The sun shrieked at her by way of the water causing her to turn away at the sight. Her face was then caressed by a different entity, the wind. She reached up to her hair and pulled out the thong holding it up. Like letting go of a leaf in the wind, her hair immediately leaped into the air and fluttered around her face gently tickling it.

The grass that met the sand was surprisingly lively and green, it quickly ended its journey at the sand. The grass noticeably flickered in the wind. She looked at Marcel who was lying with his back against a large rock a few feet from the water. His eyes were closed and despite his peaceful demeanor, he seemed tense. She walked over and lied down on the sand next to him. The sky was a light blue. It was not nearly as impressive as the true bright summery blue that the sky could have been, but it was still worth looking at.

She felt serene, forgetting why they were there in the first place. The running and hiding all seemed like a distant memory. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salty fresh air. She was quickly jerked out of her peaceful thoughts by the sound of a ship's horn that blasted across the city.

"Let's continue walking,"

he said,

partially occupied with the ship near the docks. She sat up and noticed that he held his hand out for her, but was still looking off towards something beyond her.

She delicately placed her hand into his and he gently pulled her to her feet. She looked up at him and without warning, he began to pull her with him.

The ship that had arrived had red strips of fabric dancing in the wind attached to any post that would have it.

"Where is that from?"

She asked,

wondering if Marcel would know. He was silent. As they got closer he commented.

'It's a trading ship."

"A trading ship."

She whispered to herself, almost questioning it.

It seemed that the larger streets were even busier because of the ship’s arrival.

The main street, with most of the important shops and vendors, was a vein that led directly to the harbor and it was completely filled with people.

Avoiding the crowd Marcel pulled her through alleys. As they got closer to the harbor, he let go of her hand and jumped up onto a large collection of crates. She watched him as he scanned the group of people crowding around the ship.

"What are you looking for?"

She asked.

He looked back at her quickly.

"Someone I know."

He then turned back to the chaos. Kari felt hate towards the thought of another person with pull over him. She pushed away from her jealousy and began to climb up to join him. He put his hand back.

"Wait."

She obeyed.

He jumped over the fence that separated the alley from the main street. Kari was stunned. She climbed on the boxes to see what he was doing. He looked up at her and gestured for her to jump, she looked around for a way to boost herself over the fence since she was much shorter than him. She pulled herself up to the edge of the fence and used her body weight to push her to the other side. He caught her by the torso before she reached the ground. She gasped for air as he released her.

His attention was pulled by the crowd again and he grabbed her wrist.

The crowd of bustling people was like a fast stream before a waterfall. Despite the challenge, he pulled her through it. She tucked her head to keep herself from bumping into anyone. They stopped, and she looked up. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her brother was standing on the platform on the ship, gazing out at the city. Marcel smiled as Kari ran past him to the shoreline. Robert saw her as she reached the plank and he ran down to greet her.

As they met, she stood in front of him, she couldn't speak, she did not know what to say. Her mouth opened but nothing came out, Robert put his hand on her shoulder. She buried herself into his chest. The tears that ran down her cheeks were quickly wiped away on his cloak.

"What happened?"

She was finally able to whisper.

Marcel led them through the crowd to an empty back alley. Kari wiped her eyes.

“I can't believe you are here.”

Marcel gestured to Robert to let him know he was leaving. Robert knew that Kari would want to know everything that happened. He wanted to keep her from being involved but he felt it was her right to know everything. He told her that he and their father were expecting an attack eventually but they did not think that they would be found as soon as they were. Kari was confused. She didn’t understand why they were targeted in the first place. She learned that Jeplin was called for by her father to come to their home and teach her how to defend herself. When he was on his way to their home they were attacked, Jeplin jumped ahead of his instructions, took her and ran. Jeplin was not a fan of running and fought their father on the issue many times before he finally buckled. He had been in the house many times before but he always remained disguised. Kari was caught up in the images of her home. Robert continued and explained that when there was an attack or danger Jeplin was ordered to take her to protect her. She smiled a bit wondering where he was at that moment. Robert described the events that led to the attack.

“The northern army sneaked in and lit everything on fire, flooding everyone outside to kill them. It was pretty successful."

He admitted.

"How did you survive?"

She asked, shocked.

"After you left, I fought. The enemy needed to be stopped before they moved on to another town."

"Why would they go to another town I thought they were after our family only? Which is something that I do not understand."

He looked at her by jerking his head very quickly.

"You don't know?"

