Edwin sighed, this might get tricky, for his part Edwin was able to guarantee that he wouldn`t lay a finger or cast a spell on Markham yet he couldn`t say the same for Ghyreian. Edwin hadn`t forgotten that she was still quite aggressive and dangerous when she wanted to so he couldn`t guarantee anyone`s safety, not perhaps even his own, if she was going to betray him again one day. Edwin gazed at Ghyreian and then at Wylliam.

"You have my word sir knight, but should we have the slightest reason to hurt him then we just might yet hopefully he will co-operate as you thus far have..."

Edwin said and cast another sleeping spell on the knight that would keep the knight asleep for at least 12 hours unless they wanted to wake him. Edwin was tired and needed a momentary break, he wasn`t willing to leave their newly found hideout as they had just arrived. He sat back in the chair that was near the window and next to a table where lay some rations. Edwin bit the apple again and muttered something to himself´, but after clearing his mouth he declared his own intentions to Ghyreian.

"We might as well stay here and rest for a while, knight Wylliam there will asleep for a half a day at least unless we want him to wake up. I am not keen on continuing before regaining some of my strength..."

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Ghyreian had to agree with Edwin's prudence. Time travel was ever a draining endeavor, and for the past few hours she'd been fueled by adrenaline alone. Now that the rush of danger had abated, she felt keenly the weariness that pervaded her limbs. She was by no means an endurance runner, though her elven stamina had served her well.

She volunteered for first watch. Considering their options for a brief moment, she simply decided to slit the other knight's throat. Too much trouble. In rolled the corpse among the old piles of straw. With any luck, some unfortunate farmer would stumble upon the body a few decades later. She kicked Hammerhand's inert form simply for the joy of it, and received a bruised toe for her pains. They'd removed the knight's weapons belt and thrown off a few pieces of armor, but his breastplate was still rather hard.

Cursing quietly, she stationed herself by the doorframe, just out of view for any passerby coming their direction. They'd tethered their horses inside, so from the outside the farmhouse should appear exactly as they wanted it to - abandoned. She settled down on the ground, huddled deeper in her cloak, and began nibbling on a bit of quith-pa.

Her gaze drifted over to Edwin, his face smooth in slumber. Another maelstrom of conflicting emotions assaulted her. Coldly irritated, she blanked her mind and extracted her spellbook.

_________________

Edwin had slept somewhat well, that was except for a moment when Ghyreian had dragged the other knights corpse away and Edwin had hoped she really wouldn`t have done that. Yet he guessed he would have caused too much trouble as they would advance, but Wylliam wouldn`t be too happy when he would discover his fellow knights fate. Edwin shook his head and went back to sleep, but awoke seeing Wylliam stripped of some of his equipment and Ghyreian reading a book. Both wise moves actually, at least something Edwin could accept without having regrets about it later on.

"Do tell dear Ghyreian..."

Edwin began with his eyes closed, but that familiar smirk on his face yet perhaps this time it was more forced than ever, it wasn`t natural and seemed like it could break at any moment. Edwin then opened his eyes and the smirk vanished as fast as it had appeared, like a mirage, something that just was never there to begin with.

"Do you feel obliged in killing everyone that are of no further use to you or do you just do it for fun? Will you try to kill me again when I am useless to you? Because if you are going to do so again then I suggest you do it now, if anyone asks you can claim that the death knight or some other horrific thing killed me."

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Why was it that the gods, in all their fabulous foresight, had tossed her in with some self-dubbed sage who just didn't know when to shut up? Edwin seemed intent on peeling apart her every facet and intention, challenging her with introspection just when she'd forced those thoughts out of her mind. That smirk, however fleeting, grated on her nerves. She found that she liked his expression of before much better - that calm visage of sleep.

At least then he wasn't talking.

That smirk did appear more contrived this time, and when he spoke, she glanced down with a modicum of irony at the current page in her spellbook. It was a torture spell, designed brilliantly to melt the flesh of an unfortunate victim. A most morbid and agonizing death. She wondered if that qualified for "killing for fun." It was certainly an entertaining method to watch.

