The men were silent as they rode. Jade found that wherever she looked one of them would be looking at her and then look away. An hour after leaving the village the captain finally broke the silence. “What is your name, anyway?”

                “Jade,” she replied, relieved to have someone to talk to. She needed a way to distract herself, to keep the panic at bay. This was never a situation she had been trained for, or ever thought she’d find herself in.

                “My name is Captain Lander, under different circumstances I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you.”

                “Captain,” Merek glared at the captain. Jade noticed that they were around the same age, and something about their exchange made Jade think that they were friends.

                “Keep your pants on Merek, she’s a poacher not a murderer, and on top of that she is a stranger here, give her some slack.” Merek simply looked away and sniffed; Lander smiled at him then turned in his saddle to look at Jade.

                “So what’s your story Jade, we know you ran away from your home, but how’d you end up here? You’re horse it’s a fine quality animal, so it makes me curious as to who you are exactly.”

                “Most would assume I stole the horse captain.”

                He shook his head, “The horse listens and observes you. You are her master.”

                “You’re observant.”

                “It comes with the job,” he winked. The man to Jade’s right coughed and Jade looked at him. He rolled his eyes. “I saw that Peter.”

                “Yes sir.”

                “I believe this unit has plans for a mutiny, Merek.”

                “I will lead them proudly sir.”

                Lander narrowed his eyes at Merek, but Merek he kept his eyes on the road ahead of them. Jade saw his lip twitch slightly. “Well, why don’t you tell us a story Jade? Tell us how you and your horse got to be so dirty.”

                Jade looked around and found that all the men of the unit were suddenly looking at her. She realized that they all wanted to know, they were all curious. Even Merek, she noticed, had tilted his ear towards her. So Jade swallowed, and told her story. She saw no reason to lie, but she didn’t tell the whole truth either. Instead of wolves chasing her, she made them large trained dogs. She never spoke of where she came from, simply that it was north. When she finished her story everyone was silent again.

                “I’m not sure I believe all of that,” Lander admitted.

                “You don’t have to, all that matters is that life has brought me here, to this moment. The details are irrelevant.”

                “I’ve never met a woman who was as good of a fighter as she claimed,” Lander confessed.

                Jade shrugged, “There aren’t many that I know of. I come from a strange place ruled by even stranger traditions. But in this one thing I am grateful for it, for if I had been treated like a normal girl I wouldn’t be able to survive on my own. I would always be dependent on others, and that to me, is a depressing thought.”

                “You’re a strange woman Jade and I truly do wish it were under different circumstances that we could have met.” Lander turned away from Jade and sat back in his saddle. The rest of the unit seemed to ignore Jade, either they didn’t believe her story or were intimidated by her. She gripped Chances mane a little tighter and looked at the metal around her wrists. She had been foolish when she had left home. Jade had thought this journey would be simpler, it was humbling, to realize that the world cannot be learned simply from books and others teachings, that it must be experienced.

                “Hold!” Lander threw up a fist and the unit halted, everyone was instantly on alert. Jade leaned to one side to see down the road.

                “What is Sir?” One of the men from the back asked.

                A young girl ran up the road towards them, her feet were bare and dusty but her dress was neat and her hair was back in a bow. But despite her appearance she looked frightened and distraught. “Help!” she yelled. “Please help me!”

                The girl ran up to Landers horse, the beast flicked an ear but did not shy away at the sudden moment. The girl grabbed onto the horses harness and placed another hand on Landers boot. “A wolf is attacking my goat!” Her entire body was shaking and she pointed down the road where she had come from. Jade looked but saw nothing, though when the wind picked her hair off her neck it carried with it the sound of some poor creature crying out.

                “Get on.” Lander pulled the girl up onto the back of his horse and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Jade squeezed her legs a little tighter and the unit moved as one down the road, the horses hooves pounded like thunder in the dust. As they turned the corner they halted abruptly and Jade leaned once more to see down the road.

                The girl started to cry at the sound of her dying goat, but she didn’t take her face away from Landers back. A small wolf was biting away at the goat, the poor creature wasn’t even fully dead but Jade knew there was no saving it. At the sound of the horses the small wolf looked up and growled at all of them. Drool and foam dripped off its mouth and then it ran off with a snarl into the woods. “Orders sir?” Merek’s hand rested on his sword but Jade knew a sword would be useless in this situation.

                “There’s nothing we can do,” Lander kept his eyes on the wolf until it disappeared among the trees. “We can’t risk good horses and men on a lone wolf. We will alert local militia of the situation.”  

