The forest was dark and cold even in a dusk sky. Wind whistled through the branches screaming for Arion to turn back. Each path he took seemed to loop around to where he started as if the forest itself was against him. It was hard enough that he had to sneak in. It took every bit of concentration to not make any noise. Each branch and twig was positioned exactly where his boots would hit the ground. It was nearly impossible to be silent enough to not wake the guards. Every stone happened to be where his foot would trip over, causing Arion to fall almost every five minutes he spent in this place.

  The landmarks he spotted a few days prior were absolutely useless as the same ones seem to pop up everywhere. The same scratch mark on every other tree, the same weirdly shaped stone every direction he happened to look. It was useless. Nothing worked. What was he supposed to do even if he found the tower? Free her? He was ten, how was he supposed to do that? He just wanted to talk to her. Even if she couldn't respond. The image of his sister asleep in that cold, dark, empty tower haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

  Why couldn't he do anything? Why was he so weak? Was there anyway to save her that day, or was she destined to be locked away? Arion never had someone to talk to. His mother was always busy, collecting whatever it was that was more important to her than her sons. His father was just cruel, making his brother take on the responsibilities of the heir at such a young age and not even expecting anything intelligent out of Arion just because he liked sword fighting.

  Rinaye had been that somebody. She listened to his ramblings, she told him things would be okay. Even if her words were a bit eccentric, she cared. Isn't that all that mattered? She was also really fucking strong. Like, how? She's five years younger than him and she still managed to beat him with pure strength. How? He no idea. She was amazing. Even her best friend was incredibly influential. Allison was the only remaining child of a seemingly idiot Duke who dotted on her like no other. Even on top of that she was the most talented mage he had ever seen.

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  How on earth did Rinaye become friends with someone so darn intimidating? It didn't matter now. Rinaye was probably gone forever. No more sparring sessions, no more discussions about the books they both read, no more terrible puns coming from her mouth. He would never hear her voice again.

  Until, like, right now.

  "Hi, Brother!" her voice almost shouted in his ear. He turned around but he couldn't see her. Had he finally lost his mind? He was finally able to spot her waving to him a few yards away. How? the voice he had heard seemed to be coming from right behind him. AND, how was she able to escape? He was both concerned and happy, knowing that Rinaye was able to leave the Tower. If Father found out, she might be worse than dead. Where was she coming from? Did she visit the town? Did she see the newspapers and tabloids talking about her "condition"? Arion still didn't understand why his Father leaked false information to the press but he couldn't really do anything about it. News of the Duke's beloved illegitimate daughter falling sick and being placed into quarantine had already spread like a wildfire.

  He tried to follow her, desperately wanting to check in to see if she was okay. Was she hurt? Was she able to get food the last three days? He was becoming more worried about her health by the minute. No matter how hard he tried to follow in the same direction, it just wasn't possible. The trees seemed to create a wall separating the two of them, so they could never reach each other. If he tried to climb over, he would just fall off. How in the world was Rinaye able to walk around here with such ease?

  The answer is probably a mixture of luck and Allison here but he doesn't know that.

  The vines crawling on the ground seem to trip him up more and more as he crept closer towards his goal. As the night drew darker and colder, Arion realized that he was on a fools errand. He couldn't find his way back to the tower. It was impossible. He had tried over and over again since lunch and it was way past his normal resting time now. At least he knew that Rinaye was well enough to walk around.

  He would go into town tomorrow and see if anyone had seen her today. He hoped he would be able to see again soon.