Jeplin knocked on her door on the day of her departure. She had just finished eating lunch and had moved on to packing. She had not expected to see Jeplin until she returned, given his last words to her. He sat with her while she packed.

"Do you think Calliope is trustworthy?"

She inquired. She knew this was a stupid question, but she felt like it had to be asked. She knew Jeplin would never leave her with someone he didn't trust completely.

"I trust her, she is a very close friend."

She smiled, relieved.

All the students gathered after dinner. There were about twenty of them going on the excursion. A lot of them were quite young. Kari looked around at everyone, most of them looked very timid. She felt confident that she was more skilled than all of them. They made it to the lake very quickly. The temperature was rising and the snow on the cliffs was slowly melting and dripping down on them. The tiny lifeless droplets pooled on the ground and clung to the boots of those who passed. As the next day approached, they reached the peak of their exhaustion. The temperature fell drastically. They didn’t stop to eat but ate as they traveled.

They were caught in the middle of a terrible storm that came out of nowhere. Calliope led the students into a cave. Most of them stood in a frozen silence not knowing what to do. Kari immediately built a fire and others followed suit. Calliope secured all points of entry and encouraged everyone to rest while she remained alert.

Kari woke up to the commotion of Calliope pulling one of the boys outside. She closed her eyes again though trying to fight her desire to sleep. When she opened her eyes only moments later Calliope returned without him. When dinner approached they all ate over the fire. She noticed that there were not as many people as before. Not only the boy she saw earlier was missing, but four others. Carth also noticed and asked Calliope.

"Where is everyone else?"

Calliope answered calmly

"They wanted to return,

so I helped them go back.”

“In the storm?”

Kari thought to herself.

Ire, a boy sitting next to Kari whispered to her

"Oh good I really want to go back."

But before he could stand up and say anything she grabbed his wrist.

"No,"

she said quietly,

"trust me."

He relented. Carth looked at her, acknowledging that there was something odd going on. Kari outwardly acted that she believed Calliope’s excuse without any doubt, but she knew she was lying, something was going on.

The next night after they all fell asleep, Kari woke up to a growl. Her vision was groggy and irritated by an odd amount of smoke. She looked straight across the fire to the back of the cave. She closed her eyes and opened them again. There was an enormous shadow. She leaned over a bit and saw Calliope was pulling something. It was a large beastly animal. She followed the chain, it was secured on a large rock. The beast lingered in the shadows, almost undetectable. She creeped a bit closer and saw pools of blood on the ground below. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed but the smoke was too thick to see anything else. Though already lying down she tried to squish down even lower to see below the rising smoke. She saw Carth and Ire sleeping peacefully near her but that was all. They were the only close friends she had in the class and she didn't want to see them get hurt, she did not want anyone to get hurt, whether she knew them or not.

A gust of wind allowed her to see a bit of the cave once again. She could see a person in the shadows leading the enormous beast back into the depths of the cavern. She knelt between them and woke them. She told them what she saw, then told them to leave so she could make sure they were safe and that they needed to warn Jeplin.

"We can't leave you here!"

Carth said stunned.

"You can come too, there is time if we all leave."

"She won't want to risk anyone going back and telling someone what happened. Someone has to stay here to make sure she doesn't go after you."

Carth understood.

Assuming Kari would not return, she hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Karis' face turned pink. She tried to focus

"Now listen to me very closely."

She looked at both of them

. "Jeplin must find out about this. Tell him as soon as possible. If you find that you can not get back fast enough then use this."

Kari took her white dress out of her pack. They looked at her oddly.

"It's for courage, it reminds me of the night I left home."

"What are we supposed to do with it?"

Asked Ire.

"If you can't make it, tie it to the horse and the horse will get back to him. He will know."

She heard stirring from the back of the cave again. She made them pack their supplies and led them on the right path with one of the horses. Carth hugged her tightly.

"I will be fine."

Kari insisted. Carth could not imagine how since they were both still learning how to fight. She waved to them and watched until they disappeared down a slope. To make sure that Calliope did not suspect anything regarding their disappearance, she gathered some blood and spread it over where they were sleeping and over the blankets. She slipped into the darkness and followed Calliope.

