Hello, my name is Dalikins. Just a brief rundown before you start reading: This story is a joint effort between myself and the author Carys Valerian (who has her own account on the site). Cary's writes from the point of view of Cailin/Silence and I write from the point of view of Leryn. We take turns writing the chapters so for this story she will write all of the odd numbered chapters and I will write all of the even numbered.

We hope you enjoy the story and please read and review :)

Chapter One

Cailin/Silence

I was daydreaming again. I admit it was an awful habit of mine, though I much preferred it to the dull lecture my tutor was giving. There was no need for me to learn how to go about ruling a country effectively, since that was my brother's future career, not mine. Instead, I knew I would eventually be used as a political bargaining chip through my marriage to some foreigner or another. So why should I care now?

Sir Kell had been droning on about the importance of diplomacy for at least an hour, but I enjoyed imagining I was somewhere else instead, a kingdom full of flowers and rolling streams where I would have no care in the world. Wyldt hadn't had flowers for such a long time, as it was constantly under siege and raids from the neighbouring kingdom of Trevallyn. What they could have wanted from us I would never know. Wyldt was only a small principality, with a constantly decreasing population and no natural resources to speak of. So we had no idea why we were being so cruelly treated, only that it had been this way for as long as anyone could remember. Our kingdoms were just too different. Whereas Trevallyn continued to grow and prosper, Wyldt preferred to maintain our rich history of traditions and customs. It could have been argued that was the reason we were faring so poorly, but it was just plain more comfortable for us the way things were.

Nevertheless, we had done nothing to instigate an attack by any means, and my father was so old and weak he wouldn't have the capacity to lead a war even if he wanted to. As for my brother Raleigh, a more peaceful person I had never met, so even though, as the Crown Prince, he had the power to retaliate, he would never do so.

"Princess Cailin! Are you even listening to me?" Sir Kell groaned. I looked at him quickly.

"Of course I am!"

"Then what was I saying?"

I grinned wildly and fluttered my eyes in an attempt to avert the question.

"Did I mention how marvelous your new clothing looks today? Lady Kell must have worked very hard on the embroidery." I answered.

"Why thank you Princess I'm sure she'll be delighted to- now don't you go changing the subject on me like that!" He grumbled crossing his arms over the enormous girth of his chest. It was pitiful that Sir Kell was the finest our army had to offer, which was probably the reason we were such an easy target for the Trevellyn nobles.

I giggled and flicked his shoulder playfully.

"We both know that I don't need to know this Sir Kell so it's an utterly useless endeavour to try and teach me! Instead, how about I move on to my music lessons and do something that I will actually use?"

Sir Kell knew better then to argue with me, and so he reluctantly rose from his seat and bowed as I rushed out of the room, my white skirts trailing behind me. Music was one of my favourite things in the whole world, probably because it had the habit of bringing my whole family together, or what was left of it anyway. My father loved hearing me sing since it reminded him of my late mother, and as such, it was imperative for him to hear me every day, just after I finished my lessons for the evening.

As I headed to his room I twirled around excitedly. I had learned a brand new song the day before and hoped that he would like it. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and rammed headfirst into my brother Raleigh, who was headed in the same direction as I was.

I toppled down with a thud, and to my glee I managed to knock him down as well.

"For goodness sakes Cailin you're going to kill someone one of these days!" He groaned picking himself off of the ground and patting his sore behind. I wrapped my arms around him happily.

"Don't worry there were no servants around to watch the great Crown Prince loose his balance and to make sure that you don't loose face I promise that I won't tell a soul." Raleigh raised a dark eyebrow towards me, and I saw the shadow of a smirk appear on his face.

"Well thank you little sister I'm very grateful. Now hurry up, father will be waiting to greet us." He continued, pushing me into our father's study. As per usual my father was laying on his bed as he read. He used to have a regular office chair and desk, but he wasn't healthy enough to sit for prolonged periods of time without becoming ill. As such, we had moved a bed into the study for him since he refused to remain in his bedroom all day either. I admired his perseverance, but the whole of Wyldt knew that he was failing, and fast, especially since Raleigh had taken over most of his official duties long ago. However we tried not to speak about it, at least not around him since he seemed to get offended when we did.

I went to my father's bed side and kissed his wrinkled forehead delicately.

"My pretty Cailin, you look just like your mother. You have her eyes and her hair, the colour of moonlight." He wheezed, touching my hair delicately.

"Yes I know father. Now do you want your song or not? As I'm sure you can imagine I've got an awful lot of studying to do with Sir Kell still." I said. My father chuckled while Raleigh pulled me in his vice grip and whispered in my ear.

"You? Study? As if." He teased while I moved to sit down at the harp that I had made sure was ready in the study for my daily performances. However just I was about to pluck the very first note the door to my father's study burst open and in charged a guard, stumbling with exhaustion.

"Your Majesty, the Trevellians are attacking." He gasped as he tried to catch his breath. Raleigh rushed over to him and helped him maintain his balance.

"Slow down man, what do you mean? They cannot just attack us without reason. A raid is one thing, but this sort of behaviour gives licence for a full on war!"

"Trust me Crown Prince, this is no raid. You must escape while you still ca-" He started, but then collapsed, even from my brother's grip, and I could see a large arrow protruding from his back. Screaming I stood up from my chair and ran to my brother's side as he reached for the sword he kept on his person at all times. Standing in the doorway he successfully managed to prevent the aggressors from entering to get my father, who was getting up from his bed with so much difficulty it hurt my heart.

