Seren laid on his bed in the darkness, afraid that his candlelight would draw attention. He was waiting to hear Therobod's footsteps on the stairs, the open and close of his parents' room door, and the wretched snores of his father. Only then would they have their chance to escape in safety. If it came to it, Seren was not opposed to finding a heavy object and smashing it over Therobod's head, but he knew his mother hoped to avoid any kind of violence or confrontation. She had even refused to leave in Therobod's donkey cart, knowing that he prized it above them, and would be more likely to chase them down for its return. Seren felt a strange sense of peace in knowing that their life at the inn was coming to an end. His thoughts turned to the future; of finding a nice home and a nice boy. There was bound to be another like him amongst the commonfolk. He would wander the plains until he found a man that his mother would approve of.

If one day everything falls into place, I can send word to Dal and the others... maybe we will see each other again... Remembering Dal as she thrusted into the bearded man was not the ideal last impression to leave with. As Seren smiled to himself and got lost in his dreams, he couldn't help drifting off to sleep. Some time later he was awoken by a noise from his parents' room. It was still dark outside and Seren forgot for a moment, that this was the night. He came to his senses at the sudden realization and leapt from the bed. Muffled shouts were disturbing the quiet of night-time, and Seren pressed his ear to the door before opening a gap through which he could listen. His father was upstairs, but whether he was sounding off to his sleeping wife or had woken her to start a fight was uncertain.

Seren carefully opened his door and stepped slowly into the parlor, his body tense and straining not to make a sound. "...think I would let you?" he heard his father say. His mother's sobbing voice replied, but Seren couldn't make out what she said. "Run and I'll kill you." Therobod's vile words pierced through the air and resounded in Seren's ears. The worst had happened. Adalina was discovered by her husband. Seren threw open the door of his parents' bedroom, grabbed his mother from the floor and pulled her behind him in the open doorway. "Seren!" cried Adalina as she clung to his arm. Therobod had been drinking, the stench of alcohol emanating from his swaying form as his face contorted in anger towards his wife and child. "You dare...?" he began. "Yes!" shouted Seren, "I dare!" Seren pushed closed the bedroom door and stacked the parlor table and himself in front of it, trapping Therobod inside. "It won't hold long, mother! Quickly, grab our things from my room!" Adalina ran to fetch their belongings, throwing Seren's shoes at his feet as she quickly wore her own. The bedroom door was being pounded from the inside, Therobod's shouts and screams were getting louder, as mother and son fought to keep him imprisoned.

Earlier that night, the ladies on the lower floor had been sleeping soundly when they were awoken by a crash above them. Dao and Kaio had run to Dal's room as they listened to the shouting from upstairs. "Dal!" cried Kaio, "Do you think it's because of Mr Thatch..?" Dal listened closely but heard nothing useful. "What Mr Thatch? What do you mean?!" asked Dao. Kaio's lips quivered, "I overheard them last week... arranging it... sending Seren to Mr Thatch..." Dao's face turned pale. "What father could do that to their own child? A boy at that! I still remember that night... how that awful man looked at Seren when he was so small... that bastard disgusts me!" Dal quickly ordered the women to be quiet. She could hear someone coming down the stairs.

The three women remained in Dal's room, Kaio wrapping herself in Dal's shawl and Dao picking off her split ends by candlelight, as they listened to Mr Straw destroy the kitchen and drink himself into a stupor. It was best not to provoke his ire and just pretend they were sleeping. When at last he made his way upstairs, Dal stopped Kaio and Dao from returning to their rooms. She had a feeling that the night was not yet over and it was best they stayed together. When the pounding started upstairs on the bedroom door, Dal led the ladies out of the room and toward the staircase.

In the upstairs parlor, Adalina was pushing the wooden sofa over to block the bedroom door that Seren was barely keeping closed. "Seren, go first with the bags and load them onto the donkey cart" she told him, as she tried to switch places with her son. The door was shaking heavily with each ram from Therobod's shoulder. "Mother, you go.." Adalina pushed her son away from the door, "I'll give you two minutes," she said, "hurry and prepare the cart!" As Seren ran to the parlor door with their belongings in hand, Adalina suddenly called out to him, "Seren, wait! Where's your eyepatch?!" Without thinking, Adalina stepped towards her son and away from the furniture blocking the door. Therobod crashed into the room and kicked away the make-shift barricade. "I ...will kill you!" he raged to his wife.

"Run!" shouted Adalina, rushing over to follow her son. At the top of the stairs, Therobod grabbed her by the neck and wrapped his rough and callous hands around her slender throat. As Mr Straw choked his wife, his son tried desperately to loosen his hands. "Stop!" he cried. In Seren's right eye a flicker of electric blue began to spark, "Stop! Now!" he cried again. Therobod could sense the light surging in his periphery and threw Adalina down the stairs without mercy. He turned to his son, and for the first time, stared into that sparking blue vortex that had always terrified him. Seren's anguished wail released with it a wave of energy that burst from his body, striking in vengeance with its uncontrollable flame. Seren ran down the staircase in panic to where Adalina lay, surrounded by the women of the inn.

