ADARA

It kept haunting her dreams, and what made it worse was the familiarity it brought. Something deep inside her couldn't reconcile the hazy images of her nightmares with the real thing across the creek. Something to haunt her earliest memories, but the red never left the faces of knights who purged the magickae from Tebora into the shadow beyonds. It hissed, groaned, and cracked its bones in her ears as she tried to scramble away. Stories Mother never told, but Garren had. Hungry, relentless, unable to forget the urge to feed in its gaze. Sleep hounded for another day, she snapped up from her bed when she heard its distant screech, so different from an animal's. Distinct and bone chilling, the screaming hadn't ended long after she turned it to stone.

It was real, but what was it? Garren came back and didn't say anything to me. Adara brushed her fingers through her short hair, then got out of bed, giving up on her nap before a hard day of work at the Sunfire festival. Apron tied around her tavern smock, she fashioned her mask against her nose, where its bird beak fit snug. Just this one day. Out of her room, she walked past Garren's to reach the living area, where he sat by the fireplace, poking at it with the firesetter. "I'm going out now."

His answer was a dismissive grunt.

"I'm assuming you're not going to be participating in the festivities?"

Another, but more affirmative grunt.

Adara went for the handle, but stopped at the flickering shadows cast by the firelight. Red embers struck the world, but it was nothing but a bad dream. A nightmare from her childhood. "Did you ever find what you were looking for on that walk days ago?"

"No."

The music dancing its way through the forest to their cabin almost made her dive back into the safety of her room. "Are you sure you believe me?"

"Yes, Adara." Garren set the firepoker off to the side to consider her. "Why wouldn't I believe you?"

"I know how you feel about something that sounds like it came out of a story, but you knew what I was talking about," Adara observed as the music swayed the house, and the crimson embers bounced along in the shadows. "It was familiar to you — what I described. You knew what you were looking for." Her grip on the door handle slacked as she faced him down. Unable to stare into the iron, she turned away, trying not to allow her fear to drown her and burn down everything she called home. "It—" Her heart pounded at the music, distorted when it came out the beast's maw. "It's still around, isn't it? I didn't kill it. What are you not telling me, Garren?"

Garren shuffled, and she kept herself on guard as he stood up with a huff. In the corner of her eye, his shadow headed down the corridor to his room. Adara opened the door, but stopped when he called, "Hold a moment, Adara."

"What is it?" Adara turned around, and rested her back against the door to try and ease out the crawling dread through her spine. "I can't be late for this. It's going to be busy well into the night, and I promised to help with the extra bells. I'm expecting some more coin than I usually get." She stopped when Garren left his room, carrying a dagger sheathe. Wavy designs curled around the handle up to the guard. "What's that for?"

"The other one I gave you rusted to nothing," he pointed out as he drew it. It glinted in the ember firelight, where the design along its fuller fell into more ocean foam. He handed it to her, handle first.

Adara brushed her thumb down the grip, and her magick pulsed into her heart. "It's beautiful. I haven't seen anything like this, and I've seen the forge once or twice. I doubt they'd make something like this, or that you could afford it."

"Because they didn't, and I didn't buy it. No one here has the skills or knowledge to be able to create or wield a weapon like this," Garren said with a typical grunt. "It's a gift from an old friend of mine. Use it if you're in trouble out there."

Silver rippled the foam, and almost made the metal come to life in her hands, but it was nothing but a distant dream. A fairytale. "I doubt anyone will give me trouble."

"It's not for the folk, Adara," Garren said. "This one is for the monsters in one's shadow."

Adara stopped at his explanation. "What?"

"You could still kill someone if you stab them with the pointy end," he stated. "Don't mistake its purpose as a weapon. I'm giving it to you to ward off monsters." Garren's nostrils flared. "You must be very careful with this weapon, Adara. Your magick can flow through it freely, so I can guarantee you it will not rust so easily under the bite of monsters." He rested his grip on the hilt. "It won't kill them, but it'll bite back enough to give you time."

