When Meenu’s eyes fluttered open, she was lying in the grass on her own.

     She lifted herself up quickly, wondering if Blood had left her behind. But when she looked up, she saw him awake and leaning against a tree, petting Knight's head.

     Mask off.

     Meenu smiled at him, relieved to see he was okay. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she crawled over and sat in front of him.

     "Better. But we have to talk. As you probably already figured."

     Meenu hesitated. "We do?"

     Blood nodded, looking at Meenu with his red eyes. "I have to kill you, since you've seen my face."

     Meenu raised an eyebrow and gave Blood a silly look. "Nice try."

     He chuckled. "I actually thought that would work."

     "Work?"

     "Get rid of you."

     Meenu frowned. "Why do you want to get rid of me?"

     He sighed. "You've seen too much already."

     "Well it's too late now. Now all I need to know is your name."

     Blood snorted. "I'll die the day that happens."

     Her frown deepened. "Do you expect me to live forever without knowing your name?"

     "My name is Blood."

     Meenu rolled her eyes. She'll find out one way or another. After all, he said something similar when she asked him about his face.

     And now she’s seen his face.

     "But that's not important right now." He said. "Right now, what's important is you getting the following through your head: absolutely no one can know that you've seen my face. Understood?"

     Meenu nodded. "Yeah."

     "I'm serious, Meenu. People would torture you to get my identity if they found out you know it." He said. “And I know you tell your friend Alissa things. You can’t even tell her. Do you understand?”

     "I know." She said. "I get it."

     He sighed. "If you have something you want to ask me, go ahead."

     Meenu was surprised that he figured that out so easily. But she smiled. "You're from the Lumynos family?"

     Blood nodded. "Unfortunately."

     "Why would you say that?"

     "The family is cursed, I believe."

     "Seli is–" She cut herself off when she realized Blood probably didn't like Seliaryn anymore.

     Blood smiled, knowing what she was going to say but pleased that she didn't say it. "I really don't associate myself with the Lumynos anymore."

     "Is your name on that wall in the castle?"

     He shrugged. "And I suggest you don't go looking for it. Seliaryn is probably going to mention your relationship with my group to your fiancé. He won't be happy."

     Meenu frowned when he said 'your fiancé.'

     Blood saw this and sighed. "Come here." He said, waving his hand at her.

     She moved over to his side and was surprised when he put his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close and kissed her head.

     Meenu smiled and snuggled up against him.

     "You need to go home, Meenu." He said, his voice deep and calm.

     "I don't want to leave until you're better."

     "You have to. The King might come looking for you and you need to do everything you can to make it look like you weren't here."

     Meenu frowned. "Can't I just join you or something? Let the king know I'm on your side. That'd be a good way to get him to stop wanting to marry me."

     "Absolutely not, Meenu."

     She sighed. "But I don't want to leave you alone."

     "I'll be fine." He said. "My comrades will be coming to find me soon. They would have noticed that I'm missing by now."

     Meenu pulled away and looked at him.

     "Just like your entire family noticed that you're missing."

     So much had been going on that Meenu had completely forgotten about her family. And now she sighed. "They're probably worried sick."

     "Probably? More like definitely."

     Meenu bit her lip.

     And just as she did, someone appeared beside her.

     Meenu gasped and Knight started to growl.

     "Light." Blood said to the masked man.

     Meenu looked up at Light. He was a tall man, a little taller than Blood. And he looked strong.

     He was dressed like Blood usually was, with boots and trousers tucked into them. However, this man wore a large coat the fell all the way down to his calves.

     He also wore a mask.

     "Master Red knew something was wrong." Light said.

     His voice was even deeper than Bloods, and Meenu didn't even know that was possible.

     "How on earth did this happen? To you?"

     Blood looked at his friend. "I was distracted."

     Light sighed and looked at Meenu. "This must be the famous Meenu Kyrus?"

     "Famous?" Meenu asked.

     "Our Master isn't too pleased that our Blood has fallen in love."

     Meenu's heart skipped a beat and she smiled at Blood... Though she knew that this wasn't something to be smiling about, she couldn’t help but smile at the word ‘love.’

     But Blood reached over and touched her cheek. "Go, Meenu."

     She nodded her head and got up, Knight stood up too.

     But then she remembered something.

     She sat back down, right in front of Blood, ignoring the fact that Light was there.

     Leaning forward and placing her hands on his cheek, she kissed his lips.

     He pulled her closer, making her sit on his lap, and deepened the kiss when their bodies touched.

     She wrapped her arms around his neck and didn't want to leave now more than ever.

     But eventually, he pulled away. "Go, Meenu." He repeated.

     She nodded her head before sighing and getting back up.

     "Light, give her your coat, will you?"

