“Please?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re an untrustworthy human.”

“You have my life in your hands. How can you be afraid of me?”

“This from the girl who blackmailed me.”

Arlen and Ora listened peacefully from the sidelines, as Aggie tried to annoy Tork into telling them where they would be residing while in the King’s settlement. The sun had started to break through the clouds, and they were moving at a brisk pace through the rolling green hills.

The ‘hills’ were in fact; incredibly big. They were also incredibly dangerous for a hose and rider to climb, it was necessary to traverse them on foot to avoid any broken appendages.

The hills themselves, were nearly 700 feet in height, and were made entirely of lush green grass. It had been perhaps 3 hours after they had left Willowedge, that they had come to their first descent of one of these hills.

There was a road that was safe for horses and carts winding around the hills, to avoid the treacherous slopes, but it ran through Willow Wood. The risk of running into Sean O’Farrell and or his knights was far too high for the group.

It also meant that should a troop ever endeavor to attack the North King, they would have to do risk traveling the main roads, as no army could take on the hills and not be seen from the castle. There was no opportunity for a stealth attack on the castle from any direction. To the North and West of the castle were the mountains, and to the East of the castle was Willow Wood where the main road was set.

The hills were not a natural phenomenon. The story was that an ancient King, had had them built to wear down any invaders coming to the castle to attack.

It was said that, as soon as you would crest the 3rd hill, you would see grassy soft land stretch out to reveal the North King’s settlement, and castle. Aggie had never seen the area for herself, but had heard that it was one of the most breathtaking sights in all the North Kingdom.

It had been one of the topics her governess had touched on countless times on their journey up to Sean O’Farrell’s keep. At the time, Aggie had been annoyed at the chattering, but presently, found herself suddenly growing excited as they climbed the second hill.

They were right on time to arrive at the North King’s settlement by dusk, and Aggie was beginning to feel more relaxed at knowing where Sean O’Farrell was, courtesy of Bertha Brady, and that she was almost in the safety of a large settlement. She could disappear far easier amongst a sea of faces than in a forest.

“I’m going to know when we get there anyway!” Aggie snipped, though her tone was more teasing than annoyed.

Tork moaned as they continued the hard climb up.

Arlen smiled to himself as he watched the two of them banter, and then turned to notice Ora watching him.

Unlike the others, Ora wasn’t sweating or out of breath from the laborious climbing and walking. She had Quib’s leash clutched loosely in one of her hands that was poised leisurely behind her back, and she seemed to be enjoying the stroll.

Arlen studied her more closely than he had before, and found himself discovering more questions than conclusions.

Ora looked like a child's imaginary friend-, what with her long floppy purple tinted fur, her big dark eyes and her gentle manner. What was strange, was that she didn’t look like any Beast Awares, or monster Arlen had ever read about.

Ora finally noticed his prolonged studying of her, and she frowned at him.

She reached over, and ruffled his hair while shaking her head. To Arlen, this was an obvious message: She wanted him to stop staring, and thought he was being silly.

Arlen was trying to sort out his tousled dark hair, and wasn’t being particularly successful with it, when Aggie turned back to shout to him.

“Arlen! You’re with me on this right? Tork’s being paranoid, and he needs to tell us where we’re staying.”

Arlen smiled, and then said:

“Tork is the one helping us, he can be as private as he likes. We don’t have too many options other than to trust him.” Aggie frowned, and so Arlen continued.

“Though I imagine if it were a trap, he would’ve instead tried to convince us that we were visiting someone trustworthy.”

“HAH!” Tork roared over his shoulder, as he stomped ahead of Aggie who scowled in response.

Arlen chuckled to himself as he watched her scramble up the hill after Tork, and begin pestering him again. She really didn’t ever know when to stop, did she?

Arlen once again noticed Ora staring at him, and when he looked and frowned at her, she took the opportunity to once again ruffle his hair.

***

Far East from where Aggie and her group now traveled, there was a small village of less than 100 people. All of them pure humans, and all of them blissfully unaware of what was to befall them.

