Sunlight poured out in front of them, causing Liam to shield his eyes. After taking the moment to blink out the irritation in his eyes, he followed the swordsman out onto the platform and looked down at the beach. He marveled at the water glistening in the morning sun, the waves making their way back and forth to the shoreline. The horizon radiated a pinkish orange glow from the white of the sun over the sky. "Wow..." Liam whispered.

"What is it?" Daryl asked.

"Is that a serious question?" Liam asked with a chuckle. "Look at that view! I never imagined a swordsman's playground would be so divine!"

Daryl looked across the horizon, narrowing his eyes to see what Liam saw. Sun, sand, water. He shook his head and said, "It's a beach. What of it?"

Liam slumped his shoulders and made a stale face in response to Daryl's dryness. "You really have to learn to appreciate nature, my friend."

"Disagreed," Daryl dismissed, starting to walk down the stairs with Liam following behind.

There were a few swordsmen sparring in three pairs using wooden swords. One pair turned in Daryl and Liam's direction as they came down the flights of stairs. The man on the right lit up when he saw Daryl and gestured to his partner. From above, it was hard to make out what the two were saying, but Liam figured that the man on the right was pointing out to his partner that the tall man was Daryl the Dauntless. His partner seemed rather unimpressed, nudging for the other to get back to sparring.

Liam watched the esteemed swordsman descend before him, wondering what exactly his peers his thought of him. "So, do people like you here, or...?"

Daryl looked at the pair of younger men who stared at him: one filled with excitement, the other one almost appalled. "It varies," Daryl answered.

Liam opened his mouth to ask why, but then he remembered that Daryl was probably the only colored person in the whole guild. Reminding himself of that, he thought about how his old friend Kyle was treating Mallory so ruthlessly and realized that not everyone gets super psyched about meeting people of color like he does. The sorcerer closed his mouth, deciding not to push any further than that.

When they got to the end of the stairs and onto the beach, Daryl led Liam to a gate at the other end of the training ground, where there were the sword rack and the cart of logs. Liam grimaced at the worn-out swords strewn across the rack. Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he walked past Daryl and picked up a sword with a tip so dull, the blade was shaped more like a rectangle. He raised an eyebrow at Daryl, who had stopped his stride upon seeing Liam walk away, and he asked, "You guys really train with stuff like this?"

"Apprentices don't get their own steel until they're officially initiated into the guild," Daryl explained. "What you see there are much older weapons that they can use in their training until they can get a sword that suits their style."

"How do they—" Liam interrupted his own question remembering that the Swordsmen's Guild has its own blacksmith. He lit up at his realization and said, "That's right! Your swords get made right in front of you guys, don't they?"

"By Tim, yes," Daryl confirmed.

"Tim the Blacksmith, huh?" Liam responded, replacing the sword where he found it on the rack. "Not alliterative, but still has a nice ring to it, I'd say!"

Daryl shrugged and continued his stride. "They don't all have to be that way. It just has to make sense."

"Oh yeah?" Liam asked, a smug grin forming on his face, walking back behind the swordsman as he opened the gate to the next area. "Name me one strong swordsman here whose title isn't alliterative!"

"No," Daryl spurted, walking through the gate.

"Ah, that's because you can't, right?" Liam mocked, coming through the gate and closing it behind them.

"Liam the Insufferable." Daryl started walking towards his hideout where his apprentice had spent the night.

"Now that's just insulting and inaccurate! I'm no swordsman..." The sorcerer stopped his teasing, looking around at the new spot of the beach with five hatches ahead of them. A slight frown formed on his brow, wondering what it was he was looking at. Wait, what are we doing here again?

Daryl continued toward the hatch closest to the shoreline. He crouched down and pulled out a key from his robes. He inserted the key into a lock on the hatch and opened it up. Mallory was curled in a fetal position, shaking, sweating, her teeth chattering. It was less like she was sleeping and more like she was desperately trying to retain the warmth in her body. Daryl could tell she was having a nightmare. "Wake up," he called. Her eyes shot open and they shifted towards Daryl above her. He noticed her wincing in pain at something, but he figured she was probably reacting to the abrupt sunlight entering the space and hitting her eyes. He stood back upright and ordered, "Come on up, now. You have training to do."

Liam froze, watching the swordsman speak into the small space as if someone was in there. No, no way she's in there...

Mallory caught her breath after the shock of being woken up and got up on her hands and knees. Her heart pounded against her chest, grabbing the second rung on the short ladder attached to the wall. She hoisted her right foot onto the bottom rung and started to climb, squeezing her eyes shut with each step, sore from her exercise the previous night.

