The smell of smoke and blood burned the man's nostrils as he walked through the remains of the town he once knew. The houses that once stood tall and beautifully covered in snow and lights around this village now laid in smoldering ruins around him. Moans and cries could be heard in the distance from those who survived this brutal attack. As the man neared what could only be the center of the village he saw someone in dark robes quickly moving towards him.

"Richard, I am so glad you got here in one piece. Did you encounter any problems making your way here?" The man's eyes kept darting around as he stood in front of Richard waiting for a response.

"No, Wilfred. The woods were clear as I came. What is the situation?" Richard asked studying Wilfred. Wilfred was a smaller man than him. His pale features tarnished with ash from the fires. There were scrapes and cuts across his hands and face. The man looked shaken to his core. They began to quickly walking through the streets. The sun was finally rising over the horizon, and Richard's heart began to fall. The destruction of the village looked so much worse in the light of day.

Wilfred took a deep breath and held it for a few moments. After a few seconds he finally released it. "We are still searching for survivors. We were betrayed Richard. The attack started from within the town."

Silently the men entered a building that was badly damaged, but still standing. People were rushing all around the inside of the building. Some helping those who were injured, others were trying to see if their loved ones where there and alive. The chaos in this building unsettled Richard. He could tell from all he had seen since he had arrived that this attack was planned. How could their own betray them? Richard continued to follow Wilfred down a long narrow hall filled with people till they reached the end. A young man about eighteen with dark hair and green eyes stood silently against a wall staring at a closed door. Richard recognized the boy instantly. It was his son, Thomas. Some relief washed over Richard now knowing his son was alive. He could see there was some blood oozing down the side of Thomas's face from an injury near his hairline. There were bruises, and some cuts across parts of his sons' body, but nothing life threatening.

As Richard and Wilfred reach the spot where Thomas stood, the door he had been staring at opened. A doctor had exited the room and approached Thomas. Richard watched his son stand up straight and take a few steps towards the doctor. "How is she?"

"It was touch and go, but she should pull through . There were many injuries, some very grave. We waited till the anesthetic wore off to see if she had acquired any brain injuries from the head trauma she suffered." The doctor hesitated for a moment looking at Richard before he continued, "I am sorry. She has lost all memory. The scans didn't show the trauma was severe enough to cause this type of amnesia, but there is always the chance."

"She will regain her memories, though. This is only temporary, right?" Thomas asked as panic crossed his face.

"I don't know. Thomas, you have to think of all she has gone through, and what she must've gone through last night. Her mind may have just shut down. I don't think she will regain her memories any time soon." The doctor said softly. "She is asleep now, but you are welcome to go in and see her if you would like."

Silently they entered the room. Richard watched his son move quickly to the bedside of the girl who was sleeping. He knelled next to her. Absentmindedly he brushed some of the young girl's red hair from her face. Richard could see tears silently falling down Thomas face as he took the girls hand and held it to his mouth. He was whispering into her limp hand as they stood around. Richard finally looked at the girl. His heart sank as his eyes rested on the poor girl. There was bruising and small cuts down the left side of her face. Her arms had scraps, cuts, and even some burns.

"What happened to her Thomas?" Richard whispered to his son.

"We were just leaving the church from Christmas Eve mass. The attack happened so fast we had no time to think, just act. After a few minutes of fighting an order was called out to us to retreat to a different location. We were told under no circumstances are we to disobey, or leave the location. Not long after we saw an explosion come from the direction of her home. We couldn't make contact with Greg. After a few minutes she suddenly took off running. I had no clue where she was going till it was too late. He was at her house dad. Greg was laying there dead just feet from where I found her." Thomas said through his tears.

"Who was there Thomas?" Richard asked, though he knew the answer.

"Shane. He survived the fight. I saw several of his men helping him escape the house as I came up on it." Thomas stated.

Richard turned to leave the room, but before he could Wilfred stopped him. "Richard, with Greg dead, you are now the head Councilmen of the village. The rest of the council is giving you till noon to decide what we are to do moving forward. With all the new developments, I know this cannot be easy, but we have no choice. For what it is worth, I am sorry"

Several hours had passed as Richard paced the Council Chamber. Several of the council men had come into the chambers once they had heard to news to offer their advice. Some felt he should send the girl to have some men try and force her to remember, others felt she need to be retrained from scratch. Richard wasn't sure what was the best choice was. Though she looked broken, in all the sixteen years Richard had known this girl, this was the first time she looked peaceful. She carried a burden on her shoulders most could not begin to understand. Why her? Richard thought. How can I help her?

Richard heard the door open quietly in the room. He turned to see Wilfred walking to him. "It is almost noon. Have you made a decision?"

At that moment Richard felt calmness wash over him. "Yes. Please ask Carl to come see me. I have a mission I need for him to do."

"I will Richard, but what about the girl?" Wilfred asked confused.

Richard smiled slightly, "It has to do with her, now please do as I have asked."

"Richard, I am sure there is another way. There is no need…"

"Wilfred," Richard sternly interrupted "I have made my decision. I am now the one in charge, so I ask you again to go get Carl and do not breathe a word of this to anyone else. Do I make myself clear?"

He watched as Wilfred jumped slightly in his spot, then quickly turns and leaves the room. The plan has now been set in motion. Richard knew why Wilfred was so shocked with his choice of Carl. Carl was mainly sent on missions to assassinate someone. This time was different though. He would allow the people to believe he ordered for her death, but he will have Carl escape the village with her. Take her somewhere where no one could find her. Keep her safe, and allow her to have a normal life. That is until she regains her memories. There were traitors amongst them, though they did not know who. If she stayed here, she was surely to die. At least this way she had a chance at a normal life. He could only hope the plan worked. He would not know. Once Carl leaves the village with her, they were to have no contact. That was the only way to keep her location secret. Richard hung his head. This would be the difficult part. Not knowing if she would remain safe, but Carl would do everything in his power to protect her. He just had to have faith this would work, and then weather all the anger that was getting ready to come his way.