The group of Minkies warrior and their Queen stood and watched the painfully slow shuffle of the Servicer whose arms were ladened with their dulled and broken weapons, as he cautiously descended the last of the sloping narrow mountain path under the careful guidance of his Lady.

“At this pace, we won’t have to worry about having enough time to train them.” The Queen murmured to Nola and Tieg, whom both were watching the efforts of their hostages with mixed expressions of annoyance and horror.

They were not looking forward to traveling with them over the next several weeks if their current speed wasn’t ever going to improve. It made a journey that was normally, easily made in weeks, turn to an arduous one made over months.

Aggie smiled at Arlen in reassurance that his feet were on a far less steep part of the path, and cast a quick glance at the view from their vantage point across the ocean and other mountain peaks as the sky streaked with pink light of the pending night added its ribbon of beauty.

It wasn’t until both she and her Servicer turned to see the group of Minkies standing watching them, that she seemed to remember she was not on a lovely hike in the mountains, but rather was supposed to be trekking back to the King’s Settlement under duress.

“We have traveled in full a day what we normally travel in 4 hours.” The Queen announced, doing her best to reign in the annoyance in her tone.

Aggie frowned and took a slow steadying breath of the thin clear mountain air before trusting herself to speak.

“We are carrying a load of weapons, and have not been doing this for our entire lives, your majesty.” There was a mocking note in her voice, and the Queen’s expression darkened quickly. Arlen gently prodded Aggie’s back as the Queen stepped closer to them.

“Mind yourself. Or I will place Mek as your guard and Tief as Arlen’s through the night while we sleep.”

The threat made Aggie’s face pale, as even she knew that there was a lot that could be done between rape and nothing.

“Your majesty, does that threat not seem extreme?” Arlen’s voice was angry as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Aggie.

“Because I know my men, it doesn’t. You however, need to handle your emotions better.”

The Queen turned away from them and addressed her men.

“We will camp at the next cave, it should be in another hour.” The group collectively groaned, and continued on their way as Aggie and Arlen exchanged glances.

“What do you think she meant?” Aggie asked as they continued their shuffled down the darkening path.

“I think she has complete faith in her people that they won’t violate you. I think the threat was to remind you not to be disrespectful.”

“But she-!”

“My Lady, forgive my saying this, but you tend to react without processing the consequences at times.”

Aggie clamped her mouth shut as she reflected on his words. The incident that jarred out in her memory had to be half-blinding a Beast Awares back in Rockfell, but as she pondered more in silence, she found herself drawing a blank.

“Running away was an impulse, using a disrespectful tone to the Queen, throwing a knife at Gus, those were all impulse decisions.” Arlen provided gently as he recognized the look of confusion on her face.

“I don’t regret running away. Do you think I made the wrong decision?”

She turned her head to stare at Arlen, her face open in its vulnerability. A look Arlen had never seen before, and he realized she was genuinely interested in his opinion for perhaps the first time.

“No. It was the right thing to flee.” He admitted honestly.

“That’s how I feel too. Even though we’re not in spectacular circumstances right now, I still prefer this to what my life would’ve been with Sean O’Farrell.”

“You would have been neutered of all your character, I feel it is best for you this way as well.” Arlen agreed thoughtfully.

“So how can I tell when an impulse decision is a good one or a bad one? I can’t know what will happen with any certainty.” She thought aloud glumly.

“Perhaps think of at least one absolute worst possible case scenario, and the best, and think if it is worth risking the absolute worst to achieve the best.”

Aggie latched onto his words as they rang with truth, and turned them over in her mind until she knew she would forever remember them.

As they walked on in amicable silence behind the Minkies group that seemed to dawdle gracefully over the winding trail with its random rocks and widening and narrowing at every bend, Aggie let her mind wander until she came across a fresh thought.

“You know… I think where I want to go in my life has changed.”

Arlen felt a slow smile spread across his face.

“I think I want to travel more. Maybe I’ll become a bounty hunter like Tork, but I want to see more of this continent, and eventually the world. I know that there are other continents, but I couldn’t even tell you their names. Not that this continent was very creative with their names though, so the names are probably irrelevant.” Arlen grinned more openly at her musings.

“Our continent is just ‘North Kingdom’, and ‘South Kingdom’, I feel like we could’ve done better.”

“Perhaps your goal should be to petition the courts to come up with a better one.”

Aggie laughed for what felt like the first time in ages.

“Hell, what should I name them?”

“I am afraid I will not be of any help my Lady. Servicers are not creative. You may have noticed what my people call themselves.” He pointed out fighting off a small laugh of his own.

He had never felt that calling himself a Servicer had been ridiculous, and recalled how his friend Killian had pointed it out and he had defended his people. Yet somehow, as he thought about it, it seemed so ridiculously lazy.

