Canelis balled her fists but her arms remained at her sides. She knew well enough this woman had an advantage over her. That scuffle in the corridor proved just how much distance they shared with each other in terms of skill. It looked like Canelis had some more work to do when she gets back. If she gets back.

She began walking forward, her boots scratching the dusty stone floor. Murmurs and groans disappeared behind them as the other renegades she knocked out were slowly coming to. Her cheek had begun to throb as well. That trick pixie did a number on her too.

"Left," came the woman's voice behind her. Canelis shifted gears and turned left at the first corner she encountered. The next few minutes were spent with the woman blurting "left" and "right" in random arragement, making it hard for Canelis to memorize the proper order.

It's another prison tactic the jailers in Yin-Alora employed in order to confuse a prisoner who wanted to escape. Lead them in circles and watch them try their best to figure out a way out. That way, it'd be much easier to catch them when they did decide to break out. Whoever was with these renegades, they surely had most of the Army's techniques up their sleeves. Traitors, the lot of them.

After a few more turns and twists, the woman shouted one final "Right" before the corridor stopped in front of a set of steel doors bolted from the outside. Weren't the people on the other side scared they'd be locked out? Morons.

The woman pressed her sword into the small of Canelis's back. Through the thick fibers of her tunic, she felt its sharp tip against the base of her spine. Just one strike and she'd lose her legs forever. This woman knew what she was doing.

"Open it," the woman commanded. As much as Canelis hated being told what to do, in this case, she didn't have a choice.

With a clenched jaw, she reached out and grasped the heavy metal bar slotted inside the two curving handles the doors had. The metal shrieked as she heaved it off the handle and let it thud to the ground with a heavy clatter. She didn't bother waiting for another command from the woman and just pushed the doors inward.

Light flooded her eyes, blinding her. After spending a long while in the darkness, this magnitude of brightness caught her vision off-guard. Her ears never stopped working, though. She detected a difference in the level of chatter inside whatever room she ws brought in the moment the doors slammed against the walll they're attached to.

One prod from the sword behind her told her to walk forward. So, she did and continued doing so until her eyesight adjusted to the brightness and came across a wooden pole in the middle of the room. She blinked at it before the back of her knees exploded in pain.

A cry burst out from her lips without her permission as she fell forward. Her palms scraped against the rough stone floor as she spread her arms to catch herself. She didn't have the time or attention to save her head when it slammed against the pole. A series of snickers and amused chatter rang behind her. She turned to silence them with a glare but the woman's legs blocked most of her view of the crowd.

"This is where you kneel while we tie you up," the woman said with a smirk matching the one Canelis gave earlier.

Canelis didn't fight as she felt a thick rope slither across her torso. Within a few seconds, the rope was tied with expert hands in a knot she couldn't recognize and her back pressed against the pole in such a way that it straighted her spine in amm the uncomfortable places. Her legs were left to hang free but what use were they when she couldn't even haul herself up to run?

The crowd around the room sat in heaps of alga-covered rocks seemingly chipped from the ceiling or the walls from adjacent rooms. All of them were dressed in the mismatch of tunics, trousers, skirts, dresses, boots, and slippers. They didn't look like pixies but one glance at the trail dimension while Canelis still bothered told her otherwise.

Then, the chatter died down to a complete stop when a pixie with dark green hair and multiple inked patterns in his warm beige skin raised his hand. It was a clear gesture for order and these witches followed it without hesitation. This man must be their leader.

"We have brought before you the pride of Peltra," the man said. "The one and only Crown General from Yin-Alora. We will now begin the meeting as to what we would do with her now that she was under our mercy. Any suggestions?"

Canelis exhaled a quick burst of air through her mouth. This was ridiculous. Were they subjecting her into a trial? Judged by the people? Who does that?

Something flashed in her periphery and she turned just in time to see a hand shooting up in the air from a woman in the left side of the room. The inked man nodded at her. "We could send word to the people in Yin-Alora and barter for better policies in our favor in exchange of the Crown General's safety."

Another hand went up. The inked man jerked his chin in its direction. "We could execute her here and now to prove we aren't joking around when we mean we wanted fairer policy from Yin-Alora," the volunteer said. "I mean, we are pixies too. Shouldn't we be treated as such while we're still in Peltra?"

A chorus of mumbled agreement echoed in the hall. Canelis rolled her eyes. She'd kill each and everyone of them in an instant if only she had her sword. Not even that. Just a regular sword would do.

"Wouldn't killing the Crown General incur a heavier anger from the Riogener?" the woman who raised the motion of using Canelis as a bargaining chip reasoned. "If we hurt someone from the Army, they could take this as a cause of retribution and gather up their forces. We don't have the capability to fight them with just our numbers."

The man who proposed Canelis's execution stood up, setting him apart from the rest of the crowd. Canelis made sure to remember his dark blue hair and the way it fell down to his shoulders. "But if we kill her now, she wouldn't be able to escape and cause us more trouble," he said. "Letting her live means giving her a chance to do things on her own which could throw off our plans. We could prepare if we knew what Yin-Alora would throw at us. We couldn't prepare if we have another unpredictable variable present—her."

Judging from the rounds of nods, claps, and cheers made by the crowd, the renegades seemed eager to get rid of Canelis. How fun.

The woman coughed into her fist and shot up. "If we kill the Crown General, it makes us no different than the Army we turned away from," she said. "Violence is never the answer. Let's not go back to our primitive ways."

