"Okay, so what do you know about The Dragon Temple?" Aila asked Kaiden, who walked beside her, trailing his stallion by the reins.

They had been walking for roughly two hours in silence, and Aila had been longing to break it. A midday sun now shone directly overhead, though it didn't do much to permeate the crisp chill in the air.

"All in due time," Kaiden replied vaguely.

Aila was just about to make a snarky remark, when the sound of exclamations met her ears. She turned towards the commotion, watching as she came across two groups of people engaging in a brawl.

They were now somewhat far from the main city, travelling through places in which the effects of the war were becoming more and more obvious. Trash lined the streets, and the people appeared underfed and exhausted.

One of the women had knocked out a member of the other group, and was now scrambling over, trying to push her way through the wall of people to reach a woman at the back of the other group.

"Give it to me! We paid for it first!"

Aila caught a glimpse of the woman who was being targeted. She saw a flash of a loaf of bread and understanding washed over her.

She made her way to the group, standing between them expectantly. When they realised there was an unknown person amongst them, the conflict ceased, and they all stared at her, waiting.

"Please don't fight," Aila's voice was low, but not timid.

She reached into her hiking bag and pulled out a loaf of her own, handing it to the group without the food. Trembling hands took the food from her, questions simmering in all of their faces. Aila reached into her wallet, pulling out a handsome sum of money, before splitting it amongst the people.

"Please share this equally amongst the town. It should hopefully be enough to last the town for a while. The war will end soon, and everything will be okay."

One way or another, one of the kingdoms would own the chalice and the war would cease. All she could do was hope that she and Cas would be successful.

"What's your name?" Aila asked the woman to whom she had given the bread.

"Katlin," the woman replied in a shaky voice.

"I know it's hard Katlin," Aila lovingly took Katlin's hand in her own, rubbing circles on the rough skin. "But you have to hold onto hope for a better future. This world can't handle more fighting."

Katlin nodded, a hint of shame overtaking her. Aila lifted her chin, forcing the woman's eyes to meet hers.

"Everything will be okay."

"Who are you?" Someone interjected, watching the interaction with wide eyes.

Though the people here were aware of the royal family and would recognise their names, they were far enough away from the palace to not be able to recognise their faces.

"Someone who plans to save this world," Aila murmured, squeezing Katlin's hands once before letting go. She shouldered her bag once more and left the stunned group, retaking her place with Kallias, Castor and Kaiden.

As they left the town behind and ventured into more fragmented remains of civilisation, Aila's heart grew heavy. She had known that her people were suffering, but she hadn't known the extent to which it had been.

She couldn't help thinking that maybe the palace walls were a prison, barring her from seeing the reality of the life her subjects led.

"Is it this bad in Perador?" She asked quietly.

"Yes," Kaiden answered sadly. "The city is mostly fine, much like yours, but the outskirts are like this too."

"Is the palace okay? How's your family?" Castor asked. The question struck Aila as extremely strange, but what was even weirder was that Kaiden didn't hesitate to divulge the information.

"Yes, eveything's okay back home. My parents are healthy and safe. But they hate what's going on. We all do."

Castor and Aila both wore a troubled expression, having experienced the pain their own country was in and understanding the despair in Kaiden's own tone.

It again struck Aila just how futile war was; when both countries were tired and didn't want to continue, it made no sense why it was still ongoing. There was no end goal in sight either. At least for Merelia, Aila knew her parents didn't have any grand scheme in mind other than defending the border. If Perador was in the same situation, this was all illogical.

"I hate it," her mind was reeling and she didn't elaborate, but she didn't have to because her companions understood exactly what she meant.

"I'm going to rebuild it all," she swore. "A new land, to replace this ruined one."

The two men didn't reply, but Aila didn't need them to. Her vow was hers, something she had always dreamed of abiding by, and it gave her immense hope that she finally had the chance to do so.

When she came across a homeless family, sitting helplessly against a stone building, Aila reached into her supplies again, ready to give anything she had to help these people.

Before she could, she was surprised to find Kaiden extracting his own cash from his backpack, and extending a generous amount to the family.

"Hold onto hope for a better future," he repeated Aila's words to the group from earlier. "Everything will be okay."

The joy and gratitude that lit up their faces would forever be etched in Aila's own mind. When they were a safe distance away, Aila finally asked Kaiden the question that had been in her mind.

"Why did you do that?"

"I have nothing against your people Aila. This earth is messed up, and as long as you don't hurt Perador in the process, I believe this world could do with some rebuilding."

Aila knocked his shoulder lightly, unable to express her gratitude.

Silence fell once more.

As evening passed, they were a day away from reaching the outskirts of Merelia. The town lights began to make an appearance as the sun began it's descent.

"There's an inn six miles away," Kaiden observed, reading a sign on one of the crossroads. "We can stay there for the night, and continue in the morning."

"That's a good idea," Aila commented, relieved at the thought of only six more miles before a warm bed. "They should have a stable too for Kallias."

"That would be inn-credible," Castor said with a smirk.

"That was terrible," Kaiden shook his head lightly, but Aila still caught the ghost of a smile gracing his lips.

"Yes Cas, that was truly inn-adequate," Aila chuckled, and Castor's smile broke into a grin.

"I just think you both have an inn-ferior sense of humour," he put his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"No no, on the contrary, yours is inn-tolerable," she responded.

The pair turned to Kaiden with expectation in their eyes, and he rolled his eyes but he wore a small smile.

"You're both inn-sufferable."

Aila grinned triumphantly and turned to find Castor mirroring her expression.

As the three continued bouncing comments off each other, Aila realised she felt comfortable with the two men beside her. The life debt may have guaranteed her safety, but she still couldn't ignore that strong instinctive feeling that her hope for a better future was not misplaced at all.

Hiya! How is everyone doing?

This one isn't the most eventful chapter but it's still important for the development of the story. The next one's going to be a hell of a lot more... intense, I promise! 😉

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! Share any thoughts that you'd like with me here :)

~ MaddyWilson 💙