Adara tucked it back into the sheathe before clipping it onto her hidden belt. "Huh, that was less gorier and dark than your usual stories, old man." With a smile, she eyed him. "Are you feeling alright?"

Garren reverted to his usual grunts of affirmations as he settled himself back on the couch. "Remember what I said. Don't go too far out into the forest. Dangerous things stalk the night."

That's more like him. Comforted, she bustled out of the log cabin to leave Garren to his hermit ways. With more coins in her pocket, she'd have enough to leave Prunal and Tebora behind with Jisa and Garren. Far away from the judgment against magickae, where any small mistake led to the axe, when all she wanted was the right to exist. Adara bit on her tongue, and stomped onto the main road to the heart of Prunal, where the king's castle grew upon the hill of crags. Stone walls rose high around the fort to prevent any from crossing without permission or without being seen. In the main square, people danced and toiled to the music of sunfire. A joyful mood, but never too far away from the bloody platform. Always biting at the back of her mind, where everyone else participated in the revelry.

I can't.

Everyone wore a mask at the Sunfire festival. Flourished designs where everyone hid, but never knew what it meant to hide in fear. Adara stayed on the path to the tavern between the castle and Prunal, hoping her luck wouldn't take a turn for the worst. Knights patrolled the edges of the crowds. Adara kept her head down, but stopped when a booming voice called to her, and scratched her spine into action. Flames bit at her fingertips, but urged them down. I'm never that lucky.

"Gregor." Adara continued to walk as the dark-haired, burly man with a mask which gave her the image of a sniffing scavenger, left the crowd with a couple of his usual cronies. "Thought you'd be signing up for the tourney." All you do is boast about how you'll be taking the winnings every sunfire, at least scavengers know when to leave something alone.

"Already have." He grinned, but there was nothing but contempt within it. It reminded her of his expression when she covered Tara's escape from the tavern, and she disappeared with no word of goodbye. "What's with the cold shoulder, Adara? Are you still upset about what happened with Tara?" He tried to overtake her, but she trucked on. "It was a misunderstanding."

"Of course." Adara sucked in her lips, and forced to stop when he blocked her path, she tasted the blood of intent. "Some of us have work to do, Gregor."

"Get ready? For what competition?" he questioned, and pushed a cronie away when they snorted. Alone with Gregor once they joined the revelling crowds, Adara folded her arms and readied herself to either escape the conversation, or fight if necessary. "I'm assuming you haven't heard the latest news in that little log cabin in the woods."

"Never took you for a gossip," Adara grunted, and twisted back onto her path. Maybe if I ignore him for now, he'll get bored. Once again, he blocked her path. "I'm going to be late, so do you mind?"

"It's no gossip, Adara. I heard from the Knight Captain myself while we were discussing tactics to use in the tourney." Another boast, but she was forced to listen if he refused to give up. Anything to get him to go away faster. "There were a couple murders off the way, towards the farms," he said. "Out the way you usually arrive from. Guess killing the magickae didn't stop whatever they started. Or there is more magickae they need to catch."

Adara sighed. "I heard it already, Gregor." On her way past him, she tried not to scream when he fell into her shadow. "The tavern won't be open for a little while until everything is set up," she explained, hoping to drive him off further. "We do have to send supplies up to the castle for the feast."

"I know, I'll be there."

Adara tried to drag her attention away from Gregor as he went on one of his usual tangents. All bark with no sustenance to the bite. Tara's tears haunted her memory. Misunderstanding. There was nothing to misunderstand.

"He did something that day, Addie," Jisa insisted during their previous meeting. "You need to be careful."

Adara bumped into a cloaked individual taking the anonymity to the extreme. Half their face covered by their own bird-like mask, but something far more reptilian on the edges. A wyvern. Frozen violets glared at her, but she blinked when they continued to walk.

I'm way too tired, thinking about that thing kept me up at night, and I'm not even sure that was real. Adara brushed her arm from the point of contact, trying to get far away from Gregor. The small path up to the tavern was her way of freedom, the only piece of it she'd get in a kingdom which hated magick. Whatever monsters Garren considered a threat, they posed no threat if she couldn't see them on the rare instances she ran into them next. Whatever it was, it didn't hound her in her waking life. "Well, this is where we part ways," she said to Gregor as she stepped through the small gate. "Good luck at the tourney."

