Victor's eyes lit up when Clara walked back into the room with a tray of the purple tea he had grown so fond of.

Clara sat down next to Hazel after setting down the tray of teacups and tray of biscuits. Victor reached for the small table and took one of the teacups, settling it onto his lap for a mere moment. His impatience got the best of him and despite knowing the drink would still be hot, he took a sip of it, burning his lip with the liquid and instantly backing away from it with a grimace and flushed cheeks as the girls laughed lightly at him.

Clara was grateful for his action, which had eased the tension in the room. She smiled weakly.

"Your idiocy is remarkable sometimes, Vic." Hazel chuckled, nudging his shoulder with hers. Victor poked out his tongue at her, followed by his own deep chuckle joining hers.

They noticed the absence of Clara's laugh so they turned to look at her. She had been staring at her lap, fiddling with the skin surrounding her thumb's nail.

Hazel reached out and wrapped her hands around both her thumbs to prevent her from peeling off more skin, breaking her out of her trance as well. She looked up and was met with both their faces looking at her expectantly.

With a sigh, she began to speak, moving her hand so that she was holding Hazel's instead of it just being around her thumb. Hazel squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Rowan is trying to take over Avelyn." She said. "And he's starting with me." 

"The attack on Shuroo was to mess with Clara's head." Hazel explained further. Victor furrowed his eyebrows.

"But why Shuroo?" He asked. "What does that have to do with Clara?"

Hazel bit her lip and leaned back into her chair, still holding onto her hand, noticing how she'd stiffened at his question. A moment passed before she spoke again.

"Shuroo was my home." 

Victor's lips parted in realization and he looked at the ground, his heart pounding in his chest.

"The way they attacked...it was identical to the night I lost my father." Her voice was weak, on the verge of trembling. "There was fire everywhere and kids were screaming...I could hear their cries even over all the ruckus of the fight."

Tears had pooled in her eyes and it only took a single blink for them to stream silently down her face.

"He's killing people because of me." She whispered, feeling her throat close up.

"He's killing people because he's an awful man," Victor said, his voice deep and fueled by hatred. "It's not your fault, Clara. You are not responsible for his cruel actions."

"He's right, Cee." Hazel agreed. 

Though she heard them; their words didn't reach her heart. She didn't believe so. The weight of the blame grew heavier as she remembered all the spilt blood.

A knock sounded on the door. Noticing Victor's angry face and Clara's clenched jaw, Hazel got up before any of the other two could do so and walked to open the door. Victor's eyes trailed over Clara, noticing her knuckles turning white as she balled them into fists. He scooted closer to her and hesitantly put his hand on hers. Her head snapped up and her grounded eyes were met with an ocean of rage behind his eyes.

"We'll figure this out." He lightly squeezed her hand, his heart beating faster when he felt her relax under his touch. She nodded halfheartedly.

Hazel walked back in with Alan in tow. Victor quickly cleared his throat and distanced himself from Clara, his ears turning red. Clara offered the knight a smile as he settled next to his lover on the smaller couch in the room.

"So what did you find out?" Alan asked.

"We have to stop Rowan." Clara said determinedly.

Seeing as she was surrounded by people who had always believed in her, she felt hope reignite in her soul once more. It had been a long time since she felt the spark, but with every act of support the spark came back to life. She explained all that she and Hazel had found in the secret dungeon.

"And..." Her eyes hesitantly met Victor's. "He was the one who hired the assassin."

Victor's heart dropped.

He knew his uncle had never been fond of him, but to hire an assassin to kill him? He couldn't believe it. But then he remembered the way Rowan had been speaking to him lately, and all his doubts were cleared.

His uncle wanted him dead.

And he would do whatever it takes.

Victor didn't get to process his thoughts much as the door opened and a little girl excitedly skipped into the room, holding a fluffy white kitten. His eyes lit up as Lila grinned at him, the gap of her newly lost milk tooth on display.

"I got a cat!" She exclaimed, holding the kitten up.

"I see that." Clara said with wide eyes, blinking in surprise. "Oh are the girls still here? I have to go thank them."

