Kirin's mother had died after giving birth to his sister. Her name was Tara. She was three years younger than Kirin and he loved her unconditionally. She was a pretty little girl, with eyes like her brother. Their father wasn't there to take care of them for he was out most of the day working and most of the night drinking. So it had fallen upon Kirin to take care of his sister and he never complained.

Four years after her birth, Kirin and Tara were at the local well to fetch water. There was no one around and they filled water swiftly in their buckets. Apparently, that portion of the land had been leased to the king and trespassers were to be executed. A pair of guards who had been sent to govern the land caught sight of them. Kirin protested that he didn't know, but the guards were under strict orders. To distract them, Kirin pelted them with stones, giving his sister time to run. The guards were furious and chased him around, but he was fast and small and managed to find a placed to hide. He heard the twang of bows and since he was still a child, he stayed there, even when screams showered the air. It was only after the sun had set that he dared go out. By then the guards had left. Kirin went back to quickly take back the bucket of water, hoping that his sister had got back home safely.

He had almost reached the well when he tripped on something. When he looked back, it was the body of a young girl, eyes wide and staring hauntingly. Almost a dozen arrows protruded from her back. Blood coated the ground, thick and cold. He had blood all over his clothes and hands. He ran back to his house, screaming, the image of his dead sister seared into his mind.

When he told his father what had happened, his father was so wrought with grief that he forgot entirely about Kirin. His father was later killed in a public execution against those who defied the king.

One of the rebels had been staying in Kirin's immediate vicinity at the time and took him in with no intention of making him join the rebel camp. When Kirin did find out, he volunteered immediately. He'd never left camp since.

...

My eyes were flat and dull. Brown had never been a very flattering colour but today it looked worse than normal. My skin was leeched of life, the only colour on my face the yellow of my bruise. I was still in my black clothes. I couldn't find the will to change out of it. I would be in mourning until we won this.

Oddly enough, drawing close to the conclusion of the tale didn't make me happy. The only thing I felt was tired. Tired of the lies and pain and death.

The door to my room opened and Kirin entered, not bothering to have knocked.

"They're waiting for you," he said.

His eyes weren't as listless as mine. It was perhaps the light of the sun that made the green dance so.

I nodded. He stopped me before I reached the door. "They are still distrustful," he said, "give them time."

I nodded. "What about you?"

Kirin considered it. "I'm still absorbing the information."

He opened the door and Ella entered. "Oh, my apologies. I didn't realize you would be heading out."

"No, actually, it's a good thing that you came here. I need you to do something for me." I turned to Kirin. "You go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."

Ella gave me a quizzical look. "I need you to listen to me very carefully," I began. 

...

The number of people gathered at the basement were far larger than the number of people who had arrived with Larkin. This included all the rebels who had been staying at people's houses in the town, as well.

When I reached the tavern, Kirin was there to meet me. His eyes widened and he dragged me away. "What is he doing here?" he hissed.

I looked back at Lyon who was looking around, blending into the surroundings in the ragged cloak he had borrowed.

"Trust me," I insisted.

"He's the prince, or did you forget that?"

"I know who he is, Kirin. I brought him along for a reason."

"I don't trust this . . . whatever this is. How do you expect the others to be alright with it? They're going to think you've delivered us right into our enemies hands and their distrust for you runs deep enough as it is"

"Look," I snapped. "I know what I'm doing, alright? Larkin left me in charge for a reason."

"Yes, well, I'm pretty sure he didn't want you stringing your romantic involvements along."

"My romantic what?" I cried.

"Thalia, he cannot be here."

"Yes, he can if I say so."

"You're going to get us killed."

I shook my head in wonder. "You really don't believe me, do you?"

"How am I supposed to?" he exclaimed. "First you betray us, and then we find out you haven't. Did you really expect us to swing in your favour in less than a day? I want to believe you, Thalia, the gods know I want to, but how am I supposed to when you bring him along?"

I took a step back. "You're just going to have to wait and find out."

He grabbed my arm. "I cannot let you do this."

