"You should be very afraid." Silver's words echoed softly through the town square. The soldiers were unsettled by his quiet warning.

Borit, too, was uncertain for a moment. Then his face darkened. His mouth twisted into a wicked grin. "A mythological being? You mean a Fate? Ha! I have no use for bedtime stories. Any last words?" Borit hefted the sword and prepared to swing.

Silver's shoulders straightened; his eyes burned brightly like two stars beneath his hood. The gentle wind blew, slowly growing in intensity. "Her name is Hanna." The Guardian whispered.

"What?" Borit asked, confused by his words.

The wind began swirling, threatening to become a tornado with the slightest push.

Silver thundered over the howl. "The Fate. Her name is Hanna."

Squinting against the blowing dust, Borit still heard every word. Unable to stand his enemy's taunt, the Captain swung the sword at his enemy.

Just then, a bright light appeared between the captain and Silver, causing the soldier's arc to go high before landing unceremoniously in the dirt. The blade barely missed the top of Silver's ducking head.

Borit staggered backwards two paces as the light grew and took the shape of a lithe woman, beautiful beyond anything he had ever seen. She floated elegantly above the ground with her luminescent gown hanging loosely around her. The wind stilled at her presence, and everything went eerily silent.

Silver shook off the soldiers and broke the bonds behind him with a tiny blade that was attached to the back of his soft-soled boot. He had learned his lesson after the last time he was bound. The rope fell away, and he stood next to Hanna.

"What was that you said about the Fates?" The Guardian pulled at his chin. "I would hardly consider her a bedtime story."

The Captain stared in awe for only a moment before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Tree Folk, Demon Beasts, and now you pretend to conjure a Fate. Your treachery knows no bounds, Silver." Jerking his head, Borit glanced briefly at the floating apparition and sneered. "You mean to make a fool of me with this abomination, but it will not work. In fact you have condemned your whole town. Kill them all!" He ordered.

"On what grounds?" Sergeant Rabert demanded to know. Like the other soldiers from the fort, he had been trying to be a dutiful soldier even though he did not like the what was happening. However, this was too far. "We cannot condemn a whole town without cause."

"Treason! Can't you see they mean to overthrow the king? Why follow a human ruler when you can follow a Fate?" Borit argued. That was enough for most of the soldiers. The cry of 'treason' spoke fear into their hearts and they did not want to be counted among the traitors.

Aiming their blades at the innocent townsfolk, the soldiers prepared to carry out orders.

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Silver pulled a bow and arrow from his cloak and aimed it at the Captain. "Do not hurt them."

"You see how he threatens me? Do you not trust your Fate to protect you?" he mocked. The longer the floating creature did nothing, the more Borit was convinced that she was only a trick.

"She is giving us a chance to resolve this peacefully. Do not force her hand."

"You will not shoot me. You could too easily miss and hit a precious villager." The Captain circled below the ethereal being and stepped closer to Silver. He was now too close for the bow to be effective. The Guardian exchanged it in his cloak for a sword.

"Last chance," Silver warned.

Sighing, the Captain shrugged. "I wanted you on your knees when I finished you. I guess I will have to take them out from under you instead."

Borit sliced the air with his blade, aiming for just below Silver's waist. The agile Guardian leapt high into the air. He landed at the edge of the circle near the mayor.

"Now!" he called, trusting his instincts and his men.

Aiden and Conall heard the order shed their bonds. As the Guardian suspected, the ropes had been loosened by a hiding Gilbert while the soldiers were watching the Fate.

Silver sent two weapons from his cloak into the men's waiting hands.

"Get the children out of here!" He ordered Gilbert as he slid a knife between a soldier's legs to the teen.

All of this occurred in the time it took Borit to recover and attack again. From the Silver's back, the Captain made an overhanded arc directly onto the Guardian's skull. However instead of crunching bones, the clang of metal rang out as Silver slipped his shoulder backwards and deflected the sword with one of his own.

The battle had begun.

From some undisclosed location, Aristos appeared and hit the guard who was holding Lily captive. "Don't touch my wife!"

The guard, seeing only stars, was unable to answer as he fell to the ground.

Lily hugged her husband and kissed his cheek, overjoyed to see him.

"Save it for later!" He urged her. "Get out of here!"

In another part of the square some soldiers were having a tussle of their own. Unwilling to fight against the villagers, Rabert and a few others, helped to arm and defend them instead. "This is madness!" the sergeant cried to any of his comrades who would listen. "Do not hurt innocent people!"

The fray became muddled and confusing, with the king's men not only fighting the people of Rynnlee, but each other as well.

"This is your fault!" Borit raged as he viewed the chaos. "You and that woman…" his eyes darted, "and that meddlesome boy!"

Nearby, Ethyn was swinging and slashing the air, doing what he could to defend his people. He was not looking at the captain, but Borit could see the determination in the boy's eyes.

Overcome with hatred, he decided to snuff out the light in the child's eyes. Borit ran full out and lifted his blade with a murderous gleam in his eye. Ethyn turned too late to see the man coming, and he closed his eyes to accept the deadly blow.

Silver saw everything happen in slow motion. His own hatred was kindled as Ethyn's fragile life was about to be broken. Borit had taken too much from him already. His adoptive parents, his home, his sister and even Sage had been pried away by Borit's evil. 'No more.'

A dark fire lit in the man's eyes, vastly different from the silver which normally shone. With inhuman speed, he used the full force of his shoulder to shove Borit clear of his young friend.

The Captain fell and slid along the ground, more than a couple of his ribs cracking by the devastating impact. He scrambled to his feet as blow after debilitating blow rained down on him from Silver's blade.

Borit was barely able to defend himself against the unending onslaught. At last his luck ran out, and the captain's sword was wrested from his hands as he backed up to a tree in the edge of the square. For the first time ever in his life, Borit felt fear.

Silver gripped his hilt tightly and moved swiftly toward the captain's exposed neck. Only darkness consumed his thoughts.

From her vantage point, Hanna's colorless eyes despondently surveyed the scene. "So much violence," she muttered to herself. "Humans will never learn."

Her patience had finally run out. And as Silver's hatred threatened to consume him, she knew it was time to intervene.

"Enough!" She cried, her voice sending a shockwave through the mortals. She lifted her hand slightly and flicked her wrist.

Obediently, all weapons flew into the sky and hovered dangerously overhead. Then they scattered and clattered to the ground safely out of reach of any of the humans. The power of the lady's voice struck fear into all as they fell to their knees involuntarily. Only the Guardian remained standing.

The soft blue light of the woman's skin became overwhelming, but it was equally impossible to look away. Her eyes grew fierce and full of righteous anger.

Hearing the Fate's voice broke Silver from his vengeful trance. The dark fire faded from his eyes, overcome by molten silver. He gripped the delicate fairy necklace at his neck and sighed.

Hate had almost eaten him. The Guardian bowed respectfully to his mistress. "Thank you."

Silver took the captain by the arm and hoisted him from the ground toward the center of the ground. With one swift shove, he forced Borit before the Fate.

"He's all yours."