After they left, Seed turned to Culgan and said, "I'm going for a walk."

"I'll see you tomorrow so we can talk about this," Culgan nodded.

"Yeah."

He started walking without a destination in mind but the thought of stepping outside the city to watch the rustic workers in the fields was tempting. Or just to sit under a tree and feel the grass beneath his bare feet again. But he could hear Christina walking behind him, and he could feel her staring at the back of his head as if willing him to acknowledge her. But he wouldn't.

Great, he hates me… Stop being so easy to piss off! Christina thought. After a few minutes, she couldn't take the silence anymore and ran up beside him. "I'm sorry I called you stupid!"

He cast her a sidelong glance but didn't stop walking, "Apology accepted."

"Now, it's your turn," she said, stepping out in front of him and walking backwards, looking up at him expectantly, "Hmm?"

"My turn for what?"

"To apologize for yelling at me."

Seed stopped and looked at her. He didn't like making apologies he didn't volunteer, and he felt he had every right to react the way he did. But he did feel bad for yelling at her. He hadn't even really thought about it until she brought it up. "Yeah, all right. Sorry I yelled at you."

"Are you just saying that because I want you to say it?"

Seed chuckled and walked past her. It was true. He probably would have said it just to get her off his back.

"Hey!" Christina jumped on his back. "This is no laughing matter, buddy!"

He caught her, giving her a piggyback ride. "Are you sure?"

Christina grinned, "Where we goin'?"

Seed looked around and took a turn in the direction of the Hungry Wolf. "I could use a drink, how 'bout you?"

"Yes!" Christina cheered, clicking her heels against him, "Giddyup!"

"Cut it out!"

After a few minutes, Seed stopped outside the Hungry Wolf and let go of Christina so she slid down his back and landed on her feet.

"When's Christina getting in?" Olaf, one of the regulars, asked Turel.

"She'll get in when she gets in! Olaf, you're a married man," Turel reminded him.

"Hey, it's not like that. She just has a way of getting the party goin'," Olaf laughed.

Seed looked at Christina with a grin. "You're popular. Ready to go make his day?"

Christina grinned and barged in through the door, "I'm here! Had this sudden tingly sense that I was needed…"

Olaf grinned, "Speak o' the devil!"

"Glad you could make it," Turel grinned.

"Hey, guys," Emile greeted them with a wave. He sat leaning his chair back with his feet up on the table and a raw steak against his eye.

"What the hell happened to you?" Seed asked, walking over and lifting the steak to inspect the damage.

"Got accused of cheating, and before I could say anything, BAM right in the eye. I wasn't even cheating this time!"

"Who?" Seed asked, ready to stand up for Emile.

"Ah, nobody… don't worry about it," Emile answered.

Olaf laughed, his cheeks turning pink, "It was a girl!"

"She was a big girl, okay!" Emile retorted.

Seed laughed, "Okay, you're on your own."

"Awww, poor Emile. Want a kiss to make it all better?" Christina grinned.

"A kiss? Now we're talking!" he grinned back at her.

"Don't encourage him, Christina," Turel said, amused.

"Well, I don't want to catch something from that raw steak," Christina reasoned.

"Damn, I knew I should have used the bag of peas instead!"

"Yeah, that would have been the better choice. Now you have steak juice on your face."

Seed went to the bar, where Turel seemed to read his mind and handed him a mug of ale. He drank half of it down then looked around. "Where's Silene?"

"You still owe me for that steak, by the way," Turel pointed at Emile. He could see a hundred torture scenarios run through his head and said, "Don't start." He turned back to Seed, "Silene's up in her room. She hasn't been feeling well."

"She's sick?" Seed asked, concerned. "With a cold? Or a stomach ache?"

"Poor dear," Olaf said, "I hope it's not the flu."

"She probably just needs some rest," Turel said.

"I'm going to check up on her," Seed said, leaving his half empty mug and taking a pitcher of water with him upstairs. He tapped lightly on the door. "Silene?"

"Come in."

He opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. There was a single candle keeping the room dimly lit, and he set the pitcher of water down beside it. "Have you seen Doc?"

"Yes," she answered, opening her eyes, "He gave me some ginger root and told me to rest."

"Stomach ache?" Seed asked, kneeling down beside her bed.

"Because of the migraine," she answered, reaching for her glass of water on the edge of the desk. He handed it to her.

"Do you get those often?" he asked quietly.

"No, this is only my second."

He didn't want to disturb her or aggravate the migraine. "I should let you rest."

"Don't go yet," Silene spoke softly, setting her glass back up on the desk and turning on her side to face him.

Seed gladly obliged and sat down beside her bed, leaning back against the desk, resting his arms on his knees.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Not good," he admitted, running a hand through his hair, smiling ruefully.

"Why not good?"

"I woke up in Higheast today."

She understood and looked at him sympathetically, "I can't imagine what you must be feeling."

Seed paused, "This man, Varen, proposed we raise a rebel army to take Highland back. Culgan thinks it's insane, and Christina thinks it's a lost cause. Am I stupid for wanting to try?"

"No."

He looked at her, grateful for that reassurance. "What would you do if you were in my position? Resign yourself to this life or try to get back what you had?"

