It had been years since I had foiled the plans of Lord Lucian to ruin our small world of Albion along with the Heroes of Strength, Skill, and Will. Personally, I never thought I would see the day when I was able to get a good night's sleep without the constant nagging in my chest that the emanate end was fast approaching. That being said, that still didn't mean that I did not miss my pup. He was always there for me, even when I wished he was not. Sometimes I look over to the other side of my bed and see him there sleeping peacefully, or pretending to be so that when I finally got to sleep he could go down in the kitchen and eat half the pantry. He was too bloody smart for his own good sometimes…. Damn how I missed him.

I tried to close my eyes to stop the sting of tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I failed however, and only managed to squeeze them out. The birds started to chirp outside my window and I could hear the town cryer "WAKEY WAKEY IT'S DAY BREAKY." Who the hell told him that this kind of rhyme was catchy. I gave a heavy sigh and opened my eyes again. Great, now I was grumpy. Way to start the morning, feelings. Summoning the motive to roll out of bed I took a look around my home, the Miracle Manor. Still as cosy as ever. Of all the homes that I owned in Albion, I chose this one. Hell, I chose this one home over Fairfax Castle, but I am still called Madam Mayor. Strange enough going from Sparrow to Mayor in what seemed so little time, but that's life for you. I really couldn't tell you why I worked so hard to get the enormous thing in the first place, I ended up thinking up reasons that rang best. Yes, I could say that it was for personal gain, but at the same time everything always fell to my sister. Ugh, I need to stop thinking so much before I drive myself insane. Shaking my head violently in my bedroom mirror, I went to my closet finding one of my favorite adventuring outfits. It had been a while since I had been a sellsword, and quite frankly I missed the life. It seemed to be so much more fulfilling than just being a businesswoman all the time. Taking out my outfit, I looked it over. Yes, this should do just nicely, I thought. I looked myself over once more in the mirror and gave my best smirk and slightly arched eyebrow, my best 'face'; the one face that no one could read even if they tried.

"Morning Madam Mayor," was the first greeting out of the door. I straightened my back and gave my steady well practiced smile and low eyes giving a silky smooth "Goodmorning" in return. I was starting to get used to the fact that people were more comfortable speaking to me now, I mean it's not everyday that you see someone with glowing mana currents on their skin, not to mention I was taller than your average women…. Well to be honest, I was taller than the average man as well. I smiled wistfully of those days when I had to run multiple times because I was thought of as a demon of sorts before an outburst of commotion caught my attention along with many others. With a bit of a panic, I hurried my way down to the clock tower only to meet a crowd of very angry townspeople. What in Avo was going on? The closer I got, the louder they became.

"Bastard!"

"Kill Him!"

"Feed Him to the Hobbes!" The shouts were immense, even I wouldn't feed anyone to a Hobbe,...well maybe, but they would have to be Lucian or at least similar. I tried to make my way through before things got ugly, but no one was budging and I didn't want to just start throwing people out of the way even though I was more than capable. I focused my mana, and decided the best way to deal with this was to stop time completely. With a swift movement of my hand time had halted in a haze of black, white and grey. I slipped passed the crowd and immediately eyed a young man crouched near one of the clock pillars. He couldn't have been any older than thirteen years. His black hair was scruffy, covering most of his right eyebrow and his clothes were tattered and torn having not been cleaned in quite a while. Not properly anyway. His eyes were sharp but not menacing, they were more like he had seen too much in a short amount of time. I gazed around the crowd that had gathered and back at him. He must have been a pickpocket if he made people this angry or a very clever thief and went into their homes and stole their possessions. I remember the days when I had first started as a Hero when there was no woodcutting, or smithing to be done on the road. Things started to move inch by inch once again letting me know that I didn't have that much time left. Kneeling down I patted him down and, as I thought, he had plenty of things in his possession under his cuffed overcoat.

I let time continue before the awkwardly slow movement started. It was very entertaining to see people in such a way, but not quite the day for it. Once time had continued the eruption of commotion started in full blast once again, but it didn't take long for everyone to notice I was now standing next to the lad. The shouts lowered and I made note to grab the boy's arm before he darted off. I would have tried were I in his shoes.

"M-Madam Mayor," someone stuttered in alarm. I straightened my posture and felt the lad try and make a break for it. I gave him a fierce glare tightening my grip then looking back to the crowd.

"How about you give back to the people what you have stolen, lad." It wasn't a suggestion, anyone could hear me over the mounting mummers. He gave a grumble after a second or two.

