Men were arriving from the village as soon as Benji fell to the ground dead. Two wolves, both old with their greying black fur, had brought them here to push the rock away. When the men arrived, none of them could speak of what they saw for a full minute at least. Benjamin, their worst nightmare and ruler was now dead thanks to that mysterious group that came.

None of them noticed their true hero as she lay dying in a corner surrounded by wolves. They only saw something was wrong when a man, whom some knew as Kurogane at this point, rushed past them with the girl, one of their sisters from another tribe it seemed like sometimes, in his arms and not moving.

Nakietra was worse than usual. She had been prepared to die and she had come very close. Blood poured from her mouth and nose for hours until she looked pale and weak from it all and her breathing continued to be bad even after Fai did everything he knew he could do for her. That was when the grandmother pushed him aside and brought in her own healing teas and herbs; herbs that smelled calming and bitter just like the herb Nakietra used on a daily basis.

Her hood was kept up and her face shielded anytime anyone entered the room. Vece didn't ask and neither did his wife or children as his request. He had enough to worry about now that the throne and palace were empty and no one person had to live in fear of being hanged. Not even Toya for his abandonment of his royal seat on the council that he inherited from his father.

Although the group had slept on the floor their time there, the oldest son of Vece gave up his mat to Nakietra. The group thanked him as warmly as they could with the threat of their friend's death leaning over their heads.

Most importantly, no one ever questioned Kurogane. Every mixture the grandmother used, he knew what it was used for if not the name for it. Every person that came in, even one of the group, he slowly reminded everyone that Nakietra still needed to be called Mariah. He was the one that sat by her day and night and made sure the family didn't get to close to her.

Benjamin's body was dragged from the cave and hung on display just like he had for their people. Vece and his men let it sit for two days and then they burned it while it hung there. This was the most disrespectful thing to do to a body in their culture. Even burry a body is better than burning it this long after death and also in such an undignified position.

Smalls of burning flesh raided the sky, but many adults chose to stand outside their houses and watch the burning. Some smiled and rejoiced, others sat solemnly and watched the smoke curl into clouds in the sky. Everyone though was relieved that they didn't have to burn any more of their dead anytime soon because of Benjamin.

The palace was regained by force from the few white soldiers and families that still lived there. All of surrendered and left to join the white city a few miles away that was still run by this kingdom. Some talked of revolt but no one listened for now.

A vote was taken. Every man and woman was asked to vote on a king: Vece or Toya. Although Vece was always a good leader, many people in the city remembered what he did to their families in order to spare his own. Although they couldn't blame him, they also didn't want him as a leader. Toya won by a longshot.

His first act was that the armory was to be opened and those who wanted to be soldiers could be as long as they proved to be experienced enough. Vece and his men had real swords and armor for the first time in their lives and wore it as they pledged their allegiance to their new king and became the first paid army of black soldiers.

The giant stores of food in the palace were raided then and another huge feast was held. Tables were dragged out of houses and made a huge line through the main street that lead up to the palace. Women prepared food and placed the dishes everywhere and in front of those dishes people sat and waited until the food was given out and passed around. No one went hungry, not even the saviors. Kurogane watched the others have fun from the window, answering every question Nakietra asked as she lay in bed unable to move at all and unable to feel some parts of her body from the blood loss.

The village celebrated with parties and dancing for another night after that as well and still Kurogane answered Nakietra's questions as the others danced and enjoyed the festivities. . On the third day, Toya put his foot down. He employed people of all ages and genders to clean the palace up as it was still stained with old blood from the massacre. He took even more people from the crowds and told them to take the most worn out of houses and to take them apart in order to make them bigger with the palace stores of resources that no one has ever touched. He said that there should at least be one room for every two people that lived in the house and every woman that wanted cloth to make clothes and blankets could take as much as they wanted as long as it wasn't wasted.

