Leon had underestimated Summer. He admitted as much to himself.

No one would believe that such a dainty girl would be able to knock down a man twice her size, slip through a town full of guards then get back in without anyone the wiser. But she had done so. Speaking with Rose had confirmed as much. The young mother couldn't lie to save her life.

He was lucky the girl hadn't decided to escape. It seemed that she still believed he would use Rose as her replacement, even after Rose told her how well she and her son were treated.

The very reason he hadn't told her he would help Rose either way, was that he was afraid she'd no longer believe his threat.

Apparently, she believed the worst of him anyway. Which, in this case, was in his favor. If the girl believed him capable of taking in an innocent woman instead of her, it would keep her in line.

And he needed to stop thinking of her as a girl. She was a full grown woman with an interesting set of skills. He had a feeling he hadn't seen the last of them yet.

She seemed comfortable on horseback, for example. Which was unusual for a dirt-poor orphan who owned no horse. She hadn't looked afraid when she climbed over Ida's stallion. And she had smiled in a murderous way- if that was possible- when Al bound her wrists together.

Leon was still on the fence about her culpability. On one hand, it didn't make sense for her to travel all the way to the capital, steal the artifact then trade it for a paltry sum of money.

Besides, the theft had been committed by a group of people. So where were her accomplices? Leon doubted they'd let her have the artifact for herself. And where had she even met them in the first place?

Many things did not add up. But when Leon thought of the way she had managed to trick all those guards, of how no one in town knew where exactly she lived- except to say it was in the woods, of how she could handle a dagger like a throwing champion, he grew suspicious again. One didn't learn all those skills in a small town.

Leon glanced back at the two women sharing a horse. Ida rode between him and Felix, with Al taking the rear, much to Al's arguments. Al didn't want Leon to be a first target if something were to happen.

"These mountains have a fascinating flora," Felix said for what seemed like the tenth time since their departure. "I wish we had more time. The plants here are worth taking a look at."

"We're not stopping until we have to, Felix."

The medic sighed, a world of disappointment in the sound. Soon, he would notice they were getting close to the stretch of road that perched dangerously close to the edge of the mountain, then he would freak out. So it would take them the entire day to go around the mountain. Then they would have to make camp for the night.

Except for Summer, Leon's mind was at relative ease. He had left the town in capable hands. The members of the committee who'd arrived the day before were all men he personally trusted. They would see to the best interest of the townspeople, especially those who had been marginalized and forced into lousy lives. And they would see to the punishment and trial of those responsible after seeding them out. The last part would be the most difficult.

Surprisingly, Felix rode better than expected. They made good time, and by the time they were on flat land again, it was slightly before dusk. The terrain was flat, but the trees and the bushes were thick and overgrown on the main path.

Al scouted ahead for a place to spend the night off the main road. He found a decent sized clearing near a stream of water. That was where they made their camp.

They brushed their horses, watered and fed them, built their fire and started on their evening meal before darkness fully claimed the sky. The journey was going good so far, if he hadn't known any better, he would've thought Summer's luck was changing faces as soon as she left that town.

They could've kept going, but the horses needed to rest. Leon thought it a good idea to start understanding their captive better. Maybe it would clear things up before they reached the capital.

He looked around the fire. It took him a while to find her even though she was sitting in plain sight. It seemed like she found the only shadowy spot near the fire to sit in. She looked around with wide, thirsty eyes, her wrists still bound.

As Al and Felix worked on the meal and Ida fed the fire, Leon approached Summer with a bag of dried fruit.

She stared in her usual smiling but blank expression as he sat down with a sigh next to her. He took his dagger out and cut the rope tying her wrists. They were so thin it was a wonder they hadn't been broken. The rope left little burn marks. Leon crushed the twinge of guilt he felt at the sight and offered her the bag of food. She dug in eagerly.

"Thank you," she said after crunching down a mouthful.

"You're welcome," he stared at the fire. "How are you finding your first journey out?"

"Boring," she said, clearly disappointed.

"I sure hope it stays boring all the way to the capital," Ida said, sitting on Summer's other side.

Leon agreed. He wanted to be back to his son as soon as possible. Any exciting events would only delay them.

Summer ate another mouthful then said, "I've explored the mountains before, but never been on this side."

"Why haven't you left that town?" Ida asked, stirring the crackling fire with a long branch. "It didn't seem like they were fond of you, nor you of them."

Summer shrugged, the flames dancing in her eyes. "Rose and I actually had plans to leave ever since we were kids; as soon as we turned sixteen, we would leave that rotten place."

"Why sixteen?" Ida asked.

