A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry I'm late late lateeee. And this chapter is about Myuna's past in another fictional world that you probably don't even know . If you don't want to read about Myuna's life in other worlds, that's fine but there are a few hints about things that will occur later in the story. I'll write about the Death Note world next time, which will be sooner, a lot sooner, I hope. I love writing you guys but I have been a bit too busy with school and all. It's a very important year and blablabla you don't want to know.

Enjoy another chapter in the life of a sweet inside, grumpy outside girl!

* Fee-tan

DarkWriter00: Gehehe, I wanted to bother Light a little because I am not a big fan of him, as you might have noticed XD and when I found out about his name I couldn't stop laughing. Your version of him is a lot cuter though :3 It's a very original idea. I admire your choice of name's :O Lanelle sounds very pretty. I suck at thinking of names for my OC's . Haha, oh gawd Ryuk is such a creeper sometimes. I really like that apple dance of him in the second opening though.

About Aizawa, he's really mean in my version but I'm kind of planning to develop a friendship between him and Myuna. I've always liked Aizawa –not because of the hair, alright maybe a little- and I was thinking he kind of resembles Myuna because of his grumpiness.

I've been thinking that Matsuda kind of suits Myuna because their some sort of opposites, him being bubbly and all and Myuna being….not bubbly XD I'm also kind of thinking how to make L grow a bit softer on Myuna. It's sooo hard to write L but also so much fun. I'll have to practice a bit more though.

Theta-McBride: LOL XD don't die please. I'm glad you enjoyed that, although I'm not the one who came up with it. When I found out about it I kind of reacted the same way you did.

Camisado: Although everyone would rather hear about rainbows and puppies, negative feedback, helps people improve and that is something I really want to do. Still, I'd like to point out that a month has passed, not a whole year -5th of December to 1st of January.

Yes, Myuna has gone through a lot. That means she saw people die and doesn't want to let it happen again. She is an impulsive -sometimes stupid- character and doesn't always work efficiently. She didn't see any other way to stop Light from killing and had to try. It has been drilled into her that it's best to let the story unfold but she never actually did that and probably never will be able to, despite the fact she planned to do so at first. Because these things weren't clear to you it seems like I will have to edit the chapter later to make them clear.

Now that that's out I want to say that, regarding Light's and Misora's reactions, you do have a point. I figured Light would still be tense after he had almost failed in killing Naomi. I figured Naomi would find it weird that she appeared out of nowhere but I could've given her a better figure of speech than the word 'powers' . It is hard to make characters react believable and I guess I went a bit too overboard that chapter. I will edit everything once the first draft is finished because I find my motivation to keep writing lacks when I do it without finishing the first version.

Also, I did try to make the characters behave realistic. However I got caught up in my own fantasies at some point. That doesn't mean I didn't try but that I didn't try hard enough.

Thank you for your review and it's a pity you disliked the chapter.

Deathnotelv: Your message made me smile, really. It's a fantastic feeling to read something like that when you have had your doubts about posting this story for so long and still feel the urge to share it.

Maiannaise: Haha, I'll try lol. I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm still figuring out how to make that relationship work, I have a few ideas but those are for moments later in the series. I've never been in a relationship before myself so it's kind of hard to write a believable slowly developing relationship but I'm doing my best!

Chapter 9: The right place for a thicker skin

It was night. A girl with raven black hair was sitting on a huge bed with a cup of coffee in her hand, seemingly staring interested at yet another sumo program. The light from the television was reflected in her blue eyes. She wasn't thinking about the game and she didn't know anything about what was awaiting her the next day, but she knew it was going to put an end to everything she had went through in the past couple of years.

She picked something out of her pocket. It was a small piece of paper that had turned yellow, with a red image on it. She turned it around. Once, twice, until she didn't pay attention to the television at all, consumed by her past once more.