"I'll be back tonight." The smile of contempt crawled back on his face, but he was gone. Back into the crowds of those behind masks.

Exhaustion spread from her chest right to her legs, but she stomped her way up to the tavern to enter, where several of the other tavern maids cleaned up the place for the crowds to come. Anna, one of her fellow tavern maids, waved her down. "Adara! We need to take these crates of food to the carts and collect the eggs for the town supper. Knights will be coming to pick up the cart tonight." She indicated to the piles of crates in the back room. "We've got the front to clean if you help here. Mistress says we need to get this done before the place opens. Tonight, you're serving with me."

It was nice to work to ease her mind of the monsters. She hauled most of the boxes out beside the chicken field, where they clucked and pecked at the ground for morsels. She tucked every box on the cart, careful not to drop any of the food meant for the king's retinue. Mistress prepared well for the festival... it was all we could get from the harvest. She pushed boxes into the cart, one on top of the other, though she had experienced better hauls than the measly pile. Finished with the duty, she closed the back of the cart to switch her attention to the chickens, clucking along without a care in the world.

Anna came to help collect the eggs to serve with the regular meals, passing by Mistress as she helped one of the newer maids with cleaning. Anna peered at her as they went into the back resting rooms. "You seem tired."

"I was up last night." Adara dipped her hands into the pail of fresh water.

"Reading those fairy tales again?" she questioned. "Well, we'll be working up at the castle tomorrow. You may even get to meet a gallant knight." Her eyelids fluttered at her, and Adara brought the water up to her face to try and cool off the heat on her brow from the work. "There'll be plenty of them during the tourney. Are you going to watch?"

"Probably not." Adara wiped her hands down with a washcloth. "Got to go back to Garren and take care of things."

"You never have any fun. All you do is work and leave without talking to us." Anna pouted. "Since Tara left, have you let yourself breathe?"

"Are you going to be like everyone else and tell me to let it go?" Adara asked, tired of all the masks. "'Gregor was having fun'. 'Gregor didn't mean it'." One more breath, and she sighed. "Sorry, Anna. I'm just tired, I'll go to the tourney just to see who'll win."

"It'll be Gregor again," Anna said. "He's quite taken with you."

"Yeah, well, you can have him if you want. I'm not interested." Adara stretched, then dried off her hands with her apron. "Can you tell Mistress I'm going to take a quick nap before serving?" Because this mask hides everything but my emotions...

"Very well." Anna shrugged and left the room behind, while Adara crossed the corridor into the small room with the bed. She flopped into it, but no sooner had she closed her eyes, someone's footsteps walked up to her.

"Adara?" Mistress Joa asked. "Lady Rosaleta left a message for you, and it's time for your shift."

"Sorry, Mistress," she mumbled as she took the paper into her hands. Mistress Joa left her alone as she got up to follow, taking a peek at Rosa's note, where her neat scrawl dotted the pages.

They're ready. Come after you're done. Bring Jisa and Garren if you can.

Mood lifted at the thought of a small dinner, out of the way of the crowd with no masks, she stopped and grimaced. Oh, gods... he is rubbing off on me. Adara tightened her serving apron before entering the front. People filled the tavern to the brim, with some sitting outside to drink, outside the windows to the setting sun. Head down, she nodded at Anna as she stepped out to take the place of the new maid, who appeared overwhelmed at the amount of people. Adara pulled her to the side with a nod, directing her to the back for her turn to rest.

We'll be at this for a while, and I'll go see Rosaleta after I'm done... I'll get to try a fruit from the northern lands... Her thoughts drifted at the possibilities. Will it taste cold? Sweet? Her stomach rumbled, but she pushed through it to a corner table, where a lone individual sat, waiting patiently and quiet compared to all the other patrons of the tavern, clearly trying to stay out of the activity, but the wolf mask caught her attention, though their traveling cloak blocked the rest of his head.

"Good evening." Adara bowed. "What are you feeling?"

