As were all summer days in Roxenbre, it was unbearably hot. Being a village built entirely of stone did much to worsen the heat, as every building and path absorbed the warmth only to sap the energy from all those nearby.

The only place that was even remotely cool was the interior of the mines which allowed Roxenbre to exist. However, those in the mine were expected to work so the shade did little to relieve the discomfort.

For a child it was a veritable Hell, and the Jacobs understood this all too well. Every summer a few lives were lost from heat stroke or dehydration. Other concerns were the corruption that ran rampant in the town’s military and the occasional acts of sabotage.

Their daughter had only been three at the time, but they could remember five years ago how horrified they had been seeing a family die in an explosion. That family had a girl of ten years (two more than their daughter was now) named Clara who had been buried in the rubble caused by the blast.

The continued violence and suffering had been something they had wanted to escape for years now, but they knew that a certain amount of money would be needed to begin anew, and working in the mines was the fastest way.

When a caravan had arrived to deliver a shipment of vegetables, grain, and various crafted wares to the town, the Jacobs rushed to buy passage with the merchants. It didn’t matter to them the name of the town or how long the journey, for they knew that the weather would be more temperate and the direction of the caravan showed that it would be further from the Illis border.

Several days into the trip, after having left the barren mountainous region Roxenbre inhabited and into a large shady forest, the change in temperature was remarkable.

One of the nights, for the first time, Helena had shivered from the cold and drew closer to a fire rather than find a place outside of its warmth.

As the night wore on, Helena was placed in one of the hooded wagons to sleep as her parents happily spoke with the merchants, hearing of the places they had traveled and listened to the details of what would be the family’s new home.

Without warning, a large group of armed men burst from behind trees and bushes about the path the wagons had been traveling and set about killing all those they could find.

Knowing the dangers of the road, the caravan was not without its soldiers, but between the disarray caused by the surprise attack, the darkness, and the general fatigue of the soldiers, it was clear to all that it was a losing battle.

---

Brought back to consciousness by the din of battle, Helena raised her head and rubbed her eyes as she wondered what was going on.

“Quickly! Grab the money first, then whatever else you can carry!” a man shouted as he climbed into the back of the wagon in which Helena laid. “And untie the horses; we need to get out of here!”

Recognizing the man as the driver of the wagon she and her parent rode on, Helena decided it to be alright if she talked to him. “Hey mister, wha—”

He was startled to see the small blonde haired child so unaffected by the surprise attack, almost to the point of shouting. Had he, it could have very well meant the end of both their lives.

Taking no time to explain, he scooped her up in his arms and bolted through the wagon and out the front end. Helping another teamster untie a horse, the two men and the child mounted the horse and rode bareback, between the many stationary wagons, around the many fire pits that were still lit, and down the curved forest road away from the fighting.

As they rode, Helena squirmed to see just what was happening around her. As soon as she had, she regretted it. Born and raised in Roxenbre, she had seen corpses before and she knew better than to scream. All the same, experience did little to protect her from the sight of her parents lying dead around a dying fire.

Not far in front and behind them were others who had managed to escape the fighting, each two to a horse, save for one who had managed to make off with the caravan’s cashbox. In all, only eighteen of what had been sixty people survived, with nine horses between them.

Taking care to be silent, the group cautiously moved further from the site. Not long into the journey, Helena squinted at something in the distance and tugged on the shirt of the man who had saved her. “I see someone in the trees.”

As others heard this unsettling statement, everyone tried to see where it was she was pointing. None of them could make out anything. It was simply too dark and far away, not to mention the overgrowth of the forest blocked most of what was off the beaten path.

“Be quiet child,” one survivor hissed, “we don’t want any pursuers to find us.”

“But there’s someone there!” she argued, keeping her voice down but it seemed as though she’d argue to the point of yelling.

“I say we listen and move off the path; it would be good to not be in plain sight,” one man suggested, seeing no harm in heeding a warning that none could confirm, nor really deny.

“We need to move fast; we can’t waste time going through the bushes because some brat decided to play ‘lookout’.”

People quickly decided what option they were going to follow, and thirteen men with seven horses continued along the road as the rest chose to proceed with caution.