More jobs were handed out, everything from little to big ones. Any man, woman, and child who wanted to work was allowed to. Toya offered to teach children how to read and write as well as men and women. All they needed to do was earn their keep: four hours of work a day at least. In return, there were no taxes on anything as well food for those that needed it. Women took over the field work while men built houses and went to work in the distant quarries and forests in order to bring back better materials for the houses. Children delivered messages as well as brought the workers in the field clean water and food when needed. Everyone was happy. There may have been no money for now, but there was food and a bed to sleep in at night as the future became more and more promising.

The white city in North that the old king controlled had nothing but complaints as each new law was passed. Men raised their swords and tried to declare war. Every one of them stepped down when they saw that they were horribly outnumbered. Some left their rich homes, others stayed and slowly learned to adapt to working for four hours a day or losing their rich homes to those who deserved it more.

The hammer Benjamin had used was recovered and kept by Toya for safety purposes at the moment. No one challenged the fact, yet, at least. Toya promised to dispose of it, but it was still questionable how it could be destroyed and whether it should be in the first place in case the white families that left came back with reinforcements.

Nakietra was awake on and off through the whole thing. When she was asleep, the nightmares were just as bad as before but more frequent and involved less movement than the past ones had. Fai worried over her, but the grandmother, the only one in Vece's family that Nakietra allowed in the room, only shook her head at him. The grandmother always spoke in hopeful tones, "Her spirit isn't going to leave" or "she'll wake up when the time is right".

The right time came at the end of the sixth day.

Nakietra

I crush my eyes together and finally push myself out of another nightmare. I see the cracked ceiling above me and I know I haven't moved. Its night now I can tell because there are candles lit around the window sill. I close my eyes. I remember me and Hiro used to fill this room with candles when I was little because I hated the dark. My aunt always scolded me then for wasting our precious candles.

"I knew you wouldn't leave, Nakia," I hear my grandmother say. I turn my head and open my eyes. She's sitting next to my mat on the floor, smiling. I swallow hard. I've been waiting for the chance to talk to her ever since I knew that she knew who I was.

"Grandmama," I whisper and purse my lips together so I don't cry. She's never been in here when I'm awake. Kurogane tells me she's been here though and he's seen me semiconscious. I don't remember any of it. I bring a hand up and take her hand even though it causes me physical pain. It's taking longer for my body to recover from this one. It must be a sign that things are going to get worse from her on out.

"Nake's awake! Nake's-" Mokona exclaims before he's cut off. I glance over my grandmother and smile. Kurogane has a firm hand around Mokona's mouth.

"Shh," He says loudly and puts the rabbit down. Mokona covers his own mouth and starts walking over to me. Kurogane smiles softly. I love seeing him smile.

"They are all gone, do not worry," She says and waves him off like a silly child. I suppress my laughter in an equally suppressed smile. Laughing would hurt worse than anything else at the moment.

"How do you feel?" Syaoran asks, coming into view. His hair is stuck up at odd angles and he looks very serious.

"Painful," I manage and stop smiling. He's been so worried about me these past few days I hear. I haven't seen him yet but Kurogane told me he's been worried.

"Yet you are still happy," Grandmamma says with a toothless grin. I don't smile. Should I be happy? Nero told me Benjamin is dead and also how the village celebrates that fact. I should be happy he's finally gone, the object of my nightmare…and I actually am. There's a sort of emotional sickness of sadness and dread that keeps washing through me though every time I think that though. Is it right to feel happy that someone else is dead?

"Can you move?" Mokona asks and hops on my stomach. My face grimaces in small pain, but I manage to smile at him. I raise my other hand and pat him between the ears. Mokona is annoying but he's also cute sometimes I guess.

"You feel it just as I do," Grandmamma says. I look to her and see her shake her head at the window.

"What is it?" I ask and look up to her. This feeling just isn't in my head, it's all around me I guess.

