Adelaide stirred from a deep sleep and awoke to the smell of smoke in the air. She blinked twice and looked up. Her once peaceful village now lay in ruin, charred cottages and barns dotted the landscape and people shuffled around the buildings, sifting through the remains. There wasn't much to salvage, everything was burned in the fires.

Addie got up from the cold ground and brushed off her dress. Soot covered the material. Part of the hem was charred from where flames had touched it. She looked around and saw her father's lifeless body only a few feet away. Tears collected in her eyes and she sobbed. Her papa was gone, killed by ogres.

There hadn't been a ransacking in years. There village was peaceful, not even arguments broke out. The attack from the previous night was completely unexpected.

As for Adelaide's mother, she was nowhere to be found. Adelaide remembered seeing her mother running into the woods to escape the ogre, but that was the last time she saw her.

A woman came up to her and placed her hand on Adelaide's arm. "Are you all right, dear? Do you have any injuries?"

Addie shook her head. "No, I do not." She looked at her papa and started to cry again.

"There, there, darlin'. Your papa has gone into a better place now, there's no need for cryin'. I'll get a few men to help bury him and we shall see about a place for you to stay." The woman wrapped an arm around Addie and steered her to a singed tavern. "Daniel, come e're. Help this young girl and give her a drink of water."

The older man nodded and did as he was told. He passed Adelaide a cup of water and watched as she gulped it down.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Daniel, this girl's father, God rest his soul, was killed last night in the raid. See if you can find some men to help bury him, won't you?"

Daniel left immediately and gathered a few men and found a perfect spot to bury Addie's father. It was under a shady oak, his favorite spot on their property. Once her father was properly buried, she thanked the men and went back to her destroyed cottage. Nothing remained of her house, but, somehow, their small barn was unscathed. She walked slowly into it and saw that everything was still in order. A hint of a smile formed on her face and she walked up to her horse, Cadeym, and stroked his mane.

"Hello, handsome. Are you all right from last night? Hopefully the attack didn't frighten you too terribly."

He whinnied his response and nudged into her side.

"Get ready, Cadeym. Once I pack up a few things, we are going to go find the ogres that killed Papa and Mama." Adelaide wandered around the barn, throwing apples, rope, blankets, and other items into a sack. She put a bridle on Cadeym and slung the sack over his wide shoulders.

After she mounted him and trotted out of the barn, she looked back and took a final glance at her ruined home. "Goodbye."