Naveen

I huffed a soft laugh. "I'm not as altruistic as that...I think it would be nice but if it really came down to it. I would bring my people up even if it meant nothing changed for anyone else." I rubbed my face and my voice took on a pained tone, "Can you guarantee that going after Rina will make things better? She and I spent months at her castle without making any progress..."

Maleen:

I looked down. “No, I can’t promise that.” I said, defeated. If he was only concerned with his own people, where did I fit into that? What could I do to help? And how could I give up on Rina and Dorian? To leave them to their own fate was something I didn't think I could do.

Maleen was much like Rina. She wore her emotions right at the surface. I could see how disappointed she was in my decision. Walking over to her I placed a hand on her shoulder and used my other to raise her chin, "Give it a few days alright? I'll focus all my effort into getting things worked out with Brian and after I get that...we can go after them."

Rina:

Dorian and I were on our own for a month working our way from village to village. Trying to help wherever we went. I was recognized more than once but they were always happy to see me. They didn’t believe what the prince had said about me, that I had killed the queen. They were on my side. It was eye opening.

I should never have gone to the castle to try to win over people who hated me. The people were already on my side.

It wasn’t always perfect. Trouble seemed to follow us, or me rather, even when we didn’t seek it out. Now that I knew the reason, I as always on guard, always ready. It was exhausting, but I was determined that I would not die again. I fought harder than I ever had before and I still came close more than once.

One night staying in a village, we were ambushed by soldiers. It was a night after we had fought a beast and I we were both low on energy. I slept more deeply now than I had before the curse. Dorian was supposed to be on watch, but I couldn’t blame him for falling asleep after the day we had. Aero alerted us, but we didn’t have enough time to react.

Aero had killed three men before they caught on to what he was and stuffed him in a box. They tied me and Dorian up and began the trek to take us to the castle. It was likely that we would have had the opportunity to escape along the way but the group was attracted by a group of goblins and a mountain troll. It was chaos.

Once cavalier took pity on Dorian and I and cut us free. Had he done it sooner maybe more would have lived.

As I raced to my weapons I remembered seeing Talon in a circle of a few dozen slain goblins. And here these humans were dropping like flies. I killed six goblins before I reached the troll. I took him on single handedly as everyone else was preoccupied with the goblins.

It took everything I had to slay the creature. Aero had sunk deeply into his back but it only enraged him more to have his blood boil. At last I slashed his gut and he fell forward, pinning my lower half to the ground. It was there pinned under the dead troll that a goblin found me and sunk its axe into my chest.

It was worse than the first two times because I knew I would be coming back. In that moment I simply wanted to rest. I wanted to be done. I was just at the edge but I could cross over.

“Rina!” Dorian shouted. Aero alerted him to my whereabouts. He pulled me out with the help of two cavaliers. I was confused as to why we weren’t being tied up again. I certainly wasn’t fighting them off. I heard a lot of arguing. Someone offered me water. The shouting grew louder. A big man barreled up to me with his sword drawn. He swung at me. In an instant Dorian had stuck him through.

The rest was a blur. Somehow, I was still unsure how, we had ten cavaliers on our side. I had won ten out of the fourteen over. The other four had taken their horses and left without a fight.

Liam:

Since I'd met Rune I had hoped my life would have been better. Bonding with a Unicorn was a momentous thing, but my master had refused to let it get out that his squire, me, had been the one to bond and not him.

Rune had explained that he could see into people's hearts and judged their purity and kindness. And then told me that the knight I served, for all of his fame and supposed good deeds actually cared little for people and only wanted more acclaim.

It was this acclaim and praise that had led us on the trail of two fugitives. Everyone was being hushed about it, and no one would tell me what or even who we were hunting. In fact when it came time to capture them, I had been forced to stay behind with the horses. We'd lost several men and when the pair were brought back I watched them as carefully as I could while doing my chores. I figured it had to be the guy that was the dangerous one, but the officers were boasting and cheering that they had caught the rogue princess and would be richly rewarded by the prince.

I couldn't understand it. The woman was beautiful. In the stories the princess were always beautiful, but they were also kind. How could they be a monster? I learned how naive I was a few nights later. Goblins set upon us bringing along a troll. The attack happened by surprise and I only managed to escape because Rune helped me. I couldn't leave the prisoners tied up. Even if they had done something wrong, no one deserved to die without a chance to fight back. It went against everything I had been raised to believe a knight should do.

