Damian

I finally reached the town where the explosion during the New Year Festival occurred. The town was in shambles. The center looked as if it disappeared only to be replaced by ashes. I slip on my hood and mask and begin to walk through town. Compared to the center, the houses towards the edge of town are still standing. I look through a window and see two parents crying holding a child that wasn't moving.

"Sir?" someone says cutting me out of my thoughts.

I turned to where I heard the voice and saw a young boy about 10 or 11 holding out a cup. His clothes are dirty and torn, and his skin is covered in mud. I gave him some of the coins that I had left in my pocket.

"Thank you, sir!" the boy says while running off.

I can sense someone watching me. Is the government already searching for me? I discreetly glance around, and my eyes lock with a pair of startling blue eyes. I blink and they are gone.

I keep walking and see groups of men starting to rebuild. Wanting to join them, I walk over to the man giving orders to people.

"Can I help you, sir?" The man asks.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask the man.

The man looks me up and down and titles his head to a pile of scraps and says, "You can start by clearing the area of scraps and separate them into piles."

"Thank you, sir." I smile and the man gives me a nod.

While I was helping some men lift up a wall, I bumped into someone. "Sorry man, didn't see you…" I look up and see the same pair of startling blue eyes as earlier. The man has blonde hair and appears to have a stealthy built, but he is covered by a blue mask and a hood.

"Tch," was all he gave me before he disappeared into the crowd.

I continued to help the men for the rest of the day, and by the end of the day they were more than just acquaintances. They gave me food and offered to give me a bed to sleep on, but I refused since I didn't want to be a burden on their family. Instead, I sat on a rooftop watching the sun fade into the horizon and the stars begin to scatter throughout the sky. I take a fat bite out of the piece of bread they gifted me. The townspeople were still out conversating, determined not to let the explosion destroy their lives completely. Finished with my food, I stand and turn to go find a place to stay for the night, but my eyes land on a set of purple eyes. I could see two others in my peripheral view, but I only cared about one in particular. My eyes scan her entire body. Her hair is the color of moonlight, her skin as flawless as a doll's. Her purple eyes are like jewels both mesmerizing and ablaze.

Time stopped as we stared at each other. I watched as she scanned me, and, for once, I didn't mind it. However, I did not expect her next reaction. Her beautiful eyes reflected years of hidden emotions as she lunged towards me with such anger and fury that it could burn the deepest pits of hell. I could see that all she craved for was my death, and for some reason, it made me kind of upset. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I unsheath my sword just in time to deflect her blow.

Even with my elixir strength, she is gaining the upper hand with ease. Thankfully, someone runs over and tackles the girl to the side.

Another girl with light brown hair and bright green eyes runs over to me and says in a panic, "I'm so sorry sir! Are you hurt?"

I chuckle and reassure, "I'm fine."

I glance over to the spider where the man tackled the girl, and they appear to be arguing with their eyes.

The man gets off of the woman who attempted to kill me and apologizes, "sorry about my comrade. We are with the rebellion and would like you to come with us." The woman gracefully stands up and stays behind the man and the other girl.

"And how do I know you aren't leading me to my death," I ask, somewhat joking, "I mean, your friend over there definitely wants me dead."

"Sir, I wouldn't have tackled my comrade if we wanted you dead," the man responds. I smile in amusement, which only makes the girl more angry I guess.

"Even so," the man continues, "we both know you could've easily defended yourself."

I turn toward the woman while smiling and wink, "I don't know, she is pretty quick."

The woman continues to stare coldly at me. Damn.

The woman leads us up the mountain. While I was at the castle, my brother always complained about a rebellion group located in the southern province. Daenerys always complained about how they would mess up his plans to cause trouble, or rather, terrorize the citizens. I'm assuming that's the same group this guy is taking me to meet. Then again, I shouldn't let my guard down. If I was a second slower, that girl would have killed me. I can only assume she wanted to kill me because of my status as a prince, but her rage felt personal.

Jae cuts the silence and says, "By the way, my name is Jethro, but you can call me Jae," he then points to Anna and introduces her to me.

"What about the one who tried to kill me?" I ask with a grin.

"That's Mel, and I'm sorry about earlier," Anna chirps in, "We've never seen Mel angry before let alone attack someone for no reason," she says with concern.

"It's true," Jae adds, "Mel normally is very calm and quiet."

"Is Mel her real name?" I question. I have to admit, she is intriguing.

Anna and Jae give each other a glance before Anna says, "We… we don't know much about her. When we first met her and asked for her name, all she said was Mel. For the rest of us, we know pretty much everything about each other."

"I see," I reply.