He said surprised.

"Haven't you read the book that I packed for you?"

"No."

She said a bit confused about how that tied in

"Do you still have it?"

He asked worriedly.

"Yes."

She answered.

"It’s in my bag at the house."

She pointed at the hill.

"Why are you so worried about that book?"

“You will see when you read it. I recommend that you start today.”

The wind changed a bit, it was a bit colder.

"Alright let's go to the house, you will have to show me where it is.”

Kari led him up the hill. The main room was empty of people and Kari pointed to where the bedrooms were, but before he could make his way up. Thomas recognized his voice and ran down the stairs. Robert's eyes lit up.

"Thomas!"

He exclaimed.

"Who is here?"

he asked, turning to Kari.

"Well, Marcel and I, and Jeplin is on his way."

He omitted Charles intentionally.

Robert seemingly expressionless, let his eyes fall to the stairs. He picked up his bags again and said he was going to get some rest. "Second door on the right." Thomas inserted. He and Kari stood silently hiding their grins. Kari looked at Thomas smiling at the cruel but loving joke he played. They remained listening silently by the stairs until they could hear Robert had reached the room. There was a clash of excitement as Robert realized that Charles was indeed there.

They loudly exclaimed and embraced. From downstairs they could hear how happy they were to see each other and Kari and Thomas yelled

"Surprise"

from the bottom of the stairs. After they shut the door, Kari sat down at the table.

"I think I'm going to head into town,"

Thomas said.

She responded

"I would join you but Robert insisted that I read something."

"That's too bad."

Thomas said sadly

"I wanted to do something exciting."

"Go ahead."

She gestured,

"I'm sure the city is exciting enough as it is. I do need to be alone for this, anyway."

He walked outside and Kari ate then ran up to her room and grabbed the book. She had seen it many times before. It was leather and blank on the outside. no words or symbols. She ran her fingers over it, it was very worn, its age was emphasized by the wrinkles. She pulled back the cover and noticed how brittle the pages were. Some were stained with ink and wax. The first page was simple and had a rough hand-drawn map of the continent with numbers dictating different kingdoms. She looked at it wondering if she could find where she was. She looked for any southern ocean towns but there were too many to determine where she was. She heard a noise from one of the rooms and decided that reading outside would most likely be quieter. She sat on the grass in front of a window. Opening the book this time closer to her face, she could smell her home. She flipped past the map and at the very top of the next page read

"The history of the Great War".

She smiled. She had always wanted to find out more details on the infamous war she had heard so much about.

It told the tale of several kingdoms. The Kingdom of Asiroth, was led by a valiant man, King James. The Kingdom of Edeagar was led by King William, The Kingdom of Redponn led by King Richon, Calcaria by King Eenrin and Ocarithi by King Helam. There was a map, it showed Asiroth and Redponn were central but Asiroth on the west and Redponn the east and Edeagar in between. Both Calcaria and Ocarithi were in the north. Other kingdoms and cities dotted the map but nothing was labeled legibly. It continued on the next page describing the players. Helam was feared and dabbled in the dark arts. He built an army and wreaked havoc on everyone near him. Helam used his influence on many cities and tried to take over Asiroth. He was not powerful enough to defeat King James, and he and his army were banished back to Ocarithi. He then fled from the continent. He sailed to a remote island and started to build another army. Most thought he was dead so when he reappeared many years later with more power he was able to take back Ocarithi and not much later Calcaria. Once they heard of his reappearance King James and King William joined forces and fought against him. Helam sent mercenaries to kill his opponents. He successfully killed both Kings. James and William had fought side by side for years and pushed for their sons to do the same. When the two kings were killed Their eldest sons took their places, George for James and Henry for William. As the war continued, Henry became jealous of his friend's success. After George was hailed by many in Edeagar for his valiant work, Henry sought out Helam. They made a deal that Henry would fight for Helam and in return, he would get to rule Asiroth and Edeagar. The troops of Helam ambushed everyone. George called upon Redponn to help and they were able to fight back for some time. The war was routine until a mercenary, some believe Henry himself, sneaked into the castle to slaughter George, his wife Catherine, and their two young children.

Kari gasped. She let the book slowly fall with her hands hitting the ground. At that moment she realized that King George was her father. Stunned, she sat motionlessly. The realization that the war was partially focused on her family was inconceivable. Her mind was still racing as she looked up at the city in front of her, bustling but safe and peaceful. She decided to continue reading to see if Helam and Henry died, and the problems were less centered on her family in the end.

