Alba was surprised with a huge hug. The chestnut also whispered warm words that would only reassure six year old children, but not her, not while she possessed the cruel conscience she had; in spite of it, she forced herself to show a nice smile, that of the wealthy girls who are satisfied with their new silk dress or jewelry. To reassure the horse, Ana stroked its coat and back, relaxing it, and little by little she began to walk with her disguised footsteps, until she could take normal steps. They had no torches or candles to light the way, the only light that helped them was the moonlight, unfortunately, inside the forest it was reduced to almost nothing.

Alba clung to Ana's waist. Darkness was her worst enemy.

-Do you want me to tell you a story? -asked Ana as she felt her companion stiffen.

-Y-Yes," whispered Alba.

The wench shook the reins to hurry the horse. The wind was getting colder and colder, due to the mountains surrounding Albania.

-Do you know why Las Brisas is a country with few cities compared to the rest?

-No.

-Because it is a new country. It is a hundred years old, very little time if we read the history of the neighboring nations. According to the books father keeps under his bed, this huge tract of land belonged to Galarda. It was not used, well, not the northern part, only the south. Why do you think they took over a small part, if they could have it all?

-I don't know.

-They needed to produce more food and in the north, because of the cold, very little could be done. A huge city has thousands, if not millions, of people, who need food, no matter how little, but something must be offered to keep them happy. Their land was not enough and they had to come, so the first villages were formed, some producing all kinds of meat and others crops. It was a great start, until 1652, when the war for the crown broke out; from then on, the most important families took sides with the prince they considered suitable to lead. In fact, here, four of those families remain....

The horse's leg sank into the mud, causing it to tilt violently. The two girls rushed and fell, slapping themselves with mud. The animal's whinnying camouflaged the whirring of the air cut by several arrows speeding towards their heads. They all embedded themselves in the trunk of the tree lying behind. Both Alba's and Ana's bodies trembled at the sight of the huge arrows. Neither of them moved, until they heard footsteps in the distance, at that moment Alba grabbed Ana's arm and forced her to get up, they did not get on the horse, they ran among the stones until they reached the stream that crossed the forest, without fear of the freezing water they plunged into it. The cold seeped through their bones, numbing part of their legs, even so, they did not stop, they kept running, one after the other, dead scared, but clinging to the desire to live.

In the distance, Alba caught a glimpse of the entrance to a crypt, she was not sure, but the possibility opened the way to hope. With a jerk, she changed the direction of her strides, provoking a sharp sting in Ana's arm. She hissed, but did not scream. They climbed out of the stream and up a small slope to reach the cave. They were doing well; however, the ringing in their ears from the adrenaline did not warn them of the approaching enemy. Once at the top, Alba extended her hand to help the chestnut to climb more easily, it was there that she saw a hooded man in black, from head to toe, even his face, behind Ana. She shuddered and screamed, she waved her hand for the other to rush to grab her, unfortunately, the stranger pulled her by the ankle, dragging her to the bank of the stream. Alba did not hesitate to climb down, but a strange hand, coming from behind her, covered her mouth and embraced her, holding her, then leading her into the crypt, while Ana's screams accompanied them in the distance.