"We've got the girl."

"Congratulations. What do you want, a thousand gold pieces?"

All I hear is voices. My little four year old hands fidget nervously.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Of course."

I'm too scared to think straight. I can't speak.

"They'll come for you," I tell myself, whispering it in my mind, "everything's gonna be okay."

Giant hands land on my shoulders, and I jump. A hearty laugh fills my head, but I don't like the way it sounds. It sounds mean.

"Remove her blindfold. Poor girl is scared enough as is."

In a flash, a new world falls into place. It's almost as dark as my blindfold. There's four men around me, one sitting atop a throne, the other three standing behind me.

"What do we do with her now?" The one on my left asks. He looks mean, too.

"Yeah, we're about to have all of Yna breathing down our necks if we don't do something soon." The man on my right doesn't look too friendly either.

"Chandler, Dominik, relax." The man on the throne moves to a more casual position. "You think I chose a random date to take her? The Queen is about to have another child. They'll be too engrossed in that one to worry about a little girl."

"Yes, my Lord, we know."

"Then take her upstairs while we discuss the ransom."

Chandler nods, then lifts me up. I'm too confused to fight back.

I'm taken three flights up, into a room full of other children my age or slightly older. They all stop what they're doing to look at me as Chandler drops me to the floor.

Once he's gone, a sandy-haired boy comes rushing to help me up. "Are you okay?" He looks about six.

I shake my head no.

"I know it's scary right now, but you'll get used to it. I'm Salvatore Malum. What's your name?"

I don't answer.

"You don't talk much, do you? That's okay, I just wanna know your name." Something about his eyes make me soften a little.

"R-Rosa. Rosa Quillsnake." I whisper it so quietly it's a wonder Salvatore can even hear me.

"There you go. Welcome to the family, Rosa Quillsnake." Salvatore reaches out his hand.

"Rella?" Coraene snaps me out of my daze. "We've got to get our story down straight."

"Yes. Of course. I'm a simple peasant girl whose village has been attacked and I'm seeking sanctuary in Viâna." I don't want to look at the castle.

"That's right."

"You know, I don't think the name Rosa suits you." Salvatore squints in the afternoon sun.

I'm fifteen now, working for Kaiser, the man who kidnapped me.

"Yeah? Well, what do you think I should be called?" I swipe my hair out of my face and stick close to the shady areas of the woods.

"You remind me a lot of my sister, so I'm gonna call you Rella."

"I like it." I want nothing more than to leave my old self behind, so when Salvatore presents me with a new name, I jump at the chance to change it.

"Yeah. You seem more like a Rella than a Rosa." Salvatore sits on the grass, lying back.

"Come on, we better head back." I kick his foot gently. "We've been outside long enough."

"Why not just stay here?" He smiles up at me, grin nearly as bright as the sun behind me.

"You saw what happened to Thomas when he stayed out a little too long. Kaiser would kill us."

"Me? Maybe. You? No way. You're too valuable."

"Yeah, valuable enough to abandon for eleven years." I roll my eyes. "I'm going back, whether you want to follow me or not." As I turn to leave him, his hand grabs my wrist, pulling me down on my knees.

"Come on, Rella. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Right below my will to live."

"You said it yourself, you want to completely erase Rosa. So let's do that." He lays back down, taking me with him. "You're going to tell me about yourself, and we'll build Rella from there."

"Well, I like to follow rules."

"Then Rella won't. She's gonna be an absolute menace. You'll only follow orders if you feel like it. Next."

"I'm cautious?"

"That's good. But I think you'll shoot first, ask questions later. Anything else?"

"I'm your friend?"

"That's the one thing that we're gonna keep the same." He winks at me. "We're still gonna be partners in crime. No matter what."

"Oh, boy. Can we go back now? If we hurry, we'll be able to make curfew." I stand, picking a few stray leaves out of my hair.

"I'll let it slide this one time. But only because I'm starving." Salvatore uses me to help himself up.

"Let's go then."

"Rella!" Coraene has to shake me in order to get my attention. "Stop spacing off, will you?"

"Oh, please, stop acting like you're all high and mighty just because you're newly royal." I scoff.

"What's your deal with me, Rella? You've hated me ever since we met."

"Let's just get this over with and I'll be out of your hair." I push past her. She glares but follows me anyways.

We don't say a word until we reach the steps of the castle. Coraene presses on. I'm frozen in place.

"Come on!" She waves impatiently. I can't move.

"I- I can't." I shake so violently, my vision becomes blurry. Coraene tries to pull me along, and I don't mean to, but I scream, wrenching my arm away.

"What's your problem? People are staring!" She hisses. She seems mean.

"I- I just-" I think of what Salvatore would want me to do. Biting back the memories, I force myself to walk up the stairs with Coraene. Each step feels like I'm sinking farther and farther into the ground.

"Cora!" A tall man, I'm assuming Eetu, limps over to us, embracing Coraene. "Who's this?"

My breath catches in my throat. This is Eetu.

"She's a peasant girl. Her village was attacked, she's looking for sanctuary for a while." Coraene answers for me, since my head is filled with so much pressure, I'm sure it's about to burst.

"What's your name, Miss?" Eetu smiles warmly at me. He has no idea...

"R- Rella." I stumble over my own name.

"Are you okay? You seem a little nervous."

"She's fine. I'll just show her to a place she can sleep." Coraene grabs my arm and I jump.

"Careful, Cora. She's a little skittish."

"Right. Sorry." She smiles apologetically. I swallow hard and let her lead me away. "What the hell was that, Rella?" She snaps as soon as we're out of earshot. "Are you trying to get yourself caught?"

"I'm not happy about this either, okay? If it were up to me, I'd leave this hellhole behind and I'd never look back. I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. But we're under orders, so shut the hell up and let me breathe." I takes all of my air to bite back. I'm wheezing by the time I finish. "We have a job to do, let's just do it and then you'll never have to see me again."

This shuts her up long enough for me to calm down and collect myself.

"So what now?" She asks once I stop shaking.

"Just keep me as far away from the Quillsnakes as possible until we've got everything put in place."