Milo waved up at them and shouted back, “My name is Crown Prince Milo Bullara. I have returned from my mission and brought back all my troops and Princess Ariana Esma of Kuli, and Crown Prince Darius Hashim of Thacaea. The people that were injured during our travels should have arrived already.”

The gates opened and a man stepped out to greet us. “They arrived two days ago. I am so glad that you are safe, my son.” The man opened his arms and hugged Milo while I tried to process his words. This man was the King? He wore the same clothes that peasants in my land would wear, and no crown adorned his head. His hands were calloused and looked to have seen a lot of hard work. My dad’s hands had callouses from wielding his sword, but not like this. As Darius bowed to the King to show respect, I curtsied. I felt kind of dumb curtsying in pants, but I did it anyways. The King saw us doing this and he waved for us to stand. Noticing that none of the Black Renegades had bowed, I was a bit confused. All of my guards, and maids had curtsied or bowed along with Darius’s guards. The King seemed to sense my confusion and answered my unspoken question. “There is no need for anyone to bow or curtsey to me. Yes, I am the King of Raetis and yes, it is proper protocol to show that kind of respect to me, but if there are no other royals around then there is no need for it. Plus we did kidnap you all from your homes so there is doubly no need for you to show that kind of respect to me.” Milo’s dad bowed to us. “I am sorry about doing that. You deserve better.”

“Please do not bow to us, King. The adventure has been good and we have become great friends with the Black Renegades and your son.” Darius looked at me and I knew that he was going to mention my injury. The boat ride and hike through the forest had been a bit rough on it. “Ari has been spending a lot of time particularly with your healer.”

The King immediately looked to the healer. “What is wrong with her?”

Stepping forward the healer inclined his head to the King. “Jonas, she was injured during a fight. Someone hit her with an ax. It cut pretty deep, but not deep enough to kill or gravely injure. She will be fine, but she is very stubborn and would not let me finish treating it until we reached here.”

“Well then take her to her room and you can begin treating her right away. Also I will be in shortly to hear your diagnosis and what you need to treat it.” The healer nodded and grabbed my arm. As I was being dragged towards the castle, my guards hurried to catch up to us. Jonas started to say that I would be perfectly safe, but Milo stopped him. He knew how protective my guards were. Climbing several sets of stairs, we eventually reached the room that would be mine until we left Raetis. The healer pointed at the bed and told me to sit. Rolling my eyes, I sat on the edge of the bed. While the healer left the room to grab all the stuff they needed to examine me, I looked around the room in boredom.

Once the healer came back in, I asked a question that had been on my mind for a while now. “What is your name?”

“My name is Aeson.” He did not even look up at me when he answered my question. He just continued to put all his equipment out and prepped to give me a real examination. Even his first examination of me had not been the best one, because he had not had all of his stuff and someone else had been examining me at the same time. Finally looking at me, he gestured for me to lay on my back. Easing myself down slowly I laid down on my back and attempted to hold in my gasp of pain, but did not succeed. Aeson gave me a sharp look and came over to me. “What is your pain level right now from 1 being it barely hurts to 10 being that I am in so much pain I feel like I am dying.”

That forced laughter from me, but it also made me double over in pain. “Well it was at like a 5. Now that you made me laugh though, it is like a 7 or 8.” Aeson did not reply to me, but his mouth did tighten a bit. I knew that meant that he was worried about me. My pain was higher than he must have expected.

“Alright, I need to cut off part of your shirt to see the wound. Is that okay?” Though my cheeks blushed a bit, I knew that he was a doctor and would be professional about it. Plus the area that it was on was not in a very revealing area. Giving my permission, I laid completely still while he cut away the smallest portion of my shirt that he could. Gently prodding the injury I saw that it was a bit swollen and was bruised all along the edges of the stitches. “You pulled out the edges of your stitches so I will have to restitch those parts back together. Next I have to make and apply a poultice and put a cloth bandage over your entire chest to make sure that does not happen again. After that you have to take it easy for a couple of days and not do anything that puts pressure or stress on that area. That means no lifting anything, don’t lift your arms too high, no running, and no sudden movements. If you need something done then either get your maids to do it, which they should be learning where everything is in the castle so they can help you navigate through it or get you anything you need, or you need to have your guards do it.” Aeson shrugged. “Or you could get any of the people around the castle to do it. You are a very likable person after all.”