As Helena moved with her tiny group, she attentively examined the surrounding area, keen on spotting any more that may be lying in wait. A couple minutes after having spilt up, Helena’s group could hear screams as the second ambush of the evening took place not fifty feet away.

---

It took several days of rushed travel, but they had emerged from the forest into the large manmade clearing, one formed to build the city of Ravis and leave enough land for the many farms all about the city limits.

Just as during their travels, past small hamlets and farming communes that dotted the landscape, Helena was astonished to see so many buildings constructed from wood rather than stone. The merchants moved down the cobblestone roads, past many shops, smithies, and homes, until they reached a large, two-story house with a small metal fence and a marble path leading up to the entrance.

“Take care to be very courteous in front of these people,” the teamster warned her. “This is where our boss lives. Don’t speak unless they tell you to, don’t touch anything, and do your best to stay still.”

Helena nodded; really in no mood to be jovial anyways. Her parents were gone and other than the excitement from being somewhere new and exotic, she wasn’t at all happy.

Knocking on the front door, the four men and child waited for a response. The door swung open a short while later, as a lady opened the door.

“One moment please, I’ll fetch the master,” she explained with a curtsey.

“The maid,” the teamster explained to Helena.

Not long after that, they were ushered inside and to the left of the well furnished entrance in which there was the den. A middle-aged man with light brown hair sat in a comfortable chair with his wife standing behind him.

Helena stared at the woman in awe of her beauty. She had long, wavy golden hair and a thin figure. It didn’t matter to the child, but it could be seen that she had never needed to do a hard day’s work in her life.

“Gentlemen, welcome. I trust this is just a routine visit after a successful trip,” the man smiled, causing a slight deformation of the cross-shaped tattoo upon his cheek.

“No, Mister Paterson, I’m afraid it isn’t,” a merchant from the group explained. “Some thugs along the path killed all but we. Fortunately, we have with us the money from the trip. Much of the merchandise we had managed to save was traded off for food along the way, sir.”

Mister Paterson reflected on the news for a period before asking for all they had managed to salvage. Checking the contents of the cashbox, he seemed pleased in the amount inside. “Very well, stop by tomorrow morning for your pay.”

As the men bowed and began to leave, Paterson’s wife jabbed him in the shoulder with a finger and pointed to the child.

“Ah, one more thing; why is that urchin, I mean little girl, traveling with you?”

The teamster who had taken it upon himself to look after Helena turned back to face his boss and bowed courteously. “She is the only survivor of a family that had paid to be passengers, sir.”

“Slain? Well now…some things can’t be helped. Good day to—” his farewell was interrupted as his wife jabbed him once more.

“Gerald!”

“Yes, yes, very well, dear. Little girl, what is your name?”

She looked up at her guardian to receive a nod before answering. “Helena Jacobs.”

“And how old are you?”

“Eight…sir.”

“Being a wealthy family, we will show you some compassion in the face of your recent misfortune we shall find you a new family in which to raise you. For the time being, you shall stay with us.”

There was a brief silence as though Gerald was thinking. In that time, Helena glanced about the room, from each fine painting that adorned the walls, to the fine red carpet underfoot. Along with the piano in one corner and the highly decorated furniture, the claim of wealth was confirmed in every direction.

“Seele!” he shouted, calling his son, who soon appeared from down the stairs in front of the house’s entrance.

“This is my son, Seele Paterson. Son, this is Helena. She’ll be your serv—” he was quickly jabbed “friend for a little while. Please show her the house.”

Helena hadn’t quite blushed, but felt a little warm when Seele looked her in the eyes and smiled. He closed his eyes as he did so, but it only served to soften his expression and make him seem all the more friendly. The boy had his mother’s hair, though it lacked the same sheen.

It wasn’t until after he finished his greeting smile that she noticed a slight blush on his face.

“Nice to meet you, Helena, I’ll show you around.”

---

Over the next several days, her sadness wrought from the loss of her parents faded as she played with Seele and followed along in his sessions with his private teacher. After that period, she was disappointed when a man and his wife arrived to take her to her new home.

Still, she was able to visit her friend every few days, as her ‘parents’ were responsible for a store in Ravis and employees of the Paterson family.