As Noelle departed from the stage, her friends rushed to congratulate her.

"You were amazing!" Roland complimented, and Noelle flushed under his praise.

"Your speech was really impactful," Lolita added. "It's up to you to save Dacnella! Loved that part."

Even Jawad offered his compliments, something which took Noelle by surprise. Noelle wondered what would happen to him once the rebellion was over. She knew that none of the Lost Forest People would take kindly to a traitor.

She was congratulated by several others, faces that she both recognised and did not. One man, short and fat, approached her, grinning brightly.

"Wonderful speech, Noelle. Wonderful! You're a natural," he said, and Noelle recognised him from somewhere. She swore that she had seen him on her travels, and her eyes widened in shock when she realised who he was.

"Milton? From the Hunters?" She asked, bewildered. If Milton was here, then so would the other Hunters... and Karol.

"Ah, you recognised me!" Milton laughed heartily. He clapped Noelle on the back, and she almost fell back from the force.

"Hey Milton," Jawad greeted the elder. "Is Karol here?" Noelle listened intently for his answer, and her face burst into a smile when the man confirmed.

The group followed Milton to the very back of the town's square, the point furthest from the stage. No wonder she had not seen them before. Noelle was congratulated by several more supportive people, and she accepted their words graciously.

Finally, Noelle saw the familiar figures of the Hunters, and on the side was the one who she was looking for. Karol sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against Harrison. He looked up and instantly cheered up when he saw them, getting up quickly to join them.

"Hey Karol," Jawad greeted, and the two shook hands. Karol greeted all of the others in turn, eventually getting to Noelle.

"Hey," he breathed. "Good to see you."

"Hi Karol," she beamed. "I don't believe you've met Zuzanna? She's my best friend from London."

"Why hello, Zuzanna," Karol said, flashing the girl a charming smile. Noelle felt a pang of jealousy which she quickly pushed down. Karol was just like this with everyone.

"So, how have you guys been?" Roland asked. "Is your village okay?"

"Erm, sort of? There was no permanent damage, but some houses were destroyed."

"I'm so sorry," Noelle muttered, feeling it with every inch of her body, though the fact there were no deaths reassured her.

"No need to be. It wasn't your fault," Lolita said, an unspoken emotion hidden in her voice. Behind them, Jawad grunted uncomfortably.

"Are the Hunters joining the rebellion then?" Roland asked, quickly changing the subject. Noelle appreciated it, as it gave her a moment to breathe away from her shame.

"Of course! We all wanna see Adron go down," Karol said excitedly. "I can't wait for a new Dacnella... so obviously we're gonna help. You can count on us!"

. . .

Valerie grabbed onto the sleeve of Noelle's shirt, dragging her roughly upstairs and into her room.

"Woah, what are you doing Val?" Noelle asked once inside. "Is something wrong?"

"You're my big sis, so I need your help!" Valerie stated, before blushing profoundly. Noelle raised an eyebrow at her strange behaviour.

"Oh? What's up?"

"How do you tell a boy you like him?"

Noelle was taken aback by the question. She stared at her nine year old sister, confused at the question that just reached her ears. Valerie was still staring at her, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Well, you just tell him how you feel, I suppose? With Abe and I we just sort of told each other our feelings and it just happened," Noelle explained, before a sly smile slid onto her face. "Why?"

Valerie, if possible, turned even redder. She looked like she might just evaporate into thin air if she got any hotter with fluster.

"T-There's this boy in my class... I really like him," she revealed. Noelle joined her sister on her bed, sitting down.

"What's his name?"

"Luke, he's really nice and cute. He shares his sweets with me at lunch and looks at me a lot."

"Oooh, sounds like he might like you!" Noelle cooed, and Valerie giggled at her words, covering her mouth.

It was a motion that Noelle frequently noticed her doing, covering her mouth when she laughed or talked. She knew that it was because of the insecurities with her teeth, for which she was on the waiting list to receive braces.

"Do you like anyone?"

The question made Noelle pause, as she pondered her response. The honest answer was "yes", that she did like someone. It was the reason that prompted her break up with Abe, and she felt terrible yet wonderful at the same time.

"I do."

"Really? Who!" Valerie jumped with excitement, lunging at her older sister.

"It's a girl from my class, Zuzanna," Noelle said, and she waited with bated breath for Valerie's reaction.

"Zuzanna? That friend of yours that comes over a lot?" Valerie asked, and Noelle nodded. "But she's a girl."

"And so am I."

"You can do that?" Valerie asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Yes of course! Val, let no one ever tell you who to like and who not to like," Noelle said, smiling warmly at her sister. "It's actually quite common, and normal too."

"Ohh, I get it." She didn't look like she got it. "Have you told her?"

Noelle laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "God, no. I never could."

"Well, why not? You like her don't you?" Valerie asked, confused.

