Last time: "Positive," he said, although his eyes lost the spark they had possessed before. And then he had fallen asleep.

I pulled my knees to my chest and pondered my situation. Was it possible for me to trust him? Maybe. I had saved him. He owed me. But he was a serpiente, and no matter how trustworthy he seemed, he was still a snake. I had saved him, and I could expect him to let me take him to a forest, or somewhere, to let him go back to his own home. But even if I could trust someone who's life I saved, I could not trust a serpent. It was a fatal mistake, to trust my enemies. But he was the leader of my enemies. Would he not remember me?

I sat there, thinking, for a quarter of an hour while he slumbered. The light from the midmorning sun filtered through my balcony curtains, and I rose, somewhat stiff, to my wardrobe. I would get dressed for my brother's vigil later, but I needed to find something appropriate to wear now.

I opened the oak doors quietly, and moved my fingers swiftly through the fabrics, and finally, rested on an earthy brown fabric that was soft against my skin. I started to pull it out, and something fell from in between this skirt and the white shift that was folded on top of it. I let out a quiet cry of surprise, then looked over at the bed. Gregory didn't so much as stir.

I bent down to pick it up. It was loose papers, bound together messily, the corners yellowing. I recognized it after a moment of studying; it was a journal I had been given ages ago. It was written in the old language, and only a few of the passages were translated into a speech I could understand.

The book had fallen open, and I looked at the page that it landed on, bending back the paper that was caught under the others. It was one of the rare translated paragraphs.

In the back. She showed them only kindness. She treated them only warmly. They have nothing to gain. Trust a snake to attack just because a trusting back is turned.

I shut the book hastily. I didn't want to read that, not now. I closed my eyes for a moment to will my hands to stop shaking, My face smooth and emotions under control, I stooped down to retrieve the fabric of my skirt, then shoved the diary into my wardrobe, deep into the layers of fabric.

I took my skirt and a new white tunic to my bathroom. I shut the door, and proceded to lace up my clothing. I pulled my tunic against my hips until it hung strait and the subtle threading was not bunched together. My skirt was laced tightly at my waist, and my small feet poked out of the swishing fabric.

I sat down on my bench and pulled on my leather boots. I felt my boot sheath brush against my leg as my foot pressed into the lambskin in the boot. I laced up the buckle and then stepped out, moving away from my room and shutting the door. Rei and Karl looked at me, and I said, "I wish to go to Mourner's Rock early."

Rei nodded, and then I took flight, shifting easily into my form, him behind me. I wouldn't be permitted to go alone, and I was fine with that. I was used to it; I lived my entire life in a war where privacy from guards became a sweet luxury.

My wings beat hard, and I kept a steady pace. I didn't want to fly easily tonight. I pumped my wings faster, then let up suddenly, falling back, letting the wind catch me.

I didn't like that. It let my thoughts catch to me. Before Rei could blink, I was flying above him again, my eyes searching for the large scorched rock that I knew so well. I found it after a moment, and I dived, my beak pointed towards the ground. In the last possible moment, I let up, landing gracefully on a tree branch, and then I shifted back into the lanky form of a human. Rei was not with me; he was watching me from afar, giving me space and still protecting me. I had never thought about it like that. It was like someone making sure I was always all right, trying to protect me, but letting me do what I wished. It was a comforting thought.

I sat on the grass, looking at the rock. This rock, this lump of grass, this small hill, had taken the bodies of my family and ancestors and thrown their ashes back to the earth. It felt so large, and I knew that soon my brother would be lying there.

I don't know how long I sat, watching, not thinking of anything at all. Eventually, I heard footsteps and scramblings. I knew at once; it was my brother's body and the rest of the Vigil. I waited.

My mind felt strangly numb and sharp, as if I wasn't in my body, but observing clearly from back. I saw them load my brother into the fire, but I did not recognize it for what it was. I did not think. I just did. My feet followed the line, and it was only when my mother was standing next to me, watching the flames lick the body of her son, that the words I had read broke through my haze.

Trust a snake to attack just because a trusting back is turned.

I shuddered.