After leaving the main entrance, Saewin immediately cut to the right- passed the stables and straight down the hill- essentially making a straight bee line to the wayshrine of Zenithar in less than five minutes. As they walked, Tala kept eyeing the large greyish bag he was carrying, realizing that he may have returned from a quest of sorts and had items he needed to sort out.

'How come he didn't deal with that first?' She silently wondered before speaking up. "I hope I didn't take you away from business by doing this."

"It's fine." Saewin said, glancing over his shoulder for a second before returning his gaze to the upcoming shrine and adjusting the weight of the bag on his shoulder. "I was coming from Bravil to pick up supplies for Batul. On my way back, I cut through the West Weald forest and ran into a group of marauders that set up camp in an abandoned priory close to the border. After disposing of them, I took some items I felt would be of value for Batul and Athrelor. It's not as if they're counting on me to deliver a steel armor set and some bottles of vintage wine. We'll visit this wayshrine and then I'll conduct my business with them."

Once they reached their destination, Tala took a look at the etched anvil within the obelisk- confirming that this was indeed a wayshrine to Zenithar- before approaching the shrine within. And in thinking of an anvil, Tala noticed that from her position, she could the city of Anvil itself out on the distance. It was a remarkable view with the forest and the blue sky with white poufy clouds and the distant city. But she could enjoy the scenery in a minute. As she kneeled before it and bowed her head to say her orisons, Saewin walked the outer platform and scanned the perimeter- either to take in the view or to keep watch, she wasn't sure which. She guessed the latter.

'Zenithar, may my honest heart and good intentions be seen as prosperous work in your eyes, and guide me towards my intended path.' She prayed, speaking both in her mind and silently mouthing the words.

Right as she opened her eyes after finishing her meditation, Saewin suddenly asked, "So... if you are visiting wayshrines, does this mean you are taking up the call of the Prophet?"

Tala quickly glanced over at him and blinked her eyes wide and rapid at him. "You know about that?"

Saewin nodded as his eyes continued to scan the area. "I heard about the attack on the Chapel from the patrons at the inn while I was in Bravil. I then learned of the pilgrimage from a knight visiting the wayshrine just outside the city when I left just before sunrise this morning... Sir Roderic, I think he said his name was."

Tala instantly remembered Sir Roderic, the Imperial who felt himself worthy to take on the pilgrimage. 'He made it to Bravil already? That was fast. But I guess if that's all he's doing, then I suppose it's not a surprise.' "I don't think I'm as dedicated to walking the Pilgrim's Way like Sir Roderic," Tala replied, "but I am making a point to visit at least one wayshrine dedicated to each of the Nine when I can. I'm trying my best to not ignore my family while I find out if the Gods deem me worthy enough to be a part of their Divine plan."

"I see. Well, at least you can add this one to your list." He joked. His smile slightly faltered as he openly mused, "Hm, come to think of it, that wayshrine he was at was also dedicated to Zen... err, Zenithar."

When she caught the last piece of Saewin's sentence, her inquisitiveness finally got the better of her. "So I have to ask: where are you originally from?"

Saewin finally stopped his need to patrol and turned his head to give her his full attention. His face held a cautious expression as he monotonously responded, "Why do you ask?"

Tala quickly picked up on his change in demeanor. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I'm just curious. You have a subtle accent, and you refer to Zenithar as Zen. The Bosmer in Valenwood refer to him as Zen. I wondered if you were from another province. I came here to Cyrodiil as well, and it's nice to meet a fellow foreigner when I get the chance."

"...I had wondered about that as well." Saewin replied as his wary demeanor faded. "Your dialogue and mannerisms are something that I usually saw with Bretons when I was in High Rock. You're not descended from the Direnni clan by any chance?"

Tala's eyes lit up as she rose from her kneeling position and took a seat on the edge of the shrine. "I know I am several generations back on my father's side when the Direnni Hegemony was still in power, but there's not enough left to still be a part of today's noble household. So you've been to High Rock?"

"For a little while, yes." He said. "I've traveled to every province in Tamriel in the last hundred or so years, and stayed in each place for a considerable amount of time."

She couldn't help but enthrallingly smile. Hearing that brought her back to when she was a young girl listening to the travelers that visited her town. "W-wow! I didn't realize you were... well that you're..."

"That old?" He said with a chuckle. "Well technically I'm not very old given elven longevity. But I suppose a hundred and forty-one is old for human standards."