"It's not that easy. I'm not brave enough," Noelle admitted. She would rather live as Zuzanna's friend than risk losing her because of her foolish feelings. "Would you ask out Luke?"

"Yes, because I'm not a coward!"

. . .

The day was going well.

They had begun making preparations for the battle with Adron, getting their guns ready, armour, swords and other essentials. Everyone was being separated into groups, with the most capable being fighters and the weaker being part of the medical unit. The Hunters were in charge of training the soldiers, which meant that Jawad was absent and Noelle finally had a moment alone with Lolita.

She noticed how lately the girl had been on edge, with a saddened expression on her face most of the time. Noelle and Roland had asked her what the matter was several times, yet she replied that it was stress from the upcoming battle. Which was a reasonable excuse.

She did not blame any of her friends for their high levels of stress. They never knew when Adron might attack, so they were always on edge. At any moment Noelle expected him to arrive at the Lost Forest and unleash his wrath on everyone.

"Hey, Lolita," Noelle said to the girl. Lolita when spoken to, and flashed Noelle a sweet smile. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course."

"Walk with me."

As the girls walked down the busy streets, Noelle looked around to make sure they weren't going to be overheard. Everyone around her was busy with their own preparations and errands, and Jawad was nowhere in sight. Noelle had decided to tell Lolita about the prophecies that she received from the witches, as well as her suspicions about Jawad.

"What's wrong?" Lolita asked curiously, and Noelle took a deep breath.

"So a while ago I ran into three witches, who gave me a prophecy," Noelle began. "They predicted the future, and so far a lot of it seems to be true.

"Oh? What did it say?"

"It said that there would be a war, and that it depended on us to choose our victory, that somebody will die, and that we will be betrayed by somebody close to us."

Lolita's face paled - if it was even possible anymore - and her mouth dropped open in shock. She stared at Noelle, her eyes wide.

"A traitor? D-Do you know who?"

"Well, I do have suspicions, that I'm positive on. Jawad. Think about it! He knows the way to the Lost Forest, which is supposed to be lost, and has no motive to help us at all, other than what he claims."

Lolita pondered her statement for a moment, before she replied. "To be honest, I've noticed it too. It would make a lot of sense for him to be a traitor. At first, I tried to give him a chance, but he seemed never to take it," Lolita said.

Noelle breathed a sigh of relief. Finally someone was agreeing with her! With Lolita on her side, they might be able to convince Roland together to see Jawad in his true colours.

"I'm so glad you agree! When I talked about this with Roland, he dismissed me because he claimed we don't see the good in Jawad," Noelle said.

"Well, Roland just can't see the difference between good and bad," Lolita answered.

. . .

Noelle was with Zuzanna, working on an updated version of the battle plan. Queen Delilah was busy gathering the troops and ensuring they had all the right weaponry, and had left the girls with the great responsibility.

"Adron's army is probably going to come in from here," Zuzanna said, pointing to the north of the map. "In that case, we'd have to intercept him from here."

Noelle looked at where she was pointing, the top of the hill from the south, right outside the Lost Forest.

"Yeah, but wouldn't that be obvious? Adron wouldn't want us to have the height advantage, so wouldn't it make sense for him to attack from the back?" She pointed out, and her words made Zuzanna pause. "We can add some troops here just in case that happens to we're protected from all sides and keep the hill under our control."

"Good idea," Zuzanna praised, and Noelle beamed. She took a pen and made the additional notes on the map, when suddenly Queen Delilah burst into the room, the emotion on her face only showing pure panic and fear.

"Adron has found us!"

A great pit opened in Noelle's stomach, swallowing everything it contained. This was not right, none of this was supposed to happen! All of her deepest and darkest suspicions had been confirmed, and there was only one person who could have led them here.

They ran out of the room, entering the chaos outside. Men on horses stormed the streets, shooting fire arrows at buildings and anything else they could find. They brutally trampled over any villager who fell under their feet, the horrid cracks and breaks ringing in Noelle's ears. She could only watch in frozen horror as they destroyed any war preparations they had done, rendering them completely helpless.

Noelle rushed to find her friends, seizing Zuzanna's hand and dragging her along. As much as she wished to help the fight, for the soldiers on their side were already battling against Adron's army, she needed to get everyone to safety. She could not risk losing them.

She found Roland and Lolita together, clinging onto each other in fear. Lolita's hand was looped around Roland's and Noelle saw she shook in fear as Roland tried to comfort her.

"There you guys are! Quick, we need to help!" Roland shouted over the noise, trying to detach himself to join the fight.

"No! We're only children, Roland. We stand no chance!" Zuzanna grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I know where we can hide, follow me!" Lolita said, and began leading the way as the group followed her.

They ran inside a small hut, which contained only one room. Lolita motioned for them to come forward, opening the hatch to the basement and ushering everyone inside. Then, she locked the door and went to join them.