"You saw how they acted. Like rats; deceiving and heartless," She starts and swallows hard in emotional pain, "I grew up surrounded by war. Guards stole women away to the battlefield for pleasure, as well as young boys to become tools; soldiers. We fought back though. By the time I was ten, no one went out alone, and never at dark. Men fought and killed those guards that came, and women sometimes poured boiling water over their own faces just so the men would not want to take them. It was a different time, yes, but even then we stuck together. We were family. Now," He lips curl in disgust as a tear falls from each of her blind eyes, "they gave up their families with greed and fear, and didn't shed one tear in public for those that died innocent. I never saw wails of regrets from wives or mothers, not a single word of revolt from the men."

I nodded my head in agreement, but then remember she's completely blind. "This isn't home. When I saw them...I couldn't tell this was even home. I thought I was dreaming. I thought that I had the wrong place when I saw my people being sold out by each other," I say, my own lips curling into disgust.

"Rats, all of them. Vece is the worst. My own son is the king of these rats. He gave up fighting because he saw how useless he and his men were against Benjamin. He asked for peace, but he gave into death and sacrifice. He is not free of sin, but he is also better than any of the rest of them," She says to me.

"Grandmamma…why did they do that? How could they…just handover people like objects?" I ask still confused about the whole thing as she grips my hand as tightly as she can.

"Fear drives many people into holes. Your brother was the best at chasing away that fear, and then he was gone," She says and pauses, "You heard them talk; I know you asked and I know they told. I was raised to not speak of the dead outside of The Shrine Grounds, and defiantly not anything they may or may not have been done or had been. Especially family," She says in disgust. I close my eyes and feel so old suddenly. I feel like my time was a hundred years ago and I just happened to arrive outside of my time. What happened to tradition and morals when I was gone? It was like they never existed.

"Who was talking bad about who?" Fai asks slightly confused.

"Karis and Ira…" She hisses at him. Tears leak out of my eyes and roll down my checks. Guilt builds up in my chest and makes it hard to breathe now. I swallow my sobs because I know it's more painful for her than it is for me. "They can't let go of the things Nakia hand no control over, and I see it killed them inside. Not guilt, but hate," She brushes her thumb over my hand in calming swirls. "It killed you inside too, to hear those insults and to watch them cower in fear. I see it in the black spots on your spirit. While they are stained red with hate, you have stained yourself black with guilt." No one speaks.

"They are right," I say in a painful soft voice. I shut my eyes tightly and the images of Hiro and my cousin rush by. It was my own fault they died.

"No, they are wrong," She responds forcefully, "No one knew that someone would start a fire on the Doctor's house on that specific day, and there is nothing you could have done to save Hiro," She pauses and continues in a softer voice, "You are a child still, one who puts the weight of every problem on her own shoulders just as her brother did. You expect yourself to be able to run with everyone else along with that added weight. You do not to have room for guilt over events you could not control. If you had stepped in and tried to save your brother, then you would have died, and we would still be here cowering in fear like the rats we became. We knew no hope, we still wouldn't have known hope if you had not lived."

Her words soothe me slowly, just as they always have. The guilt is still there though. I feel the need to apologize to Ira…maybe even once more to my aunt. I wish I could still move so I could curl into a ball or run into the ruins to think like I used to. Even sitting up would cause extreme pain though. Grandmamma runs her fingers up to my hair and strokes my hair like she did all the times I was sick.

"You have felt your guilt and remorse, and I remember where it led you. If you let it led you there again, you will die…my Nakia, you need to live. You are destined to. This is a sign that you are meant to die," She says slowly as her light hands brush through my hair. Slowly I start calming down, understanding where she's going with this. "I remember Karina pushing you to the edge, and then waited for you to jump off yourself. You are one that considers jumped to end the pain. I would not let you jump, and neither would Hiro, or Toya, and I can see that not even these people here. They will not let you jump from guilt and pain because they know you They know that you don't really want to jump, but you see it as only one option."

"You slapped me across the face and dragged me out of bed," I remind her as I remember the last time I went down that path.

