Severa hoped her father was already at work, but when her mother opened the door, he was still sitting in the chair by the fireplace. Her mother placed the bow next to the door and gave her father a disappointed look. He avoided her gaze and turned to Severa with a warm smile.

"Looks like the greatest forest terror has driven you home again," he whispered to Severa, then looked at her mother with disappointment.

Furious, Mother grabbed Severa's armor, lifted her off the ground, and tried to shake her out of it, to no avail. "She attacked Caligo!" Mother hissed in disbelief.

Her father chuckled gleefully. "That's my girl!" he said, flashing Severa a proud smile. Severa couldn't bring herself to smile back—she knew all hell was about to break loose.

Freeing her mother from the struggle, she helped herself out of the armor and quickly fled to her room. It didn't offer much protection from the arguing, though; their entire house was made of crooked wooden planks full of cracks. She would have preferred to flee outside, but she suspected she was already grounded.

With her elbows on the windowsill and her forehead pressed against the glass, she tried to escape the house in her mind. But the argument echoed straight into her room.

"We can't live on fruit juice, dear! Severa is a strong girl. If you just let her do her thing, she'd contribute far more to our livelihood than you!" Her father grumbled.

"She's just a little girl! Look at what you've already turned her into—she could have killed that poor boy!" Severa heard her mother pacing anxiously through the house.

Her father's chair creaked, and Severa heard him get up. "Caligo, a poor boy? Listen to yourself! That brat has no respect!" His angry tone turned to desperation. "Amici, I'm begging you! Don't drag Severa into your world. Your world isn't ours—it's no one's!"

Her mother went silent. For a moment, calm returned to the little house.
"If you're so certain evil doesn't exist, what are you afraid of?"

The jingle of her father's armor rang out playfully, but they were the disturbing sounds of him preparing for work—work that was anything but playful or kind.

"I'm not saying evil doesn't exist; I just think we're handling it wrong. Severa simply isn't ready yet," her mother said soothingly, hoping to calm him down. 

But her father didn't calm down. "She's not ready because you don't give her the chance! She's your flesh and blood! Have some faith in her!" Severa heard the buckles tighten; he was almost ready to leave.

"I don't deny that I believe in love. You know I love you. But without my realistic view of life, you'd already be dead. Maybe I can protect you, but one day Severa will have to stand on her own. We need to make sure she's ready for that."

"Valerius, please. I just want..." her mother began.

"No, Amici, I'm done." Her father cut her off bluntly. "I can't keep everyone afloat on my own. Stop making everything harder than it is. Severa needs to start pulling her weight. She needs to learn to fend for herself."

The door slammed shut, and her mother sank into her father's chair. Severa quietly crept out of her room and climbed onto her mother's lap.

While her mother saw goodness in everyone, her father was the opposite. To him, everyone was an enemy, and he showed no mercy to anything that stood in his way. Severa understood them both, but it seemed impossible to satisfy them at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Severa said hesitantly. "I shouldn't have attacked Caligo."

Her mother gently stroked Severa's hair. "It's okay. Were you on your way to the forest?" she asked without a hint of reproach.

Severa nodded hesitantly, knowing her mother would likely disapprove. She was never allowed to go to the forest alone.

Her mother took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, go on then!" She patted Severa on the shoulder and nudged her off her lap. Severa looked at her in surprise. "Your father's right. It's time you learned to take care of yourself." Her mother bent down, gripping Severa's shoulders proudly. "You've grown up so much. I can't keep mothering you forever."

Severa wasn't about to change her mother's mind and flew out the door as fast as she could. The armor stayed hanging by the door—her mother wouldn't complain about that—but she snatched her bow on the way out.

She sprinted toward the forest, determined not to be stopped by Caligo, his friends, the town leader, or her mother. The wind cut through her thin clothes as the scent of trees and muddy ground grew closer.

Satisfied, Severa sank down against a tree, taking in the forest's sounds. Her parents had often brought her to the forest; after all, it was like a second home to them. Since the other inhabitants of Sylvamarius didn't dare venture into the woods, all the work there was left to her parents. A duty Severa planned to take over one day.