To Liam's dismay, he found that his suspicion was right as the little girl made her way out of the hole in the ground. She stumbled to her feet, clearly worn out from an aching body. Her eyes widened when she saw Liam. He could not tell if it was excitement or embarrassment in her eyes. She looked away and grabbed her bare arms, rubbing them up and down, either trying to dry them off or warm them up. Liam's eyes got big seeing that the frail girl before him had been left alone all night long. Richie... Christa...

Daryl turned around to see if Liam would react similarly to how Grace responded to Mallory's punishment. As he expected, Liam was visibly enraged, his face getting redder the longer his gaze darted between Daryl and Mallory.

An unusual anger welled up inside of Liam, clenching his fist and his jaw, shooting Daryl an unforgiving glare. He dropped his bag behind him and marched towards the swordsman, asking, "How could you?"

Daryl sighed and started, "Liam, listen..."

"She's a little girl!" Liam barked, stepping up to Daryl.

The swordsman planted a firm hand on Liam's shoulder, stopping him from going any farther. "She's my apprentice," Daryl explained, "and I warned her there'd be consequences for disobeying me."

"Disobeying what, exactly?" Liam demanded, pushing Daryl's hand off of his shoulder.

Watching Liam shove Daryl's hand away made Mallory nervous for him. She was well aware Daryl was constantly annoyed by him, and she feared Liam's aggressive behavior would set Daryl off the edge. "D-don't be mad," Mallory spoke up, looking up at the sorcerer with pleading eyes. "I deserved it."

When Liam looked down at the girl asking him to calm down, seeing her make that self-deprecating statement and defending Daryl's actions, it only angered him even more. He shot his attention back at Daryl and asked, "What, are you brainwashing her now or something?"

"No," Daryl answered, a subtle sternness in his voice that suggested he understood how strongly Liam felt for the girl, but still needed him to relax and realize that it was a necessary punishment. "She just recognizes that what she did was wrong and spending the night in there taught her a lesson." He looked down at Mallory for her confirmation. "Isn't that right, girl?"

She made eye contact with her master for a split second and then looked back down at the sand. The girl nodded in agreement, still rubbing her arms up and down.

"What are you even talking about?" Liam snapped. "What did she do to deserve this?"

Daryl raised an eyebrow at the sorcerer. "Are you playing dumb? You know what she did."

"No, I don't!" Liam argued.

Daryl narrowed his eyes, looking into Liam's burning, stone grey gaze, trying to figure him out. He and Mallory almost died. How could he possibly forget? The swordsman vaguely remembered how confused Liam seemed when Braden brought up how Garrison almost killed them the last night, and then it dawned on him that Liam was drunk out of his mind the whole time. Daryl's eyes widened, and he asked, "You really don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?" Liam asked, taking note of Daryl's surprised expression. Liam raised his eyebrows upon coming to the epiphany that that night was a complete blur in his mind. He turned his gaze away from Daryl, hunched over slightly and rubbing his chin, and started to think about what all happened that day. I met Grace, that was exciting, then annoying, but then exciting again. I met Rod, Daryl threatened me, Rod threatened me, too, that was all pretty horrifying... Oh, and then I went to have a drink with Rod...or was it two drinks? Four drinks? Then after that... Liam's eyes got big as he straightened himself out. He looked at Daryl with a worried expression, like it was dawning on him that anything could have happened that night and he could not recall any of it. "I...don't remember anything after I drank with Rod."

Mallory stopped rubbing her arms hearing Liam say that, wondering how someone could forget a night like that.

Daryl dragged his hand from the top of his face all the way down and let out a loud exhale. "Remind me to tell Rod to never let you drink again," Daryl responded.

"Why? What happened last night?" Liam asked, growing more and more concerned.

You insulted one of the deadliest warriors in the world and almost got us all killed... If he's freaking out now, he'll get even worse if I tell him that. "I'll fill you in later," Daryl decided, "or better yet, someone else can. I'd rather not deal with you panicking around me all day long."

"I'm already panicking!" Liam exclaimed, feeling beads of sweat form on his hairline. "Did I do something weird or—"

"Mallory and I have training to do," Daryl interrupted, crouching down towards the hatch to close it and lock it shut, and then standing back up to walk past Liam and towards the gate from which they entered. "You're welcome to watch, or if you'd rather have someone to talk to, go somewhere else. Just remember my warning." He looked back at Mallory and motioned with his head for her to follow.

Mallory rushed to his side, wishing not to upset him again any time soon.

The sorcerer's whole body flinched, seeing Daryl's back towards him, with no regard for how Liam felt about his memory loss. "Wait a second!" Liam called, grabbing his bag and going through the gate with them. "Look, I know it's my own fault I can't remember, but can't you just—"

"Close that," Daryl interrupted again, pointing at the open gate Liam just walked through.

Liam looked back, rolled his eyes with a loud sigh, and closed it shut. He whipped back towards Daryl and asked, "Who else am I supposed to talk to, Daryl? Don't they all hate me already?"

