'Be gentle with that!' exclaimed Ispharus, 'It belonged to my great grandmother.' she mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers, observing the government soldiers with contempt as they combed her house.

The heavy, healed footsteps behind her caused her to turn, meeting the tall, bearded officer blocking the last rays of the sun.

Ispharus's stomach clenched, recognizing the golden insignia adorning his chest. She suppressed the panic rising in her chest and took a step closer, meeting him midway through the entrance hallway. 'Officer, would you please be kind enough to explain what you're expecting your men to find at my home?' she asked, her arms entwined across her chest, her eyes shifting to the kitchen in response to the loud clatter.

'Slaves.' he said, his chin lifted, distrust glazing his speculative gaze.

'At the Loutinian district? We pledged our lives to his majesty, the king. No one would dare break his law by harboring slaves.'

'Some were ignorant enough to do so.' he said, the words he spoke measured. He joined his hands behind his back, his chestnut-brown eyes studying the ceiling. 'We've successfully captured a great number of runaway slaves from yesterday's incident not too far from here,' he paused, his gaze returning to Isphraus, 'and had the houses harboring them punished for treason.'

Ispharus bit on her jaw, the fire kindled at the back of her eyes, 'Your men will find nothing.'

'I wouldn't be so sure with the reputation you have.' He took a step closer, his piercing gaze locked on hers.

A confident grin arched her lips. 'I'm honored to have gained such a reputation.'

'I know you're hiding her...the blue-eyed sorceress?' he whispered in the space between them.

Ispharus lifted her head, 'Your men found nothing so far, so you must've been misinformed, Officer.'

'You know what awaits if you were lying.' he backed away.

'I do. All the kingdom does, yet you continue to find many who decide to ignore that knowledge. Have you ever wondered why?'

'Officer!' called one of the soldiers rushing down the stairs.

'Anything?' he eagerly asked.

Ispharus's body went cold with dread, her heart thudding in her chest. She brushed her clammy hand against her inner pocket, feeling for Suarus's braid.

'The house is clear.'

The Officer turned at her. 'Where is the child living with you? Why isn't she here?'

'My granddaughter is at my sister's and has been there since yesterday.'

'Hmm.' he replied, eyeing the creaking floor plates underneath his leather boots.

Panic engulfed her, and for a moment, she thought all was lost. The sound of the shattering glass hitting the ground shifted their attention to the living room across from where they stood.

'Officer, aren't your men done searching my home?' she stormed.

A smirk lifted the left corner of his mouth as he took a step backward. 'Our work here is done, soldiers.'

His men complied, leaving the house. He leisurely followed in their footsteps, pausing by the door. 'Till we meet again, Red Sparrow.'

The echoes of his footsteps merged with the beating of Ispharus's heart. She closed the door, securing its locks. Her insides trembled. She collapsed, invasion of shudders taking control of her limps. She knocked on the wooden board beneath her. The floor creaked. A camouflaged door opened and out of the dark shaft emerged Suarus, panting for fresh air.

'Ispharus, are you alright?' she whispered, lifting herself out, crawling towards her. 'Did he harm you?' she fearfully asked.

'They know... they knew all along...' muttered Ispharus, absently staring ahead.

Suarus patted Ispharus's shoulder, reading her lips, trying to decipher the words she spoke.

'The Red Sparrow!' she gruffly uttered, pushing away Suarus's hand, rising off the ground. 'You've jeopardized everything we've worked so hard to achieve!' she snarled, storming into the living room.

Suarus followed, halting in front of the doorway leading to the living room, absorbing the scale of disarray the room was in.

In front of the hearth, the only light source stood Ispharus, adjusting the floral vase over the shelf with utmost care.

'I'll leave... tonight.' said Suarus, approaching from behind.

'Not tonight.' she said, not looking at her, 'They'll be tightly guarding the aria.' She walked to the cupboard of herbs where the glass bottle was broken, crouching, collecting the large pieces of glass in her palm.