I snatched my arm back violently. "Just you try and stop me," I snarled.

Lyon raised his eyebrows when I returned and I shook my head. "Doubts."

"He'd be a fool not to have them."

I entered the tavern with Lyon right behind. Our hoods were drawn up so no one could see our faces. Lyon kept his head down as I approached the head of the tavern and tossed a simple brooch carved in silver. He looked up at me in surprise and broke into a wide smile. He tapped his nose to indicate that he had received the news and raised an eyebrow at Lyon. "He's with me," I explained.

The man led us to the door leading us to the basement and we descended the stairs, followed by a reluctant Kirin.

A sudden hush coated the room when I stepped in. More than thirty people regarded me with scorching glances.

Suddenly I was nervous. My throat went dry and I found it hard to swallow. My fingers trembled and I clasped them together to prevent them from jittering violently.

I was aware of the stares I was receiving and entered, keeping my breathing calm. Years of schooling my expression was what got me to the front of the crowd.

Lyon intelligently stayed back, lurking in the shadows. Kirin leaned against the door frame, keeping an eye on us both.

I wasn't sure how to start. The silence pounded in my head, crumbling all I had prepared to say.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Hello." My voice squeaked and I cleared my throat, trying again.

"Hello," I said, my voice louder this time.

Nobody replied. I glanced at Kirin and he nodded in encouragement.

"I'm here to talk about -"

"We don't care!" someone interrupted and I looked up. Perseus stood up, his face twisted in fury. "You got Larkin killed!"

"I didn't mean to," I said. "That was an accident. I promise you, I didn't know -"

"We don't need your fake promises," someone else shouted. "We don't need more lies to live by. You betrayed us once, we won't let you do it again."

"If you'd just listen to me -"

But their anger had been stirred and people shouted and cursed, demanding answers that I had but not giving me time to speak.

"Will you all just sit down!" someone screamed and instantly everyone quietened.

Sasha stood glowering. "If you want answers then you're going to have to stuff it because she knows what she'd doing which is more than I can say about any of you."

Some people squirmed under her gaze, but the rest still shot me murderous looks.

"You will all sit down and listen to her or so help me," she threatened. She turned back to me and gestured for me to continue.

I cleared my throat and began. "You all know why I joined the rebels. Contrary to what you might have heard, the king did not send me there. I came of my own free will. That story was only so that you all would resent me so much that if my relation to you ever did come out in the open you would all hate me so much that there was no way you would ever accept that I was ever a part of this family. That was my idea as much as it was Larkin's. He didn't force me to do this, I did it on my own. My hatred for the king runs as deep as it does for you, and now even more so."

I told them the details of Larkin's plan in such a way that it left no room for doubt. I was also constantly aware of the fact that Lyon was standing right outside the door. I told them what Larkin had intended to do next, and added a few changes of my own.

"I apologize for all the pain I put you through. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have felt like for all of you to think that I had betrayed you. I know, too, that even though the treachery was not real, the pain was. I only hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me."

Once I finished, I waited for questions.

"So," Fernilius, one of Larkin's friends, said, "you did all this to protect us?"

"Yes," I said.

"You let us believe you were a traitor and allowed us to hate you so much simply because you wanted us to be safe?"

"I . . . yes."

He smiled then, the corner of his eyes crinkling. "None of use believed it, you know. For a long time we thought it was a trick, something Larkin put you up to. I have never been so happy to know this was one of Larkin's stupid ideas that he put into play."

I managed a small smile. "Thank you."

"So what is our next course of action?" someone else asked.

I blinked. "Wait, you believe me?"

"Why shouldn't we?" asked Sasha. "We trust Larkin and we've always wanted to trust you. I for one knew about the plan from the begining. Larkin was kind enough to fill me in. I trust you, Thalia, to make the right decisions. Larkin would not have left us someone inept at making the right choices."

"Oh," I said. "Thank you."

Fernilius said, "What is our next course of action?"

Thirty pairs of eyes looked at me and I was suddenly overwhelmed. Maybe not all of them were ready to forgive me as the rest were, for they were still some distrusting gazes in the crowd, but a lot of them genuinely looked to me to lead them.