She was grateful for the smoke. She assumed it was for Calliope’s benefit. To disarm and blind the students, but it helped her too. She slipped quietly into the nothingness. Despite the air being thick, it was easy to find where the animal was taken. There was a generous trail of blood. She held her supplies and began to eat a bunch of meat, testing how close they were. She moved closer and closer and then suddenly there was a large cavern.

The ceiling had crumbled a bit, and snow and light were filtering through. She could see the animal on the far side from where she was. She quickly searched the perimeter for the woman. The creature was trying to break free. This was the goal with the meat she was eating, she was hoping to toy with its senses.

While sneaking over she saw a tiny passage, she assumed Calliope escaped through it. She planned on doing the same. The huge animal was clawing at the ground as she saw its full size and realized it would not be able to follow her down that particular passage. She pulled out her bow and aimed at a part of the trap that was rope. She missed. She saw that the chain was about to be pulled off the stake by the sheer strength of the monster so she taunted it. It worked. The giant beast saw her and a hungry rage filled his eyes and he lunged, destroying the chain and causing it to flake apart bits of the ground. The chain's momentum flung around and before she became a part of the deadly mess, she leaped into the narrow passage.

The beast knew he could fit the one he had gone through many times the one that led to where she had slept. His huge furry clumsy paws crumbled the rock beneath him. The tunnels were almost parallel, both were running swiftly beside each other only separated by a wall of rock. She could hear him barreling through just inches away from her. Her anger reached its peak mirroring the animal at the thought of Calliope’s actions.

Calliope entered the cave moments after the animal reached it. She was shocked and jumped back while pulling out her sword. Though she was not noticed. The creäture was too occupied licking the blood off the floor. Calliope stood there for a moment then smiled. She thought she was rid of all the students, what Kari had hoped. She turned around and slowly walked across a ledge overlooking low spiky natural turrets. Kari reached the cave before her and she hid in the shadows watching her every move. Calliope placed her foot upon a rock and leaned while pulling out her bow. A flaming arrow was shot into the sky. Kari knelt further while continuing to watch her intently. She heard a noise, it was a horse coming down from a crevasse with a man all in black. She could barely hear them, stifling her breath, she leaned in.

"That animal of yours is brilliant."

She said,

"made everything so much easier."

"Everyone is dead already?"

The man said with a mixed tone of being impressed and surprised.

"You got the girl?"

"Yes,"

Calliope said defiantly.

"I can't believe it!"

He said smiling,

"You know you are going to be a hero."

" I could be a legend if I could find her father and brother."

He shook his head agreeing,

"Don't get too cocky,"

the man teased.

"Spread the word that one is dead."

Calliope continued,

"Hopefully it will bring morale down."

Her voice was terse.

"What are you going to do now?"

The man asked curiously.

"Well, for now, I can wait it out in the castle, I figured out a plan, I'm going to cover myself in blood and tell Jeplin we were attacked and I was the only survivor, throw a few tears in and my work is done."

Kari sat silently as her anger grew. She held the hilt of her sword tighter and tighter as they became more casual and proud of their killing innocent children. She hoped that Ire and Carth found the right route to the castle. Kari wanted to charge them but was certain that taking the two on was a horrible idea. She sat in anger at the betrayal and their giddiness at the thought that she was dead. Her thoughts were silenced when she heard Calliopes' last words.

"In fact, I might just go back and kill Jeplin while he's sleeping."

Kari couldn't hold back any longer; she jumped out of her hiding place and charged toward them. Calliope, though surprised, still looked smug assuming she couldn't hurt her. As she got closer, she drew her sword and as she went to strike, the blade started glowing. The light looked like fire but in the sense of the sun. The light blinded them. The cloud of light blasted through the area as she struck them both. Everything was draped in bright light. As it faded, she got ready to defend against them. There was no need, the two bodies were left motionless on the ground. They were utterly dead. She stood there with her heart beating quickly, her breath escaping her faster and faster. She could not believe what happened, moving quickly as if they were going to wake, She took their packs of food and supplies and began to ride back to the castle. She rode harder and harder, she was grateful that the horse knew the way back. The horse also seemed to be aware of the direness of the situation. She was comforted by its concern.

