Nothing has changed when they stepped back into Stonedenn's borders. Paris's gut swirled with both dread and anticipation as she and Vivian trudged through the all-too-familiar roads leading to their hidden meet-up place, the ruins.

Paris huffed, earning a questioning look from Vivian. "After all this time, look where we're at," she jerked her chin towards the line of crumbling wood and stone creeping up in the horizon. "Do you often feel like this whenever you meet me there? Like there's a certain nostalgia being unearthed in your gut?"

Vivian flicked her gaze towards the direction Paris was looking at, chewing at her lip. From behind her, the long bow's wooden arm peeked past her shoulder. "I looked forward to talking to you here," she said. "But at the same time, I'm afraid of being discovered."

That's a legitimate fear, if Paris's opinion was to be asked. "It's not like the people in Stonedenn are keeping track of who's being sent off the Maldegrad," Paris reasoned, still. "There are a lot of people in this town alone. And if you're from another town, it's nigh impossible for someone to recognize you here."

Then, in a quieter voice, she added, "I would have loved taking you into the square or something."

Vivian's eyes flitted around, taking stock of everything that hung over their heads or crumpled below their feet. "It doesn't cost me to be careful," she replied, waving her hands in the air. "Someone could see me and talk, spread word around like a forest fire. Words have wings, you know. They're bound to reach Maldegrad sooner or later."

"Then why are you bringing us back to Stonedenn?" Paris knitted her eyebrows. Now that she had squirmed her way out of the colony's fences by presenting to help Vivian out with what assignment she was given, she hadn't counted on being strewn across the Woods just to be shoved back to where it started. "I thought the goal was Maldegrad? We're three or four days away by carriage. We're bound to be seen here. Besides, unlike you being from an unknown town, I actually lived here all my life."

A sigh tore off Vivian. Her fingers rubbed circles against her temple. The ruins got closer now, the low-hanging vines and protruding branches clearing up on their own. "We don't have a choice," she said. "This is the only place I found to be free of surveillance when it comes to the Woods' borders. That much information I gathered since I got assigned to this mission."

Paris licked her lips. "How long ago was that?"

"A little over two years ago," Vivian answered. Then, she clicked her tongue and shook her head at the sight of Paris calculating in her head. "Look, I've been living in the colony since I was fourteen. During my first years, I was usually sent in pest removal jobs and other menial tasks. I killed my first demon at seventeen. Since then, I've joined many scouting missions as well as border control."

"Border control?" Paris asked. Why was Vivian dumping all this information on her all of a sudden? Someone's in a good mood, for sure.

Vivian bobbed her head, making her straight locks stretch and retract. "I'm not sure what Joyce told you and what he hasn't, but border control is when we clear out a certain area of demons and we place staves to keep them out."

A picture of the staff whittled out of demonic bones flashed in Paris's mind. "Do you plan on widening the borders too much until the demons have nowhere to go but in the towns?" she asked. She didn't need a real map of the kingdom to see it happening. The colony was expanding from the middle of the Woods. It's only a matter of time when the territory demons could go to would just be a thin strip of forest surrounding the towns. A lot of disturbing images of carnage and mass panic swelled in Paris's thoughts. She shook her head to dispel them.

"I doubt it," Vivian looked around again as if checking whether someone from the colony Elders was secretly tailing them. "Covering that area with as many staves would take a long time. We might not be both alive to see that happen so I suggest not to dwell on that possibility. We live to die, you know?"

Some philosophical part of Paris wanted to argue with that sentiment but the logical side won over. Life wasn't some kind of grand adventure for most of them. Not one was considered the center of the universe. Their lives were just a collection of many others and what each of them could do about it was little.

As it was, the only purpose of being granted life was to eventually reach its end. The only thing that made it exciting was the path taken towards it. Some died of physical ailments, old age, or things they have no control over. Others from accidents. Appeasements, like Paris and Vivian, just happened to take the flashier route which included demons and decapitation.

"How did you react when you found out you're an appeasement?" Paris asked when their conversation had died to a sudden halt. "And which town are you from?"