The sky was sunny and blue, there was a respectable breeze rippling the emerald grass, and the smell of the sweet grass rushed through everyone’s thatched homes. Wild flowers dotted the village of Meeds, and they were being carefully preserved by a young woman not even in her 20’s, tearing through the lush grasses barefoot.

“Chloe you runt! Give it back!” The young woman with her long chestnut brown hair ‘whooped’ as she leapt through the air, almost crushing some lovely white flowers.

“Accept defeat David!” She panted as she continued to run further and further from her small village. She was confident that her brother hadn’t been able to hear her. Despite David being a good foot taller than his younger sister, he had the bulk of all the village lads that came with days of heavy lifting, and digging.

Chloe was used to running all over the village on errands for her mother, so this particular game of chase did nothing but fill her with joy, as opposed to the agony it filled David and his friend Charles- who was trying to catch up to the siblings.

“Fine! You can have it!” David gasped as he stumbled to a halt, and stared at the white kerchief tied around his sister’s head several yards in front of him.

She happily halted her mad dash, and turned around leisurely before skipping over to David, and now Charles whom had finally caught up to them.

“We… need… to… fight… her…. Next time.” Charles was beet red in the face, and doubled over a particularly nasty stitch in his side.

Chloe gloated over the trinket she held in her hand. It was a perfect sphere of glossy swirling glass no larger than a pebble. She had recognized it immediately as a moonstone, and had snatched it form her brother’s open palm when he had plucked it up on their walk on the beach.

“I was going to give that to Susan!” David whined as he continued panting for breath as Chloe stowed the stone in her pocket.

“Susan is the village donkey.” She remarked idly as she casually began strolling back towards the small cluster of homes that was their village.

Chloe couldn’t help but feel smug at her besting her brother and his best friend, and so spoke freely of her thoughts on Susan Braden.

Charles gradually ambled alongside Chloe in time to her the inevitable;

“How is she a village donkey?”

“She’s the ass everyone wants.”

Charles roared with laughter, and David cheeks deepened in their vermillion hue. He was trying not to laugh, but was also mildly offended on his crush’s behalf.

“She’s nice!”

“She’s gorgeous, and boring as dirt.” Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes. “She talked to me for an hour once about the best way to hem a skirt.”

“She doesn’t deserve to be talked about like that just for being boring.” David snapped stopping in his tracks and glaring at his sister. Chloe stopped and let out a huff.

“Fine. Like her all you want, marry her, and have boring conversations for the rest of your life. I’m keeping the stone though.” Chloe marched away from them proudly. Her dark blue eyes seeing a flurry of movement coming from the small yard that was fenced behind their cottage.

After a moment, Chloe realized it was their mother running towards them. The trio quickened their step as they met Mrs. Murray near their home.

“Don’t you dare go so far from the village again! That’s how Ryan and Kevin were lost last fortnight.” Mrs. Murray’s face, that was normally always pale, had a small tinge of pink to her cheeks as she stared at the children.

“Ma, we were within eyesight of the village! Ryan and Kevin had gone climbing down the rocks, those two idio-” A dark expression shushed David up quickly.

“We aren’t going to go climbing on the rocks.” Chloe placed her hand on her chest in a mock oath.

After a moment careful observation, Mrs. Murray nodded reluctantly, and began walking back with the trio of youngsters.

No one but those 4 had thought they had heard the interaction, but in a cave that was oh so close to where Aggie Beatha was venturing, a man with yellow teeth and long nails was smiling down at his orb.

Another bait had been found, and now it was only a matter of reeling it in.

***

“Pleeease tell us!”

“I will shove you down this bloody hill if you don’t stop asking m-”

“Oh wow.” Aggie cut Tork’s threat to her off, as she laid eyes for the first time ever on the North King’s home.

When Aggie heard the word ‘settlement’, she had imagined a cluster of houses near the castle wall, not the thriving city she saw before her.

Most of the homes were 2 stories tall, and made of stone or whitewashed walls. Every now and then the sun’s evening rays would bounce off a gem color and it would wink at the weary travelers from afar. It took Aggie a moment to realize what some of the colored glints were in the distance. As they walked forward on the sea of grass, it looked as though jewels were winking from nearly every window, but instead Aggie realized it was stained glass windows in the homes.