"Well, that... and that you are quite the adventurer! How long were you in High Rock?"

Saewin's eyes darted up and around, and his head wavered from side to side as he thought about it. "Oh, let's see... twenty years, maybe? But that was a very long time ago. I never stayed in one place for very long while I was there, simply because I wanted to travel and see all that the province had to offer. I'd stay in Evermoor for a year or two, then move to Daggerfall, then settle in a little town outside of Shornhelm, and so on. I did live on Betony for a few years, but had to leave due to the war there."

Tala's head slightly shook and she blinked rapidly in shock. "By Talos, you mean... you were there during the War of Betony?"

"Well I wasn't there for long." Saewin said with a chuckle. "Betony was the last place I lived in High Rock. From there, I traveled through Hammerfell for a couple of years and then decided to revisit the Summerset Isles shortly after. That's where I was living before deciding to revisit Cyrodiil for a second time."

"Wow! It sounds like you like to travel!" Tala joyfully remarked.

"You could say so." He lightly agreed. "Before my mother passed, I told her I wouldn't stay in one place forever. She did her best to self-teach me and provide a good life, despite being a tailor at a blacksmith's shop and harvesting moon sugar stalks on the side. As an adult, I stayed by her side for many years, keeping an eye on her by staying close to home and working as the blacksmith's assistant. After she and the blacksmith that took us in both passed, I felt I owed it to my mother to make the most of my life rather than sitting in one place going nowhere and living a quiet, unfulfilling life. Since then, I've done nothing but travel from place to place, living in every province and learning the cultures I had read about as a boy."

Tala couldn't help but smile in awe. 'What an interesting guy. I'm a little bit jealous that he's been to every province.' "That's incredible! So what made you decide to return to Cyrodiil?"

"I hadn't been here since I first left my home province about a century ago, so I wanted to see the sights again. Bad timing, it seemed. I wasn't here for very long before the Oblivion Crisis happened."

"I bet that was one sight you weren't expecting to see." Tala joked. "I know I wasn't planning on it when I moved here."

Saewin softly chuckled again as he crossed his arms and leaned against a pillar. "I was near Kvatch when the Great Gate opened, resting at a farm just west of the city. The farmer I was helping- poor fellow- believed that a large Storm Atronach living in a cavern nearby was some sort of god that we angered, and that was why the Oblivion Gate opened. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he just refused to believe me. It... didn't work out well for him... almost didn't work out well for me either. I left the farm when the Gate opened to help the people there and when I returned to check on him, he had disappeared. His notes scattered about the farmhouse helped me realize that he left to try and appease the Storm Atronach, so I went looking for him. It unfortunately took his life, and I sustained serious wounds trying to take it down. I don't know restoration magic, and I gave away my health potions to the injured civilians after helping some escape. I didn't know if the healers had made it out since they refused to leave the city until everyone was accounted for, so I chose to remain in the farmhouse and did my best to take care of myself. Shortly after that, you showed up, closed the Gate, and left."

"Wow." Tala repeated. "Were you able to stop the bleeding?"

"I did manage the cauterize the wound, but I had lost so much blood and I had no resources left for preventing infection. I knew hiding out without any means of healing was a death sentence, but given the situation up at Kvatch, I took the foolish risk of trying to take care of myself with what little means I could find. I honestly was lucky that I survived. I was discovered by a guard coming to check on the farmer a few days after the Gate had closed. She helped me get to the chapel healer and recover. After that, I felt I owed it to the survivors to stay and help rebuild. I also decided make my home in the now abandoned farm and keep it in working order to provide food to the townspeople... and I haven't left since."

"Sounds like you had and interesting start to your revisit to Cyrodiil." Tala said with a sympathetic chuckle.

Saewin bore her a slight smirk. "Indeed. Tell me, what was your experience when the Crisis occurred?

"Well, I don't know if it was as bad as yours, but I wasn't pleasant either. I came here feeling like my purpose in life was somewhere other than my tiny village outside of Cloud Springs, so I traveled to Cyrodiil to find where I was meant to belong. No business wanted to hire me because of my hair, and I ran out of money quick. When I thought about calling it quits and going back home, I got a letter from one of my mother's brothers-of-faith in the chapel of Akatosh telling me that my village was attacked by bandits and my parents were killed in the raid. Rather than end up a homeless beggar on the streets of the Imperial City, I resorted to taking mercenary jobs to try and make come coin. I ended up in jail after being mistaken for a bandit, even though I was trying to clear out a bandit camp. In my jail cell, I met Emperor Uriel as he was trying to escape from the men who murdered his sons. The Emperor thought that it was fate that caused us to meet, and from there I was given a second chance at life... and a purpose. I always thought I would do something great with my life, but I never thought becoming the Champion of Cyrodiil was that something."

