The King’s bodyguards brought the King home a few days later. He was dead. Some cried when they saw him, and some just looked at him. Jada knew that his wish was to die in a battle. She didn’t say anything, and no one came to her, when the funeral should be planned.
Her men came back over a few days. Slowly they began to train again, and it was a day during the training, one of the king’s bodyguards went outside to them.
“Jada,” he said. “Charles wants you inside the castle. Now,” he said and sounded really nervous.
Jada looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“If he wants to talk to me, he can come outside to me,” she said, and turned her back to the bodyguard and made her men keep running.
“He said it was really important, and that you have to come,” the bodyguard said. She sighed and looked at Daran.

“Daran, you take over here. I’ll be back soon,” she said and followed the bodyguard inside the castle to a little meeting room. In the room sat dukes and counts, and, of course the king’s advisor, Charles. The bodyguard closed the door behind her, and Charles looked up, when he heard the door closed.

“Finally you could be here. Take a seat, Jada,” he said and looked in some papers. Jada sat on a chair and looked at Charles.
“What do you want? I’m a bit busy, so hurry up,” she said.

Charles ignored what she said, and looked at the other men. She was the only woman in the room. It was all significant men, who always had been a great help to the king.

“The reason why we’re here today is because our beloved king is dead, and his son is gone,” Charles said, and all the men gasped. Jada wasn’t surprised. She had only heard bad things about The Heir to the throne.

“We need to send someone out to search for the Heir,” Charles continued after everyone stopped talking.

“But who’s going to do that?” a duke asked.

“Actually we have the right person in this room,” Charles said, and looked at Jada.
“What? No!” she said. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said and crossed her arms.
“Jada, my friend,” he said. “You have a choice. You can do what I say, or you can leave”.
“Who gave you the right to decide things like that?” she asked and looked at him with a look, which could kill a horse if that was possible.

“I was the King’s advisor, before he died. Before you came, we decided that I was the best choice,” he said with a smile. Jada knew that Charles hated her. He had always been against the King’s choice, to take her in the army and in his champers. Now he had the power to kick her out, but he also knew he would get in trouble with a lot of the men, if he dismissed her.
She knew she didn’t have a choice.
“Okay, fine. But I’m not going alone. And Daran Reiner is going to train my men when I’m gone. ‘’Deal?” she said with a cold voice.
“You’re not going alone,” Charles said and gave a wink to a corner. From the shadows in the corner, came a man. Everyone looked surprised at him, even the guards. Had he been there all the time?
The man was wearing a hood, so they couldn’t see his face. The rest of his clothes were normally, like a peasant would wear.

“This man is going to help you. Together, you two are going to find the Prince, and you’re not coming back without him,” Charles said. “You can go now, Jada. You were busy, right?” he said and started a conversation with one of the dukes.

She left the room in anger. How could he do that?!

She went outside, where Daran trained the men. She didn’t stop to train them, but went to her house, which was close to the castle, between two blacksmiths. It was of grey stones and only in one plan.
She was only a tax collector, so she only had two choices. Leave the castle, all what she had fought for, or do what Charles said. She hated him.

She closed the door after herself, and went to the living room, where she sat in an old, green armchair. She laid her arms around her knees, and laid her head on the knees. Why should she always fight for what she wanted to do? Was it because she was a woman? Or was it because Charles always did what he could to make everything hard for her? Was it because the King had always listened to her, when she was around, instead of Charles? She didn’t know.

She didn’t want to go. She felt safe where she was.

When she sat in the chair, she looked out through the window, and looked at the landscape outside and emptied her thoughts.

She heard a knock on the door, but didn’t move. If someone wanted to talk to her, they could come back later, or just walk in. The door opened, and she just looked out the window.
“Jada?” said the person. She could hear it was Daran, but she didn’t look at him. He walked to the living room, where he saw her in the green armchair. He walked to her, and squatted in front of her.
“Hey…” he said with a worried voice. She only looked at him, without saying anything.
“What did he say?” he asked.
“I have to go out and search for the prince…” she said with a low voice.
“Why?” he asked. And then she started to tell him all what Charles had said. She told him what she had to do, and when he said he would go with them, she said no. He had to take care of the rest of the group. She told him that she didn’t wanted to go, but she wouldn’t leave her life at the castle.

“Seems like you don’t have a choice,” he said and looked at her. He knew Charles didn’t like her, but he didn’t understand why they didn’t send a guard. The Prince couldn’t be that far away, and a guard would be a better choice. They needed Jada at the castle. She was the tax collector, and the people in the castle couldn’t live without all the money they got from the taxes.
“He wants us to do your job?” Daran asked. Jada nodded.

“If I didn’t say I wanted you to do it, he would find someone else, and none of you would have a job before I’m back,” she said. Daran didn’t say more, he just laid his arms around her.

“I don’t want to go,” she said again and laid her arms around him. She laid her head on his shoulder.
“Hey, I know you will find him fast. You have been almost everywhere in this kingdom. You have a map. Follow that and your instincts. We’ll be waiting for you,” he said with a smile to cheer her up.
“Thank you,” she said with a little smile on her lips.

