Gea and Kletasuah sat in the clearing, finishing their mid-day meal. Neither said a word. Anxiety crowded both their minds, occupying every passing moment of thought. Eventually, Gea couldn't stand it any longer.

"Tell me honestly Kletasuah: is Celisae going to make it?"

Kletasuah paused from eating to consider the question. "I don't know," she finally responded. "She's doing well right now, and if she remains on bed rest, she may be able to recover. The extent of her recovery, I'm not sure of. I'm not familiar with many poisons, only a few local ones, so there's no way for me to know the end result."

"So it's for sure then," Gea stated. "She has been poisoned."

Kletasuah sighed. "I fear so. There's no way to be totally sure, but the activated charcoal has helped her remarkably, which indicates poison."

"What was she poisoned with?" Gea asked.

"I have no knowledge of any poison that acts in the way that this poison does," Kletasuah told her. "There's a chance that the poison is from another geographical location."

The sound of indistinct chatter drifted toward the two ladies. Their conversation halted as their attention shifted.

"Are they back already?" Gea commented. Kletasuah didn't respond, instead staring straight ahead. A single, cloaked figure appeared on the path. As she drew closer, they could see that it was Abarra. Abarra beamed and waved to them.

"Hello there!" Gea called out. 

"Hello," she responded. "Lovely weather up here."

"Yes indeed," Gea agreed. "What brings you here?"

"Just a little errand," Abarra said. "Can you show me to the weaver's cave?"

Gea's eyebrows knit together. "Well, um, I don't know." Gea turned to the medicine woman for her appraisal.

Kletasuah had a bad feeling about the situation. Why did Abarra come here alone? Where were the Nuatomins? What errand did Abarra need to run in Celisae's cave?

"I'm sorry Abarra, but Celisae has been through a lot of trauma. I want to avoid disturbing her as much as possible. Perhaps in a few weeks," Kletasuah said, using her softest and sweetest tone so as not to upset the woman.

"Oh, really? All I wanted to do is pay my respects to her. She did a wonderful job with the dresses," Abarra explained.

"I really am sorry, but I just can't let anyone go in there," Kletasuah asserted.

Abarra paused, calculating her response. "Well," she finally said. "If that's the case then...." 

Abarra whipped out a spear from under her cloak and pointed it at the two women.

"I gave you a chance to cooperate. Now, you face the same consequences as the others who don't bow to me."

Gea and Kletasuah stood in shocked horror as a second figure emerged from the mountain path.

"Ix k'eh?" Gea whispered.

"Greetings," he said. "Come on, Abarra. I know the way."

Abarra smirked. "I get my way no matter what."

"But why?" Gea cried.

Ix k'eh laughed. "It was the only way to get something in life. I could never be a matriarch, but I could become the heir to Abarra's throne if I married her daughter Taavi. The girl could never rule a kingdom on her own, so I'd be the King."

"Sometimes there are more important things in life than power," Gea stated.

Ix k'eh shrugged. "Sometimes."

One last time, people appeared on the path. The leaders of the three tribes had arrived. Aapo, his wife, and daughter were unusually quiet. Fa's eyes burned with anger. Ul m'ka and Sa k'u slumped over, like they were carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Only Nal m'se was her normal self, wearing her usual calm and in control expression. Taavi stepped behind them, careful to make sure she didn't damage the plants and creatures underfoot. The group was escorted by Sfrin, the leader of the Shaso, as well as five other Shaso warriors.

Kletasuah shook her head. She had feared that the Shaso would be back to cause trouble. She just hadn't realized how much trouble.

"Watch them," Abarra commanded the Shaso.

"Yes, Abarra," they replied. Ix k'eh led Abarra away to Celisae's cave.

Leu waited until Celisae fell asleep before leaving. She was exiting the cave when she nearly ran into Ix k'eh.

"Ix k'eh! What a surprise! Is the tribe back?" Leu exclaimed. She looked to her left, then noticing that he was with.... Abarra? Hmm, that's weird, Leu thought. Oh well! There's probably a logical explanation.