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" she said testily. "So killing all the imbeciles in the world must offer some measure of protection. And since you're not dead yet, consider yourself safe for now." She evinced her customary icy smile.

_________________

Edwin sighed, it was hopeless, she dodged the question with such petty excuses. You`re not dead yet, what a comforting thought and what if this yet would be taken out of the equation? She was almost openly saying that she might as well kill him someday, Edwin got up and with swift steps walked up to her, grabbing her suddenly by the throat. He didn`t choke her, but held her still and forced her to look at him.

"Now it`s time for to stop with the excuses, it`s about time you start thinking about the consequences of your actions and what you do to other people. You say you don`t give a damn about others? Indeed, you kill without any reason when there is always a bloodless path yet you never choose to take it. Because of Nuitari? No, nuitari never demands that nor does your own safety, you kill because you are running scared, you are scared to face the world and all those who might say something bad about you. It`s so much easier to kill them, but never give a damn how everyone else is affected?

I am not trying to act like I am better than you, but it is disgusting to see you act like that, acting like a low life thug who kills without questioning because she will be `safer`. There is no such thing as safe in this world, I thought you as a black robe would have known that..."

Edwin said with clear disgust yet pity in his voice before released his hand, he didn`t have anything more to say and took a few steps back, staring at her quietly for an answer. His eyes didn`t show any emotion, just a cold mirror that reflected everything, just like she had done so many times before.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Ghyreian's first instinct was anger. He had the gall to touch her! Her fingers were already moving for her spell pouches, preparing to blast him into the wall if necessary, when she caught the look in his gray eyes. Steel gray, like a knife. She'd always considered Edwin fairly readable, but his expression now offered nothing. No emotion or humanity. Nothing.

And, for the first time in Ghyreian Nightsong's life, she feared him. She would never admit it, even to herself, but Edwin's words had struck a chord.

None of this showed on her own face when as she steadily met his gaze. When he released her, she resisted the urge to rub her sore neck. The pity in his voice sliced through her like a dagger. Pity! For her! Hatred and anger she could live with and has lived with for all her life, but pity?

"Spineless *beep*," she hissed venomously. "What do you know of fear? Who is afraid to face the world? You follow me blindly, like a faithful dog. What do you fear? Being alone in the darkness, with no one to hold your hand?" She laughed, but even that sounded forced to her own ears. "I kill because that's the way of the world. The knights would have killed us if they could. Why not return the favor? Call if self-defense, if you will. I see the world for what it is - cold and merciless. Kill or be killed. Betray or be betrayed."

_________________

Edwin didn`t blink, but stared at her and kept staring coldly at her with no emotion changing in his eyes as she answered with the same kind of gaze. Her denial was frustrating, but Edwin didn`t care, he never had and wouldn`t until he would drive her over the edge. To simply put it he wanted to see her go ballistic or say something actually meaningful, the tears he had seen. Had they been true? If they had been then why did she continue this attitude of denial? There were two Ghyreians and Edwin was determined on breaking the other. It was about time she was treated like she treated others, it would be her turn to feel what others had felt, what Edwin had felt. So the grey eye`s remained like cold steel.

"Oh no Ghyreian, I am not afraid of being alone, I just do not want to be alone, but I was almost alone before I met you and in that you misunderstood me. And self defense? Killing is the way of the world? Please, that coming from an elf is just unnatural, I thought your kin prided themselves on not killing mindlessly? I thought you elves usually defended yourselves, but never killed your prisoners?"

Edwin said now with a venomous tone back at her, he kept using the word elf, clearly always pointing towards what she was and where she had come from.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

The fact that he kept referring to her heritage did not escape Ghyreian's notice. The loathed word echoed in her mind. Elf. If anything, it only served to incense her.