     Meenu suddenly blushed heavily as she remembered she was in her corset and one of her trousers legs was gone.

     Light didn't hesitate as he handed her his coat.

     Meenu put it on quickly and buttoned it up. It was extremely long for her, falling all the way to the ground and piling up a little on the floor.

     "Could you take her to the Amberdyse gates?"

     Light nodded.

     But before Meenu could say her goodbyes, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms.

     Moments later, they were a short distance from the gates.

     Light put her down and straightened himself up. "Blood will be fine. You have no need to worry."

     Meenu looked at the man. "Thank you."

     Light stood very still for a moment, making Meenu feel uncomfortable.

     But when Knight had finally caught up to them, he spoke up. "Thank you for loving Blood." He surprised her by saying.

     Meenu hesitated. "Why would you thank me?"

     "Because you've given him a reason to live."

     Her head jerked back as Knight joined her side. “What do you mean?”

     “I mean that before you befriended him… Blood had no care whether or not his missions would kill him. He would fight the enemy without a single care for the possibility of death. Of course, he is our best warrior. That is why he isn’t dead yet… but no one knows what fate has in store for us. And Blood was working his way to death.” Light said. “Now that has changed.”

     “Really?”

     Light nodded. “Now… he works harder to keep himself safe. He fights and defends. He no longer has only death on his mind. Now you are on his mind too.”

     Meenu blushed, her heart feeling light.

     “He knows he has to return to you. So he fights to survive.”

     She smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

     Light nodded. “Now, all I ask of you is to stay safe. If you stay safe, our Blood won’t die. He will always come back to you.”

     “I promise I will.” Meenu said. “I will stay safe.”

     “Good.” He suddenly bent down, pulling out a knife, and in one swift move, he twirled Meenu around, shortening the coat for her. “Now you can walk.” He said as he stood back up.

     Meenu chuckled, stepped out of the excess cloth and she looked at him. “Thanks, Light.”

     Light bowed his head respectfully.

     But when he turned around to leave, he froze.

     And then he turned back around to face Meenu.

     “There’s something else I want to tell you.” He said, crossing his arms. But he hesitated for a long moment.

     Meenu waited patiently.

     She wasn’t too eager to go back to the village where Seliaryn may have been. Plus, she may have a lot of explaining to do if her mother see’s her like this.

     “When I found out that Blood was interested in you… I had to come see you.” He said. “I consider Blood my best friend… what he thinks of me, I don’t know. But I care deeply for him and I needed to know what he was getting himself into.”

     “So… you’ve seen me before?”

     “I have.” Light continued. “And… I’m known for being extremely observant. More observant than even Blood.”

     Meenu hesitated.

     “In our group, my eyes see everything. That is why I’m called Light. Master Red had told me that I’m like the light of a candle. When it is dark and hard to see and you are looking for something, it is my light that allows you to find it.”

     She was a little confused by that, but understood enough to nod her head.

     “So I saw something in you that Blood was too blinded by love to see.”

     Her cheeks reddened when he said that Blood loved her. But she started to worry. She didn’t think what he was going to say was good.

     “If you were to ever join our group… the name I would chose for you would be Ruby.”

     Meenu raised an eyebrow, making Light let out a chuckle.

     “Do you know how ugly rubies are when you find them raw? Before they are cleaned, polished and cut?”

     She shook her head, starting to worry more about what he was saying to her.

     “You wouldn’t even believe it’s a precious stone. It simply looks like a rock stained with blood. They’re ugly.”

     “You’re calling me ugly?” She made it sound like a joke, but she was serious.

     Light chuckled again. “Let me continue.” He said. “Like I said, they’re ugly. They are also hard, rough and no one can ever see the value in them. And on top of that, their blood stained look makes people frightened of them.

     “That was you when I first saw you, Meenu. And, to be clear, you didn’t make yourself that way. What I saw was what the people around you did to you. They made you feel hard, rough and invaluable. They made you believe that you were frightening and ugly. That is why you ran to the forest almost every day… not only to hunt the ogres and try to prove your worth, but also to escape the hurtful eyes of all those who feared you for an unknown reason.”

     Her eyes suddenly began to water, but she fought stubbornly to hold the tears back. This was always a sensitive topic for her. And the fact that Light spoke her feelings so accurately scared her a little.

     “But, those few people who did love you… your family, your two friends, the few Amberdyse villagers that treated you right, that noble Lumynos knight, and of course, your wolf… they were the ones that made you stay a ruby. That’s why, after all these years… your spirit wasn’t crushed into dust. And you lasted long enough.”

     Meenu understood now everything he was saying.

     “And why you are special is because you held on just long enough for Blood to come around and save you.” Light said. “And since you’ve met him… I’ve started to see the true beauty of that ruby start to shine. He is slowly chipping away the roughness and the ugly and making you into the young, beautiful, powerful woman that you were meant to be.”

