Sìneag awoke to the harsh realization that the world she had known was gone. She now lived in a world where love was a farce, dragons could kill ruthlessly at will, where families were broken apart and homes destroyed, and right and wrong were thrown up in the air. Her sister was gone and there was no one but her to decide what was best for them. And now that them entailed Mairead and Grier as well as Tammara, Sìneag felt an added pressure to not make the wrong choice. Lives were at stake. Dale might be gone for good, but there was still the four of them. All was not utterly lost.

She sat upright, rubbing fatigue out of her eyes and knocking pine needles out of her hair. Her entire body ached from lying on the cold ground, but this pain was more than physical. Having one's entire village torn away in one fell swoop did not occur without some great psychological toll. The tears came suddenly and Sìneag let them fall until her eyes went dry and her throat ached.

The others awoke not long after and Mairead unpacked provisions from her bag.

"I wasn't able to bring much," she said regretfully. "Most of it was already burning when I got to it and I had tried to save my husband…" Her words were cut off as her eyes filled with tears.

Sìneag nodded, saying nothing. There wasn't anything she could say.

They ate dried beef and dried apricots, Tammara staring quietly at the boy, Grier. The two sisters had seen him around town but had never spoken to him. Being the lord's son, he was treated differently than children of their class. There was no need for him to go out hunting or learn a trade or work the land as the children in Sìneag's family had. Had Dale continued on, Grier would have been the next lord, no question of it. And now here he was, without a father, without a village, without a future. The dragon had taken far more than that beast would ever realize.

"Tammara, don't stare," Sìneag said gently. Her tone sounded eerily familiar. It was exactly the voice Helena would have used when correcting their behavior at public gatherings or around guests. It astonished and worried her how quickly she was attempting to fill her sister's place.

"It's just that he looks so sad," Tammara whispered, "and I don't know what to do."

Sìneag looked at her sister both in fondness and sorrow. Part of her wished Tammara's childhood hadn't ended so soon and, yet, she was proud of how well Tammara was growing into it.

"Talk to him," Sìneag nudged her. "I'm sure he'd welcome it. You're about the same age as him."

Tammara shuffled over to the boy and began talking to him, managing to make small talk about her favorite toys and stories and asking him the same.

"Your sister's got spirit," Mairead smiled.

"She does," Sìneag agreed. Digging through her bag, she unfolded the map she'd brought with her and laid it out on the ground. "What route were you thinking of taking through Mirkwood?"

Mairead glanced at the map and sighed. "To be honest… I have no idea. It was the only place I could think of running but I know little about it. If you've got suggestions, I'd love to hear them."

Sìneag studied the map and thought this over. What had Helena always said about Mirkwood? "Tread carefully and stray not from the path."

"We should follow the road to the north, along the river," Sìneag said, pointing out the route on the map. "And…"

And what then? Hope to run into the elves that lived there and expect them to aid them? They had not reacted to the devastation that had so far occurred and there was little reason for them to do so. There was nothing more to do than hope that something better awaited the four of them in the forest and wait to see if anyone else had survived from Dale.

Mairead nodded, as if she understood. "Right," she said, packing up her bag. "We should leave now, make as much headway as we can while the sun is up. Who knows what the woods will be like come nightfall."

Sìneag agreed. There were worse things than dragons out there.

Bit grim for Christmas, isn't it? Alas! Sorry for the delay in updating; I've been meaning to get this out but have been swamped. Here's a bit for now and Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas!