All my readers, I am truly blessed to have such kind and understanding readers. Thank you so much for your support and kind words throughout this. You have all my deepest thanks.

I am posting my stories again because I realize that I cannot live in fear for the rest of my life. I am not doing myself or anyone else any favors by hiding in a hole. If that person bullies me or spread lies I will have to remember the people who matter will not believe the lies and I have way more people supporting me than hating me.

Thank you for your patience.

Everything was packed neatly into simple burlap sack flower bags that had been converted into luggage. She had clothing in one bag, books in another, and some food along to last the travel to the capital. Wrapped around her waist was a cord with a small pouch attached to it that carried her money and a map of the capital.

It looks like she was all set. Orelia tried to keep her confidence up around her family and the rest of the village. It was quite clear that the majority of the village, along with her parents, greatly disproved of a young woman traveling alone to a big city. The thing about country people is they take great pride in being country folk. They are proud of their green fields, shinning lakes, and rich forests. They are proud of their small community and knowing each other. They are glad they can raise their children in peace with little worry of them playing outside.

They are clad their streets are full of temples instead of brothels. To a country folk the city folk seemed odd. They were always in a rush, and seemed to always be rude. Of course, it wasn't because city folk were truly rude it was simply how they adapted to city life.

In simpler terms, country folk don't like the thought of the city. They saw it with visions of filth, thieves, murders, and rapists in every alleyway. It wasn't hard to see why they were scared of a young girl going off on her own. Especially one so gentle as Orelia.

Orelia put on a brave face, but inside she was scared. She was a country girl in the end, and the stories she heard told of the city where never far from her mind.

But at the same time she knew that if Rhoda had sent her to be trained in the capital that meant she saw something in her. Something more than a simple country girl who would run back to the country after a day of being in the city.

Perhaps this was also a test to see if she was truly meant to be a Cunning Woman. In the end, being cunning also meant adapting to situations.

Maybe going to the city would be her biggest test, yet, at seeing if she was truly worthy of being a Cunning woman.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a knock on her door. She stuffed a last piece of clothing into the bag before telling the person to come in. She turned to see her mother with a pink cloth in her hand.

Her mother had the same worried look on her face that she had been carrying since her announcement to go to the Capital. Orelia bit her lip, as she mentally prepared for another conservation of her mother begging her and crying to stay home.

What was it with mothers and tears? And why was there nothing that could quite inspire guilt in a person like their mother crying?

"Orelia-" She began with a heavy breath, "I don't want you to go, and you know this. The city isn't meant for country folk like us. Here girls grow free and fresh like flowers in a garden, but out there it is through mud and stone. You have to be tough to survive in the city." Then the tears began, and so did Orelia's guilt. Mothers and tears, always mothers and tears. Imagine how many wars in history could have been averted if an army was meet by a sea of their mother's crying.

"Mother, I know this, and I am thankful for your concern over me; It shows how much you love me; however, I know if Rhoda trusted me to go to the Capital she must have had good reason too. She was a wise woman. Mother please have faith in me and my fairies to watch over me." She added a smile, "After all I am a Cunning girl. Maybe to become a Cunning woman, I do need to plant my roots in the stone and mud for a while."

She whipped the tears from her mother's eyes. Her mother closed her brown eyes and handed her the cloth. Orelia discovered it was a long cloak.

"To cover your hair." Her mother answered her question before she could voice it. "Hair like that will attract attention no matter where you go. Promise me you will never take it off in public." She looked her daughter straight in her blue eyes.

"I promise." She swore.

"Swear on the Gods." An oath to the Gods was never to be taken lightly. Going against a promise to the Gods was considered the greatest sin one could ever commit. The fact her mother even suggested something so serious meant that she greatly saw her hair as being a problem.

"But mother-"

"Swear on the Gods!" Her mother demanded again.

"I swear on the Gods...that I will not show my hair in public." Her mother gave the closest thing to a look of ease than she had in a long time.

"Put it on, dear." She smiled at her Mother, and wrapped the clock around her shoulders and fastened it around her neck and shoulders. She slid the hood on. Then she went to the mirror to check to see how she looked.

