She approached the food market, and ordered herself a steaming bowl of stew, exactly what she needed, and took a seat on a bench.

Within a few minutes, there was a deafening sound of a bell ringing.

'Ladies and Gentlemen of Bellicosus Kingdom, may I please have your attention'

It was the town crier, Sebastien.

'Mayor Atlas has called a town meeting, due to start in one hour from now. In the meeting room of the palace, don't be late.'

The entire town started chatting quietly and he marched off, ringing his bell, wondering what could have caused such a short-notice meeting from the Mayor himself.

The meeting room was simple, lots of pew's with an aisle straight down the middle. Everything made of a dark wood, and beautiful stained glass windows on the walls that reflected the light. Esme took a seat near the back.

'Hey, mind if we sit?'

Colin and Gabriel had just arrived.

'Oh, of course. Hey, do you guys know what this is about?'

'Nope.' Gabriel responded, 'but it must be important if we've all been called within the hour. Atlas only calls these meetings 3 times a year and they're always planned.'

'They do also do trials in this room,' Colin added, 'so maybe they've caught Countess Raven?'

'Maybe,' Esme mumbled.

Theo arrived with his parents and smiled awkwardly at them, and then sat a few pews behind.

'What was that?' Colin asked.

'Oh, we had a bit of a spat the other day, it's really no big deal,' Esme responded.

The palace staff entered the room and took their seats at the front, facing the audience, everyone from the maids to the palace seretary. There was one boy wearing a costume that Esme couldn't figure out, she nudged Gabriel,

'Hey, who's the boy wearing the spiky hat and stripy outfit?'

'Ugh, he's the court jester, Conrad. He entertains the audience during breaks in trials...and town meetings'

Conrad stood up and over the course of the next 10 minutes, he bounced around, the bells on his hat jingling, he also did a variety of dances and poses which made the audience laugh.

Finally, Darcey and Atlas entered the room and took their positions, escorted by the palace guards.

'Welcome everyone,' Atlas started. 'I sincerely apologise to have brought you all here at such short notice, but I'll will make it quick so we can all get home.'

He cleared his throat.

'I'm sure by now that you're all familiar with one Countess Raven. We at the palace are aware of the situation, and we believe they do not pose a risk to the wider public at this time. However, the situation is becoming increasingly dire, and it's important that we do find out who it is sooner rather than later. That is why we have spoken and agreed on a 20,000 Delasi reward for whoever brings us information leading to the identity and arrest of Countess Raven.'

The audience started excitedly whispering to eachother.

'Someone in this room knows something, I'm sure of it. And I urge you to come forward and speak to us. Not just for the reward, but for the Kingdom. That will be all, you are dismissed.'

Everyone stood up and started to funnel out.

'Can you believe that? This is unheard of, the palace never does this,' Colin said.

'Completely unbelievable,' Gabriel replied, 'and I've been here my entire life. This just doesn't happen.'

Esme started to get a knot in her stomach, but it quickly vanished when someone tapped her shoulder.

'Hey, Esme'

It was Theo.

'Oh my gosh, hey Theo, I didn't see you there. How've you been?'

'Oh, you know, alright I guess. This stuff is scary, how are you handling it?'

'I'm sure the palace have it under control. They said themselves that whoever it is isn't dangerous so I'm not too worried.'

Colin and Gabriel started sensing some tension between the Esme and Theo and gave eachother knowing glances.

'Hey, erm' Theo muttered, 'listen, I really am sorry for the other night.'

'No worries,' Esme replied, 'I kind of want to just forget it and be friends.'

'Oh, yeah, no worries. Hey, I have to go, but I'll see you around yeah?'

'Absolutely.'

Colin and Gabriel looked suspiciously at Esme.

'OK, what's going on?' Gabriel asked.

She explained what happened the other night, just to get it off her chest.

'Wow, yeah he's going to be awkward for a bit,' he responded.

'How come?'

'Theo is from a very wealthy family, they have lots of land and just, well, stuff,' Colin explained.

'I gathered that, he dresses quite fancy compared to the rest of us,' Esme said.

'Theo doesn't get rejected by women. In this town, being with someone like him would mean stability for life. He's a real catch if that's what you're looking for. It means he's very used to just having women fawn over him.' Colin elaborated.

Esme felt a bit awkward herself now.

'Don't worry,' Gabriel reassured her, 'he'll get over it. Remember, you don't have to do anything. But just keep him at arm's length for now.'

Back at home, Esme decided it was time to do something drastic. She had absolutely no idea what she was thinking, but there was no time. She put on her entire costume, left her new little cabin and walked to the Plaza. She looked around her and saw an ancient gong, desparate times called for desparate measures, she thought.

She hit the gong with all her might, and people started turning their lights on. She hit it again. And again. And again. People started to come out of their houses.

'What in god's name is that?' A woman shouted. 'You get us called to the palace at a moments notice, and now you want to wake us up?'

Esme rushed to the top of the clock tower, just as the clock struck midnight. Now, she was Countess Raven.

'Hey, look up there!' another woman shouted.

Countess Raven swished her cloak in the night and drew her sword.

'Ladies and Gentlemen of Bellicosus Kingdom.' She called out, making sure to use a different accent to her alter ego. 'My name, as I'm sure you know, is Countess Raven. And I've come to tell you that I know you want to capture me. And you won't. You can't defeat the likes of me.'

'Oh my god!' A man screamed, 'it's really Countess Raven, run!'.

'Oh do shut up, you petulant child, I will spare you. For now, I guess'.

She pointed her sword down at him from the clock tower.

'I just came to inform you all that you cannot defeat me, you'll only lose the fight. So stop trying. Not only am I well trained in the art of sword fighting, but I'm also very skilled at staying under the radar. I can't be captured. So don't try.'

And with that, she turned her back to the town. And all the people who had been so kind to her, all of the people that she was now hurting, and wondered if she could really do this anymore.