They lifted their head, and they wore a thin blindfold underneath the mask. "I'm only feeling something small. If you have any bread, I'll take it—" he spoke, and something in his accent was familiar. Born of the wind and sea.

"Adara!" Gregor's voice raised over the shouts, but never smothered by it.

Adara tensed up, and the cloaked man considered her. She turned to him, but she waved her hand. "Give me a moment," she hissed through her teeth. "Sorry about that. Bread? Is that all? I don't think I recognize you."

The traveler eyed Gregor, who she hadn't heard sit down. "Yes," they said with a nod. "I don't have quite the appetite yet. Just came in here to have a quick bite to eat before going on my way."

"Very well. If you change your mind we still have plenty to eat!" Adara forced a smile on her face and left them, avoiding Gregor for as long as possible. It was the night Tara escaped all over again. Too many crowds. Too many people to watch someone stumble and do nothing about it. Adara bit her tongue when Gregor indicated to her again, relentless, and with an unmistakable, hungry look in his face as she walked up to Anna with the stranger's order. "Man in the corner table just wants some bread. Might be a traveler."

"A traveler?" Anna frowned. "Travel from where?"

"I don't know," Adara said. "An outside village?"

"I'll prepare some bread then." Anna passed a drink to a patron, who downed it. "I think Gregor wants you."

I know, but I'm trying to keep what good mood I have left. Adara shifted on her heel to serve other patrons, leaving Gregor to last, who had gotten up to stand in her path again. She came to a stop. "Gregor, you have your food already, don't you?" She forced the smile back on her face, though it hurt the corners of her lips. "Very busy day today." He didn't budge out of her path. Embers tickled underneath her skin, but she relaxed and stared at him. "What is it?"

"I was wondering..."

That's a surprise. Adara tried to block out his voice, hoping to escape the conversation if she didn't give him an entrance.

"You're going to be serving at the king's feast, are you not?" He rested his elbow on the wall, further blocking the way out. "I'd love it if you came with me."

"I appreciate the invitation." Adara managed out a laugh, but found herself unable to duck away as some eyes turned to her. "I can't though. I'm going to be working." Back to the wall, the fire raged in her heart, a towering inferno she couldn't let out of control. Her anger. Her frustration. All led to death.

"I could talk to the mistress."

"You can try, but she's strict." Adara flicked her gaze to the other patrons. No one met her. None, save for the man in the corner, who sat at rapt attention, focused entirely on them. Anna, too busy with some drunken patrons, never checked on her. She laughed along with them with an ease she lost in Gregor's shadow. Her breath caught in her lungs when he stood over her.

Damned...

"Miss?" the man in the corner asked. "I've changed my mind on what I wanted—"

Gregor shifted on his feet, one small entrance to breathe, but not to escape. "We're talking, fellow. If you need something, ask Anna." He turned to her, and she held her breath again. "Well, at least allow me to escort you back home," he muttered, the low timbre of his voice sending uncomfortable shivers through her spine. "I told you about the murders, and I'd hate to imagine what could happen. There's a rumor the killer has a gruesome eye for details, so a fair lady like you shouldn't be left wandering..." His hand raised to her shoulder, but she bit down and stood in place.

"I, again, appreciate the thought." Adara pushed his hand off. "I can defend myself."

"That's what Tara told me," Gregor said, a bit of impatience settling itself in his eyes.

Adara choked on the inferno. "Excuse me?"

"That misunderstanding you thought to push yourself into?" Gregor pointed out. "I know you two were close, but clearly she couldn't defend herself. She went outside the town, and look at what happened. I tried to talk to her, have some fun to take her mind off it, but—"

"You created a scene," Adara hissed. "You wouldn't leave her well enough alone even when she asked. She wasn't like that until you both left and came back."

Some of the patrons watched while the hilt of the dagger burned against her leg, answering the call of flames. Part of her longed to unleash it, but all the eyes of judgment stared at her. Unable to call for help except within her own mind. A lonely bird, trapped in a cage with pointed swords at her throat. Another shape in the back stood up, making their way to them.

