Was it the day of Orgaladhad...? Or was it Ormenel? Dina no longer knew; Harod's death had brought a new kind of time into her life, and she no longer counted the days. However, she was forced to spend yet another night in the forest. She ironically thought to herself that she was getting the hang of it, but the truth was that she wasn't. That bone-deep cold a human creature feels when exhausted is not something one can simply get used to. At least, Dina couldn't. She was again cold, hungry, and tired.

She knelt by a nearby stream, staring blankly at the gentle ripples of the water. Her face and hands were already washed, and she had drunk her fill. She felt empty, lost. In recent days, her life had seemed to take a turn for the better, but the guifols' attack had swept it all away in a single sword stroke.

Guifols. Zevran would never have joined any faction. Now Dina felt, she didn't just comprehend why.

But inside, she was still confused. Long ago, after her parents had died, at least her younger brother had been there, someone she was responsible for. After Fernil's death, there were villagers, who she could rely on, if only a little. And finally, there was the Red Whirl. But never before had she felt as alone as she did now.

Only now was she beginning to grasp what had happened to her.

Her breathing trembled. She washed her face again, then pulled on her old green dress, torn and mended. Somehow, it no longer felt like it belonged to her. She didn't know why.

With her right hand, she gently swept the sleeve of the dress aside, her gaze fixed on the leather sheath. Slowly, she drew the weapon from it, turning it over in the sunlight.

Zevran's dagger. Harod's death. Dina's life.

A feeling washed over her, but she looked up at the sky, clenched her teeth, swallowed the tears that were forming, and quickly wiped away the one that escaped.

"This is my life now," she said quietly, to herself and the forest. She didn't yet know exactly what this meant, but she felt a determined devotion that she had to put into words.

She didn't know if anyone else besides herself could hear her. The God of the Forest, whom she had never known, could He hear her now?

But she knew that she couldn't stay here any longer, couldn't keep hiding from the human creatures. She had resolved to return to the brothel at night, when no one would see her, to retrieve the few belongings she had left behind. And then... well, something would happen.

Eventually, she lay down on the ground, in the sunlight, letting the warmth seep through her dirty, green velvet dress, and slept by the stream until late afternoon.

It was already late at night when she dared to venture back into the city. She knew the roads would be quieter at this hour, though the few creatures who were out might be all the more dangerous.

The door to the Red Whirl was never locked – one never knew when a passing guest might wander in. Dina slipped silently into the hall. It was dark; not even a candle was lit. As she tiptoed towards her former room, she couldn't help but glance at the chair where Harod used to sit, waiting for her.

She sneaked into her bedchamber, gathered what she found – a comb, a blanket, half a box of tasty oily nuts... And then, as quietly as she had come, she left, closing the door with the belief that she would never return.

She was halfway down the corridor when suddenly, from around the corner, the glow of a candlelight appeared. Dina was about to flee, but she had no time; the candle and its holder appeared right before her.

It was the guard.

They stood frozen, staring at each other. Dina clutching her things in fear, the guard emotionless, dressed in black like a lifeless statue. Only their breathing broke the silence of the night.

Then Dina moved first, with no better idea than to lower her head and attempt to slip past the man with tiny steps, hoping to disappear as if she had never been there... But the he suddenly grabbed her arm.

Up close, Dina lifted her gaze.

"You killed him."

The guard's words didn't sound accusing, just a simple statement of fact. But even so, Dina saw no emotion on his face, which made him more frightening.

"Yes, I did," she whispered back. "And if you want to kill me now in revenge, then go ahead, do it."

A surprised look. The first sign of emotion.

She continued.

"I don't sell my body, I have never been selling it. So I have nothing to offer you but my life."

The guard still didn't move.

Dina was acutely aware that she had no chance against him. Even Harod, barely taller than her, had taken a painful effort to escape from, and against the tall and strong, well-trained guard, her frail body would be useless.

The thought crossed her mind that this might be the end. She shouldn't have come back, it wasn't worth it for a few worthless belongings.

But the guard didn't move, not even his eyes; he just kept holding Dina's arm without releasing his grip.