"Why do you think I left Silvanesti?" she spat. She couldn't recall being this furious in a decade or more. "My kindred were weak and intolerant. I saw nothing for me there, married off as I would have been to an inane elven lord. Catering to the whim of politics, attending affairs of state like a pretty figurehead. Nuitari offered me freedom, and I took it. I fought for years to gain the Art, you fool. Years of secret studying, secret rebellion - do you think I would so readily throw it all away for petty conscience? What did you sacrifice for your magic? Nuitari demands fealty for his favor, and so I freely give it. My robes won't be changing color anytime soon, Edwin. Sorry to disappoint you."

Breathing hard but trying equally hard not to show it, she whirled around and stalked out of the farmhouse. She wasn't leaving - she knew she still needed Edwin and Hammerhand to return to the present. All she wanted was some time alone, away from her hammering heart and the blood pounding in her ears.

_________________

Change the color of her robes? Was that what she thought he was trying to accomplish here? She was mistaken, greatly mistaken, she could keep her black robes, but she couldn`t keep on living like she had, killing mindlessly without no true justification. Her words did hurt and he understood more of what she had gone trough, but Edwin wasn`t willing to let her walk out and walked after her. She was avoiding him, again, this wouldn`t do. Edwin wasn`t going to let her keep on denying things or running away from them by taking the easy way out.

Yet her words had awoken thoughts in Edwin, she had sacrificed everything she had for the art, but what had Edwin sacrificed to compare to her loss? Something to say the least, the ability to live a normal life and a part of his hand when he finally was ready to face his punishment. Edwin took again swift steps after her and grabbed her by the hand, spun her around and wouldn`t let go.

"I am not here to convince you to abandon the art or change the colors of your robes, but to make you see that you are destroying your last pieces of reason with such reckless actions. What have I sacrificed for the art you ask? How about starting with my hand!?"

He said and pulled down his other sleeve, showing the hand that had been severed from the wrist. He raised it almost in front of her eyes, thus far he had always kept it inside his robes and never revealed it as there had been no reason to.

"How about to be accepted by other people around me? And not to mention my pride when in the test I laid scared on the ground, bleeding before Nuitari intervened and made me his offer? I couldn`t possibly know anything of sacrifices when I cannot live a normal life. You on the other hand could, but won`t!"

Edwin said with a furious face, his heart was pounding and his face was twisted by anger.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Ghyreian felt the grip on her hand, pulling her back into the farmhouse. Eyes flashing dangerously, she spun around to be confronted by an equally furious Edwin. His crimson sleeve fell back, baring the stump that was all that remained of his hand. Moonlight glinted on the wrist, healed and rounded off at the ends but still with a tinge of rawness.

For months she'd known about his hand, but he'd never complained nor flaunted it in her face. He'd borne it stoically, without a word, as she now realized he bore many burdens in life. Somehow both the sight and the epiphany sobered her. Her fury abated, leaving only empty anguish in its wake. Suddenly drained, she slumped against the wall.

She'd been wrong to accuse him of sacrificing nothing, she knew. She'd been wrong about many things in her past. Yes, she'd been running all her life. Yes, she'd been too scared and wretchedly proud to admit it. Damn Edwin! Damn them all! There was nothing she could do about it, at least not now. Change was too hard... but at least now...

"What are you trying to say?" she asked wearily.

_________________

Edwin sighed deeply and pulled his sleeve to covered the severed hand, he himself sat down against the wall and gazed at the dark sky that was lighted by the three moons. The white, the red and the black that was beyond his sight, but not Ghyreian`s. As Ghyreian wearily asked her question he let his head fall down and spontaneously smirked, he tiredly gazed at her, the steel was gone and his eyes were back to normal, as they should have been. Both of them were weary of the arguing and both had clearly come to certain realizations about each others, not to mention themselves.

"That you should stop running scared, stop killing people for no reason and just.... stop to think before you act when you have time... it is not a weakness to be reasonable. To obey the common laws of society, but if you do not you are just giving mage haters an excuse to attack you, otherwise according to their laws your robes or their color shouldn`t be a problem.

It was never a problem to me... yet I believe I owe you an apology for two things to say the least, these questions of mine as they have no doubt bothered you and then.... remember Ergoth? I had no right to leave by in the hands of those elves, a friend shouldn`t abandon another. I am sorry those things...."