Primitive—

Canelis attempted to lunge forward but the ropes stopped her. The blade of the woman's sword flashed into her periphery as it was drawn in front of her as a warning. The other woman in the audience making her proposition didn't seem to notice the change in Canelis's disposition. Nor did she seem to care to have called the strongest Army in Umazure primitive.

"Let's just use her the best way we can and get the best we can out of this amazing opportunity," the woman finished her piece by settling back to her rocky seat. "That's all, Elder Tarmis."

The inked man bobbed his head at the mention of his name. "Good points, Yarli and Perlos," he said. "I take it these are the only points to be raised in this meeting?"

The silence told him everything. Elder Tarmis raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then," he said. "Who's in favor of Yarli's proposition."

Hands went up. Canelis did her best to count but before she could tally the left side's vote, Elder Tarmis spoke. "Now, who's in favor of Perlos's proposition?"

Another set of hands rose. Canelis made sure to beat the Elder in tallying this time. She failed because the Elder clasped his hands together. "It seemed like Yarli's proposition is the voice of the masses."

Canelis scoffed—a sound loud enough to get several eyes on her. Voices of the people? There were hardly a hundred pixies in here. This was not the voice of the people whether or not they voted for her release or her execution. Besides, they're missing one crucial point in their arguments.

"I'm already considered dead when my trail is found in Ok-Sa, just so you know," Canelis perked up despite her guardian's sword pressing closer to her cheek. It's just a sword. She'd been hurt with far worse. "If I am found outside Xai-Ren, I'll be considered a renegade."

She rolled her shoulders despite the clear restraints around her against the motion. "I won't be of much use to you as I am one of you now, albeit without my consent," she said. "Looks like you brought this mess upon yourselves."

"Yin-Alora won't look for me," Canelis said, hoping with all her might that it was indeed the case. From the audience, Elder Tarmis gave Canelis's guardian a brief shake of the head when the sword went closer to Canelis's eye. "Don't delude yourselves that they'll look for a renegade since you're all tragic fairies."

Spurts of disagreement burst from the audience. Elder Tarmis raised his hand and the chaos died as quickly as it started. "What are you trying to say, Crown General?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

Canelis smiled inwardly. Let her hope she still had her persuasion skills in check. She, herself, didn't know what where she was going with this new plan in her mind but if it meant getting out of Ok-Sa in one piece and returning home to Yin-Alora, she'd gladly follow it wherever it led.

"A bargain of sorts," Canelis said aloud, keeping her grin on her lips as she continued. "You will help me analyze the contents of the quilderfen bones in stopping the plague and I will see everything I can do to help you with it. As you all know, I am the Crown General. I have some influence over the Riogener's court."

Silence was as thick as the morning clouds in Peltra. She could see their meager brain gears turning as she continued, "I am your only shot in getting the Army's ears, that much I can't deny," she said. "But you will most likely succeed if you don't hurt me and send me back in peace."

Elder Tarmis's face was a massive block of stone staring down at her. Canelis held his stare and adressed him personally. "I know why you're stealing from the outposts in Xai-Ren as I have been sent there to investigate the very thing," she said. "At this point, the Marshals and troopers will have traced my trail in the stocks and discovered how you've been pilfering from them for a long time. It's through the hatches underneath, right? You spent most of your lives digging through rubble in Ok-Sa. It wasn't a far cry that you've dug a tunnel underneath Xai-Ren's wall too."

"That action alone could cause a war between you and the Army," Canelis reasoned. "Let's face it: you don't have the means to survive. How else are you going to live through Yin-Alora's attack when it comes to that?"

She stared at Yarli and Perlos next, nodding just to show them a bit of solidarity, no matter how fake and forced it was. "Hence this solution of mine," she said. "I can help you solve your issue with the plagues first, then we'll figure out how to get you a steady supply of necessities without going under the outposts' noses."

"How can we be sure you're not doing this just to get out of here?" the Elder asked. That's actually a good point. Perhaps, Canelis might do just that. "Why focus on the plague?"

"Because it will reach us sooner or later, Elder," Canelis replied. "I don't care if you vermin die from it first but it is not known to stay within the borders of Ok-Sa. If I don't act now, it's the same thing as wishing my comrades die. I will not turn my back on my people like the lot of you did. If there's anything you can trust on the words I said this day, I meant it when I said I wanted to stop this plague."

It's a win-win situation for them. The renegades would get their plague sorted out and Canelis would be free with no strings attached. It's the notion of working with the people who walked out on their race that sent Canelis's gut churning. Never in her whole life had she needed to stoop so low. Even cleaning the stables was a more honorable job than this.

The Elder closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Canelis saw a glint of approval. "Very well," he said. "I will allow you to go back to Yin-Alora for the sake of your bargain."

A chorus of gasps and surprised mutterings broke free from the crowd. It was loud enough to force the Elder to raise his hand for order once more. "But we couldn't let you go on your own," he said. "You will need a companion from our side to make sure you're not planning on betraying us. Remember: you will know where our hideout is and how we survive. If we find any trace of the Army around these parts, we will not hesitate to track you down and kill you, using any means necessary."

Canelis nodded. "That's a deal," she said. "Who are you sending with me?"

Elder Tarmis tapped a finger to his chin before turning to the audience who fell into silence without him having to raise his hand. "I'm thinking...Cailen," he said. "Come here, my boy."

Minutes passed and nobody moved. "Cailen Dithal, don't make me drag you out here," Elder Tarmis said in a stern voice. A shadow moved from the back of the hall, staggering towards the Elder and taking all the time he could to stall.

Canelis squinted until Cailen Dithal stepped into the light. And he was the boy who brought her food and whom she had come to a disagreement with. Dear Umagi. This was going to be long journey.