                Jade looked around at the men, there was no archer among them. And she thought it strange that there wasn’t at least one long ranged weapon to be found among them. Jade looked down the road again, and then at the girl. She was lucky that the wolf hadn’t gone for her, but attacked the goat instead. “I can help.” The words were out of Jade’s mouth before she realized what she was saying. But the moment she said them, she knew it was true. “I can kill it.”

                Lander turned his horse to the side and looked at Jade, as did every man in the unit. “Speak up.”

                “Unlock my chains and give me back my bow. I can kill the beast if you act now before it gets too far away. If we don’t kill it who’s to say it won’t attack a person next? This girl is lucky to be alive.”

                Merek laughed once, harshly. “Don’t be a fool Lander, if you let her go she won’t come back.”

                Jade didn’t look at Merek, she kept her eyes on Lander who was searching for something in Jade. “I swear to you, on the honor of my family who died to save me. I will return to you.”

                “Take the restraints off, quickly, and return her bow to her.” The unit didn’t move at first, “Now!” He snapped and everyone moved at once. The chains fell from Jade’s wrist and her bow and quiver were pushed into her hands. The rope was cut from Landers horse and Jade swung the quiver to her back and secured it there.

                “I’ll be back.”

                “You better.”

                And Jade was gone, with only a simple flick of Jade’s heel Chance bolted like an arrow from a bow. Jade’s hair lifted and flew behind her and in another moment they barreled past the dead goat. Jade squeezed her knees and Chance turned in response and leapt into the forest. It was a lightly wooded area, trees grew far apart and grass and moss sprung up on the forest floor. Chance jumped a dead log and didn’t miss a step. Jades eyes scanned the area, the wolf couldn’t have gotten far, and its dark coat would give it away in this setting. Jade slowed Chance down a pace the mare blew a lungful of air threw her nose.    

                Jade scanned the forest floor and then stopped Chance. The horse tossed her head and pounded the ground and Jade knew the creature was close enough for Chance to smell. Jade pulled an arrow from the quiver and pulled it tight on the string. Chance walked forward and Jade spotted a small print on the moss a few feet away on the ground. She followed the trail but kept her eyes open, though she knew Chance would give her warning.

                A few minutes later when Jade looked up she saw movement ahead. She pulled her bow up, and was quiet as Chance walked forward slowly. The wolf didn’t see them; it walked back and forth between trees, its nose to the ground picking up scent. Its tail was tucked constantly between its legs. Jade stopped Chance, they were close enough. She pulled the string to full draw and breathed slow and steady. The wolf was restless, it wouldn’t stop moving and Jade couldn’t get a shot. So she let out a long steady whistle and the wolf stopped and looked up, its ears forward and alert. Jade released the arrow just as the creature stopped and started to growl.

                But it was too late. The arrow flew true. The wolf fell with a yelp, and then was silent. Again, Jade waited, she didn’t move towards the creature until a few minutes had past. She let the arrow do its work; she let the creature bleed out. She wanted to be sure it was dead before she approached.

                But when Jade finally approached and was closer to the creature, she could tell immediately that it was not a wolf. Now she could see the detail of the creature, she realized it was a dog. It was wild, and probably rabid, but a dog, not a wolf. “Poor creature,” Jade said to it. “I’m sorry you had to meet such an end.” She never liked killing creatures for sport or for any reason other than food and survival. But this was a necessary act. She couldn’t risk the lives of innocent people. Jade pulled the arrow from its heart and cleaned it off and returned it to her quiver. Luckily enough this creature was smaller than a deer, and far lighter. “Sorry Chance,” Jade apologized as she put the dog onto her shoulders. The horse simply let out a breath of air, as if she had given up arguing.

                Jade pulled herself onto her back and they made their way back out of the woods. “It seems we’ve been doing a lot of this lately,” she said to Chance. “I think I’ve forgotten what it means to live a regular life.”

                When they emerged from the woods they were further up the road than Jade anticipated. So she headed back and when they came around the bend the men were off their horses and the goat was gone, but the blood still stained the dust. The girl too, had disappeared, but Jade noticed that one of the men was missing. Lander was the first to spot Jade riding towards them. When he did, his face showed signs of obvious relief, and when Merek spotted her, he seemed surprised.

                “Jade!” he called and everyone else turned. Jade jumped off Chance and she motioned to the animal.

                “It wasn’t a wolf,” she told them. “It’s just a stray dog…it was probably rabid and starved. But it won’t be bothering anyone.”

