"Left, right, spin, jump..." Firynei mumbled to herself as she moved across the small courtyard. She wasn't sure how long she had been practicing, but the sun was setting. Taking a step forward, she rolled her ankle and fell to the ground. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt, but she was tired. She couldn't even keep count of the amount of times she had fallen.

Her thoughts were scattered everywhere, but mostly on Wrel's words and her master's. It seemed as if everyone wanted her to choose a path. She was afraid to do that. Her mother's life was in her hands. Her choices didn't just affect her. If they did, she would have given up long ago and let herself die.

"It's not just me," she whispered to herself, dejected. It would be so simple if it were only her.

Yet life was never simple for her. Being a Danu was hard, but being unclean was worse. She had spent most of her life cleaning up after others. She had to take care of the bodily waste of the sick and the livestock. She wasn't even given regular baths, so she could stay clean. Her job even entailed taking care of the dead. Days like those made her wish she was dead along with them.

She didn't want to go back to being a Danu. Clean clothes and a warm bed to sleep in were all she wanted, but to stay in Seukine she had to give up her mother. To save her mother, she had to hurt her master. She didn't want to hurt him. He saw her as clean. Something that was extremely rare. She knew that most Danus that were cleansed were still treated as unclean. Their masters disgusted by them even after the amount of pain they suffered to be clean.

Her master was different. He touched her. Unafraid of being tainted by her. It was so strange to feel another person willing to touch her. Above that, he spared her life after she tainted him. He allowed her to stay in his estate and live in a place she could grow to call home.

She owed him her very life, but she still loved her mother. She was all that was left her family. Her reasons for moving forward had always been for the woman. She owed her mother her life as well. Two life debts that she couldn't pay no matter how long she tried.

You must make your own path forward.

Wrel was right. It was a lesson and a warning for her. One she needed. Still, it tore at her heart that her path might be one without her mother.

"Every girl leaves home one day." She said as she sat up, staring up at the sky.

It was true. Her mother had told her that many times when she was extremely sick. The days when Firynei was positive, when the sun rose again she would be alone. Her mother was trying to prepare her for the inevitable. A life without her presence. Firynei had known for a long time what the woman intended, but it didn't lessen the blow at all.

Her mother had prepared her for the bitter end. She would be protected by Seukine if she were loyal. She knew her master was trustworthy in that regard. She knew it would be painful to accept, but she had to live on.

Getting to her feet, she closed her eyes and remembered the long walk to Asila on that cold winter day. She had been hungry for so long that her stomach had become swollen, but her mother hand was still firmly on hers, leading her to that foreboding estate. Their only chance at survival. Her mother never let go of her hand, even when they tried to separate them. The warmth of that hand was still clear in her memory. Her mother loved her.

Firynei had spent her entire life being wronged and hurt by others. Crawling around like an ant, always afraid of everything. Doing her best to stave off the ever growing void in her heart. For once in her life, that void had stopped consuming her. The first night she slept in that tiny bed with clean linen was the first time she felt safe.

She didn't want to go back to crawling on the ground. She didn't want to be afraid anymore, and she was going to make her own path to freedom. Looking at her hands, she clenched her fist and looked up at the coming night sky.

"I'll walk my path Ai'ma. I'll do my best for you, but you're coming along too. I won't leave you and I won't give up," Firynei said, making a promise to herself.

"So she taught you." Wrel said, walking up with a basket full of fabric. Firynei looked over to her older cousin and nodded. The woman was smiling fondly at her.

"Every night before bed."

"Did she explain the meaning of the dance?" Wrel asked, sitting the basket down on the small porch.

Firynei shook her head, "No, she only said I had to learn it well."

"It's time you learn." Wrel said, talking off her shoes and walking over to the short girl. "Our family dance has been passed down for generations. Dance by every female before marriage it was a rite of passage. Known as a dance to praise the unity between two. You know the oath. Two became one and Alycone will bless them."

Firynei watched as her cousin straighten her back and lower herself into an starting pose.

"Are you going to dance?"

"You must learn from the best. Even your mother learnt from me." Wrel said, closing her eyes. "I see you have found your determination. If you wish to follow this path, then I will guide you to victory. I promise."

Firynei wiped away her unshed tears and took a starting pose similar to Wrel's. "I will do my best."

The woman began slowly to glide across the courtyard stone ground in a way that seemed inhuman. Her body moving elegantly as she performed the dance Firynei knew since she was a child. Except, when Wrel danced, it was like watching something almost ethereal occur. Her steps were careful and graceful, giving the illusion that she was gliding across ice. Her spinning reminded Firynei of a spinning top, but never losing its balance.

Wrel moved across the stone floor without a sound, her bare feet leaving no trace of noise. As she danced, her braid slowly came a loose and her hair rose as if she was dancing on the bottom of the ocean. Golden lights appeared from the surrounding ground floating up. Dancing around her as the night sky took over and the stars above applauded her dance. The woman was calling up Kren from the very ground, something that Firynei had only seen once.

For the briefest moment Firynei thought the woman became the only being in the world. A floating fairy bringing the blessing of Alycone to the world. The white hair and glowing golden lights came back as memories of her mother dancing for her father. An exhilarating moment that was forever etched into her heart.

Her mother had sung an ancient song as she dance with the golden lights around her. Her white hair defying gravity and her winter color eyes twinkling like the stars. As the dance ended they return to reality and Wrel stood watching her quietly. Her gray eyes an evening sky after a storm.

"What do you want to do?"

Firynei took a deep breath. "I want to save my mother and I don't want to hurt the estate master. I want to live. I want to be someone that can stand on my own and protect those I love dearly. I want to be Firynei Gi'rea Quinel. No longer a child fearful of everyone and everything."

Wrel was silent and Firynei thought her cousin thought her words were foolish.

"Are you sure?" Wrel asked.

"Yes." She said instantly.

"Will you become the Mune of Seukine?" Wrel asked.

"I-I will try." she said.

"Will you become the Mune of Seukine?" the woman asked her again. Her eyes searching hers for something.

Firynei finally understood. She couldn't hesitate. There was no room for fear or hesitation anymore. If she wanted to save her mother, she had to become the main wife. She had to be the one at the top. The one that everyone recognized as the third most important person in the Estate. "I will become the Mune of Seukine. I will become a Seulnine."

"Let Firya see you. As bright as the stars, untouchable by any that would do you harm. You must become stronger not only for her but to protect everyone you will grow to care about."

Ghain'dea would never let her live if she failed. She was not naïve. She knew she would not live happily with her mother unless she fought with everything she had. She felt terror and excitement as she dance with Wrel. Never in her life had she felt as free as she did dancing under the stars after deciding her fate. If she succeeded, then she could protect her mother and have the life she wanted. If she failed, then she had the relief of knowing she did everything within her power. She would die honorably without hurting a single person.