they all had in common was how bad their weapons looked. They were not used enough, nor properly cared for, and out of all of them, only one had a horse. A wide and burly man, with golden gloves and a long and properly cared for sword, even his horse had a nearly pristine coat. If she wanted to get out, she’d need to get away from him as fast as she could. Her gaze went back to the carriage floor as she focused on the rope around her wrists. She mustered as much flexibility as she could while she twisted her arms and fingers around to undo her rope. As soon as she freed herself, she placed the rope under her and signaled to the orc child next to her. She showed her hands to her and freed her, silently asking her to do the same with the person next to her as she would do the same. After a few seconds, the adults realized what was happening and tried to keep themselves quiet as joy and hope filled their hearts again. Surya tied the ropes back around her wrists loosely before bending forward, using the back of her tongue to stimulate her uvula. It took her a few seconds before her body bent forward even more and her stomach contracted so much that her dinner ended up on the floor.

“What the fuck?”

“It smells so bad!” shouted a few crows.

The carriage stopped as Surya was now laying on her side, her breathing low and obstructed. The burly man unlocked the door and opened it, pushing the people away before getting to her. He observed her for a minute, her breathing became labored, sweat dripped from her brow and she didn’t answer his attempts to shove her awake. With a disappointed sigh, he grabbed her by the feet and dragged her outside of the carriage, not caring about her head hitting the forest floor. Before the man could even react, she had taken his sword and slashed him in the leg.

“Run!” she shouted to the people in the carriage.

And without a second of hesitation, they flooded out from the carriage; the adults carrying the children, running as the crows were too stunned to stop them all. Surya stood up and ran as fast as she could, the man’s sword still in her hands.

“Go get them you idiots!” shouted the man as he fastened a makeshift tourniquet above the wound on his lower thigh.

Surya ran for her life, heading deep into the forest, crows not far behind her. She jumped over bushes and branches, ran through holly and mulberry bushes, cutting her face and exposed sides. Even though her heart was about to beat out of her chest, she stayed focused on her surroundings. As soon as she could she dipped on the right and quickly climbed in the nearest tree outside of the crows’ field of view. She perched herself up an old oak tree, hiding herself as much as she could, observing the crows beneath.

“She can’t be that far!”

“Viper is going to kill us…” muttered one under his breath.

Another crow silenced him with a nudge. It took a few minutes before the crows eventually left, convinced she had escaped them. Surya climbed down as soon as she couldn’t hear them and silently trudged deeper into the forest, sword in hand. She didn’t stop for an hour or two, still walking. Her mind was set, she needed to find Darya, whatever the cost was or how long it would take her. Surya absentmindedly rubbed the bridal tattoo on her right wrist. She could only hope Darya was safe, that being in Salnas at the moment of the raid had saved her from the massacre. She thought about it, the people screaming, humans being killed and any other races being taken, the tents burning, her most trusted friends lying dead as she tried to fight her way out of the camp. No matter how she turned the moment around, something felt off. For people who were only chasing after two kids they seemed very prepared. They didn’t even search the camp to find people to take; they went straight for the wounded and the council’s tent. Someone had told them where to strike first or they had watched them for a little while before the attack. Her mind raced, how did they go through the ttacs and the orcs? No one but the people in that tent should’ve known about it, and as far as she was aware, of everyone in that tent only her and Darya had survived. She thought about the possibility of Darya preparing this for a moment but she dismissed it right away. Darya would never destroy the work she put so much effort in for the past ten years. Surya shook her head to forget the thought. Doubting Darya? Her own wife? Never. The crack of a branch behind her pulled her out of her thoughts, making her jump into a defensive position.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, Surya” he said, frightened by her stare.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. Out of everyone in that camp, how did Henry survive? In a deep sigh, the woman let down her guard and stuck the sword in her belt.

“Are you alright?” she asked, trying to hide her annoyance at his presence.

“Scared and probably won’t sleep for days, but yes, I’m alright.” he answered truthfully.

Someone else’s blood stained his jacket, he had ripped his pants in some place and leaves covered his back and hair. In his hands, he still gripped his notebook. His oh so precious notebook. Surya looked at him from head to toe and turned around, once again trying to hide the fact that something in him made her unreasonably angry and disgusted.

“I’m going to find my wife, follow me or don’t, it’s your problem.” she announced as she started walking.

Henry stayed put, pondering. He had more chances with her than alone out there with those crows in the forest. He didn’t like her attitude toward him but at least that wouldn’t kill him. Henry lifted his head and glimpsed Surya’s form already disappearing behind bushes and trees. The young man ran up to her and finally caught up with her pace, out of breath.

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“So, how did you get out?” he asked, unsure.

Surya looked at him for a second, wondering why he would even ask the question. She then turned her head back to the forest in front of her.

“They caught me but I got out before they could bring me anywhere else.” she said, her tone cold.

Henry nodded.

“How about you?” she asked back.

“I fell into some bushes before they could see me,” he answered, scratching the back of his neck. “I was pretty lucky, unlike the others…” he added, a somber tone in his voice. “But I’m sure we could build it back up, right?”

The woman stopped, causing Henry to bump into her back, the feeling of it almost making her crack. Her mind felt like a volcano about to explode, she held her hand in tight fists, trying her hardest to not fling them in his face. She took a shaky breath in and let it out slowly.

