Before they walked unto the island, a group of knights intercepted them. They had been riding in great haste as their mission was urgent. The leader of the knights halted his men the moment he saw the miserable troupe of travelers, then he shouted, “Lord Avian!?... You’re alive!?”. The young lord was tired but when he noticed their distress, he regained some of his energy, “What do you mean, alive?”. The knight captain frowned but didn’t answer him back. Instead, he commanded: “Halt men, our mission has changed… We will now safely escort the young lord back into our castle”.

William was beyond exhausted by this trip, so he went to take a nap at Joss’ place. While the nobles headed inside the castle to receive the awful news.

Whispers echoed in the background as Avian got escorted into lord Blaise’s chambers. Said mighty lord, heard the clamor and ratling of metal outside, so he quickly appeared in the door frame. Seeing that the boys had finally arrived home unscathed, he led them inside his common chamber without further ado. Then with a downtrodden voice, he told the knights to return to their former posts. The boys who had entered the chamber, with no prior information whatsoever, quickly felt nervous when they spotted how swollen Lord Blaise’s eyes were.

His current state told them how much his heart was bleeding with guilt and empathy. The atmosphere was tense and cold, so Brigham took the silent Avian into his warm embrace. Then he croaked with great self-control, “Avian, it saddens me a great deal to tell you this, but… You know how the land changes… One thinks it’s stable, and then… Suddenly everything has changed… And… The Talcans… Your family… They didn’t make it this time around… *sniff*... Excuse me…”.

Brigham wiped his nose as his eyes fluttered to keep back the floods, “... They were assassinated by those I’d rather not mention: The Ravaging Shades… Which means that-... You’re now the sole survivor of the Talcan’s, my boy...”. Not a sound was heard from the one who was now an orphan.

Lord Blaise caressed the boy’s head and forcibly laughed, “I know… I’m disappointed too! Haha… But life goes on, Avian. We’ll help you get back what is rightfully yours. I promise!”.

Avian had felt very welcome in this castle and even if his own father and Brigham were nothing alike, he had come to view Lord Blaise as a surrogate father.

This man was big and strong and had a broad frame. Being in his hug was like being in a fortified fortress filled with solace. There, Avian finally felt safe, but shattered… Sadly, his doubts had come true in the worst way possible...

Soon the news spread to all of those who had returned home from the festivities. They now understood the grave and mirthless mood that hang around the island. Even someone like Joss felt depressed by the fact, that the Talcans had been overwhelmed and assassinated in one go by those dreadful bandits. Clearly in an underhanded way as any fair combat would have led to the Talcan’s victory!

The bandits’ reason for doing so was because they were getting chased and bothered by the two major clans. Ones, that were the first big factions to work together in an effort to wipe them out. So, of course, those foul beings decided to take out one of them in a fear-mongering way. By killing every last one of those dignified nobles. Leaving the land and the people they possessed, scattered and powerless, right up for grabs. But of course, the Blaises wouldn’t allow such an insurrection!

Fortunately for them, Avian had survived the bandits’ assassination expedition, and thus he and lord Blaise’s sons, along with their uncles, were sent out to reconquer the territory and firmly establish Avian as its new lord… Nobody but themselves could hand out this justice. Because there simply wasn’t any higher power that could help them in these times of dread. No king, no government… Nothing...

Without a doubt, the matter about the bandits murdering almost an entire noble family in just one night, caused gossip and unease to spread for a while, but people were people. Like any other pandemic or disaster. Humans are quick to adjust and many folks quickly came to accept the fact, that these bandits existed and would exist for many more years to come…

The only question that remained was: How dominating were they going to be in the period that their roots were being uplifted?... For although their plans to eradicate them had been halted, it was still a cause that was in full motion.

