"We often are so scared of taking that leap of faith either to connect with people, or to allow ourselves to be ourselves without judging, that we stay where we are and feel trapped there." - Jodi Aman

The following days drag on as I am bullied into a routine of being dressed by the Crows, attending the Ice Queen's court - who suddenly always wears a chilling smile, and being cooped up in my room.

The crows are exasperated by the fact that they are no longer able to make my hair into a bun. What irks them even more, is that I am forced to do a lot of sewing to make their horrible dresses presentable. Crow One was the first to realise that I redesigned them. She did not say anything, but little ice crystals danced in her eyes.

I am still allowed to eat dinner in the main hall, but guards accompany me everywhere. Even though Caith told me that my brother is trying to protect me, I can't shake the nagging feeling that I might also be a prisoner. Prince Eoghan has taken Caith's place at the table, leaving me without any true ally.

So, an hour before midnight, eight days after I last saw Caith, a clink distracts me from my sewing. As I walk to my window, something whirrs past me and skids on the floor. The small black pebble at my feet could only have been thrown into my room by someone with great skill. The full moon reveals my golden-haired saviour waiting beneath my window.

“Caith?”

“I told you that I would rescue you.”

“You are standing at the bottom of my window, which is on the third storey. I do not see how you are able to rescue me. Not to mention the two or more guards outside my door,” I say with a cynical smile.

“A little trust please, sun's shine?”

“You know I trust you - irrevocably. I just do not see how.”

“I am the doer of the impossible.”

His smug smile makes my heart beat a little speedier.

“How about doing something then?” An equally arrogant grin rests on my face.

He shrugs his shoulders. “Just jump out.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll catch you,” he answers, rolling those remarkable eyes.

“Let me just first write a note to tell everyone that you murdered me.”

“Of your own volition.”

I give a lopsided, doubtful smile. Caith I trust completely - but jumping out of my window and falling three storeys and hoping that he would catch me successfully is a very mad idea.

“You promise that I will not die? I am actually quite young and would like to live a memorable life.”

“You have already lived one.”

I sit down on the windowsill and swing my legs round to the outside. A moment's hesitation passes after closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, before I push myself out of the window. Regret at this lapse of judgement fills me immediately.

"You can open your eyes."

Opening my eyes tentatively, they meet Caith's who stares at me with one lifted eyebrow.

"I guess I did not die," I say sheepishly.

"I told you that you could trust me."

"Apparently I do."

He lowers me down gently, forcing my hands to brush against his chest.

"Now that you rescued me, what do we do?" I ask while looking away frim him in order to hide the growing blush on my cheeks.

He hands me a blue cape.

"This is a cape for someone in the Second Order." I say while throwing it over my shoulders and tying it. He merely shrugs and takes my hand.

We make our way out of the castle and through the city. Despite the late hour, the soldier camps are still bustling with activity. The soldiers, even though they are worn and tired, seem to be enjoying the night. We avoid talking to anyone, but every now and then we are approached by a a group of them. Caith talks to them, and then we continue.

We slip through a small hole in the wooden gates that surround the soldier camps, allowing the city's lights to fade in the distance.

"Where in Hiraebev are we going?" I whisper.

He does not answer me, yet continues to lead me into the night.

"You might want to bend down a bit now. You do not want to hit your head."

I follow his advice in a timely manner before we enter a narrow tunnel. The sound of rushing water echoes through the darkness. My hand meets a damp wall as I run my hand against it.

The narrow tunnel gives way to an enormous cave filled with dreamlike beauty. Three underground rivers meet by exiting through tunnels and forming three waterfalls at different levels. The cave is lit up and tiny rainbows dance in the waterfalls. The water spray fills the air. Light refracts on the water drops, creating coloured spheres of light. A small walkway of rock protrudes almost into the waterfalls.

"This is magnificent!"

I walk to the end of the walkway. Caith does not follow me. My worries melt away as I take in the breathtaking beauty.

After a while I feel necessitated to break the silence. "I wish this war can end. It is unfair for me to gaze on all this beauty while there are soldiers dying on the battlefield or in the tents for the injured. "

"War, such as life, is unfair."

"And I complain about being trapped in a castle," I say, now feeling horrible about being so unthankful.

"No one likes being trapped." He walks to me. "Aebbé, you will get your chance to change the world, but here, and now, you shoul just enjoy the beauty and the moment."

"But if we defeat his army totally, surely we would have won this war?" I say seriously.

"Maybe, and maybe not." After a moment he asks: "Have you read The Book of Origins?"

