Author's Notes: Hey all, I hope you've all enjoyed this fic so far! I wanted everyone to know that from this week on, I plan to update with a new chapter every week. The new chapter will go up every Wednesday, if all goes as planned. I hope you've enjoyed the fic, and if you have, I'd really appreciate it if you'd review Arelle or email me. It's hard to find inspiration, but a encouraging email or review almost always inspires me to write more ^^

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"I'm very sorry about all this, Moren." Arelle said as she sat down in front of the fire next to him.

"About what?"

"That I… Well, that my uncle is…A Cutthroat…And that I made you let us take him in, even though it's dangerous and he's an outlaw."

"Arelle," Moren said, "He's your blood-relative, of course you want to help him." Arelle looked at the ground, obviously ashamed. He lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes. "Arelle, don't be disgraced by something your uncle is. It changes nothing about who you are. I wouldn't care if all your relatives were Cutthroats, it wouldn't change my feelings towards you."

Arelle blushed furiously.

"I mean," Moren continued quickly as he realized how it sounded, putting his hands back in his lap and looking away, "Feelings as a friend and…all." He stuttered.

"I better go get some more firewood." He said after an awkward pause. He got up and walked quickly into the forest, leaving Arelle staring into the fire, still blushing.

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"Supper is ready." Arelle said as she walked back into the tent.

"Ah, very good! Thank you very much for bandaging all my wounds, lass." She smiled at him with a half-forced smiled.

"Would you like to eat in the tent, or by the fire outside?"

"By the fire, if you would be good enough to help me up." Arelle leaned down and helped Akinen up and out of the tent to the fire. He sat down on a tree stump next to the fire. Just then, Moren came out of the forest with a load of firewood in his arms, staring down blankly at the ground, as if he had his mind on something. When he saw the two by the fire he smiled at them and set his firewood down beside the fire. Arelle was busy preparing a plate full of food for Akinen. The plates were actually just slender slabs of wood that Moren had carved into a round, plate-like shapes.

"Well, I suppose I'll eat without a plate, seeing as how we only have two." Moren said.

"Thanks." Arelle mumbled.

"Sorry to cause so much trouble for you, lad." Akinen said.

"No trouble at all!" Moren said smiling cheerfully at him.

After dinner, Moren took out his lyre.

"Who's for a little music before we sleep?" Arelle smiled at him with the first genuine smile she had had all day, and he smiled back at her. Akinen also nodded, seeming glad to hear a little music. "Very well, then." Moren said as he began to play. The first tune he played seemed to be a rather slow and steady tune, but also seemed happy. It reminded Arelle of the days she spent playing in her grandmother's garden with her sister Arella. The tune lasted for quite a while, and by the time it was finished, Arelle was completely relaxed, staring off into the night sky. Akinen also seemed to be enjoying it and was slumped over, staring into the fire. When the tune ended, Akinen looked down at Arelle, who was sitting on the ground on the opposite side of the fire from him.

"I was wondering…" he began. Arelle jerked up and looked up at him, no longer in her relaxed, serene mood. "I was wondering, my lass… Well, I don't mean to pry, but why is it exactly that you are out here?" Arelle's face hardened slightly, and Akinen went on, "Nothing's wrong with my brother…Is there?"

"No, last I saw of Father, he was fine."

He paused, "Then…Why?"

"I'm studying to be a Cleric. Moren is my teacher."

He looked at Moren, now, who was staring into the fire with a solemn face. "A Cleric, eh? I see… So, why does that require you to be in the Greater Faydark forest?"

"Because that's where Moren lives." She replied hotly.

"I see… And, how did you and Moren meet?"

Arelle glared up at him now. "And, why did you decide to become a Cutthroat, Akinen? Was it just to bring dishonor upon us all, or was it because you were ashamed of your hideous face?!" She yelled as she jumped up and ran into the forest. By then Moren and Akinen were standing as well, and Akinen had a half angry, half ashamed look on his face, as if he couldn't decide which he should be at the moment. Moren glanced at Akinen, then towards the direction Arelle went, then back to Akinen.

"I..." Moren stuttered. Then he made a determined face and ran after Arelle.

Moren ran through the thick brush, smelling the air and listening for Arelle as he went. Then he paused.

"Arelle!" He yelled. "Arelle! Where are you?" He stood perfectly still, listening for her. He heard what sounded like a sob to his right and turned. He walked that way until he saw Arelle sitting at the trunk of a tree, silently sobbing into her arms.

"Arelle…" he said, walking up to her. She looked up at him, then continued sobbing silently into her arms, which rested on her knees. "Arelle, are you sad because he disgraced your family, or are you sad that you ran away?" he asked, sitting beside her. She didn't reply. "It wasn't your fault you had to run away. You did it to save your loved ones. It wasn't out of selfishness. I'm sure they'd understan-"

"You don't understand, Moren! Don't you see?! I'm just as much of a disgrace as Akinen! I ran away from home! I disgraced my own family, just like he did! I have no right to look down at him, I'm the very same!" She cried out, sobbing. He put his arm around her to comfort her, and she turned to him and began to sob into his shoulder.

"Arelle, what you did was nothing like what your uncle did. You ran away so you wouldn't cause trouble to your family. And while I don't exactly think it was the right thing to do, you did it for your family. And you didn't go join the Cutthroats!" He said, trying to comfort her. "Besides…Soon you'll be able to control your magic, and then you will return to your family." At this, his voiced seemed to waver slightly, but he stopped it and moved on quickly. "So you see? What you did wasn't at all like what he did! Don't be so sad!" At this he pulled away to look at her face, trying to smile to encourage her. She began to sob less and wiped a few tears away with her hands, but then suddenly hugged him again and began to cry on his shoulder more.

She must've needed to cry for a long time, but was never able to let it out. But now that she had started, she cried for along time, there on his shoulder. And he let her, gently patting her back reassuringly.

"There you are! I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back, or if you had run off and left me here!" Akinen said as the Arelle and Moren walked up to the fire. He said it cheerfully, but his face was solemn. Arelle glared at him, but when he looked at the ground in shame, her face softened.

"I…mm…" She stuttered, "I…I'm sorry." He jerked up and looked into her face surprised. "I should've said those things." She said.

He paused. "It's alright, lass. I really deserved what you said, anyway. For what it's worth, it wasn't my intent to shame yer family. I would never want that." Akinen said. She slightly smiled at him. Maybe she should give him a chance…

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Lilliah stood perfectly still in the middle of the lake. Suddenly she jerked her hands into the water and pulled them out quickly. Between her hands was a decent sized fish. She stuck her fingers in its gills so it couldn't slip back into the water and made her way back to the shore. She sat down on the ground next to the fire and began cleaning the fish. When she finished cleaning it, she stuck the fish on a stick and cooked it above the fire.

After eating the fish, Lilliah sighed and stood up. She pulled her cloak tightly about her and pulled the hood down to where you could barely see her icy blue eyes. Then she walked on into the gloomy forest.