"Can I have my hand back so I can get them," he asked sarcastically low. I took another look at him and let go of whatever part of his arm I had a good grip on. Slowly, he reached into his coat removing the sack of goods and shoving it at me. I gave a smirk nudging my head to the crowd. His face went from distasteful to shame in one motion. As the young lad raised fully and headed down the few steps of the clock tower, I almost felt bad for him. He seemed like the act of thieving was a last resort for him as regret was written all over his face. Once the sack was empty and most of the people had left he just stood there with his back to me with his head held low. I approached him placing a hand in his shoulder, careful not to look at him.

"Now that that business is done, how about I get you a meal for the morning, yes?" By then he looked up at me in slight confusion, but more so surprise. I gave him a cheeky grin leading him to the Crow and Corset. I realised that there was still a good dose of people still sore about the boy and his sticky fingers as I ushered him nodding a t some of them that were near, but they would not say anything outright.

Once inside we were greeted by the Alex, now the bartender, who smiled sweetly in my direction. We were supposed to get married once a few years ago because the ghost of his aggravated wife told me that he was a horrible man for standing her up at the alter. I had to admit, that I thought the same when I heard it. She came up with a scheme that would put him into emotional turmoil, but after meeting the man, I could not bring myself to do that to him. Instead I told him about his distressed wife who was in Rookridge and that he should speak to her and tell her the reason why he had done what he did. It was possibly a stretch, but i had hoped that she would hear the poor man out. At first when she was him, I thought that she was going to throw him off the edge of the cliff the way that she looked at him. Fortunately for him, she was a lot less angry when we got there and thanked me for not going through with her plan also, come to find out he was just young and scared of what was to come with being married at such a young age. Which was more that reasonable in my opinion. "Give the lad something healthy to drink and a good meal, will you love?" He nodded as he started on the order. I looked to the young man and ushered him to take a seat at the bar as more people started to enter. Without batting an eye or a look in my direction he took a seat and I took the one to the right of him. "So," I started smoothly taking a thin breadstick between my fingers offering it to the lad. He took it and mumbled what I took as a thank you, but you would never really know even if you ask with some people. "What brings such a new face to the Market," I asked taking in his features a bit more trying to get a feel for where he could have came from, but it was hard to gage since it looked as though he had gotten his clothes along the way of his travel here. The lad stayed quiet for a while, but he decided to speak once his drink was served. I looked to Alex who gave me a proud grin.

"It's the fruitiest we have." I nodded in approval.

"I'm not a child," the boy huffed bring the first outburst of emotion I seen from him. I snickered taking my own drink that was slightly surprised by since it was still so early in the morning.

"Says the lad with the young face," I narrated before taking a gracious sip of my own drink. I raised a brow to Alex who walking away briskly to help someone else knowing that he had given me the one of the strongest drinks he had this early in the morning. I'll take care of him later, I thought turning my gaze back to the lad beside me who still wanted me to know that he meant what he had said by still pouting at his Quality Banana juice. I slipped a snicker again, that was a bit harsh even for Alex. The boy glared at me/

"Well look at it this way; at least you won't starve today." I say his face soften and look down at his drink. I sighed feeling that I had hit a nerve. "Listen, lad-"

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not used to people doing things for my own well being." I was surprised, but kept my composure giving a soft smile. "But what I don't understand is why," he finished giving me a sceptical look with cold eyes that looked so familiar, but the memory was hazy. I kept his gaze however with a soft sweet tone.

"You reminded me of myself in some respects, in other instances I am not one to ignore someone able to cause such a fuss this early in the morning." The lad looked away without a work taking a sip of his juice. I could tell that he liked it just by the content that set in his eyes. Alex came back and smiled at us, "It's right tasty isn't it?"

It hadn't taken him long to finish off his food when I told him that he could join me for a walk to Old Bowerstone for a chance to get to know the boy. He seemed to comply with little restraint, but that could just mean that he was going to run for it the first chance that he got; Which is still understandable since I am the mayor and I could offer him to the guards at any given time. I tried my best to keep him as comfortable as possible, but no matter how much more he spoke to me I would always catch him looking over his shoulder. I started with small talk to get him going, nothing too prying like what he thought of the odd summer that we were having this year and if he had anywhere in particular he was heading for, but after a while the more prying questions didn't seem too bad. He seemed to walk a little easier once we got to Rookridge road.