A deep cutting wound in my chest and eyes full of hate. A voice screamed my name and a small hand pushed a paper into mine. 'Keep it with you at all times, Ace,' A high-pitched voice said. For a moment I forgot who he was and only wished he would stop calling me Ace.

A sword, a card, a jester and blue light were the things that I expected to see when I opened my eyes, or perhaps the happy faces of my parents. Isn't it true that when you die in your dream, you wake up in reality? Maybe this was my reality.

Everything was blurry, blurry and green. I felt like I was floating. My eyes began to hurt. Where the heck was I? I saw some vague movement right in front of me and something touched my face. It felt slimy. With a shock, I came to the conclusion I had no oxygen. Automatically, I opened my mouth to take a breath. Only to taste the worst water ever. I coughed and grabbed my throat. It was on fire. How stupid that I hadn't even realised I was in the damn water! But then again, who expects that just after being stabbed in the chest? I didn't even know how deep I was. What if I was in an ocean?

In panic I looked up and to my relief I saw some sunlight. With all my strength –not a lot- I swam to the surface of the lake/river/sea.

When I had reached it I gasped for air. Who would have thought that oxygen would taste so good. At the moment I was able to pay attention to my environment again I thanked God that he hadn't sent me to an ocean but a river inside what appeared to be a forest. The trees were different from the ones on the island. They were somehow greener and rougher. Wherever I was, these kinds of woods certainly weren't situated in my country. Perhaps not anywhere in my world. After staring confusedly and doing nothing, I swam towards the edge of the river and stepped out of the water. It wasn't a very cold place, wherever I was.

Still having some issues with my breath control, I sat down in the grass, contemplating what I had to do. Sure, I had to find out where exactly I was, but I had to be careful. That meant: not speaking to characters if I could prevent it, which was almost impossible.

Without any particular goal, I looked around and saw a road that was behind me. Slow and cautious, I stepped out from behind the trees, out of the bushes and onto the road. It was made of stones and sand. Definitely not a road from my time-period. I just hoped I hadn't walked into some Medieval story.

Because, in those stories, there were swords. Speaking of swords.. I looked down at my chest. There was still blood from the wound and the sailor-style dress my grandma had loved so much was cut open by the sword –thank God it only revealed the spot where my heart was, not the rest. However, the wound itself was gone, together with the pain. Had everything really happened? Or only part of it?

Before I could come to a conclusion I suddenly saw a whole group of people coming closer from the end of the road. I immediately jumped into the bushes. You never knew what kind of story this could be. What if those people were highwaymen? When the distance lessened , I discovered to my relief that there were actually only two travellers with a bizarre amount of horses, armours and weaponry. They could easily be thieves or conmen. One of them was riding a smaller horse than the other. When they came closer, I tried my best to remain calm but my breathing fastened nonetheless.

The man on the smaller horse was wearing a cloak that almost made him invisible. A bow and a quiver rested on his back. His cloak hid his face, making it impossible to see his expression. He was small for a man and he also was very quiet. I didn't know what to think of the guy, besides the fact that he scared me. He was plain and secretive at the same time. I guess it's the unknown that frightens people the most.

His companion was a different story altogether. His blabbing seemed endless and I was reminded of my aunt for a moment. He was a young man, about sixteen years old, and he had blond hair. He was wearing an armour and I saw he had a shield with him. He also had a sword on his belt. It was very clear that he was some sort of knight. I would have laughed at the overall differences between the duo if I hadn't been so scared of being found out.

'Horace, shut up.' I almost yelped at the words of the cloaked man. He made quite the impression with just those few words. At least, at me.

'You know Halt, you could at least say that in a more friendly-' The cloaked man glared daggers at him and stopped his horse. He held a finger up to his lips. Horace, the knight, now also commanded his horse to stand still.

The smaller of the two stepped off his horse. Within a second, he had his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. I saw his arrow was directed at me. Oh my God, was he going to shoot me? Would I die yet again?

'Come out or face the consequences.' The message was cryptic and cold. I didn't trust him at all. However, what other choice did I have? If I would remain hidden –although he somehow already knew where I was- he would kill me for sure. It was better not to take that risk. I slowly got up from the bushes.

Horace sure looked surprised but the other one's expression, I still couldn't see. At least he had lowered his arrow.

'Why were you hiding?' the man asked. Even when he spoke, you couldn't possibly figure out what he was feeling when he said it. I now saw a part of his face. He had a rough beard and his hair looked like he had cut it with a knife, instead of a scissor. Well, I didn't think they had scissors here anyway. The other guy, Horace, was eyeing the blood on my dress warily.

'Halt, do you think she's hurt?' Halt ignored him.

'Well? Answer me.' He was threatening me with the arrow again.

'It's not wise to sneak on me.' I noticed he was talking only about himself, excluding the younger Horace.

'I didn't mean to sneak on you. I was only hiding because I thought you both could be dangerous.' Horace shrugged.

'I wonder why she thought that.' Just after he said that, I swore I saw Halt raise an eyebrow but the action was carried out too fast to confirm it. Halt now lowered his arrow.

'It's not you it's Sir. What is a young girl like you doing here in the first place?' I said nothing.

'Halt, I think we should take her with us. It's not safe for her,' Horace said. He sure was the nicer one out of the two, but I had to add that I found Halt more interesting. I wasn't sure why.

'No thank you, I don't want to have another kid to babysit.' I had laughed at that comment if I hadn't been so confused by everything that had happened just after I had been stabbed.

'But she probably doesn't have any idea where to go or what to do! She certainly looks like it.' Horace gave me a look of pity, a look that my pride didn't appreciate at all. It was still a nice guy however. At least he seemed that way.

'Besides, we have enough horses, she can easily come with us. At least until we find a place safe enough to let her go.' The bearded man's expression became grumpy and again he raised that eyebrow.

'All right,' he said, 'but only until we find a way to get rid of her. I'm on a mission, Horace, I don't have time for kids.' The blond ignored that last comment and began to speak to me in an optimistic manner.

'I'm Horace, by the way. Don't pay attention to Halt. He's actually very kind. I mean, he even began this whole trip just to save his-' Halt glared daggers at him.

'Don't share more information with her than necessary.' Nothing more intimidating was needed to make the knight shut up.

'I'm Myuna,' I replied softly.

Halt remained silent for the rest of the trip and Horace tried to fill the silence with his blabbing. I found both of them to be extremely annoying, although Horace was kind of sweet. He was leading my horse, because he had figured I couldn't ride a horse at all. Although Horace talked a lot, he didn't talk about subjects that I knew anything about in the slightest.

'So, who are you guys exactly? Thieves, soldiers?' I interrupted his speech. Horace seemed surprised by this and glanced meaningfully at Halt. I had decided not to call that last one "Sir". He hadn't been very nice to me and I wasn't polite anyway. I knew he would take me with him if Horace just kept asking, so I figured I only had to be nice to Horace.

'That's none of your business,' Halt answered coldly.

'Let's just say that we have a mission,' Horace said in a much friendlier way.

'Is that what you need those horses for? And all the weapons?' Halt sighed.

'He doesn't like questions,' Horace said. I immediately decided to keep questioning him all the way to wherever the hell we were going.

'We were interrupted on our way here. There are plenty of fake knights in this town who give you the choice to duel them or to pay them some money, in order for them to let you pass. We encountered some of them and this is the result.'

I raised an eyebrow and this gesture, for some reason, seemed to startle him. 'They gave you their stuff?'

'Yeah, that is for winning the duels.' That didn't surprise me. He looked quite muscled and trained. However, his face seemed so innocent that the effect wasn't big.

'That must mean you're a very skilled swordsman, then.' I wouldn't do any harm to be a bit sweet to them. Especially when considering that they were the only ones I knew in wherever we were.