Edwin said with an exhausted tone, but still kept up that comforting, genuine smirk despite his sentimental apologies yet he had felt that somethings required closure.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Both his sudden change and his apology startled her. Ghyreian had expected him to press his advantage, drive his point home in her moment of weakness. It was what she would have done. What she would have done - plow ahead, take full opportunity at the opening. It only served to remind her of their stark differences.

Something told her that she should apologize as well. She had only to recall their two years of adventuring to know that she had much to apologize for, much to answer to. She'd been wrong in her arrogance, wrong to manipulate Edwin, wrong to succumb to the dragon orb...

However hard she tried, the words stuck in her throat. It was extraordinary, she found herself musing yet again. Extraordinary how this mere human had somehow managed to change her the way he had.

In that tremulous moment of insecurity, she wanted very much for Edwin's hand to touch her once again in reassurance. She wanted very much to collapse right there, with no one watching her... collapse and just...

But she couldn't. She was three hundred years back in time, in an era where mages were wanted for their blood, with a companion that could slice her open with a few well chosen words. No matter what her emotions, she couldn't give in. Not now.

She met Edwin's gaze, her own eyes speaking more than they should have, then looked away again. "I'm tired," she said softly. She reached down where she'd dropped her spellbook. The black binding seemed only to reflect Nuitari's void. She closed her hand over it and tucked it away, back into the saddlebags.

_________________

"Certainly"

He answered quietly before heading to sit near the window to keep guard for the rest of the night, he placed his hand against the window board and his hand across his face. They had come a long way together, facing the threats set against them together as well as stabbing each others in the back for the sake of their own ambition. Edwin was still a member of the council that was lead by Par Salian, a prize he had gained by betraying Ghyreian and by attempting to kill Ariakas with a magical trap, which he unfortunately survived.

Outside the red moon, Lunitari painted the grass crimson red as, if after a bloodbath. Edwin gazed at it quietly and then at Ghyreian. He could only wonder what went on in her mind and what to think about his own emotions. He had come to care for her deeply that he could not deny, but their present situation didn`t seem to be a suitable place for anything. In situations such as this they were supposed to stay strong and together in order to survive this ordeal. Edwin had no idea what would become of them in the future or if they even got into the future, their own present, but he could only hope and act.

As the hours passed, the three fell from the sky and slowly disappeared out of sight as the sun rose from the horizon. Edwin had positioned himself in the doorway, burning his pipe after a proper breakfast. He gazed at the just awakening Wylliam and then at Ghyreian.

"A new day and a new travel, reminds of me of my youth days when I was able to travel where I wanted without being disturbed yet thanks to dim minded people it`s not that easy.... or might have something to do with starting to wear robes, but oh well..."

At first Wylliam muttered something with his eyes narrowed, but soon came to the realization of the fact that he had been stripped of most of his equipment. Again there was a moment of anger in his face, but it turned into a calm as it was obvious that it would come to pass. Edwin lifted Wylliam to sit against the wall and gazed at Ghyreian before offering Wylliam some water. The knight didn`t seem to willing to drink at first, but any man would had to admit that it wasn`t pleasant to sleep on a dusty and dirty floor. Edwin smirked as Wylliam drank some of the water and took flask back gazing at it.

"You spat in it didn`t you?"

Edwin muttered quietly to himself.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

The sun brightened the eastern horizon with its first fingers of dawn. Golden tendrils shafted through cracks in the rafters above, falling across Ghyreian's face with gentle urgings to wake up. Having not slept well anyway, she obliged and saw that Edwin was already burning his pipe. Nothing had disturbed them in the night, a sign that the commoners had at least given up the chase. She sat up and rubbed her temples. Her gaze was drawn back to Edwin, and instantaneously she recalled her dream - one that uncannily resembled her nightmare in the cursed forest of Silvanesti over a year before.

