She stepped back as he turned around blushing. She eyed him suspiciously and really looked at him. He was a man on the shorter side, lean, with a clean cut face matching his shortly cut hair. He had beady eyes that she disliked and a thin, dry lips. He seemed to be a bit younger than Mornic, maybe mid-forties. He wore typical travelers clothing, a simple shirt and pants suitable for the road, but his shoes seemed a bit odd. They were leather, with impeccable stitching and golden buckle. Those kind of shoes were expensive, too expensive for a travelling guide. Looking back up at him, she noticed that he was appraising her as well.

"So," she said icily, startling him out of his stare, "what were you doing? I won't ask again." She studied him carefully, ready in case he showed any signs he was about to pull a knife or rush her. Instead, to her surprise, he smiled shyly.

"Well...actually...I was searching for you," He smiled wider, more confidently, and took a step forward.

"Oh," she said awkwardly, "uh." She stopped not knowing how to continue. She rarely got this kind of attention, she preferred to stay unnoticed, and didn’t know how to respond. Least of all, how to respond to a man twice her age.

"It's just you're so beautiful and I wanted to get to know you, if you're interested." He didn’t make it sound like a question as he took another step towards her. A weird sensation in her head alerted her to fact that someone was trying to use magic on her.

"Thanks but no," she said firmly, trying not to glare at him. She lifted her chin up and gave him a good view of the leather pouch she wore around her neck, without being too obvious about it. Any time someone used magic on her, she let them believe she had purchased a protection amulet. People with little to no power, which was most people, usually protected themselves from magic, as long as it wasn’t too powerful. People with great power didn’t need amulets as their magic was stronger than most others'. The downside was that the amulets didn’t let the user know when someone was using magic on them. People with more power could tell, but not many people had that much power. As hard to contain as it was, ***** had to pretend she didn’t know when others tried to use magic on her.

But she did know. And this guy was pissing her off.

He stopped his approach after her refusal, staring at her. "Are you sure," he asked confused. The odd sensation grew into a small headache as the guy pushed more magic towards her, trying to make her compliant. "We could go back to your room and talk," he suggested, his smile still fixed in place.

"I'm all set. You don’t even know my name. Maybe you should leave for the night though." ***** said icily, stepping forward so that she was nose to nose with the man. Anyone that was less powerful than her would not have been able to resist his magic unless they had an extremely strong amulet.

Shocked by her sudden advance, Carnie stumbled back with a frown, glancing down at the leather pouch. He looked at her for an extra second before slowly saying, "yeah...maybe you're right...see you in two nights..." He muttered as he turned and quickly walked out of the pub. ***** sighed and slumped back onto her barstool. She would need to talk to Mornic in the morning because there was no way that man was making it into her gang. Looking around the room she thought she saw an odd movement in the shadows but a loud thud brought her attention back to Mornic. Seeing he had fallen on his ass, she laughed, and dismissed the odd feeling she had after another quick glance at the shadows finding nothing.

The next day, a slightly hungover Mornic joined her for breakfast as per usual. Over the years, he claims to have perfected the ultimate hangover cure. He walked around gathering raw eggs, berries, coffee grounds and a splash of ale. ***** held back a shudder as he gulped it down, let out a burp and greeted her.

"How's our fearless leader doing this morning, huh?" He grinned.

"Alright. But we need to talk about the new guy. He won't be allowed in the gang," she said.

Immediately, he got serious. "Tell me what happened."

So she explained last night's event, leaving out the part where she could sense him using magic. As far as Mornic knows she just gets a feeling about when people are using (that’s always spot on) and he believed her. When she finished, he slammed his hand on the table lightly.

"Damn. I had pegged him for a good one. Really seemed like a stand-up guy. Aw hell," he grimaced. "I guess we will be leaving him for the wolves either tonight or next."

"What? Do you really think we are going tonight? The whole thing is off, Mornic, he could be a spy. No Fire Crystals," she asserted.

Mornic's jaw dropped. "No Fire Crystals," he said slowly, like he was trying to understand. "*****… sure he is a jerk with fancy shoes and no respect for women but he doesn't seem to be the Spy type."

"It's too dangerous. He could be leading us right to a bounty hunter or the royal guard."

"So we be careful! What-if's are no reason to give up our chance at Fire Crystals. Fire Crystals, *****! Do you know what kind of damage we could do with those? He thinks we are attacking tonight so "

***** bit her lip. She knew they would be able to do a lot of damage. At the rate they were going they would need to recruit for years before they could even consider taking on the Court. Even then they would undoubtedly lose many good men. With the crystals, some of the more powerful magic users would be able to clear the way right into the heart of the Court.

Sensing her internal conflict, Mornic pressed on. "Those Royal bastards would never know what hit them. They don’t know how big a rebellion we got stirring. With those crystals, the men and you leading us, we wouldn’t be able to lose. Think of it, *****!"

"Alright, Mornic!" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Had anyone else spoke out like this and tried changing her mind she would've sent them flying for not following orders, but this was Mornic. He had taken care of her ever since she tried stealing bread from him nine years ago. He had taught her how to fight, how to steal, and how to survive. He hated the Dark Fae almost as much as she did.

Softly, he touched her arm. "I know you want the Royals dead as much as I do. After the coup, the riots, and cruel treatment of us Light Fae, they deserve it."

***** shuddered as she thought of those days. Everyone knew of those days. Of how, ten years ago, the beloved Dark Queen Celdera, killed her husband, the Light King Izic, and stepchild, the Light Princess Leighana. In the days that followed, she told the people that she had killed the King in self-defense. She said that he had wanted her dead so that he could be with his mistress, Lady Akara, and that the Princess had tried to help him. The Queen brought Lady Akara before the people and publically executed her as a show of strength and decreed that the Light Fae would be sent out of the capital because their King had broken the treaty.

Most of the Light Fae were so ashamed of their King they did not object to being banished to the countryside outside the capital, even though it was barren and they would be poor. They knew of the King's affairs with Lady Akara and his harsh temper. And the Queen was known for her gentle nature and beautiful features, surely what she said must be true. The we’re still those, however, that fought against this unfair treatment and there were a few who claimed the Queen's story was a lie. Riots in which hundreds of Light Fae were killed by Dark Fae, erupted around the city. The guards did nothing if they saw a Light Fae being killed and soon the rest were herded out of the capital.

The Queen did nothing as Light Fae started to starve and die in poverty and the Dark Fae thrived and fattened themselves in the capital. And a year later, when the Dark Prince Rowan came of age and was made King, the poverty and starvation continued, making it clear that he would be no better than his mother.

*****'s fists clenched as she remembered the hope everyone had had for the, now, Dark King. He had been rumored to be harsh and cruel but fair- and the Light Fae had thought he would have mercy on them. He was supposed to have saved them. Instead he had done nothing and she would never forgive him.

"You're right," she said darkly. "I have a plan."