It was odd not to see the trail of golden gleaming hair that had greeted her for so long. But at the same time it was exciting. To see herself in a whole new light, with only a bit of her hair peaking out along the hood...she looked like a normal girl. Not a girl to get stares at wherever she went. But a girl who could dance in the village square without getting her hair tangled in another person. A girl who could visit with strangers passing through town without being gawked at like some sort of rare animal.

She turned back to her mother and smiled.

"Thank you, Mother. It is beautiful." Her mother seemed to finish crying, but her eyes were still red. Orelia went up to her mother and gave her a very big and firm hug.

"Mother, I love you. I am so thankful for you raising me. I know you would rather me stay and marry a man and have children like a normal girl, but I can't." She backed away from her mother, but still held onto her shoulders. "I have had my heart set on this since the day I meet Rhoda. Please, give me your blessing."

Her mother paused for a moment.

"You won't be happy unless you are a Cunning Woman. If I forced you to stay...it would be selfish, and being a mother means you have to sacrifice your happiness for your children." She gave a sad smile. "Mothers are naturally selfish when it comes to their children, but being a mother also means being selfless. It is a hard path to walk."

"I bet it is much harder than being a Cunning Woman." Orelia told her

At that her mother gave a smile that she hadn't seen in weeks.

Orelia would have to start her journey on foot. While she exited the village, she was greeted by people begging, and a few women weeping, for her not to go to the Capital. Having faced her mother she actually found it easier to handle them. She just smiled, and told them to pray for her, and the Gods would take care of her.

When the blonde girl finally, excited the village, she went through the forest. It was a sort of sad nostalgia when she got deeper into the woods that the last time she was there was with Rhoda. Happy memories surfaced...but the grief wasn't as painful as it had been. After all she was going to finish Rhoda's last wish for her.

She should enjoy the forest while she could because it could be the last time….

Where had that thought come from? Of course, she would see it again. She would return to her village one day and be its Cunning Woman. She had promised.

But still the thought troubled her, as she walked through the rest the trial. Orelia was now very grateful for all the long walks she had gone on with Rhoda through hills and foliage, since it was more easier for her to travel without her feet hurting or too much exhaustion.

Finally, she made her way to the busier village that was her first stop on her long journey to the Capital. She had been through there a few times in her life and had never liked it. She caught too many people staring at her hair in shock, but now she didn't feel so different with her mother's cloak covering her hair, she looked like any other girl.

She paid her fare for the wagon that was sparsely populated, likely not many going in the direction she was. It was the beginning of Autumn, where the heat had made it not so uncomfortable to travel, but also far away enough from Winter that there wasn't much traffic from the busy trade that took place during that harsh season.

It was odd not to be the center of attention, but the girl found herself welcoming it. It was wonderful to just be another face in a new place. A good way to start the journey, but over the mountains and through the hills...weariness took a toll on her fascination with new traveling.

She never thought traveling could truly be this tiring, and she was in a wagon. But it did take a toll on her body, the bumps in the road, the boredom, and weariness all at once. She caught herself a few time eating out of boredom, a bad habit that she needed to stop before it began. During their stops at Inns she was tempted to go into town, and buy herself a book, since she had only brought the essentials along to make her less of an eye for thieves. But she tore herself away from the very tempting idea reminding herself that the money was only for food and emergencies.

She spent one and a half weeks traveling in the wagon and by the end she was surely glad when they reached their next stop at the first city that Orelia had seen in her entire life. At the mere sight of the….thing, Orelia was greatly tempted to get on the floor of the wagon, lay flat down, and beg the driver to take her back, and go back home and tell everyone that she was wrong, and a fool to think she could handle a city.

But she couldn't. Orelia's blue eyes scanned the sight before her. There were buildings, almost as far as the eye could see...and they were all so close together. She knew many good neighbors, but even she couldn't imagine many in her village happy about living so close to one another. Was this one of the reasons that country folk often thought city folk were unhappy? Because they lived so close together?

It was a thing to ponder, as she made it down the wagon, her eyes never leaving the city before her. The sheer size and people made it intimidating to the young girl. And it wasn't even the capital...doubt, that ever great thief, seized her heart again. How could she got by? How could she not get lost in such a labyrinth. It wasn't like Aspen where she knew everyone. Who could she ask for directions. What if she asked someone, who was secretly, a thief who would lead her into a robber's den, and who knows what could happen there? Flashes over horrible things she had heard told about the city around many of camp fire came back to haunt her.

