No one should see me here. The alleyways, tucked in between all the village shops and houses huddled together, with the sagging roofs providing me with the perfect shadows. I weave throughout them, the smell of the wet, mossy stone pathway stirring my senses. Some people still bustle about as if everything is normal - as if the gruesome events of today did not occur at all.

Down the swirling streets, I spot Cassian and the royal guard, their bloody red clocks trailing behind them. They stop at certain houses, with Cassian being the first to knock and enter, and the guards filing in behind him. If they had any sense, I think, bitterly, they would go first. But, unlike me, their first instinct is to protect themselves.

I pull the hood of my cloak up - the only useful feature this attire has. Perhaps I should've changed. Only now do I realize the reality of this outfit, by the way the commoners frown at me with their dirtied faces.

Every time I come out here, I remember those cloudy times of when I once lived on the streets. When I would wake up and fall asleep in the dust. But those times have become somewhat of a blur, like the feeling of starvation. I've never known such a thing since Cassian. If it were not for him, I'm sure I would've left this world long ago.

I make sure I walk along the shadows of the shops, keeping my head tipped towards the ground. A few shops away, Cassian and the royal guard pour out of a house, with a plump, black-bearded man in restraints. I wonder what confirmed this man to be one of the rebels. If only he had let me join, then I would know for sure.

I lean my back against a wall, keeping my head low as Cassian and the royal guards pause, looking one way and then the other - before continuing in that direction. As long as I stay out of sight, I can still watch over him, which is far more important to me than this rebel feud. Especially since now I know it is all a deception, a part of the king's plan - these rebels. Or is it?

I slip into the next alleyway, staying far away but close enough in case anything happens. My mind moves faster than my feet, thinking of all the things I could be doing - or all the things I've done.

The king is behind the assassin from yesterday, yes, but - the rebels must be a part of the ruse, a distraction. Someone to pin the blame on. Yet, my conscience whimpers, what if they're not? What if you killed them all for nothing?

I can feel it in my heart, this regret, this sin. It was out of anger, of desperation because I couldn't do what I wanted to do, which was drive my dagger through the king's heart. Except, I cannot do so without hurting Cassian, and nor can I escape the clutches of chains if I am caught. Or the beheading that will follow after. It isn't the imprisonment or death that frightens me, no, but rather, that Cassian will think of me as a traitor. And that my actions, despite being for him, will only hurt him.

Is that selfish? I wonder. To want to protect his image of me rather than Cassian himself? I couldn't live if -

Wooooosh.

I whirl around. A dark piece of fabric brushes past the end of the alleyway. I pivot on my foot, my body still pressed against the entrance of the alleyway. At the end of it, begins a muddy path, trailing into the depths of the forest. And I'm almost certain someone went past.

My instincts tug at me to go and see, but my heart - it throbs towards Cassian. I pause and take another glance at him marching through the town, at least a dozen guards surrounding him like a herd of armored sheep. Nothing could happen to him now, surely - no one would dare try.

I press my lips together, the taste of betrayal on my tongue. But I have to see - just for a moment - to make sure I am not imagining things. To lose my mind is the last thing I need right now.

Before guilt trips me up, I turn on my heels and storm down to the end of the alleyway. I look both sides - no one. My gaze sets on the muddy path, where a dark cloaked stranger walks towards the forest. My body moves first, before I can contemplate the strangeness of this. I find myself following this figure down the path, senselessly so.

I watch the billow of their cloak, revealing bits of a man in black armor. My curiosity only drives me forward. Who is he? A foreign knight, perhaps?

The distance between us closes, until he reaches the outskirts of the forest. I stop as soon as he does. The world around us is hushed, as if scared into silence. Does he know I am following him?

The man turns his head slightly, but not enough for me to see his face. Only enough for me to see the sword dragging on the ground by his side. I squint my eyes, as if that'll help me see, for it is not a sword of normal steel, but a shiny, coal black blade - one that I have never seen before. It looks like his armor, I notice. Although, I have no idea what either are made of - what sort of material it is.

The dark foliage of the forest engulfs him.

"God-killer," whispers the wind, in a harsh tone.

I look around me - nothing. Nothing but the forest staring into my soul. A part of me knows I must follow and yet, I have a feeling if I do, that I will not return the same. Or perhaps at all.

I walk forward, slowly, stopping before I reach the outskirts. I glance over my shoulder, back at the town, where Cassian wanders, clueless of my absence. I feel the invisible line between us tighten as I get further and further away. It's almost as if it is wrapping around my neck.

But I must see. I must know this stranger. I don't know why.

I don't know why I follow him into the forest.