"Hello, Leu," Ix k'eh greeted. "May we come in?"

Leu glanced back worriedly at Celisae. She really needed her rest in order to heal.

"Sorry, but Celisae just went to bed," Leu whispered. "Why don't you come back in an hour or so?"

Abarra pulled a spear out from behind her back and pointed it at Leu. Leu's eyes dilated.

"Or not," Leu squeaked. Ix k'eh pushed his way past the two women and began inspecting the rocks in the front of the cave. Understanding flooded Leu. They had come for the dresses. 

"You want the dresses, don't you?" Leu said. It all started to click into place. "You think that the dresses will give some kind of unlimited power that will allow you to rule the tribes!"

"That's the plan," Abarra affirmed.

Anger welled up inside of Leu. "How dare you take advantage of Celisae's work!? She spent moons working on those dresses, what gives you the right to take them?"

"Because I am brilliant enough," Abarra replied. "If I can take them, then I deserve to have them, don't you think?"

"You'll never get away with it," Leu spat. "Nel m'se, Aapo, and Fa will find out what you're doing soon enough."

"We've already taken care of them," Abarra stated.

"Well.... you'll.... you'll," Leu grasped for words. "You'll be overthrown as soon as Celisae makes another dress of light."

Abarra and Ix k'eh exchanged glances, grinning like they were congratulating themselves.

"We've taken care of that too," Abarra said. Leu fell silent. No, it couldn't be true. No, Ix k'eh couldn't - he wouldn't poison Celisae.

"I've been giving her poison everyday for the past three moons," Ix k'eh confirmed. "If she's not dead now, she will be very, very soon."

Leu nearly keeled over. She knew Ix k'eh didn't have a high regard for Celisae, but poisoning her? Leu felt like she was trapped in some sort of nightmare. She tried to wake herself up, but she wasn't dreaming. All she could do is watch in dismay as Ix k'eh set back to work finding the entrance to the hidden room. Leu cringed as Ix k'eh's hand touched the portal to the chamber - the very spot she had been barely an hour prior. Bad idea. Ix k'eh looked at Leu at that very moment, and judging by her grimace, he knew that he had found what he was seeking.

"Anything wrong, Leu?" Ix k'eh asked, an ominous grin spreading across his face. She shook her head no, but he saw through her denial. He pressed on the rocks and they gave way, revealing the wooden box inside. Abarra leaned in, her eyes glinting with greed. Ix k'eh dragged the box out, making a loud scraping sound. Leu saw Celisae stir across the room from the noise. Please don't get up, Leu willed. They want you dead!

Out of the corner of her eye, Leu sized up Abarra. The woman was no longer paying attention to Leu, her focus entirely on the wooden chest. If Leu kicked Abarra's leg, she might be able to wrench the sword from her hand. She watched and waited for the perfect moment, adrenaline beginning to coarse through her veins. Leu glanced in Celisae's direction, and to her surprise, saw her eyes cracked open. The two made eye contact. Leu's eyes pointed to the spear. Celisae nodded slightly, training her gaze on a rock near where Ix k'eh sat. The plan was set. Hopefully, they wouldn't mess up.

Ix k'eh placed his hands on the lid, about to remove it.

"I will remove them," Abarra declared. Ix k'eh backed away from the box, only a foot away from Celisae.

Now was her chance. Leu kicked Abarra with all her might, while grasping the spear's handle. Abarra's grip loosened for a second as she stumbled backward, and Leu wrenched the weapon from her hand, and pointed it at Abarra.

"Don't move," Leu ordered. She glanced in the direction of Ix k'eh, who was knocked out on the floor from the rock Celisae had dropped on his head.

Abarra grinned slyly. "Good work, girls. You got me. You know, you two would be excellent Princesses in my Kingdom. I could give you anything you could ever want. All you have to do is give me those dresses."

"Never!" Leu growled. "You'll never be able to gain control, never!"

