Beneath Arsinoe's steady gaze, her anxiety and tenacity did battle. She gripped her horse's reigns tightly and tried as much as she could to divine the future. When would they meet? What would they be up against? So far passion clouded her mind's eye. She could not see at all. She grunted under her breath as her mare leaped over a stump in the dirt road.

"Woah there," Griffith said, coyly eyeing Arsinoe. "You're very thirsty for battle," he said—eying the transforming bow affixed to the horse's saddle.

She shook her head, but forced herself to slow down all the same. Losing control wasn't becoming of a lady afterall.

"I still don't see where you get off fighting with a weapon like that. Where'd you get that bow," Guts said inclining an eyebrow.

Arsinoe made a show of pulling the glove off her right hand and lightly scratching her cheek with her bandaged, damaged fingers. She replaced her hand in the glove, and she felt Guts's eyes linger on her, as familiar anger bubbled up to his throat. It amused her. She knew he would never admit what transpired between them.

"You're healing well," Griffith said eying the bandage no longer soaking red. "But you'll just hurt yourself again if you pull wire every time you string an arrow. I am curious as well. How did you come across that weapon?"

Arsinoe shook her head gently and continued ahead. She was not getting into that. Not right now, anyway. The scent of hyacinth wafted past her nose.

'A gift from your mama, right Sin?' The little voice spoke in her ear surprising her.

'Lucas, you're here,' she replied in her head.

'Yup! I'm taking my mind off me and putting it on you!'

'How did you…never mind. Don't poke around. Not everything in my head is healthy for children.'

The strangest sensation washed over Arsinoe as she felt the boy sifting through her memories. She could smell scents that brought her back to her long abandoned homeland. Metal and charcoal reminded her of the grand braziers in the throne room. Henna, harked her mind back to countless nights spent beautifying by candlelight. Tumeric and caraway made her mouth water; Elephant dung with it's specific overwhelming odor; The salt of the ocean, deep and piercing, dancing on her tongue as much as her nose.

Suddenly, she was not riding a horse beside Griffith and Guts. She was standing on a sandy shore, so red that the sand looked like fire dancing in the wind! Before her stretched the ocean endless and vast; deep jade and turquoise colors ebbed and flowed within and without each other. She sank to her knees draped in white linen and breathed deeply. The air was spiced with marjoram turmeric and mint. The sky was the color of dusk and all ablaze with endless red, orange and the distant line of indigo warning of imminent nightfall.

'Oh my God. This is beautiful,' said the fairy-like voice beside her. Suddenly as if out of the aether, Lucas was there, standing beside her watching the endless expanse of the sea—dressed in white linen kurta.

'What is this place?'

'This? This is,' she trailed off, turning around, so that her back was to the sea. Behind them at first at great distance—then suddenly shrunken and reset— lay outstretched a massive city. Perched high into the city encapsulated by walls of magnificent white marble, cornered with shining bronze domes.

'This is where I came from…'Arsinoe said looking up at the imposing façade.

'Doesn't feel like it. Well, doesn't feel like you feel like it.'

She didn't respond, but felt the moisture leave her parted lips. Lucas playfully pulled the white veil off her head and wrapped himself in it. He inhaled deeply.

'Smells like you,' he murmured. 'At least…What I think you smell like…' he chuckled to himself. 'This place; it's so big. I wanna' see inside,' the precocious child looked up at her with his puppy-like eyes.

'I…' she trailed off, as though the wind had left her lungs. 'Wait. No…No no,' she sank to her knees and looked over at Lucas's apparition. He seemed perfectly real—perfectly intact and unharmed. She shuddered.

'Are you hurting? Is there anything you can tell me about where you are? How can I find you?'

'Don't...um. I'm okay. Okay? I'm okay for now. Let's just…think about you for a little bit. I like it here,' he smiled at her with a charming little gap in his teeth.

'Please. This is important. Tell me where you are,' she said taking him by his shoulders—looking him in his eyes.

'Uh, we're just walking; we're just walking for now. I'm very tired. I don't know where we are. I've never been this far away from Wellstone. We're on the road though! Definitely on the road!

'Now how about we ride the elephant? You're a princess right? You can do that here. You can do whatever you want in the castle! We can do anything here. Let's just stay, please,' his last word betrayed his desperation. Arsinoe's illusion faltered.

'Lucas, don't be silly. I need you to be strong now. You can help me find you, if you slow them down. Reach into someone's mind. Play with them. Ride elephants with them. Do whatever it takes. Just find some way to make them stop the caravan. I'm on my way.'

'You're really doing it? You're really going to try and save me?' his voice sounded unsteady as the apparition flittered in and out of vision.

'I will save you.'

'But that's not what you saw in your head…is it?'

'It doesn't matter. I can change it. I will change it!"

'You'll change my fate…or yours?'

The apparition vanished. Suddenly Arsinoe's mind went dark. She was once again jostling gently on the horse's back. She inhaled for what felt like the first time in forever and winced in anguish.

The sun was setting. He must have been dancing in her mind for hours. She fruitlessly tried to right her sense of time and space. It seemed like they traveled far in the time she was daydreaming. Guts and Griffith were deep in conversation.

"We're getting too close," Guts said.

"Do we really want to get involved in this," Corcus piped up. "What money are we gonna' get out of it?"

"This is sport," Griffith offered.

"This is curiosity for her," Guts said eyeing Arsinoe.

Arsinoe stopped her horse and turned it to face Guts. She eyed him and dropped her veil to her shoulders so he would see her gaze. She said only one word, but the look in her eyes struck Guts the same way that Griffith struck Guts every time he spoke, and that word was…

"Justice."