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Healer Rhea POV's

It wasn't difficult to keep track of the days, not really. The first night had been an awful battle of exhaustion—Due to the rushed adrenaline fueled by her spontaneous attack.
And she wasn't the only one, as she recalled the semi-heart attack that still nipped at her chest when she thought about waking up to six men, all dressed with the same tattered pants and shirt.

But that hasn't stopped the majority of them from coming to curl up together to preserve heat. Yet none of them had taken to using her cloak, claiming that she was much frailer than her.

How old did they think she was?!

The next day was spent figuring out a plan and walking onward. It wasn't that bazaar to hear that they came from similar packs, but this was information that she craved to spread through the kingdom.

Once these secrets were out in the open, that damned Rogue pack will meet its demise.

With the hours passing, the concern of the blackened clouds one of the males had spotted suggested a storm was on the horizon to pass over them. And damnit, Rhea didn't have enough to support herself, let alone the six men—Who were kinder and more understanding than she ever thought to realize.

Whether they were just thankful, that feeling would soon waste away once hunger turned to starvation. And Rhea's knowledge of the land was starting to dwindle the farther north they turned. If anything, the only indication that spoke of going in the right direction, was how cold the weather had been turning.

And it broke her heart after hearing that these men were used to worse conditions than a scarred ex-healer running away from the king.

Honestly, it surprised her that they didn't look any further or interrogated her, but it was soon to come. Especially when she was due to return to their makeshift shelter, a cave they found by the stream.

Some men were headed off to look for wood, while others were attempting to make the damned cave liveable—If possible.

She, on the other hand, was setting up traps and the likes, while also collecting the given berry or mushroom.

It wouldn't be the first meal that had the base of only water, mushroom, and onions she managed to harvest. But it allowed her to get a better look around, and even brace the idea of climbing a tree to see which direction the kingdom had turned to be—Leaving her to wonder if she had made the right decision.

Yet the fresh burns on her hands had spoken of a different story, one that had others relying on her to come back.

With that in mind, she started on the trek back and eyed the familiar talisman that she stuffed into her small pack. She didn't necessarily know the power behind said amulet, but that didn't mean she didn't believe in its abilities to do something in regards to keeping the King's Enforcers from finding said Rogue encampments.

Perhaps she could learn more from the men than she realized, and thus she pushed forward—Catching that a few still looked at her with unease, while the others offered a kind smile.

Surely they had lost their sense of humanity at one time or another.

"Hello...?" She called out, hoping to get a response, as she knew that most were mute—Or just conditioned to remain silent.

Well, Rhea suspected that one had their tongue removed as he wanted to speak, but couldn't.

"Female?" An amused smile had appeared as she started to shake her head at the sight of these men all ready for an attack, but it was Rolf who had taken the lead in speaking in return. Though she didn't blame them, or the spears they'd managed to create in the past hour she had gone scavenging.
Yet she did notice the given few gutting the fish they killed.

"Oh, great work! That'll go great with the mushrooms and onions." She claimed, gesturing to her satchel over her shoulder—Earning a collective few smiles.

Yet one male, Ray, was still stoic as ever.

"I'll cut them." Rhea was startled at Clive's appearance right by her side, and gave her a sheepish grin when he realized he'd scared her. "We'll have to wash them first. And we'll be able to have some more tea tonight." She cooed in reply, reaching to take a hold of his shoulder and leading them to the edge.

The bond that these men had were tighter than she could ever imagine. Clive was the youngest, and it wasn't hard to establish that they were overly protective of him. Granted, they were protective of her as well, or else they wouldn't have cuddled up beside her for warmth.

And Rhea was not a stranger to doing odd things to stay alive another day.

The group had managed to make a plethora of mushroom soup with the main course of grilled fish. Granted, the soup had acted as more of a sharing-the-pot moment, as the kettle and cups were occupied.

Rhea had chided herself the entire journey for bringing too much in her go-bag, and now she was just as angry for not being able to provide more.

But not a single one of them complained. Not even Ray, who still seemed to eye her with a bit of distaste. However, that hadn't been what caught Rhea's attention, no, instead it was the burn on Rolf's wrist—A healed burn.

"What is this?" Rhea questioned, and Rolf turned his wrist around and shrugged his shoulders. "We're branded by which faction we're settled in."
"Factions? The Rogues managed to create factions?" He nodded, grimly as his other hand traced over the markings. "It's how we're identified if we go missing and another pack comes across us, or trading—Hawes and Dane have two." This had caused Rhea to check on every one of the male's wrists to see the same pattern, and the idea of her people being branded had caused her heart to weep once again.

"I'm sorry." She rasped, but Rolf had only offered a smile. "Sorry, for what? Last I checked you didn't rat us out, Alpha Darnet did." Her eyes had gone wide, wider than she had meant for, and she turned to all of them for confirmation and they all nodded in agreement.

"Why?" The question came out as a croak, even when she had tried to remain passive—Unemotional, because the last thing she wanted was for them to think she pities them.

"Humans go for a fair bit of coin in the other kingdoms. Alpha Darnet believes he can undermine the King." Ray explains, finding his shield starting to crack at seeing Rhea giving a bit of care with everything she was doing with them.

"The King is looking for these packs, we have to spread the word. Whatever you know can help." Rhea ushered, but Hawes managed to scoff. He wouldn't be able to give his own insight, and it would have been important given he was traded between factions than remaining in one.

"The King doesn't give a damn about humans, Rhea. What's the use?"

"He's trying... Why else do you think I ran from my pack? He's searching for the Rogues with his Enforcers, but these damned amulets are hiding you all. I could hardly smell the forest fire I created. I was being chased my one of those beasts." Ray had tilted his head in thought but remained unresponsive as he continued to sip on his tea.

But Clive looked towards Rhea is fascination, having missed a kind woman's touch for a while now.

"Really? The King is close?"

"He was in my pack, Red Moon to be exact. I was attacked by a Rogue and I knew he wanted to interview me. I had to go." It didn't come as a surprise that now they were going to question her decision. Not when it looked suspicious and that they had food in their bellies to make them more aware of the finer details.

Even if she shared her actions the first day.

"Why did you run?"

"Besides the Rogue? The King might be helping, but he scares me. He and his Enforcers scared my staff." Of course, it hadn't made sense, and the frowns that continued all around had caused her head to fall. "I'm not a criminal if that's what you're all thinking. I'm a Vrovaria." It was as if a deity themselves had shined down upon this small group huddled around the low fire.

But it was Dane who crawled forward to take a look into her eyes, and a smirk had risen onto his face.

"Those eyes...I would know those for the rest of my life, Amory." It was as if the others couldn't breathe, but the smile that erupted onto Rhea's face had taken her by surprise as she nodded. Tears started to prickle in her eyes at the sound of her name.

It felt strange for someone to speak her real name to her and not about her as though she were another person.

"You were on my father's guard, weren't you?" She said in clear wonder, trying to decipher through the blurry memories of the castle guards—Of him patrolling.

"Yes. But I knew you survived, but not for how long. My cousin owned the Gostle farms." Rhea's lips parted at the name, one that was just as near and dear to her heart as her own name.

"I'm sorry..."

"Love, that's not on you. You've been burned, terribly. What place would that dog have for you if it wasn't on a pike?" He spat, but then his eyes caught something terrible by just peeking at her shoulder, something that she had tried to hide most if not all her adult life.

"Dane! That is no way to talk to the Que—"

"I am no Queen, Rolf. But thank you...I'm sure you're all surprised that I chose to use fire out of everything." There were a few awkward shuffles, but Ray ultimately had been the loudest chuckle. Yet seeing their burns, it made the pain in her chest continue—She was marked because of her family ties, and these men were hunted and sold like cattle because of their species status.

And that damned Alpha Darnet.

"We need to get rid of those—those brands." The mere word had caused another shiver to course through her, and even Clive's face had donned on her tugging heart. "How?"

"We put a new one, one that anyone could remember—And might still put some fear into the right sort of people." It was a testament to how betrayed she felt by the King's behavior in not settling this sooner, so why not add to the ghost story?

"A new—Oh, that's the royal symbol, isn't it?" Rhea had held the necklace kindly to her heart, one of the leftover pieces of what she had been wearing that faithful afternoon. "Yes, it was my father and mother's combined symbols. I have a few leaves and if you keep it wrapped overnight, you won't feel a thing." She offered, and the men had turned to one another—All in silent conversation, but Rhea was used to this.

Considering this was most likely how one captive spoke to another, through small gestures. But out of everyone in the group, it had been Hawes who thrusted his wrist in her direction, and a smile elevated.
Clearly, her true identity meant something to the group, as their appearance and tightened shoulders started to relax.

This allowed Rhea to go ahead and start to prepare the therapeutic leaves by soaking them in hot water, while also preparing her necklace to get hot enough to burn into their flesh.

This would not be the first cauterized wound that Rhea handled, but this would be the first brand removal—And it would start by removing the first and replacing it with one underneath. And the men seemed eager to get it done, but no one dared to step in front of Hawes who had wanted to go first.

The respect the group had for their silent member had instigated a new fever of pain, she truly didn't want to feel guilty for something she couldn't control. But had she not run off into the night, then she wouldn't have managed to let all those humans run free.

"Do you think the others in that camp of yours managed to make it somewhere safe?" She questioned, not looking at any of them directly, but Gilroy had laughed. "Oh darling, we all had an escape plan in the works since the moment we've been branded with these things. Which pack did you say was the closest?"

"Red Moon, where I'm from. It's about a few hours south from where I found you all and a few days from where we are now." Would it be wise to return, if the King had wanted Rhea for his termination, then perhaps it wouldn't be the best option. So he reminded silent in front of them returning to the former pack.

It was to evade the king, and in that instance, Gilroy couldn't blame her.

With a pair of small tweezers, Rhea had plucked her necklace out from the fire and turned towards Hawes, who offered his wrist upwards once again without a hint of hesitation on his face. For the quickest act, another male had another piece of metal to cover the former mark while Rhea pressed her necklace's charm just underneath.

Her stomach churring the mushroom soup and fish at the smell and sizzle of his burning skin.

"—ank ou." Hawes gritted out, and Rhea could only give out a fraction of a smile, hating that to give them freedom, she had to hurt them first.
Granted, it wasn't long until the leaves bandages were numbing their entire wrist.

Yet with six men unable to properly move their wrists on their command, it left Rhea to do some of the busy work around the camp. Though she still ended the night with Clives resting his head in her lap, who she learned was hardly sixteen.
While she conversed with the rest of the men who were more in her age range.

Though Dane seemed to be the eldest, fitting her remembrance of catching sight of him in armor all those years ago.

With this new freedom pronounced over the former captives, they were able to sleep a little more soundly and function with pride—Knowing that their former Queen has risen, and they were devoted to her with every cell in their body.

And Rhea was left wondering if she truly deserved it or not.

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Date: 04/29/23

Time: 10:56

Words: 2515

Author's Note:

Introducing six new characters, so let's do a quick rundown.
Rolf
The leader of their 'chain-gang' 
Ray
(If you see a Roy anywhere,
just know that it's meant to be a Ray, but it was too close to--
Gilroy
Playful & Kind
Dane
He was on Amory's father's royal guard.
Hawes
He was punished and had his tongue removed.
Clive
The youngest of the bunch! Adorable and very sweet.