She studied his face; he looked tired and in need of guidance. But she felt she had no wisdom to share. She lowered her gaze as she tried to formulate an answer. She had uprooted herself and given up everything. Realizing that, she felt weak. "You should do what feels right for you." She looked at him and saw a flicker of disappointment in her answer. "I didn't stay and fight for my home. But I don't think that was necessarily the best choice I could have made."

He furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

She wasn't sure how to explain without detailing the events that led to her departure, and she wasn't ready to disclose that information. "It wasn't a war between nations, it was a personal conflict. Instead of trying to exert power or influence over my adversary, I felt I had no choice but to leave it all behind me." She could feel her whole body begin to tremble as she confessed. "They've taken something from you. Can you live here without it?"

Seed breathed deeply, thinking. It was his home, but it wasn't. "I don't know. I wanted a better life than what I grew up with. Without Highland, I'm nobody. I have some money saved up from selling my armor, but I have no station. I might as well go back to harvesting the fields or working at the foundry."

"Could you bear to live anywhere else?"

"No."

"Then, I think your choices are either to act or become… I don't know, indifferent? You'd have to try to accept things the way they are. I don't know if you could be content."

"I'd become a miserable old man."

"You don't think you could find peace?"

"No. Not as Highland is lost more and more each day."

"Then, I guess that leaves only one option, doesn't it?" she asked dolefully.

"Yeah," he rested his head back against her desk and turned it to look at her. "What about you? Are you content?"

"I have been feeling apathetic for a while now," she answered. "Stagnant like a puddle growing algae. I traded in my violin and became a barmaid. My sister would be horrified." She explained, "My mother was a respected luthier. She crafted string instruments, both plucked and bowed. She was quite popular, and her instruments were exported all over the world. Even Kasios from the Toran Republic requested a lute made by her," Silene smiled, a touch of pride in her voice.

"Was?" Seed asked.

"Oh. She died when I was becoming a teenager. And my father passed when I was still very small," Silene added. "He was a town guard, killed by bandits outside the city. So, my sister Catsie raised me. She was mother's apprentice, and she has taken over the business."

"I'm sorry," Seed looked back at his hands. "Have you written your sister?"

"No," Silene frowned. "I might though. I haven't seen her in five years. I kept thinking it would be too late."

"No. You should." Seed thought about his own family and how he hadn't seen his mother in thirteen years and the last letter he'd written her was almost five years ago, if she'd even received it. "You should write her if you miss her."

"I do. And she gave Turel my mother's cello, so I know it's not too late." Silene couldn't confess the reason why she hadn't written. That she was afraid of being found. But she felt brave now that she realized how much time had passed and that she was far away from there. The threats against her were only for the secret she kept. And she wouldn't mention that in her letter to her sister. "I think I'll write her tomorrow."

"Good," Seed smiled.

"We used to go to Iksay for the autumn festivals," Silene spoke softly, closing her eyes sleepily. "When I was little I used to play with a duckling there that went every year with his family."

"A duckling?" Seed raised an eyebrow.

"From the duck clan," she clarified. "In the grasslands. He was upset that he couldn't play the lute. Because plucking a stringed instrument with feathered hands is no easy task," she smiled. "So, I bought him a flute."

"I've never met a duck person before," Seed thought. "How big are they?"

She chuckled, "Not as big as we are. They're a cheerful people though. My favorite of the six clans."

"I wanna meet one someday," Seed grinned.

"Maybe you will. I hope to see him again someday. His name is Conrad. I meant to see him when I passed through the Duck village but he was visiting the Lizard clan."

"You should write him tomorrow too."

"I think I will."

Seed grinned, changing the subject back, "So, you're sick of being a barmaid, are you?"

"I never stopped writing or composing, so I didn't think I'd let that part of me go. But I've been here for three years. I just got lost in the routine, I think. And I felt safe here," Silene said, reaching up for her glass of water again. "I'm glad you two came here. It was actually seeing Christina at work and how she interacts with the customers that reminded me I wasn't meant to be here."

"How so?"

"I'm not that friendly," Silene chuckled.

"You mean you're not that flirty," Seed corrected.

Silene smiled, "It doesn't bother me that they don't talk to me anymore. I'm planning to move out soon. I've been saving my wages."

"Really? What will you do?"

She sighed, "Receiving my mother's cello woke me up. Now I want to find a violin. I would love to play on stage, but I'd still be happier being a street performer than cooped up in the bar serving drinks."

"You're right. You should be making use of your talents," Seed said. That was exactly how he felt about his own experience and why he'd go along with Varen's plan. "But you're not leaving, are you?"

"Highland? No," she yawned. "I just think it's time I leave the Hungry Wolf. I still have to find a place to stay though. And a violin."

"Does Turel know?"

"I let him know I was thinking about it. And he knows I'll still visit after I leave…" Silene answered quietly, her voice trailing off as she started drifting to sleep. "I used to want to go all the way to the Toran Republic, maybe Gregminster... but this is such a beautiful country… and I have friends here…"

Seed glanced over and watched as she fell asleep, listening as her breathing fell into a deep rhythm, then he stood up and snuck out of her bedroom.