Vivian stuck her bottom lip out. They stepped into the ruins' threshold. The breeze turned from blissfully cold to scathingly hot as soon as it blew from the town. Paris wrinkled her nose. Damn, if there was one thing she didn't miss in Stonedenn, it was this heat.

"I know for a fact why my family gave me up," Vivian 's steps quickened and Paris had to jog to catch up. She wasn't fond of this topic. "Poverty has a way of altering a parent's mind to focus on survival more than blood and kin. I suppose they needed to make sure the rest of them survived first before thinking about their children's individual needs."

Paris watched Vivian climb back to their usual hang-out place. Looking at it from the forest reminded Paris of a roadside theater she once saw in the town square. The rotting floorboards were laid over a slab of stone raised from the ground. Now that the walls have long caved in, all that was left was a raised dais overlooking the forest and the sweeping valley that was Stonedenn.

Vivian grunted as she plopped into the ground and crossed her legs. Paris joined her not long after. "You and I aren't that much different, you know," Vivian said just as Paris was about to ask something different.

"What do you mean?" Paris said.

"We're both victims of poverty and our parents' choices," Vivian twisted and rummaged around the small bag tied around her belt, opposite of the quiver.

Paris snorted. "What are you talking about?" she said. "My parents gave me out because they are stupid enough to believe in myths and fables. My mother, especially. Dad just follows each and every one of her whim. Diane is, too. That poor girl."

Vivian drew a piece of folded parchment which crinkled against each slap of the scant wind around them. "That also makes them more vulnerable to making erroneous decisions," she said. "Especially around money. Didn't you say you had to start working at a farm just to have enough food through the season?"

A sickened feeling unfurled in Paris's gut. Joyce implied the same thing about her and she had dismissed that as mere speculation. Now that Vivian was pointing these things out...something clicked.

Paris's parents always have problems with money and couldn't seem to make ends meet despite how hard they tried. Then, Paris would hear all sorts of things like how her mother lent a neighbor a hefty sum or how her father purchased a slick sledgehammer on a whim even though he couldn't even lift it.

Over the years, she had gotten good at sniffing her parents' spending ventures and doing her best to minimize them or keep it to their needs. It caused friction and fights broke free among their family but they kept them fed. So...were they getting rid of Paris because they thought she's a blunder to them getting what they wanted? Or was it because they made a mistake yet again and they didn't know how to clean it up even with her help?

Either way, a common thread was that these families chose to give up one of their own to the Council just to survive. The second waning moon thing was just a ruse, a way of mystifying the reason why humans were being sent to their deaths into an unforgiving forest.

Vivian didn't speak further, proceeding to unfold the parchment until she had a decently-sized map in front of her. Then, shuffling to the side to give it space between her and Paris, she laid it on the moldy floor. There, the whole carpet of the Lycranse kingdom spread from Paris.

It was a crude copy, with the lines of ink drawn with either haste or glaring asynchrony. Some parts sported thin, careful lines while others had thick, uneven lines scrawled. Vivian must have sensed Paris's apprehension because she sighed. "It's drawn by people I met during my travels. It's not just any map," she said before tapping a finger on a spot somewhere northeast of the map. "It's information about each town's security, hidden routes, and where the Woods curved and curled around them."

Wonder dug a grave in Paris's gut. "It's a map to Maldegrad," she breathed out.

Vivian nodded with a grin. "Now you're getting it," she turned to the map again and circled a certain point east of the kingdom with a finger. "We are here. Stonedenn. I chose this town to start from the Woods because here," she moved her finger north to what appeared to be a neighboring town. "Inspection of travelers and merchants are not as tight. I sneaked in and out without being held back by random immigration officers."

Paris's eyes roved along as Vivian moved to trace more and more towns, arcing through the northern part of the kingdom. From the looks of it, they're taking the long route just to end up at the heart of Maldegrad. Judging from how detailed Vivian's insights on each town was, she had been through all of them.

"If you knew all of this already," Paris blurted just as Vivian's finger ended at the spot where Maldegrad was supposed to be on the map. "Why haven't you made a move to steal whatever it was you're going to steal from the Council?"

