Hanna looked down at the sharp-nosed man with disdain. "Kneel," she ordered him.

"I will not!" Borit grunted, forgetting that she had already forced everyone in the square to do just that. Silver pushed his knees into the back of the captain's legs, and roughly down on the man's shoulder to make him comply. The Guardian's hatred flared, but Hanna stayed his hand from acting further.

The Fate's colorless irises were streaked with lightning as she hovered effortlessly above the ground. "Captain Borit! You would dare to execute one of the Chosen of the Fates? You think it is within your purview to condemn a Guardian of the Realm? He answers to one much higher than you."

Borit squinted to look at the blue-tinted Fate. Hanna could see the mocking disbelief in his eyes.

The Captain spat at the feet of the Fate. "The Fates are not real! Whatever trickery this is, you will die like the rest of your town when the king finds out how you have treated me."

With the calmness of one that has true power, Hanna raised her hand and squeezed her fist. Borit cried out in pain as his arms were crushed to his side. His body lifted off the ground and came toward the waiting Fate.

The captain struggled unsuccessfully against the unseen pressure. He came face to face with the eyes that held the history of the world within them. He shuddered.

"Does this feel like a trick?" She asked evenly. Her fist tightened almost imperceptibly, but Borit felt his breath being forced out of him.

"Put me down, please!" he begged.

Hanna relaxed her hand and let it fall gracefully to her side. The vice on Borit was immediately released, and he dropped to the dirt below Hanna's feet. His hands pressed against the ground as he struggled to breathe.

"Just kill me and get it over with." His raspy words came between ragged breaths.

"No, I won't." Hanna said evenly.

Her words emboldened the captain. "Won't or can't?"

Hanna's voice became loud and boomed through the trees, echoing and reverberating such that it shook the ground when she spoke. "I am a Fate. Everything short of the Maker heeds my words and follows my orders. I was there at the foundation of the world. I will be there when it ends. To end any life is no small thing, but I would not shed a tear if I were to finish you now."

The Fate paused and considered her words. She closed her eyes, playing out the possibilities in her mind. Shaking her head, she continued.

"Alas, I will not kill you, but so that you have no doubt about who I am, you will lose something precious to you: your sight. You will be blind until you return to King Rhodri and resume your post there. Only then your vision will be restored. You will abandon any thought of attacking Silver or anyone in Rynnlee.For if you ever return here or send others to do your bidding, not even your footprints will remain to testify that you ever lived at all."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Borit stared defiantly at Hanna for a moment before a great light flashed into his vision. With it, pain overcame his head. His hands pressed against his temples, and he released an agonizing cry. For a moment his vision was on fire, so bright it seemed as if the sun were before him. Then everything faded to darkness.

The pain receded, but Borit's visionless eyes stared blankly forward. Releasing his head, the captain groped at the ground to stand. Once erect, he felt around in the air, hoping to find some point of reference.

Hanna motioned her hands toward the blind man. "Help your leader, soldiers, and be gone! None of you who fought against the village are welcome here again." She smiled down at Rabert. "Those of you who protected the innocent will be rewarded."

The Sergeant bowed deeply. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Well?" The ethereal Fate motioned to the closest soldier to her. "Get on with it!"

One of the men took a tentative step towards the captain and when he wasn't burned to ash—as he had feared he would be—he looped Borit's arm around his shoulder and led him away. The rest of the men ambled off dazed into the wood toward the fort amid cheers from the villagers.

Conall and Aiden, carefully making a wide arc around Hanna, came and greeted Guardian.

"Good to see you in one piece." Conall slapped the Guardian on the back.

"You had us worried for a moment there, you know." Aiden shook Silver's forearm.

The Guardian rubbed the back of his hood. "Had myself a little worried too if I am being honest. I was not sure if my reinforcements were going to make it..."

Silver spread his hands as he looked towards a redheaded boy. Ethyn, sure now that the danger was finally past, ran straight into his friend's waiting arms.

"It took you long enough!" Silver scolded.

"Be happy I came at all!" Ethyn defended himself. Then in a more humble time he added. "I may need more lessons on tracking and navigation."

"I'll have you able to navigate the forest blindfolded in no time." The Guardian tightened his hug, causing Ethyn to groan. "Are you hurt?" Silver asked, checking the boy's arms and legs for injury.

The child wormed his way out of his former nursemaid's grasp. "You are such a worrywart! I am tired, that's all," Ethyn responded with a weary smile. "I am glad I made it in time."

"Me too," Silver replied. "I think I look much more handsome with my head attached to the rest of me. I have you to thank for that, my boy."

"I do wonder," Aiden tucked his thumbs into his belt as he contemplated. "What does Borit have planned for that fancy mirror?"

"I don't know…but I don't like that he went to so much trouble to get it." The Guardian pulled his lips into a thin line. No one could see the concern etched in his brow.

"Being a worrywart again?" Even with the inscrutable hood of the cloak, Ethyn could read his mood.

"Borit's plans are a real concern, Ethyn," Silver argued.

"I would agree…if he still had the mirror." The boy flashed a toothy grin. Reaching into his collar, he produced the delicate mirror from beneath his clothes. He held it out for the astonished men to view. "I lifted it off the man who was holding it for Borit."

"You handsome little thief! I thought your chest felt too hard when I hugged you!" Silver laughed.

Ethyn shook his head. "Thief? Oh no! I just took back the mirror Borit stole from you, which you stole from the baron. In a sense, I am un-thieving your thievery. You're welcome."

Conall cocked his head. "Are you going to return it to the baron then? Surely if Borit wants it, he will find another way to, uh, get it from Monte. That man is a fool."

Hanna was suddenly on the ground beside Ethyn, startling all of them. "I will take that, if you please. That mirror has had many owners, but Monte should never have been one of them."

Ethyn passed the looking glass to the ethereal being. With barely a flick of her wrist, the filigreed accessory vanished. Hanna returned to her place above them.

"You all have a knack for getting into trouble whenever I leave," Aristos wandered up to the group with his eyebrows raised.

"Then stick around more often. That lass of yours and your new baby will need a good protector," Conall winked. At Aristos's astonished face, he added. "Katherine told me. I am very happy for you."

A grin split the hunter's face. "I am quite pleased myself with the news. I was actually looking for Lily. Have any of you seen her?"

The men all shook their heads. "Not recently," each answered.

Conall stepped toward him. "I will help, uh, you look. I need to find my Katherine and Gilbert as well." The two men hurried off. Aiden, sensing a shift in mood, excused himself to check on some of the other villagers.

"We have some things to talk about," Silver said gravely. "We should—"

"Silver! Silver! I found her!" Lily pushed her way through the crowd of villagers. "Come quickly, please! It's Sage."