I smiled. “Aw thanks! That might be the nicest thing you have ever said to me!”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t think too much about it. I did not say that I liked you or was your friend or anything.” Proceeding to a different part of the room, he sat down at a table and started to mix the poultice so he could put it on directly after stitching up the parts that had come undone. Right as he stood up to come over and start working on me again, Jonas came in with a woman with light violet eyes. Guessing from the arm that Jonas had wrapped around the woman, that was his wife.

She soon proved me right when she came over to me and clasped my right hand in both of her hands. “Hello darling. My name is Valeria and I am technically the Queen of Raetis, however I prefer to just be called Valeria. I am more than just a Queen and I am sure you can understand my feelings on that matter.”

“Yes Valeria, I can totally understand your feelings on that. Please call me Ari. Also I love the color of your eyes. They are very pretty and unique.” A smile creased my lips. It was nice to finally meet another girl who had a presence. As of yet I had only met a couple of people with presences and they had all been boys. However, as I had figured out twice now, there were people that wore contacts so that no one knew who had presences and who did not. It was a good idea and I was definitely considering doing that. Especially since I had been attacked before for having violet eyes.

“Thank you Ari. Your eyes are more beautiful than mine though. They are so dark and mysterious looking. I can see why there is so much fuss going around about your eyes.” Valeria said it with such sincerity that I knew every word she spoke was the truth. I smiled at her again, but did not reply. She seemed to know what was on my mind. “It is not your fault that you were all attacked several times on your way coming here. Do not even let that thought cross your mind. Know that no one blames you and we all think that you are very brave. You even prevented a tragedy at the native forest peoples’ homes when you warned everyone of the intruders.” Several tears gathered in my eyes, but I blinked them away furiously. Valeria reminded me so much of my own mother that it was hard to focus on anything else.

Aeson cleared his throat. “I am sorry to interrupt this conversation, but I really need to finish working on her.”

“What is your diagnosis? Is it bad or is she all good to go after this?” Concern was clear in Jonas’s voice.

“A bit of her stitching was undone so I have to restitch those parts, apply this poultice to reduce the bruising and swelling along the edges, and then bandage her up tightly to make sure that they do not come undone again. I have already told her the limitations of what she can do, but I can repeat them. She can not lift her arms very high, carry anything, put any stress or pressure on that area, and no sudden movements.” Jonas nodded. It appeared that he had expected something along those lines and he looked grateful that it was not worse. Grumbling a bit under my breath about overprotective healers, my guards all gave me looks that said they would make sure that I followed Aeson’s orders. Sticking my tongue out at them, I tried to think of a way to get away from them and workout or something, but I could not think of anything. They just watched me too closely. In fact right now they were looking at me so closely that I left wondering if they knew what I was thinking. When Aeson first put the needle into my skin it made my fingers twitch involuntarily. Taking my hand out of Valeria’s, I clenched my hands together and tried to ignore the sensations of the needle going in and out of my skin.

There was basically no pain from it, but it just felt wrong to have a piece of metal go in and out of me. Relaxing my body, I attempted to think of something other than what was happening. Glancing over at my guards I noticed that they all looked uncomfortable and couldn’t look directly at me. Smirking at them, I knew that it really bugged them that someone was hurting me and making me feel kind of uncomfortable and they could not do anything to help me. They all sent me mock glares, but I noticed that they only looked into my eyes and they still refused to look down at what Aeson was doing. “I am okay guys. It does not really hurt and it is only a little bit of a weird feeling. You are not failing me or anything by letting this happen. In fact, you are fulfilling your duties by letting Aeson do this.” Eyes softening, they finally were able to look at what Aeson was doing. Jonas and Valeria had proud looks on their faces. Apparently they thought that I was an angel or something for comforting other people when they thought I was the one in need of comforting.

What they didn’t know was that I did not need comforting. I was stronger than they thought and this injury was nothing compared to the pain after the first day of me training with Cayden, or the pain my heart was in after Cayden had died. As if my thought transmitted itself into Jonas’s brain he looked at me with curiosity in his gaze. “I told Milo to bring 13 people here, and there are only 12. What happened to Cayden? When I asked the others, they told me that it was your story to tell since you had known him the best.”