I opened my mouth to reply, only just remembering what else I had planned.

"I will tell you," I said, "but I have something else, first. We were not the only people Aaron has affected. With or without him knowing, he made an enemy of someone he could have easily used to his advantage."

I looked at Kirin, heart hammering in my throat. He looked about as unsure as I felt, but there was no turning back now. He waved his hand forward and Lyon stepped in.

If the previous silence had been bad, this one was deafening. If you listened carefully, you could hear the silence straining against the weight of the storm.

Then it broke, giving way to a cacophony of noise. Some screamed murder, others treachery, while others still babbled in confusion.

It took a while to settle the crowd, and this time I didn't even have Sasha's help.

Lyon clenched his jaws and stared determinedly at the rebels. I opened my mouth to speak but before I could get a word out, Lyon began. "I know you don't trust me," he said. "You might even hate me, and that is justified. I would hate me too if I were in your position. But I'm not here today as a resistant force. I'm here because I hear your cause and what you strive to achieve. I am here to tell you that you are not the only victims.

"The other day, I was out with Aaron on a rebel hunt. Thanks to Ar- Thalia, we found no rebels." How did he know that had been me? "Up until then, I had never any interest in my father's way of ruling the kingdom. I thought it was wrong to rule with force, but he obviously didn't agree. For years I just sat there, allowing him to destroy his people. On the day of the rebel hunt he killed five people. Two of them were children. Only then did it strike me that this is what he had been doing all the time he was behind the throne. He starved his people and slaughtered them like animals. I saw his rule for what it really was: tyranny.

"Then I realized that the rebels, the force my father had tried so hard to get me to hate, were what was keeping this kingdom alive. It was only because of you that people still slept soundly at night. Is that not twisted? It is supposed to be the king who keeps his people safe, not the rebels. So, for a long time I simply thought about it and decided that there is no way I am going to stand by and watch as he took more innocent lives. I had word that that the rebels were going to strike and I might have forcefully coaxed the truth out of Thalia, but I had my mind set on it already. If she didn't tell me, I would find you. Now that I am here, I only ask that you consider my offer to assist you. I have a few faithful servants and guards who would help if I asked them to. I know the layout of the palace, the shifting of the guards, the daily routines of my father, everything. I only ask of you to consider."

I could almost hear the cogs in their brains whirring. I was impressed. Lyon's speech had been strong and well set. Even the part where he lied about coaxing the truth out of me showed how desperate he was to get here while also portraying me in a good light. He definitely was smart for his age. Even as I watched, the old Lyon, the one who kept his head down and shrugged things off was being replaced by a brighter, more confident, well, prince.

"So he killed a few people," came Perseus' voice, "that doesn't seem like enough motive to-"

"He killed my mother, what more motive do you want?" Lyon stated blandly.

After that there were no more questions. 

"We will need some time to think about it," Fernilius said.

I nodded. "Unless there is anything else you wish to talk about, I think it is time to conclude the meeting. The plan will be set in action at dawn tomorrow, and tomorrow will be the last day of our struggles. Whether we win or fall, at least we did our best."

Since nobody had anything more to add, we dispersed.

"Brave move, Faibred," Kirin said as we emerged.

Despite the fact that I was swallowing my heart, I managed to say, "And you didn't believe me."

Kirin smiled at Lyon, though it seemed a bit forced. "Welcome to the family."

"Do you think they'll accept me?" he asked, nervous.

"With a speech like that, they would be hard pressed not to."

Lyon smiled gratefully. "We should head back to the palace," he said.

"Yes, I think we should," I agreed. "I believe I will have something the two of you would want to know."

...

I tossed my cloak onto my bed and spun around, my skirt flouncing. "Right, why has no one asked about the secret underground passage?"

"Because we never had the time," said Kirin.

"The first time we went down there, we came back and you had a lot of things to deal with after it," recollected Lyon. "And the second time after you came back, the palace was under attack."

