It was dark before Faylorn returned. I had sat, rooting in place, as the atrocities of the city slowly sank in. How naive I had been, thinking of the world on the other side of the wall as an adventure to be taken lightly. My mind flickered to Fianna again. Surely she would have had some idea as to what was happening. I wished that I could go back and ask her, but there was no way to pass a message without revealing myself in some way. Faylorn came up to me, mild look of concern on his face.

"Hey, Orla. What's the matter? Did someone say somethin' to ya?" He sat down next to me and when I finally returned his gaze, I felt tears well in my eyes.

"They took the children, Faylorn. Three boys, I watched. Their parents just left them, they didn't even fight back. Why did they let that happen?" I rambled on, my tears spilling freely now. Faylorn sighed and put an arm around me.

"It's just how it is. If they fight back, they'll get killed. Not just the parents, but the little'un too."

"But why did they take them? Why?"

"To be a knight for our dear king," Faylorn replied bitterly, "Ya get a letter and a night to prepare before you're ripped from your family forever. And they taint you, turn you into a monster like they are. I got a letter once. Got to use my leg to my advantage though. Good thing too, 'cause Ma would have been alone with six mouths after Pop died."

I sniffled and attempted to stop my tears. "Your leg?"

He removed his arm from around me and rapped on his left leg, a small grin dancing in the corners of his lips. "Wooden. I've 'ad it since I was five. No one ever even notices, but it keeps me from the knights," he sighed and leaned back, looked up at the stars. "Still wanna go see the singers? I could take ya now, if ya like. I wasn't really plannin' on goin', but now I feel like a good drink and some song would be for the best."

I turned to him, not wanting to be a burden, but at the same time wanting to go back to the mindset I had only this morning, that all was fun and good and that the man's voice was the most important thing. I decided to just let myself be selfish a little bit longer and nodded to Faylorn.

The underground pub was technically a nameless facility, Faylorn had informed me, but most of the locals would reference as "Extra Work" in order to talk about it in public. There were many entranced, but the one that Faylorn took me too was through a drainage grate. This access seemed mildly inconvenient to me, but, since it hadn't rained in awhile, I didn't complain. The place was busy, with sparse candles but a very large stage where a few players were playing their instruments: a fiddle, a ocinara, and a harp. As we walked in, Faylorn lead us to a bar and ordered some rum for himself.

"Ya want something, Orla?" I shook my head, eyes glued to the stage. A woman had walked on, blonde hair pulled up in some interesting style and a black shawl draped over her gown. The harpist began playing alone. She opened her mouth and began singing in a language I had never heard. I listened, feeling my heart grow light as I recognized her from the window. She sang in pitches that were so high I didn't deem them possible and then counteracted them with pitches as low as Fianna.

"You fond of Antoinette?" Faylorn asked, grabbing his drink from the man on the other side of the counter. I didn't respond other than closing my eyes to properly enjoy the music. I heard him chuckle at my side and tug on my arm. I opened my eyes and allowed him to lead me to a closer spot to the singers. Many people were doing as I had done just before, closing their eyes and enjoying her voice. There was a low murmur of voices, but they didn't speak to loudly. It seemed that most people were here for the music.

We watched the woman sing a bit longer when a voice joined her, harmonizing perfectly together. My breath caught in my throat, this was the man from before! Soon a man joined her on stage, as he had been singing from behind stage previously. Blonde hair brushed his cheeks and his eyes were shut, keeping me from being able to tell what color they were. He was pale, much paler than Faylorn, though not quite as pale as me. I drew in a shaky breath. He was just as beautiful as his voice, though not as large as his deep voice had lead me to believe. In fact, he was rather lean. I closed my eyes, a smile dancing on my lips as the voices mingled together making a perfect melody. They were still singing in the language I didn't recognize, but it didn't matter. I could understand exactly what they were saying through their voices. Too soon, the song came to an end and the woman, Antoinette, and the gentlemen bowed, exiting the stage. The pub quickly filled with quiet chatter and I was glad to open my eyes to it. Faylorn looked at me, mildly confused.

"Alright, I understand that ya like music, but that was a bit a strong reaction for one," He raised an eyebrow, "You interested in 'em? I could probably introduce you." My eyes widened slightly.

"Could you really? I would be very thankful!" I smiled, excitedly. Faylorn turned and lead the way. Now that the performance was done, it seemed that the pub had started to be a bit more lively and less entranced. I followed Faylorn closely, grabbing on to the bottom of his shirt to make sure that I wouldn't lose him. We finally made it through the crowd to an even more crowded corner. Antoinette was surrounded by men, but I could still hear her voice ringing over the crowd.

"Dear, I will never marry. You would never be able to make a proper woman of me." I heard her laugh at her own words. Faylorn fought through the crowd to directly in front of her. He put his hands on my shoulder and pulled me in front of him.

"Antoinette, this 'un's a big fan a yours," He said to the woman. At this point, I could see her much better. She was curvy and beautiful, like those risque paintings of the masters. I could easily imagine her wrapped in silk clothes and eating grapes. Those thoughts flew my mind as she spoke.

