Old Lady Willow's Hut, Arietes Orbis
Year: 4997

    It had been two years since Adrastea was found in the forest and nothing had happened to the effect of her discovery. Cephalus went down to the capital for weeks at a time, making sure that nothing was stirred up, and left Adrastea alone with Willow and Aule to practice the skills she had learned and to perfect them for when he came back. 

    Every morning Adrastea woke before the sun and pulled on the warm woolen clothing that Aule had made her and braided her long hair, pinning it up out of the way for a long sunrise run. After a quick warm up in the warehouse she would dash off down down the mountain slope at a steady pace and jog along the tree line, turning at the creek and heading up the steep hill with stamina that was hard earned. Then she run along the rock face for several minutes until she made it back to the hut. The first few days of such an exercise left her panting like a black dog in the sun and she collapsed several times from exhaustion, but it was quickly proved that Adrastea was a quick learner and she adjusted rapidly. Now the morning run felt as easy as getting into bed and she was not even breathing hard when she made it back to the hut.

    Aule would always be waiting for her at the door with the drinking barrel to make sure Adrastea removed her dirty boots before entering the hut for breaking, which of course was always hot porridge. However course and plain it had tasted on those first two days was now completely forgotten by the young girl who ate anything and everything set before her. Even the wild plants that Aule gathered for stew tasted good to Adrastea who always seemed to be starving. 

    After breakfast she would help wash the dishes and then gathered up the case of knives Cephalus had fashioned for her and went out into the back to practice. Once again, it took little time for the girl to gain skill in the area of throwing and sparring with the knives. Of course, when Cephalus was gone she had to practice alone for Aule was far from a good condition to be fighting, and that was always more difficult. After two years of such an exercise Adrastea found herself hitting every target she aimed at, including moving ones. It was a skill she was pleased to acquire and often spent several hours every day honing her trade. 

    "Adrastea!" Aule called from the open window of the hut. 

    "Yes?"

    "Please come inside. Your help I need."

    Adrastea sighed and walked over to the targets, pulling out all the little knives stuck into the wood and tossing them all back into their box. 

     "What do you need?" she asked, walking back into the hut.

     Aule was standing at the counter with bowls and glasses of powders, mixing together her regular dyes that she sold at market.

    "An extra pair of hands," she said distractedly. "Here, quickly you must mix this."

    She thrust out a wooden bowl filled with dark powder and a hint of red, along with at least a cup of water.

    "What is this?" Adrastea asked while stirring. "Seen I dye such as this I have not."

    "Black? Well that is because often I do not make it. It is quite trying. However, dye anything black that will." Then she added, "Careful. Do not spill any on your clothes."

    It was a useless warning really, for Adrastea never managed to keep anything inside a bowl while she stirred it and couple of drops got on her brown shirt and even in her hair.

    "Oh!" Aule explained. "That will never come out!"

    She rushed over and took a closer look at the stain, frowning in dismay. 

    "Worked hard on that I did!" she scolded Adrastea.

    "Forget about my shirt. What of my hair?" Adrastea replied, lifting up the end of the braid that was now black.

    "Serves you right. More careful you must learn to be."

    Aule took the bowl away from Adrastea and limped back to the counter, carefully funneling the liquid into a glass bottle.

     Adrastea stared at the tips of her hair that had quickly dried into a jet black.

     "Use this on your hair do you?" she asked innocently.

     Aule turned up her nose and continued about her duties, saying only, "Of course not."

     Adrastea shrugged, the ghost of a smile appearing for a brief second on her hard face. 

     Just then Old Lady Willow came hobbling in with an armload of sticks for kindling and Adrastea quickly grabbed them from her, dumping them in the wooden kindling box by the fireplace. 

     "Thank you dear," said Willow, her voice as scratchy as ever. "At the dyes again are you, Aule?"

     Aule did not answer but simply smiled and nodded, continuing to wrap up the dyes.

    "The bottles it would seem are not the only destination of your creations, Aule," Willow chuckled, pointing her cane at the stain on Adrastea's shirt.

    Neither of the girls replied but it was obvious that Adrastea was more pleased with the joke than Aule.

    "At least we know it works," Adrastea said, looking down at the stain. "But why black?"

    "Ordered it someone has. They need it for hair...Do not ask why," Aule replied. "Silly things some people do."

     After a struggling moment of getting all the dyes into bottles and labeling them, Aule placed them all in a cushioned box with straps and gave them to Adrastea who then tied then slung it over her back in a less than careful manner.

    "Now do not break any," Aule warned her. "Much they are worth."

    Adrastea nodded and took the sack of lunch Aule had prepared, heading out the door.

    "Back before supper I will be!" she called back, waving a hand at them as she strode down the slope.
 

                 Ellestar, Arietes Orbis...

    Haldit paced back and forth in his chambers for hours, his long silver robes flowing about as he moved in a flashy parade of elegance. It did not seem possible, but it was.