Saewin listened with a warm smile, which grew a little warmer by the time she was finished. "Seems as if we both had an interesting and life-changing experience when coming to Cyrodiil."

"It was definitely interesting... but I don't think I would want my experience to be different. I met a lot of great people during the Crisis. I made lots of friends... and met my husband here. I heard... well, Sigrid said you met your wife here as well."

Saewin's eyes slowly filled with sadness, and a soft forlorn smile remained on his lips. "Muriel was an unexpected surprise in my life. I've had mates in the past, but none have been like her. Something about her strong spirit and bold personality just intrigued me. I think I did the same for her. She also was more interested in who I was as a person. It was refreshing."

"I know what that's like." Tala tenderly said. "I was mocked for my hair color growing up... and judged for it as an adult. It was a shock to hear someone tell me they liked my hair, and saw me for who I was."

Saewin let a short, yet intrigued hum rumble in his throat. "It seems we understand each other better than we think."

"Yeah, I guess we do. I... I am deeply sorry to hear that you lost your wife, though. There's... no greater pain than losing someone who meant the world to you. I could only imagine how I'd feel if I lost my husband."

He then let a soft tittering laugh escape under his breath as he looked away from her and out towards the forest landscape. "Thank you for your sympathy." He gently replied. "I pray and hope you never have to understand me from that perspective. I am terribly sorry to hear that you lost your family back home."

Her sight then fell to the ground. Unfortunately, she did understand what that was like. But she knew she couldn't risk sharing that part of her grief with a fellow widower. As much as he seemed easy to talk to, Tala realized that Saewin was very guarded about his upbringing. He still never answered her question on where he was from. Though he did let slip that his mother worked in moon sugar fields, so there's the high likelihood that his province of birth was Elsweyr. But that was probably going to be the most she'll ever get. She was just better off pretending to empathize about his grief rather than admit she sympathizes as well.

Tala then stood up from the shrine and faked a stretch while she mustered the energy to sound peppy again. "Well, I can say it's refreshing to meet someone who I can relate to in a way. You'll have to share your stories of travel with my son and I sometime."

"And I might have to inquire about your tales as Tamriel's champion." Saewin responded as he put on another soft smile. "My daughter might not quite understand just yet, but I would be interested in trading experiences with you on dealing with the daedra."

"Perhaps when we get our kids, we can take Olana up on her offer for tea and chat awhile?" Tala suggested.

"That doesn't sound too terrible. Why not?" He then pushed himself off of the pillar with his shoulder and followed her to the road to take an easier trek back to Kvatch.

As they walked, Saewin made a point to add, "By the way, my daughter's name is Arkaedii. Your son's name is...?"

"Marten." Tala replied back, to which Saewin gave her a single nod of acknowledgement. "Arkaedii... that's a pretty name. Is that derived from Arkay?"

"Perhaps. It's a derivative of Arkaedios... it was the name of my mother's grandfather. My wife came up with it shortly before she died. Said it sounded like a more feminine version of the name, since we had a girl and not a boy."

"I got my name in a similar fashion." Tala musingly commented. "My father wanted to name me Talos if I was a boy, but since I was born a girl, my mother came up with Tala as an alternative."

Saewin gave her an amused expression and a chuckle rumbled in his chest, and they remained silent for a good hundred feet up the winding hill. After all the chatter, Tala felt the silence to be uncomfortable, so she decided to speak up again and see if she could get more information from him.

"So... you know what makes me different. Since we've shared so much about each other, I have to ask: what is it about you that makes you different?"

He remained silent for a long pause before he replied, "My heritage."

"Being half Altmer and Dunmer?"

Saewin glanced at her for a fleeting moment under his hood before focusing back on the road ahead. "Sigrid told you about that as well." He said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"She said it's what your wife told anyone who asked."

"Muriel was good at speaking up and settling suspicions whenever I hesitated. It was one of the things I admired about her."