"I will do it again if you stray down that dark path," She said. I crush my eyes closed and watch the stars dance behind them. The dark path is always the easier one in life.

"Some of you get some stew from the kitchen. Karina has no time to attend to an old woman anymore it seems. Bring a bowl for my granddaughter too," She commands. Three pairs of feet leave promptly. I open my eyes and waited for my eyes to refocus. Kurogane takes Syaoran's spot and sits against the wall. His eyes are trained on me. I take a deep breath and summon up all my internal tolerance and try to drag my other hand up. I have it just over my body and then I sigh in pain and give up. I can't believe how weak I still am.

"You force yourself too much. Boy, come here and take this hand," She says. Slowly she moves back by my head and I watch Kurogane come over. I close my eyes as he takes mine. I like his hands.

"Oh! Nakie and Kuro-po-" Mokona starts.

"Come here," Grandmama says sharply and snatches the rabbit off of me. I forgot he was there. She puts a delicate hand across his mouth and he shuts up as she whispers into one of his ears. Kurogane squeezes my hand and I smile. I open my eyes and look to his face. He smiles back. I've lived a good life and I completed one thing no one else with this death sentence could ever do: I fell in love.

"Your spirits fit well. It is nice to know my granddaughter won't be alone," Grandmamma says softly. Footsteps are heard and he releases my hand. "You keep this quiet now," She tells Mokona. I look back and watch her force him to stare into her eyes. He falls asleep and she set him down next to me before retaking my hand as Kurogane moves back to his original position.

It was another two days of rest before the group could even think about moving. Nakietra slowly recovered, moving a little more and more everyday as the pain faded just a little more. Family stories were shared by both the grandmother as the hours turned longer and longer each day as the group members were given less and less to do with each passing day. There were times when Nakietra and her grandmother would lapse into a language even Mokona couldn't decipher and then it would slow back into English. As life turned back to normal in the village, the group heard the language more and more.

Nakietra sent a request for the hammer to Toya. Vece delivered it the next day and didn't question it at all. Mokona stored it away but Nakietra was still in a certain mood that no one could seem to understand or lift. The grandmother understood it all though even as she readied herself to leave on a gloomy morning.

Everyone was already waiting outside by the fountain. Most people went along with their daily work, but those who worked in town stood by and watched as the heroes were leaving. The older children by the fountain stopped washing clothes and watched as Nakietra walked out the door and look back.

She tried to memorize the house because even though there were bad memories here, there were some nice ones of her and Hiro that she hoped she wouldn't forget before she died. She looked forward and looked at each of her cousins as they stood lined up between her aunt and uncle. Her grandmother was sitting with her back pressed against the fountain, her blind eyes turned toward the sky and in front of her was a small group of young girls that she was teaching the old songs to. Nakietra watched them for a minute before turning to be with her group that was already ready. She knew she would never forget the old songs. She could even forget Toya but never forget the old songs that were not only burned into her mind but also breed into her blood.

"An old woman does not get a goodbye I see," Dera says loudly and smiles.

Nakietra

I look back at my grandmother sadly. I know she doesn't have much longer to live, but she is the hardest to leave behind. I'll see her sooner than anyone else though in The City of Wind if I ever find it.

"Goodbye Oyira," I answer simply, using the term for grandmother in the old language. It's a common title for an old woman. I turn back to my group. Syaoran and Sakura stop their chatting and watch me with smiles. Fai, of course, is also smiling with his hand behind his head. Mokona perches on his head while he silently sings parts of the old songs with his own words thrown in. Kurogane is even smiling a little as he leans back against one of the houses. Nero is on the ground next to him. He kept his mind blocked from me the whole time we were here, it's still blocked to me. Maybe because he knew that I wanted him to stay here and he wanted to make the decision for himself whether to go or stay.