Someone scoffed. I turned my head sideways to take a questioning look at Halt. He didn't clarify his action. Horace sighed.

'What's so funny?' I asked, annoyed.

'It's you automatically assuming I won all those duels. Halt is just pissed by that.'

'Is he that easily angered?' Horace looked like he wanted to confirm that, but suddenly his face turned pale and he decided to let the matter go.

'I hope we won't encounter any more of those fake knights.' I didn't know how much time had passed between me disappearing from the island of cards and getting where I currently was, but I felt like the fight with King of Spades had happened only moments ago. That didn't make me a big fan of seeing another hostile man with a sharp piece of steal in his hand.

'I wouldn't be so sure of that.' A silhouette of man and a horse could now be seen at what appeared to be a bridge. I would soon find that Halt had a way of always giving the bad messages. At that moment –despite the remarks of a certain bearded individual- I already began to realize just how lucky I had been to cross the paths of Horace and Halt.

The man didn't look fake to me. Although he shared more resemblance with Captain Caveman than a knight. His armour was shiny, he was muscled and he had a gigantic mace in his hand. On top of that, he had a beard and a moustache, very important. He eyed his opponent threateningly. I shoved awkwardly in my seat, but when I eyed them, I saw that Halt and Horace didn't seem impressed by the guy in the least. Maybe because they were already used to this world?

'Pay four trespassing or duel me,' the fake knight said simply.

'Behold, the Knight of the Oak Leaf,' Halt said calmly. So that was why Horace had a symbol on his shield. Halt seemed to wait for some sort of reaction, but it never came.

'He has defeated many knights in this part of Gallica, as you can see.' He pointed at the horses and the weapons. Horace had a curious look on his face, which also made him look quite stupid. As if he was trying to understand something.

For some reason, the bearded knight laughed.

'I am not afraid of reputation. And my wife is not with me.' Just why did he suddenly bring his wife up?

'She is not anybody's wife. We found her here.'

'Wait what?' Horace, Halt and the bearded knight all turned their heads to me. Horace looked genuinely surprised, Halt's expression was blank as usual and the knight only showed amusement.

'You speak Gallican?'

'You're old enough to marry, after all.'

'What would you expect?' So people married here at fourteen? Gross.

'What's Gallican?' I asked, curious, to no one in particular.

'The language you're speaking right now,' Halt said warily. He probably thought it was an act or something. I hadn't even spent an hour with the old guy and I had already found him to be very paranoid. Just like someone I would meet after having spent a lot of time in that world.

'Oh, so then we're in Gallica, huh?' I had somehow gained the ability to speak the language of the world I came to live in. Wasn't Gallica some word for France?

'Yes, we are…' Halt said, again with a strange tone in it.

'You didn't know!' Horace interrupted both my thoughts and Halt with that loud exclamation.

'Hey, I'm still here you know. You can chat with the girl all you want later!' Horace grinned and stepped off his horse. He seemed so self-assured that one would almost think he was walking towards an old man instead of a big, grumpy and ,without doubt, dangerous man.

They circled around each other for a few moments until the man with the mace tried to hit Horace's leg. The latter stepped aside quickly and tried to cut the man's arm. I yelped at least three times. Although nobody got hurt during those times, because both their reflexes where impossibly fast.

'Look out!' I screamed when the knight dug his mace into Horace's arm. It was in vain, however. A bloody cut appeared, but Horace's face didn't show any pain. The boy was tougher than I had given him credit for, especially considering my unnecessary reaction.

The fight ended with Horace's sword budging the knight's helmet with a sound that made me nauseous. The man's body turned into an empty shell and he fell, seemingly unconscious.

'Well, I'm glad that's over and done with,' Halt said dryly. Horace nodded in agreement. I was still flabbergasted. When I finally found my voice back, I could only bring out three words.

'Is he dead?' Horace shrugged. 'I honestly couldn't care less.'

At my horrified expression, his face softened a bit.