Settling suspicions? That instantly made Tala think of Marten and her cover story for his heritage. Clearly Saewin was hiding something that he didn't want the world to know. And if she wasn't willing to share her seven-year secret, Tala knew she wasn't going to hear his one-hundred-and-forty-one-year secret after only knowing each other for less than a day. "I see. Forgive me if my curiosity got the better of me."

He then stopped and turned a little to face her. "No apologies necessary. I recognize that I still draw attention to myself in my attempts to be discreet, and I would have inquired too if our roles were reversed. It's just best if I don't reveal too much about my life beyond what I've told you. All of us have deep secrets we'd rather keep best left alone. This is one of them. But remember, what we look like doesn't determine who we are." He then lightly tapped his chest with his index and middle finger as he added, "What matters is our moral compass, does it not?"

Tala couldn't help but smile. "My mother always told me that 'Good deeds lead to good things'. It's been what guides my moral compass for years."

"Your mother was a wise person. She raised a very strong and compassionate woman. I'm delighted to have made your acquaintance and gained your friendship today, Tala. Come." Saewin then nodded his head towards Kvatch and then resumed walking up the winding road. "Let's see if our children are ready to call it a day."

Tala nodded once and followed. And as they headed for the gate, she thought, 'This was fun. I hope Marten is having a good time as well.'

Fenja and Marten did their best to be on the lookout for Quinton to appear. So far, they were doing a good job of hiding behind the chapel, or behind houses, and sneaking away when they spotted him. Though eventually, they turned the corner around a house to see Faela running as fast as she could, with Quinton in hot pursuit. While Fenja quickly dashed behind the little Bosmer, Marten didn't react fast enough to gain a good lead, and eventually felt Quinton's hand on his back.

"Tag! You're It!" Quinton proclaimed.

Everyone stopped running once they heard the declaration while Marten laughed a little.

"Aw, so close!" He said with a smile. "Ok, so do I count to ten and you run?"

"Yep." Quinton simply said as he turned to run back from where he came from.

Marten did as he was instructed, watching as the girls turned to run in the direction they were going prior to Quinton catching him. He noticed that Faela ran back towards the orphanage, but Fenja ran into the ruins of the Arena. Upon seeing that, his smile quickly disappeared. Once he finished counting, he lightly jogged up to the ruins before stopping at the first fallen pile of rubble. He knew if an adult caught them in here, they'd be severely reprimanded.

'I thought we weren't supposed to go in there.' He worriedly thought. 'Maybe... I should just go in there just to chase Fenja out. That way we won't be in trouble.'

He then cautiously ventured further into the ruins, looking around for any sign of Fenja within. As he got closer towards the center of what used to be the arena's battle grounds, he noticed someone sitting atop of a large pile of wall just north beyond the fighting ring. The closer he got, the more he figured out that it was a girl, but not any of the three that were currently at play. This girl looked younger than him, and she had a mess of silvery-white hair. Her outfit consisted of a steel-grey tunic with a dark grey long-sleeved shirt underneath and a dark blue skirt. He did see that her ears had a longer point to them, as the point itself ever-so-slightly poked out through her hair. She didn't seem to notice Marten approaching her. She just simply sat up there, using a small rock as a chalk implement to draw on the stone that she was sitting upon. But once he got within five feet of her, she finally caught him within her periphery and sharply turned her head to face him. Her eyes were a rich blue with a brown center, and her face had some dirt smudging on just the left side of her face.

"Who are you?" She warily asked. She didn't perfectly pronounce her vowels when she spoke. Marten was used to Amal still doing that even as he was getting older. He guessed that she was around his cousin's age.

"I'm Marten." He said as he gave her the usual nervous wave of his hand. "Who are you?"

The girl hesitated for a moment before replying, "Arkaedii."

Arkaedii. The girl Quinton said couldn't play with them because she bit him. "Hi." He replied before taking another couple of steps closer. "Why are you here?"

She stared at him for another long moment before she resumed etching scribbles with her rock. "Drawing." She simply replied.

"Um... I'm trying to find Fenja. Did you see her?"

"No." She absentmindedly replied.

"Um... W-won't you be in trouble for being here? Miss Olana said we can't be in here."

"Yeah." She said.

"So... why are you in here then?"

"Quinton. He's gonna tell Miss Olana I bit him, and I'll be in trouble."

"Why did you bite him?" Marten asked as he took another step towards her.

