Lilliah paused, listening. She frowned and pulled her cloak even tighter against her, pulling her hood down to where nothing above her nose showed, as she walked toward the sound of yelling she heard. She came into a clearing where she could plainly see many filthy, disorganized looking tents. But the crowd of yelling men she saw in front of the tents was even filthier. She walked towards them slowly, but they didn't seem to notice her. They seemed to be arguing about something.

Lilliah well knew who these people were. There was no mistaking a band of Cutthroats. They were one of the filthiest, meanest, and uncivilized clans in all of Norrath. She sighed inwardly and she thought, "And of all Norrath, these are the ones I am looking for?"

She walked towards them slowly. Suddenly, one of the men drew his knife. Immediately all of the Cutthroats did the same. They looked as if they were just about to attack each other, when Lilliah cleared her throat loudly. Suddenly the whole band knew of her presence and turned to look at her with their dark, evil-looking eyes. Her heart skipped a few beats as she stared back at them with her icy blue eyes, but she didn't let her fear show in her expression. Then one of them spoke up.

"Who… Are you?" He mumbled in a hoarse voice, as he squinted his black, beady eyes at her.

"That is not of your concern." She paused. He glared at her.

"Of what is your business here about?"

"I am looking for Aka, the Scarlet Cutthroat." She replied. His eyes went wide, and many of the other Cutthroats let out small gasps.

"You're looking for Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat, eh?" He said, slowly walking up to her. "And why might you be looking for him?"

"That is not of your concern. Will you tell me where I can find Aka the Scalet Cutthroat?" He paused, peering at her.

"Aka the Scarlet is no more." He replied, plainly. She gasped slightly, but regained her solemn expression quickly.

"I don't believe you."

"But it is true. His band was killed by those wretched Felwithien guards."

"I don't believe you. Aka could never die."

"Ah, but yet he did die. I know well, for I was there. He fought well, but I saw him fall myself." He paused. "Why would someone like you want to find The Scarlet Cutthroat, anyway?" He asked.

She suddenly turned and began walking away. "I thank you for your help, though I could never believe Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat could ever die. Especially not in such a simple way." She said, walking briskly away. The Cutthroats watched her leave in silence. Suddenly, one of the Cutthroats charged at her, sword in hand. She swiftly turned, knocking her hood off, and sliced the cutthroat's arm completely off with one slice of her gleaming sword. She heard the entire band of Cutthroats gasp as they saw her long, red braid of hair and beautiful face with blue streaks of war paint on it.

"It's a woman!" she heard many cry from the crowd. She paused briefly to see if any others would attack her. None of them moved an inch. She turned and continued walking away.

**************

That night, she had a dream.

"I see you're awake now, lass. Don't worry about anything, just rest," the man said as Lilliah slowly gained consciousness and opened her eyes. She quickly sat up straight on the mat.

"Where am I?! What do you plan to do with me?!" She yelled, trying to stand up. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Her legs were weak, too, and she flopped down on the mat again. She recalled being attacked by orcs some days ago, which would probably be why she was so wounded.

"Don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm ye. If I did, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble to fool 'em." He paused. "Ye know, I really don't know why I'm doing this. Who knows what I'm thinking." He said as he brought a damp rag and laid it on Lilliah's forehead. She squinted at the pain her body felt. She slowly looked up at him.

"It was you…" she trailed off. "It was you who saved me, before…" She mumbled. Her eyes suddenly widened and then she squinted as she glared at him, "And it was you who captured me!" As she ended she jerked away from him. "You're the leader of the Cutthroats, aren't you?!"

He sighed. "Second in command at the moment, lass, but I've taken command of the band until Commander is well."

"You…" She spat at him, glaring. "You're a Cutthroat."

"Yes, I am."

"How can you say that so easily?"

"It would be pointless to deny what I am."

She paused. "What do you plan to do with me?" She asked.

"I plan to heal you."

"Really."

"Really." He replied.

"Why would you do that?" She asked.

"That's a very good question, lass."

"So answer it."

He paused. "I don't know, lass. Maybe deep down I'm actually a good person." He paused for a moment, then chuckled at himself. She glared at him. "Look, lass, I don't plan to harm ye!" She stared at him for a moment, then turned away. "The others wanted to kill ye…" He trailed off. "But I didn't let them. It'd be best if ye could leave now and get away from the Cutthroats, but I know ye couldn't make it out there in the forest with these wounds. I'm not sure if ye could even make it out there without any wounds. Ye seemed to be having quite some trouble with those wretched orcs." She was still looking away. "I made up an excuse to keep ye here till yer healed. Just play along with it. As soon as yer well enough, I'll help ye escape. However, if you would like to leave now, I could help you escape now…" He trailed off. She looked at him, and then down at the many bandages wrapped about her. She felt the sharp, biting pain in her stomach. It was the worst wound, but her legs and arms were bruised as well, and her shoulder and back had both taken bad hits, as well.

"No." She replied. "I'll wait until I'm healed." She looked into his eyes. "If that's all right with you, that is."

***************

Lilliah awoke with a start. It was a dream. The same dream that had played in her mind since the day she met him. But it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory. A memory she cherished. Those memories had played over and over again so many times in these five years. Five years of training. Five years of waiting. But mostly, five years of deciding whether to chase a hopeless, unrealistic dream, or to stay where she knew she belonged. Well, after five years, she had finally decided on the unrealistic dream.