'Look, he challenged me for a duel. It is his own fault. Besides, to survive in a world like this, you should grow to be at least a bit tougher. Though, with us as your travelling companions, you're at the right place to develop a thicker skin.'

'You know what?' Halt said. 'We'll sleep in the city tonight. I shall buy some herbs and a make a compress to treat your arm.' Apparently, Halt could only show kindness to Horace. Well, they had known each other for a longer time after all.

'Yes please! A night in a real bed is a pleasant change of environment after sleeping outside for so long.' Halt made a disapproving sound.

'That school of yours isn't what it used to be. An old guy like me doesn't feel anything at all and such a youngster gets all stiff after sleeping outside for one night.' They slept outside? Horace sure had been right about a tough life, then. Maybe I would be blessed if they would just dump me in the city, like they were planning to.

Horace shrugged at Halt's words. 'That me be so but I will be happy if we can sleep in a normal bed for once.'

'Let's ride quickly then. The sooner we get there, the earlier we can get our frail little boy in a soft bed, before he's all grown stiff. And the earlier we can get rid of Madam over there.' He made his horse gallop, another little horse followed. Horace first had to bind all the other horses together –including mine- then he chased Halt.

I thanked God Halt at least had found the courtesy to give me my own bedroom, because sharing one with those two would've been awkward as hell.

They were never were quiet. I had heard Horace scream at least fifty times while Halt had tried to take care of his arm.

The place we stayed at was all right, especially to medieval standards. The sheets were soft and clean and the host and hostess were both very friendly people.

'Are you sure your arm is alright?' I asked Horace during dinner. We were sitting in the back of the taproom. Somehow this made the effect of Halt's cloak even bigger. He could just shoot one of his arrows to the other end of the room and no one would probably be able to find its source.

Horace blushed for some reason. 'Yes it's alright,' he replied cheerfully. 'The hostess sure knows how to treat wounds with care.' That last remark was undoubtedly aimed at the suspicious person who's cloak covered most of their face.

'It's not my fault you have zero tolerance for pain,' Halt said grumpily. 'At least I am not the one who flirted with her.' I giggled.

'He did?' Halt nodded, seemingly enjoying the shameful look on Horace's face. 'He even bowed to her.'

'How sweet,' I remarked, while stuffing my mouth with yet another piece of delicious berry tart. Horace looked around as if desperately trying to find something to change the subject. He soon found something.

'Hey Myuna, you should really try this.' Without asking for permission, he grabbed my empty mug and poured some coffee in it. After he was done, put some honey in the coffee and he gave the mug to me, an expecting look appeared on his face.

'You should try this! It's a true Ranger drink!' I had heard the word "Ranger" before but I hadn't really known where it referred to and it hadn't seemed like a good idea to ask for it just yet. However, at this moment, it wouldn't sound too suspicious.

'It's not a Ranger drink. That honey only ruins the taste of the coffee,' Halt remarked.

Horace laughed. 'Oh yeah? The one I got this habit from happens to be your student.' When mentioning the student, the both of them grew silent. Somehow, that silence made me feel left out. After giving them some time to think, I interrupted them.

'What is a Ranger?'

'Nothing to concern yourself wi-'

'A secret servant of Araluen!' Halt looked like he was going to facepalm.

'Oh, come on, Halt. She should at least know something about us. She is travelling with us after all.'

'Not for long and I wouldn't like it if we suddenly get chased by people who want to interfere with our mission.' Mission?

'Are you a Ranger, too?' I asked Horace. Halt scoffed.

'Only in his dreams.' Horace sighed.

'It seems like I'll have to explain it to you. Araluen, where we're from, we have Rangers. They're kind of like unofficial spies. Most people don't exactly know what they do and there even are persons who believe they're wizards-' Halt sniffed.

'They're not, however. They are just very good at unseen and unheard movement, camouflage, throwing knifes, fighting and archery.' He counted all this abilities on his fingers, making sure to forget nothing. The respect in his voice for these Rangers wasn't hard to notice.