Standing in her parents' bedchamber. Nuitari's black light filtered through the ornate windows, shadowing her path. The god's voice whispered in her mind. Promises of freedom... of power... of the magic that even now burned through her veins... All that stood before her was passing her god's final test.

Silently she crept forward.

Darkness shrouded the silken sheets, but beneath them she could still discern the slumbering forms. Standing there beside the bed, she knew nothing but the enticing whispers of her god. She'd given herself, body and soul, to Nuitari. Lightning crackled from her fingers, striking the sleeping forms of the Lord Nightsong and his wife with terrible finality.

She knew, without a single doubt, that they were dead. Her hand grasped the charred blankets and tore them away. Her heart stopped. For there, staring back at her with empty eyes, was a face that belonged to neither of her parents.

It belonged to Edwin.

Ghyreian closed her eyes, mentally chasing the images away. Her appetite was scarce, but for the sake of strength she consumed the quith-pa left from last night. One glance at Wylliam told her he wasn't cooperating to the best of his abilities, which made her think back on killing his friend. Solamnics. Stubborn as mules, even when disaster loomed upon them. A commendable trait but also a stupid one.

She began saddling the horses, both of which looked ready for a long run. She grabbed their reins and led them outside. Edwin appeared a moment later with Hammerhand in tow. She invited the Solamnic onto one of the chargers before mounting herself. "Point the way, sir knight."

_________________

Wylliam didn`t seem to pleased as he was floated trough the air with magical means and even tried to restrain himself by struggling from the magic that bound him, but it was futile and even if he had succeeded he would have only suffered himself. Edwin placed Wylliam on his horse before climbing on the saddle himself and gazed at Wylliam who obviously didn`t enjoy his position on the horse, hanging on the back of the horse. Edwin wouldn`t allow Wylliam to be left untied or gagged for the travel, he would remain quiet until he would have a purpose again.

"We must head north first and then towards east in order to reach the monastery...."

Wyllliam reluctantly muttered and Edwin guided his horse out of the stables, but stopped just outside the farm house and concentrated into a spell that would once more serve them well. Now they would appear to outsiders as they had once before with few changes, only they could see their own true appearances and Wylliam was never there for other eyes to see. Yet Edwin gagged Wylliam, just in case as they would have to cross some roads no doubt in order to get to this monastery. Edwin rallied his horse into a moderate speed that wouldn`t tire the horse too much, but they still needed to travel quite fast. Of course they would travel trough plains and avoid roads at all costs, with some time the knights would notice that some dozen had gone missing in the area and a search for them would be on.

Edwin felt that he couldn`t be too careful with anything, including Ghyreian, he had come to regret his own words as he realized what an inappropriate place they were in. A place where neither of them should be able to cut each other, but they did.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Their journey went uneventfully that day, a profound relief for both travelers. The Solamnic chargers were powerful steeds and well supplied. They kept parallel to the road, using the forest's edge and copses of trees for cover when possible.

By midafternoon they decided that Edwin was expending valuable strength to maintain the illusion. A short encounter with a merchant caravan solved that problem. They purchased three nondescript gray cloaks, two for themselves and the third to throw over Hammerhand's bound form. Keeping off the road would only arouse suspicion now, so they plodded along the dusty path as ordinary travelers. The occassional passerby didn't deem them worthy of a second glance.

It was nightfall when they reached the monastery. Perched atop a hill a little ways off the road, it was a conglomerate of training grounds and humble living quarters. Lunitari had not yet risen, and Solinari's silver light smiled down on austere brick dwellings and carefully tended gardens. The only two-story building was the main chapel, and even that boasted no ornamentation save for a stone likeness of a praying mantis outside its double doors.

As they rode their horses up the ascending path, Ghyreian shot at Hammerhand, "Is Markham here?"

Too weary to glare or scowl, the Lord of the Rose only managed a grim nod. "Aye, he would have arrived about two days before us. He has friends among the monks, so he likely stayed."

Ghyreian nodded and glanced at Edwin. "We'll find Markham and take the mirror. Tie the knight outside while we enter the monastery."

_________________