"First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity."
-Unknown

Rey's POV

In three days I will be the age of twenty.

A full-fledged adult.

I was no longer considered a child or youngling like the other ladies in the court were.

I was also the eldest of them all by a few years.

A reason of many to why I did not swoon like a hopeless butterfly in the clutches of that scheming fox of a prince.

Dusting off my recent thoughts that I wished not to have, I prepared myself for a stroll I was to have with Ben.

I chose to wear a ribbon enlaced in my dark hair of the shade of baby blue.

The ribbon matched perfectly with my dress.

The dress I wore was a simple royal blue with its indents of slits being the color of the ribbon I wore in my hair.

To keep my dress from becoming too simple there were threaded gold seams that went across the ends of the long poet sleeves, a line across the neckline, and a few light blue stripes above my elbow on each sleeve.

Right as I left I slipped on a pair of simple slipper-like shoes that shared the same hue of tree bark and that of a gold scepter.

I made an immediate stop to my mother's chamber to inform her of my leave.

She did not seem to mind, only warning me to stay my ground and not give into my feelings until marriage.

Thanks to her I would be thinking about that all day.

It's not like I'd do anything or allow anything to happen between Ben and I.

But she was really making this an awkward situation for me.

It isn't that I didn't understand her motives, it was the way she went about saying it.

At the moment I was now a few feet from departing the castle walls as well as trying to rid myself of a flustered face.

And as luck would have it Ben appeared abruptly in front of me, obviously seeing my flustered and unsettled face.

He struck worry toward me then.

I did not want to cover my face, it would be too obvious. But confessing the truth to why my face was as red as roses was not an ideal thing for me either.

"Are you alright? It looks as if you just stepped into a heated oven."

I had to think of something and fast.

"I-um...walked quite quickly here. I was just running late. Nothing more to worry about." I finished off.

He looked at me tad amused at the sight of me.

"You do look quite lovely today."

I nodded. "Thank you. And you look nice in your...usual black attire."

"Much appreciated. You know I can wear other colors if you don't like black."

"What?"

I was guessing he read my face more than my words.

"Your face speaks volumes. Do you not like black?"

"No no! Black's lovey on you! It's just...have you ever worn other shades of color besides black?"

"Yes, dark gray."

I don't know why but I was a bit surprised and even maybe a bit bothered by what his answer was.

"Well...anything else besides other colors leading to the gray scale?" I asked once more.

"White and maybe a hint of red here and there."

I looked at him a bit amused.

"Well at least you wear red at times. It's not blood is it? You know...since.." I was honesty half joking but he seemed to tense at the light-hearted question of mine.

I immediately regretted my choice of words then.

"Ah-no! No! You've got it terribly wrong. I-"

He spoke quite nervously but tried his best to stay calm.

"I was only asking. No need to get so defensive on me." I smiled at him as he was now the one flustered.

"I'm a better person than that you know." He mumbled combing his hand through his hair.

I put my hand on his arm to sooth him.

His eyes went to mine and softened as soon as our eyes met.

"It is alright Ben. I did not mean it in a serious manner. In fact...I apologize for that question. It was wrong of me. My choice of words were poor."

He nodded in understanding me.

"I just reacted a bit dramatically is all. Shall we proceed on our stroll together?" He offered his arm to me, a gesture I was starting to think was a habit.

A habit I wish he'd keep...just for me.

I took his arm as we walked out the castle on foot and into a nearby town.

The town was well known as being called RidersEdge for its well-bred horses but I'm fairly certain it was Dungderage originally.

The people in the town just preferred RidersEdge because it was pleasanter to the travelers.

Ben and I decided to do a bit of shopping while we were here since we never really ever shopped for ourselves.

The castle had everything one could need but sometimes splurging your savings on ridiculous things was often fun in its time.

And since it was a delightful day for being in the middle of autumn we both decided to spend our day here for awhile.

Just when we were enjoying our morning at the town we both became startled at the sudden scream of terror heard behind us.

A sound of a women who screamed again.

Ben and I looked through the crowd and what I saw once the people scattered, to anywhere and everywhere that could have served as a safe shelter, had me taken aback.

The strange men dressed in black had captured a young women holding her baby in her arms.

I could see so much of her pain that it almost became my own.

But I could not help even if I wished to. I did not have any knowledge of how to fight.