I began to examine Halt. I had already seen –been threatened with- his bow and arrows. I had noticed the effect of his cloak. The only thing that I hadn't seen yet were the two daggers, one of them was larger than the other. I could easily imagine Halt stabbing someone with them. And probably enjoying it, too.

'Why aren't you guys in Araluen?' I doubted they would answer my question and I was right about that.

'Look, there even is music here,' Horace said, politely distracting me.

During the evening, two musicians had found themselves a place and were now tuning their instruments; a bagpipe and an instrument that reminded me of a violin. The melody was sad and melancholic.

Just what I needed. NOT.

I was already having hard time not thinking too much of my family at the moments I wasn't talking with Horace and Halt –that last one being an exception. When I turned to look at my companions I saw they were having a hard time as well. For a moment, I saw a faint shimmer in Halt's eye. Just after I had seen it, he sneakily turned his head towards Horace and his expression seemed relieved. Then, he turned to me… and immediately began to sit backwards on his chair. Really, what was that guy's deal?

The song continued for some time and I was having a hard time trying not to think about home. Instead, I tried to remind myself of the fact how lucky I was to still be alive, somewhere. Even though I had had no idea how I had managed to do that. When I had been killed by the King, I had seen something that had appeared to be blue lights, but I had later thought it had been a hallucination.

Maybe it hadn't been. When traveling into books, everything is possible. At least, in my opinion.

The music also reminded me of death. Of Frode's death, the disappearance of the cards, my own "death" and the knight that had been hit unconscious today. It appeared that I would see more of that soon, according to Horace's words. That indifferent attitude of his towards fights had bothered me more than I had dared to admit. I knew it had been an act of self-defence and that he had had no choice. But his deeds also implied that probably more people in this story –at least, judging from the appearances of the guests in the inn- thought that way and that I was going to see the consequences of that soon. In my own opinion, I had been given my fair share of gruesome experiences.

When the melody stopped the guests gave the two musicians a passionate applause. I saw Halt swiftly rubbing his face with his arm. Horace went to give the two musicians some money for their song. To my surprise, he took a seat that was a bit closer to the players and didn't return. I sighed. Great, now I was stuck with the grumpy guy. Halt didn't say a word. I didn't know if that made the situation more or less awkward, because I was sure that if he would speak, he would say something that would make me want to strangle him.

A new song was played. A happier one this time. One that reminded me of one evening in particular, when Joker had showed me how nice the island could be. It had been one of the few occasions where I had seen the advantages of travelling in someone else's fantasy.

The people in the room got excited and started clapping to the beat of the music. I did it too. It possessed a certain cosyness, that Medieval music. I soon stopped, when I noticed a tall figure entering the room. He was, without doubt, a knight, but not quite like Horace or the one I had encountered today. He appeared more sinister. More dangerous.

The atmosphere in the room changed. The bagpipe player looked up for a moment, but bravely kept on playing. People lost their enthusiasm for the music. I saw Halt flinch for a moment. No doubt mister secret-agent-of-Araluen had also noticed the change. Probably earlier than I had.

The knight had a thick black beard and big black eyebrows, which made his gaze a very intense one. He was an important figure, he had to be. His clothes looked more extravagant than those of the citizens of the village we were staying at. He was wearing a cape, a hauberk and a black tunic with a white raven. Of course he also had a sword. It was huge and warped with gold.

He probably had a horse waiting for him outside. I imagined it to be pitch black, because it suited the dark air of the man. He eyed each of the guests suspiciously and threateningly, except for Halt and myself. It was like he was searching for someone. I was grateful for Halt's choice to sit in the back. I didn't really feel like exchanging a glance with the knight. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

The knight was now staring at Horace, who was the only one that still paying attention to the music. The guests began to whisper animatedly and pointed at Horace and the unknown knight.

