"Why are you here, girl?"

Sara stood silently, gazing down at the wrinkled face of Charles. Her hands were tightly folded behind her as he looked at her with those unnerving eyes of his that made her want to run a thousand miles away. He had dragged her away from the gate to the cover of the forest under the watchful eyes of the watch guards. No pun intended.

"I well.. you see-" Her hands came up to rub the back of her neck and she shifted from one foot to the other, "I have some.. business? Yes business t-to take c-care of." She said miserably, any fool could tell she didn't come to Silva for business.

"And by business, I guess you mean the brotherhood? You're here because of the murders right?" Charles tilted his head, reminding her of how Cece looked at her whenever she did something silly. I'm sure Cece is becoming impatient in waiting for me.

Sara wasn't surprised he knew what brought her back to Silva. This was Charles, though he was old but he wasn't uninformed and it seemed his ability to turn her into a stuttering mess was still good.

Her silence was answer enough for him, she noticed the twitching of his ears, the reddening of his sunken cheeks and the widening of his nostrils, oh dear, not to forget the icy glare in his eyes, this was not going to be good. Here we go...

"Are you crazy!? Why would you engage in business with the brotherhood? Those, those, those.."

By now he was already pacing the forest floor, his hands flailing around angrily, Sara had to shift to avoid being hit. When Charles got angry, it was like he was in a world of his own.

"Those people, have you forgotten how they tossed you aside? And you want to go back to them? For what!? Nothing good ever comes from those swines. Maybe when your great-grandmother was alive, I wouldn't know because I wasn't born then, but, but..."

Sara was concerned for the condition of the leaves on the floor, yes they were dead leaves already but with the way he was pacing she was sure they had died over and over again probably mourning for their pitiful life or death?

"You can't get involved with the brotherhood and you can't get involved with these killings. No. No. No. No."

He shook his repeatedly saying 'no', aside from his nervousness inducing stare, he had the habit of repeating words when he was upset, it seemed he hadn't changed a bit, though the anger was directed at her now, she felt warm inside her and this time it wasn't due to the heat of the sun.

He suddenly stopped pacing to stand in front of her, he gazed at her with a look she couldn't understand. "Listen to me girl, you have to go back to that forest, you have to go back to whatever hole you crawled out of," he said pointing to the forest, "Silva isn't safe."

"The forest isn't safe either, Charles." She finally said something after his angry tirade. Why was he so against her going into Silva?

"There are far worse things to fear than a bunch of wild animals, do not get involved with the murders." He replied in what could be called an ominous voice.

Sara groaned loudly, "Why? Why are you against me going into Silva? I don't plan on joining the brotherhood, I just want to-" She couldn't finish her statement before he interrupted her.

"Find the killer? Alexander called you here, didn't he? Don't be stupid, this doesn't concern you. Leave the happenings of Silva to the residents of Silva, go back to your peaceful life in the forest. Don't forget meddling was what got your mother killed." Oh no he didn't.

"Don't you dare mention my mother! You claim the brotherhood tossed me aside but where were you when I cried for her death to be investigated? You asked me to leave Silva and forget what happened, but I can't!" She snapped at him, a burning feeling growing in her chest, he flinched at her words, on seeing that, she sighed forgetting her anger.

"I respect you Charles and I do not hold what happened against you, you are the closest thing I have to a father, but you can't stop me from going into Silva." She took his hands in hers squeezing it softly, "Somehow my mother is connected to these killings, I can't tell you how but all I can say is whoever the killer is knows what happened to my mother that night, I'm sure of it. All I ask is that you trust me and not leave me to do this alone."

Sara swallowed suddenly overcome by her emotions, she understood that Charles only wanted to protect her, she didn't blame him for his decision to not help her five years ago but she hoped with everything in her that he would help her now.

"I guess I can't convince you to go back, can I?" Charles sighed, the fight leaving him.

Sara shook her head, he sighed again and gripped her shoulders for a while looking deeply into her eyes. She didn't know what he was searching for, but he seemed to have found it when he released her shoulders and nodded.