"Cailin you must take father and go! Use the passage behind the bookcase and get to the foyer to escape! Hurry!" Raleigh demanded.

"I cannot just leave you here!" I retorted, refusing to budge from the spot. Angrily Raleigh grabbed my shoulder and pulled me towards the passageway, and helped my father get to me.

"Yes you can. You haven't a choice, it's an order." He finished, shutting the passageway closed behind us. I knew that there was no other choice in the matter. Raleigh was peaceful, but ridiculously stubborn, and would do whatever it took to protect us, that I knew. If I stayed I only would have gotten in the way.

Supporting my father I made my way through the dark corridors that led under the castle. Bitterly I realized that Wyldt hadn't a hope if our neighbour chose to attack us since they outmatched us in numbers and ability both. My father must have known the same thing, for he didn't speak, just held on to me as tightly as he possibly could without pulling me down towards the ground. I could hear the sounds of soldiers running above us, the clinking of their metal armour and the crashing sounds that accompanied the destruction of our home.

"Where is he? Where is the King?" I could hear a man demand in their clear, Trevallyn accent. Although we were so near to one another, our countries had two very distinct ways of speaking, and as such it was easy to tell where one was from based on how they sounded.

"Drive him out, set the place ablaze!" The man continued when he obviously didn't receive a satisfactory answer.

"We must get out of here, if the castle burns the beams will collapse on top of us and we'll be killed." My father said. I knew he was right, but there were more dangerous problems that we faced.

"If we leave the passage we'll surely be caught." I answered, unclear on what to do. I could smell the smoke leaking through the floor. It singed my nostrils and burned the inside of my throat. Where was Raleigh? Was he in danger?

"We have no other option. We are finished either way my dear child." My father replied slowly, kissing me on the cheek. But we had spent too long deliberating, and in terror I heard as a beam collapsed above us, breaking through the wooden floor that concealed our escape. My leg was trapped under its weight, but my father bore the worst of the blow, as the flaming roof beam had pinned him against the ground.

Crying out in terror I was certain that he was dead, though in retrospect it was a grave error to make any sound. The floor had been cracked, revealing the secret passage, and my cry alerted soldiers to my presence there. I struggled to escape the beam, before the fire reached where I was stuck or the soldiers killed me. Unfortunately I wasn't strong enough to escape, and was quickly discovered by two men who reached down into the passage and pulled me up to the surface. I doubted I could have escaped on my own since the rafter had injured my leg.

"Lord Tsadran! I think we've found the Princess!" He called to who must have been his supervisor.

"Let me go!" I screamed as they held my face towards the one called Lord Tsadran. I wanted to go to my father, he didn't deserve such a disgraceful death! He was a good man. But fire continued to rage all around us, and I saw no signs of escaping. In fact I couldn't believe a noble could tolerate risking his life in such a dangerous position.

"It's the little Princess alright, that hair and those eyes make it pretty clear. Kill her." He demanded. Tears streamed down my face as I watched a particularly burly soldier raise his sword towards me.

"Cailin!" I heard Raleigh shout. He was alive! He must have followed us through the passageway after ensuring our escape and seen what had happened.

"Raleigh go or they'll get you too! You're all that's left of Wyldt now! It's your duty!" I yelled back towards him. He knew I was right, but he didn't listen. Not that I would have expected him to since it wasn't in his nature to be selfish. He ran straight towards the guards who held me captive. I think they were so startled by his head on assault that it took them an instant to realize what was going on. That instant was all my brother needed. Peaceful or not, Raleigh could still wield a weapon as well as any other man.

Noticing I had been left unwatched I ran towards the exit of the castle, calling for Raleigh to hurry after me. But just as he was making his way to the exit, he was stopped by Lord Tsadran, the man who had obviously caused all of this. Above us, I could hear the roof creaking, more violently now then ever and watched as it fell, effectively separating me from my brother.

"Raleigh no! Hurry!" I cried as smoke began to singe my skin and clothing.

"Get out now Cailin!" was his only reply. Generally I wouldn't have listened; I would have gone back and died with the rest of my family - it was only right. However it was only then that I realized the worst of my situation. My hair had caught fire and it began smelling horribly. Reacting to both fear of death and more soldiers coming to find me I ran, all the while feeling the pain in my leg and the heat on my hair. I made it all the way to the stables unhindered; most of Tsadran's men must have been trapped in the castle along with my brother.

Grabbing the first horse I could find I rode as fast as I could away from the palace. I didn't have time to stop my hair from burning and despite the pain I felt when the flames hit my scalp I pressed on until I felt reasonably safe near a forested lake, where I quickly doused my burning flesh in the cool water. I watched as my hair fell out in clumps, and what was left hung like pathetic strands of silk thread left over after sewing. Worst of all it ached beyond all possible belief, but I hadn't any other choice in the matter. It was my hair or my life, and frankly that didn't require much critical thinking.

I didn't stay in the area long, and even left my horse behind. It would only be a liability if someone ended up tracking me later. I just continued wandering. I had no idea where I was, since I had never gone so far away from my home, and furthermore I was extremely disoriented. I continued all night, and all the next morning until it began to storm violently as it often did in the summer, and I knew in my state I needed to rest in some sort of shelter.

The best I could find was what appeared to be an old burrow for some animal or another. At least it appeared to be old, I couldn't really tell but at that point it didn't matter, I only wanted to cry myself to sleep and grieve for my father, brother and even Sir Kell.

It was when I awoke when I realized for the first time how much trouble I was really in. I had lost everything, and now, to preserve the last thing I had, my very life, I could never speak, let alone sing, again.