"He called me a f'eak." Arkaedii slowly started to explain. "He always calls me a f'eak and he shoves me and he put his hand on me and pushed me to a wall." Arkaedii replied, her eyes still focused on her drawings. "He had his hand on my face and I bit him 'cause it hurt."

Marten's eyes widened. "What? Why didn't you tell Miss Olana that he was being mean to you?"

Arkaedii shrugged. "She gets mad at me when I bite him. He does it all the time. He pulls my hair and pulls my ears and pinches my arm and calls me names. I hit him and bite him to make him leave me alone. He cries and tells Miss Olana, and she puts me in a corner all day."

'Oh. Miss Olana's taking Quinton's side.' He then walked up to the rock so that he was in her view while she drew. "Is Quinton mean to the other girls?"

"No. Dalia and Faela do what Quinton says. They don't pick on me and they don't tell him to stop."

"That doesn't sound very nice." Marten said with a genuine frown.

Arkaedii finally looked up from her stony seat just enough to look at him. "No..." She murmured before looking back down. "He always gets mean when I come and right before I leave. And he gets mean when I talk about my daddy. He gets mean with Fenja when she talks about her mommy, too."

'Huh... he was a little rude to Mama about her hair. Is he just mean to a lot of people?' Marten decided not to think about it further. He then switched his frown to a soft smile and slightly tilted his head in a curious, puppy-dog fashion. "How old are you?"

She stopped what she was doing to look at her free hand and slowly flexed each of her fingers for a long moment, clearly trying to remember how to count. Eventually she held out her open hand and said, "Five."

"I thought so! I have a cousin who's five." Marten happily replied.

Arkaedii simply stared at him. He could tell she was wary of him, and he felt bad that she was being left out of the fun just because of one bully. He knew Quinton wanted to leave her out, but if it was just because he was being mean, then that was no reason to exclude her. Surely Fenja and the girls would understand that.

So he decided to offer the invitation. "Did you want to play tag with us?"

Her eyes quickly lit up. "I can?"

"Sure. I'm the one who's 'It' right now. So if you wanted to play, I'll give you a heads start."

For the first time since they'd been talking, Arkaedii finally smiled. "Ok!" She gleefully exclaimed. She then put her rock down and climbed off the wreckage. "Pro'ise you won't tag me?"

"I promise." He said with a playful smirk. "At least not right away. I'll count to ten first. Ready? One. Two..."

Arkaedii bore him a toothy grin before she ran off giggling. As he watched her head out of the abandoned arena, a part of Marten felt relieved that he got one person out of the forbidden zone. The next one he needed to find was Fenja. When he was sure she was out of earshot, he stopped counting and started looking around the arena again. Eventually, he noticed a piece of her blue skirt sticking out behind a pillar, so he looked around it to make sure she was okay. To his relieve, she was fine, just hunkered down.

"Hey, Fenja?" He started to get her attention.

Upon seeing him, Fenja yelped and quickly started to run, which was not what he wanted.

"Wait! Hang on! I gotta talk to you!" Marten shouted as he chased her down the ramp and out back towards the orphanage.

"Nuh-uh! If I stop, you might tag me!" She shouted over her shoulder as she rounded towards the back of the building.

As he got closer, Marten heard a yelp of surprise, followed by "Hurry! Marten's It and he's behind me!". He then slowed down and realized they were going to head around and towards the courtyard again. So he turned around and headed for the other side in hopes to catch someone. He watched as Fenja and Faela ran out, both girls shrieking with surprise and trying to run faster towards the statue near the castle gates. When Faela darted out ahead of Fenja and tried to use the statue as a barrier to evade him, she collided with Arkaedii, whom was hiding behind the statue's basin. He quickly stopped his pursuit when he saw Fenja stopped and the other two girls both flat on the ground and cradling their minor injuries.

"Hey! Are you two okay?" Marten asked.

"No." Arkaedii whimpered as she got up and rubbed a scrape on her ankle. She then saw Marten and quickly added, "Don't tag me! I got hurt!"

Instantly, Faela squeaked in shock. "You can't play with us!" She shouted. "Quinton said you can't!"

Arkaedii slightly recoiled and her whole demeanor changed. She went from being happy to all-out defeated. "B-but h-he said I c-could play..." She whimpered as she subtly pointed to Marten.

"Quinton started the game. He said you couldn't play with us." Fenja tried to explain.

"Yeah! You bit him!" Faela snapped.