    "Two years!" he fumed. "Two years of searching and now you tell me this!"

    The tall slim woman that stood before him bowed her blonde head politely, her thin lips turned up moderately in a ghostly smile.

     "Never easy to accomplish is my work," she said, her voice smooth and mysterious. "If I had known sooner that you wished to find the princess she would have been in your grasp long ago."

    Haldit sat down on his carved thrown and drummed his fingers on the arm, thinking over what he must do.

    "Remain alive she cannot," he muttered. "She must be dealt with."

    "That is a simple task, your highness," the woman answered.

    Haldit stood abruptly and slammed his fists on the table before him.

    "I have it!" he shouted. "No longer will that girl haunt my dreams. GUARDS!" 

    Two palace guards entered the room and bowed.

    "Get me the chief scout," Haldit ordered.

    The guards were no sooner gone then when they came with the chief scout who in turn saluted and bowed to Haldit. Once the guards were out of the room they talked freely.

     "Something daring I must ask you to do," Haldit explained, sitting casually on his throne.

     "Whatever you ask, your majesty."

     "There is a girl, you must dispose of her discreetly. An accident it must look like."

     The chief scout smiled an ugly smile and his dark eyes flashed with excitement.

     "Of course, your majesty," he replied.

     "You will find her up in the mountains in Pharmacum Province," the woman spoke up without asking permission. It was clear she did not need it. "There is a small herb hut where an old woman lives. She has been sheltering the Princess Adrastea for the past two years. You must kill her as well as Adrastea."

    "How will I find this place?" the chief scout inquired.

    "Ask around. Anyone in the nearby villages will know how to find it."

    "Very well." The chief scout bowed and left at Haldit's bidding to go about his duty.

    "Valuable help you have been, Demetria," Haldit mused, fiddling with one of his gaudy rings. "Rewarded you shall be."

    Demetria smiled that same sly expression and bowed her head once more. "Thank you, your highness," she replied.

    Haldit got up out of his chair and paced over to the open balcony, looking down over the carved railing at the street below. Standing on the boardwalk he saw the young scout Evert who had previously been the assistant bodyguard to Princess Adrastea and was now bodyguard to Crown Prince Teo. 

    "Reliable he has turned out to be," Haldit said, tapping the wood of the railing. "Such loyalty cannot be bought...Still, quite trust him I do not. He is too young and impressionable."

    Demetria glided across the stone floor to where Haldit was standing and looked down at the young scout who was busy ushering the trainees to their proper bunkers. 

    "Agree with you I do, your highness," she said. "It is dangerous to bestow false trust. Young Evert has a way with him that I fear may subject the kingdom to harm."

    Haldit narrowed his eyes and took a closer look. He would not go as far as to say that Evert was dangerous, but it was true that he could not be trusted to kingdom secrets. Evert would simply be Teo's bodyguard and a scout. Nothing else.

                  Hydria, Arietes Orbis...

    Adrastea packed up the remaining bottles of dye and collected the sacks of coins the tailor threw at her, not making a sound.

    "Hope you are happy I do!" the tailor spat. "Your prices always go up!"

    Adrastea did everything she could to restrain herself. Normally in such a situation she never bothered to hold her temper, but it just so happened that the tailor was one of their largest customers and had to stay pleased.

    "You ask for a larger bottle, you get a larger price," Adrastea explained through gritted teeth. 

    "Are you back talking me?" the tailor asked.

    "Think what you please. Good day." And with that Adrastea sauntered out the door with the box of leftover dyes strapped to her back. Despite him having an unlikable way about him, the tailor bought every bottle except the black and the blue. He of course had specifically ordered the black, but then changed his mind when he saw the price.

    Sighing with relief as she stepped out into the evening sun Adrastea made her way down the wooden street and out of town. The trek back to the hut was not as difficult as the path she used for her morning run, but it was far more interesting with so many things to look at which of course resulted in her lagging behind a little.

    About halfway back Adrastea decided to stop at the creek to look at the tiny fish that swam about in the clear water. She sat there, staring at them blankly and thinking about what it would be like to live as a fish.

    "How difficult is their life really?" she mused, resting her chin on her hand.

    As she sat there dreaming Adrastea began to smell something on the breeze. It was a strange smell that she did not recognize. Usually the wind picked up the smell of the forest or the crisp freshness of the slope grass, but this was different and it became stronger and stronger until Adrastea suddenly stood up and snapped her head in the direction of the hut.

    A dark cloud of smoke was rising up to the sky, in the exact location of where the hut lay nestled between the rock walls.

    Not hesitating a minute Adrastea leaped over the creek and dashed across the grass plain, making it to the small rock cliff just in time to see the hut blaze up in flames, the tongues of fire crawling up the walls and through the roof.