"Foolish girl."

Dina's eyebrows shot up. That wasn't what she had expected him to say.

A tired shuffle and Siss's distant voice echoed from the corridor.

"Is someone there...?"

In a split second, the guard opened the store cupboard, shoved Dina behind the crates of fireworks, and shut the door on her. She didn't move, watching through the gap at the bottom of the door as the flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows on the floor in front of her. She clenched her toes tightly.

"Nothing to worry about, just mice scurrying among the fireworks." The guard's voice.

"Mice? Ugh..." Siss's voice. "I loathe them, don't you open that door. We should block up this hole so they don't get out."

"They'll chew their way through."

"These fireworks are worthless anyway. Harod only bought them to scare off people. They're not worth much at all." A sad, quiet sigh from the woman. A pause. "I almost thought..." Her voice trailed off, uncompleted. "After the events of the past few days, I'm seeing ghosts everywhere."

Silence followed. Footsteps, first soft, then heavier.

They were leaving.

Dina considered running now, but if the guard escorted Siss to her room, they'd be heading exactly the way she would, and she'd just trap herself. So she waited, for now, until everything went completely quiet. The light that had filtered in through the vent in the door was gone, leaving her in complete darkness.

What would Siss do to her if she saw her? What was the punishment for murder in Perubia? Would it matter that Harod had, in a way, served the needs of the city? And to them, wasn't Dina just a nobody, just a whore? Would self-defence lighten the sentence at all? Were public executions still a thing in Perubia?

Hurried footsteps approached, the guard yanked the door open, seized Dina by the wrist, and she could barely keep up with his large strides. Yet now she willingly ran with him.

He led her out of the building, to a barn at the back, where he shoved her onto a cart.

"Get on. Don't ask questions."

"But..."

"Don't ask questions."

The guard quietly harnessed the horse to the cart, opened the barn door as quietly as possible, and soon, only the clatter of hooves and the jingle of the reins could be heard.

Dina clung on, watching the building recede into the distance, then glanced nervously at the guard sitting next to her on the driver's seat. His expression didn't change.

She looked around. They were alone on the dark street, and at this hour, carts weren't supposed to be travelling.

This had happened to her once before – Dina had already travelled on this cart once in her life, not of her own free will, and that time, it had taken her to hell. She didn't want that to happen again; panic surged through her.

"Tell me where you're taking me! Please!"

But it was as if she hadn't spoken at all. Dina was ready to jump off, even if it meant breaking her legs, but...!

"Please! Tell me where we're going! If you're taking me to the Perubian Court, then just kill me here and now, I don't want to hang in the square for everyone to see, ashamed!" She grabbed his arm with both hands. "Just kill me here and now!"

The guard yanked the reins, the horses neighed and came to a stop, and he brusquely shoved Dina's hands off his arm, hissing at her under his breath.

"Shut your mouth, do you want to wake the city guard? I'm taking you out of Perubia, and I suggest you never come back! Now be quiet, get in the back, and sleep while you can!"

Dina stared at him, breathless. He snapped up the reins again and started the horses.

She lowered her head and for a while just stared at the wood grain of the cart. Then, without realising, she slipped to the back, pulled up her knees, and leaned against the seat, covering herself with her blanket.

The cart... who knew where it was headed. But now Dina knew that she had lost Zevran forever. Perhaps he could have found her in Perubia, but there was no way he could search the entire Euthorian Empire for her.

Or could he...? Dina's eyes filled with tears. This time, she didn't hold them back; she simply wiped her wet face with a sniffle, thinking that a man truly in love would go to the ends of the earth for the woman he loved. But Zevran... was he in love?

For a long while, she was trapped in this tormenting thought—that she was just a lowly courtesan, that no one had ever seen her as anything else, not even in the village before the brothel, and that she wasn't worth the effort for anyone to truly search for her.

Then, for some reason, she clenched her fist and told herself, no! She had never been a courtesan, and she never would be. And if there was anyone who had known that about her from the very beginning, it was Zevran!

Zevran, please, find me and save me. I'm waiting for you.