If she was found guilty, she would be killed.

Cora's lower lip trembled, desperation weighing down on her limbs.

She was going to be killed, she could feel it deep in her bones. She was going to be killed, and then nothing would be left of her.

She wondered whether Harry would even remember her when he came back to her city. If he'd look for her or move on as if she'd never been there. She wondered if the stars had told him that, too.

Cora sat back on the floor and let out a little cry that she tried to stifle right away, not wanting the guard outside to know he'd got to her.

The hay squeaked again, and Cora curled up in a corner and stared at the stones of the opposite wall as the pink light of sunset slowly faded and gave way to the darkness of night. She was mere hours away from knowing her fate, and it made her feel sick to her stomach.

She didn't want to die. She was too young to, but she also knew there was nothing she could do to save herself. What could she tell them that would relieve her of guilt? What could she tell them, that wouldn't lead them straight to Harry? She had to protect him. He'd trusted her, she couldn't throw it all away.

It wasn't fair, but nothing ever was.

Someone tapped on the bars of the window and Cora's head snapped up. She jumped up when she recognised her visitor. "Aunt?"

"I can't stay here long," the older woman whispered, folded over herself to see inside the ground-height window, glancing around the street to make sure she was alone. "Whatever they do, whatever they say... don't let them know, Cora. Don't let them know what you truly are, because they'll kill you for it with no hesitation."

Cora nodded. "I won't, but please, please help me."

"I'm trying to find a way, Naomi and Adair are too. Buy us as much time as you can." She looked up, her eyes widening. "Someone's coming, I must go. Remember, Cora."

She stood and walked away, leaving her alone once more.

Cora looked up at the stars, her hands on the cold metal. If only she wasn't so useless, if only she could do something more... she'd never thought about resenting the part of her that was fay, but now she did. She did, because it put a weight on her but gave her no way to protect herself. It was like telling someone to run from a hunter with no shield nor blade. They could only outrun danger for so long.

No wonder Harry hadn't fought for her harder. She wasn't that unique nor important to him—he'd have no trouble finding someone else. Maybe someone that could actually fend for themselves. Someone who could protect themselves from the dangers that came with working with him—dangers Cora would've certainly been killed by, if he hadn't been there to protect her.

She was useless though, and her inability to do pretty much anything worthwhile was about to cost her her life. Her heart was beating faster and faster in her chest, the bird inside of her desperately trying to be set free.

Cora curled up in a ball and wiped the tears away from her eyes, forcing herself to think. She had to come up with a plan, with something to say. She couldn't go out unprepared. She wondered if she'd be able to run away in the morning, while they took her to the courthouse. She wasn't sure it was a possibility, but it was the only thing she could do, because they'd never let her go, she knew that.

Before she could realise it she was crying again. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to think she was somewhere else, anywhere that wasn't that prison.

Maybe in a meadow in spring. Or again, in the meadow Harry had taken her to some days before, with a crackling fire and sweet fruit. Or in the greenwood, even. Quiet and peaceful. She wondered if the fays there would shelter her, or send her back to the city.

She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't even notice when everything suddenly went eerily quiet. The guard on the other side could no longer be heard, nor the quiet chatting at the end of the corridor. There was just silence.

Then, the lock snapped and the door opened, sending a shard of light inside the cell.

Cora looked up, her eyes wide, discovering there was a figure standing in the frame. Even though she couldn't see him, she recognised his smell immediately.

Harry's natural scent was like the first rain of spring in a forest compared to the stink of mould of the prison, and she shot up to her feet.

"Out, now," he simply said before disappearing, and she rushed out, her mouth falling open when she realised the three guards in the corridor were lying on the floor.

"What did you do to them?" she asked as she followed him, and he glanced at her over his shoulder.

"I haven't killed them."

He wasn't wearing his blue coat. His white shirt shined almost otherworldly in the light of the torches, a pair of black trousers hugging his long legs. She'd never noticed how truly slender he was before, since he wore his heavy coat most of the time.

He looked out of place coming to save her without even bringing a single weapon, only his own person. Someone else might've deemed him reckless for it, but Cora knew the truth. He didn't need to bring weapons, because he himself was a weapon. And she was sure he wouldn't have any issue with blowing up Altair Hall if it came to it.

He'd come for her. Harry had come for her.

They reached a corner and Harry stopped her with a hand. He glanced around the other side and gave her a nod. They moved again.

A sudden shout pierced the silence of the prison.

"She escaped!"

Cora turned her head fast in the direction of the noise, but Harry grabbed her arm.

"Move faster," he whispered into her ear, sending a worried glance around.