Before leaving, Brice shortly briefed his servants on his new mission, saying, “And that’s how it is… So, Rex, you’ll accompany me on this quest as it might get dangerous. As for you Mirabelle!... Tsk! You’ll stay here till I get back! I have something very important to discuss with you…”. These last words were spoken in a sweet, yet sarcastic manner. Brice even smiled ‘gently’ towards the girl. Which made William draw his face back into a double chin. Why did he feel like Brice held a newfound grudge against him!?...

****

William returned bearing an ominous feeling inside his chest. He was churning his brain for reasons why Brice might be mad at him?... For some reason, he thought of the incident with lord Caspian… Perhaps lord Caspian wasn’t as forgiving as he had thought? Maybe the lord rapped Brice for standing up for his puny servant that night. Coupled with his humiliating defeat at Julian’s hands, Caspian might have lashed his anger out on Brice furthermore behind closed doors?...

It was a slightly far fetched idea. but William couldn’t fathom what else it could be about? Having these thoughts invade his mind, he wanted to get some peace...

William sat on his bed and inspected Remony through the darkness.

Ever since lord Caspian got his ass handed to him in the arena, William had felt somewhat better but he still carried a stuffy feeling inside his chest. So he asked his good friend for some advice, “Remony… This might be a bit sudden… But… Have you ever been groped before?”. Remony halted her stitching for a long time. This question did seem to demand a short answer but she knew that William still held onto a certain trauma

Her needle leisurely pierced the cloth as she replied, “... I have been a few times. I don’t think you can find a woman anywhere on this land, who hasn’t tried this experience once or twice before… So?... Were you scared?”. William tore his gaze from her but it was too late. He had already outed himself as part of the club.

“Huh?... I… Kind of was?... Or rather... I was shocked?”. Remony closed her eyes as if in pain and said, “... I see… Well, you did the right thing… Like just now, always. And I do mean always! Seek out someone you trust you can relay this sort of information to… Don’t let it fester inside of you and get it out in small amounts… And… Did you by any chance fight back?”. Remembering his frozen reaction at the time, made William feel ashamed. He really wished that he could go back in time and punch that person’s face sore!

“I… Didn’t… I froze like one of those bandits Avian got his hands on… Urgh!”, William ran his hand across his face to make it loosen up. He didn’t want it to resemble his expression from back then. Remony frowned but still lectured, “Good!... One harsh but important lesson you must learn is to not fight back when you get groped… Because most of the time it comes down to a simple question: Do you want to live peacefully? Or slowly die defying the odds?... I know it's unbearably hard to take on this damage of the spirit… And if you can find a way out without risking your life, you definitely should!... But for us women of lower standing, it’s best to let it happen and then tell our guardians about the tainting… Most times, they will teach those who dared ‘harm’ you a lesson or two. After all, it’s not frowned upon to protect your chastity or virtue. You just can’t do it yourself. Someone else must do it for you…”.

William wasn’t happy with this depressing preaching. He glared at Remony and fiercely spat, “Screw that! Next time I won’t sit still and do nothing! Next time I’ll… !”. He ate his last words but still stared angrily at her. Remony shook her head and soothed, “Please Mirabelle… Don’t let this kind of experience ruin it for you any further... It’s true. Men can be beasts at times, women too. But luckily this world doesn’t solely consist of creeps and maleficent animals… So promise me… Try not to let these things spoil your chance at love… Love can be scary too… To offer yourself up bare and vulnerable… It’s really frightening but it also brings an overwhelming joy to finally share all of yourself with someone else...”.

William slammed his body onto the hard bed and lamented, “HAH! Love!? Who needs that stuff? All I goddamn need is my sword and a piece of power!”.

Seeing how infuriated William got from their conversation made Remony feel reassured... Being mad was a good thing. This meant that her friend wouldn’t take this oppression lying down and hopefully find her courage again to live bravely, unafraid of what this world may fling on her next…

Remony killed the lights as she whispered, “I think you’ll find out soon enough that power isn’t everything...”.

Hearing this last sentence made William think of Harvick for some reason… Yet, he couldn’t figure out why.