Detaching myself from my feelings, I made sure that I was in control of my voice and feelings before I began. Aeson quickly finished applying the poultice and wrapped me real quickly in such a way that I did not even have to rearrange my clothing, but he still managed to get it under my clothes and got it tightened just enough that it put some pressure on it, but not enough to hurt. Stepping back he went into a corner of the room. With all eyes on me, I started to tell Jonas and Valeria what had happened to Cayden. About the person that had snuck on him, and how I was too late to save him. Valeria tried to grab my hand and comfort me, but I kept my fists clenched so she couldn’t. When she tried to pat my hand, I moved my hand away. Hurt flashed in her eyes, however I did not regret doing it. If someone started comforting me now then I would break down and I had promised Cayden that I would not cry or mourn for him anymore. Leaving out my conversation with him, I finished telling them the simplified version of how he had died.

“Valeria I am sorry for hurting you by not letting you comfort me or anything, but I promised Cayden and myself that I would not cry or mourn for him. He died the way he wanted to die. Fighting.”

“I understand Ari, but just know that I am here if you ever need to talk or need help with anything.” Sadness filled her voice. Nodding my thanks for her offer, I knew right then and there that I would never take her up on it. She was not my mother, and she never would be. Plus I had only started talking to my mom about things like that a month or so before I had been taken away from her. Gingerly sitting up on my pillows I attempted to get into a more comfortable position that did not stretch my wound. Right after I finished getting up Sophia and Hazel came in. Rushing over to me they asked me how I was doing.

“Don’t worry about me. I am doing really well and the healer already bandaged me all up and everything. How was the tour of Raetis? Is it as cool as it looks?”

Sophia was so excited that she almost vibrated with energy. “The tour was awesome! The grounds are huge, there are people everywhere, they have a really big area that they only use for training and exercising...” My eyes lit up at that. “Yeah I thought you might be excited about that. Anyways, they also have a marketplace that is full of spices, stands, people, noise, and insanity. It’s the best!” Laughing, I motioned for both of them to climb onto my bed beside me.

“That all sounds really cool. As soon as I am able, you two will have to take me to see all of these sights.” Hazel sat down next to me with great care.

“When will you be able to come with us to see them?” Giving a pointed look at Aeson, we all waited for him to answer.

Annoyed by all the attention he said, “She can go out and do whatever she wants in about three days. After that her injury should be either almost healed or all the way healed.” My maids squealed in excitement. It was obvious that they had thought it would have been way longer. Rolling my eyes at them, I gave a little smile. It was good to have them near me. Putting my arms around them both, I squeezed them against me in a hug. In return they put their arms around me and rested their heads on my shoulders. Soon they were both asleep and Jonas and Valeria left us alone. Aeson gathered up his stuff and slipped out silently. While Casey and Tyler stayed inside the room with us, Alex and Liam went out in the hall right outside my room.

“Is it really necessary for all these protections? I mean we are with Milo’s family and they would not have gone through all this effort to get us here safely to hurt us.” My voice was barely above a whisper, but Casey and Tyler heard me.

“It is even more important to keep our security tight here because we do not know these people very well, they just kidnapped us, and you are injured. All of those reasons make us a little nervous and very tense. There is no way we can leave your safety up to chance.” Tyler’s argument made sense, but it bugged me that I still needed this much security even in such a secluded place as the east. Resting my head back on the pillows, I tried to go to sleep. Many minutes passed before I was finally able to drift off. When I awoke it was starting to become dark outside. Sensing that Sophia and Hazel were already awake, I shifted to let them know that I was now awake as well. Getting up off the bed, they climbed to their feet and smiled down at me. Moving to follow them off the bed, I glared at Alex when he suddenly appeared in front of me and folded his arms. Sighing I let him help me back into the middle of the bed. Slumping down into the pillows I folded my arms across my chest in mockery of what Alex had just done. He just quirked his eyebrow at me in levity.

My stomach started grumbling to tell me that it was time to eat. Blushing a little in embarrassment, I asked Alex and Liam what time it was. “It is around 4 p.m. You slept for around 5 hours. Not as long as you should have, however no one can sleep very long the first time in an unfamiliar place.” Liam sounded resigned to the fact that I may not sleep very well the first couple of nights.

