She caught sight of him, for a moment, of the man he had once been, but he quickly pulled away. Faira wanted to disagree with him, to argue that he should join her on this journey. If there truly was no place for him at her court, she would have to make one for him. The voice of her mother came into Faira's mind then, soft and pleading, "We live for the good of our people, daughter, not just for the good of one." Staying here meant delaying her mission, it meant that the blight would continue to fester and the goddess would continue to suffer for it.<br/><br/>Staying was not an option.<br/><br/>So she watched him go, without protest, and a moment later she followed behind him.<br/><br/>"Does he need to be dealt with?" Rhys asked, exchanging a glance with Aurora.<br/><br/>"Let him go. We have other issues to deal with and...And just let him go." Faira urged. Aurora nodded firmly and once they began their walk back to the carriage, Faira began to explain her plans to the two of them. There was no point in warning Rhys off again, she knew that he would just remain in the shadows behind her, so she might as well include him. Once a basic plan was in place, Faira got back in her carriage and they began their journey back to the shores of the island that Arahaelon's family and forces had once inhabited. She spared one last glance back to the building she had just met with him in and, for a moment, her mind restored the way the place had once looked to her. Lush, green, vibrant. Beautiful stone architecture and carefully crafted sculptures. This had once been a place of beauty, and as reality came back to her, Faira wondered if the state of this place reflected its master. The bones were still there, the soul of the place, but it had been left to rot.<br/><br/>Faira turned back in her seat and looked out the window to her side, turning her face to where she was headed, rather than where she had been. The past could not be left fully behind, but the future would not wait, either.<br/><br/><br/>***********************************<br/><br/><br/>Though her heart was filled with tumultuous energy, but the seas had been calm as they crossed them. Faira had felt some relief when her feet touched the shores of the mainland of Aesthan, as if her connection to her world and to the goddess was slightly stronger now that she was home again. They had little time to daly though, so she kept moving and sent a message to the capital, calling for a small contingent of forces to meet her at the base of the mountain in the Black Forest. She could have waited for them to arrive here, at the port city of Kaltol, but she still felt the urgency that Arahaelon had instilled.<br/><br/>Once the message was well on its way, Faira and those with her continued their journey across toward the Northern part of Aesthan. Most of the country was temperate, with warmer shores near the beaches, but the Black Forest had more routine seasons. In the winter, the snow upon the mountain got thick and it was quite difficult to reach the temple, but right now the area would be lightly dusted with the first snows of autumn, mostly on the mountain itself and through parts of the forest.<br/><br/>It was a five-day journey, they had only rested a handful of times. They were only a few hours from a small town that had a path that led into the forest when Rhys called the caravan to a stop. They had switched positions a few times, where Aurora would ride in the carriage and wear Faira's cloak, mostly at Rhys' urging. He had claimed it was just a gut feeling, but Faira wondered if he knew more than he let on. She was on a horse in front of the carriage, as they rode through an area of aspen trees. The trees were plentiful, but thin at their base, so it was relatively easy to see through them in the day time. Darkness had fallen hours before, though, and now little could be heard beyond the quiet rustling of their leaves.<br/><br/>"Stay here..." Rhys said in a low tone, as he urged his horse off of the beaten path, into the thicket of trees.<br/><br/>The carriage rolled to a stop behind her, and another guard came to Faira's side as Aurora stepped out of the carriage. She had begun to make her way toward Faira, when an arrow, lit with fire, lodged itself into the side of the carriage, just in front of Aurora's face. To her credit, Aurora played the part of the untrained Empress well. She scrambled and moved around to the opposite side of the carriage, only to have another arrow fired from that side. The quiet broke then, filled with the cries of warriors coming out of the shadows. Faira did not have to see them to know who they were, she felt the darkness now and she knew that she should have felt it sooner. Her mother could sense the presence of dark elf forces from miles away, and they were barely more than a few yards from her before she had gotten a sense of them.<br/><br/>"Kill the guards, take the Empress!" One shouted in a commanding voice.<br/><br/>It took a moment for Faira to connect that they would be coming for her head. The dark elves would likely assume that Aurora was the Empress, and in this darkness, it would be hard to discern the difference. Faira and Aurora shared blood on her father's side, they were cousins, and they shared many features. Dark hair, light eyes, even if the shades were slightly different colors. In this darkness, the shades would look the same.<br/><br/>Faira's horse spooked and before she could dismount and make a move to get to Aurora, the beast took off into the trees. She gripped the reins tightly, until the horse veered left suddenly and caused her to lose her balance. Faira tumbled to the ground, lucky enough to land on a softer patch of grass. The horse was gone faster than she could regain her senses to see where it went.<br/><br/>Some of the dark elf forces had followed her, and they were already starting to surround her. She was not sure what to do, if she used her powers, she would reveal that she was the Empress and risk both capture and the loss of her companions. But if she did not defend herself....They were going to kill her.