"Rod and Grace seem to like you," Daryl admitted, taking a lengthy, thick log out of the cart near the shoreline and laying it on the sand in front of him. "Talk to them."

Liam scratched the back of his head, remembering the frown on Grace's face after his confrontation with Daryl. He felt like such an idiot for not explaining what he had in his bag when she asked him. "Grace doesn't like me..."

Daryl took out his sword, ready to chop the log but stopping himself to think about what Liam meant when he said that. Oh, that's right. She didn't seem very happy with him when he made it clear he was concealing information from me. Still, she saved his life, but he doesn't even remember that. He raised his sword and struck the wood, slicing off a quarter of its size and kicking it so that it rolled towards Mallory. She stopped it by placing her hands on the top of it. "Fine," Daryl continued, "then talk to Rod."

"I don't wanna wake him up," Liam explained.

"He won't care," Daryl assured, sheathing his sword, "the man has to wake up some time. Besides, you didn't seem to be concerned with that when you barged into his room."

"Well I was looking for something," Liam explained.

"And now you're looking for something else: information," Daryl suggested.

Liam slumped his shoulders and furrowed his brow. He glanced at Mallory, who was still crouched over the log and looking back at him. He sighed and straightened his posture, giving Daryl a stern look. "Alright. I'll go talk to him, but for the gods' sakes, learn how to treat a child, Daryl." The sorcerer gave Mallory one last, sympathetic glance, and stated, "They're far more vulnerable than you realize..." Liam then walked out of the area through the other gate.

Daryl's gaze followed the man as he marched out, his gaze turning into a glower the more he thought about Liam's warning. At first, he wondered why Liam was so caught up in how he was treating Mallory, but then he thought about his own son.I do know how vulnerable they are. Imbecile. He closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself down and turned his attention back to his apprentice. "You remember last night, don't you?"

Mallory nodded hesitantly, still feeling ashamed of what she did, and fearing what might come in the future.

"Well then," Daryl started, nodding his head at the log and meeting the girl's gaze with expectancy, "get to it."

Mallory's attention shifted to the object before her. Gulping back her nerves, she took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around the log. With all her strength, she hoisted the log over her shoulder in the timespan of about thirty seconds. She looked up at her master, who tilted his head toward the gate, and she understood that he wanted her to go up and down the stairs again. Coming to that conclusion, she headed toward the gate and out towards the stairs while her master followed her. Her body continued to ache under the weight of the log, even more so than the previous night, but she pressed forward, knowing it would all pay off in the long run.

Daryl watched her trudge along the first flight of stairs, in the same spot he was in the last night. He noticed her legs started shaking much earlier than when they started shaking the last time she trained. You're fatigued, sore, but you won't stop. You're not even complaining. I want you to get strong, too, but you need to stay healthy. As the girl got to the bottom of the stairs and prepared herself for the second ascent, Daryl called, "Mallory."

She turned her gaze back to her master. The girl wanted to hide it, but there was a hopeful look on her countenance that seemed to suggest that she wanted him to tell her to stop. "Yes, master?" she asked, a little too upbeat.

"Go up and down one more time," Daryl ordered, "and then we're going to get you something to eat."

Mallory was shocked to hear her hope come to fruition with Daryl's statement. Her expression raised with her widening eyes. She dulled it down as fast as she could with the straightening of her lips and nodded her head. "Yes, master," she agreed.

***

After Mallory finished her last lap up and down the stairs, the two entered the workshop, the girl trying to avoid eye contact with the tables full of men who grimaced at her presence. She had gotten used to the absence of love over the years she spent as a thief. However, being under Daryl's wing and meeting the few friendly faces from the day before made her hope that she would get to feel what it is like to be loved again. In that moment, though, all she felt from her new comrades was indifference and hatred.

Daryl noticed the men glowering at his apprentice, and he returned their disapproval with a scowl of his own, causing them to look away in fear of any potential physical retaliation from the swordsman. Then, the swordsman turned his attention towards Rod's quarters. Normally, he would not be one to eavesdrop unless he were on a mission, but he was curious as to how Liam may have been taking the news that he sparked a lot of trouble for the guild not too long ago. He heard some chatter from the inside but could not make out what they were saying. There was a knock on the door, and Daryl already had a feeling he knew who it was. He rarely ever entered the workshop without running into Grace at some point. It was like her and her father practically lived there. The swordsman went ahead to the door and slid the grille to peer into the outside. Sure enough, he looked down to find the swordswoman who made a name for herself the previous night.

She looked up, noticing someone had opened the grille, recognizing Daryl's cold gaze. Half a smile formed across her mouth in response, still sour about what he did to his apprentice, and how he always refused to open up to her.