                They took the dog off Chance and examined it then Lander ordered two of his men to go to the farm where the girl had come from and get a shovel to bury it. “It’s a good shot.” Merek noted. “Perfect actually.”

                “Thank you,” Jade and Merek exchanged a look and she accepted his unspoken apology silently and he gave her small smile.

                She handed her bow and arrows back and held out her wrists but Lander shook his head. “I don’t think chains are necessary. You’re a person with honor, and that’s a rare thing. I don’t believe you will try to run or deceive us.”

                Jade nodded her head, grateful. “But don’t think that means you can take us for fools,” Merek warned.

                “I don’t.”

The rest of the journey was uneventful and as they neared civilization with each mile, Jade felt her stomach churning. The men in the unit in the two days they traveled together had come to treat Jade like a normal human being. But now as they passed more and more people and grew closer to their destination the entire crew grew quite. No one looked Jade in the eyes when they spoke or she asked a question. And she knew it was because no matter how anyone felt, the end result was going to be the same. They had a duty to perform, and whatever their feelings might be, Jade had broken the law.

So Jade grew more quite and didn’t force any of the men into conversation. She simply gripped Chances mane to steady herself and kept her head up. When the crossing finally came into view Jade was taken aback by its size. A large stone wall protected the small city and rose high above their heads. The gates were open but sentries stood on either side, watching the comings and goings. Jade rode in the middle of the unit, her hands were unbound but people still stared at her.

The streets were busy and crowded far beyond Jade had ever experienced or expected. People moved like insects and moved with purpose. The smells and noise overwhelmed her senses and she found that she didn’t know where to look. Jade spotted seagulls circling in the sky and she knew the river was close, and yet far out of her reach. The militia offered a small sort of protection, people moved out of their way when they saw them coming and no one tried to stop them to sell them merchandise. In this way Jade was thankful, if she had come here alone on Chance she wasn’t sure she would have made it through the crowd out of fear of trampling someone.

Other soldiers and guards hailed Lander and he raised his hand in greeting back to them. Lander seemed to know the streets well, and he never once hesitated when he took a turn onto a new street. Jade was lost, and without the sun to guide her she wouldn’t have even known which direction she had entered the city. It made her wonder all the more what The Capital must be like. The eventually stopped in front of a black iron gate and protected a cobble courtyard. The two guards at the gate spoke with Lander in low voices and then the gate was opened to them. The horses passed through and Jade couldn’t help but look over her shoulder as they were locked behind them.

They stopped their horses at the steps of the large stone mansion and Jade dismounted with the company. She stood next to Chance, unsure of what she was expected to do. Merek came over to her and held onto her arm, he was gentle, but she was sure it was meant to look like he was restraining her. Either way she was grateful for the connection, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and gave her a small wink. She gave him the smallest of smiles, it was all she could muster. Jade liked Merek, despite his cold outer shell she felt there was a hidden person underneath. She hoped that maybe someday she would meet these men under different circumstances, and that maybe they could even become friends.

A skinny man wearing purple and yellow descended the steps of the house. He was bald and he wore small round glasses on the edge of his noise and thin leather bound book was tucked under one arm. “Greetings gentlemen.” His voice was surprisingly deep and it took Jade off guard.

“Greetings, we’ve come to see Lord Osman on a matter of the law. We’ve apprehended someone who was caught poaching.”

        The man looked at Jade with a passing glance that looked back to Lander. “Come this way.” Merek kept his hand on Jades arm but there was nothing aggressive about it. Instead he helped hold her up as they walked up the steps and into the house. The mansion was richly decorated. Tapestries hung from the wall and plush carpets zigzagged across the floors. Sentries were posted randomly at hallways, and Jade again, found herself lost in the hallways and turns and many doorways.

                The man leading them finally came to a large wooden door and pushed it open. “The rest of you stay here,” Lander ordered his men and he took Jade’s arm from Merek. She looked back at them as she passed the door and Merek gave her an encouraging nod. She nodded back and looked and Lander. His grip was a little firmer than Merek’s but she could feel his hand shaking, he was more nervous than her, she touched him just for a moment and he looked at her.

                “It’s fine,” she told him and he nodded his head.

                The hall was long and full of light, the main attraction was the long large wooden table that stretched down the length of it and at the end was a man eating a meal large enough to feed four people. “Lord Osman, may I present Captain Lander.”

