The six continued on down the road only at Keiro's insistence. Karen would've given up days ago but pushed forward despite her reservations. Attia seemed to have no trouble keeping up while Ronan only needed rests every so often to keep restoring his energy. Claudia had been wearing thin, and Finn could tell. She could see in him that the trails they'd been through hardly fazed him though. It seemed Finn, Keiro, and Attia had endless amounts of energy to push forward. Claudia was inclined to believe it was from their experience Inside.

"Maybe we should stop," Karen said. Surprising Claudia, Keiro did stop walking to look back at her.

"We'll get up to that house up there and ask if they have a spare room and if not we'll find somewhere to sleep," Keiro told her, his tone showing the expansive amounts of patience he'd gained over the course of the few days he'd spent with the woman.

"And if they try to kill us too?" Karen questioned cynically. Keiro rolled his eyes as he turned forward again and continued on.

"Well, did you hire them and fail to pay them enough? Cause then they might," Keiro snapped back. Claudia, who usually mediated between the pair, had no energy left to stop them anymore. She assumed Finn could see it in her since he squeezed her hand. When she looked to him, he gave her a soft reassuring smile.

"Keiro doesn't stop until he gets what he wants," Finn said softly in her ear as he managed to slip an arm around her waist.

"Is that how you Escaped?"

"Actually, we probably would've Escaped faster if Keiro wasn't with us," Attia commented, earning a glare from Keiro.

"I highly doubt that," Keiro replied as he forced his eyes forward. The windows of the house in the distance were glowing in the darkness of the night. Karen predictably complained two more times before they reached the small farm off the side of the road. Leaving her with Ronan, the four wandered to the front of the house hoping the desperation in their appearance would grant them at least a room to sleep in for the night. If they happened to have water as well, Attia and Claudia were sure as hell they'd be cleaning first before Karen saw a drop. Claudia, easily the nicest of the four, was even willing to let Keiro and Finn have bathing water before Karen.

"Still have your knife, right?" Keiro asked as they reached the door.

"Yeah," Attia answered before Keiro knocked on the door. Thankfully, the four heard rustling on the other side, signaling that somebody was home. Within another minute, the door swung open to reveal a man in the doorway, a long rifle in his arms.

"Are you joking?" Keiro snapped. "Can't we go anywhere without a gun pointed at us? I can't work with guns, Finn," he said strongly like it was somehow Finn's fault. Of course, Finn knew that guns Inside were rare and Keiro certainly had never used one nor defended against one. He was quite certain Keiro had his share of experience with guns in the last few days.

"It's the middle of the night," Finn replied with a sigh as he stepped forward, pulling Attia behind him with Claudia. "Of course the man's got a gun, Keiro," he added as he turned to the man, who attire gave him away as a farmer.

"Your Majesty," he exclaimed right away as he dropped his gun.

"Thank god," Keiro groaned as he leaned up against the door frame.

"We need a place to stay," Finn said, a smiling breaking out across his face now that he'd been recognized.

"Of course," the man said hurriedly as he stepped out of the doorway and let the King and the two women pass into the house. Keiro whistled back sharply before he followed Attia into the house. A minute later, Ronan and Karen approached and entered the house as well. "I can't believe you're alive. I'm sorry about the rifle. It's all dark and you can never be too careful out here in the middle of nowhere," he rambled as he set the rifle down, leaning the barrel against the wall.

"It's alright," Finn assured the man. "We don't need much. We just need to get back to Court."

"Of course," the man answered, still obviously flustered. "Marianne!" he yelled as he turned his head to the staircase to the side of the room. "Draw some water!"

"Why?" a woman's voice called back, carrying through the house. A moment later, a woman appeared in the stairwell, her eyes narrowed at the six. "Who are they?"

"The King and Queen," the man answered under his breath. The woman's face went pale as she quickly stepped down from the last step and dropped into an awkward curtsey.

"No, it's alright," Claudia assured as she stepped forward, holding her arm out to the woman. "We don't need any special treatment here. Just anything you can spare is enough."

"We've some extra food," Marianne replied, her words rushed in her nervous state. "I'll have some water drawn and we can set up the spare rooms. It's not much-"

"It's perfect," Claudia responded with a bright smile as she drew the woman's hands into her own. "We're very grateful. We've not had the most pleasant of trips."

"Word is that you're… you're dead."

