Aurora heard their voices above the cacophonous sounds of the marketplace around her.

She hunched lower in her chair behind the counter of the dairy stand as their words surrounded her. I just dont understand what were doing here an elegantly accented female voice whined quite unattractively. I told you, Emma, were getting help, the familiar voice said firmly. You told us that, but what are we doing here? In the downtown marketplace in the middle of nowhere? Another high class voice, this time male, asked. We thought wed be going to the Academy outpost, or somewhere sim- Trust me, ok? You put me in charge, now listen to me. The voices were coming closer and Ro pulled up her hood, despite the bright afternoon sun, desperate for any measure of cover. She couldnt leave the stand or John would kill her, and then fire her, and she needed this job. She perked her ears forward, trying to determine how far they were. They wont notice you. Theyd never expect you here. Theyre probably not even looking for you. She snorted. Who else would they be looking for in Marthasville, a town of peaceful farmers and simple blacksmiths? As their voices grew closer, Aurora picked up a book she had brought with her, for when business lagged, and opened it, pretending to read. How are we going to find anyone in this chaos? A male voice complained. Im going to catch a disease for sure, or be robbed blind. You dont have anything on you, the other unfamiliar male voice told him. Theyll steal my shirt sleeves. Do you know how much this tunic cost? The voices were in normal earshot now; Auroras heart pounded heavily aganst her chest. Breathe, Aurora. Breathe. They continued to chatter, but instead of moving along, their voices remained in one area, right in front of Auroras booth. She prayed a quiet thanks that there were so many people out today, despite the cold. Aurora tried to focus on her book, reading a few lines, when she realized she no longer heard their voices. She sighed and leaned back. Hello Ro, the smooth voice said, a foot away from her. No. I beg your pardon? Unless you are here to buy milk, butter or cheese, the answer is no, she told him without looking up from her book. You havent even heard what I was going to ask-

I dont need to. The answer to anything is no. His voice went down a few notches, an urgency in his tone. We need you Ro. Wait-the whiny male asked, Shes who were here for? We traveled three days to the middle of nowhere for her? Michael ignored him and leaned forward, trying to catch her eyes from under her hood. Aurora felt his eyes on her. She could smell him; a mixture of horses and sweat and rain. There are plenty of Guardians out there. Youll be fine without an Academy dropout. I need you, Ro. Youre people needs you- She lifted her head then, her burning eyes meeting his pleading gaze with unrelenting fire. Like my father needed them? Her voice was pure ice. I owe them nothing. Youre right, he agreed. You dont owe them anything. They made a mistake- A mistake? They allowed an innocent man take the fall and did nothing to fix the corrupt government! I call that a little more than mistake. She looked into his bright blue eyes, achingly similar to another pair of blue eyes that haunted her dreams. I wont go with you. Aurora, a voice boomed behind her, making her jump. What do you think you are doing? Aurora realized, with a sinking heart, what this must look like her being rude to customers, rich customers at that. Aurora looked up into the hard face of her employer and stumbled over an explanation. He looked livid Sir, we wanted to see the dairy farms, but she was quite insistent that we wait for you, Michael said smoothly, his voice as haughty as a princes. Oh, Johns voice faltered with his conflicting emotions anger, confusion and hope that he would make a large sale today. Why would a bunch of city-dwellers like you be interested in some cows? Like you said, were city-dwellers and weve never seen a dairy farm before. Were here on vacation and we thought it would be nice to see one. They could both see John wavering, unsure of what to think. Michael, every the smart one, quickly said, And wed like two blocks of your best cheese. Weve been traveling all day and could use a snack. John quickly smiled his best salesman grin and started cutting into his most expensive cheese. Aurora here can show you the farm; Id do it myself but Mr. Salasby, he owns the fairgrounds, comes around every Sunday afternoon to collect the rent. He sounded genuinely upset, ost likely hed d anything to switch places with Aruroa and show the rich guests around, but Mr. Salasby was lstrict about receiving rent on time and John would never trust Aurora with so much money. He prattled on for a few minutes about how the farm was in his family for several generations, but then stopped, his hand on the cheese, as a thought came to him. I beg your pardon, my lord, but the farm is an hour walk from here and we have no carriage to spare. No worries, Michael waved at him, we have horses resting in the stables at the entrance of the market. Your girl here can ride with one of us.

John grunted in assent, and murmured under his breath, Shes not my girl. Aurora clenched her hands beneath her cloak. The townspeople were still suspicious of the beautiful girl who came from nowhere with nothing but the clothes on her back and bag full of gold. John and Michael exchanged the cheese and gold. Aurora pulled her cloak closer to herself and headed out the back of the stall. John stopped her with a hand on her arm just before I got to the exit. Dont ruin this for me. Ruin what? Theyve already bought your cheese. If they have a good experience at the farm, maybe theyll tell their friends I wanted to tell him that only in his dreams would the dairy farm become the vacation of choice for the noble, but I held my tongue, again. Just try to be charming, for once, eh? I had no words for him so I just nodded and stepped around him. Michael was waiting for me out the back. He gave me a devilish grin as he tucked my limp arm in his. I wanted to be sure you didnt suddenly remember a previous engagement you urgently had to go to. Ah, how considerate of you, I cooed as he dragged my feet along. Where is your entourage? They went to fetch the horses. All these commoners make them nervous? You are not a commoner, Aurora. You can hide here all your life, but you will never be a commoner. You are destined for great things, Ro. You cant escape that. I gave a short, sharp laugh. Destiny? That is your argument to persuade me? Michael didnt answer, but stared at me, his blue eyes penetrating me. Id forgotten how he was able to look at me like he could see me inside out. He put his hand on my back and ushered me toward the entrance of he market where I could faintly see four, grand horses waiting. Let me introduce you. That is Lord Geoffrey, he said pointing to the tall stoic man with flaxen hair, Lord Brian, he pointed to the redheaded whiny male, and Lady Katherine, he gestured to the woman with hair a few shades lighter than Lord Geoffreys and ice blue eyes. They all gave me curt nods, trying, and failing to disguise their looks of shock, disgust, confusion and disbelief. You only have four horses, I told him drily as the others began mounting their horses. Youll ride with me. That way, you can lead us to the farm. You are actually planning on visiting the farm? I thought you were using this as a ruse to kidnap me. They had reached the others. Michael put a firm, but gently hand on her arm and whispered intently I would never do anything to against your consent.

