Deep into the night… In the heart of autumn… Trees were dying, their leaves shed… A hope, left to nurture their rebirth…

The moonlight cast a dim light through the skeletons of the sleeping trees… Even through their hibernation, the world will exist just the same… The wheel will continue to turn, and the machine will continue to produce… Life, death, children, and the fire will continue to burn… Refining, always refining… Deciding… Character, their futures, their fathers…

A rustle is heard…

Tired legs sweeping across the crackling leaves… A boy… Beaten and bleeding, shuffles through…

The trees are not on his mind, the moonlight, though helpful, is ignored…

His blood drips from his body, seeping into the earth… But he does not care…

He is looking for something, but he does not know what… And… He is open to giving up…

Escaping his death, his body urges him forward, his own self-respect driving his will to live…

But he no longer cares…

He breaks free from the woods into an opening… And… With his fire dying… His will fading… He collapses.

Myriam raises an eyebrow. A child? She wonders. She rushes forward. She picks up the boy’s body. Myriam’s eyes widen. The boy’s body has been cut deeply. All over his body, there were wounds, cuts, burns, frostbite? But as Myriam continues to watch, the wounds were visibly knitting themselves together. How? Myriam asks herself. If this were a normal boy, he’d be near death in his condition.

Myriam leans in.

THUMP

THUMP

THUMP

The boy’s heart continued to beat, strong and unfazed.

Myriam raises another eyebrow. Then why collapse here, child? What weight seems to be burdening you? She wonders.

Myriam picks up the boy’s body and carries her toward her cabin.

She lays him on her bed and covers him in thick blankets.

She caresses the boy’s forehead and gives it a kiss. “Rest now, child. You’re safe here.” She says, as any woman would, if they could, to a child in need.

**KNOCK**

**KNOCK**

**KNOCK**

Myriam turns her head and frowns. What now? She wonders.

She goes to the door and opens it slightly. Through the small opening, she saw several heavily armored men, with swords and other weapons at their sides.

Myriam continues to frown without a care. She was raised to have pride in herself, to have confidence in her right to exist, and to value her opinion. In these lessons were power; power that Myriam wholeheartedly believed she had.

If the sleeping boy in Myriam’s cabin were to see this, he would smirk and turn away, never letting the woman know his respect for her. No, this sort of woman does not need acknowledgment, but he would carry the respect in his heart.

“What is it!? So late into the night! Knocking incessantly on good people's homes! Well!? Spit it out!” Myriam exclaims.

The armored man lets out a sigh. I’d rather not have to break an arrogant woman today. He thinks before speaking. “We’re looking for a boy. A very dangerous boy. It’s possible he passed through this area.” He says.

Myriam raises an eyebrow once more, as the picture slowly fills itself in. Dangerous? She asks herself.

“There is no boy here. You may leave.” She says before closing the door.

The armored man raises an arm and effortlessly stops the door from closing. “We would like to search your home.” He says expressionlessly.

Anger flares up on Myriam’s face, but she stops herself from exploding with expletives. She points outside, through the armored man.

The armored man raises an eyebrow and turns. Outside the house, on a pole was a flag, bearing a crest of an eagle carrying two crossed daggers in its claws.

“That is the emblem of the house of Nalzor, the royal family of the kingdom of Shearpeak. Do you wish to commit an act of war today?” Myriam asks boldly, her gaze staring straight ahead, unflinchingly at the armored man.

The armored man raises an eyebrow. Is she daring me? He wonders. The man considers the matter and lets out a sigh. “Let’s go.” He says with a wave of his hand. He was not opposed to acts of war, but this is something that required a direct order from a superior. He still had a large area to search and he’d rather not waste his time here.

The shuffling or armor resounds as the men slowly exit the premises.

Myriam closes the door.