"She's breathing... just" said Dal as she checked her pulse and felt her body for breaks. Kaio looked up into Seren's bright, burning eye and gasped. "You... you're a noble!" she declared. "No...I..." Seren searched about his person and pulled an eyepatch from his pocket, quickly securing it in place. Kaio and Dao grabbed hold of each other's hands.  "I don't think we should move her for now" said Dal, finishing her examination of Adalina, "But what about him..?" The group followed Dal's eyes to where Mr Straw was lying at the top of the stairs. Seren made his way cautiously to his father. As he drew closer he saw the man's veins had turned a garish purple, residual energy crackled between the body and Seren's fingers as he checked for a pulse. It was already gone, his father was dead. Seren sat back on his heels and stared numbly at the result of his actions. He couldn't understand how it had happened. He'd just wanted him to stop.

Dal crouched down beside him, and Seren fell limply into her embrace as she helped him to his feet and down the stairs. As Kaio and Dao saw their broken young master in the arms of Dal, their fear subsided, and they reached out to comfort his shaking hands. "It's almost dawn..." said Dal. Kaio looked out at the changing sky and suddenly grabbed Dao's hand, "Mr Thatch!" she cried, "He's coming for Seren today." Dao shrugged her off, "What can he do? Our boy's a noble." Kaio looked uneasy. "Seren, what you just did... did you ever do it before?" Seren shook his head. He didn't understand what he'd done, let alone how he was able to do it. "The noble I ...met" continued Kaio, "he'd had the spark his whole life, but he told me that after battles he'd need time to recharge it... for someone like Seren who's never had it before... it could take a while to come back."

Dal took the shawl from Kaio's shoulders and draped it over Adalina like a blanket. "For now, we need to do what we can" she said, "That bastard Thatch is still the magistrate, if he sees that Straw is dead he'll have his excuse to take Seren away. For now we just need to get him safe from here." Seren lightly touched his mother's hair, "I can't leave her" he said, "and I can't just run away from what I've done..." Dal held Seren firmly by the shoulders and stared into his calm, uncovered eye; "I ask, you answer" she said. "Did your mother ever tell you that you were a noble?" "No." "Did you know you had a spark that could hurt someone?" "...No." "So killing Straw was an accident, Seren, do you understand? Last question, do you want to be fucked by Mr Thatch?" Seren was taken aback, "What? No, of course not!" "Then you can't stay here and wait for it" she said simply, "I will take care of your mother, trust me. Kaio, don't you have an uncle still living in the Drybrush Plain?" "That's right," said Kaio, "the traveling merchant brought word from him last month. He wanted me to send him money after the noble soldiers raided his farm..."

Dal collected her thoughts and began giving orders like a general; "Kaio go and write a message to your uncle, we'll send him some money along with an extra pair of hands. Dao, go and fetch the bed-roll from the cupboard in the parlor, we'll move Mrs Straw into my room for now. And Seren... I'll help you take Mr Straw's body into the upstairs parlor then you get your things ready. We don't have much time." As the sun threatened to rise in the east, everyone was busy in the inn. Once Seren had completed his tasks, he joined the women as they carefully lifted his mother onto the bed-roll and carried her fragile body onto the bed in Dal's room. Kaio brought over a letter addressed to her uncle, and a pretty red coin purse. Opening the purse, Dal and Dao added some money of their own before passing it to Seren. "Whatever's left after the journey, give it to Kaio's uncle for your keep" Dal told him.

Kaio handed over the letter, "His name is Ruel Moss... you can tell him his niece, that Cabbage sent you... He's not always the brightest of men but he should treat you kindly. Uncle Moss doesn't think of well of nobles, so don't let him know that you're different." Seren touched a hand to his eyepatch and nodded his assurance to Kaio. "Seren, you should hurry and leave" said Dal, "I'll send word when things are settled and your mother has improved. You'll see each other again soon enough. Just have patience." Seren hugged Dal tightly, kissed his mother's forehead and bid farewell to Dao and Kaio. "Thank you..." was all he could manage to say.

Seren loaded the donkey cart and for the first time in his life, left his home without the certainty of when he would return. This wasn't a trip to the Big Village under the watchful eye of his father, this was something like freedom. Seren raced the cart towards the rising dawn, and slowed his pace as the sun rose over the horizon. A new day was breaking, and all the questions of yesterday were left behind unanswered. Seren stopped the cart on the road, he cried until the sun reached its zenith and there were no tears left to fall.