"I warned her then, too," Gregor bit, holding the position of power, and her, with no escape as the cloaked individual came closer.

"I think she's given you her answer, sir."

Adara almost gasped out in relief when Gregor turned, arms folded. "I told you, we're just talking. Stay out of it."

"You have a bit of an audience," the cloaked man pointed out as Adara inched away along the wall. "Might I kindly ask that you pipe down so that some of us can enjoy our meals?"

Adara lunged back when he grabbed the man by the collar, and the hood fell off to reveal dark brown hair, which twisted into a small braid at the side of his head, where a wolven pin dangled to keep it in place to go with his mask.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Gregor growled, revealing what rested underneath his mask. "I advise you to pick your battles carefully here. I don't recognize you. One word from me, and I can have the Knight Captain himself on you for disruption of the festivities."

The man sighed, evidently not intimidated by the boast as everyone else would be. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to eat, as I'm sure many other people are."

"Then don't go picking them and shoving yourself into someone's business." Gregor raised his fist, and Adara raced to stop the ensuing chaos. In a quick instant, the brown-haired man latched his hand around Gregor's flailing wrist. His other hand grabbed the one around his collar, and Adara widened her eyes when the traveler laced his fingers with Gregor's, palms against his in a stiff position. Gregor attempted to pull back, but unable to budge, he scowled.

"I've had a long day on the road," the traveler said. "I don't wish to create a ruckus, so I apologize in advance."

A hint of fear entered Gregor's expression as he tried to tug back, but the traveler held on tight. The traveler snapped their wrist forward, forcing Gregor's fold over to his arm. He gasped in pain, trying to escape the hold, but the traveler didn't give in as the wrestling match Gregor must've wanted turned to nothing more than the newcomer handling him like a misbehaving baby. He pushed forward until Gregor's arms gave out.

"I yield!" Gregor gasped out. "You're going to break my damned hands!"

The newcomer let go as some of the patrons dipped to their meals. Adara frowned down at Gregor, who nursed his wrists as the other man turned to her with a small bow. "Apologies to you especially. I'm afraid I've lost my appetite after all." He shuffled along his cloak, then handed her a couple coins. "For the bread."

Adara held the warm coins close to her chest, then jolted when without another word, he stepped towards the door. "Wait, you didn't even get to—" He left through the shutters, and she sighed, rushing back to the bar to grab his meal, giving Gregor a large berth as he shuffled back to his seat, holding his wrists. Out of the door, she spotted the wolven pin as he walked down the path. "Wait."

He turned, and she handed the bread to him. "Take it anyway, as thanks," she said. "I'm sorry. He's usually not—I suppose he had too much to drink over the festivities."

"He wasn't drunk." Adara jolted at the blunt observation, but the strange man smiled at her. "Are you well?"

"I'm... fine. Thanks for the help." Adara tipped her head forward. "Are you new here?"

"Ah." His voice softened. "Yes, I'm a bit out of my element. Could you tell me where the tourney sign-ups are? I had someone with me, but we must've gotten separated trying to find a place to stay."

Adara pointed down the road. "It's nearby," she said as he followed her direction. "You still have time until they close. The tourneys should be starting tomorrow in full."

The man beamed behind his mask. "Thank you." He tucked the bread away. "I appreciate the kindness."

Adara blinked as he moved to walk away. "I like your mask."

He stopped and turned back, a confused quirk to his lips. "Thank you. I like yours as well. It's a raven, is it not?"

"Yes." Adara brushed her thumb along the ridge of the beak. "I'm Adara, by the way."

He raised his hand up to the nose of his own wolven mask, his confused expression falling into deliberation. "I am Fenrer." He bowed, and she caught the glimpse of a necklace. A wyvern protecting a glowing star. Nauseating deja vu washed into her temples, but she tried not to stumble on her own two legs as he straightened himself. "I hope you enjoy the rest of the festivities. I must go and find my lost companion." He chuckled, and waved goodbye. Adara raised her hand to respond, but the star continued to glint in the back of her mind.

Surrounded by the jaws of a beast.