A bellow came from behind them and they ran to the end of the corridor just to discover that some guards were rushing towards them from that side as well.

They were trapped.

The guards got closer and blocked them in a corner, and Cora's mind went to their immediate future. They would be locked up again. Could they stop Harry from using magic?

Harry grabbed a torch from the wall and put it out just as the guards reached them. He swung it at the first guard's head, catching him by surprise enough to send him flying unconscious to the floor.

The other guards unsheathed their swords and lunged at him. Harry hit one on the arm, and the crack of bones resonated through the dungeons. He turned around just in time to ward off a hit to his chest.

The four men shared a glance and attacked Harry simultaneously. A hit sent him to the floor, and he rolled away from the blade, tripping a guard over before standing up again. Another guard kicked him to the floor again, and he could only raise the torch to defend himself before a sword crashed down on him, breaking it in half in his hands. He threw it away and retreated towards the wall, getting up to his feet, hands empty.

Cora ran to the first guard he'd knocked out and extracted his sword from its sheath. "Harry!"

She threw it to him, and he caught it just in time ward off a new hit. The clash of metal against metal echoed everywhere around them, sending a shiver down Cora's spine.

He disarmed one of the guards and threw him to the floor before hitting another on the side, that collapsed right in front of him. He took his sword from his trembling hands and glared at the remaining men, daring them to come closer with a gaze.

One did and they fought for a while, until Harry managed to stick his blade in his leg. The guard stilled, and Harry pushed him back onto the other before dropping both swords on the floor and running towards Cora.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her arm and rushing up the stairs.

They stormed out of Altair Hall. The city was starting to stir awake, and the prison guards mixed with Count Altair's in the streets.

Armed men carrying torches were surrounding the building, officials were running left and right shouting orders, no doubt believing they were under attack. And in a way, they were. Little did they know that their enemy was just one man.

Harry pushed Cora into a dark alley and they pressed their backs against the wall, catching their breath as they watched people dash past.

"You came for me," she whispered, still in shock, and he sent her a side-glance.

"Of course I did." He looked at the situation on the main street again. "Let's go."

They retreated back into the darkness of the side alleys, trying to be as stealthy as possible.

"Where's your coat?" Cora asked at last, and Harry shrugged.

"I left it."

They escaped into another street when they heard the clank of weapons coming up behind them.

"I need you to be quiet, Cora," Harry mumbled as they moved in the obscurity.

The light of a torch danced on the stone wall in front of them and Harry swore under his breath, turning around to go in the other direction. But it was too late.

"You two! State your business!"

Harry paused in the middle of the street, forcing Cora to do the same.

"Turn around!"

Harry glanced at her. "Cora, run. Now."

She sprinted down the street with Harry in tow.

"Go left!" he exclaimed before darting down a small dark street. She went after him, but had to stop a matter of seconds later, when a wall blocked their path.

No.

No, no, no.

They turned around; a group of guards was behind them, their blades unsheathed and ready for a fight.

There was no way they'd win. They were two against ten, and they had no weapons. They weren't gonna make it.

The guards seemed to realise it as well and surrounded them with sinister smirks on their faces.

Cora sent Harry a panicked glance, only to notice there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. She understood a second too late.

"Harry, no!"

A guard widened his eyes in panic. "He's a fay, stand back!" he shouted, but it was too late.

Before any of them could move, a sudden force swept through the alley, smashing them all against the walls on either side of it.

Cora stared in shock at the ten unresponsive men on the ground, before Harry urged her to move.

They ran out of the street and made it to the bridge that brought out of the Beilyn without meeting anyone else, where Saiph was waiting for them.

Harry mounted her and offered Cora his hand. "Be fast."

She got on behind him, and Harry dug his heels in the mare's sides, making her neigh and gallop out of the city.

Cora wrapper her arms around Harry's waist tightly, welcoming the heat radiating off his body in the cold of the night. His smell was even stronger now that she was so close to him and it gave to her head a little. He smelled like nature, clean but somewhat musky. A bit woody, too. It was hard to put her finger on his exact scent, but she knew she'd be able to recognise him from miles away simply by it.

She sighed, closing her eyes as the wind blew through her hair, focusing her attention on the pace of the horse under her not to start crying.

She'd almost been killed, and now she was on a horse with Harry, riding away and away from Beilyn. What did it mean for her?

Would she be able to go back to her town? Would she have to go away with Harry, because she now had nowhere else to go?

She opened her eyes again when she felt a change in the air around them, furrowing her eyebrows when she saw they were riding through the woods.