                Lord Osman was an old man, not as fat as she imagined him to be, despite the amount of food he was consuming, but still overweight. He looked up with a piece of chicken in his hands, his gray hair was long and tied back and he had dark brown eyes that hid underneath narrow eyebrows. He wore a purple tunic and a yellow sash across his chest. “Sir.” Lander bowed his head in respect.

                “Captain,” Lord Osman nodded his reply. “We’ve met before have we not?”

                “Yes sir.”

                “Hmm.” Lord Osman continued to eat but his eyes travelled to Jade. Her instinct was to look away but she looked him in the eyes despite her fear. “You do well by my land Captain. Among all the militia the Capital has sent to protect my lands you’re unit has impressed me. You’re work has not gone unnoticed, and you can be sure that I will speak good words about you when I travel to the Capital next month.”

                “Thank you sir,” Lander bowed his head again. Jade saw that the words really did mean something to Lander and that surprised her.

                “Now,” Lord Osman cleared his throat and Jade looked at him again. He wiped his hands on a cloth and picked up a piece of bread. “Who have you brought to me?”

                “A poacher sir,” Lander responded.

                Osman looked a little confused, “Why bring this to me? You know the law. You could have dealt with this yourself Captain. I am a busy man running a prosperous land. If I saw to ever petty crime I would be overrun.”

                “Yes sir, but I found that this was a special circumstance. The girl comes from a different land and didn’t know our laws. The deer was killed only so that she might gain some coin to gain crossing to the Capital where she might find work. She has been nothing but cooperative and I believe her intentions were innocent and ignorant.”

                Lord Osman looked at Jade again, and she swallowed. “So what are you suggesting Captain? That I release the girl without punishment?”

                “The decision is yours entirely sir, these are your lands and your laws.” Lander was a Captain; Jade saw it again just like the first time she met him. His demeanor changed entirely when the time rose for him to fill his title. There was no hint of the playfulness that lay just underneath, only business and respect showed on his face.

                “I will not release her from her punishment. There can be exceptions in the law. However, I trust your word Captain. If you say this girl is innocent, if you saw she had cooperated then I will lessen the punishment.”

                “Thank you sir.”

                “Don’t thank me just yet. She will receive five lashes, and whatever possessions she owns will be sold to pay for animal she killed.”

        Jade felt the blood drop from her face, she felt it drop all the way to the tips of her toes. The only possessions she owned were the few weapons she had and Chance. They couldn’t sell Chance, they couldn’t.

“Sir,” Jade opened her mouth but Lord Osman silenced her.

        “Do not speak, for your words mean nothing to me. You are a stranger, and a stranger holds no respect or trust in my ears. The only reason I am lessening your punishment at all is for the sake of the Captain and all the good work he has done for me. You will leave now, and let me finish my meal and return to my duties. Good day Captain.”

“Sir.” Lander lead Jade out of the room. She wanted to rip her arm from his grip and squeeze her hands around Lord Osman’s fat neck but Lander had increased his grip and before she could act the door was shut behind them and they were walking down another hallway.

“Lander.”

“It’s Captain,” he didn’t look at her.

“Captain, you cannot let this happen. Chance is not mine to be sold, she was given to me by a friend to help me on my journey, but she is not mine.”

“In the eyes of the law she is your possession. There is nothing I can do.” Lander led Jade down steps and out a back door. Jade saw a stable across the courtyard but Lander takes her to another building instead, one that is still within the black iron gates, but set back away from everything. Lander opens the door and pulls Jade in after him. Two guards stand to attention when they enter. “This one will need a room gentlemen, orders will be given as to what is to be done to her shortly.”

“Sir.” One of the guards approached Jade and took her arm and Lander let go. Jade looked at him but he would not look at her.

 “Thank you gentlemen.” Without another word Lander left, closing the door behind him. Jade stared at the door, unable to process everything that was happening.

“Come on this way.” The guard roughly pulled Jade through another door and down a hallway lined with cells. Only two of the cells are occupied and Jade is tossed into one of the empty ones. The door closed and locked behind her and she watched as the guards disappeared back down the hallway. Jade felt utterly abandoned. In nothing but a moment she watched as Lander threw her to the dogs as if she were nothing but a stranger to him. Jade pulled her knees to her chest and pressed her back to the corner of the cell. She had fooled herself; she was a stranger to him. He was a Captain, and she had broken the law. Of course he wouldn’t treat her any different.