“Beatha Land.” Aggie suggested snapping Arlen from his realization and making him laugh.

“I hadn’t thought you to be vain my Lady, you surprise me.”

“I’m struggling here.” She snipped jokingly. “What about, Aglen, or Argie. Merge our names. You could rule the North, I’ll take the South.” Arlen chuckled slightly.

“A Servicer as a ruler would be a sad day indeed.”

“Why so? You are highly educated with a controlled temper, and are fair and logical.” Aggie pointed out with surprising insight.

“That is not the role of Servicer’s.”

“Fuck the roles, I say you’d be great. Give it some thought! Once I free you, don’t let me drag you all over. Go rule a Kingdom. I happen to like the North King so I’ll surrender the South to you.”

“That is very generous of you my Lady.”

“I’m not fit to be Queen of anything, so you’re doing me a favor.” She said laughing at herself, and failing to notice the multiple glances the Minkies were stealing back at their jovial hostages.

“Though you are unprepared at this time, you might prove to be a wonderful candidate for a ruling position in the future.” Arlen’s former lighthearted tone had turned mildly serious, which annoyed Aggie for some reason.

“I didn’t like being a courtier, I’m not going to like being a Queen.” She said more testily.

Arlen burst out almost immediately;

“And why do you think I would like being a King?”

The question shocked both of them.

Arlen had never once thought about what he wanted. He had not once questioned his lack of say in his fate, and he felt something in him begin to shake.

A formless tower that had held him up for his life, began to rumble, and were his arms not full with heavy weaponry, he would have found his hands shaking.

Something was happening.

“What would you like to be?” Aggie asked softly, somehow sensing the delicacy of the moment.

“I… I think I just…” Arlen’s heart was racing, and his palms were sweating. He licked his lips, and with a great force of will managed the words:

“I just want to see your life.”

Mistaking his words in their meaning, Aggie looked crestfallen. He only wanted to serve. He didn’t want better for himself.

Arlen on the other hand was becoming more keenly aware of a piercing pain in his heart. He gripped the weaponry closer to his chest, and before he could stop himself, he continued his confession.

“I want to travel with you, and see who you become, see what you will do without…without having to push you.”

“Push me?” Aggie was startled, and had stopped in her tracks as she turned to face Arlen in the darkness, when a mangled yelp erupted from Arlen as he dropped to his knees.

The weapons clamored as they fell from his arms, and Arlen doubled over clutching his chest as the shredding pain in his heart rendered him of anything other than ragged breaths and grunts of intense pain.

“Arlen!” Aggie dropped to her knees, and suddenly found that they were surrounded by the Minkies. Aggie had her hand on his back as he continued writhing in pain in front of her.

“What is it?! What is happening?!” Aggie could see in the faint light his face was screwed in pain as he let out a short scream sent spittle flying from his lips as he sank into the agony.

“Move.” The Minkie Queen shoved Aggie out of the way with a hard shove, and touched Arlen’s hand that was clutched to his chest.

Her eyes widened, and she looked up at her men gravely.

“Carry him to the cave once I’m done. Keynan and I will join you after.”

“After what?! What is happening to him?!” Aggie begin to tremble as she watched Arlen practically seizure in pain.

Her distress was ignored however, as the Queen grabbed Arlen’s head, and threw it back so that she could stare into his wild eyes. She placed a hand over his, and as his wide eyes gazed into hers unseeing, and the pain wracked through him, in minutes the pain began to subside. Then, after what felt like eternity in hell, the pain disappeared, and Arlen was left taking refreshing shallow breaths unburdened by the suffering. His gaze was unsteady as he stared at the Minkies Queen with a mix of shock and gratitude, and he looked nearly grey in complexion.

“Sleep.” The words echoed strangely from the Queen’s mouth, and suddenly Arlen’s body went limp.

Without missing a beat, Tief bent down, and carefully picked up Arlen’s unconscious body, cradling him with all the care of a mother with her babe.

Aggie was so busy watching Arlen’s slackened face, that she didn’t notice the Queen slump over against Keynan whom began gently stroking her hair as she rested.

“Mama?” The youngest of the Queen’s children stepped through the crowd of hulking men with its few women, and stared with quivering lips at his mother.

Keynan smiled reassuringly at his son, as his eldest son and daughter stepped forward and took their little brother’s hands.

With tears running down his cherubic face, his sister bent down and whispered words in his ear to which he nodded in response, and turned away from his parents. He moved with the rest of the Minkies, silently heading down the trail, leaving Aggie desperately wanting to follow, but also needing the answers to the thousands of questions pillaging her mind.

“Wh-What happened?” She asked quietly looking at Keynan who was placing a gently kiss on the Queen’s head.

