“Kyna....” Suzie had meant to call the name out confidently, defiantly, but it came out as no more than a whisper. And the woman didn’t look up or over her way at all. She felt rooted to the spot, hand shaking around the handle of her hammer.

“Suzie?” Kelsi’s whisper cut through her sluggish, unmoving thoughts. Her hand alighted on top of Suzie’s without an ounce of pressure, “are you ok? What’s the matter?”

Suzie shook her head, slowly taking her hand off the handle of her hammer, turning it over and taking hold of Kelsi’s hand, “I’m fine, just saw someone I knew.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Suzie saw motion. She turned to face Hiro, watching as his gloved hands danced in the air with a spell.

“Hiro, no,” she hissed, but it was too late, spells did not take long to cast. Hiro’s hands dropped to his sides, the magic spent. Suzie’s head whipped around towards where Kyna was now walking away. At first she couldn’t see what Hiro had done. Then she saw the shimmering shape in the grass just in time to watch Kyna trip over it and fall flat on her face with a loud clanging of metal armor. Hiro burst out laughing immediately and Suzie couldn’t help her own lips twitching up in a smile.

Until Kyna looked back at them, red-faced and furious, “who the fuck are you?” she spat.

*

Suzie’s hands were shaking and her vision was growing blurry and dark at the edges as she stared down at the half of a sword that was in her hand.

“My apologies. That’s all that could be retrieved.” The voice that spoke is far from apologetic. It’s cold. Bored.

When Suzie looked up, even through her tears, she saw a familiar face. It was the same woman that stole from her family under the pretense of taxes. And now this woman looked on heartlessly as she handed over her sister’s sword and word of her death.

It almost felt like she killed her herself.

*

Mouth dry, Suzie asked, “you don’t remember me?”

Kyna shorted and shot back, “should I?”