I didnt say anything as he lifted me on the horse and ascended behind me, his arm going around my waist. He handed me the reigns and for a moment, I couldnt believe he was actually allowing me to lead. But Michael was always generous with his trust. I grabbed the reigns from him and lead them over the hills to the dairy farm. When we arrived at the farms, it was nearly abandoned, most of the workers gone home for late supper. The sky was already turning a beautiful shade of rose and the sun sunk into the horizon. This is where you work? Brian asked with a snort as we dismounted. Katherine lifted her skirts, as though her hems were too grand to even brush the grass of the farm. Geoffrey gave a warning him a warning glare and I turned on Michael. Alright, you didnt plan on kidnapping me. Then why did you want me to bring you here? I just wanted to speak to you someplace we wouldnt be overheard. Well, I said, spreading my arms wide, were here. What did you want to say to me? I demanded. Katherine gasped, perhaps shocked at the way I spoke to nobility. Michael hesitated, his eyes briefly leaving mine before returning with something glinting in them, something that looked an awful lot like desperation. We need you Ro. You already told me that. What you have failed to tell me is why you need me. I am good, but one more soldier will not make so much a difference. Why did you come all the way for me? By the way the others shifted closer to us, I could tell they had the same question. Michael stepped closer to me so I had to tilt my head slightly to meet his eyes. You know why we need you. I shook my head and turned away from him, but he put a hand on my elbow, keeping me in place.Im close to finding it Ro, he said quietly. I gave him a look and tried to pull away but he held me firmly. Then come back and find me when you do, but until then- I need your help to find it. I looked him hard for a long moment before shaking my head. You know its not true. Its just a myth- Like youre a myth? I could feel his companions questioning stares upon me, but my eyes were locked on Michaels. Its a fools errand. Ill have no part in it. I have already paid my dues to this kingdom, paid more than that. I owe it nothing more. This is not about what you owe, its about looking at your choices and being able to live with them. Ro, everyday people are dying because of this. You can help stop it. He pleaded with her. Even if it is a myth, you are one of the best fighters ou there. You can make a difference, save lives. I know you, I know you wont be able to live with yourself if you do nothing. Thats the kind of person you are even after everything theyve done to you. Did your brother put you up to this?

He laughed shortly. Do you really believe that if my brother knew of your location he would have waited until now to try to get you to return? Why now? If you have known where I was for a while, why are you only coming now? Because we are running out of options, he all but whispered. We are being beaten at an alarming rate. We are getting nowhere picking demons off one at a time. We need to attack on a larger scale. I opened my mouth to respond but he cut me off. Dont answer now. Take tonight and think about it-really think about it. We are staying at the village inn. Well be leaving at dawn. I hope you are there. I stared at him. Thats it? Thats your whole persuasion? He smiled at me. Im not my brother. I trust your judgment. Without another word he turned around and swung upon his horse, his companions following in his lead. I watched them ride into the horizon until they were out of sight, my mind flying, my heart heaving. I felt confused and trapped in a cage of my own emotions. I swore to myself after what happened that I would never return to that world. My family had paid more than what was due in our blood. I vowed I wouldnt help the people who refused to help us. The images of that night flashed in my mind. Red streaked through my vision and I became more enraged by the minute. And then I heard Mary and Julie, Johns children, laughing in the orchard. My twisted mind transported their laughing faces into my grisly memories replacing their laughter with shrieks of horror and desperation. Micheal was right, I wouldnt be able to live with myself if I remained here while the country was at war and there was something I could do to help.

I was awake well before dawn. My nerves woke me up while the sky was still pitch black. I looked about the attic room above Johns cow stable that I called home. I had very few possessions, definitely enough to fit on a horse. This certainly wasnt like the last time I moved. Then, I had left an overflowing closet of the most beautiful gowns, armoires filled with the grandest shawls, chemises, and petticoats, beloved books and trinkets, irreplaceable jewelry, one-of-a kind paintings I owned two everyday dresses, one of which I was wearing, and a soft green velvet one I saved for the holidays. I rolled the two dresses and a handful of underclothings I owned into a tight ball and placed them in an old rucksack. I added a book of medicines I bought from the wise woman of the village and a book fairytales that had kept me company on many lonely nights and what was left from the jewels I brought with me. There was nothing else. I left a note on the bed thanking John and his wife for taking me in. Regardless of their attitude toward me, they did me a great kindness. I threw my cloak around my shoulders, lifted the rucksack and headed down the steps. As I opened the door, the early morning air bit at my ankles. From the far east I could see the very faintest light. I would have to walk quickly.