As she held the reins tightly she felt a painful sting on her hands as though she had stuck them in a fire. She tore through the mountain without the slightest bit of caution. Hours later she saw a dark figure in the distance. She froze. It moved to her very quickly. She jumped off her horse but before she could hide, the figure reached her.

"Jeplin!"

She cried out relieved to see him.

He jumped off his horse and wrapped his arms around her. She had expected some concern, but he held her in his arms longer than even she could have ever expected. When he let go he asked,

"What happened?

I came as fast as I could."

"Did Carth and Ire make it to you?"

She asked hoping that they had.

"Yes, they came in screaming for me."

"I saw the dress they held, they did not need to say anything I immediately left."

She smiled.

"It was the only thing that I had on me that you would recognize."

Jeplin hugged her again. His attitude was a lot different than it had been. She felt that lately, he had lost interest in her, that he was not enjoying her company, but she was clearly wrong, He was extremely happy to see her.

"Where is she?

He asked. She could see the anger in his eyes. Dead. She said. Jeplin looked surprised.

"You didn't go after her did you?"

Kari looked at him.

"That is why I sent Carth and Ire away, so someone could keep him from finding out we knew what she was doing. As they stood there she told him everything that happened."

He remained angry until she described how she killed the pair.

'You killed them both?"

He asked almost in awe.

"Yes,"

she said holding back a smile simply because of his reaction.

"I don't know how, just one stroke with my sword, and they were gone."

Jeplin nodded and smiled as if he understood.

“What?"

she asked.

She knew he was holding something back, but he didn't answer.

Jeplin asked if she wanted to hop on his horse to ride back. She accepted. She had the first taste of being on her own in a war plagued world and though it was not terrible she felt safe in the arms of Jeplin.

She sat in front of him. His arms were on either side of her holding the reigns. She closed her eyes and she could feel his chest against her back breathing. When they came across rocky terrain he held her close to him. She felt something for him other than safe. Her heart fluttered.

Kari's mind was at peace until they reached Etireniel. Jeplin pulled her quickly through the mountainous city, and she immediately noticed that there was more commotion than usual. As soon as they entered the castle Jeplin ran off. Kari walked in and was flooded by a bunch of soldiers. Catching a glimpse of everything going on past the swarm. Soldiers were donning their armor and weapons. She felt lost and left alone in the chaos. She looked at every face trying to find someone she trusted. She suddenly saw Marcel. She lifted her hand to gesture a greeting, not realizing her hand was bleeding. Marcel ran over to her and grabbed her hands. He held them with the palms facing up. Kari looked down and saw that her palms had black scorch marks exactly when she held her sword. The black charred bits accented the fresh and dried blood. “What is going on?" She asked regaining her focus. A man who was with Marcel answered. "Once we heard what had happened, we knew that our base was compromised, we must secure everything. The betrayal means the enemy knows where we are. We are getting ready for an attack." Marcel shot the man an angry look and pulled her off into an empty room. They sat down next to each other on a large chest. He grabbed her wrists and held her hands in his. Though they were both sitting he still towered above her. He ripped a chunk of his undershirt and began to wrap her hands. He slouched to bring her hands closer to him. She looked at his eyes watching his every move. When he was done he looked up meeting her gaze. He opened his mouth and carefully chose his words

"You need to gather your things."

To her, it seemed like he wanted to say something else.

Kari ran to her room, ate, then gathered everything. When she returned there were about fifteen soldiers standing in the hallway with torches. She saw Jeplin, and he ran over to her. He apologized for leaving her so quickly earlier and led her over to the door where they joined the soldiers in a mass exodus.

He hooked her items onto the saddle and attempted to mount her horse in the most graceful way possible. Her horse was brown, a pale chestnut. Its hide was very smooth. She was surprised that she had her own horse considering Jeplin usually rode with her and that’s what she preferred.

There was a rumbling within the mountain as if nature itself knew a war was coming. They began to ride slowly through the mountain passageway before the lake. Jeplin rode behind her. She could hear voices echo from the other side, she looked at Jeplin for an answer. He gestured for her to keep going. As she reached the entrance, the light from the open sky flooded her eyes. She could see huge bodies of stone that towered over them poetically. A mere blade of grass in the mountainous world. She felt overwhelmed by his sheer presence, not being particularly familiar with it in the bright light of a clear day.

Marcel and a few other soldiers were on their horses waiting for them. She smiled, excited at the thought that they would all be traveling together. She enjoyed anything that was a change of pace from the regular routine.

She looked over to Marcel, he partially smiled at her. He was wearing full armor and sat regally on his tan-colored horse. His green eyes sparkled in the light. She turned to see what caught his attention, it was smoke. The billowing cloud rose from the castle, like a marble dragon ready to slaughter. It puffed out the entrance in large clumps and then delicately spun upward towards the clouds. She looked to her left and noticed the man who was with Marcel earlier was looking at her arm. She looked down and saw that her shirt had a bloodstain on it. With all of the chaos, she realized she wasn't sure if she had sustained any other injuries besides the ones on her hands. She pulled up the sleeve on her arm but there was not a mark underneath. The man pointed at her left hand which was bleeding again. Relieved, she re-bandaged her hand and wiped the excess blood on her tunic.

Jeplin rode past her drawing her attention. He turned to face the group.

"Kari, Marcel, and I will go to the south safe haven and everyone else will continue with the next step in the plan."

Jeplin spun around and yelled, his horse sped off and everyone else followed. Kari, a bit slow to the draw, panicked but eventually caught up with the group. Kari was not an experienced rider compared to the men she was with. They have expertly tuned fighting machines and they rode to save as much time as physically possible. Marcel saw Kari was having trouble keeping up and he gestured for the group to circle around her. She felt more comfortable being surrounded by talented warriors, especially with Jeplin leading them.

As time and distance were chiseled away, Some of the soldiers veered off in different directions. Pools of mud dotted the ground in very little but plentiful patches. Soon it was only Kari, Marcel and Jeplin left riding together, which didn’t last long. Jeplin noticed something in the distance and rode next to Marcel. They spoke quietly to each other only sparing a few words. He then turned to Kari.

“I have to take care of something, I shouldn’t be gone long.”

He leaned down as though he was becoming one with his horse. The speed he jolted into was jaw-dropping. Kari marveled at the movement. He disappeared into the forest that lined the horizon.

In the past, this would have made her uncomfortable, but she was more confident since destroying Calliope, and she trusted Marcel. She more than simply trusted Marcel, she was partially mesmerized by him. She tried to keep up with him and ride by his side. The solitude was her least favorite part of riding on her own horse, the freedom was nice but she did enjoy the close contact of riding with someone.

Kari and Marcel were able to talk occasionally when the wind was not too loud. He was very curious to know what happened on the mountain and how she destroyed Calliope. He had her describe the killing several times trying to figure out exactly what happened. She tried to explain it but there wasn’t a logical explanation that she knew of.

Another day passed, the sun was bright and shed rays that dazzled her eyes when they reflected off of Marcel’s armor. They ate as they rode through the bright lush foliage. Hours passed and Kari wanted to give up her horse and ride with Marcel. He was very interesting, and she was very tired. She heard rumors about how great he was before she even met him, great at fighting and strategy. She wanted to see him fight in person. She liked him most of the time but she didn’t dare ask him anything too invasive because sometimes he had an unsettling demeanor. She had been around him when he became mad. It was intense. Marcel was very disapproving of anyone's opinion regarding the war or anyone who tries to say they are a better fighter than him. Despite his rare ire, he had other odd traits, the most interesting was how he holds a childlike excitement for many things. A rare taste of raw innocence amongst the fighting spirit.