    Adrastea stood at the top of the cliff in shock, her feet turning to led and her brain going numb. Then a scream that she knew belonged to Aule followed by a loud crash brought the princess back to her senses and she ran down the stone steps carved into the cliff, skipping the last few and making a dash for the front door of the hut. Without thinking she grabbed hold of the metal knob and tore the door open, ignoring the searing pain that cut through the burning skin of her fingers and palm. 

    "AULE!" she called in, trying to see through the flames. "WILLOW!" 

    When there was no reply Adrastea leaped inside, only to be dragged back out by an arm around her waist as the ceiling of the burning hut caved in. She watched in breathless agony as the flames began to die on the pile of rubble before her and the arm let go, allowing her to sink to her knees.

    Cephalus stood behind her in silence, his dark face solemn. He had seen the band of Cieven scouts trooping down through the woods and feared that they had found Adrastea and killed her. It took only a matter of minutes for him to make it to the hut but it was too late. 

    Adrastea sat staring blankly at the pile of rubble before her, ash all over her clothes and face. She knew what had happened yet something inside of her did not want to admit that it was actually true and that once again, the only friends in her life had been torn away. 

    "They did this," she said blankly, still staring. "Did they not?"

    "Who?" Cephalus asked, hoping that she had not figured it out. Which was of course, a very vain hope.

    "That man with the scar, or whoever he worked for...They killed them."

    Cephalus said nothing. He could not lie to her but his conscience kept him from speaking for the simple reason that he knew what would happen if he said the wrong thing. Adrastea was already veering on a wrong path; Cephalus had seen the evidence the first day she was at the hut, and there was no telling what she might do.

    They both stayed there for a long while, staring at the burnt hut and not knowing what to do. Adrastea did not cry but Cephalus wished she would. It was not natural for a girl of her age to take death so stone faced. Despite her attitude and the occasional aristocrat streak, Cephalus liked the girl and had hoped that the years in the mountains would put her back to rights, but now he could see it only made her more secluded.

    "Adrastea-" he began but she quickly cut him off.

    "Take me to Pavia," she said, standing up.

    Cephalus looked down at her with stern blue eyes but Adrastea was set. There was no going back for her and both of them knew it.

    "If you will not take me then find himself I shall," Adrastea told him, turning to walk down the slope.

    When she had taken no more than two steps, out of the woods for Didac Pavia himself, followed by Miguel and several other men swathed in furs. Their faces were solemn and when they reached Cephalus and Adrastea Pavia bowed deep to show his respect.

    "I deeply sorry for your loss," he said in his elegant way. "One of my men saw the palace guards commit this terrible crime and informed me immediately. We came as soon as time would allow."

    Adrastea looked up at him, her eyes fiery green tendrils. She was mad. Extremely mad.

    "You had spies watching us?" she snapped.

    Pavia smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth to reply but Adrastea started up again before he could answer.

    "And you saw yet did nothing?"

    "Do not speak to me in such a tone girl. It was only one man against six guards and a human. There was not much he could do," Pavia replied, his voice emotionless.

    "They are dead! DEAD!" Adrastea shouted, making a move for the dagger he had sheathed on his saddle.

    Pavia quickly grabbed hold of her wrist and bent down close, whispering, "Never make such a move again or I shall have to kill you...And that would be a shame."

    "Pavia," Cephalus said in a warning tone.

    But Adrastea was not fooling around either. She slipped a small blade Cephalus had given her out of her sleeve cuff and brought up to his throat in a flash, a cruel smile creeping over her lips.

    "It would be a shame, would it not?" she replied coolly.

    For a short moment while he was caught off guard a faint light of fear shown in his eyes, but it faded quicker than it had appeared and was replaced by amusement.

    "You are a spicy one," he chuckled.

    Adrastea scowled and very nearly slit his throat then and there, but the feeling of cold steel against the warm skin of her neck brought a stop to her foolish plan.

    "Drop the knife," Miguel said quietly.

    Adrastea's eyes traveled up the blade to the calm dark face of Pavia's younger brother and she glared fiercely at him, half expecting the same wry smile of Didac to appear on Miguel's face. But it did not. He was not his brother and Adrastea realized at that moment how sorry she would have been if she had killed Pavia. 

    The angry light leaving her eyes Adrastea smiled in a sly manner, dropping the small pen knife on the grass and bringing up her hands.

    "Loyal members your band does hold," she said in a congenial manner. "Another one would you be looking for?"

    Slowly Pavia's face spread into his regular pearly grin and he threw back his head in laughter, Adrastea still smiling dryly.

    "Adrastea, don't," Cephalus said, once more in a warning voice. He was trying to penetrate through the thick cloud that had obviously settled in front of the princess's mind, but she was too stubborn and pigheaded for that.

    "You?" Pavia asked. "A great asset you would be to our little band."

    Adrastea shrugged casually saying, "I believe a great help we can be to one another."

    Didac Pavia assessed the girl before him with curiosity. It had been quite some time since he had met someone with so much spirit, and he liked it.

    "Very well," he said, slapping his knee. "Get her a horse Miguel!"