“Is dinner being served this early?” As if to support my statement, my stomach grumbled again.

Hazel started moving to the door. “I will go and see if it is.” Knowing that she wanted to see Joshua again, I let her go. “Do you have anything you want in particular?”

I shook my head. “Whatever they have or want to give me will be fine.” Nodding, Hazel left the room and closed the door behind her. Sophia was staring at Liam and I barely resisted rolling my eyes. “Liam, you are dismissed from your duties as my guard for the next two hours. Go have some fun, and take a tour of Raetis for me. Sophia you are dismissed for the next two hours as well.” Liam started to protest, but I cut in. “I still have three other guards that can protect me and besides I am just going to be staying in my room for the next while so if someone does try to attack me at least it will distract me from my boredom.” Only after looking at Alex and seeing him nod though did Liam leave. Once the door had shut behind them, I turned to Alex. “Did he look to you for permission to leave?” Alex nodded. “Aren’t I in charge of my own guards?”

“You are in charge of us, yes, however I am in charge of your security. That means that in times of safety you are in charge of us and can tell us what to do, but as soon as there is a hint of danger then I take over.”

“That means that you will be in charge the entire time we are in the east, doesn’t it?” Suspicion laced my words. He decided not to answer which ultimately answered my question anyways. Scooting to the edge of my bed I placed my feet on the floor and was about to stand up when Alex stood right in front of me again.

“And what do you think you are doing?”

“I am getting up and I am going to move around a little. That way I can see if I am ready to take a tour of Raetis today after dinner or snack.” Trying to push myself to my feet, I was forced to sit back down when Alex’s hand descended onto my shoulder.

“The healer said that you needed to take it easy for the next three days and he even specifically said that, when the question was brought up whether you could take a tour of the kingdom or not, that you were not ready for it or not.”

Shaking his hand off before answering I replied, “No, he said that in three days I will be healed and could do whatever I want to do. All he said for right now is that I can not do anything that would make it worse basically. That is why I am only going to try to stand and walk around a little. If it hurts or does not feel good then I will sit or lay back down and not try again until tomorrow.” Resignation on his face he went to one side of me and grabbed my elbow to help me stand. Assisting me as well as he could, I was soon in a standing position. While I walked slowly around the room Alex stayed right by me and made sure that I did not fall down. The pain was worse now than it was on the way here. My best guess as to why would be that it had stiffened up and was now protesting all the movements that I did. “Alex, can you let me go? I want to see if I can do it on my own.” He reluctantly let my elbow go, but stayed right by me and seemed to be even more diligent in watching me. I had not even known that was possible.

A knock on the door messed up my concentration and I would have fallen to the ground if Alex had not caught me at the last moment and smoothly pulled me back up onto my feet. Pointing back to the bed, Alex headed to the door to see who it was. Resigning myself to the fact that I might not be able to get a tour of Raetis for a while, I obeyed his gesture and sat down on my bed. When Alex opened the door and Milo came in I laughed. He looked inquisitively at me. "It was just a little weird to see you knock on my door. Especially since you just barged into my home, kidnapped me, and then you dragged me through the forest until we reached your home. Oh, I almost forgot the part where you put me in a boat for a two day boat ride when I can not even swim."

Milo winced. "Yeah I am sorry about that, but..."

I cut him off. "I forgive you, I was just teasing. Plus you got me out of my house. If you had not done that then I would never have been allowed to leave my house. You gave me an adventure worth remembering and it has just barely begun. Thank you.” He knew that I meant it and when he replied he sounded a little choked up.

"You are welcome. However I hope that the rest of the time you are here in Raetis and in the east that it will not be as eventful as it was on the way here.”

"That was part of the fun though! Besides, now we have made it so Malick and his family will not bother us for a long time and the natives are still alive and thriving in their tree homes.” Milo thought about it for a moment before he nodded in agreement and understanding.

"Those are all true, however I am sad that it came at the cost of you being injured.”