"Call me Annette," she said crossly to Faylorn. "How many times do I have to tell you that?" Her voice was a little deeper than mine, but not as deep as she could sing. Faylorn chuckled behind me.

"It's a waste of ya real name," Faylorn replied, ignoring the grumbles of the men around him for taking the attention of Annette. I spoke up finally.

"I'm Orla. It's very nice to meet you. You have a wonderful voice," I complimented her, smiling. Annette returned the smile. I opened my mouth to ask about the male singer when he walked over, grabbing Annette's upper arm. He glanced over at me and I could see that his eyes were a dark forest green. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he pulled at Annette frantically.

"What? You're going to rip my arm off..." she finally stood and allowed him to pulled her over a little ways. While they started their whispered conversation, I furrowed my brow for a moment. Why had he looked so shocked to see me? The thought that he knew who I was flitted through my mind, but it was quickly removed. He would have no way to recognize me, there were no paintings of the princesses in the town, as far as I had seen. I turned my face away as Annette turned to look at me. I didn't know what this meant and I didn't know how to handle it. I waited, as Faylorn still had his hands clasped over my shoulders. He leaned forward and whispered to me.

"What's that all 'bout, Orla?" I looked back at him, showing him that I was just as confused as he was. He looked back up at them, eyebrows furrowed, when suddenly they both laughed.

"Don't bother, Cedric. Things never go as you plan." Annette proclaimed loudly, walking back to us. Cedric scoffed at her back.

"Please, Annette, which of us has the bad plans? Certainly not the woman who plans to live her life a spinster?" Annette turned sharply at his teasing words, anger alite in her eyes. Cedric backed up a half step as Annette came at him, finger pointed.

"I will not be a spinster! I will marry and-"

"What man would marry a girl who refuses to be a woman?" Annette stopped short and Cedric sighed. "I'm sorry, Nette... I went too far..." Annette turned to him and they had another murmured conversation, those this time it seemed that it was mostly Cedric apologizing. The crowd that had once surrounded us had dispersed during all of this. Faylorn took his hands off my shoulders and walked over to the two of them, leaving me by myself. I took a moment to try and bring my mind to a calm. There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and was face to face with Cedric. I started and stepped back for half a step, surprised, since he was suddenly in front of me. He smiled, not unkindly.

"Did I startle you? I'm sorry," I returned his smile, glad to hear that when his voice was calm, he sounded as melodic as he did when he was singing.

"No, I simply wasn't expecting you," His reaction when he saw me flashed in my mind. "May I ask why you reacted so strongly when you first sighted me?" An eyebrow rose on his face.

"I didn't expect you to notice that. I only thought that you looked familiar, but I believe myself to be mistaken." He spoke pleasantly enough and, not being very good at telling lies from the truth, I believed him. "I don't believe that we've been introduced. I'm Cedric and you are?"

"Orla. Very pleased to make your acquaintance," I said, giving my fake name. I curtsied slightly and he bowed in return.

"Now very many people here are accustomed to such formalities as those. Where are you from?" I recited the story I had given Faylorn, of sea merchants. "Sea merchants? How odd, I was certain that I knew all of the merchants in the area, and even if they never came back, I'm sure they would have traded with my home town." I stiffened at his casual destruction of my lie. He leaned towards me and whispered quietly. "Now, why don't you tell me the truth, princess?" I gasped and stepped back fully before running out. I could hear Faylorn call after me but I didn't stop. I left the same way we had come in and ran until I realised that I was quite lost.

My mind was racing, trying to make sense of what had just happened. What if I had over reacted and he was only saying princess as a term of endearment? I sat on a stone bench in a small nook and cradled my head in my hand. What was I supposed to do? Had I been discovered so soon? I pulled myself up. What was I thinking? I had only come here to meet Cedric and now I had met him, I could move on. I finally understood why I had been so quick to chase after a voice I had heard once. It was an excuse that even I hadn't seen. I just wanted my own chance to have a story and it never would have been possible within the walls. I was sure that Fianna was more aware than I was. I thought for a moment of my sisters, still within the walls, unaware of the things our father was doing. I sat for a moment longer before deciding I ought to go back to find Faylorn. He would probably be worried about me. I stood up and a person appeared from the shadows, causing me to jump for the second time that night.

"I'm sorry to startle you again, princess. Mona, isn't it? You're the one that ran away recently," I recoiled from the sweet voice of Cedric. He was not who I expected.

"How did you know I was here? I didn't even know where I was going," He approached me slowly, like a stranger might approach a cat.

"I followed you. You run quite slowly," He confessed and I frowned in reply.

"Please don't turn me into the knights," I shuddered to think of what they would do to me, what father might do to me. He smiled.

"I had no plans to. In fact, I have much better plans for you. Dear princess, would you like to join the rebellion?"  

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I'm so sorry this chapter is late. I feel that this story is moving quite quickly and I plan on slowing it down in the next few chapters. Please comment and tell me what you think.