“This is…” Aggie breathed, and didn’t know what else to say.

There were farmhouses dotting the countryside outside of the settlement limits, and to the North and West, there were the mountains. Despite the mountains being of breathtaking beauty, they only seemed to frame the awe-inspiring view of the King’s land.

“Well come on then, we still have a crazy man on our tails.” Tork’s murderous tone from before was no longer existant as the right corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile at seeing Aggie’s reaction to his home.

Ora and Quib breezed by the girl as she continued standing in astonishment, seeming as though she hadn’t heard a word that had been said.

Arlen made his way to her side, his own smile fixed on his face as he watched the normally stressed expression on Aggie’s face be replaced with wonder.

“My Lady?” He asked softly, smiling at her expression. “Aggie?” He tried again when she appeared to not have heard him.

“I could never have imagined… This is…”

“The largest, and most advanced city on the entire continent, yes. However, we won’t get the chance to explore it if we stand here all day.” Arlen pointed out gently.

Aggie blinked a few times, and then took a tentative step forward.

The magnitude of the city and its finery was what floored Aggie the most. The castle itself would’ve been impressive, but the sprawling artwork of the homes was baffling to her. In her home city she had become accustom to rows and rows of stone homes, but they were crude in comparison. The only colors in the streets had been the people themselves and the merchant’s wares.

As she continued staring lost in thought and wonder, Arlen gave her a gentle nudge forward, reminding her that she still hadn’t moved.

Up ahead, Tork and Ora finally had a quiet moment to chat.

Ora pointed at the Lady and her Servicer whom were slowly beginning to follow them, then shook her head, and wagged her eyebrows at Tork.

“You know that isn’t possible.” Tork whispered the words, feeling somewhat sorry at knowing the truth.

Ora shrugged, and wagged her hand in an uncertain motion.

Tork looked at her disconcerted.

“It is possible?! How?!” He looked quickly back at Arlen and Aggie who were walking together in silence, appearing to be quietly content with their thoughts.

Ora let out a small sigh, and shrugged again. Tork let out a moan of his own. He understood Ora better than anyone, but complicated conversations were very tough to get across regardless of this fact.

“Draw for me later?” Tork asked more quietly as Aggie and Arlen were nearly within earshot once more. Ora nodded silently, and cast her eyes at the glimmering city ahead of them.

It was good to be home.

*

The Southern entrance to the settlement had only two tall stone cylinder posts that stood 15 feet in the air, to mark the gate. There were 2 guards wearing green tunics, both holding spears, and both had swords on their belts. What was intriguing to Aggie, is that they were both obviously Beast Awares.

The guard on the left, was the size and build of any human man; except for his yellow eyes, long front teeth, and bushy tail. The guard on the right, was green and scaled, with big brown eyes, and a friendly gummy smile.

“Welcome home Tork! Ms. Ora, wonderful to have you back!” The guard on the right held out his claw, and Tork shook it with a grin.

“George! How’re the eggs?”

“Nearly hatched, thank you for asking! Kathy didn’t know what she was in for when I told her my brother’s and I took almost all year before we crawled out of our shells.” The guard named George shook his head laughing, and both Tork and Ora were grinning as well at the news. They then turned to the man who had a tail, but he didn’t greet them as warmly.

“Do you need me to take these 2 to the jail? Are they wanted?” Aggie shrank away from the guard’s yellow-eyed gaze, her own eyes fixed on the ground.

“Not at all! These are distant family friends. Toby,” Tork nodded to the guard whose expression hadn’t shifted.

“This is Conner and his brother Angus. Their ma wanted me to teach them some life skills.” Tork chuckled, and while George now grinned at both Arlen and Aggie who remained frozen, Toby didn’t move a muscle.

“Tork. Ms. Ora.” He nodded curtly, signaling the end of their interaction. George made a face at Toby, but didn’t scold him outwardly.

“Bye Toby. Take care George, send love to the missus.” Tork breezed passed the guards, and Aggie and Arlen hastily followed.