Abarra shrugged. "Suit yourself. I tried to give you chance, but now, you will pay for your actions. You see, you are surrounded, completely outnumbered. I have Nal m'se, Aapo, and Fa hostage outside, guarded by Shaso Warriors. You lack of cooperation will cost you." Abarra turned and yelled: "Sfrin, Inir, come here!"

Leu lunged for Abarra with the spear, but Abarra easily sidestepped her efforts. Abarra grabbed hold of the spear. Leu held onto it with every last bit of strength, but she felt her grip slipping.

"Don't let her get it, Leu!" Celisae cried from across the room. Abarra twisted and turned the spear, burning Leu's hands and making it impossible to hold on. Abarra began tugging on the spear. Leu suddenly released it. Abarra flew backwards from the force and crashed into the rocks behind. The sound of pounding feet approached the cave. It was the two Shaso warriors Abarra had summoned, coming to aid their master.

What do we do? Leu wondered. Desperate, she turned to Celisae. But Celisae was gone.

Rough hands clasped around her wrists before she had a chance to process what had happened, twisting her arms behind her.

"It's over Missy," a gruff voice said. Abarra now stood on her feet, her composure regained.

"She's a feisty one," Abarra told the guard. "Don't let her out of your sight."

"What happened to him?" the other man asked, motioning to Ix k'eh.

"He was knocked out, but he should come to shortly," Abarra said. She didn't waste any more time talking, and made a beeline for the box. Her fingers shook as she lifted the lid. A cry of shock escaped her when she caught sight of what was inside. Or the lack of what was inside. The dresses were gone. Celisae must have taken them and slipped away unnoticed, Leu realized.

Abarra turned red with rage. "It's that weaver!" she screamed. "She must have stolen the dresses! I knew we should have killed her sooner."

Leu couldn't help but laugh at the irony in her statement. "If you killed her sooner, she wouldn't have finished the dresses."

"Be quiet!" Abarra snapped. "She would have at least finished one. And one is all I need for ultimate power."

"I'll find the girl," the Shaso that wasn't holding Leu volunteered. 

"I don't care what you do, just bring those dresses to me!" Abarra yelled. The Shaso didn't waste a second. He ran around the corner, disappearing from sight. 

"Come with me," Abarra commanded the warrior holding Leu. The man lifted Leu off the ground and carried her in the air, her arms still pinned behind her back. Internally, she screamed in pain. The weight of her body pressed on her arms, and she felt like her bones were about to break.

Abarra marched back to their captives. The sound of clashing metal echoed off the trees. Abarra and the warrior hurried their pace.

Battle had broken out in the clearing. Aapo dueled with one of the warriors. All of the matriarchs received battle training, so Ul m'ka and Sa k'u partnered up to fend off a warrior. Fairuza and Kletasuah fought another. Fairuza had clearly been formally trained as a warrior, and struck intense blows. Kletasuah had always been more fragile and found it difficult to harm anyone, which is most likely why she became a healer. Nevertheless, she gave it her best go. She fought rather awkwardly, had a bloody nose, and had several bruises, but she provided a distraction to the Shaso while Fairuza inflicted the real damage. Fa was the spriest of them all, and was fending off two of the Shaso.

Nal m'se was not the hiding type, but she did recognize the difference between being a coward and being smart. She had been around for nearly a century, and was not nearly as strong as she used to be. So she crouched off to the side, throwing rocks at the Shaso warriors to slow them down. Lachina was nowhere in sight. No doubt she ran away into the woods.

Nal m'se turned to the Abarra and the other Shaso. Her eyes squinted. She drew back her arm and hurled a rock in the air, hitting the Shaso warrior that was restraining Leu in the head. The Shaso warrior staggered, not knowing what hit him, giving Leu just enough time to escape from his grip. Leu grabbed a nearby club and whacked her captor on the head with all her might. He fell over, knocked out cold.

Meanwhile, Abarra had rushed into battle with Aapo.

Rocks flew. Dust clouds rose from the ground. The smell of sweat mixed with blood permeated the air.