Panting and out of breath, Noelle wanted to cry. At any moment when things seemed to be looking up, something always went wrong and people suffered. Once again, a town had been attacked and destroyed before Adron tracked them.

"God, I knew it was Jawad!" She raged, stomping around the room in fury. "What did I tell you! He's a traitor, I knew he was! How else would Adron find us, I mean this forest is supposed to be a secret!"

Zuzanna tried to step forward to comfort her, but Noelle only pushed her away. She didn't want anyone's comfort, she wanted to find Jawad and let out all of her pent up emotions on him.

Until four words rang out in the room that stopped her in her tracks.

"Jawad isn't the traitor."

Everyone turned to face Lolita, looking at her in puzzlement. Through her peripheral vision, Noelle saw the horror slowly dawning on Roland.

Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it!

"I am."

"What?" Noelle breathed, refusing to believe what she just heard. "Please tell me you're joking. Tell me this is a joke, Lolita!"

"How do you think Adron kept finding us? Because I reported your location to my mother, who works at the castle. You might know her..."

Looking at Lolita now, Noelle felt as if she were looking at a stranger. Her face had morphed into somebody else, and now Noelle realised who she thought she bore a resemblance to the first day they met.

Emanda.

It all clicked. Her fidgety behaviour for the past few days, her reluctance to socialise at first, her strange behaviours that Noelle never Noticed before, the reason why they were found by Adron anytime they stopped at a certain location. It was because Lolita, someone who she had grown to trust, love and consider a friend, had betrayed them so horribly.

Around the room, her friends had similar reactions. Zuzanna's hands covered her mouth as her eyes flickered between the two girls, eyes as wide as saucers and constantly on edge. Roland, on the other hand, looked livid. His entire frame trembled as she glared at Lolita, his green eyes holding only anger and fire, devoid of any of the previous respect and admiration they held when he looked at her before.

"I can't believe you!" He screamed, pointing a finger at her as she flinched. "I-I trusted you!"

Lolita only shook her head sadly, though Noelle didn't even know if she could trust anything about her anymore, before she dodged past Noelle and Zuzanna who tried to block her and ran up the stairs towards the trapdoor. She quickly unlocked it as Zuzanna bounded after her, hot on her heels.

She only saw a flash of light and then dark again as it opened and closed, before locking with a soft click.

"No!"

Darkness welcomed them, and Noelle allowed it to take her into its calming arms.

. . .

"We have received a letter from Adron that he will meet us at the Cliffs Farmland where the battle shall proceed. During his attack on our town, the majority of our supplies were damaged, and many soldiers wounded. Adron was not spotted during the attack, so we presume he is safely in his castle awaiting the war. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you are ready for the fight of your lives."

Noelle listened numbly to the Queen's speech from her seat in the audience, not bothering to cheer along with the rest of the crowd. After many long hours of waiting in the basement, they had been released by Jawad, and Delilah had been informed of Lolita's betrayal.

She could not believe it was real. All this time, after all that they went through together, Noelle couldn't believe that she would turn on them just like that. She guessed that it had all been fake from the start, and she could not believe that she had ever suspected Jawad, who turned out to be innocent after all.

Though during her reveal, Noelle had seen the pain in her eyes as she betrayed them. She knew that eyes were a window into the soul, but Lolita had proved she was a phenomenal actress and it may as well all been fake.

The one who had taken to the news the worst was certainly Roland, who had not spoken at all since the incident. He just gazed at them silently when spoken to, either nodding or shaking his head. She'd seen how close their relationship had become, and she had seriously hoped for things to turn out better.

Zuzanna, Jawad and Karol who had not known Lolita as long were of course upset, yet they hadn't taken the strike as badly as they had. Noelle envied them.

And Noelle? She could not describe the feeling. She did not know how she felt, and she couldn't explain it if she tried. It was strange and confusing, something that she was afraid to dwell on.

"Since this war will play out much differently than we had originally planned, we will need to alter our tactics. While many of the elements will stay the same, we have a limited supply of arms or medical supplies. Which is why we will need to resort to other weaponry such as bows and arrows, knives, swords and grenades."

It certainly was not the best idea, but with their current predicament it was the best they could do. Adron had sabotaged the little chance they had of winning, just showing his extreme desperation.

"The letter we received from Adron stated at the end that if we win the war, he will step away from the throne and abdicate. He will hand over Dacnella to the people, where a new government will rule. The consequences if we lose were not specified."

Even though the letter had not mentioned it, Noelle knew exactly what would happen if they lost the war. Adron would take her away to get married and all of her friends would be imprisoned, or worse, killed. It was why the stakes were so high and why they could not lose.

"We will take back Dacnella from Adron's heinous reign, and make our world a better place for everyone! To the revolution!"

The crowd cheered, but Noelle and her friends had lost their voices when they lost Lolita.