Summer played the dagger between her nimble fingers. She'd missed its familiar, reassuring weight. It was decided by the powers that be- namely Leon- that the thieves would be taken into custody. As soon as the sun rose, Al rode to the closest town to fetch the local guards.

Leon, Ida and Felix- who had waited patiently where Summer made him hide under a large tree root after knocking down the thief- hadn't slept a wink. Leon and Ida to keep eyes on the bandits. Felix because he was too agitated.

With her dagger in hand, Summer slept like a baby.

She'd been too tired to ponder on Leon's decision to give her the dagger the night before. But wide awake and well rested now, she couldn't understand his decision.

The woods woke up as the sun filtered in through the tree canopy, dusting the dewy grass with crushed crystals. The horses neighed near the glimmering water, their tails swishing.

"Why?" Summer finally asked Leon as they had breakfast.

A few of the bandits had tried loosening their binds a few times over the night. Summer had heard them grunt in pain after Leon or Ida put an end to their escape attempts. Now, all the thieves either sat silently, cursed, or snored.

Leon looked at the dagger playing in her hand. He looked grouchy after losing a night's sleep. "You might as well be of use if you're sticking around."

"Do you give all your captives weapons?" she asked, taking a bite of the dried meat.

"Any normal captive would try to escape if put in the same situation as you," Leon said.

"I would've, too, if you hadn't threatened to take Rose instead of me."

Leon drank coffee from a tin cup, looking not the least apologetic. He had very little expressions, Summer realized.

"Whatever the reason," he said, "having one more person to fight on our side during the journey is convenient."

"Especially a well trained person," Ida added, peering at Summer through heavy lashes. "Where did you learn to move like that?"

Summer shrugged. "I told you, someone taught me. It's easier to blend in the woods for a person familiar with it. Why do you think we haven't caught a whiff of these guys? I bet they were trailing us for hours yesterday. Right, boys?"

Vile curses were her only reply. Summer clicked her tongue. "So eloquent."

"We were riding too hard." Leon frowned at her. "We were too tired to pay attention. Otherwise, we would've sensed them."

"Don't flatter yourself," Summer said between sips of coffee.

Leon pursed his lips, Ida choked on her coffee. Summer trudged on, "even if we were strolling through the woods, it would've been difficult to sense them. They move around like someone used to walking around the forest."

"So what are you saying?" Ida asked.

"When you spend enough time in the forest, it takes you in. Even a fool would move like a predator after living in the woods for a number of years. The forest kind of adopts you." Summer looked at a young man with a scraggly blond beard bound to a nearby tree. "Hey, blondie, how long have you been living in these parts?"

"None of your damn-" Leon looked pointedly at him. The man cleared his throat, intimidated, then replied, "a few years, five or six."

"See," Summer said. "'You become part of the woods when the woods become part of you'."

Those were Boyd's words. He'd said them to her whenever she felt frustrated that she couldn't be as invisible or as quiet as he had been.

Boyd would have felt the bandits, Summer was certain. He wasn't simply good at blending in with the forest, sometimes she could swear the forest actually spoke to him.

Leon, Ida and Summer stood and turned as one. A few seconds later, Al broke through the tree cover with three men, all dressed in the garbs of a town's guard. The older of them, a stocky middle aged man with gray hair and a weathered complexion, reeled back when he spotted them.

As they climbed down their horses, the older guard stared at Leon. Putting his fist on the left side of his chest, he said, "Your -"

Leon sharply shook his head. The man, surprised, nodded then greeted the rest of them with a good morning, introducing himself as the head guard.

"Two wagons are waiting on the main path," Al said. "There are enough guards so the bandits will not try anything funny."

"Good," Leon said. "We'll ride along and spend the night in town. A break is in order."

And that was how Ida and Summer ended up sharing an inn room.

The only inn Summer had seen was the one in her town. It was small, well equipped and clean. Compared to this inn, however, it was laughably inadequate. Just like the town itself.

Summer's first glimpse of Midcreek town made her feel odd. It was like she had been asleep her entire life, and the sight of Midcreek jolted her awake.

She'd never seen so many people in one place. Big houses painted in different, vibrant colors. Streets wide enough for two wagons to roll through side by side with space to spare. Shops and mobile stalls selling everything Summer knew and more she didn't.

Most women wore either ankle length dresses or wide legged pants and fitted tunics, the colors as various as red and orange and purple and gray and so many shades she couldn't name. Horses trotted down the streets along wagons and carriages, ridden by both men and women.

Summer was dizzy, her senses overwhelmed by all the sights and scents and sounds. Still, she couldn't get enough of this new world. It was like seeing color for the first time after a lifetime of black and white.