I'd snuck back and freed them, tried to convince them to run. But I came to understand why the princess was considered a monster. I tried to help, but if I wasn't riding Rune or before him a horse I was too clumsy to be much use in a fight.

She had saved us, and still my master had tried to strike her down. But I could only watch helplessly as the man with the princess had saved her. The discussions that followed had ten of us swearing loyalty to our savior while four of the others took their horses and left to return to their families. I stayed at the fringes of the group. I had no place among seasoned warriors. I was a squire without a knight now, and I was worried for Rune as well.

Rina:

It was odd leading a group fo soldiers like this. They weren’t like Brian’s men. They respected me. They were willing to go along with what I wanted. There were people who wanted to make a difference too, before I came along, they thought that they had been doing good for the kingdom.

I wasn’t a leader, but they listened to be anyway. In the next couple months, I came to be close to all of them, Liam most off all. Our savior. He was my self-proclaimed squire now despite my insistence that I didn’t need such a thing. He got on my nerves regularly, but I was fond of him.

Maleen:

In months since separating from Rina and Dorian I became subdued. I was heartsick. I could tell that Talon, he asked me to call him such, was aching too but he hid it well.

He took me to the elves. I learned much from them. It was a nice distraction but I still longed for my lost friends. I would meditate nightly and send energy into the earth to seek them out.

One night, three months past our separation, I found that they were remarkably close by the elven camp.

I sat by Talon during our evening meal. “Are we going to go to your home soon?” I asked. If his plans were different from my own, I couldn’t ask him to go with me. I couldn’t keep him from his people, but if he was to continue traveling, what harm could adding a few more to the group do?

Talon:

I looked up at Maleen from my book. I had it balanced on my knee while my hands held a plate of food. "I wasn't planning on it. Just a stop by our camp by the base of the mountain. I want to give the others a chance to rest, perhaps return to their family if they want. But I'm not going to trek up the mountain myself."

I paused for a moment and peered at her closer. I knew she was missing her friends, and especially Wren. I did what I could to distract her and spend time with her but I wasn't enough and I was often busy. "What is it?" She seemed...excited somehow.

Maleen:

I watched him carefully as I spoke. “Dorian and Rina are eleven miles away,” I said softly. We could be with them in less than an hour on horseback. Even if he did not want to go, I would. I knew they wanted to keep me safe, but I was confident that I could do accomplish the same for all of us. I didn’t mind the travel.

I stiffened slightly and looked away. "Which way?" I knew she'd try to go after them. And I knew that she'd need some kind of assistance with it as well. I didn't want her wandering around without any kind of protection. The woods surrounding my mountain were not full of kind creatures. Things that shouldn't be came off the mountain all the time.

That is what my head was telling me but my heart was another matter all together. It longed to go after Rina. In the months following her leaving brians camp I'd come to truly understand my feelings for her. Time was a thing I had in abundance, and elves by nature were slow to feel and slower to release those feelings. I couldn't pretend that she would be happy to see me. She was human, her heart and emotions could change with the wind. But still...I ached for her.

Maleen:

“Southwest of here,” I said shifting in my seat. He wanted to go, I could see it in his eyes. “We could be there in less than an hour. Before the sun fully sets.” I twisted my hands together hoping my plan would work out. That we could all be reunited.

Slowly I closed my book and peered off in the direction she indicated. "Maleen," Pain colored my tone. "This might not go as you want it...she could very well not want to see us."

Maleen:

“Why wouldn’t she want to see us?” My brows knit together and I shook my head. “We didn’t part on bad terms. You said we meet again. She wouldn’t give us up so easily. And Dorian, he would want to see me. I know it.”

Maleen was young, and I smiled gently at her response. "I need to speak to my soldiers first. Gather your things." I didn't agree with her. But in an hour or so one of us would be proven right. All I knew was that I missed Rina, and I dearly hoped the things between us could be repaired.

Maleen:

I gathered my few things and hurried to prepare the horses for the ride. Talon was wrong. Rina would want to see us. She would be happy that we found each other. Things couldn’t have changed so easily in a few short months. I was still the same person. Talon as still the same. Rina and Dorian were not that different from us because they were human.

I was slower to move. Trepidation filled me as I gathered my pack and donned my armor. I spoke to the soldiers briefly, explaining I had a task to do and to continue with the plan we'd set in motion. I promised to come join them soon. With nothing else to do I went to join Maleen.