'I'll manage to dodge them.' Suarus bowed, helping.

Glass crashed as it cascaded on top of each other in the metal bucket by the fire, its shrillness piercing.

'I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, please forgive me.' said Ispharus, rubbing her hands against the skirt of her dress, turning at Suarus.

'Don't worry about it.' said Suarus, smiling, throwing the glass she had collected in the bucket. 'Is Lulus safe?'

'Yes, she's at the only place I am certain that no one would dare harm her.'

'I am relieved that such a place exists.'

'Me too.' she said, closing the door of the cupboard.

'The Red Sparrow you've mentioned is the redhead who's saved my life, isn't it?'

Ispharus turned, not meeting her gaze. 'Yes.'

Suarus bent, lifting the wooden chair, putting it back where it belonged by the sofa, returning to Ispharus, reaching for her arm. 'Please, sit. You are exhausted.'

Ispharus did not resist, dropping her weight on the sofa as soon as she reached it.

Suarus walked to the window, peaking, dusk's indigo painting the street. 'Do these visits happen often?' she asked, peering at the other corner.

'Uh-huh, but never when I still had a slave hidden.'

Suarus turned at her. 'Do you mean...?'

'Yes, I harbor fugitives from time to time, and by fugitives, I mean slaves.' Her fingers ran through her hair, its silver roots catching the light.

'Why to place yourself in such danger?' asked Suarus, closing the curtains, sitting on the chair next to her. 'Why do it?'

'Someone in this forsaken world has to.' Grief smothered her voice, her glazed eyes mirroring the golden flames.

'I admire your courage.' said Suarus, placing an assuring hand over Ispharus's.

A sense of calmness washed over Ispharus as her sight locked onto Suarus's glinting opal-blue eyes. A sigh escaped her lungs as she relaxed her shoulders, tilting her head backward, diving deeper into the sofa. 'The blue-eyed sorceress is what the officer called you. He accused me of hiding you.'

Suarus withdrew her hand, resting it on her lap. 'That's why I must leave tonight.'

'Why did he call you a sorceress?'

Suarus looked at her open palms. 'I... they...' her eyebrows creased, eyes searching her palms for an answer. 'I loathed them and their existence, every single one of them and myself for being too weak... I wished for death to come, and then... ' Suarus shakily exhaled, messaging the back of her neck.

The fire in the hearth popped and snapped in the silence of the moment.

'Sorcery or a divine intervention, either way, you weren't meant to perish that day.'

Suarus lifted her head.

'Everything happens for a reason, even though we don't realize it at first.' Ispharus leaned forward, her elbows resting over her thighs, 'I lost my faith in everything the day Philinus had died.' Sadness shadowed over her face, thickly coating her voice. 'Understanding that his death wasn't in vain came years later when I discovered my purpose.'

'Your purpose?' whispered Suarus.

'Yes. The reason of my being.'

Suarus's heart raced. 'What was it?'

A faint smile arched Ispharus's thin lips. 'Saving lives.'

The weight of the world fell over Suarus's shoulders, the unbearable pain of failure expanding in her chest, almost bursting.

'Philinus was meant to die for me to see the truth. The agony of his parting is what drives the desire in me to contribute to the change this world needs.'

Tears trickled down Suarus's face, glinting as it fell over her lap, her hands clenching onto the skirt of her dress.

'I sense the loss and pain you're carrying, for it reminds me of mine.'

With the back of her sleeves, Suarus wiped her tears, failing to stop its flow.

'Don't allow the sorrow to consume you. Instead, use it to fulfill your purpose, for each of us must have one.'

Suarus shook her head up and down, sniffing, finally holding back her tears. 'Like you and The Red Sparrow, I have a purpose that I must serve... I now understand why you chose not to tell me of the red-haired woman. Please inform her that I am forever grateful for her help, as I am for yours.'

Ispharus nodded, her eyes welling with tears. 'To where will you go when you leave?'

'I must retrieve what was taken from me.'