The only weapon I ever got to use was a bow and arrow but even then it's been so long since I last touched one.

But I did wish to help in anyway I could.

"We have to do something Ben. We can not just idly stand here while they vandalize the town like this and harass women. You must help them...please."

He looked at me for a little while before speaking anything.

His hands went to each part of my shoulders.

"I want you to make sure these civilians are safe. If you see anyone out of any kind of shelter make sure they are in one. I'll deal with these men."

I nodded.

I searched around and found two cowering children by a cart filled with hay.

"Come on children we have to get you to safety. It's not safe out here." They followed me, clutching each other's hand.

I guided them to safety as soon as I could, finding a crying toddler on the cobblestone street right after.

"Stay here and we will tell you when it's clear to come out." They both shook their pale faces as they huddled together in safety.

I ran to the little girl who wouldn't stop wailing.

I then heard a mother calling for her daughter.

I approached the women calling out her child's name with the toddler in my arms.

"Is she yours?"

The women seemed startled by my sudden appearance but was relieved once her eyes laid upon the child.

"Yes she is! Thank you Malady!"

"No problem. Just stay safe until this is over alright." The women only nodded as she held tightly to her daughter.

Before I left I made sure to see she went to safety and after that I found my way back to Ben.

Once Ben came into view he was currently fighting two men out of the five that were present.

The women that had screamed before was still being held by her hair as her baby was nestled close to her chest.

The man holding her hair had her pinned on the floor next.

I couldn't stand it anymore I had to fight.

I carried myself with my deepest instinct.

I sprinted toward the man holding the women and forcefully elbowed him in his jaw and punching him straight afterward.

Since I was not trained in hand-to-hand combat he did land a blow on me once he recovered but the women was now out of the situation as she sought shelter with her baby in hand.

"Rey! Get away from here!"

"I have to help! You can't do this alone!"

I instinctively grabbed the man's hand attack to me, twisting his arm and kicking him in the gut.

He fell to the ground as a the other remaining two went toward me.

I glanced over to Ben to see him finishing off the two he had just fought.

They were both unconscious.

He took out his hidden sword and came to me.

"Don't be such a fool. You can not fight two men by yourself."

"A coward would run away. I'd rather be a fool."

"Just stay by my side will you. I don't wish for you to get hurt."

I nodded.

Just as the other two men were about to attack with daggers in hand Ben slashed one's wrist and the other man came for me.

Just as I was about to dodge his hand he grabbed my neck and took a blow to my stomach with his knee.

He threw me to the ground and stuck his dagger out toward me.

"You shouldn't have interfered. Now you'll pay for doing so." His voice was thick. His words were cold.

The man's tone was so lifeless it almost sent a shiver of fright down my spine.

But I did not allow my emotions to get the best of me.

Just as I was about to kick him in the groin he kicked back my leg and scarcely missed piercing my stomach open.

The blade had just glazed over my skin through my dress.

I then used both my legs to push him to the ground.

I quickly got up once he was the one on the ground.

I took his dagger and swiftly stabbed him with it in his chest.

The only reason I had stabbed him was from his sudden rush toward me.

I was afraid and shaking but I still held my ground.

"I did not want to hurt you like this..."

I regretted it, yes. But I couldn't stop it.

I did what I did in defense but...

It made no difference whether it was a good point in justifying myself or not.

I was filled with guilt and nothing could change that.

Tears ran down my face.

"You witch!" He spat at me, causing me flinch.

I looked down at my hands...covered in his blood.

I loosened my grip of the knife, letting it slip through my fingers to the ground.

I... I became horrified at the scene I was in.

My vision blurred around me with a tremendous ringing in my ear.

I collapsed to my knees. The earth beneath me felt so frigid and cold.

The man in front of me was bleeding to death and after a few minutes was now gone.

I did nothing. I could do nothing.

I had just killed a man and I couldn't reverse it... I wish I hadn't done it.

I felt so terrible.

Ben suddenly stepped in front of me as if to protect me from any more harm.

He was speaking words at me I could not hear.

I could hardly make out his face.

Once I squinted my eyes and my view of him became sharp again he looked worried.

"Can you move Rey? Can you hear me?"

My eyes were forced in a daydream like stare. I attempted to focus on his face but couldn't.

I could neither speak nor move.

What was happening to me...

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Fanart made by me: