On day eight of Noxus being gone, Orin and Astrid invited Aurelia to come into town with them. They wanted to show her more of their realm and build the sitings of her within the city. They also needed to get a few things with the money they would get from trading in the skins of the animals they had killed.

Despair fell throughout Aurelias body when they asked her to join them. She had nothing to offer them. She didn’t have anything to sell and they were willing to trade their goods for other forms of food for us to eat. She knew she was taking but not giving. It stung even deeper when she realized that she was unable to protect them.

She shared her thoughts with them and they were quick to explain everything that she had offered them; a place to stay, meat, kindness, help, and equality.

Nodding her head, Aurelia agreed to go with them.

Going into town only elevated that feeling within Aurelia. Riding within the coils of Astrid, she was left with her thoughts. She was an outsider who didn’t understand most of their ways. She followed Orin and Astrid’s lead the whole time, afraid of making a mistake.

Once they got into town, Orin and Astrid pulled the clothes out of the pack that Aurelia had carried for them. They showed her to different stores and booths as they did their trades. Astrid pointed out specific people within the city that she knew and told her about them.

The city bustled with people, selling and buying.

Before they made their way out of the city, Astrid asked Aurelia if there was anything that she needed or wanted.

Aurelia looked at her for too long of a time before saying, “My only want is for you two to teach me how to hunt.”

Astrid and Orin looked at each other and laughed. The laughter took Aurelia by surprise. She thought they would be thrilled with her wanting to help.

As they finished their short bit of laughter, they asked, almost in unison, why a queen would want to do that.

“I want to help provide as you do. Plus, I’ve killed a Sylvan stag. I know what it’s like and I want to learn how to use a weapon so I’m not just a pretty face with nothing else to offer. I want to do my part. I want to be able to protect,” Aurelia said.

The amusement on Orin and Astrid’s faces faltered into disbelief.

“Then let’s go get you a bow,” Orin said with a grin.

As soon as they were out of the city and back home, Orin worked with Aurelia on target practice. They used the trees as targets and Orin and Astrid were in disbelief at how good of a shot she had. Aurelia was impressed with herself.

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Working through the rest of the day, Orin had her try spinning and then finding her target. It was the closest thing he could think of to use as a moving target.

The setting sun caused a big group of large bird to fly above the group.

“Shoot one of those.” Orin pointed up at them.

Aurelia raised up and back, took a deep breath, and released.

“She did it.” Astrid whispered to herself as if she didn’t think Aurelia was capable. “You did it!” She said louder before slapping Aurelia on the shoulder.

The three of them carried the bird into the castle and Astrid showed Aurelia how to clean it up.

The boiling of the bird produced a horrid smell. Pulling its feathers caused their fingers to feel an unrelenting sting. The cutting of the bird was the easiest of it all.

Astrid showed her how to dip the meat into milk before placing it in a flour-like substance and how to cook it in the hot oil of a pan.

“You’re up!” Astrid said as she pulled her piece of bird out of the pan. “I’ll work on whipping up some sides while you take care of this.”

The room was filled with an oil smell and the sound of the women’s voices as they cooked.

They both felt like they had finally found a friend and the cherished the feeling.

The food had finished cooking when Astrid called out for Orin to join them at the table in the kitchen.

They were about to dig into the food when they heard the sound of the front doors.

Aurelia’s heart stilled, and her breathing slowed, trying to listen for any sounds.

Orin stood and walked out of the kitchen towards the doors.

Sitting there for a couple of minutes, Aurelia felt his presence behind her – her king.

She stood and turned to face him, expecting to be welcomed with love. Instead, his face was bruised and had a few cuts on it, his clothes were spattered with blood, and his brows were furrowed as his lips sat tightly.

“I offer you a place within my home. I allow you into my court, and you make her work?” he growled, looking at Orin. His eyes were black, and his hands were made into fists.

Orin didn’t say a word as he looked down straight away. He wouldn’t speak out of place, especially not to his king.

Aurelia approached Noxus. “They didn’t make me work. I wanted to. I wanted to kill the bird.”

Noxus looked at her with a brow raised. The realization that he didn’t know about her hunting the bird hit her.

“Noxus,” Aurelia said in a calm and tender tone, “They have fed me and kept me company this whole time. When they took me into the city, I told them I wanted to work on hunting and protecting us.”

His eyes were still dark as he looked at her.

“I shot a bird, and Astrid taught me how to clean and cook it. Would you like to try some?” Aurelia asked in a sweet and light tone.

Finally close enough to reach out and touch Noxus, Aurelia felt her loneliness start to life. He sprang toward her, shoving her against the kitchen island. His hands went to cup her face as his lips found hers. She could taste the blood, still lingering from a cut on his lip.

He pulled away and placed his forehead against hers before spinning around and walking to Orin who was still knelt on the ground. Once he was there, he bent to his level and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you.” The words came out rough as if he hadn’t said them very many times before now and if he were being honest with himself, they hadn’t.

As Orin looked at him, Noxus grabbed him ad pulled him in for a hug. “I’m sorry,” Noxus said.

Those words came out of his mouth even less often than the words before but he found them coming out smooth and sincere.

The men stood up and Noxus walked towards Aurelia again. “I will try your bird in a little bit, but first, we have some basilisks who are in need of a place to stay.”