"Why are we here?" she asked, unable to shake away a shiver. Even though she knew she had nothing to fear in the greenwood, she couldn't help it. She'd been raised to fear it. She'd been raised like a human, scared of nature and of everything that didn't have an immediate explanation.

"We won't be followed in this way," he simply replied and she nodded, leaning her head against Harry's back again, feeling tiredness come over her.

They were in the first hours of the new day, and her lack of sleep was weighing down on her. She tried blinking it away, knowing she couldn't give in to her tiredness unless she wanted to fall off Saiph.

After what felt like centuries the horse stopped. Cora blinked looked around, discovering they were surrounded by other horses, that were tied to the trees.

Harry got off Saiph and reined her to a trunk, tying her up to it before offering Cora a hand.

"We're here."

She took it and let him help her get off of the horse. He caught her when she nearly fell, exhaustion making her lose her balance. Her cheeks flushed at the memory of the last time they'd been so close, and she took a step back.

"Where are we?" she asked, spying the darkness of the woods, but he shook his head, signalling her to be quiet.

"Close."

She nodded, following him through the dark trees.

"Cora!"

She turned around quickly when she heard her name being called, frowning when her eyes met nothing but trees and obscurity.

"Is something wrong?"

She glanced at Harry and shook her head, frowning but deciding to ignore it. It was probably just the hiss of the wind through the leaves. "Nothing, we can go."

They reached the Fair in a couple of minutes. It'd settled in a small meadow connected to the main road by a path just large enough to fit the wagons.

The usual fire in the middle was dying out and not many people were awake, and even the ones that were greeted them only with a little nod, the late hour having got to them as well. Aster was sitting with his back against a cart playing fetch with the white fox, and he glanced up when they passed by, but didn't say a word.

Harry opened the blue door of his wagon and pulled her inside. He closed the door; only the fire on the other side of the window pane illuminated the small interior.

Suddenly aware of how close they were, Cora glanced around, letting her gaze fall on the small table, on top of which she spotted his blue coat. There was a faint smell of dried flowers in the air that mixed with Harry's scent.

"I'm afraid we'll have to make do with just one bed, as we weren't expecting you to tag along. If you're uncomfortable, you can share with Thalia."

"It's fine like this," Cora replied, not even daring to ask him who Thalia was, and he nodded.

He took off his white shirt and Cora pushed her back against the shelves behind her to put some more distance between them, trying her best not to look at him. Not to look at the perfect muscles of his chest as he discarded the shirt. Not to follow the confused pattern of the tattoo on his back. Not to stare at him as he reached up for a new shirt, and—

Her thoughts disintegrated when she noticed a red, bloody line on his side, and she widened her eyes. She hadn't even noticed he'd got slashed during the fight.

"You're hurt," she let out in a whisper, and he followed her gaze.

"Oh." He let his hand hover over it, but Cora grabbed his wrist.

"Don't."

Harry tensed up. "You know, don't you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry."

He looked away. "Can you go get my enchantress? She's outside."

Cora walked out and spotted the enchantress sitting in front of the fire wrapped in a black cloak, staring into the flames. She looked up in the instant Cora neared her and walked to Harry's wagon without a word.

"Let me see," she murmured, and Harry turned to face her so she could see the ugly-looking cut on his side. "This is an easy one." She passed her hand over it and sent them a glance. "Goodnight."

Cora looked at the spot on Harry's skin that had been bleeding as she left, discovering that nothing was left of it if not a pale line.

Harry covered it with a new shirt and took off his boots, inviting her to do the same before lying down on one side of the bed.

She took off her shoes and hesitantly crawled between him and the wooden wall, lying down over the blanket as well and staring up at the ceiling. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

Harry turned to lie on his side, leaning his head on his hand. "Skat told me."

"Oh." Warmth spread through her chest. She'd asked her to go get Harry, and she had. "Why was she there?"

"I asked her to keep an eye on you," he murmured. "Are you hungry?"

"A bit," she admitted, and Harry knocked on the wall behind his head.

A few moments went by, and then his enchantress opened the door and threw an apple to him, not even pausing to check it'd landed where it was supposed to before leaving again.

Harry caught it effortlessly and handed it to Cora. "Here."

She took it and took a bite, letting out an approving hum. She hadn't eaten anything since midday, and after her hectic afternoon, it tasted as good as the candied apple Oden had offered her some days before.

Harry sighed. "Tomorrow will be a long day, go to sleep as soon as you finish."

He turned around right after, leaving her to stare at his back as the sweetness of the apple melted on her tongue.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter x
Miki