Dawn had all of them wrapped around her little finger.

Izzie casted them a glance of pure disgust; they were all perched on logs around a large fire that crackled and lit up their faces as she told them another one of her daring adventures in which she simply sat atop a hill and fired into a crowd.

Izzie suspected that she had never even been in the middle of a battle; had never had people dying beside her, never had fresh blood sprayed across her flawless skin as someone lost a head or even been in close combat.

Izzie just shook her head and went back to stoking her own fire, feeding it more logs, before she grew too curious and removed the army sigil, she had found on the man’s body, from her pocket.

The fire highlighted the patchwork and made shadows dance on the floor but she noticed none of it as she was transported back to her eight year old self.

She had found a body of the enemy and had been attracted to the pretty patch work on his shirt and removed it from his chest; it had been the beginning of her thieving days to get by and survive.

Later on she had realised that it was the army’s mark and she had found it with Marrok and the others she killed but why was it on a simple robber?

He could have been an old member of the army but then why would he keep the mark of an army that had been hunted down and banished?

Unless he was a current member and the army was back in business.

Izzie didn’t know what it meant but she had to figure it out or else this pestilence was going to be the last of their worries.

When she heard someone moving at the other fire she looked up whilst slipping the piece of cloth back into her pocket and went back to stoking the fire when she saw that it was the teenage girl she had saved from being raped.

“Hello,” The young girl stood in front of her, looking at the floor.

Izzie waved at the log across from her and the girl quickly sat down, hands in her lap and her head bowed to the floor. She had to be fifteen with bland brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail with plain features and a slim figure.

They were silent for a moment before Izzie turned to her, “Are you okay?” she leaned forward, to catch her eye.

The girl nodded her head, looking at her for only short glances before returning her gaze back to the floor.

“T-Th- Thank you,” the girl mumbled softly that Izzie thought she hadn’t heard her.

“You’re welcome,” Izzie nodded her head, “Here, do you want a go?” She held out the branch for her to take, “Simply poke at the fire, that’s all I do,” Izzie shrugged and she was happy when the girl smiled.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” She asked.

“Only if you keep staring at the floor whilst you’re doing it,” Izzie joked and the girl lifted her head.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked.

“Isadora,” Izzie muttered, “But you can call me Izzie,”

“I’m Elizabeth,” the girl smiled softly; “You can call me Beth. I’ve never seen a female warrior before. I think you’re brilliant.”

Izzie didn’t know what to say to that; she killed people. How was that brilliant?

“Oh yeah? What about Miss Dawn over there, don’t you like her with her red dress?”

“No,” Beth shook her head and Izzie could see she was torn as to whether she should feel bad for saying that but she decided not to be and Izzie was happy, “What self-respecting warrior wore a dress?” Beth muttered and Izzie laughed out loud at that causing the others to cast her strange looks and Beth to recede into her shell.

“I hadn’t quite thought about it like that. But I can imagine how it would get in the way,” Izzie agreed.

Beth nodded her head, smiling.

“Beth, would you mind watching the fire whilst I went for some water?” Izzie asked, raising her empty water skin as proof.

“I have water,” Beth told her, waving the stick in the air and Izzie had to lean back to avoid it.

“I never drink anyone else’s water,” Izzie confessed, “Besides you shall need that in the morning. I’ll be right back,”

* * *

He followed Isadora down to the river where she filled up her water skin before he took a wrong step and she heard him.

She struck like a snake, whipping out her dagger from her boot she turned and advanced on him until she realised that it was only Drystan rather than an intruder. Or Dawn.

“Why are you following me?” Isadora asked, “Again?” she muttered and he smiled at that.

“I wanted to say thanks for saving my life today,” Drystan told her and it was true, he did want to thank her, but he also wanted to talk about the object she had found on the dead man’s body. She had turned white at whatever it was.

Isadora said nothing, simply carried on gathering her water, until finally she muttered, “You should have watched yourself,”

Drystan frowned at that, “I was a bit occupied at the time,”

“A good warrior knows when they’re about to be attacked,” Isadora spoke and Drystan decided to test the hypothesis as he removed his own dagger from under his cloak and threw it at the space beside her head so it wouldn’t actually hit her.

Drystan lost his smile when she reached out her hand and grabbed it out of thin air, without even looking at it. She threw it back at him and it slammed into the tree beside him; he never even saw it coming.

Drystan felt slightly emasculated.

“What is it you truly want?” Isadora asked as she stood and faced him, fastening the top to her water skin.

“What did you find today? On the man’s coat that you ripped off and hid?”

Isadora looked up at him, eyes wide.

“Yes, I saw you,” Drystan murmured; of course he saw her, Drystan thought with a mental scoff, he couldn’t see anything but her. She was magnificent.

“It’s nothing,” Isadora shook her head and started to walk back to camp.

“If it affects this group or our mission then you need to tell me. Is it something from your past?” Drystan told her.

“First of all, there is no ‘we’ or ‘our’ anything,” Isadora turned on him, “I’m only in this for the royal pardon and then I’m on my way. If you want to mess about with phoney archers and saving every little villager we come across rather than entire villages then be my guest,” Isadora’s voice kept rising and he realised that she was trying to distract him from the fact that he had discovered something out about her.

“Izzie, you can tell me,” Drystan murmured, reaching out and grabbing her wrist, pulling her tight against him.

“No,” Isadora shook her head, slightly off balance by how close he was, “It’s nothing,”

“Okay then,” Drystan muttered and he let her go. Isadora turned and headed straight back to camp.

Drystan waited until she was far enough way until he opened his clenched hand and revealed a crumpled army insignia that he had pickpocketed out of her trouser pocket.

He recognised the insignia.