"You will fly high and live long Shina," She tells me. My smile turns to confusion. The flying high part meant I would succeed and be happy, which I could see. I will not live long though and she knows that. I'm at step three and also well into it because of what I did. I need to take much more powerful medicine twice a day now.

"Thank you Oyira," I say ad continue on. I saw Ira come from by the side of a house and I divert my eyes. I smile as I see Toya following Ira. I hide my laugh at his royal blue robes. He looks ridiculous. There are guards on either side of him. Vece and Karina take their children and present them in front of my group as they say their goodbyes. I stop by my group as Vece and Karina turn to speak to me.

"We want to thank you for saving our people, and we want you to know that there is a home here for you," Vece says with a small smile. Its rarest thing ever for him, but it make myself smile myself.

"Thank you, but I have other places to go," I respond. My aunt swallows hard and looks at me seriously.

"You know our customs and our songs. You must come from a part of our people. Could you lead to your home?" She asks. I frown and shake my head.

"No. The way is lost to me. I lived there too long ago to remember where it is," I says and divert my eyes. She narrows her eyes I see when I glance up. Vece grabs her arm and leads her to the side, away from me. Toya approaches me with a smile. I lift my head up and smile.

"You didn't think I'd let you leave without a goodbye, did you?" He asks with a healthy smile. I smirk and shake my head.

"I don't know. Being king is sort of a big dead here," I respond jokingly even though I never actually thought about why he didn't come to see me.

"I always have time for you my black rabbit," He whispers and pauses, "I want you to stay, but know you're always welcome back here, even if you never come back," he adds.

"I know. Unlike you, I earned my title," I continue to joke.

"Oh really? I think I can still catch you," He responds and straightens up to look more superior.

"You couldn't catch me before, you can't catch me now," I respond even though I know it's a lie. He gives a small laugh. Quiet surrounds us except for whispers and the shuffling of feet.

"It's time for us to go. We'll make sure the hammer is taken care of the right way this time," I say trying to be serious. He nods his head, his smile fading.

"I know you will," He responds. He frowns and opens his mouth but my hood is pulled back before I he can say anything. I reach back and see Ira. I freeze because I know there's nothing I can do to stop this.

"It's you!" Lola exclaims horrified as she backs away. She takes a step forward then as rage focuses her face and pulls me close to her. "You ran away and then came back after everything you did! You left them! You left Hiro! You killed him!" She yells before slapping me across the face. I never thought she was so strong, but I actually stumbled to the ground. Maybe it's just because I'm so weak right now though. Tears well up in my eyes, not from the slap but from the truth. I had left them. I left Hiro to die.

"Ira! Stop!" Grandmamma yells. I've never heard her sound so angry. Ira kicks me and I block with my arms before he turns to grandmamma. I gasp in a silent scream. It feels like she just broke the bones in my arms but I know that can't be possible. Kurogane grabs me under my arms and pulls me back.

"Don't you understand what she did! She has always let Hiro protect her and when it came time to protect him she left like a rat!" Ira yells. I step away from Kurogane and clench my arms. I need to deal with this.

"It's you who doesn't understand, Ira! None of you do!" Grandmamma yells back. I look up at her through shadowed eyes. "All of you are rats! Even now, you are letting the innocent be punished after Benjamin is gone! It is not a white man hurting the innocent, it is ourselves hurting our families."

Everyone around was silent. I glance around and see everyone looking at the ground ashamed. Ira bristles. "She ran away! Everyone died because she did nothing! We all know Benjamin wanted her in the first place and instead of letting him have her she hid behind everyone else just like she always has!" She yells, tears streaming down her cheeks. Guilt bricks up inside my body. I always hid from Benji.

"She came back with helped though, while you all kept running. My granddaughter saved us twice, and yet you all still insult her. You expected her to fight and die for the dead, while you sell your people to everyone else. Tell me, did any of you try to fight back. No. You all pushed everyone you loved away to their deaths, and abandoned those who asked for help. This isn't home, this is a rat hole," Grandmama yells. Toya walks over and stands beside her. He helps her up to her feet and then lowers her down to sit on the edge of the fountain.