The tribes' leaders weren't losing, but they weren't winning, either. Fa and Aapo were beginning to look tired from their two-front battles. Finally, a rock from Nal m'se landed in the back of one of the warriors heads, allowing Fa some relief. But the energy of the group was draining. People began missing more hits, taking more blows. Something had to be done.

Leu needed to intervene. As a weaver, she hadn't gone through formal battle training, but at least she could help. Mentally preparing herself, Leu was just about to throw herself into the chaos.

Light burst from the opposite side of the clearing. Leu instinctively faced the source, which was the matriarchs cave. Out came Celisae, holding the three dresses in hand.

"Celisae! Over here!" Leu called. She raced to Celisae, who handed her all the dresses.

"Take.... the.... dresses," she panted, shoving them into Leu's hands as she crumpled to the ground. Leu caught her, trying to hold her up.

"No, Celisae, you've got to stand up!" Leu said. "Celisae!"

Footsteps sounded behind her. Leu was running out of time. Against her will, she dropped Celisae and whipped around, holding up the dresses like a shield. Force blasted from her hands. Startled, Leu lowered the dresses, only to see the warrior who was chasing Celisae lying on the ground yards away. Realizing that she had the most powerful weapon of the bunch, she spun around to the battle behind her.

Fist made impact with her jaw, knocking Leu to the ground. The dresses fell from her hands to the ground. She stared wide-eyed at Abarra, her face bruised and bloody.

"Not so fast," Abarra snarled, whisking the dresses into her arms. A wicked grin spread across her lips. She finally possessed what she had come for - the power of the sun, moon, and stars.

But there was little time to relish in the moment. Abarra suddenly lost her balance and fell with a thud. Tiny hands reached over and snatched the dresses from Abarra's clutches. Abarra looked up at Taavi as she passed the sunlight gown to Leu.

Abarra's face turned red. "YOU.... YOU.... HOW DARE YOU!?" she fumed.

Taavi had already raced away in the mountains with the other two dresses and was out of sight.

The warrior that Fa had knocked down crept up behind him. Leu aimed the sunshine in his direction. Energy exploded from the dress, burning the Shaso warrior. He let out a blood-curdling scream. Fa paused for a brief moment, processing what had happened. The other fighter took his chance and was about to strike the final blow when he too fell to the heat of the sun.

Weight crushed Leu to the ground as Abarra tackled her. Leu pinned the dress under her, ensuring that Abarra didn't get hold of the dress.

"Looking for these?" a voice asked. All turned to see Ix k'eh holding the dresses in one hand, Taavi writhing in the other. Ix k'eh tossed the starlight dress to Abarra. In her distraction, Leu shoved Abarra off her. Fa pounced on Ix k'eh and the two struggled for possession of the moonlight gown. Now freed, Taavi dashed into the forest with the sunshine dress. Leu tried to seize the starlight from Abarra. Nal m'se crept up behind Abarra, rock in hand, ready to strike. Abarra was unknowingly corned. There was a chance that they could finally take her down. 

A root caught on Nal m'se's foot and she tripped, falling onto Abarra. Abarra easily bounded to her feet and pinned Nal m'se to the ground. She held the starlight inches from the elderly woman. Leu ran to help, but Abarra kicked behind her, pushing Leu to the ground.

"I told you I would win in the end. I have possession of this dress here. And now, I'm going to put an end to your rule once and for all. Any last words?"

Nal m'se turned her head, refusing to stare into the dark eyes of Abarra. Abarra smirked.

"Alright. Good-bye Nal m'se." She willed the power of the dress onto Nal m'se. Stardust fluttered around the woman, encircling her in a shower of bright pigments.

Nal m'se's eyes gleamed. "You are wrong, Abarra. Because the dress you hold is made of starlight."

Nal m'se thrust Abarra off of her. She flew backward into a nearby bush. Nal m'se grabbed a spear nearby and held it to Abarra's throat. "Don't you remember? Starlight heals people. It's the sun and moon that kill. It's over for you, Abarra."

Fa gained the moonlight dress and began freezing the Shaso warriors, suspending them mid-movement. The people in the clearing finally began to relax. The tribes had won.