I sit up groggily and see that Luna is cowering in a corner and Aine is out of sight. I notice that what appears to be a small army is in front of us, all in leather armor and armed with bows and arrows.

A woman comes forward, she is the only one on horseback and had a commanding air to her. She had long black hair in a single braid and stormy gray eyes.

"I am commander Cynth, granddaughter of the star queen Astrea of Concordia and the lone wolf, Connel. Our mission is to take back Theri from my uncle, the evil wolf king. Kindly state your names and business in the northern part of Emerald woods which all know is the territory of the Celestial Rebels," she declared.

"Uh-my-my name is-is Ashlyn, this is-is Luna, my Matagot, we-we only wi-wish to travel through the-the forest we mean no har-harm," I nervously stuttered.

The commander's eyes widened. She stepped down from her horse and approached me. "Are you really the fabled Ashlyn? Will you be the one to save the seven kingdoms of Theri?" she asked.

"I do not know what you mean commander Cynth, it may sound crazy but I only arrived in Theri yesterday through a golden door." I replied.

"If you come from beyond Theri you must be her, the prophetess said she hid her daughter in the beyond." she said.

"The prophetess? Is she my mother? Do you know her?" I asked hopefully.

"I only met her once, ten years ago, I wasn't much older than you then. She told me that she could predict a way to save the lands but it would take her life. She did so and survived long enough to tell us that you will be the one to know how to stop my uncle and that she hid you in the beyond with a dragon who is loyal to her to protect you." she replied.

"How would I be able to do that and do you mean Aine?" I asked.

"Perhaps you would be able to predict a prophecy to save us, the powers are transmitted through blood, you are the last one with this gift, to our knowledge. However, I do not know who this Aine is but if she is a dragon perhaps it is who your mother sent to protect you." she explained.

"We were not aware a Matagot was with you, though, they are loyal to their masters, you know." she added.

"Yes, I only met her yesterday in an alley in the beyond. She led me to the golden door which brought us here. I wonder how she got to the beyond." I replied.

A thought occurred, I asked, "Do you know who my father is? Is he alive?"

Cynth sighed and answered,"Alas, we do not, but I hope for your sake he is alive."

Aine suddenly appeared out of the shadows. She looked surprised for a moment but immediately got down to her knees. She said,"Greetings commander Cynth, the mistress of the night, rightful air to the throne of Concordia, the mightiest kingdom in Theri."

"Salutations, you must be Aine, the dragon, please get up." Cynth greeted.

Aine got up and Cynth said,"Please come with us back to our camp and have breakfast, you must be famished."

She got back on her horse and the small army marched behind her. We followed them. While we were walking I asked Aine,"Where were you?"

"I bathed in a nearby river and was going to come wake you up so you could help me find some moonshade."

"What's that?" I ask.

"It's a white fruit that tastes sweet but a bit tart, they're abundant in this area." she replied.

We arrived at the camp after around ten minutes. It was just a whole lot of tents surrounding a building that had a library, a food hall, a kitchen and a storage room. We went inside the building and Cynth approached us, she had ten people in tow, she said,"These are some of our best fighters, they're great marksmen and those three-"she pointed at a woman with short red hair and two men with brown hair," are great with a sword too. Most importantly they're the only ones here besides me who can cook. Would you three like pancakes?"

Aine and I nodded but Luna said,"If it's alright I would just have a bowl of milk please."

Cynth nodded and motioned for us to sit down at a table in the center of the food hall. Celestial Rebels were milling around us.

"How do you like the Celestial Rebel central? There are around three hundred rebels who can fight here in total. Since you have just arrived in Theri, Ashlyn, I suggest that you head to the library later, we have a lot of useful information there," Cynth said.

I nodded. I was really curious about this place. I wondered if I should stay there or go back to the orphanage once I helped them. I wondered if there was a way to go back.

"Your pancakes are ready!" exclaimed a cheery-looking teeanage rebel with dark hair in pigtails as she placed plates with a few pancakes on them in front of us. There were translucent berries on the plate as well.

Aine smiled and said,"Wow! Bubble berries! I haven't had these since I was six! Try them, Ashlyn, they're delicious!"

I hadn't seen Aine this excited for a long time. I bit into a berry cautiously. It almost tasted better than I ice cream.