I learned that he was trying to get enough money to get to Oakfield, but there were no jobs that were willing to give a kid like him a job given he never really trusted anyone and just seemed shifty in the way that he looks and walks; which was true, he was very shifty, but I knew the real thieving type when I see them. I smiled at that since it used to be that way for me as well. No one believed that I was the Hero that they had heard in the tales from the traveling locals and bards. I turned to thievery as well and soon earned enough money to buy a house because, let's be honest here, no one wants to really pay a new adventurer the amount that they should be payed for the dirty work that they have to do. I stopped and looked to the ocean from the bridge. "What's your name, lad?" He looked up at me now with eased look to him. Good.

"Elijah, or Eli if you prefer. My mother named me after my grandfather."

"That's a noble name, very strong. Your mother chose well." He sighed and looked off to the distant waters.

"May I call you Eli then," I had asked stealing a glance his way. He gave me a quick nod before he spoke again.

"How is it," I patiently waited for him to elaborate. He looked up at me then with soft eyes that made him look much more his age. "How is it, to be a Hero?" No one had ever asked me such a question, not in a way that was expected to be answered anyway. "Do you enjoy it - being needed by everyone in Albion and being forced to take the burden of others?" This lad was smart, smarter than I pegged him out to be. I never really thought about it the way that he had put my job because that's all that it ever was. But to hear the truth escape his lips was something that I was not prepared to give a clever answer for. I took a breath and nodded my head in the direction of Rookridge Road, ushering him to follow.

"You want the truth?" I looked down at him with a smirk and for the first time he smiled back at me. For some reason I took that gesture as a small victory as I mentally patted myself on the back. I told him what I had been thinking. "You know, I never really had this kind of question form anyone, but the job of being a "Hero" is always a choice," I told him as we passed through the old bandit ambush site in Rookridge. "But being a Hero also means that your actions may affect everything or nothing at all."

"You mean that you can choose if you're a Hero or not?" I shrugged a bit.

"Not necessarily, what I mean is, you can choose to do the job of a Hero, but it never changes what you actually are." I watched as he looked down in silence for a while with a slight pout on his lip. I smiled knowing that he was truly taking in what I had said. Looking to the east of us; the Dark Cathedral still loomed over Rookridge as though it was the pride and gloom of it all. I wondered briefly if there were still people that worshiped the shadows there before I heard Eli start to speak.

"Do you ever wish that you could just leave this all behind?" I gave a throaty chuckle.

"No, I don't, or I would never be the person I am today." Found memories of when I was traveling the roads with my faithful companion, wondering if he was happy where he was now.

We were nearing Oakfield when the smell of oak trees filling the air around us. I loved coming to this town, it was always a welcoming sight to me and of every home that I owned, my cottage here is the best. When I had first came here, I was only just starting out with my whole "Hero" gig. At first, even I thought that this town was just another place to run through, but I ended up staying longer than I planned after I had met my best friend Hammer who was now doing Maker knows what with the warrior monks. What fond memories….

Further down the dirt path we-well I-was greeted by the towns Guard while Eli quite literally hide behind me avoiding all contact in the corner of my eye. Well at least it seems as though he trust me more than the other authority now. He was so quiet though after that, I nearly forgot that he was even with me at time, having to look over my shoulder every now and then to make sure that he was still there. But the last time that I took a worried look over my shoulder, especially since there were still hobbes in the area, he had stopped in his tracks a few paces away eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. I raised a brow in curiosity. Had he never been here before...? He then looked at me, an expression that I couldn't really read. "Is-What happened here?" 'Me,' is what I wanted to answer him with to lighten the atmosphere that he was producing so rapidly, but instead I waited patiently for him to get his thoughts in order as the ran across his face. Once he noticed that I had not answered his question however, he looked down to his feet, clenching and unclenching is fist and taking a deep breath. "Is it true that you went to the Spire for thirty years?" What a curious question...

"It is," I told him plainly.

"Did you also defeat Lucian there?" Hmm...

"Not alone, but yes."

"Then you were able to make that wish then, the wish that people say was so selfless that it brought the most wicked to tears," he said. I had no idea if that was a question or a statement by the way the said it. It almost seemed accusing in a way. "Did you make that wish?" So it wasn't a question at first after all.

"I made a wish to bring back all of the people lost to the Spire." I slightly corrected. I didn't like the accusations of being a saint. I was far from that. I was no saint to be praised. But he did not like that answer as he visibly clenched his jaw.