Daran left her an hour or two later. He had made food for her, and they had eaten together.
“The funeral is tomorrow. You are all exempted from training,” she said with food in her mouth. Her personality was more like a man than a woman. She talked with food in her mouth, she swore, burped no matter when and where. When she drank, she drank like a man, and didn’t stop before she fell asleep. She didn’t say no to a fight and she never wore dresses or anything like that. She wore clothes which showed her curves, like tight pants and tight shirts.

“We are here today to say goodbye to our beloved king, who died in the war, like a real hero would do. We will send him on his last journey, and hope for the best,” Charles said with a solemn voice. The King lay in a long boat with his best clothes, weapons, gold and other things he had liked.

All the soldiers made a dunk on their newly polished amour.
Jada stood between her men. The wind played with her read hair and made whirl around her head.

Some strong men pushed the boat out in the water and the stream took the boat and led it down the river.
Everyone was quiet and they all prayed for the King to have a good journey and hoped he would get to the last world unharmed.

They stood in silence in minutes. No one dared to do anything, because they were afraid of the dead Kings anger.

“Now, just so everyone knows it, I’m going to take the kings place, until we get the prince back again. If someone disagrees, they can come to me,” Charles said after a while and then he left the group of people.

“Now that the King is dead, no one cares about you. They can dismiss you, and you can do anything. The King only cared about you, because you slept with him,” the voices said to Jada. She linked her hands and didn’t say anything. She couldn’t do anything, and she would look ridiculous, if she yelled at them. Daran looked at her.
“Are you okay?” he asked and she nodded.
“They are just saying things she said, and followed her men, when they walked to the tavern to drink funeral feast. Before she walked in the tavern, a guard came to her.
“Charles wants to see you. Now,” he said and looked at her. She sighed and told Aro and Daran she would be back soon, and then she followed the guard to the same little meeting room, where she were the last time Charles wanted to talk to her.
“What do you want?” she asked hostile. He just smiled at her.
“I just want to talk to you. How are you?” he asked with a smile on his face.
“I don’t want to talk to you. Again, what do you want?” she asked and crossed her arms.

“You know what Jada? If you married me, back when I asked you, you wouldn’t have to go out and search for the prince,” he said and didn’t answer her question.
“So, you punish me, because I didn’t want to marry you?”

“I’m not punishing you. I’ll give you a choice. Marry me, and then you can stay here, or you can go out and search for the prince, and if you’re back without him, you will lose everything,” he said.

“Go to hell!” she hissed and walk to the door.

“You’re going in the morning!” he yelled before she left the room.

Charles was right. When Jada woke up the next day, the mysterious man already sat in her kitchen. She was shocked.
“What are you..? How..?” she asked and couldn’t complete the sentences before he talked to her.
“One in your group opened the door. He wouldn’t wake you up,” he said with an indifferent voice and looked at the newspaper in his hands.

“You aren’t even safe in your own house,” the voices began, but she didn’t listen. She just stared at the stranger who sat in her chair and read the newspaper like nothing had happened.
“Are you going in… that?” he asked and alluded to the shirt she was wearing. She mumbled a “no” and walked back to her room, where she took pants and another shirt on. Quickly she brushed her red hair, and then she walked back to the living room. She was still tired and mumbled something about getting her key back from Daran.

“He didn’t wake you up, to hear if it was okay that he let a complete stranger into your house,” the voices sad, and she mumbled something about he just cared about her.
They voices had been talking nonstop the whole night. And just before she fell asleep, she felt to the black hole, again. It was like that almost every night. She only slept just before dawn, and it was not that much. In the last few days she had started to hear Sidnis voice every time she came up from the black hole. Sometimes she thought it was one more voice in her head, but when she was completely awake, there was only the two she always heard back. She packed a back with a map, a knife, some food from the kitchen and a blanket. She then hung the backpack on her shoulder and looked at the stranger in her kitchen.

“Are you ready?” she asked the stranger. He nodded and laid the newspaper at the table.

She walked out the door, and locked it when the stranger went outside.
“I have to give Daran some instructions before I go. Just wait here,” she said and walked to the house, where they all slept. She didn’t knock the door, just went inside the little house. They were all awake.

“Where’s Daran?” she asked after looking around without seeing him.
“He went outside a little while ago,” Aro said and looked at her. She sighed.
“He has the commando, and you just have to do like always. If I’m not home before it’s time to collect taxes, just do it. You have all tried it before. But I hope I’m home before that,” she said. There were still two weeks before they had to collect taxes, and she didn’t think finding the prince would take that long. He couldn’t be that far away.
“I’ll tell him. Take care of yourself,” Aro said and hugged her. She smiled and said goodbye to them. Then she went outside again and walked to the stranger who was waiting for her.

He didn’t say anything, but just started to walk away from the castle. She went after him and looked around.

“Who are you?” she asked him.
“Does it matter?” he asked and looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes. She mumbled a “no” and just kept looking forward.

Who was he? Even Charles didn’t look like he knew who the stranger was. Maybe he was a scout? He really looked like he knew where they were going, and he didn’t look at a map.