I shrugged. “It was worth it and if I had to do it again I would.” Pressing on my wound lightly I said, “It does not even hurt that bad. I would be up and walking around the kingdom if not for Alex.” Milo turned to Alex who just smiled and nodded at us. Another knock at the door interrupted our conversation. Alex went over and opened it again. Darius walked in this time. Waving at him from the bed I wondered when Hazel would come back with my food. I loved seeing Milo and Darius, nonetheless, I was very hungry and wanted Hazel to come back soon with a lot of food. After answering all of their questions regarding my injury and assuring them that I was going to be fine, another knock sounded at the door. Hazel walked in this time when Alex opened the door and she was arm in arm with Joshua. In front of them was a huge tray full of food that they had carried up here from the kitchens. My mouth salivitated when I thought about how good that food must taste. Standing with Alex's help I thanked them for bringing it up and hugged Hazel. Saying goodbye to them so they could have some alone time, I turned my attention back to the other people in the room. I did not want to be rude and eat in front of Darius and Milo, so I set the food down on the bed and started up our conversation where we had left off.

Only about a minute or two into our resumed conversation, Darius gave me a pointed look. Giving him a confused look back, I waited for him to explain why he had given me that confused look. Elaborating, he said, "Please eat your food. None of us care if you eat in front of us and we all know how hungry you must be.” Milo doubled that statement.

"He is right. We do not care if you eat right now, and besides, your stomach has growled like three times since it has been brought in.” Blushing a little, I pulled the tray a bit closer to me and picked up my fork. Putting it into the delicious looking noodles, vegetables, meat, and sauce, I almost died when its taste exploded in my mouth. Closing my eyes to savor the taste, I forgot about everything except for how good the food tasted. Chewing as slowly as I could, eventually I opened my eyes and looked at Milo and Darius. They were both smiling and trying to not laugh. It was most likely because I had a super happy look on my face when I had been enjoying my first bite of Raetian food.

"When you guys get dinner, you should at least try this. It is so good and makes my taste buds happy.” There was no embarrassment or guiltiness in my voice.

"We will definitely both try it and see if it is as good as you apparently think it is.” Darius looked me in the eyes and I could see his love for me expand and grow. Dropping my gaze back to my food, I took another bite to hide my blush that had come from the love in his glance. Leaving me to enjoy my meal, Darius and Milo went down to get their own food. Apparently I wasn’t the only one that was hungry. Sending each of my guards down one at a time, they all got their own food and enjoyed it as much as I did. Finishing up my meal about an hour after I started it, I sat back with a sigh. Spotting Alex coming over to grab my dishes, I shielded them protectively with my body.

“I want to take them down myself. Then I can really work on stretching out my muscles and I promise that I will not push myself too hard. If something starts hurting then I will stop and take a break for a while.” Eyeing me warily, Alex gestured for Liam, he had come back after his two hours were up, Casey, and Tyler to get up. They came over to us and looked to Alex for directions. Hoping that Alex was going to let me take my own dishes back instead of forcibly removing them from my grasp, I looked at him nervously.

“We are going to help Ari down to the kitchen so she can get some exercise. If she starts hurting too much or gets too tired then the closest one to her picks her up and carries her the rest of the way. Understood?” Even though he was looking at the boys, I knew that he was talking to me as well. Affirming that I heard and understood him I stood with help from Casey. Picking up my dishes and using two arms to carry them, I saw the others stack theirs on the trays that they had brought up, but I refused. I needed to prove to myself that I was strong enough to carry these dishes down to the kitchen on my own. Staggering a little for the first couple of steps, I quickly found a rhythm and regained my equilibrium. Four sets of eyes watched my every move with a wariness that told me they would pick me up the next time I struggled even a little. Clutching my dishes to my chest I realized finally that it might make a mess on my shirt, but I was fine with that. Once in the kitchen I could just grab a wet cloth and clean myself off.

Reaching the first staircase, out of four that were coming up, I looked apprehensively at the several steps that awaited me. Alex spoke up from behind me. "We could just pick you up and carry you down the stairs and then put you down to walk to the next staircase.”

I was shaking my head before he had finished speaking. "No. I refuse to be carried at all, at least on the way down. I want to prove myself strong and able to show the easterners that I can handle living in this harsher environment.”