"Are you, okay, Miss?" She heard the concern voice of the Wagon driver. Orelia was jerked out from the dramatic horror her imagination had become to reality by the sound of the man's voice. The girl took realization of herself and realized she was in an awkward position of having paused halfway out of the wagon, where her grip was knuckle white on the sides of the wagon.

She turned red, and scrambled off.

"Yes, Sir, I am. Thank you for asking." She looked down, probably only adding to his thoughts about her. Gods and Spirits, by the way she as acting she was going to get thrown into the mad house. She looked up and made the mistake of forcing a smile. Forced smiles were worse than frowns to the wise, and there was no doubt this wagon driver had seen enough people to be concern.

"Are you sure, Miss?"

Orelia felt her mouth go dry. This was truly the testing point. If she went home, nobody would blame her, and life would go back to being the familiar way it was. Familiar and happy, that is what it would be. They would be thankful to see her, if anything they were worried and had made many sacrifices for her well being and probably some for her to come to her senses and return home.

And then there was the unknown. The unknown was one of the scariest things of all. People always feared what they didn't understand, and to Orelia the city was defiantly one of them. She didn't know what could happen to her out there. She knew she could meet Hedge and learn to be a Cunning Woman, but what about in between? So many things could go wrong. She could never see home again, or worse.

If she returned to the village she would have the safe future of a husband and children, if she went on to the Capital it meant the unknown, but the possibility of her dreams as a Cunning Woman coming true.

Panic began in her. Maybe she should go back. No one would blame her. After all no one believed she could do it from the start.

She was about to open her mouth when she remembered.

Rhoda believed in her. She was the one who sent her on this mission. She was one who made the arrangements. Rhoda was the only who always believed in her. Rhoda was the one who always encouraged her to do things she was afraid of her...the one who wanted her succeed.

If she turned back now...everything would be for nothing. She stepped back, and gave a sincere, but small smile.

"No, but thank you. I just had a few dark thoughts there. But it's worth a raincloud to see a rainbow eventually, right?" The wagon driver raised a brow, and Orelia blushed. She doubted she just helped her case for not being thrown into the mad house. She gave a quick bow, and tightened hold over her bag..and walked right into the gates of the large city.

Here goes everything, she thought.

The young woman was overwhelmed the moment, she got into the city, so many people, animals, and smells. She found herself for once being the one gawking instead of gawked. She observed the city people, and she noticed how they went among their business without much care of the sheer amount of people around them. They must be use too it.

Orelia's thoughts were interrupted by a harsh shove, causing her to wobble to the side.

"Move it." Came a harsh voice, she saw a burly man pass her.

"I am sorry, Sir." The golden hair girl told him, but he merely huff and carried on his way. Orelia blinked, as she gathered herself, then began to move.

So she guessed that her villagers were right about the city folk always being in a hurry. How was she going to handle this. The wagon was gone now.

She had to carry on. The girl took out her map and tried to find her way among the labyrinth of the city to the next wagon load on the way to the capital.

But sadly, she found herself so lost, and reading her map in the mass of bodies and buildings that all looked the same did not help matters none. She was now an hour into the city, and now had no idea where she was on the map.

Worry started to creep in the girl. What if she missed the Wagon that was suppose to leave by mid afternoon. Yes, the Sun was still high, but that didn't do her any good if she was halfway across the city when the wagon left.

She had no choice.

Orelia had to ask a someone for help. Her memory flashed back to her recent and brief encounter with the city person who had knocked her out of their way. Would everyone be annoyed, if she asked?

But what choice did she had. She looked around and spotted a house ware seller sitting in her corner of the marker, without a customer around. This could be her chance, she approached the older woman with caution.

"Excuse me." She asked, softly. The older woman looked up to her...and smiled. Orelia was stunned. She didn't expect for a smile from a city woman.

Orelia began to explain what was happening the woman gave a nod and called someone.

It was a little boy.

"Here is my son, Job. He will take you to where you need to be. Take care, girl. Many will take advantage of a pretty girl from the country." She was shocked by the kindness of this old woman. She had long imagined city people to be cruel, but this woman showed her kindness.

Perhaps it was another step to becoming a Cunning Woman.

Realizing that there was goodness as long as she looked for it.