A bit of forshadowing (and pastshadowing) here ;)

He left his castle and journeyed for days, going in the direction of Hartmann's last stand. When he reached the ruined castle it was an eerie sight to others but not to him. The bodies of the wife and children of his fallen enemy were not rotted corpses stuck on the spiked poles he had planted before the gates, the bodies were severely rotted and all that was left was decayed, grey flesh and bones.

He journeyed on. Past the ruins and dead bodies, past the outskirts of the village beyond, and up way to the north. He always followed the ridge line of trees, the dark forest that gave off a dark presence but didn't affect The Kurgan. The farther north he went the stronger he sensed Arielle and the sensation was putting him on a razor sharp edge, but he kept going. He wanted her and he was going to find her even if it put him through pain in every sense. The pain of not having her was far worse.

A week passed and still he went north. The feeling of his mate's presence growing stronger with each day that passed. On a dark and cloudy day he finally knew that he could stop. It was a very sharp stop too as he just instantly pulled back his horse and came to a stand-still. He swerved his head to the left of him and looked into the black canopied forest. His horse snorted as if to say it didn't fear the woods. It was a Kurgan Horse. He didn't even to reign his horse in that direction because it knew what needed to be done and turned on its own.

While he was hunting one night he left his horse in a glen and came across a river. On the opposite shore was a young woman bathing. At first he was tempted to rape her but when he looked closer he saw, from behind, that she has the same gold hair as Arielle. She turned, revealing the splendor of her full naked front and The Kurgan spotted a black and red solid tattoo of a fish on her left arm. He was speechless and took a step forward, breaking a branch and alerting her to his presence. When her eyes met his he knew that she didn't recognize him. She jumped out of the river, gathered her dress, and ran further into the woods.

The Kurgan crossed the river and took after her on foot. He found her trail and followed it through the thick forest of overgrown brush and trees. At one point he saw her up ahead putting on her clothes as she ran a soft brown skirt and black top with tight sleeves. She spotted him and then ducked under a low hanging branch, stepping over a rock and ran out the other side. The Kurgan followed her. A few minutes later she stopped to climb a tree and watched him lumber passed. When she heard him disappear she climbed down. . .

She ran off into the woods and was pleased with herself when she saw that the giant was nowhere in sight. She made her way back to her home and pushed the door open. Inside the youngest Hartmann son sat in front of the fire place sharpening his sword. She walked passed him and climbed into her loft area where she slept. After she lay down on the bed she looked over her shoulder and heard Bronson's sharpening stone grind against the metal stop. He stood up and went outside, the door shutting loudly behind him. He wasn't angry, he was just that way. She got on her knees and peeked out the window above her mattress and watched him walk into the small stables by the cottage.

When he was out of sight she kept her gaze on the stables while her hand went to a secret pocket in the folds of her skirt. There nestled in the brown fabric was a red moonstone pendant on a silver chain. She had no idea where she got it from but recalls someone pressing it into her hand when her father, Duke Hartmann, was killed and their castle burned down. She didn't remember the actual attack but her brother told her it was awful. Their whole family died that day. When she asked why she couldn't remember he said that she was poisoned that day and all memory apart from the past six months had been lost.

This was the only thing she had of that day and she treasured it closely. Bronson didn't even know about it and she didn't want him to know. Maybe it had come from a past love she had had, a man courting her perhaps since her brother told her she was unmarried. She felt a strong feeling of devotion in the pendant, she didn't know why she just did. She smiled and rubbed the soft, red and purple crystal, for all of her life she could remember she had felt trapped. She had never met another human being, Bronson said that the Hartmann family had been disgraced and that she, Elleira Hartmann was the very last remaining Hartmann woman. She could never be seen or she would be killed on the spot. It didn't make sense but she didn't question it.

She held the pendant up and let it hang from the chain, swaying it back and forth in the cloudy sun light of the world outside her window. She sighed and then clutched it to her chest and looked up out her window, she wished that one day she could get out and find whoever made the necklace in hopes that they would know who bought it and therefore, who gave it to her. One day, one day she would be old enough to be free, after all she was nearly twenty four. Or so Bronson told her. He couldn't control her forever.

She heard the door to the stable open again and without a second thought she slipped the pendant back into her pocket. She sat up with her legs over the edge of the mattress and heard Bronson climb the ladder to her loft. He was smiling but he held a goblet in his hand.

She frowned looked up at him sadly when he stood above her. "Please Bronson, I don't want to drink that anymore. It tastes so foul I can't bear it." It was the same thing he made her drink every day.

"It's your tonic and it'll help keep us hidden." He handed the goblet to her and she took it. "And since The Kurgan is still after you, you have to remain hidden."

She grumbled something about it and then put it to her lips and drank the water mixture. She sputtered and pretended to gag after she was finished, she handed the goblet back to Bronson and he patted her head, he then left. She watched him go and then waited for the sleep that came with it to come. He would go into the stables every day at the same time and come back with that tonic. It was made of water and something else, she guessed it was a root by the earthy taste it gave off. After drinking it she would fall into a deep sleep and not wake up until early the next morning, when the sky was still dark before sunrise. She closed her eyes and waited to wake up.