"Whoever is writing my life does not want me to find out," I mused.

"Wait," Kirin interrupted. "You were there before?"

"You did not think I was simply so smart to know immediately where the hidden panel was, did you? If you did, I am extremely flattered," I said. "Yes, the first time we were chased, got wounded, but none of that is important at the moment . Anyway, I was curious, so I sent out a trusted friend to find out what it was about and what happened to that poor woman down there. She should be here about . . ."

A knock sounded on the door. My eyes widened in excitement. "You are not psychic," said Kirin and I pouted.

Lyon opened the door and Ella regarded me with worry laden eyes.

"Well?" I prompted.

She shivered. "You are not going to like it." She looked doubtfully at Lyon and Kirin. 

"It's alright, they're going to want to hear this, as well."

Ella sat down, hands clasped on her lap. "I did as you asked and inquired nonchalantly about any secret passages under the castle. At first I thought it was ridiculous, but one of the cleaning staff said they heard a sort of explosion last night. I was not sure what to expect, but the more people I asked, the more I was convinced there really had been something going on down there. Not to say that I doubted you," she added hastily.

"Go on."

"Well, eventually, I asked a healer named Circe if she knew anything about pain-stopping potions and she listed a few of them with their side-effects. There was one she told me that matched your description. It is a potion they have dubbed 'Venom', since if it is imbibed, the potion would kill their pain receptors and most of their brain cells. Only the basic function of fighting would be left in the person. It was outlawed many centuries ago since it reduced the person to a walking corpse."

Kirin looked at me. "You do not think . . .?"

"That he was gathering those people? Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

"He couldn't have been."

"Yes, he could," I said. "Didn't you see the number that went inside? He was planning on making an army of the living dead."

"That would explain the corpses," said Lyon. "Those people might have had an overdose of the potion or rejected it and died."

I returned to Ella. "Is that possible?"

She nodded.

"An army of the dead," Kirin whispered. "I feel almost glad those people burned instead of getting turned into those . . . things."

"Did you find anything else?" I asked Ella.

Ella shook her head. "There are still a lot of people I need to ask. Perhaps I could get back to you tonight?"

"No," I said and she looked surprised. "Ella, I need you to do me another favour."

"Of course."

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Go home."

"Why? Do you not want me anymore?"

"No, no," I said immediately. "It will only be for a short while. I would be lost if you were gone forever. No, I just want you to take a well-deserved break, just for a few days. Go home, spend some time with family, maybe even visit a place or two."

Her brown eyes were soft. "Something is going to happen, isn't it?" she asked. "Something monumental."

"Something dangerous," I said, "yes. I do not want you to be caught in the middle of it."

She pulled me into a warm hug. "Thank you," she said, letting go.

She took her leave and I watched the door shut softly behind her.

"That was kind of you," said Kirin.

"It was something I had to do." I cleared my throat, not turning back. "I will go to the library and see if any of the books there or in the archives hold anything in reference to the passage."

"I could come with you," said Kirin, halting. "If you want."

I smiled at him. "I would like that."

"I'll go ask the guards if they know anything. Someone somewhere must have heard something," volunteered Lyon.

"Thank you," I said. "I've been meaning to ask you, how did you know I warned the rebels?"

"Oh, that was easy," he shrugged. "You went out at night against my father's wishes to warn the people. Word would inevitably spread, so it was going to to reach the rebels either way. Also, what Kirin said later matched with my theory. That's how I even knew you were a rebel in the first place."

...

We spent the better part of the day scavenging for any mention of a secret passage, but came up with dust. I tossed the last book onto a pillow and sat down in defeat. "Nothing."

Kirin sank to the ground beside me, leaning against the wall. The space between was minimal and I found the butterflies had returned with a vengeance.

"We still have to search the last level of the archives," he said and patted my knee, letting his hand rest there. "Don't give up, yet."

I was acutely aware of the hand, but did my best to ignore it. "I'm hungry."

That brought out a laugh from him. "What?" I protested. "I am really hungry."

"When are you not?"

I struggled for an answer.