Jade felt a tear slip down her cheek and she violently wiped it away. She wouldn’t cry, and she wouldn’t pity herself. This was nothing but the consequences of her own actions, and she would accept them. She pushed Chance out of her thoughts, for she knew that if she let herself think about it, she would cry again. And she couldn’t afford to cry, everything else had been ripped from her hands, and she needed something to hold onto, she needed to know she could still control her own body.

                They kept Jade in a cell for three days. She was sure that it was simply to prolong her punishment and on the third day she was finally dealt her punishment. They dragged her from her cell and strung her up to a post outside the jail. The man holding the whip was experienced and when the lashes fell upon her back it took every ounce of discipline in Jades body not to cry out. Five lashes, and it was done, they untied the ropes, escorted her to the gates and told her she was free to go.

                Jade walked the streets alone, dizzy and bleeding she lost herself among the people and the buildings. No one spoke to her. Many stepped out of her way and avoided her like she was a diseased animal. Jade was numb and for the first time she had no plan, no inclination as to where she would go or what she would do. She eventually collapsed, too exhausted to walk or even hold her head up Jade lay in a quiet alley way while the world spun around her.

                She had nothing left. Everything had been taken from her and she had nothing left to give. “What do you want from me?” She whispered to the ghosts of her memories. Jade laid there until the world was dark and still she had no strength to move. Her body shook with violent shivers and yet she felt as if she were caught on fire.

                Torch light illuminated the alley and Jade closed her eyes to the light. “Is that her?” A voice spoke over her, but Jade didn’t even want to look.

                “I’m going to guess yes by the state of her. This is around the last place that someone said they saw her.”

                Someone touched Jade’s shoulder, “Hey, are you still alive?” Jade opened her eyes a man was on one knee in front of her. His face was in shadows from the torch light behind him, but his voice was soft and unfamiliar. Jade didn’t respond she just stared at his darkened face. “Well you opened your eyes so that’s something at least. I’m going to pick you up. Don’t freak out or fight me, I’m here to help. We’re going to take you someplace warm and dry, alright?”

                Jade still didn’t respond. What was he saying? He was going to help her? True to his word the man gently put his arms underneath Jade’s body. The pressure from his arm on her wounds barely registered in her mind. The two strangers carried Jade and she simply stared at his face. He had hints of a dark beard on his face, and his dark hair was past his ears. His eyes were dark blue and his features were square. He was a complete stranger and yet he carried Jade in his arms like she were a child.

                 They walked and turned down multiple streets until Jade could smell and hear the rush of the river. Then the man carrying the torch lifted his fist and knocked on a door. Someone on the other side opened it and Jade was engulfed in warmth, light, and the smell of bread and cooked meat. “Is that her?”

                “No stupid we picked up a different stray girl.” Jade kept her eyes close. She would get a headache if she tried to look around. The man holding Jade kept his hold on her and carried her up some stairs and placed her gently onto a bed.

                “Go fetch the doctor James, tell her we have the girl.”

                “Yes sir.” Someone replied and footsteps receded. Jade turned her head to the side and pushed her head into the pillow. How long had it been since she had laid on a real bed or rested her head on a pillow. When was the last time she had stayed under a roof? She couldn’t remember, nor did she care.

                “What’s your name girl?” Jade opened her eyes and squinted against the light to look at the man. He sat on the edge of the bed, and in this light she could see his face even clearer. He had a scar on his forehead but his long hair slightly concealed the mark, his blue eyes were hard and wild. In a way he reminded Jade of her father.

                “Jade.”

                He smiled, “You weren’t an easy person to find Jade.”

                “Who are you?”

                Footsteps filled the stairs and hallway outside the room and he replied to Jade by simply saying, “You can call me Reed.”

                The doctor was a female by the name of Sherry, she had a thick, strange accent but when she spoke to Jade she did it slow and soft. She removed Jade’s clothes and turned her onto her stomach. Jade bit her fist and stuffed her face into the pillow as Sherry cleaned Jade’s wounds. It was painful but necessary. Jade muscled her way through the pain with minimal tears and whimpering. The doctor covered Jades back with a fowl smelling paste and then she wrapped Jade’s torso in white bandages and tucked her under the covers and handed her a cup of hot tea and smelled strongly of herbs.

                “Drink. ALL of it.” She stayed and watched Jade to make sure she drank the whole cup. Then she blew out the candles around the room and closed the door behind her. Jade laid in the darkness and allowed the warmth of the tea to seep into the very corners of her body, and then she closed her eyes, and fell asleep in a bed, under a roof, warm and content for the first time since leaving Felkor.