     “You really think so?”

     Light nodded. “Now, don’t get me wrong, Meenu. You were always beautiful and powerful. It was just that all that had happened to you had made it hard for you to show it. But now… that leads me to the reason for why I’m telling you this.”

     Meenu smiled a big smile.

     Light smiled back, though he knew she couldn’t see. “You need to keep working hard. Blood has started the process of making you who you truly are… now you have to finish the job. You must understand that you are completely capable of it and I can truly see the potential in you. I can see the precious stone hidden under your exterior, waiting for its moment to shine and prove to everyone who doubted it that it is great.”

     Meenu chuckled.          

     “Can you do that, Meenu Kyrus?”

     She nodded. “Thank you, Light.” She said. “That… really means a lot to me.”   

     He surprised her by patting her head. “The next time I see you, I hope to see you a step closer to being a shining, precious ruby. Can you promise me that?”

     “I promise.”

     Light bowed his head once more. “Then I will be off. Please, take care of yourself, Ruby.”      

     Meenu giggled as Light disappeared.

     Meenu took the back roads back to her home. Though it was the longer route, she knew no one would see her in her current condition, and she also had time to think.

     The entire walk home, what Light had said to her started to sink in. She wanted so badly to become what Light said she could become. And that meant working hard. Very hard.

     Even harder than she was already working… because clearly, the work she was doing now wasn’t nearly enough.

     And she knew this because of all that had happened that day.

     She couldn't stand the thought that this was her fault. Though Blood was okay, he was wounded because he didn't believe Meenu could fend herself on her own.

     And to Meenu's demise, it was true.

     How long could she have truly held back that knight that attacked her?

     Not long enough.

     So she had to do something.

     And thanks to Light, she had decided what she could do.

     Meenu ran into her home as fast as she could, avoiding her parents, so they couldn't see her on her current condition.

     Her parents noticed her run in, and though they called after her, they looked too busy to chase after her and ask her where she had been.

     When she got to her room, she threw out her torn clothes and, after washing off all the blood, put on a fresh new dress and ran back down the stairs.

     She exploded into her father’s den with a determined look on her face. "Father! I'm going to become a warrior."

     Her father, who was sitting on his chair, looked up at her. As did her mother and the other two guests.

     One was the Mayor. The other was a masked man.

     A frightening masked man.

     Though he was sitting, Meenu could see how tall he was, and he was very tall. He wore a sleeveless shirt that showed all of his large muscles. He was incredibly fit and just by looking at him, you could tell how strong he was.

     He sat with one leg over the other, leaning back in the chair. One of his hands stroked the chin he had hidden under his mask and the palm of his other held a sword as if it were a cane, with the tip of the sword on the ground, digging into her father’s floor.

     He had black, long, straight hair that was tied back into a neat ponytail. And for some reason, that made him all the scarier. He wore a cape over his shoulders and like Blood and Light he wore boots with his trousers tucked into it.

     But unlike the two of them, he had no other weapons. Only the sword that he used as a cane.

     "Meenu?" Her father called.

     Meenu had to rip her eyes off of the masked man to look at her father. "Please find me someone who will help me!" She wanted to become at least a little good before Blood returned.

     "A warrior..." Her father had too much on his mind to really understand what she was saying. They were so worried about her but weren’t given the chance to go look for her because of their important visitor. They had sent people to look for her and no one could find her. And now that she was back, she was asking to be a warrior?

     "I think that's a good idea." The Mayor said.

     Meenu looked at him in shock and he smiled at her.

     After hearing what Alissa had to say... All the Mayor wanted to do was get Meenu out of the village... Somewhere safe with someone who could protect her.

     "Darien... Meenu becoming a warrior would be an excellent idea. We shouldn't put her archery skills to waste."

     "But..." Lord Kyrus was shocked by the Mayors sudden acceptance of this. He wondered if he and Meenu had discussed this before.

     "That's dangerous!" Meenu's mother said. "She isn’t old enough yet­–”

     "But, its better then the alternative." The Mayor said. He gave Lord and Lady Kyrus a look, to hide what he was talking about.

     But Meenu knew what they were talking about.

     Marrying the King.

     "But who is there to teach her?" Her father asked. "Someone we can trust?"

     The Mayor hesitated before he turned to the silent masked man who was watching Meenu carefully.

     "Master Red?"

     The masked man looked at the Mayor as Meenu's eyes widened. "You're Master Red?" She asked.

     Master Red looked back at Meenu and lowered his hand onto the arm of the chair, suddenly making himself look a lot stronger. "Indeed. I am." His voice was deep. Very deep. Deep and frightening.

     Today was an interesting day for Master Red. He was quite surprised by the recent turn of events.