'Halt, I think-' Halt gestured at me to shut up and I obliged. I didn't like getting told to shut up but I had to trust Halt, mister-secret-agent had to know what he was doing. He grabbed his quiver and laid an arrow on the table. The guy was so paranoid he even took his weapons to dinner. This time, I was grateful for it.

No one applauded, except that dumb Horace of course. He really had no idea. He blushed and eyed the other guests confusedly when he noticed it. If I hadn't been so scared of the man dressed in black I would have giggled at the action. Horace really was cute. I was sure he would be a great friend, kind of like Diederik had been, in the past.

He then noticed the man who was standing behind him. To my surprise, he remained calm and even kind of bubbly.

'Are you the Knight of the Oak Leaf?' the man said with a hoarse, deep voice. Horace hesitated for a moment.

'I believe they call me that, yes.' The knight nodded, and his lips formed a grin that created a shiver down my spine.

'Oh, you believe that, huh? However, can we trust you? Are you a knight or a dirty, lying brat?'

Horace didn't seem to understand why the man was challenging him and neither did I. Just what was that man's deal? I was somewhat relieved Horace didn't return the insults of the man. I had almost feared another fight.

'If you think that's a nice idea.' His hand somehow made way to his belt, where he had worn the sword today. It wasn't with him now. The grin on the other man's face widened and he took as step closer to Horace, again while staring at him, looking if the boy was a threat or not. Horace was a threat, in a way, but his face was so friendly –and a bit dumb- that he just lacked the power of being truly intimidating.

'I am Deparnieux,' the man said, with a tone that made me wonder how huge his ego was. Horace shrugged.

'Good for you.' The black eyebrows frowned.

'I am not one of those peasants that you defeated with mere tricks. I won't be surprised by your coward tactics, like some of my nationals. As I have heard.' Horace simply shrugged again, his expression indifferent.

'Well, I'll try to keep that in mind.' Again, the man took a threatening step towards the boy. His face had reddened with anger, because he had failed to insult the boy.

'I am the lord of this area! I am a warrior who has killed more foreign scum and cowards from Araluen than any other knight in Gallica! Ask them!' He screamed that last sentence he exaggeratedly pointed at the frightened guests. They mumbled he was right. The knight was now again staring at Horace, probably expecting him to bow for him or something.

The boy's cheeks were starting to turn red. He was angry and was now having a hard time to control it. 'Like I said, I'll keep it in mind.'

Deparnieux's eyes began to shimmer with an emotion I would later recognize as the beginning of insanity.

'You should also keep in mind that you're a dirty coward, a thief that uses cheap tricks to kill our warriors and after stole their belongings!' The tension in the room was growing and it remained silent for a long time, until Horace softly replied.

'I'm afraid you're mistaken.' He still sounded friendly and I admired him for that.

Deprarnieux, of course, couldn't appreciate something like that. His anger appeared to be at its maximum. 'So, you're saying I'm a liar?'

Horace shook his head. 'Not at all. I'm saying you must be making a mistake. Someone must have given you wrong information.'

Deparnieux spread his arms and directed his next words to the other guests. 'You heard it. This piece of garbage called me a liar. I can't accept that.'

While spreading his arms, he had also removed his leather glove. In one fluent movement, he put his arms down and slapped Horace with it in the face.

'Look out!' I screamed and I blinked. I had expected them to fight. What had that gesture implied?

When Deparnieux wanted to repeat the movement, the glove was thrown across the room. I had heard a sound next to me, a sound that reminded me of the wind. The glove was now pinned onto the ceiling behind by an arrow and Halt had another one ready on his bow.

Deparnieux, thanks to my scream immediately knew where the arrow had come from and eyed me angrily, not seeing Halt in the process.

'You little bitch! You thought you could outsmart me, huh?' He lifted his sword and I –who wasn't even able to move properly- closed my eyes. Hoping it would be over quick.

And that was the start of my life in Araluen.