Vivian blew a breath. "I tried. Once," she said, tucking some stray strands of hair behind her ear. "I failed, so the Council is doing their best to figure out which route I took and upgrade its security. I had to start over and figure out another blind spot that they hadn't seen yet."

Exhaustion rolled off Vivian in waves she drew away from the map and rested her back against the remnant of the crumbling wall. "If anything, it seems I'm doing the Council a favor by pointing out the glaring errors in their security system," she blew a breath as she glanced at Paris from the side. "I can't fail this time. I fear that there will be no other chances after this one."

Paris pursed her lips. Once upon a time, they sat in this same place and were already exchanging kisses and touching each other in places only they could know about. Now, with the real situation and the truth to Vivian laid out in the open, Paris didn't feel like doing something naughty or even attempting to start.

"So, what are we stealing?" Paris asked as Vivian was reduced to mutely running her eyes up and down the map in an attempt to memorize the routes. "I assume it's something from the Council's palace? That place is huge. I gotta know what we're looking for beforehand."

Vivian turned around and rummaged through her bag once more. She pulled out a crinkly and yellowing sheet and held it out to Paris. "That," she jerked her chin at the paper, urging Paris to pluck it from her fingers. "Familiar with it?"

Paris turned the paper over to gaze at the intricate pen strokes detailing what looked to be an artifact of some sorts. Her eyes roamed over the swirly text written along with the drawing. From the sketch, it looked like a normal pendant cast in metal. A single slit sliced the middle of the gem-like surface. Inside sat another gem. The pendant was rimmed with carved festoons, terminating to a point where the chain was linked.

Then, she read the description. This item is famed for its previous ownership, which was someone belonging to the Ancient Ones. Upon inspection, it is safe to conclude it contained a sliver of blood drawn from its previous owner. The blood from an Ancient One, according to the myths, contains traces of Ancient magic. It can heal, destroy, and change reality.

"Ancient Ones?" Paris lowered the paper to face Vivian fully. "Joyce told me they're some sort of angels and demons?"

Vivian bobbed her head again. "Those are the two types, yes," she said. "They populated the world long ago, but for some reason, only the demons are left and they're only found in Lycranse. The Elders have their suspicions and I agree with them."

"What suspicions?"

"I did tell you that something was keeping the demons rooted in this world, right?" Vivian said. "Well, the Elders believe it's this item."

Paris rubbed her chin. "So we need to destroy it," she said. "That way, we won't have to deal with demons anymore."

Vivian snatched the paper from Paris's fingers and tucked it back in her bag. "Or, if this item is really what controls demonic activity, we can steal it from Maldegrad and use it to protect the colony from the demons."

Paris frowned. "You're not destroying it?" She tilted her head to one side. "What about the rest of the people in the kingdom?"

Vivian raised an eyebrow, incredulous. A small smile of disbelief played at the edges of her lips. "Really?" she said. "It amazes me how you could still care about the people who betrayed you. These are people who agreed to send you to the Woods to die. They shouldn't be allowed to live."

Doubt swirled in Paris's insides. Something about this seemed so wrong. "What about those who have no direct involvement in this whole madness?" she reasoned.

Vivian sneered, then. Just from the seething expression on her face, Paris was glad she and Vivian shared some degree of closeness. "Everyone is at fault if they choose to not do something," she said. "Just let it go, Paris. We're stealing the pendant and bringing it to the colony. That's the only way we can ensure our survival."

"What about the future appeasements?" Paris asked. "Are you just going to let them die?"

Vivian heaved a breath so heavy even her shoulders slumped. "Look, if you have qualms about it, take it up to the Elders," she said. "I was just following orders. But, I'm glad you're here with me. I honestly don't think I could do this on my own."

Paris smiled at that. "Of course," she thumped a light punch in Vivian's arm. "Up to the end of the world with you, right?"

Vivian flashed her own smile, no doubt remembering the promise they made to each other so long ago. "Yeah," she said. "Up to the end."