Henry failed to destroy the family line and was only able to kill Catherine. George and his children disappeared and his brother and adviser, Geron took his place. Helam was eventually killed by Henry allowing him to all of his power. Henry took Helam's place. All of Helam's men immediately pledged to Henry because they feared him. He was the only one able to hurt let alone kill Helam. All citizens who were oppressed by Helam's rule were able to flee in the confusing transition of power. Henry made it his goal to kill George and his family by his own hand. What happened to Henry's family is not known, he had one son who disappeared. She eagerly turned the page but there was nothing left to see except a haphazardly handwritten note at the back of the book. It read.

"Kari, trust Jeplin no matter what."

Signed

"Your father, King George of Asiroth"

Several minutes passed and her mind raced, she thought back to everything that had happened since Jeplin took her from her home and all the pieces were finally coming together. Knowing the truth was not exactly pleasant, but she was happy that it all made sense. The overwhelming knowledge that Robert had known all of this made her stand up, she left the book on the ground, and walked towards the city.

She wandered aimlessly through the back streets. Despite the negative connotations of being who she was, she was a bit excited. She smiled at the thought of her brother being a king and that she was a princess. She fantasized about the kingdom she came from though all in a peaceful universe. She sat down on an old dock that was on the outskirts of the main port. sitting on the edge she dipped her feet into the water. Her hands braced herself on the old scratchy wood that seemed to be decomposing right under her. She emptied her mind and playfully kicked her feet in the water.

The cool shiny pure liquid danced poetically around her feet. Particles jumped up with the movement and rained back down. Her eyes closed, and she enjoyed the cool droplets on her face.

"You know you shouldn't wander around alone."

Said a voice behind her. S

he immediately recognized it and spun around.

The sun blinded her vision as she stood. His face was paler than she remembered. She hugged him tightly. "Where have you been?" She asked, more like an exclamation. She felt something wet on her arm, she stepped back and noticed it was blood. She could see that under his black shirt he had haphazardly wrapped up his arm with fabric which was now coming apart.

"Jeplin what happened?"

She asked in a worried manner.

Jeplin brushed her off,

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

She grabbed his arm and rolled up his sleeve. The fabric was caked in blood and she slowly unraveled it. His ghostly pale arm was highlighted by streaks of dirt. She led him back to the house and sat him down at the table. No one seemed to be awake or around. She gathered a bowl of water and washed his wound. She carefully dabbed it dry and wrapped it up with some stockings she had. He remained silent and stone-faced but the corners of his lips suppressed a smile.

His eyes were intense and darting around the room monitoring everything.

"Who is staying here?" He noticed evidence that led to the belief that it was more than her and Marcel there, which relieved him.

"Thomas, Charles, and Robert."

She smiled saying her brother's name.

She still couldn’t believe he was really there. Jeplin uncharacteristically looked a bit shocked at his mention.

"Robert is here?"

He jolted up and ran up the stairs. She sat down at the table. The book was now sitting there among other trinkets that she assumed Robert gathered from his travels.

A few moments later Thomas and Marcel returned to the house, separately. Marcel’s face reflected, very subtlety, happiness in seeing her. Thomas held out his arms which were holding several packages. Kari took them from him and laid them on the table. Noticing the blood on her hands, Thomas exclaimed,

"What happened?"

"What?"

She laughed looking down at her hands realizing that she was covered in some of Jeplin's blood.

"It's not my blood."

She reassured them,

"It's Jeplin's.”

"Jeplin's?" Marcel said surprised.

"Where is he?"

"He just ran upstairs to see Robert."

She pointed to the stairs with her blood-stained hand.

Kari was not bothered with anything serious for several weeks, this allowed her and Thomas to spend a lot of time exploring the town. They seemed to be living a somewhat normal life. On one very warm day in the midst of summer, she encouraged all of them to go boating.