She ran out the door after Lila nodded at her. Lila then walked over and sat next to Victor, cuddling the small kitten. She looked up at Victor who was smiling down at her and grinned, her eyes sparkling.

"Look how cute she is!" She put the kitten on his lap, still petting it.

"Darling, it's a boy." He chuckled after holding the small cat up. "Do you have a name for him?"

"Mesho." She nodded determinedly.

"Cute." Victor smiled.

"You have the same eyes as Mesho!" Lila giggled, looking at the kitten's blue eyes. His face was covered in pale yellow fur, fading into white. Hazel laughed out loud, accompanied by Alan once Victor held the kitten up next to his face.

"You even have the same grumpy look." Hazel grinned.

"I'm not grumpy!" Victor gasped dramatically, his lips turning upwards when he heard the little girl laugh next to him. 

 "Clara told me you don't have a pet..." Lila muttered as she stroked the kitten that was peacefully lying on her lap. "Mesho can be both of ours!"

Victor's eyes softened and he smiled, overwhelmed by her cuteness. Even Alan and Hazel cooed at the scene.

"That's very kind of you, sunshine." He rubbed his thumb over her small hand. "Tell you what, I hereby declare Mesho to be the royal cat of Avelyn!"

Lila gasped in awe, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She then turned to her kitten.

"Did you hear that, Mesho? You're royalty!" She laughed. 

"Alright well, first we need to give this royal cat a bath." Hazel got up, ushering the girl and her cat to the bathroom.

The two men watched the girls leave with smiles on their faces before Alan turned to the prince with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"The little one has you wrapped around her finger." He chuckled.

"Can you blame me?" He laughed. "She has all of us wrapped around her tiny cute fingers."

"Can't argue with that." Alan said with a smile. "She threatened to hurt me if I ever hurt Hazel."

"No kidding?" Victor laughed loudly, his mind momentarily drifting from the serious threat on his life.

"She's turning into a mini Clara." He nodded with a happy smile. "I want to get her a small sword for her birthday."

"Is it soon?" His head perked up. Alan nodded. "I have just the thing to give her."

"Will it possibly annoy Clara?"

"I'm counting on it." He grinned.

Meanwhile, Clara was by the door talking to some teenage girls.

"I really can't thank you enough for bringing her home safely every day." She smiled sincerely at them. 

"It's nothing, really!" One of the girls grinned. "Lila is adorable, we love walking home with her."

"I assure you that she does too." Clara laughed lightly. "She talks about you all the time."

"Aww, how sweet!"

"But one question, how did she end up with a kitten?"

"Oh," Kayla chuckled. "we found it stuck in a tree-"

"It was not stuck." Her friend, Evangeline, cut her off, stating bluntly. "It was taking a nap away from the sun."

"Then how come it didn't hurt us when we got it down?"

"Speak for yourself!" Caroline exclaimed, bringing her hand up to show a few scratches. "It was not easy bringing it down."

"Oh are you alright?" Clara furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "I have bandages inside, want me to bring it?"

"No, thank you." Caroline smiled gratefully, pulling her dark braids away from her face. "Ma has a cat too, I'm used to this. It doesn't hurt."

"Did you at least wash it?"

"I did." She nodded.

"Say, Clara." The woman turned her attention to Evangeline. "Do you think I could sign up to train as a knight?"

"You want to become a knight?" Clara raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"No, I don't think I could handle being a knight but-" She pursed her lips, thinking of the right words to say. "It would be nice to know how to defend myself- if needed!"

Her last statement was said quickly with a nervous smile. Clara noticed it and an uneasy feeling found its way to her stomach. She glanced at the rest of the girls' faces and noticed them exchange worried glances.

"Is everything okay?" Clara asked slowly.

"Mhmm." Evangeline nodded quickly; almost too fast. "Yes, everything is great. I'm just curious, you don't have to-"

"I'd love to teach you." Clara cut off her rambling. "You don't have to sign up to be a knight, I'll train you by yourself and teach self defense."