He slowly turned his head, his arm wrapped around his mate’s shoulders as he regarded Aggie with kind, yet piercing eyes.

“Your Servicer deviated from his vows. He will rest for the night, and be in fine health by the morning. Though most likely somewhat sore.”

“What did the Queen do?” Aggie was unaware of the tears that were spilling down her cheeks, and she would have been especially baffled at how they started.

“The Queen is one of many amongst our tribe that is magically gifted. I myself am a seer. Jed is a mind magicker. Should he choose, he can hear thoughts. Nola is a shield. She is able to block other seers from seeing us, or other mind magickers from finding us or affecting us.”

“Wh-What can the Queen do?”

Keynan smiled.

“She has body magic. She was able to stop your friend from death this evening, though I suspect she will be quite groggy and unpleasant tomorrow.” He tightened his hold around his mate at the mention of her abilities.

Aggie didn’t know what to say as she attempted to fathom the amount of magically gifted people that she had been surrounding her and Arlen.

She stared down the darkened trail after the group that had taken him with them, and fought back the urge to chase after them in panic.

“They… The Servicer’s die if they deviate from their vows?” She asked quietly, finally noticing her tears that were falling with growing frequency.

“Most of the time, yes. There have been a few cases where they had body magickers nearby and survived.”

“That’s… it’s… horrible.” She felt the words become choked as she said them.

“Servicers are a fearful people. I wondered if you truly knew the depths of their abilities, or the true power of the Ruling Family when you behaved so casually with your Servicer.” Keynan’s voice remained light, as though they were discussing the weather over tea.

Aggie shook her head, her nose began to dribble in rivulets from her nose, causing her to mindlessly wipe her sleeve across her face.

There was too much to process.

Arlen was in danger if she tried to force him to be whom he wanted to be. He had nearly died over wishing for his own fate.

The Minkies had far more power than Aggie could fathom, and yet they remained hidden and barbaric in their means of life.

Things didn’t make sense.

Aggie hiccupped, and the Queen began to stir at the sound. Her eyes slowly opened, and she slowly eased herself away from her mate’s shoulder.

“Why is there an audience?” She murmured tiredly to Keynan who smiled at her with good humor.

“Because Sorcha, the Lady had questions, and is quite upset over seeing her friend nearly die.”

The Queen raised her face to Aggie and regarded her without a hint of malice or annoyance.

“Come.” The Queen raised a tired arm, and Aggie found herself startled at the invitation of an embrace.

Aggie haltingly knelt down beside the Queen, and leaned in under her toned arm. She was folded against the Queen’s hard body as her arm pulled her in firmly, and yet somehow, despite the awkwardness and strangeness of the affection, the floodgates opened. Aggie’s tears began running down her face like streams, but she didn’t sob or cry out as the flowed, she simply closed her eyes and let every fear and worry pour out of her.

She wasn’t entirely certain why, but her heart was still hammering. The sight of Arlen’s pale face and limp body had shaken her to her core. The idea of losing him, and being completely alone, and never freeing him from his bonds, was too terrifying to process without tears.

“The stars are exquisite.” The Queen announced wearily after several minutes had ticked by.

Keynan glanced up at her words, and leaned back comfortably on his hands as they both watched a star streak across the inky brilliance of the night.

Aggie pulled away from the Queen, and stared up into the skies where whirling shades of deep blues and purples acted as the background for the billions of twinkling stars, and the full white glowing moon hung magnanimously in the sky.

“I-I’ve never seen a sky like this.” She whispered, well aware that the Queen still had an arm around her.

“It is the thin mountain air. The heavens are even more wondrous the closer you go to them.”

Aggie stared briefly at the Queen and her mate, whom were staring at the astronomical brilliance with peaceful serenity...

As though they hadn’t worry in the world.

Slowly, Aggie rose back to her feet, and Keynan helped the Queen stand on her own.

“Thank you, for saving Arlen… I… I know you really only need me to spread the rumor. You could’ve let him die.” Aggie bowed deeply to the Queen who nodded back tiredly.

“As tempting as it would be to manage only one hostage, your Servicer does not deserve to die painfully at the hand of his oppressors.” Aggie rose from her bow, and wiped any residual fluids from her face as she bobbed her head gravely.

“We must head back now. I’m sure you would like to be with your Servicer.” The Queen said softly, as she began to take unsteady steps, half supported by Keynan.

Aggie followed suit silently, and watched as slowly, the Queen gained her strength and eventually pulled away from her mate to walk on her own.

“Either I die trying, or I free Arlen. That is the worst and best case scenario.” Aggie let out a steadying breath.

Then, she steeled herself with fiery resolve.

She had to stop the Ruling Family.

She had to free not just Arlen, but all Servicer’s.

Aggie realized with no shadow of doubt that she first had to change the world before deserving to travel it.