"I agree," He says then very strongly.

"Mother, you don't know what you're saying. Just-" Vece starts but grandmamma cuts him off. I smile.

"No. You are the one who doesn't know anything. I have been around longer than any of you. I was here when the war started, and I had two brave sons when the last corrupted king died. Now, one is dead just like his father. The other is a king of rats," She snarls to him. "You think I know nothing? Tell me son, what do you actually know that you think I don't?" I glance to my uncle. He look to his mother in shock. The guilt is being pulled away from me.

"I'll tell you what we know," My aunt says strongly, "She causes the death of everyone around her. Nothing but misery and misfortune have hit us since she was born." Grandmamma stares at her with frosty eyes.

"Are you saying that the thousands of our men that died in battle and hundreds of babies that died from sickness were less than the few who have died since the war ended?" She asks almost innocently. My aunt is stunned.

"You do not think, you blame. Nakietra apologized hundreds of times after your daughter died in the fire, and even tried to kill herself. Still, you talk ill of her and even desecrated her name. Don't think I didn't hear what you have said," She says strongly. Cold enters me again as well as some anger. Grandmamma turns to Ira. "You are just like her. You blame a child for the deaths of adults. You expect her to fight and not think like you. Her thinking saved us, and yet I hear you continue to wail and scream about how your sister killed your husband. I will not hear of it anymore!" She looks to me with her blind eyes and her face softens. "Speak," She commands. I look up strongly and swallow hard. I know what to say.

"This place used to be home, that's why I gave everything to save it," I start and then shake my head no, "I don't know what I was thinking, because this can't be my home. I grew up knowing that no one was ever forgotten, even the dead, and no was mistreated without a cause…You people threw your families away and then blame me for their deaths. I heard everything you people said about me. Catherine sent me away so I could save everyone, but now I see none of you deserved it," I finish. Toya takes a step on the rim of the fountain as everyone starts shouting arguments at me. I feel my crowd around me to stop people from tearing me apart.

"Quiet!" He yells, and like subjects they obey. "I agree with both of them. Somewhere along the way, everyone lost their morals. Respected elders," He gestures down to my grandmother, "have been shunned and disregarded. Children," He gestures to me, "have been burden and blamed for everything. And adults hide," He then gestures to everyone else. "I propose a new decree: anyone considered an elder is allowed to live in the palace, as an adviser of mine. While none of you may respect their wisdom anymore, I still believe that the old ways can be the best," He finishes and jumps down. I smile.

"I thank you Toya, and I will take you up on that offer. I can't stand to live under the roof of my clueless son no more," I hear grandmamma say. Toya smiles slightly and comes to stand right in front of me.

"You're a good king already," I manage as I shake myself from the shock of everyone actually being quiet.

"I try," He says and gives me a quick hug. His robes smell like him and I tried to memorize the scent, knowing I will never see him again. "Take care of yourself," he says after he pulls away.

"I'll try," I look to my group, "I have many people to help me now." I smiles.

"Goodbye," He manages as he clenches his teeth so he won't cry. I look away and move to my group. I can't watch him struggle not to cry.

"I thought you said there never were goodbyes," I joke weakly and look back over him.

"This calls for one," he says and smiles sadly.

"Goodbye then. Don't…don't let Hiro be forgotten," I manage.

"I wouldn't dream of it," He says and steps back to my grandmamma. She passes by him and comes to me. She holds a gold chain up to me and then presses it into my hand.

"Hiro said you lost yours to the witch. He wants you to have his," She says. I hold up hand and hold up the chains. It's the twin to my own. I scrunch my eyes closed as tears come forward and I clutch it to my chest.

"You will fly high remember, never forget that," She says and stumbles away to Toya. I don't say anymore goodbyes. I join my circle of friends.

"Let's go Mokona," I say and watch Toya until he disappears.