Startled by a hug from behind I almost dropped my dishes onto the hard tiled floor. Catching them at the last moment I leaned back into the hug and glanced over my shoulder to see who was hugging me. Tyler smiled at me. "You have nothing left to prove to anyone. Just making it here through all the trials and obstacles that came upon us proves that you are extremely strong and determined. Not to mention brave and resourceful.” Closing my eyes against the tears that were threatening to come out, I pulled away from him and took a deep breath. Placing my right foot on the staircase I started down the stairs. Slowly and carefully. It would not be good if I fell down the stairs. Aeson would definitely have something to say if I reopened my injury or if I got new injuries. After reaching the bottom of the first staircase I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Spotting Alex coming towards me with determination on his face, I hurried to start walking again and show him that I was good to keep going.

Hearing his sigh of exasperation I grinned a little. It was fun to antagonize him and make him frustrated. I just had to make sure that I did not push him too far and make him take action that I did not want him to take. Like picking me up and not letting me walk anymore. It took me about 20 minutes to finally reach the kitchen, but none of my guards complained or whined about the slow pace even though they could have reached the kitchen in around 5-7 minutes. Leaning on the counter after putting my dishes in the sink for the servants to clean, I began to catch my breath.Turning I saw that my guards were all watching me and their arms were all folded over their chests. Giving a breathless smile at them I held up a finger. "Just give me a little while to recover and then I will be good to go back up to my room.” All my guard's eyes rolled in unison. I knew that there was no way they were letting me walk back up to my room on my own. One of them was going to carry me the whole time going back up.

Sighing in resignation, I put up my arms and waited to see who would take me first. I hated being a burden, but I knew that they did not see carrying me as a burden. They saw it as an honor. Casey stepped forward first and slung me around him and onto his back. Wrapping my arms and legs around him gently, I waited for the journey to begin. Apparently they thought this way would be easier than carrying me in their arms. Letting my head drop onto the place in between his shoulder blades, I slowly drifted off to sleep with the rhythmic pounding of his feet vibrating throughout my entire body. My dreams started out on a good note with my parents and brothers standing beside me in a huge room. It seemed like we were having a party. Maybe it was someone's birthday. Clutching my family to me, I almost wished that it wasn't a dream. However part of me was glad that I was where I was. Right now I am more free than I had ever been before. Savoring their touches though, I was glad that I could still dream that I was with them at least. Only a couple minutes later my dream changed. And not in a good way.

People wearing all black ran into the room through the walls. They reached us and ripped us apart. Dragging me away from them screaming and fighting I felt my heart break. This part of the dream was different from real life. I was much more frightened in this dream and the black figures were much more ruthless. Rough ropes forced my hands together and their frayed edges cut into my wrists. Feeling the trickle of blood going down from my wrists to my fingers it was almost like I could hear the plink of the drops of blood hitting the ground. Tears started down my cheeks and then my dream changed again. I was in a dungeon and Malick was standing over me. He was laughing and when I looked down on myself I noticed the white dress I was wearing. This time no one had come to save me and I had become his wife. His promises were all lies and I knew that I was going to stay in that dungeon for a very long time. Screaming my hatred at Malick I watched him turn and walk out of the dungeon. There was a crash as he closed and locked the door. Still screaming, my voice soon went hoarse and even talking was painful.

Feeling someone shake me, I tried to move away from them, but someone's hands were restricting me. Attempting to shove them away I felt some pain come from the center of my chest. Pushing even harder I started twisting and screaming. Before I could get more than a squeak out, one of the people standing over me put their hand on my mouth. Eventually voices registered in my brain. "Ari! Ari, wake up!” My eyes flew open and my whole body immediately relaxed as I saw my guards standing over me. The first thing I heard was someone's panicked breathing. Judging from the fact that none of my guards appeared to really even be breathing, I guessed that it was my panicked breaths.

Struggling to regain control of myself, I concentrated on my breathing and tense muscles. "What happened? The last thing I remember is falling asleep on Casey's back for the walk back up to my room.”

Liam leaned towards me even more. "That is what we were going to ask you. Halfway back up to your room you started to act really weird. You started to cry uncontrollably and you were shaking all over.”

