Sarah: Due to Keeper's "plot twist," Meg will no longer be apart of these disclaimer discussions until further notice.

Brooke: We hate you, Keeper.

Me: You can have your disclaimer privileges back.

Brooke: That only helps a little.

Ellie: Keeper only owns us and the "plot."

"If I could make you stop and take a look at me instead of just walking by, there's nothing that I wouldn't do if it was getting you to notice I'm alive." -A Goofy Movie

"Brooke, move your lazy arse so I'm not the only person repaying Elain and Horst for their generosity." Rebecca growled as she tried to push her cousin off the bed. The response was a muffled groan.

Rebecca exited the room in search of someone who could help in the otherwise futile attempt. "Baldor!" She said as she reached the top step, he saw her and his eyes widened and he turned to flee, though she was too fast for him. She took him by his shoulders and steered him into their room. "Be a good lad and flip Brooke off the bed."

He raised an eyebrow, but did not question it, lifting the mattress automatically rolling Brooke on to the floor.

"Thanks Baldor!"

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I never said that." He said playfully and dodged a pillow. "Oh, and Rebecca, Roran just arrived if you-" Brooke doubted Rebecca heard anything past 'Roran' and zipped down the stairs.

"She's got it bad," Brooke murmured.

"And you don't?" Baldor scoffed before kissing her cheek. She rolled her eyes and shoved the pillow to his face before tugging along with her cousin.

When she reached the kitchen, Rebecca was doing the dishes and acting as nonchalant as possible as Roran ate whatever Elain had put before him. Brooke knew that, since Garrow's death, Roran had close to forgotten about Rebecca in his attempt to salvage every other part of his life. In a way, she understood that a lot of things—very few being good—had happened, but that didn't mean he should completely shun Rebecca. Brooke then preceded to glare daggers at him for the entire rest of the time, save for when Baldor offered to go hunting with him and she glared at him as well.

Later, Brooke pulled him aside and they spoke quietly, "Will you please speak to Roran about Rebecca? Please, please, please? For me?"

He thought for a moment and nodded; she thanked him with a hug and a laugh.

The next morning, Brooke decided to pull her cousin's head out of the gutter by surprising her with a trip to the Anora river where they would swim in their undergarments like old times.

The only problem? Getting her out of the house.

Elain was all for the idea, though Horst made a bet with Albriech that Rebecca wouldn't leave the house while his son predicted the persistent cousin could drag her all the way to The Anora whether she wanted to or not.

"Come on, Becs," Brooke begged. "It'll be good for the both of us and-"

"I'm going to finish the book Albriech lent me, which means I can't-"

"Screw the book, you can finish it when we get back."

"What if I want to become an anti-social bibliophile like Meg?!"

"First off, stop using fancy terms and B. Meg and Murtagh are together! Mark my words, the next time we see them, they'll be close to, if not already, engaged."

"What if we never see them again, Stream? Did you think of that?"

Brooke fell silent. Hesitantly, she replied quietly, "It was you who decided to come here to be with Roran, Bec; perhaps you should've thought of that before you chose to come here."

Rebecca looked up only to watch Brooke leave and sighed. She'd done it now. She groaned and hit her head against the wall at her mistake.

She was about to track down her cousin when Roran burst into the room, panting from a run. She was surprised, at first, to see him, but then decided to put on a scowl and wait patiently for him to talk.

However, he said nothing until Horst, Albriech and Elain were brougt in by Baldor as he could not find Brooke. "There are kingsmen here along with the two strangers that killed my father."

"They're called the Ra'zac." Rebecca interrupted, recognizing the foul creatures after Baldor gave a description. They all looked at her with surprise, confusion and some even went to anger.

"You knew this." Roran accused, his eyes narrowed but clearly displaying hurt. "You knew this and you did not tell me?"

"I know a lot of things I shouldn't." She whispered, then replied louder, "I was sworn to secrecy by Brom and I am not one to break promises."

"Decidedly not." Roran growled.

"It's not like you gave me a chance to." She defended. "You went around interacting with literally every other person here except for me. The only reason I came back her was for you. Otherwise, Brooke and I would be thousands of miles away with Ellie, Sarah and Meg."

"I couldn't stand to have you consider me an embarrassment. I was away trying to build a future for us to share." He countered.

Under different circumstances, she would've considered that sweet, but not now. Now, she was angered, "The only time you'll be an embarrassment is when your priorities are blinding you, such as now." With that, she stormed away in search of her cousin.

Out of anger and need, Roran went into the Spine on the story that he was hunting so that the soldiers and Ra'zac would not find him.

As a few days rolled by, Baldor became a little more protective of Brooke—especially since Quimby's death—and even more so when the soldiers started walking through Carvahall. Upon his request, she did not leave the house.

The night of the fire scared her the most. Baldor had taken her and Rebecca out back in case their house set on fire, but he told them to stay put while he helped to stop the flames. From the smoke and fright, the girls wept and waited to hear from the other villagers.

When Blador returned, Brooke hugged him tightly and he whispered soothing words. As Rebecca walked past him to search for a way to be of use, she overheard some of his words and clenched her fists in pure jealousy

"Are you freaking out of your mind?!" Brooke exclaimed when Baldor explained the plan to defend Carvahall to the girls.

"No, I'm protecting that which I care about." He replied firmly.

Brooke sighed, she knew there was no changing his mind. "Just please be careful; and keep an eye on Roran for Rebecca. She won't admit it, but she feels awful about what happened."

"I will, love," He said and kissed her forehead. "As long as you're waiting for me when I return."

"Always."

Rebecca knew, even as they left, that attacking—with the intentions not to kill—would only result in further bloodshed. More would come. More would be lost. The more she thought about this, the more she realized that they could not stay in Carvahall.