Takeo's eyes went dark. Not fully understanding the news he had just heard. Trinity tried to coax him to speak, but he was stunned to silence. Trinity stood up to take her place beside him, but his eyes couldn't register her before him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and only then was he jolted from his state of mind. He looked at her, close to tears, and jumped up. He started pacing in the field. "No, this is impossible. My brother was killed and my parents were taken. I would understand if Jacob did it. He was a stranger before."

Trinity rose from her knees, slowly as if not to startle her mate. She walked over to him and gently placed her hand on the small of his back. Takeo stopped pacing and turned to face her. "Trinity, I can't," She didn't let him finish before embracing him in a tight hug. She knew what it felt like to be betrayed and to be bombarded with facts she wished were false, but this was outright betrayal and deceit. Jacob had placed himself in the role of a brother and continued to serve the king behind his back. 

"He didn't deserve you," Trinity started, "and I know how to find him." She pulled away to look him in the face again, his eyes desperately searching her, looking for more answers that they both knew they wouldn't get. Trinity gently brushed the bangs from his face and tucked them behind his ear. Takeo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he released all the air from his body, his eyes opened again. Calm and sensible again. Trinity was saddened to see him recover and push down this realization so quickly, but she knew she couldn't help him in that way, at least not yet. Takeo had to choose how to cope, at least for the time being. They were going to find Jacob and the king and make them both pay.

Takeo touched his forehead to hers, "I know it's not that late, and we practically just got going to the day, but I know you didn't get much sleep last night and I'm not going to relax any time soon, so we should consider going to bed now." He was insistant and Trinity knew that she couldn't say no, so she nodded her head. Takeo was the first to break from their intimate embrace, and without looking back, he headed to his tent. The sun was just going down, and though Trinity knew she should prepare something to eat, she also knew that neither of them were going to be able to choke down much food anyway, and retreated to her tent as well.

...

"You don't have to be here, you know. Nothing is tying you down here. Your training may have been too extensive, but you could handle yourself wherever you go. You don't have to be here." The girl was sitting on a wall in an empty field, sitting next to a green eyed boy. The girl was kicking here bare feet through the crisp spring air.

"You know I can't leave you, Trinity," the green eyed boy said, "I could never leave you." The boy gently stroked the side of the girl's face. "It's been hard and it's going to continue to be tough, but we can handle anything, together." He leaned in closer, their breath hot on the other's face.

"But Takeo..." the girl was interrupted with an explosion off in the distance. The debris was carried in the wind through the field. A blast of wind enveloped the two as the girl was blinded, for a moment, by her own hair.

"King Aurelius." The boy snarled. "He found us. We have to get moving!" The boy grabbed her arm and pulled her off the wall. They both landed with catlike ease and started down the hill in a sprint.

"How did he find us? I haven't used my magic in weeks!" The girl cried.

"I don't know. Keep moving." The boy was practically dragging the girl at this point. She was struggling to keep up.

The boy led them through a city and down a slim alley way. Beggars grabbed at the girl as she ran, trying to take something for themselves. They ran into a towering wall. "How did we make a wrong turn?!" The boy hit the wall in frustration, frantically looking for a way out.

"It's ok. I'll just shift." The girl closed her eyes.

"You can't now. I know the town better than anyone else. There is a slim chance he will find us, but he will have an advantage if you use your magic. There has to be a way out." He was searching the wall for bricks that might lead them to their hideout.

"Takeo?"

"What?" He snapped. He turned to face what the girl was pointing at. There was no king standing at the opening of the alley, but another dark figure.

"Father?" The girl asked, not able to keep the shock off her face. "You are dead. You can't be real."

"It's time to come home, Trinity." His smile was genuine, but not his own.

A robed figure loomed in the darkness behind him. The figure stepped forward to reveal a crown. "I've been waiting a long time to meet the two of you."

Trinity woke in a start again, the blankets around her damp with sweat. The same dream haunted her mind. She couldn't shake the idea that something intense was going to be happening soon. She stepped out of the tent and into the night, the cold air biting at her legs and face as she wrapped her arms around herself in warmth and comfort. She looked up to see the stars shining brightly overhead. She could see some of the constellations, though she didn't know any of them well. She spotted the Big and Little Dipper as she imagined herself among the stars. Any life up there must be more glorious than the one she was facing on her planet. She closed her eyes and imagined the many warriors who had lived and died to become a part of the story of stars and wondered how they had gotten that far. Trinity knew she would never make it up there among the heroes, though a Big Dipper didn't seem to be much of an achievement. She took one last sip of the crisp midnight air and decided her time would be better spent dreaming whilst asleep rather than awake and freezing. She slowly walked back to her tent, the wind picking up, and hairs rising on the back of her neck. She ignored the feeling and sense of fear, knowing it was going to come the next day. She crawled under her blankets, now grateful for the immense heat it stored and laid her head on the ground, wistfully dreaming of sleeping among the stars.