My memory flashed back to the parts of the dream I could remember. Which was not as much as I wanted to remember. I knew there were important parts of it that I was forgetting. “I had a dream that started good, but ended bad. The beginning had something to do with my family. I don't remember exactly what we were doing, but it was fun and the mood was very festive. Then it changed. Ghost people wearing all black flew through the walls and took me away. Something else happened I am pretty sure. Next I was in a dungeon and Malick was standing over me. Last thing I remember about the dream was that I was scared and sad.” All of my guards leaned in now and gave me a big group hug. Wrapping my arms around all of them was a challenge, but I managed it. In that moment I took a deep breath in and then when I breathed it all out, I released all my worries, fears, and felt peace and happiness come over me. I had not realized that I was holding all of that in until I let it all go.

No matter where I was or what was happening, I knew that I was always going to be safe as long as I was with my friends. Letting go of them I laid back onto my bed. This time when I closed my eyes and fell asleep I knew that my dreams were going to good. Waking up several hours later, I felt more rested than I had in weeks. Spying Liam and Casey in the room with me, I waved at them. Amusedly they waved back. Getting out of bed I slowly got up to get dressed. Every movement sent searing pain through my chest. It seemed that I had made my injury worse when I had struggled against my guards while still half asleep. By the looks Casey and Liam were giving me I knew that they were very aware that I was in a lot of pain. When Liam went out of the room and talked to someone I looked suspiciously at him. There was no way that he was up to any good. Seconds later Liam came back in with Hazel and Sophia. A little sigh of relief went through me.

As they helped me change my clothes, I tried to avoid moving my upper body as much as possible. When they uncovered my bandage I winced. Blood was staining the middle part of it. That meant that I had most likely torn out some of my stitching. Right after I had finished dressing, a knock sounded at the door. Answering it immediately, I wondered who would be calling for me at this hour. It seemed to be around dawn. Seeing Aeson outside of the door I tried to close the door on his face. In the state I was in though he was a lot stronger than me. Sliding me out of the way and getting inside the room he closed the door behind him. Putting his hands on his hips he asked me what I had done yesterday that made my guards call for him this morning. Glaring at Liam and Casey behind Aeson, I quailed a little under Aesons own glare. Slumping over to my bed I allowed Hazel and Sophia to help me lay down on it. Biting my lip to avoid crying out in pain, I waited for him to begin his examination. I had decided to not answer his question and just let him see what I had done for himself.

Glad that I had put on a button down shirt, I gave him permission to unbutton as many buttons as he needed too. Once he had cut the bandage away from the wound, I gasped when I saw the injury. It was swollen up and at least half of my stitches had ripped. Eyes watering from the pain of exposing my wound to the air, I had to close my eyes when Aeson started prodding it. "What did you do to mess up your injury this much?! Did you go running with weights?” Teeth gritted, I gestured for one of my guards to answer the question. There was no way that I was going to be able to talk like this. If I opened my mouth, all that would come out would be a scream.

"We did allow her to slowly walk down and put her dishes in the kitchen, however,” Alex began talking faster to cut off Aeson before he could berate them. “that is not what did that.” He pointed to the ugliness on my chest. "Casey was carrying her back up to her room since she was tired from her trip going down. About halfway up to her room, she started mumbling and squirming a little. Looking at Ari we realized that she was sleeping. Once we reached her room we put her on the bed and that is where everything went wrong. She began to scream, and move all over her bed. In fact, if we had not held her down then she would have fallen off the bed. While asleep, she fought our hands with every fiber in her body. By the time we woke her up, she had already done all of the damage that you see to your stitching.”

Aeson looked at me with pity in his eyes. “Did you dream about things that have happened since we took you from your home? Also I do not blame you anymore for injuring yourself this bad now. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it.”

“My dreams were related to some of the things that have happened since I was taken from my home, but they all had differences that made it only slightly similar to what actually happened. The dreams I had, or more accurately, the nightmares I had, were much worse than what actually occurred. Though I am glad that you decided not to blame me for what you are seeing.” It took a ton of determination and strength to open my mouth and say those words. The effort it took not to scream made sweat start to appear on my body. Knowing what had transpired now, Aeson got to work on fixing me back up. Hazel and Sophia each gripped one of my hands to try and help me through the pain. When he stitched me up this time, the pain was ten times worse because of how much more swollen and bruised it was. Trying to avoid squeezing Hazel and Sophia's hands too much, I tensed all the rest of my muscles. Once Aeson finally finished it was so hard to untense my muscles. I had to focus on each muscle and relax them one by one. "Thank you Aeson for sewing me up again.”