They had arrived in town shortly after midday. The head guard recommended the inn and a restaurant that was of high caliber. Summer couldn't imagine anything in this town being anything other than high caliber.

The inn's reception hall alone made her gape. High ceilings and polished floors, squeaky clean surfaces and elegantly dressed staff.

Their room had its own bathing room with plumbing and a bathtub. For someone who lived in the woods, this was the epitome of luxury. The beds were plush and the bedding fresh. The window, covered by gauzy white curtains, let in the warm sunlight and the lively noise of the streets below.

"So what's going to happen to the bandits?" Summer asked Ida when the woman walked out of the bathroom. "Prison?"

"It depends." Ida sat on her cot. "But most of them will end up spending time doing labor in the mines in the north of the kingdom. Under heavy surveillance, of course. Having young, able hands sitting idly in prison will be a waste of resources. By the end of their sentence, they'll receive their pay and their supervising officers will make recommendations, they'll either be set free, extend their time in the mines or transferred to another facility."

Summer frowned. It was good thinking, but... "is that what happens to all criminals?"

"Of course not. It depends on the severity of the crime and on the person. Your circumstances, age and gender are all taken into consideration.

"Those bandits are mostly young men, they haven't harmed us which is a point in their favor. After the local authorities make further investigations as to why and how they resorted to thieving in the woods, a trial will decide their fate."

"Interesting."

"So you see," Ida said, a smile playing on her lips, "it's not all bad. Laws can get tiresome and complicated at times, but most of them are conceived for the best interest of the kingdom."

"Define 'kingdom'." Summer arched her brow. "Is it the royal family? The powerful people? The citizens?"

"Why can't it be all three?" Ida shot back. "It's not black and white, Summer. Nothing is clear cut. The royals, the powerful families, the citizens, they are all part of the kingdom, they make the kingdom. They don't necessarily have to be adversaries. But I believe you will come to understand that on your own. You're a smart woman, seeing more of the world will no doubt drastically change your perspective."

Summer doubted it. She didn't want to change her mind, maybe.

Then again, just the sight of this one town had made her realize how big the world was and how little she had seen of it. She'd known that she was limited in her living experiences, of course. She'd known there was a whole other world out there. But seeing it was different than simply knowing it.

"So you think your people can do no wrong?" Summer asked.

Ida chuckled, stood up and pulled on her cloak.

"Of course not. Even the most powerful people in the kingdom are just that, in the end, people. They're not perfect, so the laws they make are not perfect. Of course, there's a big gap between laws and reality, and there will always be individuals who want to take advantage of that gap to further their own interests. However, I firmly believe that our system is as fair as it could be, and unlike what you believe, laws are not simply made by and for the powerful and the wealthy."

Until Summer saw proof of the contrary, she would have to disagree with Ida. Changing the subject, she said, "I didn't know women were accepted in the military."

"I said there's a big gap between laws and reality, remember? This is one aspect of it. In the eyes of the law, women can do pretty much anything a man does. It hadn't always been this way, the changes came gradually, and the current king and queen have endorsed that change and supported the new laws advocating it.

"Our society, however, still finds it difficult to accept that some women could potentially be better at wielding a sword than a man." Ida made a face and turned to the door. "Come on, otherwise the boys will come up knocking."

Summer donned her own tattered cloak, mainly for concealing her dagger than anything else. The inn was busy, people walked up and down the stairs and lingered in the lobby. No one, however, paid any mind to Summer and Ida. In her town, any outsiders would instantly attract attention. Midcreek, apparently, was used to outsiders.

The three men were waiting in front of the inn. They all headed down the street to a restaurant. Summer's head was swinging this way and that, not wanting to miss a single sight. Beds of flowers adorned the sides of the houses, lining the street with blooms of all shapes and colors.

People appeared more friendly here. Smiling, laughing and chatting. It was a spirited town. Most shops had outside stalls right in front of their doors, offering everything from jewelry and hats to fresh food and sweets. Their steps slowed down to take in the rich displays.

Felix drifted to a shop presenting a variety of spices and herbs. The rest stood before the weapons' stall nearby.

Summer was drawn to a bejeweled dagger, its handle and scabbard studded with a smattering of tiny gemstones in red and blue. It stood out among the severe looking weapons around it.

"Oh, this is beautiful," Ida murmured, and picked up the dagger. The stiletto blade, slender and pointed, glistened under the sunlight with good care.