Their journey took them to the far southern area of the continent, Absconditi was in the south but in the southeast, they were heading to the west coast and even deeper south. Though it was technically summer, the weather emulated spring. It rained down off and on casually for days. It was not until the sun was back out and high in the sky that they came across a spattering of houses off in the distance and more notably, surrounding those houses was the gray vast expanse of an ocean.

It almost looked like the sky touched the ground. As they got closer the sun was reflecting off of various patches of the water causing it to glimmer. She smiled at the thought of seeing the ocean up close. She had never been to the ocean and wondered what it would be like. Marcel watched her as she looked upon the town.

"Neterat."

He said.

She looked at him.

"What?"

She asked

"The town, it's called Neterat."

"Oh," she said,

"Have you been here before."

"No",

he said

"Though I am familiar with the town. It is not on most maps, it’s a small shipping village. That's why we are staying here."

She smiled

"This is where we are staying?"

She was too excited to keep her energy hidden.

Marcel smiled.

"Yes."

They approached the city and dozens of shops and vendors came into view. As they ventured deeper into its throws, buildings towered above them, and the space between each building became smaller and smaller. Kari was mesmerized by the bustle and amount of color flashing in and out of the crowds. People approached them offering them items to buy, pans, scarves, jewelry. Everything exotic Kari could have imagined. They walked until they reached the edge of the congested part of town and made their way up a hill. It was not completely sparse, there were a few houses isolated from the others looking down on the city. Marcel climbed off his horse with one smooth gesture and led them to the door of one of the houses.

The house was made of beautiful wood that had elegant and intricate carvings. The carvings created magic-looking scenes on the frame. Kari jumped off of her horse and joined him at the front door. They pulled the packs off of the horses and set them on the ground. Marcel whistled loudly. His whistle was a signal that told the horses that they were free to leave. They spared no extra time and raced off into the forest that lined the backs of the houses. Marcel knocked on the door to check if anyone had arrived there before them. Kari was surprised by the gesture, assuming that they were to be there alone and knowing Jeplin could not have beat them there. No one answered. He lowered his hand and wrapped his long powerful fingers around the handle. He slowly pressed the latch forcefully, pushing the door open. A thud was followed by creaking from the hinges. The sun brazenly lit up parts of the room. Dust was unsettled from the movement of the door and it fluttered in the rays of sun, dancing down slowly as if each beam of light paused time.

She was jarred back to reality when she heard the noise of the packs clattering onto the table. She gathered her things and looked around. The entry room was not very large, it was big enough to have an old double-sided fireplace, a few benches lining the far walls, and a table. She looked through the fireplace and saw there was a room with shelves. She walked through the only other door. It led to a hallway. There was a staircase to her left and a door to her right. She went through the door and entered the room she had just looked into. Remnants of past meals were left in the form of minuscule crumbs. After dusting off the counter. She leaned her back against it and saw a tiny door, it was partially the way up the wall. She walked over and opened it. There were several shelves, and they were filled with food. She called for Marcel.

"Look,"

she said, pointing to her discovery, food.

He was not really surprised or excited.

"Good. That means the others are here.”

He paused. “We still need to visit the town to get more supplies.

They left that room together, and he gestured his arm forward telling her to go first. The bedrooms were on the second floor. She slowly trudged up the stairs dragging her bags behind her. The first room she came across was to the left of the stairs and she did not want to walk another step further so she tossed her bags through the doorway and followed them.

The room was dark save for the light breaking through the crack in the curtains. She knelt down to one of her bags and pulled out flint to light the torches on the walls. When she had finished, she was finally able to look around. There was a bed against the right wall and a shelf across from it. The far wall was the window. She approached it and drew back the curtains. That action of letting in the sun made the room much more welcoming. Kari was a bit excited but even that couldn’t keep her desire to sleep quelled. She shut and locked the door. The sun warmed everything, and she sat down on the bed. She pulled off her armor leaving her bloody shirt, pants, and her undergarments remaining. She changed her outer garments, to something similar but blood-free. She had not intended to fall asleep then, but the sun soothed her and she slipped into a soft slumber.