Once Aggie felt the cobblestone beneath her boot, she raised her gaze to stare at the bustling street around her. Everywhere she looked, there were wagons, and every kind of mix-breed species imaginable. Some of the citizens looked wholly human, aside from the odd extra patch of fur or slit pupils, but it was such an even mix, that eventually they at a glance they blurred together.

It wasn't just the citizens of the King's settlement that had Aggie so impressed either.

From every house’s window box, there were the undeniable green chutes of daffodils, and every glass pane polished until it gleamed. Every home seemed to have at least 2 windows that had stained glass, not always in the same place as one another either creating a kaleidoscope of color just from glancing down the street.

As Aggie marveled the architecture and beauty, Arlen had to haul her out of the way of a speeding cart and horse. Not anticipating this, Aggie stumbled over a curb, and fell right on her backside.

The curb was cool to the touch, given that the street was in shadow from the tall houses. However, the sun could still touch every roof, and Aggie was marveling how even the roof tops had elegant wooden peaks that ended in sometimes ended in a swirl, or in points, or a plethora of different patterns.

“Aggie, you’ll be trampled to death at this rate. Get up, and let’s get going. The sun is setting and we need to get to where we’re staying.” Tork loomed over Aggie, somewhat amused at her disorientation, but also beginning to be annoyed at having their progress hindered.

Aggie sighed dreamily, and stood up right in time to watch a guard walking what looked like to be a giant worm with a gaping mouth and no eyes, on a leash down the street. Aggie then began to notice that there were several guards with this creatures.

“Tork, are those… things on leashes, pets?” She nodded to one as it ate a pile of horse dung.

Tork laughed, and tugged her elbow towards where Ora and Arlen were standing waiting as throngs of people flowed by them.

“Not usually. Those are the city cleaners. They’re called Muckers: they look like worms and are completely harmless. They just keep the streets clean. It’s the end of the day for everyone, so there are more of them out at this hour to help keep the horse shit under control.” Aggie nodded, and watched them for another moment, until they veered off the main road down a quieter one.

There were still flowers beginning to grow out of window boxes on this road, but it was even colder in the alley. Some Beast Awares children that resembled a cross between foxes and leopards, ran down the street laughing and calling to each other. Aggie hadn’t seen any Beast Awares children before, and she almost awed at their adorable soft tails that swayed as the kids scampered down towards the main street.

In the Southern Kingdom, Beast Awares were more rare, and if they were around they were in positions of lowly servitude. Meaning they kept their children well hidden until they were old enough to mind their manners.

At the end of the short side street, Tork had them take a right, onto a far sunnier road that must have been the furthest South-West portion of the city. There was a forest beyond the single level houses on this street, and the towering spruces trees swayed in the evening light, as though waving to the citizens rushing home.

They followed the quieter road that must’ve run parallel to the busy main street for another 10 minutes, before taking another right down yet another quiet side street, and after another minute, Tork stopped in front of a wrought iron gate.

He pulled the handle, and it swung open effortlessly, making Tork mutter something about carelessness under his breath.

Aggie and Arlen exchanged confused glances, as Tork lead them through a small arched tunnel to a small courtyard.

All around them were connected walls and windows, but they were standing in a cobblestone courtyard that had a post railing to tie a horse or two, and a couple pear trees situated along the walls.

“Welcome to my humble abode.” Tork gestured to the house grandly, wearing a proud smile on his face.

“This is your house?!” The excitement in Aggie’s voice, made Tork’s expression of pride slip.

“Did you think I lived in a mud hut?”

“Not quite, but this is much nicer than what I would’ve expected.” Tork’s good mood had completely vanished, and he was about to tell Aggie off for her insensitivity, when someone else jumped in.

“He really doesn’t really give the impression that he’s successful at what he does.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped up, and found that it was a a young male Beast Awares that had jumped in to the conversation. He had Tork’s orange-yellow eyes, a much lighter shade of brown to his skin than the bounty hunter, a white blonde tuft of hair on top of his head, silver earrings, a shorter snout, and was a half foot shorter than Tork. Regardless of the differences, no one had any doubt on whom this person was.

“Hello father. 'Been a while.”