"Some of it, but that was when I was still a child. My father used to tell me some bedside stories that relate to it, but the ones he told me were filled with more wonder and awe than the real thing. He used to tell me a story every night before I went to sleep. That was the only time of the day that no-one dared to bother him. It was the only time we were truly alone."

After his death I used to sneak to the library at night to read the book myself, but disappointment met me as all the stories were less fanrmtastical than the way he told them.

"Do you remember the first battle fought by the Council?"

"Yes, who does not? They fought against one of their own, the Sixth One. Everyone knows that that was the true birthplace of darkness; the origin of the evil that tore families apart and caused friends to murder one another."

"Do you remember the cause of the war?"

"Of course! The Sixth One killed the Seventh One - his wife. She was much loved by her family, because she was pure and innocent. She was the Keeper of the Faeries. Her death caused them to retreat from the world, leaving dreams unfulfilled and broken. The sources are very vague on what drove Darkness to kill Light."

I do not know where this conversation is heading.

"That is the cause most known."

"Were there other causes?"

"Yes and no. The Sixth One wanted power. He loved the Seventh One who was his opposite, but he loved power more. He started to walk on paths that are not to be followed on his quest for power.

“At first he hid it from his family. The Darkness corrupted him and moulded him into a dark unloving abyss. The Seventh One noticed this change from light to darkness. She pleaded to him to repent his dark ways. He would not listen. The darkness drove him insane and started to twist his very beliefs around. He still loved Aydiss Astar, but the darkness made him fear that he would lose her.

“As in all of the greatest tales, this was exactly what drove the Seventh One to find a light, almost as pure as hers. She found it, but the darkness had also tainted her - or it was just the darkness in her soul, amplified by the other darkness. Perfection is not found in this world, or any other, if there are other worlds to be found. The Council each has their very own flaws that make the act in the ways they do. The lessers - that is the humans, elves, dwarves, skados and other creatures that roam this earth - forget this ingrained imperfection. The elves and skados are more aware of this imperfection, but they choose to ignore it when it suits their needs."

Caith's eyes have this faraway look as he recounts the tale of ages past, yet the smile he gives me when he sees my searching eyes, assures me that the present moment is what matters most to him.

He continues with more passion and emotion than I have ever hear anyone else tell the tale. "The Seventh One pleaded until she could no more. The Darkness laughed at her futile attempts and tried to tempt her into following her. When she chose to tell their family, they did not believe her. Only one believed her, but that is another story to be told at a different time.

“The Council did not see the darkness that was creeping in between them. It made them act more to the nature of their imperfections, and that has remained till this day. The Council was corrupted. No-one knows the exact events of the day of the death of Innocence nor what was said nor what was done. Darkness shed Innocence's blood and was doomed from that day forwards.

“The remaining Council had to confront him after that day, but their hearts were all broken after the loss of their sister. The battle they fought was long, bloody and treacherous. He was now their enemy and he had gained too much strength from the forces that supported him now. He was banished from his home and family, and now lives in forever darkness. Nonetheless he stills plot, schemes and plans ways to gain more power."

Caith looks at me and smiles, but his eyes remain sad. "And that is the story of the Great War in a nutshell."

"You are trying to tell me that the Dark One is behind this war and that the Council will need to fight him again and kill him?" I say, finally understanding why he told me the whole story.

"You are smart - when you choose to listen."

"I only listen when there is something of worth to be heard."

"You are correct. The Council would have to fight their brother, but they cannot kill him."

"Why not? The evil will surely not stop until he is dead?"

"Because he is of their family. The act of killing him is equal to the act of him killing Aydiss Astar."

"But only one of the Council can kill him?"

"Only the Council have the necessary skill and strength."

"So it is an impasse?"

"Yes."

"So this war is pointless in the long run? No matter how hard the Council tries, he can always rise again, and more of the lessers - that is what you called them - will die."

"The Council must capture and imprison him."

We stare at the water in solitude.

"I have to get back to the camp. My shift starts soon," Caith says after a while.

The silence continues as we walk back to the castle. Caith quickly enters his tent, now a small one he shares with a few comrades, when we pass it. He comes back with a rope, a bow and a crooked arrow. When we arrive under my window, he ties the rope to an arrow and fires it into my room.

Caith tugs on the rope to make sure it is secure. "You know how to climb up a rope?"

I frown at him. "How many times do I have to proof that I am not useless?" I say as I take the rope and start to climb up.

"Useless is the last thing you are."

It takes a while, but I finally reach the windowsill. After hauling myself up, I pull the arrow out of my wooden bed and throw it out of the window. Caith picks the rope up and gives me a nod before he disappears into the night.

I hide the blue Second Order cap under my bed before succumbing to sleep.