Sorrel and Little Cloud had waited the whole night for Leif to return, they had hardly slept and when morning came Sorrel could wait no longer. She opened the door and peered out of the hut. It was a beautiful, bright sunny morning with the birds singing and the waters of River Pinn gurgling happily alongside the little wooden cabin. She squinted into the sun and then her eyes widened at the huge swirling grey mass of smoke coming from across the Vale where her home lay in the wood.

Cloud joined her and together they stared in stunned silence.

Sorrel picked at a loose thread on her jacket, and swallowed. "Come on, I'm not staying here all day. Let's go and see what's happened." She laughed though it sounded hollow. "Ha, I bet it's just the cooks making a huge fire for our warriors' victory feast! That's what it'll be." She chewed her lip and turned to Cloud. "Come on."

#

Tents lay smouldering all about the wood and many of the trees were dead from fire. Clothes, lanterns, pots, pans, children's toys and all sorts of objects, many burnt and unrecognisable, were strewn across the ground. One or two bodies were near, half-hidden or obscured and Sorrel had to avert her gaze.

Little Cloud wandered about aimlessly, lifting tents and searching for signs of their families, he righted fallen lanterns as he went.

Sorrel ran towards what had once been her home, a scattered mess of blackened items and smouldering ash. No. Her heart skipped and she ran towards it. She scuffed through the debris, sending little puffs of soot into the air and desperately started to sift through the wreckage.

"Where?" she sobbed, panicked, almost blind with worry. She gulped and sniffed and a heavy tear dripped onto the burnt remains of her home. "Where are you?"

Another strangled sob sounded in her throat and she shoved over an upturned bed, though whether it was her own or Leif's or her mother's, she neither knew nor cared, it was so charred and damaged.

"Sorrel?" Cloud had come up behind her. "What are you looking for?"

"My picture frame," she whispered, still searching through, turning the rubbish.

Cloud knew what it was she was after and immediately bent to help her look. He pushed away a burnt hide that may once have had fur on it and found a wooden box underneath. It was black but other than that, it was relatively unharmed.

"Sorrel."

She reached over and snatched the box from him, like a starving child offered food, and hugged it close to her chest and hurried away to look inside.

She lowered herself to the ground by one of the great oak trees and carefully opened the lid of the wooden box. The lid fell off in her hand and she placed it by her side with a sigh of relief that raked her whole body as she saw what was safe inside.

"Is it okay?" asked Cloud, his voice full of gentle concern as he came and peered into the box.

She nodded and lifted the picture frame almost reverently from the box, then held it in her palms and stared.

It wasn't the frame itself that was important to her - that was just a simple round one, small and silver with no fancy marks or design – but what was held inside it.

"Hey Dad," she said quietly, smiling at the painted figure of her father. It was a picture painted by Cloud's mother, Rebecca, not long after Sorrel's father had died, and depicted him as a proud man with a broad smile on his face. He held one of his hands relaxed by his side, his thumb tucked into the wide leather belt that Sorrel now wore, the other hand had a hold of his fighting staff, standing upright by his side.

She hugged the little picture close and looked up at Cloud standing over her. "This is all I have of him." Then she frowned and took in the empty woodland. "Where is everyone? Mum, Leif?" They had to be safe. They would've run.

"Sorrel, I..." He stopped. Something moved about in the undergrowth. Sorrel hurried to her feet and together they ran towards the sound.

"It's Synan!" she cried. She had never been so happy to see the old man. "Synan, we're here!"

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The Elani Elder shuffled about outside one of the still standing tents farther into the wood. He turned as they rushed towards him and held out his arms to hug them both tightly. "You're alive!" he sobbed. "You're both alive! Thank the stars! Oh Sorrel, Cloud, something terrible has happened."

They released the old man and Sorrel hurried to fetch a stool for him to sit on.

"Tell us what happened," she said, clinging to Synan's arm as he sat.

Synan rubbed his eyes and gazed at the wreckage that surrounded his home. "Gone," he said. "They're all gone. Those who weren't taken were killed." He stared at the ground and shook his head in disbelief. "Swords in the dark," he whispered.

"But our warriors!" interrupted Cloud. "They would've stopped them. They must've done."

Synan shook his head. "Our warriors fought with wooden staffs," he said heavily, "the Lamya with broadswords. They didn't have a chance."

"What about Leif? My mother? Cloud's parents? Where are they?" Sorrel asked, not believing that everyone she loved had disappeared. She wanted to shake Synan, she wanted to hear that everything would be okay.