Marten watched Arkaedii's eyes get watery and her lower lip start to quiver. She was really hurt by this. It didn't sit well with the kid who was not by any means a bully, nor a caterer to one.

"Hey." Marten interjected. "Quinton was the one who pushed her up against a wall and was mean to her. She bit him to get him to let go."

Both girls suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, Quinton's mean." Fenja started. "He's kind of mean to me too. He's not really my friend. We just play together."

"Why does he pick on you too?"

Fenja shrugged. "He tends to pick on me anytime I mention my mom, and he gets grumpy when she's around. Faustin said he's just sad about losing his parents and he's 'acting out'. He's upset about seeing other kids with their parents, or something like that. But I don't care as long as he doesn't pick on Faela and Dalia. He's older and bigger than they are and I don't want him to get mad, or he could start bullying them too. They don't fight him; only Arkaedii fights back. He starts it, and she just hits him or bites him and they both get in trouble with Miss Olana."

Marten's frown deepened. "It doesn't sound like he gets in trouble. Arkaedii said Miss Olana puts her in time out a lot, not Quinton."

"Faustin said Miss Olana knew Quinton's parents. I think she goes easy on him."

Right as Marten opened his mouth to say something else, they suddenly heard Quinton shout, "What is SHE doing here?! I said she can't play!"

Everyone turned around to see the Imperial boy storming over from the chapel with his fists clenched and teeth bared. Faela quickly scurried behind Fenja, but Arkaedii held her ground and glowered at him.

He then stomped up into Arkaedii's face and barked, "Get lost, freak! You can't play!"

"He said I could!" Arkaedii barked back.

Quinton's head whipped around to look at Marten and scowled. "Didn't I tell you one of the rules was 'She couldn't play'?"

Marten started to feel his heart race. He wasn't expecting to hear that no one was going to stand up to Quinton and his behavior, even though they all knew he's in the wrong. If Amal did something rude or mean, his parents quickly reprimanded him for it and he would apologize and not do it again. And any other children he has played with in other cities were certainly not mean- to him or anyone else- at least not while he had been there to visit. The concept of being intimidated by a bigger kid and not getting support from the other kids or the adults was foreign to him.

"Are you listening to me?" Quinton growled. "Or are you stupid?"

"I-I'm not stupid." Marten quickly retorted. "I just don't get why you're being so mean to Arkaedii."

"Why? 'Cause she's a weirdo! She looks weird and she acts weird."

"You're a weirdo!" Arkaedii shouted in her attempt to intimidate her bully.

"Aww, what are you going to do about it? Run to your daddy? You little wimpy daddy's girl." He then snatched one of Arkaedii's ears and yanked on it, causing her to yelp in pain.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Marten quickly snapped as he got in between them.

Quinton scoffed in disgust. "Oh, of course you'd care about the weirdo... since your mom's weird too."

Now Marten wasn't nervous anymore. "My mom's not weird." He firmly said.

"Yeah she is. What normal person has blue hair? None. Whatever's wrong with her is wrong with you too."

"Leave my mom out of this." Marten sternly replied.

"Aww, are you mad I called your mommy weird?" Quinton taunted. "Well I bet I'm not the only one who's called her that, so get used to it!"

"Quinton!" Fenja suddenly berated. "His mom's the Hero of Kvatch!"

"Who cares." He dismissively droned. "So what that she's a hero? She's still looks like a freak."

Marten started grinding his teeth. It wasn't often he got angry, but today he was there. "I'm warning you to shut up and leave her out of this."

"Oh? What are you going to do about it?" Quinton coldly threatened before thrusting his hands into Marten's shoulders, causing the boy to stumble backwards and nearly putting Arkaedii on the ground as well.

"Quinton, stop!" Fenja shouted.

The older boy didn't listen. "Like you can stop me, plant girl. And are you going to let a girl fight for you, mama's boy? Huh?"

He then shoved Marten again, this time causing him to fall backwards into the statue's basin and smack the back of his head against it. Instantly all three girls gasped.

While it didn't lay him out cold, Marten couldn't find it in him to get up. He just laid there on the ground whimpering for a very long moment. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before. The throbbing ache pulsated throughout his head, and he felt himself breathing erratically in his attempt to try and control the urge to cry. After a couple of seconds, Fenja eventually came to help him up; Arkaedii merely put her hands on his arm in her attempt to help him stay upright.