"Can we join, too?" Caroline asked hopefully, her dimples revealing themselves as a grin grew on her face. Clara smiled and nodded.

"Of course." She grinned back. "If any of your friends want to join as well, let them."

"Oh, Sierra is going to love this!" Kayla squealed.

"But-" Clara raised a finger, looking between them. "Only tell those you trust; not everyone is happy with me at the moment, so we have to keep this on the down low, got it?"

"Got it!" They said together.

Clara smiled and bid them goodbye, watching them walk away as they laughed and talked quietly among themselves. She saw them meet their mothers on the way, but it seemed a lot more women were gathered together. After a brief conversation with their daughters, the group continued to walk over to her.

Clara tensed and stood up straight, afraid that they were here to seek help or protection.

She wasn't entirely wrong.

"Clara, dear!" Edith grinned. "Just the woman I wanted to see!"

"Hi, Edith." She smiled kindly, before turning to everyone else. "Hello everyone, it's nice seeing you all. Is everything alright?"

"Could be better." Grace shrugged.

"We're here to ask a favor of you."

"Of course." Clara nodded without hesitation.

"We want to be trained." Edith said. "We want to learn how to fight."

Clara was alarmed at the increase of people wanting to learn how to fight, but she was also in awe of her neighbors; of their will to gain power for themselves; to be able to defend themselves.

To be independent.

"I just agreed to do the same for the girls." She crossed her arms with a smile. "I'll gladly train you all. But I really must know, is everything alright with you all?"

"Not really..." Miriam sighed. "Our husbands don't want you as general."

"I expected that..." Clara smiled sadly at them. Her eyes then caught Kimberly's. "Kim, may I speak with you in private in a moment, please?" 

Kimberly nodded.

"Well, I should be free at night...Will you all be able to meet with me then?" She asked, nodding to herself once she got confirmation from everyone. "Then it's settled; we meet at the hill near us every night at nine, and we train. In secret. I don't want word of it to reach the wrong ears."

Soon the ladies left with a newfound courage in their hearts.

Kimberly stayed behind and Clara held out her hands to hold hers. Her eyes skimmed over fading bruises peeking out of her dress.

"Kim, are you and Evangeline safe?" She asked softly, frowning.

Kimberly took a deep breath, letting her eyes fall to the ground to hide the tears brimming in them. She shook her head.

"He's been drinking a lot since we lost Adam and-" Her voice got caught in her throat. "He's always so angry...I try to protect her, Clara, but he's just so-"

"Hey," she cut her off, squeezing her hands. "it's not your fault. I just hate seeing you two like this; is there anywhere you can go? To stay away from him?"

"No, we can't-" She shook her head.

"I can't let you stay with him!" Clara pleaded. "He hurts you!"

"It's okay, I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to!" Clara urged. "I'll deal with him, I promise-"

"No!" She exclaimed. "He...he gets angrier at the mention of you. I fear that would only make it worse."

Clara bit her lip, feeling guilty. "Then come stay with me."

"We really can't." She sighed sadly. "I wish I could accept your offer but...I can't."

"I'll keep you both safe, I promise." Clara said, pulling the older woman into a comforting hug. "I'll have guards stationed around in case you need them, please do ask for their help."

"Thank you." Kimberly smiled, putting a hand on Clara's cheek. "Edwin would be so proud of you. I know we are."

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she didn't let them. Instead she smiled at the woman in front of her and started to think of what she could do for the women of Avelyn.

She would help them rise.

Sooo...WE HIT 2K READS!!!

Honestly this is beyond what I thought I'd ever be able to achieve. I cannot thank you all enough for reading my book. It truly means the world to me.

In other news; the royal cat is actually the cat of one of my dear friends (Hi bestie <3) And this is him!

Also the other day I was chased by crows so yeah I may or may not get summoned by the Erlking. (If you get that reference, I love you.)

QotD: Do you have any pets? 

I would love to have a dog but I'm not allowed :')

Don't forget to vote and comment!! I'd love to hear your opinions!