"I saw White Cloud, taken away with the survivors all tied together on a slave line. My Rebecca and your mother Helena were found later and forced to follow on behind their leader's horse." Synan shook his head and muttered half to himself, "I never thought this would happen."

"Then they're alive," Cloud said. "My parents are still alive."

Sorrel nodded and clenched her fist. "Then we can still get them back. What about Leif, Synan? Did you see Leif?"

Synan seemed confused by her question. "Leif?" He shook his head. "No. No, he wasn't there."

Sorrel pulled Cloud to one side as Old Synan mumbled about his broken home. "Leif must've escaped and if he did then there must be others. We can't be the only ones left."

Cloud nodded and said nothing. He met Sorrel's gaze and she saw the determination in his eyes. "Whatever you've got planned, Sorrel, I'm with you all the way."

She smiled. "We'll get them back. All of them." She moved him farther away, out of earshot of Synan. "Tonight, when it starts to get dark, we'll go to the Kingdom and rescue them."

"No, you won't."

She turned at the sound of a familiar voice and her heart jumped. "Leif!" she cried. "I knew they couldn't get you!"

Leif gave her a stern look and picked his way through the wreckage of a tent to reach them. "You're not ready to go there yet. It's too dangerous."

Sorrel's eyes widened. How could he say that? Too dangerous! She stared at him with all the passion and anger she had, certain it was burning out of her and he could feel it. "But they took Mum! I can't let her stay in that place alone."

Leif clenched his jaw and held up a hand. He turned from her to check Synan. "What happened to you, sir?" he asked.

Synan frowned and touched the back of his head. "I was knocked down," he explained. "They must've presumed I was dead because they just left me, when I woke I saw them leaving. All of them, they're all gone now. All gone."

Leif stood up, holding his fighting staff over his shoulder. "Not all. When I came back to the wood last night there weren't many people left and the whole place was on fire. The smell of burning…" He screwed up his nose before continuing, "I led the survivors to Silence Gorge. They'll be safe there." He turned to Sorrel. "When I went to the hut this morning you'd already left, I figured you'd come back here."

She clenched her fists. "How many Elani are there left?"

Leif looked at the ground.

"How many?" she asked again, stamping her foot down.

Leif sighed. "Eleven," he said. "That's including us four."

She tried to stay calm as she asked the next question. "And how many of those eleven are trained Elani warriors?"

"One," said Leif, his voice soft. "Me."

Cloud groaned and sank to the floor, while Synan just shook his head. Sorrel's eyes flashed with anger. "Well that's it then!" she stormed. "One warrior! Fantastic!" She tramped about the ruined tents, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm going to the Kingdom tonight. I don't care what you say, Leif, I'll save our families and you won't stop me. Somebody has to do something!"

She marched past her older brother but he grabbed her and shook her roughly. "Now listen to me, Sorrel. Listen! You're not going there tonight. Not tonight, it's too dangerous. Listen to me..."

She sobbed and pushed at him, but he hugged her tightly until she relaxed, tears burning her eyes. "I won't stop you from rescuing our family and friends," he said. "But if you rush in there tonight full of anger with no fighting skills at all you'll get yourself killed and I can't let that happen to you. We have to be like the King's Poet."

Sorrel wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "So what then?" she asked.

"I want you and Cloud to leave the Vale. There's a man I know of, very old and wise, I want you to visit him and seek his help. He may know of others in Aldenland who still care what happens to Malinas."

Old Synan rose from his stool and walked towards them. "You mean Running Bear don't you, young Leif?" The old man smiled and said, "Ah yes, he is wise in all things. Who will aid the Elani of Malinas? He may know."

Sorrel perked up a bit. "So what will you be doing then? While I'm gone."

Leif let her go and she went to stand at Cloud's side. "I'll be training the seven Elani into warriors, so we can stand by your side when you return with an army to face the Lamya and free our people." He grinned and added, "And if they don't listen to me then I'm sure they'd be glad to listen to the advice of Old Synan here. Right, sir?"

Synan nodded. He walked forwards and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Sorrel straightened her back, her eyes blazing with fierce pride. Cloud seemed nervous but ready. "Go now," Synan said, "so we can watch you leave and know you're safe. Head east out of the Vale and watch for the raven. When you return, make for Silence Gorge and we will be waiting." The old man stood up and folded his arms into his wide sleeves. "Bring back help, Sorrel."

An army, she thought. Finally I get to do something.