Summer's smile turned wistful. "I don't know. I guess to our childish minds, it seemed like it was the age separating childhood of adulthood. We were barely eight or seven, I think."

"What happened?" Leon asked.

"Life happened." She laughed. "I guess all my bad luck rubbed off on her at once. She fell in love with the headmaster's son at fifteen. Then everything went downhill from there."

"We haven't met him, have we?" Ida asked.

"He left town after he knew she was with child." Summer clicked her tongue. "The coward. After that, Rose couldn't leave. Her son was too young. Then he was too sick."

"You could've left on your own," Ida said, echoing Leon's thought. "It seems like you could take care of yourself just fine."

"Yeah, well, Rose couldn't."

"So you stayed to take care of her?" Ida said. "Very noble of you."

"I did it because no one else would," Summer said. "She would've either buried her son or ended up selling her body to keep him alive."

The silence that followed was only broken by the clatter of dishes as Felix and Al served steaming hot soup in tin cups. They sat around the fire and ate in silence.

People's lives could be so different in one twisted turn of fate.

"You lived in the woods," Leon said after finishing his meal. He stared at her, she ate heartily with no inhibitions. Watching her eat was satisfying. Though her manners would give his mother a heart attack. The thought sparked Leon's amusement.

"Mhm." She was too busy to talk.

"The animals didn't bother you?" Al asked. His curiosity was greater than his dislike of her.

"If you don't bother them, they won't bother you," she said. "I prefer to live with animals. At least with them, you get no surprises. Their motives are pure and understandable. They hunt when they're hungry or to feed their young. They attack when they feel threatened. They're more scared of us than we are of them."

"Unlike humans?" Al offered, a wry smile touching his face.

"Exactly." She pointed her cup to him. "Can I have some more?"

Al got her a second serving which she downed just as quickly.

"So how did you survive in the forest?" Felix asked, as curious as the rest of them about this fascinating creature.

"I ate what the forest had to offer in fruits and plants, hunted occasionally when I needed meat. Drank from the streams. I rarely went by without."

"How old are you?" Felix asked with a frown.

"Twenty three summers." She smiled cheekily.

"You're a woman!" Felix said, then he flushed a deep red clear even under the firelight. "I mean, you look too thin, I thought you were a girl- I mean, you are but- eh-"

Al cleared his throat suspiciously. Summer blinked at Felix for a long moment then broke out in a fit of giggles. Ida chuckled, shaking her head.

The medic, face still burning, mumbled something about checking the horses and made his escape.

"Cute," Summer said.

They all finished their meals in silence. Then Al asked the question Leon was burning to ask.

"So," he stared at Summer, "who taught you to do all that?"

"Do what?"

"Hunt, survive in the woods." He paused. "Steal."

Summer's amused smile turned mocking. "Aha, so this is what all this interrogation is about. Well, I've nothing to hide. A vagabond taught me everything I know. He came to town once a year ever since I was seven. He took pity on me and taught me to survive because I would've starved to death."

"He taught you to steal." Al insisted. "It doesn't matter how much you embellish the truth. It's still stealing."

"You're right." She chuckled. "I'm a thief. A criminal. But guess what? I don't regret a single second of it. I did what I had to survive and protect those I care about. You sit there in your fancy clothes and self-righteous attitude judging me when you've probably never starved a day of your life."

Al bristled. "I wouldn't steal even if I have to starve. You said you survived well enough from what the forest had to offer. So why resort to taking other people's hard-earned living for yourself? Laws are meant to be respected, they uphold the balance of society."

"Yeah, I could've survived well enough in the forest if all I had to think of was myself. But Rose and Berry were ostracized by everyone in town. I stole to help her keep a roof on their heads and keep her son alive." Her smile disappeared and an enraged expression twisted her features.

"The laws you're so proud of did nothing to help when the headmaster wanted to kick her out in the dead of winter after she hadn't paid a month's rent. You know what stopped him? The money I stole did. Where were your laws and authorities when I, as a child, had to work or starve, like all orphans do? Where were your laws when no one in town wanted to give me work in fear that my rotten luck would touch their lives?

"Tell me, what would you have done in my place? If you had to watch someone you care about being thrown out into the streets or starve or become ill. You wouldn't steal even if you had to starve?" She scoffed. "Then you don't know what it means to truly starve. To feel hungry until you get sick, but there's nothing in your stomach to throw up. To be so hungry your legs can no longer hold you upright. No child should have to feel that way.

"Law is made by the wealthy and powerful to protect their own selfish interests. You and your laws can go straight to hell for all I care."