Maleen:

I lead the way to where I knew Rina and Dorian would be. It was in my heart rather than my mind. In an hour we would be reunited. All of us together. All of us except Wren…

Rina:

I gathered wood away from the camp. Sometimes I just needed time to myself apart from the men. They were too loud and energetic. Aero fluttered around me as I set off on my own. We knew there was a higher chance for danger around me, another reason I liked to be alone. Aero was more subdued now that it was just him. We both missed Iris, but she was his other half. We both felt that absence.

Liam:

I peeked around the trunk of a tree and sighed softly.  "She's beautiful..."  Turning away I pushed off the tree and ambled away.  A smile danced on my face right up until I tripped over a root and went tumbling down a small hill.  Groaning while I picked myself up I raised my gaze up right into Rune's face.

"You should be more careful."  The soothing voice echoed within my head as Rune leaned down to huff a breath over my hair.

"It was just a root that tripped me.  I'm fine Rune."  Getting up I dusted myself off and then gently set my hands on either side of Rune's snout.

Stepping forward Rune bumped his head into my forehead and I remained there with my eyes closed even after he continued with, "I don't just mean with your feet.  Your heart too is something you should protect.  That woman is too dangerous."

Talon:

The closer we got the more I felt apprehension in my heart.  I was becoming more sure that this wasn't going to end well.  It grew so much that I forced myself to descend into my warrior mindset where everything felt clear and hard as stone.

Rina:

Aero gave a warning chirp and a few seconds later I heard horses.   I drew my dagger and crouched in the bushes.  Aero went to investigate and gave another chirp, this one warning of someone familiar.  

“Rina!” It was a heartbreakingly familiar voice.  I stood up from the bushes to see Maleen dismounting.  I sheathed my dagger in time to embrace her in a hug when she ran to me.  I was dazed by the unexpected and sudden arrival.  My eyes widened more when I saw Talon over her shoulder.

Talon:

I spotted Aero first, the fluttering red bird so familiar and also a beacon as to Rina's presence. Maleen spotted it not long after and also knew the same thing. I leaned over to grab her reins after she all but threw herself off the horse to get to Rina. But while the rest of my body did other things, my eyes never left Rina's when I caught sight of her.

Rina:

She clung to me as if I would push her away if she loosened her grip. I hugged her back but my eyes were locked with Talon’s. I didn’t quite know what to feel. It seemed like a life time had passed since I had been with them, and yet now it was begging to feel like everything that had happened since leaving them had been a dream. I very long dream.

Maleen finally let up enough for me to pull back to look at her. I cupped her face. “How are you here?” I asked flicking my gaze between them.

She explained how she had been monitoring for me and Dorian ever since we left, and today we just happened to be close by. It was a coincidence. Nothing more, she said.

Talon:

Reaching down I patted my steed on the side of it's neck then carefully slid off. As Rina broke eye contact first I didn't feel too terrible about looking away now. She was everything I'd remembered of her, but still changed in some small ways. She seemed to have this hardness around her, stemming from the weight she carried on her shoulders, and a set of her jaw. We were a surprise of that I didn't doubt. But it had been a long time since we had been together.

Maleen:

She was reserved in her manner. Even after I explained she still acted stunned to see us. I took a step back from Rina and looked back at Talon with worry creeping into my face. He was right about this wasn’t he?

“You aren’t upset that we found you?” I asked Rina.

Rina:

“No, of course not!” I hurried to assure her. “I’m glad to see you. Both of you. I’m just… I wasn’t expecting it.” I swallowed a little lump forming in my throat. My mind started moving beyond this to what our meeting meant. Was this simply a visit or was it a reunion? Did they expect me to come with them?

Talon:

I could only shrug at Maleen when she looked at me. It was going just as I expected. And I didn't have the heart to tell her as such. "I'm sorry if this is inconvenient Rina. She felt you were close and was going to go no matter what I said."

Rina:

“No, it isn’t an inconvenience. It’s just that… Well, it isn’t just Dorian and I anymore.” I looked to Talon and searched his face that had always been so unreadable to me. Even in our most intimate times I had trouble knowing what he was thinking. I looked away.

Talon:

My brows raises slightly at her words. I searched her face right as she was searching mine. I didn't know what I was looking for there, and she looked away before I could see what I was hoping for, but I had a feeling of what it might be. "Would it be better if I stayed back?"