     He had come to discuss Lord Kyrus' potential role in the upcoming war... And then he sensed Blood's injury and revival... And now this.

     It was an interesting turn of events indeed.

     "What do you say, Master Red?" The Mayor asked.

     Lord Kyrus let out a small laugh and said what his Lady hoped he would say. "I don't think her being with a leader of a coup is safe."

     "But this is Master Red." The Mayor said. "There is no warrior out there that is stronger than him." He knew no one who could protect Meenu better. Dukaryn had not a single chance against this man.

     And right now, the Mayor cared nothing about Meenu reaching her goal as a warrior. All he wanted was her safety.

     It was clear now, since Master Red’s visit, that the capital was ready to fight against Amberdyse for their defense of the north. And that meant Meenu was in more danger than ever before.

     Not only because of her ties with Avaryn… but also because she was going to be the daughter of the leader of the soon to be Amberdyse Army.

     And in addition to all of that, Dukaryn had made it clear that he was willing to hurt the girl.

     "I'll train her." Master Red said suddenly.

     Meenu's heart jumped. "You will?"

     Master Red tapped the hilt of his sword with his finger as he put his other hand back on his chin and his elbow on the arm of his chair. "I've been meaning to meet you, Meenu Kyrus."

     Meenu hesitated. "You have?"

     "Of course. I've been meaning to meet with the girl that my best warrior fell in love with."

     Meenu's cheeks reddened as the three other adults looked up at her.

     The Mayor, whose eyes were wide, looked back at Red. "Blood?"

     Master Red nodded his head slowly. "Yes. My best warrior, Blood." He said. "And I assume you feel the same way? Because Blood would never make a fool out of himself."

     Meenu pressed her lips into a thin line before she nodded her head.

     Her father stood up as her mother's eyes widened. "Why would you not tell us this, Meenu?" Her father asked.

     Meenu blushed heavily. "I... It was recent."

     Meenu's mother and father looked at each other. But when Lord Kyrus met his wife’s eyes… he realized that she knew this already.

     Lord Kyrus sighed as he sat back down. It was times like this that made him wish that he were a mother. He often wished he had a mother’s intuition.

     Lady Kyrus looked at Master Red. “Master…” She started. “Will you promise me that you will protect her?”

     “I do not need to.” He said. “When Blood finds out, he is going to be furious. But he will do everything in his power to protect her. And he will work a thousand times harder because he is going to believe that he has to protect her from me.”

     Lady Kyrus hesitated. “But… it would make me feel a lot better if you promised it as well. I would be able to trust you with the life of my daughter.”

     Master Red looked at the woman with his observant eyes. And after a moment of contemplation, he placed his hand on his mask and removed it.

     When Master Red placed his mask on his lap and opened his eyes, all three of the adults stood up in shock.

     Meenu stared into his red eyes.

     Another Lumynos man.

     Again, she should have known.

     But moments later, she realized that the adults had a different reason to be shocked.

     Master Red looked at the three adults, who stared in shock. When his eyes fell on Lord Kyrus, a small smile formed on his face. “Do you trust me now?”

     Lord Kyrus let out a small laugh and looked away. “Vilaryn.”

     Master Red put his mask back on. “I suggest you never repeat that ever again.”

     Lord Kyrus looked back at the man. “Is that what this coup is about? Revenge?”

     “I don’t believe in revenge.” Master Red said. “But I do believe in making things right.”

     Lord Kyrus narrowed his eyes as he sat back down. The two other adults sat down too, but only after another moment of hesitation.

     Lord Kyrus stayed silent for a moment, but then looked down at his hands. “Fine.” He said. “I trust Meenu to you.” He then looked up at Master Red. “But if anything happens to her under your care, I swear I will kill you.”    

     Meenu looked at her father.

     “And if I know you as well as I think I do, you wouldn’t dare lift a finger at me. Am I right.”

     Master Red looked at the Lord, and after a moment, he let out a deep laugh. “It is nice to know that you have not forgotten me.”

     Lord Kyrus looked at his daughter. “Meenu, get ready.”

     Meenu’s heart skipped a beat as she quickly nodded her head and ran up the stairs of her home.

     But just as she began to pack a bag, she was startled by a deep voice behind her. “You do not need to pack anything.”

     She turned around quickly, startled by Master Red.

     “Don’t waste your time.” He said. “Instead, I suggest you spend this time with your parents.”

     Meenu hesitated.

     “You won’t be seeing them for a while. So go. I will come to pick you up when the moon reaches the highest point in the sky.” He said. “Go say your goodbyes.”

     Meenu’s heart sank as she realized what this meant.

     Her mind was so consumed by the desire to improve that she forgot what that meant.

     She stood up, nodding her head, and walked past the tall man to give her parents a warm hug.