LaReimaja leaned over the ship's railing and looked out at the wide ocean. She breathed in the freshness of the salty air, the wind tussling and playing with her dark hair which was in a ponytail. She had said goodbye to Tarik at the Greenhaven docks and was on her way home with Chan and Marlo on one of the travel ships. She was so relieved that Tarik was now safe, but she also wondered when she would see him again.

She heard heavy footsteps on the deck approaching her from behind, then a tan figure stood next to her.

"Hi," Chan began, "enjoying the view?"

"Yes," LaReimaja replied.

"It's been a long time since we were in Nilo, but I must admit that we were treated like royalty during our stay in Greenhaven Castle," Chan's face softened.

"I hope mother and father got our letter from Greenhaven all those days ago about staying a few more days in Eura."

"I'm sure they would have, even if they didn't reply," her older brother sounded calm, but less assured.

Marlo came running over to them with the biggest smile LaReimaja had ever seen on him.

"Caylif is up ahead! We're home!" He suddenly ran into one of the ship's crew members and both of them came tumbling down on the deck.

"Oh!" LaReimaja and Chan both shrieked, rushing over to help them.

"I'm so sorry," Marlo apologised to the crew member once they were on their feet. The man's hat had come off his head during the fall and he was reaching down to pick it up.

"It's fine," he said bluntly, then quickly walked away.

"Are you okay?" Chan asked, pulling Marlo closer to him and LaReimaja. Marlo's cheeks were red from embarrassment.

"Yeah," Marlo replied, looking down a bit.

"Land ahead!" Called the captain of the ship and a bell rang to signal the people of Caylif that they were coming.

As they drew closer to Caylif, the waves calmed. The people however, were not calm. Many men and women stood on the docks, with chains around their wrists and ankles, LaReimaja was close enough to see that they had been beaten. Something was definitely not right.

"What's going on?" She asked Chan who had the same worried look on his face.

"I don't know," he replied in a low voice.

LaReimaja grabbed Marlo and pulled him closer to her as the ship docked. She recognised many faces of her village's people, including her friends' from school. They all looked exhausted, but their faces lit up once they saw her and her family. The faces she could not see was Faisel's, her parents', and even Ahmar's.

Chan was the first to start leaving the ship, followed by Marlo then LaReimaja. They walked forward onto the docks passing through the crowd of their friends and people.

"Turn back," a woman said, "it isn't safe here."

"They took my mummy!" a little girl wailed.

"They'll kill you," said a man.

LaReimaja was terrified. As she walked closer to her house, she could see the destruction of homes and shops. Buildings had collapsed or burnt down, crops were destroyed, bodies had been covered with blankets. She walked passed a man who had been covered, and saw a pool of blood around his head. 

No one spoke, LaReimaja had to cover Marlo's eyes so that he could not see the scene. Marlo did not complain or ask why she had covered his eyes, he knew that this moment wasn't the right time or place.

"We have to find mother and father right now," Chan's voice shook and he walked faster.

"I'm scared," she said. Chan took her hand and led her to their house which was surprisingly still standing. She breathed a sigh of relief, also seeing that Ahmar's house was standing too.

They opened the door.

Suddenly, Chan was on the ground, wrestling with a man twice his size. He was wearing dark armour that she did not recognise. LaReimaja screamed, letting Marlo go. Her little brother ran outside, terrified and screaming. She grabbed a nearby broom and hit the man on the head with the wooden end, freeing Chan. LaReimaja could see a piece of paper with writing on it on a small table in their house.

Distracted, she was grabbed from behind and dragged outside. Kicking and squirming, she found Marlo who had been caught by a woman wearing the same dark armour. Shortly after, Chan was captured again and came outside with a dagger to his throat.

"Where is he?" The man who held Chan hissed.

LaReimaja could see out of the corner of her eye the village people. They watched in horror as more armoured figures kept them from interfering.

"Who?" Chan croaked, his face pale.

Caylif's village Greencloak, Bakari, who gave children of age the Nectar had broken through the guards, his sword drawn.

"Let go of those children!" He charged at the guards.

"Kill him!" The woman holding Marlo ordered.

One of the guards grabbed Bakari, another guard came in front of him. Bakari tried to slash the guards with his sword, but he was restrained for a moment. A flash of light appeared and a caracal pounced on one of the female guards, biting her arm and hissing.

By this time, there were about fifty guards surrounding the villagers, and about seven trying to restrain the man and his spirit animal. Everyone watched in fear as their Greencloak fought hard, but then a sword went through his chest.

Children were crying, men and women looked away with tears in their eyes. Another guard slashed at the caracal and it went limp. Bakari's body crashed to the ground next to his spirit animal.

"Anyone else want to challenge us?" The guard who killed Bakari challenged. "No? That's what I thought!"

For the first time in her life, LaReimaja had witnessed someone die. Her heart pounded so hard that she felt it in her ears. Bakari gave Tarik and many children before him the Nectar of Ninani. He was an honourable man and risked his life for her and her brothers, he was Caylif's only Greencloak. Chan, LaReimaja and Marlo were dragged away from the scene towards the Niloan jungle.

---

LaReimaja was thrown to the ground, the guard who had grabbed Chan a few days before named Lennox, placed his booted foot on her back. Marlo and Chan watched from afar in chains. The two other guards named Tyrone and Zoe, grinned menacingly.

It had been a few days since they were captured. Everyday, LaReimaja and her siblings were beaten, refusing to give any information on Tarik's location. That was why Lennox took them, to find out where Tarik was. Although, LaReimaja did not know who this man was and who he was working for, he was everything but a good, noble man. He had taken them into the Niloan jungle and set up a hidden campsite.

He was the complete opposite of good and noble, he looked sadistic, and enjoyed beating her, Chan and Marlo. Zoe and Tryone always laughed when she would cry from the pain, but they even seemed to fear Lennox. Chan had been hurt the most because he was the oldest and knew more. But LaReimaja was the closest to Tarik.

"Get up!" Lennox ordered.

LaReimaja rushed to her feet, the chains around her ankles and wrists made her whole body twice as heavier.

"If you never answer my questions, I'll eventually kill you all," Lennox warned.

LaReimaja grimaced, she forced herself to look Lennox in the eye. Sometimes if she looked hard enough, she could see that they would almost shake as he grew more angry.

"Perhaps this will change your mind?" He grabbed Chan and Marlo with both hands and threw them on the ground in front of her. He then pointed two sabers at them both.

"Please don't," LaReimaja begged, her heart racing. Marlo screamed as Lennox drew closer.

"Shut up and answer our question!" Tyrone barked from behind.

LaReimaja met Chan's fearful eyes. He had a black eye from Lennox and many bruises and scratches around his neck from being choked by Zoe. The evil woman had startlingly long nails that put scratches in Chan's skin.

Chan shook his head at LaReimaja as tears welled in her eyes. Marlo was curled up in a ball on the ground, sobbing to himself.

"Tarik was in Greenhaven, but he left," LaReimaja said lowly, head bowed.

"Then where is he?" Lennox pointed his sabers closer to Chan and Marlo.

She shook her head, "I don't know where he went, he's with his mentor now."

Chan looked down and closed his eyes, disappointed. Lennox lowered his sabers and approached LaReimaja.

"You will help us find him then," Lennox said with a wide grin, "I hope you missed your stay in Greenhaven."

Then someone punched her in the head, and everything went dark.