“There’s no building it back up, Henry. The people we built on are dead.” she said gravely, showing a hint of badly hidden anger and sadness in her voice. “The books have been burnt. There’s no getting all of that back just from memory.”

Surya turned her head around to look at a distraught Henry, clutching his precious notebook.

“And I doubt you saved ten years of research in such a small notebook.” she added.

Henry’s eyes went from Surya’s fiery ones to his notebook. She was right, even though he had been in the camp for a year already, there was no way all of Darya’s research and findings could be in there. From what he remembered, there were only drawings of wounds and how to treat some of them. None of Kurzol’s teachings or any others were in there. For a moment, Henry regretted only following Darya around.

“I’m sorry.” he sincerely apologized, “I know what it means to lose all progress in an hour.”

The young man lowered his eyes to the ground, his mind flashing back to a time when he still had the freedom to study however he wanted. A time where he was the most happy, before soldiers invaded his home and took everything with a snap of their fingers. Before his parents went away for good. Surya softened as she saw his gaze, one she had seen many times in Darya’s eyes, their spark dulled for a moment, the muscles relaxing into a sadness she could only sympathize with. Surya didn’t see a weird young man in front of her anymore, but a man that had been through more than she had suspected before.

“Follow me.” she said as she turned back around and resumed her walking, this time with an ever so slightly slower pace. “Let’s try to find Darya.”

Henry’s head shot back up toward her before he ran to catch up to her. He wanted to thank her; he knew his presence wasn’t that welcomed for her and instead of speaking; he said nothing. He followed her, silently grateful that she had, for once, allowed him near her for longer than a minute.

As they walked around the forest for a few hours, Henry couldn’t help but notice that Surya seemed to know where to go. He couldn’t tell how but in some moments she’d advise herself and turn left or right, but nowhere could he see markings on trees or on the ground for him to notice. He followed her around until nightfall, where they slept against trees, not daring to light a fire for fear of the smoke alerting nearby crows of their presence. Henry could feel the hunger twist and turn his bowels, but it was nothing compared to the noises that came out of Surya’s. After a few minutes, Henry fell asleep from all the walking and the emotions that the morning had caused, while Surya turned her face up to the tree she was leaning on. At the foot where her head touched the trunk, she observed a faint trace left on the moss. That symbol made her heart swell with hope as she thought of her wife. In their two years of marriage and 6 years together, they had found themselves separated more than once, and as such, had developed a way to find each other no matter the situation. They had made up a system of symbols, mixing Surya’s birth language and Darya’s Dobrinic sigils almost perfectly to tell each other where they were going and if they were safe. With the tips of her fingers she gently brushed the symbol. This one said "wounded, heading east". She stopped, looking at the bridal tattoo she had on her right hand. Darya had the same on her left hand, completing the design when they held the right hands together. In her first 29 years of life, Surya never thought she’d marry anyone, even less a pasty girl from Dobrin of all people. In fact, she had resolved herself to a lonely life, staying in her gang and stealing, maybe one day retiring and living her last days in a remote hut near the cliffs of Sedgestone. Yet, all of that turned around when a young witch fell into her arms, exhausted, in a bar she was having fun in. As she watched over her for the night, she wondered how such a frail woman could have come up to these desolate parts alone. After all, the war-torn lands between Dobrin and the Sheyja Kingdom were now unaccounted for, either countries refusing to take it for themselves out of respect. In these lands, the kindness Darya was showing was rare, and her refusal for killing anyone even more. Surya thought she was mad, that she had lost her mind during her journey or she had been raised incredibly sheltered. And yet, she didn’t leave. She stuck with Darya, something in her calling for it from the deepest and oldest parts of herself. Something in her wife felt like a warm and reassuring fire she wanted to be near every day and every night. She left her gang for her, they faced the consequences together, and after more talking, she promised she’d stay next to her until Darya’s dream of revolutionizing magicless healing was done, and even after that. So, four years later, they found themselves in Surya’s birth village in the Gulf of Sedgestone, and presented her with the people who had raised her. She proudly showed her her past life and with even more pride, she married her in the month. Surya’s eyelids felt like lead now, softly closing as she rested her right hand on her forehead, dreaming about her adorable wife.

The next morning, the early rays of the sun woke her up, its warmth grazing her face. For a moment she thought she'd hear Darya's voice asking her if she had a pleasant sleep, but as she fully awoke and sat up, all she found was a deeply asleep Henry, sprawling his arms and legs around him. She looked around, trying to make sure that maybe Darya was there, that she hadn't left her, that they hadn't been separated. But she was nowhere to be found. Surya's eyes fell to the forest floor, her heart heavy with her wife's absence.

"Are you okay?"

Surya jumped, hiding the young tears that had formed at the corner of her eyes.

"What are you looking at?" she spat at Henry.

The young man recoiled at her reaction.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, that's all." he mumbled, trying not to awaken any more anger from her.

Surya calmed herself down, breathing in and out slowly, just as Kurzol had taught her. She just had to ride the wave and remind herself that everything was fine. After one last calming breath, she stood up and brushed the dead leaves off of her clothes.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted." she said, "Let's keep going."

She barely waited for him to stand up as well and dust himself off before she walked and followed the symbols.