She looked at the heaven. The sun wasn’t high on the blue sky yet, and some clouds flew around the big, yellow sun. The sun was the reason of every life on the planet. It came up and gave the people hope every morning.

“My name is Michael. I’m nothing special, but I owe the King my life, and that’s why I’m doing this,” he finally said, but didn’t look at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

“I’m…” she said, but he got her in the rush.
“I know who you are. You were the King’s lover and his tax collector. I have seen you before, at my parents’ farm, once in the month to collect the taxes. Charles told me,” he said with a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Then you must know why I’m with you, right?” she asked. He nodded.
“I’m still the tax collector,” she said. “Charles can’t find someone my men would follow through fire and water, like they would for me.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that. You are unique. I have heard the stories about you,” he said. Jada didn’t say anything. What should she say? He apparently knew everything about her, but how? Charles couldn’t know everything. She never told him anything. It must have been the King who had told Charles who she was. Daran or Aro wouldn’t do it, she knew that.

They walked in silence. She looked around and noticed that she hadn’t been there before. But she didn’t say anything. He looked like he knew where they were going, and she didn’t know where to search for the Prince, so she just followed Michael.

The trees had green leaves and it all smelled so good. The smell filled her nose and a smile came up on her face.
As they walked, the sun went higher and higher on the sky, and then it disappeared in the horizon. They didn’t come to a town that day, and when the sunset coloured the heaven orange and gold, they stopped.
Michael looked around and looked like he was thinking. Jada didn’t say anything to him.
She took the back of her backpack because the leather straps were hurting her shoulders.
Michael went into the thicket, and Jada just followed. Hopefully he had an idea of what he was doing.
Finally he stopped. They where in an open space with trees around them, except for where they came from.
“How did you find this?” she asked and looked at him, but he just smiled and walked around. She looked at him as he walked.
“You have been here before,” she then said.
“You are also clever. Not that I doubted that,” he said with a laugh.
As he walked around, he collected firewood and she just stood and looked at him.

When he got enough firewood, he sat down in the middle of the open space and started to make a bonfire. She still didn’t do anything.
He lit the firewood with a tinderbox and soon the orange flames surrounded the firewood. Slowly Jada walked to the middle, and sat down in front of the bonfire.

As they sat around the bonfire, they were both quiet. They didn’t know what to say.
Jada just looked at the bonfire, and sometimes she quickly looked at Michael. His blond hair looked like gold in the last light from the descending sun. His blue eyes looked like the sky on a cloudless day in the spring.

“Do you know where to look after the prince?” she asked after being quiet long enough.
“I have a clue. Some have seen the prince a few day trips away from here. I don’t know what he’s doing there, but we may found out, when we see him,” Michael answered.
“But what if he’s not there, when we arrive?” she asked.
“Then we’ll find him. I’ve been told, that he has a habit of being drunk, and then it’s easy enough to keep him where he is,” he said with a smile. She nodded and looked at the orange flames again.

Michael stood up and went to a tree, where he sat down. He took the hood on again and said good night. Then he closed his eyes, and really looked like he was sleeping.
From her backpack, she found a blanket and laid it around herself. The bonfire warmed her, although it wasn’t cold. It was still summer, almost June, so she couldn’t complain about that. She took an apple from the backpack and ate it, while she sat in her own thoughts.

“What are you doing? You are on a trip, with someone you don’t know. You don’t know where you are going. What if it’s a trap? Charles just wanted you out from the castle. You know that,” the voices began, and she sighed. She would get a really long night.

She lay at the ground, with the backpack as a pillow. She wasn’t a sleep, but she wasn’t able to open her eyes and get up from the black hole.
She was blind, but she could hear. She heard some children laugh, some women talk about the weather and then she started to walk. She walked slowly, because she couldn’t see.
Then she heard a scream. She stopped and tried to hear where it came from. The scream went louder and louder until she finally could hear who it was.
“Sidni!” she yelled and tried again to her where it came from. But it didn’t come from one direction. It came from everywhere. Sidni’s scream was now the only thing she could hear. She started to run, but she didn’t come closer or farther the scream.
“SIDNI!” she yelled again, but this time higher.
“Jada!” Sidni screamed, and then everything was quiet. Sidni didn’t scream anymore.

“Sidni!” Jada screamed, but this time awake. She opened her eyes and found out she was sitting instead of laying on the ground. She sweated, and her heart was beating fast.
“Nightmare?” Michael asked, and she looked quickly at him. She didn’t answer him, but lay down again and looked at the embers, where the bonfire was.
Almost every night was like that, and in the daytimes the voices talked to her. Although she tried to make them shut up, but stopped after Michael had looked at her, like she was insane. She wouldn’t tell him about the black hole or her sister, or anything. They mostly walked in silence. Once they made it to a tavern, but the other days they slept at the ground.

On the fifth day, they arrived to the town, where the prince maybe were. Jada really hoped he was there, because she was tired of walking, and she just wanted to get home.
They walked to the tavern, but stopped in the doorway.
In the tavern a man stood at a table, he was dancing and yelling.
Jada looked at the drunken man, and she had no doubt about whom that man was.