Daryl slid the grille shut and removed the plank set across the door and rested it on the wall beside the door. He opened the door to Grace, whose sore smile dropped, and she looked away from him. His expression softened, feeling some regret for shutting himself off from Grace so harshly for so long. "Grace," Daryl started, "I didn't mean to hurt you..."

The woman looked past him and spotted Mallory standing some distance behind Daryl, by his side. Her eyes widened at the sight of the frail little girl, thinking about how she helped her to stand up against Garrison, and the fact that she was punished for it by being forced to spend a night alone in a cramped space. Before she could think about it anymore, she rushed past Daryl and dropped to her knees to wrap her arms around Mallory. Grace held her tighter, pressing her head against Mallory's.

Daryl turned all the way around in complete surprise. He knew Grace was upset about what he did to Mallory, but he had no idea she would express such tenderness towards her without even knowing her. Daryl looked into Mallory's eyes that were just as wide as his own, if not wider. The girl's gaze was straight ahead for a moment, most likely from the sheer astonishment of the woman's gesture. Her eyes then shifted towards the sympathetic blonde, a look of wonder and puzzlement.

Feeling the woman's sudden grasp, Mallory stiffened up, unsure what to think or how to react. She had become so used to strangers trying to apprehend her, it took a moment for her to realize that Grace was hugging her, something she had not felt since her father was taken from her. Although it felt familiar, she did not feel the same type of warmth from Grace that she felt from her father that day.

Meanwhile, a mortified Liam walked out of Rod's quarters, mumbling to himself, "I'm gonna die..." He looked around the room and noticed a few of the men who were sitting at tables closer to the entrance were staring at something. Tracking their collective gander, he spotted the woman who he just found out saved him, embracing the little girl who gave her the opening she needed to take on the giant. His fear shifted to a mixture of curiosity and delight upon seeing them.

"Thank you so much, sweetie," Grace said to the girl, "I wouldn't have been able to stop him without your help."

There was a sweetness in her voice that reminded her of someone else. Mallory's memory of the person was faint, but when Grace pulled herself away from her, beaming with a closed smile and gentle eyes, the short memory came flooding back. A silent gasp filled her lungs, finding the woman she remembered in Grace's fair skin and golden locks. Mommy...

Daryl observed the two of them, along with a few other men that they caught the attention of. Off to his left, he noticed that Liam was standing just outside of Rod's room, looking just about as intrigued as the other spectators in the room. He looked at his apprentice, Grace's hands on her shoulders, and saw something in her that he recognized from her time at the inn. It was a sense of wonder, like she did not know how to respond to having positive feelings. Seeing the two of them have their moment together, it got Daryl thinking.

Grace examined Mallory, still taken aback by her gesture. She chuckled at the girl's expression, brushing the corner of her jaw. "Didn't mean to startle ya," Grace said, her smile growing wider. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Mallory understood why Grace was so thankful, but when she glanced back at her master's constant, stern countenance, she remembered that what she did was wrong, and she turned her gaze to the floor.

Grace's smile lowered, seeing that Mallory was not as receptive to her kindness as she thought she would be. She took her hands off the girl and said, "I'm sorry. That was probably too much..." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Liam approaching the two of them.

Liam extended his free arm and said, "Well, I would certainly take a hug!"

Grace looked up at him with a stale face, and then turned back to Mallory with a smile. "If you ever wanna talk or anything, I'm here for ya, okay?"

Mallory glanced back at her for a split second and nodded in agreement. She did not know what to think about the fact that Grace reminded her of her mother. She remembered loving her mother, but at the same time, it bothered her that her mother would leave her and her father when she was so young.

Grace got back to her feet and stared at Liam for a moment, a goofy smile plastered across his face with his arm still out. She then looked back at Daryl, who was standing at the doorway and looking at her with a soft look. It was hard to tell if he was giving that look because he was sorry for what he did to Mallory, or if he was thankful for what she just did for Mallory then. In any case, she gave Liam one last, unimpressed look, and then walked past him.

Liam watched her walk away and then dropped his arm with a sigh. Man, she still doesn't like me. I was hoping I was wrong about that.

"Mallory," Daryl called, "let's go."

The apprentice rushed over to Daryl's side, a wave of excitement hitting her once she remembered that they were going out for food.

Daryl looked back at Liam moping and staring at Grace, and called back to him, "You can come, too."

Liam raised his eyebrows and turned back to the swordsman, trying to take his mind off of his heroine. "Where?"

"The butchery," Daryl answered.

Mallory's head shot up at the sound of the word. How long has it been since I've had meat...?

"Oh, you have one of those around here?" Liam asked. "Great, it's been a while since I ate meat."

Daryl examined Liam's halfway muscular, halfway scrawny figure and replied with, "I can tell. Come on, then."

Liam scoffed as the swordsman and his apprentice made their way out, and asked, "What do ya mean by that? I'm in great shape!"

***