We're Done Yet We've Just Begun 1

She rode through village after town after forest, not even sure where she was going. She could hardly focus on the future when the present was pressing in all around her.

There were always watchers. Who sent them, why, when this all started - she had no answers. Even would-be allies could tell her nothing. Not even a whisper. Well, maybe a single whisper once or twice.

But this roar. It was screaming in her face constantly, keeping her from even hoping to hear. To understand.

How could she fight when she didn't even know who was an enemy and who was not? Were they...were they all enemies? It was possible. When there was no truth, in a land of no justice, it was best to just trust no one.

How painful. And how...inefficient.

COWARDS, she thought. Her spirit railed against its chains, snapping its teeth, wanting to consume them if they were going to simply stand by.

They. Know. They know the price. Every second! Her mind whispered darkly again. Oh dear, she must be getting hungry. She had been riding a few hours straight, and being on constant guard, fighting and dodging when she had to, took its toll on her mind.

It was so heavy. She stroked her hand along her mare's broad, solid neck, reminding herself that at least one creature had earned her trust.

"Let's stop here," Lina said, low. She applied a little pressure with her knees, and the horse slowed at the roadside, veering right toward some wide-trunked trees.

She hopped to the ground, scanning the horizon and periphery as usual. She saw nothing. Heard nothing. Oh, there was one bird. A few chipmunks. How right. How normal!

She pulled dried meat and fresh fruit from a hip pouch and started eating. Her body stopped, but her mind was not so easily reined in.

She knew she couldn't blame the People anymore. They were made to follow, bred and trained for obedience, only to one day die a quiet death after a life of servitude.

They were not made or used to fighting. Not truly fighting. But she knew they all, each of them, had that flame somewhere in them. Even dimmed or almost snuffed out, it had to be there. Or else, they were no longer People. She could see when that happened, too. When they crossed the line from saveable to...something else, maybe. That was what hurt the most to look at.

She couldn't shut her eyes anymore, though. Damn him, that...whatever the hells he was! Wizard, alchemist, or even a so-called Scientist, she didn't know. He had some kind of power over everyone, everything, and that applied even to her.

Lina had been just budding into what she would really become when she'd found him, or probably, he'd found her.

No! her mind, some part of it, cried out at her. Don't even start thinking of him. Don't give him a capital H, either. Whatever he was, he didn't deserve her attention, let alone the devotion she would've...

The mare blew out a big lungful of air after taking a long drink. The woman was grateful, and got a drink of her own from her bags. Cracked her neck, shoulders, her back. Stretched her hips.

All she could seem to do was focus on work. Keeping herself going so she could get it done. And then doing it. Sometimes, she just didn't have the strength to even try. Sometimes, she had to feel like just another sad sheep, hiding.

Person, not sheep, she corrected. Just like any of these mothers or fathers, sons and daughters, who wanted to take care of someone and had to fight tooth and nail simply to feel a little safe.

She made herself sit down and watch the forest a while. Going to hard, too long, made her someone else. The one who had bathed in blood was always watching, too.

I can't let her out until the time is right."