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nearby torch. Her eyes became wide and she covered her mouth. "I… I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." Bryn quickly looked away and readied herself for the punishment that was sure to follow such an outburst. She had no right to ask such a personal question of her host. Franklin used a belt when she had spoken out of turn; she wondered what Mariah would do. Mariah took one of her delicate hands and placed it between her own as she smiled sweetly at her. Mariah could feel her soft fingers trembling and looked up to see a small tear trickle down her cheek.
    "Please Bryn, do not be afraid of me. I have sworn never to hurt you, and I fully intend to uphold my vow." Mariah released her hand and rose from her chair to walk behind Bryn and laid her hands upon Bryn's shoulders. "I know it must be very hard for you to trust that the last thing I'd ever want to do would be to hurt you, I hope you can come to see it someday, Bryn. Anyway, to answer your question, she was simply a minor noble with a foolish fancy." With that, Mariah took up the used dishes upon the table and brought them into the kitchen to be washed.
    Bryn abruptly rose from her seat and walked into the bedroom. She grabbed her cloak and ran out of the house as fast as her legs would carry her. She wrapped her cloak around her body and found herself racing to the forest, her heart pounding in her ears. Her legs felt numb as she ran through the cold river. Soon though, the water was up to her hips and she had to swim across. The muddy bank fell away beneath her feet as she pulled herself out of the river. Branches and leaves whipped across her face as she continued running deeper into the forest. In the darkness that surrounded her, though, she finally fell to her knees and slumped wearily against a tree. Her breath came in short gasps, and her body trembled in the bitter cold wind.

Chapter Four
    Mariah watched sadly as the door closed behind her and sighed. She had not meant to frighten or anger the little Strytas; she only wished to comfort her. Mariah decided she might be very upset if she went looking for her, so she finished cleaning up from dinner and set to reading one of the books Bryn had given her. Mariah flipped through the delicate pages, but her mind could not concentrate on the words. Mariah thought about Bryn and all the evil things that had been done to her. Mariah hadn't seen or heard anything more than what had happened the first day when she had come to the manor, yet she could imagine the horrid acts Franklin had done. The torches upon the dark walls of the library flickered and danced, forming living shadows around the room.
    Mariah stared into the flames as her worry for Bryn increased steadily. She had now been gone over an hour and dark clouds loomed in the sky. Suddenly the clouds exploded, and thunder roared through the once still air. Mariah had not seen Bryn take any sort of protective clothing with her, so she decided that she could not let her stand the dreary conditions, even if Bryn was afraid of her. Mariah strapped on her sword and left the cabin in attempt to find the poor Strytas. Mariah barely noticed the freezing cold rain pounding against her skin as she raced across the field and into the forest. Searching frantically, she finally found a muddy footprint in the ground. Mariah spotted another and another until she could make out a trail of them leading deeper into the trees. Her feet splashed dirt and water into the air as she desperately tried to find Bryn before her tracks washed away with the pouring rain.
    Mariah could hear the faint sounds of sobbing in the distance and quickly found their owner. Bryn sat at the base of a large oak tree with her knees tucked under her chin and shivering profusely.
    The white feathers of her wings were completely soaked with water and were appearing to turn a light shade of blue in the moonlight. Bryn had her cloak wrapped desperately around her body in attempt to shelter herself from the cold,