After lunch, they all met at the dock, and one by one they climbed into the moderately sized fishing boat and pushed off. "It is such a nice day," Kari observed staring at the horizon. Jeplin appreciated her simplicity in delight. After moving a few feet Kari suggested that they all should take a dip in the water. She stood up in the boat, Thomas leaned over and shoved her over the edge. She screamed. The residual water came up and soaked both Charles and Jeplin. Drawn in by the cool refreshing water Jeplin pulled off his outer shirt and jumped in with her. Kari ducked under the water and dove deeper and deeper. The water caressed her like soft hands. She enjoyed being underwater, it was mysterious, and the darkness was beautiful when penetrated by the sun. She resurfaced just as Marcel and Thomas jumped in. "I'll stay in the boat." Robert offered sternly but gladly, Charles stayed too. Robert and Charles were both very similar. They both were very reserved and rarely made any sort of noise that could be categorized as an outburst. They loved each other a lot but typical affectionate gestures were not how they expressed themselves. They exchanged a simple glance or handshake occasionally in public but that was the extent of it. They were that way with everyone so their relationship was not a special case. The sun slipped in and out of clouds all day and despite its hiding, the temperature did not waver.

They made their way to a sandy portion of the shore not far from where they had pushed off. Kari sat in the shallow bit on the water letting the glistening monster cool her from the intense heat. Marcel sat next to her. Robert and Charles sat together on the grass further back and Jeplin and Thomas were running in the shallow water tackling each other when they could manage it. Robert noticed what they were doing and jumped up. He grabbed a large stick and ran after them. The other two also grabbed sticks, and they childishly fought each other. Seeing how different their form was interesting. Even in play, it was obvious how skilled Robert and Jeplin were. The sun set on the image of all six of them sitting on the sand, without any armor or real weapons.Kari and Thomas were the only ones who ate breakfast at the table the next morning. They talked about how much fun they had the day before. They decided to continue the fun by spending the day checking out some of the vendors in the city.

They walked down the hill from the house

"You know, even though we live together, I still get excited knowing I'm spending time with royalty." She laughed,

"I have never even thought about that, let alone lived like those who are."

"I know, but you will someday."

Kari hadn't thought about that. She wondered if they would live in a castle when her brother eventually did become the king. She smiled knowing he would enjoy that. Thomas agreed with her that Robert would be a perfect king. "Do you think when he becomes king we will live there too?" Referring to him and Charles.

She smiled thinking about the end of the war and all of them living together in a castle. It was not unlike their current situation.

"I could not see why you two would not live with us. I can't imagine Charles and Robert not being together."

"Yeah, Now all we have to do is find a way to convince Jeplin and Marcel to live there too."

They laughed.

They browsed the booths and tables. There were various trinkets that progressively got more and more interesting as they reached the docks. Thomas found a pair of leather gloves he put them on pretending to wave a sword around. "I want these.” He announced. They eventually walked back to the house and entered just as everyone was gathering in the back room. She assumed that she wasn't needed, so she sat down with Thomas at the table. A sword was lying there, and she began to examine it.

Only a few moments later Jeplin appeared at the doorway.

"We need you,"

he said.

She gently put the sword on the table. She and Thomas looked at each other, both wondering what was going on. She followed Jeplin into the back room.

"I was telling your brother that it took me so long to join everyone here because there was a rumor that your father was alive, so we went to see if we could find him but it was a trap. We were ambushed and one of the leaders of the ambush was carrying your father's sword."

Jeplin pulled out a beautifully crafted seemingly indestructible sword.

"From here on we must assume he is either dead or was able to escape, though we know for sure he is not a captive."

He looked to Kari trying to give her hope. He continued handing the sword to Robert.

"We were helped by Redponn soldiers and we were asked to join them at their castle to discuss an alliance."

"Does that mean you are leaving?."

She asked.

"We are all leaving."

"I thought that you wanted me to remain hidden?."

Robert looked at her,

"Since our father and Geron have been deemed dead, we are the only ones left to represent Asiroth."

Kari was stunned.

"What does that mean for me?"

Robert continued as all the men sat looking at her invested in the events that were unfolding.

"I have pledged my services to lead the army already, which makes you next in line."

"What?"

She said almost inaudibly, completely shocked.

"That is why we need you to come with us. You are the leader now and you must represent us all and approve our alliance.”

Her mind raced. She was overwhelmed with the jump from protected fugitive to the figurehead of the war.

"The king there is very formal and honestly, old. He wants all of us to follow the rules and traditions of an alliance meeting."

She stood in silence.

Jeplin stepped in,

"Our spies predict there is a huge attack coming from the north and we must help them."

Kari silently nodded and Jeplin gestured for her to leave the room.

"I couldn't tell her we had to kill our father,"

Robert said. Thank you for cooperating."

Jeplin put his head down. Robert looked at him,

"There was nothing we could do, it was necessary, no one is going to question your loyalty any more than they do mine."

Jeplin placed his hand on Robert's shoulder and then walked away.