The seller, not one to miss an opportunity to make profit, said in obvious pride, "that's a special one, my lady. The gemstones are all pure, they come from the northern mines. It's one of a kind, so you won't find another dagger quite like it the entire kingdom!"

"I see."

The man crouched down behind his stall for a moment, then emerged with another dagger. This one smaller, enough to carry unnoticed. The gems adorning the handle and the scabbard were bigger, in yellow and purple.

Summer reached for the dagger. The seller gave a slight jump. He hadn't noticed her. The dagger was light, and it fit perfectly in her palm. It was also expensive. She put it down for Ida to see. Ida bought the stiletto blade, with red and blue stones.

"The smaller one was very beautiful, too," Ida said when they walked down the street to their destination, the men ahead of them. "You could've stolen it without him even noticing."

Summer recognized the humor in Ida's dark gaze. She chuckled. "Too expensive for my taste."

"How do you do it?" Ida asked. "He didn't even notice you were there. Sometimes even I forget where you are, and I'm right next to you."

She looked was genuinely curious. Summer shrugged. "It's easier to fade away when I'm with you, actually. With your height and your good looks, people naturally stare at you, I don't even register in their sight."

"Huh." Ida aid thoughtfully.

"It's all about blending in," Summer said. "I used to do it ever since I was a kid, because for me, being noticed back then meant either a chore or a beating. A survival instinct I honed with age. Boyd, the vagabond I told you about, helped me sharpen the skill."

"A very useful skill," Ida said. "Is there any way I can learn it?"

Summer pondered the question as they stopped before the restaurant. The men had gone inside, too hungry to wait any longer.

"I can try teaching you the basics," Summer finally said. "It takes years of practice, and like I said, you already stand out so much in a crowd. But hey, we can give it a shot."

The journey to the capital would be boring otherwise. Summer felt a sense of giddiness she had never experienced before. After Boyd's death, there was never anyone to share her thoughts or ideas with. Rose, her only friend, always had different interests. More domestic, lady-like interests.

Ida, on the other hand, was very much a warrior. She and Summer spoke about all sorts of things during lunch, from the art of throwing knives and combat techniques to culture and politics. Ida spoke from an experience Summer envied.

Everything Summer knew about the world outside her town came from Boyd's stories and the countless books she'd grown up reading. Boyd always brought her a bag of books whenever he visited. From history and politics to arts of war, she'd devoured them all with the bottomless appetite of a lonely child.

After lunch, Summer and Ida had walked some more around town while the three men went their own way. Summer spotted so many things Rose would have loved. Glossy ribbons and velvety dresses tempted her. But she had no money, and stealing hadn't even crossed her mind as it was against her code of behavior. She was clothed and well fed. She had no real need to steal anything. Night fell sooner than Summer would have liked.

"Is the capital as lively as this?" Summer asked as she closed the room's door behind herself and Ida. Ida took off her cloak and shot Summer an amused look. The two of them had had dinner alone in the inn's dining room.

"The capital, in its darkest hour, would outshine this town," Ida said, dropping her cloak on the foot of her cot.

Wow. Summer couldn't possibly imagine such a place. Even now, lights from street lanterns and voices of people drifted through the window. It felt like it was the middle of the day.

"My mother says it's the brightest place she'd ever seen," Ida continued. "Coming from her, it's quite a statement. She grew up in the Flatlands."

"The south?"

"Yes," Ida gestured to her face. "That's where I got my coloring."

"Your father is from there, too?" Summer suspected she was being obnoxiously rude. But she was too curious to care. So many different lives, so many fascinating stories.

"No, my father is a native of Springwood kingdom. Both my parents are diplomats, that's how they met."

Summer asked one question after another. Ida, bless her heart, was very patient. She must have recognized the thirst for knowledge- any knowledge- in Summer's eyes, for she regaled her with stories from her parents' travels around many kingdoms.

They spoke until very late at night, until the streets outside turned dark and soundless, laying in their beds with the lanterns out and the only sound that of their hushed conversations.

Summer wanted to stop herself from liking Ida. She shouldn't forget that Ida was a royal guard, that her authority was immense. Ida and her companions represented the epitome of what she detested, she should be careful around them. She shouldn't let her guard down.

Sleep and exhaustion soon took over, and they drifted away. Summer's thoughts swam with all the possibilities, of the different places she could go and the diverse people she could meet.

Until the ominous clang of metal clashing dragged her out of deep slumber.

--- ---- ---

Hey guys!

How do you like the new story? It's a genre I've never written before, so I hope you bear with me.

How do you like Summer so far? I enjoyed writing her character, so I hope you love her!

Don't forget to vote and comment to let me know what you think! I appreciate it.

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.