She awoke and ate, then started to drift off again then suddenly she was jolted back into reality by the sound of a loud horn and footsteps racing through the upstairs hall. She sat up and looked toward the door. Her door was still closed and locked to her relief. She walked over to it and slowly cracked it to see what was going on. She saw a boy who was a bit younger than her pulling supplies into a bedroom at the end of the hall. The hallway was dark so the light from her room gave her away. The boy looked up.

"Hey!"

He said smiling.

"You must be Kari?"

He walked over to her. As he did, she opened the door the whole way allowing all the light to flood the hall.

"Yes,

she said carefully.

Who are you?”

“Oh, they didn't tell you about us?"

"Us?"

she responded

"My brother and me, we are staying here with you, Marcel and Jeplin."

"Oh ok, I'm not very informed."

She said laughing at herself.

“Come with me and you can meet Charles."

He grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs. Charles and Marcel were sitting in the living room talking argumentatively. They looked over to see them reach the landing. They smiled at the boy's energy and the sight of him dragging Kari.

"Kari this is my brother Charles!"

Charles stood up.

"Charles!"

She exclaimed loudly

"I can't believe it's you!"

They hugged. Charles was close to her brother, and he had spent a lot of time with them before the attack.

"It is lovely to see you. I am sorry about Thomas, he is a bit excited to live here." S

he looked at the boy

"I could tell."

She laughed; her grogginess completely left her.

They all sat down and ate together and when they had finished Marcel offered to take Kari on a walk around the town. The sun was beating down on them directly, it was obvious she had slept almost the whole day. They wandered towards the outskirts of the city, where they met a beach.

Marcel was very tall, especially next to Kari, and had a habit of slouching just a touch. It suited him as a soldier, it looked as though he carried the weight of many wars. Kari pulled off her boots and stockings and dipped her toes into the sand. "Do you miss your home?" He asked. She enjoyed the warm grains that caressed her feet. Soft and feathery, she was engulfed.

Kari realized that he had said something and looked up at him. He took the opportunity to not ask again. She danced around playfully on the sand, while he wandered closer to the water. The liquid ebbed in unison. He carefully observed where the water came in, and caressed the top of the sand smoothing and cooling it. Like a dance, it then retreated back into itself. Kari turned to him. She looked over his body. Starting at his feet, his strong leather boots with hard soles. They were laced up to his knees and where his boots ended his pants met. They were fitted very accurately to his legs. His hips were covered by his shirt which draped coolly about his upper body The top was cut lower showing a bit of his chest. His collar bones were visible and defined. His skin seemed like it was supposed to be a bit paler but because of all of his time in the sun, it matched the sand. Her eyes followed his skin up his neck to his head. His hair was a light brown with a hint of orange that flickered in the sunlight. It was an intriguing color, but it was dry-looking and stiff. His face was strong. He had a strong defined jaw and pronounced cheekbones. He was very regal looking and typically handsome but sometimes in the wrong light, he looked sickly.

He turned to look at her and their eyes met. He wryly smiled as if they both shared a similar vision of the world. She looked back down at the sand beneath her. A strong gust of wind pushed at her back and she followed its orders walking with it into the water.

The water was warmer than she had hoped. It was tepid like the summer breeze. She moved forward another step allowing the waves to gently lap against her knees. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what it was like when she did the same at her home. It slowly came back to her, the details and feelings of the past. She remembered running away from her maid through the tall grass to the pond. The sun was usually high in the sky when she broke her schooling and danced around in nature. Many days she sat on a flat rock that dipped into the water. The rock, out in the open usually warmed by the sun, kept her at a comfortable temperature when she slipped her feet into the cool liquid. She loved the way the water felt on her skin. Like a moth to a flame. She could almost hear her father's voice booming from the stables.

The smell of the ocean reminded her of when she was really young and her father would return from a journey, she would run to him and attack him with a stick, no matter how surprised he seemed, he was never vulnerable. She admired and envied that. He was always in control, composed and powerful. She opened her eyes, they met with the horizon.