"Of course, I'll be here to help you." He said softly with so much concern in his eyes, it tugged at her heart. "Let's go then, the guards won't stop you from entering this time." He said almost mockingly.

"First I have to pick up Cece."

"Who's Cece?" Charles enquired.

Sara didn't reply only smiling and walking into the forest, she had dropped Cece on a tree not far from the edge of the forest. Sara wasn't comfortable with bringing Cece in without first accessing how things were, call her silly but Cece was family and she always protected family. I hope she didn't run off.

*"*"*"*"*"

Sara urged her horse to go faster, trying to keep up with Charles who was way ahead of her. She felt a little bit odd on the horse from having not ridden in a long time, but at least she hadn't become a pathetic rider.

Charles had insisted they ride a horse to his home as it would be faster and safer; what he wanted to protect her from, she had no idea, it wasn't like the killer would pounce on her in public with guards stationed at every corner of Silva, at least that's what she thought as she saw group of guards at every turn they took.

Sara had agreed without much argument, it definitely wasn't because she was scared of some unknown killer, she was already exhausted from walking all the way from her cottage in the middle of the forest to Silva. It was a good thing one of the guards at the gate, Hollis, she thought was his name, had an extra horse for her to ride. Though she was close to Charles, she wouldn't have felt comfortable riding with him on the horse he brought along.

The houses passed by in a blur as they sped past what she noticed to be the lower regions of Silva. Unfortunately, because of this speed, she couldn't get much view of how the lower region now looked. She wondered if their bad living conditions had changed or it was still as horrible as it was five years ago.

After a while, they reached a T-junction that sort of divided the lower regions from the upper, and as well led to Silva's only market. Sara made a mental note to visit the market once she had the time.

Sara was finally able to catch up to Charles, as he had slowed his horse to a gentle trot. Now that they weren't moving at top speed, she was able to get a look at her surroundings. The pristine cobblestone ground made the surroundings look sophisticated in a way that seemed forced.

The gray and naked stone walls that made up the buildings called houses, were arranged on both sides in order, parallel to each other, ridiculously sophisticated flowers were used as what she realized to be decorations. Without giving much of a glance, it was obvious the people that walked or rode past also thought themselves sophisticated, with their heads held high, which wasn't so difficult for the women with their rigorous headgear, in gowns made of the finest silk and the finest tunics and breeches.

Overall, everywhere screamed sophistication. Cece popped her little head out then from the sack tied to the horse, she hissed at some passerby and put her head back in. It seems Cece also thinks so.

I see we have reached the upper region of Silva, where wealthy and influential citizens of Silva reside.

"So Silva is still divided in two." Sara scoffed. While these snobs live in luxury, the rest live in unending suffering. Sara briefly wondered if the fifteen people Alexander said had been killed were from the lower or upper regions or both.

"Silva is going to remain divided for a long time Sara." Charles replied, always one for stating raw facts no matter how painful.

Sara glanced at him from her horse, his grip on the rein was firm and strong, Sara didn't know how he managed to still stay strong physically but she was glad for it. She then noticed again, that he wore the uniform of Silva's royal guards. She was sure Charles was not a member of the royal guard, he was a skilled hunter who had taught her all she knew about hunting.

"Why are you wearing the royal guard's uniform?" She voiced out her question. By now they had turned a fifth corner if she was right in her counting, Charles home, if she remembered correctly, wasn't that much of a distance from where they were.

Charles turned to face her which was impossible given his position but he managed to lean slightly towards her.

"The king requested I join the selected number of guards that would oversee the investigation of the murders."

Sara raised an eyebrow incredulously, why Charles of all people? True, he was smart and well informed and one of the greatest hunters in Silva, but that didn't make him a royal guard.

Charles seemed to know what she was thinking, he smiled like he knew something she didn't.

"Let us talk about that once we get to my home." And with that he urged his horse to a canter, while Sara wondered how everything had changed from what she knew.

------------------------------------------------

So that's it for this chapter.

What do you think Sara will face now she's in Silva? And are you excited for her meeting with the brotherhood?

Please vote and comment.
Till the next chapter....