"Aww, poor baby." Quinton mocked. "Did you get a bump on your head? Are you going to run and cry to your mommy now?"

Marten's eyes started to fill up with tears, mostly from the fact that the pain wouldn't go away and now the pulsating throb in his head started making him nauseas. "What in the Nine is your problem?!" He shouted. "We didn't do anything to you!"

"Aww waaaa! Poor mama's boy is a big baby." Quinton mocked again.

It was then that something suddenly clicked in Marten's mind. It was as if the pain gave him a stroke of mental clarity, and he quickly figured out what tool he needed to get his bully to stand down. "So what that I love my mom? She's my mom! I know you're upset about losing your parents, but that's not me, Fenja's, and Arkaedii's fault that we still have parents!"

As Fenja and Faela gasped in shock again, Quinton's smug smile instantly disappeared and he shuffled a few steps backwards in defense. Clearly Marten struck the nerve. "Shut up." The boy said in a low tone.

Marten hesitated as he realized what he said. 'Did I really say that? That was really mean.' "A-again, it's not our fault. It's not a reason to be mean to me or them-"

"I said shut up!" Quinton shouted. "Shut up or else!"

Marten quickly stopped talking as the ache in his head grew unbearable. While he focused on that, Arkaedii smugly decided to taunt her bully. "You shu' up!" She shouted back.

"You shut up too, freak. Or I'll pound you into the ground!"

"Make me you chicken!"

She then felt Marten tap her on the arm, causing her to turn around and give him her attention. "Don't be mean back." He mumbled as he shut his eyes. "Then you're just a bully like hi-"

Before he could finish, Quinton quickly picked up a pebble and threw it at them. The rock collided with the back of Arkaedii's head, causing her to screech from the pain. And as quickly as she screamed, she spun around and rushed straight at her assailant. Quinton quickly panicked and started to run to the orphanage doors, but she was quick enough to catch up to him and grab a hold of his shirt to weight him down. He then turned around to grab her face and shove her away, to which she squirmed out of his clutch, grabbed ahold of his bandaged hand, and clamped her teeth down hard on the exact same spot she did earlier. Quinton's high-pitched scream rang throughout the courtyard and he stopped running to just hold onto his now-twice-injured hand. As tears down his face, Arkaedii just stood defiantly next to him with a seething glare and her own eyes watering from the pain at the back of her head.

"That's what you get!" She shouted as she stuck out her tongue at him.

"ARKAEDII!"

The sudden bellowing of an adult made the children cringe. Everyone but the girl in question turned to look at who it was. Arkaedii didn't need to look. She recognized that yell... and what it meant.

Standing in the courtyard not fifty feet away was her father... with Marten's mother right next to him. And he just saw what she did.

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A/N 7-6-22: Hope everyone didn't mind a longer chapter. I really wanted to keep these two scenes in the same chapter and not have to break it up, and yet this is as condensed as I could get.

I'm also doing my best to tap into my inner child and try to write dialogue in a way that five to ten year olds would speak. Marten may speak a little more maturely, but I'm doing my best to not make the other kids sound that way too. Also in tapping into my inner child, I ended up using a bit of my personal experiences from my childhood (i.e. I was bullied a lot as a small kid). Kids used to call me freak/weirdo from ages five to twelve (even though nothing about me was abnormal, I was just a geeky kid since kindergarten and it was just name calling that bothered me) and I got isolated quite a bit because the bigger/popular kids didn't want me to play with them. Also, getting hit in the head by a rock was something that happened to me too. A bully kept taunting me and I said something back he didn't like (don't remember what it was that I said. I was eight), and he threw a rock at me. It hit my head, I screamed, and the only way I knew how to fight back from ages six to eight was biting, so I did exactly what Arkaedii did. He cried, told a teacher, and I got in trouble for it (he didn't get in trouble for throwing the rock though). But that was normal for me in elementary school. I didn't go to school with orphans (so Quinton's reasoning for being a bully is original), just a lot of kids who could get away with anything because the teachers knew who their parents were. No teacher ever stuck up for me when I was bullied, so I fought back as a kid and would be in trouble for it. So yeah, there's a fun tidbit for you all and the reasoning for why I put that scene in.

Also, I feel bad for putting Marten in a bad situation like this, but life isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows. I promise I won't put him in bad moments like this very often! And at least Tala wasn't having a lousy time, so that balances it out, perhaps?

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!