"I don't understand, what exactly are you implying?" Dawn asked, narrowing her eyes. Her hands were clenched at her sides, hidden in the folds of her muddy-brown dress.

"I'm not implying, dear, I am stating a fact. You may complete your full day, after what I will pay you five coins for this month, and, due to Madame Fairen's absolute generosity, a bonus of two coins," the housekeeper countered, an annoying smile plastered on her face.

"I don't want your coins, you can feed them to the pigs. I want to know why you are doing this? I have worked here for two years and I have never displeased anyone with the result of my hard work, why must you do that now?" Dawn asked, maintaining her self-control.

Her eyes were wider than usual, but she refused to let tears develop, let alone form in the corner of her eyes. Soft palms hurt from the way her nails dug cruelly into them.

Why would they do that?

Dawn had just started to feel more comfortable with the number of coins she was making; she needed that work. Just a little bit more for her to save up in order to move to Wolfbourgh. Just a few more steps to reach where she had wanted to end up.

But was it really what she had wanted or what she told herself she had wanted?

She felt lost. Or maybe it was a side effect of losing her job.

But she enjoyed her work, and her genuine adoration of the gardens and orchards had passed onto the beautiful vegetables and fruits that she cultivated. The cook had said Dawn's vegetables were the finest and her special ragout had never been more delicious.

A sudden realisation smacked Dawn right in her face. She straightened her back.

"If this is truly Madame's wish, then I shall head back to my village," Dawn declared, relaxing her facial muscles. Her face hurt from the tension she had felt throughout the day while gardening, and the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks were long gone.

The housekeeper looked taken aback, her brows knit together in a unibrow. Dawn shot her a quick glance and untied her dirt-stained apron, discarding it on the wooden floor. Plastering a tight smile, she moved towards the backdoor entrance, but abruptly spun on her heels and strolled out of the servants' hall through the corridor, which led to the front door.

The girl suppressed the desire to stomp upstairs and wrap her hands around Matthew Fairen's throat. It was him, and she was assured that he took the dinner rejection too close to his heart. Dawn wondered if he actually had a heart or was there a stone instead.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she saw the end of the long, dark corridor and the light at the end of it, where the foyer was excessively lit by all the candlelights. She stopped dead and held her breath, so deep that her chest felt larger than usual. Her eyes followed after a hooded figure that passed by the doorframe towards the front door.

Dawn took a deep breath and waited for the door to shut. Floorboards creaked as she proceeded to scurry through the corridor and emerge out of the house. Spotting the figure in between the trees that lined behind the tall iron-forged gate, the girl jumped over the steps and moved through the front yard as gracefully as a cat. Her watchful eyes never left the stranger's back; she was determined to find out who they were since no one wanted to satisfy her curiosity.

The girl spilt onto the street, which was paved with flat stones to facilitate horse carriages for Mayor Fairen. She moved down, trailing after the figure down the street into the forest and trying to place her heeled boots softly on the echoing stones. The stranger walked smoothly and swiftly, his cloak billowing like a serpent in the chilling wind. It howled and blew from the direction of the forest, it whipped at Dawn's braided hair and pinched her cheeks, leaving crimson patches on her fair complexion.

Quickening her pace, her heart dropped when the hooded figure disappeared in between the trees, as the street sloped down, the pavement merging into a grassy path. She could see his dark-blue cloak shrinking in the distance, so she sprinted as silently as she could manage, and as soon as her steps were muffled by the grass, she lost the sight of the stranger.

Dawn stomped her feet on the ground repeatedly, suppressing a cry of irritation. Yet another attempt failed and crumbled into the howling wind. She blew out a sharp sigh, searching through the trees, circling around like a madwoman until her head started to spin.

She had lost track of the time, wandering around the forest, as naked trees scratched her neck and clutched at her sleeves as if she were their captive. Anxiety overwhelmed her at the sight of a dusky purple sky, visible through the ominous trees. They had shaken off their charm, and toasty-brown leaves littered the ground throughout the whole forest.

