Three days. That's how long it took to get all the correct supplies, to pack. Nobody really knew I had no husband, so it was unlikely i would be noticed missing for a long while. But if I stayed, sooner or later they would know. escape would be hard, however without my wings… i would have to walk to my final destination. The golden city of Velaris. I knew it existed, the high lords lackey preached about it on the rare occasion he visited our camp, but I also knew it was a two day flight even after being winnowed into the mountains. I had no idea how long that would be to walk, but with the weak condition of my muscles from sitting inside for so long, I knew it would take a long while. I had supplies for two weeks, then I was on my own, with only a pair of hunting knives to help me. I had managed to get two bags, one slung over each shoulder, under the guise of gathering herbs. They couldn't hold very much, but it would last as long as I rationed it well. The herbs I packed for walking pains and the strips of cloth for bandages in case of injury were far from complex, but they would have to suffice and were quick to apply, which was a high priority. Tomorrow, I would leave. I would be free.

I woke to a scream ripping through the night. A noise of pure pain, of such anguish it rattled the windows in their frames. It took me a long moment to process what was going on, then I was up and out of the door. My bare feet padded against the rough cobbles until I burst into the middle of the camp. I looked for the source of the sound, and sat on the steps of a large house was a female, naked as the day she was born and covered in blood. She was sobbing over an equally bloody bundle in her shaking arms, pressed tightly against her chest. I picked my way among the loose stones towards her, paused when I realized what it was that she was holding so closely. A newborn babe, silent but breathing gently, and as I looked closer I noticed why she was in the streets, why she was left to bleed. Its wings. They were shredded and malformed, holes in the skin and several tears along the edge of the limbs. I knew immediately it would never be able to fly, it would be disgraced. The female was sobbing still, clutching at the child and breathing heavily and unevenly. She must have been thrown out of her house for giving birth to this child, for not bearing a strong spawn for her husband.

She saw me and immediately sobered. She knew they would kill the babe before it had the chance to grow, to become an Illyrian.

"They want me to kill him." she sobbed.

Ah, so the babe was a male. He had no chance of survival then, the woman would be expected to throw him off the cliff edge, to appease the old gods that had cursed her. I knew what I had to do, I would not let another life suffer at the hands of the brutes who believed those without wings had no rights. I would not bow beneath them when they fed lies to females, to young fae about a future destined for them. I had witnessed enough to know the mother did not destine anyone to this life, to death without a chance. I stepped towards the female once again, kneeling in front of her.

"I'm leaving the camp, these brutes, come with me. Save your babe" My voice was hoarse from its little use, but the words were clear enough. She shook her head and stared down at the babe. He was awake and staring up, but not at her. His gaze met mine and instantly I knew even so new to this world, he was intelligent. He did not deserve death.

"If I leave they'll come after me, they'll be after you too. I die either way." she moved sluggishly, her words starting to slur. I realized with a start, the blood all over her was from the birth. She would die from those wounds without treatment, slowly, painfully.

"Then let me take the babe, and get you a healer. He need not die tonight, and you need not die from injuries that are curable."

Silence fell for several moments, and time itself seemed to slow to watch our exchange. She exhaled lightly before looking me up and down.

"Okay." it was said so quietly I would have missed it if I wasn't knelt so close.

Gently, oh so gently I take the child from her arms. She hesitates before finally letting go, seemingly resigned to her fate.

"I'll protect him as if he was from my own womb, he will grow knowing what happened here today, and I will send help to you and all the other women of this camp. This, I vow to you." slowly a small crescent shape formed on the inside of my elbow. It pricked at first then fell silent, a permanent reminder of my promise. Her recently dried eyes dampened again and she nodded before rising, and trailing into the house behind her. I stood and looked down at the male in my arms. His emerald eyes shone up at me, the glint of intelligence still present. He would be a handful, and he would slow me down greatly. But where there is hope, there will be life. And as I started the trek home, slower now, we both hoped. For a better future, for life.

It took twice the time to get back home than it took to get to the square, and by the time I stumbled in through the door, the sky was starting to lighten. I had to leave. Soon.