"Then how?! How could you possibly know the difference between being you and a Hero," he yelled. His fist were clenched white and shaking along with deep ragged huffs, but what stopped my heart to ache were his eyes. His eyes, full of anger,sadness and tears, hazed with memories of the past. I new that look all too well since it reminded me so much of my own, but there was more of a ghost behind it as well. One that I knew, but had nowhere to place it. He was right though. There is a thin line between being the person you want to be to being the person that you want to become. And I told his this, but... "I don't want to hear your pretty words anymore! Don't give me that hog shit!" Well that hurt... "I want to hear you! My mother always said you had pretty words, said that you can talk a bird out of its feathers if you really wanted." He quivered at the mention of her. His mother...? I looked at his face more, through him though, at that ghost of pain. He looked more familiar than I thought, but I still couldn't- "Mother said that you would spin tales in the taverns, each one something new.

She would say that you were better than the bard's most nights. Other nights you were just quiet and off to the corner. 'It was like seeing two different people, sometimes three if you see her enough times.'" There was only one women that could read me that well, but there was no way that she would let her own flesh and blood roam around like this. Eva... His age seemed right enough though, and those eyes...Her eyes. 'A beautiful storm is what I would call them'. Yes, I would be stupid to ignore what was right in front of my face. By now I was looking passed him, I couldn't hear anything else he until he said, "You know who this is don't you?" It was in a low tone almost growling.

"Yes,...yes I do." Why was he so angry with me though? And why would she let him wander around like thi...s... No there was no way! But I had to ask. "Eli, wh-where is your mother right now?" That came off a bit desperate...

"I dunno! You tell me," he shot back angrily. "The last time I saw her was right before she chased after YOU into that DAMNED CRUCIBLE!" That was true, his mother and I went through the crucible around the same time, we were even on the boat there together, spending most of our nights talking about how we were going to make a difference together. She was an able woman, one that I can say that I could depend on aside from Hammer; who cheered both of us to the very end. But none of this answers any of the questions burning in my chest, scattering my thoughts and memories all at once. I tried to keep myself composed. The last thing that we needed was for me to be an emotional wreck as well.

"Is that why you came here, in hopes to find Eva?"

"Don't you DARE! Don't you dare call her by her name!" What...? "She's gone because of you!"

"No, she's not," I told him keeping my voice as steady as I could manage. "Her disappearing was a surprise to me too, Eli."

"Then why when you made that wish my mum didn't come back?" He started sobbing, harder than I think that he intended. I knelt down beside him placing a tender hand on his shoulder using the other to cup his cheek to tilt his head to face me, but he refused. Instead though he welcomed the comfort burying his face into my hand further.

"My wish was to bring back all that were lost to the Spire, Eli," I said ever so softly, nearly a whisper drawing him away from his burrow looking me in the eyes. "Your mother was still alive, by my side, until we both came back here."

"Sh-she came back...," he asked me red rimmed, teary eyed and wide as saucers.

"Of course she did. I would move heaven and hell for her. She would never die on my watch. Ever." I meant that from the bottom of my heart. I would do anything for her because she would do the same for me if she could. But the fact that she disappeared when we came back from that Spire the first time I was there is beyond me, especially when all she talked about was her 'son back home'. I reached into my trouser pocket pulling out a handkerchief and wiping most of the tears from his face as best I could, but then he started to refuse my help. With an amused huff, I let him take over with a small tug of a smile pulling its way to my eyes. I rose to my feet patting the dirt from my knees.

"Now," I started, worry still fervently pulling at my heartstrings, making it hard to keep myself together, but I had to, for this boy in front of me. Or at least I had to tell myself that for the time being. "Do you want to help me find her, Eli, or are you still upset with me," I teased, which he picked right up on and pouted shoving his hand in his pocket offering me back my handkerchief, but not meeting my gaze. "Well...?" He gave a quick nod still sore. I grinned letting out a throaty chuckle. I turned on my heels back towards the home I had made here. "Keep it," I said. Eyeing him over my shoulder as he stuffed in in his other pocket, I rested my forearms behind my head. "You'll never know when you may need it again. A faint puff of the handkerchief hitting the dirt and loud grumbles made me laugh wholeheartedly to the clear blue sky, but his footsteps quickened. For a split second I thought that I had went too far, but when I looked over again he was still there closer to my side keeping pace. And when he gazed to the water where the Spire used to stand I was able to catch a glimpse of a smile on his face. We'll find you, my love, for his sake and mine.