The girl collapsed to the ground, burying her face into the comfort of her hands. She felt cold and exhausted, and at that point, she didn't care who the figures were or what their purpose of being in Matthew's study room was, she just wanted to find her way home. Dawn couldn't survive long out there with her thin, linen dress and a woollen shawl, that trembled around her narrow shoulders.

Resting her back against a tree trunk behind, she arched her neck to observe the sky above. There was a translucent crescent moon that formed in between the wisps of furry grey clouds. That was when a single tear slid down her cheek.

It wasn't long until the werewolves would find her here, alone in the forest, owing to her nosiness.

"Help me, please!" Dawn hollered into the distance. Her desperate cry bounced off the trees and pounced back at her ears. She nestled into her shawl, clinging to its figmental warmth. Her hands were numb, so she rubbed them together vigorously.

She should have stayed in the manor, completed her work and collected her coins. But now after her last words that she uttered to the housekeeper, she couldn't return to the Fairens' manor again. Somewhere deep within her, Dawn felt relieved and proud of herself for refusing Matthew's slimy courtship or, what was more likely, abuse of her pride. Even if it cost her the only way of earning money and, consequently, leaving Springville.

Dawn flinched forwards, screeching, right after somebody had tapped her shoulder.

"In the name of all the living and the dead!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet and clutching at her shawl. Dawn's pounding heart was caught in her throat, as she examined the person in front of her. "Aedan?" she breathed her eyes as round as a full moon.

The boy smiled sheepishly, "I am deeply sorry for frightening you like that," he rubbed the back of his neck, "it was so unthoughtful of me."

"It was, I am sorry to say that," she smiled sadly, looking down at the hem of her dress.

A minute of silence dragged on. Dawn looked up, and the sight of his unruly curls, darkened face and shimmering eyes offered her some kind of warmth in this frosty night. His waistcoat was a beautiful intertwinement of indigo-blue fabric and silvery swirls that ran along the sides, outlining the tiny pocket holes. The waistcoat wrapped around his long, thin torso, whilst his white shirt added a subtle volume to his shoulders.

With his willowy frame, Dawn thought he could blend into the night itself.

And just like during their first encounter, an intangible number of thoughts raced through her mind. She wished her mind was clear, so she could come up with an explanation to why she was in the forest or actually say something that she wouldn't regret afterwards.

"My name is Dawn," she said suddenly.

Aedan smiled again, "It is an interesting name." He frowned at the sky, "It's getting quite dark, I would like to walk you home, if you allow me?" The boy then swung a dark jacket, hooked around his index finger by its collar, and let it hang off his shoulder.

She released a sigh of relief; Dawn felt as light as if she shot up the sky, floated in the clouds and fell back down.

Closing her eyes, she nodded compulsively, "Yes, please."

"Do you live in Springville?" Dawn nodded again.

"Then follow me, I know a very good shortcut through the forest," he announced.

The girl wavered, "Can't we go through the village, please?" she paused, looking around "I-I..."

He followed her gaze, eyes flickering. "I think we can, we are not that far away from Fairenville," he said, "if we head up and reach the village, we can then walk along the borderline of the forest?"

"Yes, I trust you with it, lead the way and I will try to keep up," she shivered at the chilly draft that swept around them.

Aedan dashed to Dawn, holding out the jacket. She hesitated to reach out, so instead, he walked behind her and draped it around her shoulders, "Here."

The warmth that emanated from him ebbed away as he circled back to face her. A scent of pine mixed with the night and cedar infused her icy nose, engulfing her in the deeper notes of trees and wind. She thanked him, and they started towards the village.

Aedan would occasionally stop and wait for Dawn to catch up with him. They walked in silence. It was a comfortable one, one which doesn't obligate you to share what is on your mind or say something just for the sake of it. She smiled to herself, feeling as if their silence was induced from their restless minds. There was no way of escaping questions she wanted to ask, thoughts she wanted to express and gratitude she wanted to show.

"I am so happy you found me, Aedan," she said, breathing in the woody scent.

He chuckled, "I hope I wasn't too late to rescue you. What were you doing there, if you let me ask?"

She looked at him sideways, raising a brow, "You'd think that I'm absolutely out of my mind if I tell you, but I was following someone."

"And who might that be?" he glanced at her in amusement.

"That was what I tried to discover but I failed. And now I will never know who that was because I can't return to that house again."

His eyes flicked to hers right as the moon cast a glowing light through the trees to accentuate his pale-blue irises. "Why can't you? Has something happened to you at that house you are talking about?"

She sighed, wrapping the jacket tighter around herself, "It's nothing too serious, but I lost my work as a gardener at the house of a wealthy family. There has been a misunderstanding or a conflict, I suppose."

His brows furrowed in concern, "It seems like it was serious enough to you, though. They shouldn't have done that, I can see that you enjoyed your work."

Dawn bobbed her head, "Indeed, it was more than just work. I'm worried about the plants, I didn't get the chance to prepare the garden for the upcoming winter, and, since there were many foggy days at the end of summer, this winter promises to be very cold," she stared ahead of her, "I hope the new gardener will help them survive through it."

She noticed Aedan's searching gaze while she was chattering. His gaze was most peculiar: scrutinising, inquisitive. Dawn also noticed how his arched eyebrows raised slightly when she expressed her worry for the plants.

Lamplights glimmered in the distance, lining the main street of Springville. Candlelight was visible through tiny windows in the cottages that flanked the street, and the shadows of residents moving behind the curtains danced across the illuminated glass.

What will Eyllene say to this?

Eyllene would be worried, first of all. She was most likely to be sitting by the window of their cream-coloured kitchen, looking out of the window, an expression of unease creasing her once young face. She would start the fire in the fireplace to heat the cottage up, and then she would light the candles in Dawn's room for it to welcome her with warmth.

"I think we are very close to my house!" the girl exclaimed, pointing towards the lamplights.

"It's your turn to show the way, miss," he replied, the corners of his mouth lifted up in a grin.

She cleared her throat, "If we continue down the borderline of the forest until the village ends, we shall find my house," she stated, trying to sound as deep as Aedan had. She sneaked a glance sideways to see him shaking with laughter. "Do you still train in the morning?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard, "In fact, I do. I run in the forest mostly, there is a certain path in it that goes along the border of the village and links straight to my house."

"Do you live in Fairenville?"

"Yes, I do, but not in the village itself. My family does woodcutting, so I occasionally visit the village to arrange some sales, like I was doing today," he said.

"So you live in the forest?" Dawn asked, bewildered. He nodded. "What about werewolves? A-are you not afraid of them?".

"Actually, they don't bother us. They never have. My grandfather knows a few of them, and they help us sometimes. They are not as bad as," he hesitated, "we imagine them to be."

Dawn mulled over his words. Not as bad as we imagine them to be. They kept destroying villages and towns in the far North, where harsh winters never ceased nor warm summers ever graced the Northerners. Humans were obligated to elope Starleten, and no one had the slightest idea when the werewolves would reach the South. Wolfbourgh stood peaceful and unfaltering in the Southern East of Starleten.

If they ever reached the South, no one would protect them, they would be obliged to emigrate.

When they spilt onto the pitch-black lane that ended beside Dawn's house, not a single street lamp lit the way. Not a single soul was visible through the windows. The only light that glowed was at the end of the lane's house.

"My house is just down the lane to the left, I will walk there on my own. My Aunt is waiting for me," she smiled nervously.

"I will wait for you to enter your house safely," he said.

"I am so sorry to trouble you, your family must be worried about you now. I feel very guilty, but if you would ever need help, you know where to find me."

Aedan smiled down at her. Warmly. Genuinely. The only light was drawn from the distant crescent moon that cast shadows on his face, defining the dents that stretched under his cheekbones, and pale eyes flickered from beneath the darkened hollows. A couple of ink-black curls rested on his forehead, obscuring his arched brows. The rest of his messy hair shined with a silvery-blue tone provided by the crescent.

"You don't need to worry about that," he said, snapping Dawn out of her admiration. "Since you don't have to work anymore, in the meantime, why don't we meet again and have a walk in the forest to collect some rare plants that I have seen recently?"

Dawn's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she grinned, "That would be wonderful, I would love that."

"Perfect, then I will come to your house tomorrow, and we can set off just after dawn."