The smile lingered on his face. "Listen, I just wanted you to know that I am sorry for the way I treated you."

"Yes, no, it's alright, I get it," I said, ducking my head so that my hair covered my burning face.

"No," he said, turning to me. "I want you to listen to me."

I forced my head up. "Please," he said.

I swallowed. "Alright."

"When you left," he began, "I was shattered. For a long time I didn't believe it. I thought this must be some sort of plan of yours to overthrow the king. When you started leading the rebel hunts and throwing out people from their houses, my optimism began to fade."

I remembered what Segan told me and felt the gnawing in my insides again. I let him speak, though, since he looked like he wanted to say this for a long time.

"For a while I was distracted by Larkin and the rest while we tried to figure out what to do. The others had convinced themselves that you had gone over and I wanted to as well. I told myself that I did believe that you had turned rotten. I convinced myself as much as I could. Then we came here and with one look at you, the earlier conviction I had tried so hard to build just shattered. I was convinced, again, that you were not evil, though you sat right next to my enemy. That evening, though, you made it pretty clear how you felt and that left me feeling worse off than before. I tried to stay away from you, I really did, but I had been that way for six months. I was not going to be that way for longer. Of course, most of our talks left me with a sense of resentment and anger, though some actually made me feel better. I was stupid enough to think that maybe if we became friends again, I could change you. I could, maybe, bring you back to who you were before. I know you said it was all an act, but I couldn't help think that Thalia had been a lot more sincere than Arya.

"The night you left the palace I was rabid. I swore to myself that when you returned I would give you a piece of my mind and never speak to you again. After everything I had done for you you would still betray your brethren? Only, you didn't come back.

"I wanted to go out looking for you, when Lyon found me, saying you weren't in your room. He told me you had had plans of getting out of the palace and that you should have returned by now. Together we set off. I asked a few people and they said they had seen a black carriage pass by a while ago. It was as good a guess as any so we followed their directions and we finally found you.

He paused, running a hand through his hair. "You had me terrified. You were lying on the ground so pale and still and I thought you were dead. I thought Segan had killed you and I wanted to kill him for it. Then you opened your eyes and I had never been more relieved in my life. When you proposed to give your life to save ours, I knew I hadn't lost you. You were still the girl I had known. The same girl who would laugh at my clumsiness and be a stubborn prick when she didn't get her way. The girl who used to tell me to shut up so she could hear the birds sing. The same girl who would dance like she was possessed. The same girl who would cry at happy endings."

"I've moved on from that," I said.

He let out a laugh. "I doubt it. Just you wait until this story ends. We'll see who'll be in tears."

"Definitely not me."

He grinned. "I took a day off from seeing you, since I knew that would not be good for my judgement. My mind had been made up that night itself, though, when I saw this."

He reached out and his fingers brushed my collar bone as he lifted the sliver of a silver chain, pulling out the pendant from under my dress. He held the stone in his hand.

"You kept it," he said and I looked away.

"Of course I kept it," I mumbled. "You didn't think I would throw it away, did you?"

"I don't know what I thought. Thank you."

I shrugged, feeling the heat sear my cheeks.

"Aw, is someone blushing?" Kirin teased.

"Shut up," I shoved his shoulder playfully.

He laughed again, but quickly sobered, as if he just remembered something.

"What is it?" I asked.

He shook his head, forcing a smile. "It's nothing."

"You can tell me."

"I'm going to sound petty."

"I sound petty all the time," I said. "What is your point?"

"I . . . I understand if you don't . . . feel the same way. I mean, I probably would have been the same if I spent so much time in a palace. You don't have to confirm or deny anything, it's fine, I just - I was just wondering . . ."

I fought off a smile. "Is this about Lyon?"

"Hey, you said it, not me."

"I'm not in love with Lyon."

He struggled to control the relief. "Really? Because you two seem quite close."

"Our relationship is strictly platonic."

"Oh," he said.

"Yes."

"Good."

"Yes."

"We should head to the archives to avoid any more awkward conversation."

"Definitely."