"You wouldn't by chance have a horse or two?" Keiro asked curiously as he looked from the man to the woman. The pair did not reply right away and the hesitation was clear in their expressions.

"If you give us what horses you have tomorrow morning, by the evening, I'll see to it that you've been well rewarded and the horses replaced," Finn said as he stepped forward. It was a modest proposition but it was clear that what little Finn offered was enough to make their faces light up in hope. "We just need a few hours sleep and horses to get to Court as soon as we can."

"Of course," the man said with a nod before he turned to his wife.

Only an hour later, Keiro and Attia sat on the rough, hard bed in the back room of the house. They'd just finished washing in the bucket of water the farmer had brought for them. The towel they shared was thoroughly wet by the time Attia needed to dry her hair, but neither were complaining. Even the basic amenities were nice now.

"You should talk to your father about everything that happened Inside," Keiro said suddenly. He wasn't looking at Attia as he slipped his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and pulled it over his head. When he did turn back to her, she was more focused on wringing out her hair than anything he was saying.

"He already knows what happened," Attia answered after a moment. When she looked up at Keiro, she knew he meant something else.

"Before Finn and I."

"Why?" Attia sighed as she hung the wet towel on the changing screen in the corner of the room. "It won't change anything, Keiro. What happened already happened and it's done."

"That's not the point," Keiro replied as he held out a hand to her. She sighed again as she placed her hand in his and sat beside him on the bed.

"I'm not going to tell him, Keiro," Attia simply declared as she stared at him. "I've never told anyone, and the only reason I told you is because you wouldn't leave me alone for five minutes about it. And why do you even care?"

"I think he knows that you have no intention of ever forgiving him, but you can at least humor the man. He doesn't even know what you hate him for. You realize that, right?"

"I don't care," Attia responded, her voice colder than Keiro expected. Over the last year, he'd learned things about Attia that had reshaped the way he looked or thought of her. Whenever she'd been cold about certain subjects, he'd never truly known why until she'd told him about her past. Now that her voice was cold again, Keiro knew for certain they'd dropped into the part of her that she was so bent on locking away completely that she was stubborn enough to lock even him out. "Why do you care, Keiro?"

"Doesn't he deserve to know?" Keiro asked as he let his hand touch the back of her hand. When she did not pull away at the touch, he let his fingers slide under hers until he could intertwine their fingers.

"You like him, don't you?"

Keiro actually smiled as he let out a dry laugh. "I wouldn't say I like him, but he's not terrible, Attia. He's not pure evil even if that's how you prefer to think of him."

"What am I supposed to say, Keiro?" Attia questioned as she stared at him. He noticed the change in her voice as she moved closer to him on the bed. Her tone was no longer cold and distant but actually defensive. That, of course, meant Keiro had some sliver of hope that me might change her mind. Once she made up her mind there was no reason to be defensive. She was declaring things then not defending them. "Oh, by the way I was enslaved and raped by multiple men who bought and sold me and now I apparently can't move at all if-" she suddenly stopped speaking, the room going silent.

"Perhaps not that exact wording," Keiro replied as he held her gaze. When she leaned into him, he kissed her and let his other hand touch the back of her neck. The kiss lasted for perhaps a minute before Keiro pulled away. By then, the smell of food was drifting into the room and Keiro was reminded how hungry he was.

As they walked out of the room and into the front room, Keiro's hand rested on the small of her back as he walked a step behind her. Neither were aware their conversation had drifted into the front room until Attia held Finn's gaze then her father's. Claudia had been better and averting her eyes but hadn't been able to straighten her face any better than Finn and Ronan.

Nobody wanted to comment on the subject, however; so Attia and Keiro took seats around the table just as a large bowl of cooked meats and vegetables was set in the center by Marianne. For the duration of the meal, only small talk was made, and Attia had no part in any of it. As soon as she finished her portion of the food, she'd stood from her seat and began walking towards the front door of the house.

"Have your knife?" Keiro asked her just as she touched the door handle. Neither turned to look at each other.

"Yes," she said abruptly before she left the building, the door swinging shut behind her. Keiro drew in a deep breath before he met Finn's gaze. He wanted to look to Ronan but wasn't really sure what to expect from the man.

"Is she ok?" Finn finally asked when nobody else seemed willing to.

"She's armed," Keiro replied with a shrug. "That's the best I can do."