Waking up after a blackout, Corvus saw only darkness in front of him.

  Am I still asleep... or did that girl actually kill me? Maybe this is the end I deserve. But why am I in so much pain? Do the dead even feel pain?

  His thoughts were interrupted by an even, feminine voice: "Don't move, even if you can. Any sudden motion, and I'll stab your wounds with poison."

  "It's you, girl. Color me surprised—you didn't kill me in my sleep. What's this blindfold for? Don't tell me I make you shy," Corvus replied.

  A small feminine voice came: "Oi mister! Sis is, like, real mad—don't taunt her."

  The feminine voice followed after: "I'm giving you one last chance, man—answer my questions truthfully, and I might set you free. Binding you gives me no thrill."

  "Alright, ask away."

  "Why are you here?"

  "Can't you tell, why a man stranded in a snowstorm would come seeking shelter and warmth?"

  "Why couldn't I pierce your skin? What are you?"

  "I just recently awakened, like spiritually. It's called Unity or the state of Unity, those who attain it enter the ranks of Novitiate Mundukar. How does it work? How is it achieved? And who named it? I don't know."

  "That's alright. Next, who are you?"

  "Corvus Ashford."

  "Don't test me, man."

  "Vice-Captain Corvus Ashford of the Reavers from the Shardmarch Sovereignty. Happy?"

  "The Reavers?"

  "It's an elite unit of Shardmarch; we undertake unconventional, sensitive missions across the continent, and sometimes carry out raids for personal gains."

  The small voice chimed in: "Whoa! Mister Ashford—you are like a knight."

  "Way cooler than those glorified bodyguards, little girl."

  The small voice mumbled: "Yeah, right... I don't believe you."

  "The final question: where are you going? Think well before answering."

  Corvus remembered Ewan Fraser's warning: you cannot mention the Covenant of Eldara. But a lot had happened since then, he was no longer certain whether Ewan's warning had been sincere. So he staked his chances on truth, mostly because he knew of no other place in Glaswold apart from it.

  "The Covenant of Eldara."

  The words hung in the air like a curse. Corvus waited for a few seconds but no voice replied.

  Did those words dispel that fiend? Corvus thought.

  Suddenly, the darkness masking his eyes came undone, revealing the small cave, like he remembered it—compact, warm and inhabited by the siblings.

  The younger sibling was unfastening the strings of his hand, while the older sibling unfastened his legs.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Seeing the younger sibling struggle with the knots, Corvus offered: "Hey, little girl, I think I can move my hands now, so if you want I can snap the strings; you need not bother."

  The younger sibling, not focusing on him, stared intensely at the knots and said, "No, Mister Ashford. I can hear these little knots mocking me, let me do it—you just don't move, okay."

  "Yeah sure," he looked at the older sibling, who was done opening the binds, and asked, "Girl, aren't you being too lenient in trusting me?"

  The older sat in front of him and replied, "A friend of mine had once warned me, never to take the Covenant's name openly in Glaswold. So, I don't think anybody in their right mind would speak its name in your position."

  Corvus quietly added, "Yes, someone had also told me something like that."

  "A friend?" The older sibling inquired.

  "No—anything but a friend."

  The older sibling stared at him, then said, "In any case, I don't know why that is—I mean what's the fuss about? Isn't the Covenant the strongest empire in Glaswold? But you must know why, right Mr. Vice-Captain?"

  Slightly squinting his eyes, Corvus replied after an unusual pause, "... Of course, I know."

  The older sibling, turning back, had almost gone back to bed when she sat back up and nonchalantly added, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I had to burn the wound on your stomach—it was bleeding too much. I hope you don't have any lady waiting back at home; it's not pretty."

  "That's why I got up so soon—from the pain," Corvus quickly moved to check his wounds, though in doing so he had inadvertently snapped the bindings.

  "Don't blame me, I'm not the one responsible for your state... entirely," the older sibling retorted and tucked herself in bed.

  "Corvus why'd you move..." the younger sibling complained, holding pieces of strings in her hand.

  "Sorry. I'm sure you would've unlocked them..." Corvus replied, then added in a low voice, "... eventually"

  "'Squeak, come to bed—you'll catch cold out there," the older sibling said.

  "Yes, sis," the younger sibling replied, then looked at Corvus and spoke, "Corvus why don't you sleep as well."

  Corvus stared at her for a moment, She went from Mister Ashford to Corvus too quickly. Did I anger her that much by breaking the strings?

  Then answered, "No, you guys rest first, I'll take the first watch. If I sleep this time, I don't think I'm waking up for quite some time."

  Both siblings tucked themselves inside the blanket. Corvus spared them a glance and asked in passing, "Girl, I never got your name. What should I call you?"

  The older sibling courtly replied, "It's none of your concern."

  Suit yourself. Corvus shifted his gaze outside, focusing on the roaring blizzard that rolled across the mountain expanse.

  Today was a novel experience for Corvus, one he never thought would come to pass—him sparing someone who attempted to murder him.

  The older him would have dispatched anyone who threatened his life—for whatever reason—for in his eyes they had already staked their lives on the line the moment they tried to claim his. This was his Death Trade. It followed the principle of lex talionis—an eye for an eye.

  The older sibling was one such individual. Even if he wouldn’t have killed her—on account of the misunderstanding—leaving her free, unbound by ropes, would have been unthinkable. Yet she now lay comfortably tucked beneath a blanket, mere meters from him, leaving his Death Trade uneven and wanting.

  Today was the first time Corvus saw things from others' perspective. He saw the desperate state of the older sibling, the logic behind her actions, and the lack of malice toward him as a person. As such he decided to try something new.

  For where had his old ways left him?

  Bitter and resentful.

  Corvus solemnly kept gazing outside. Like the cold tempest of the blizzard—soon to be replaced by a calm breeze—he let his vicious credos drift away, in hopes of finding a path more flexible, more serene.

  While Corvus underwent a silent but profound transformation, the older sibling could not get a moment of sleep—her mind muddled by questions to which she had no answer. Her sister lay awake beside her, holding her lovingly, yet peace eluded the older sibling.

  Shifting her body, the older sibling tried to find some comfort but to no avail. Something pressed beneath her clothes, so she removed it; it was the pouches that her Manager-uncle had given them.

  Something to pass time; good, she thought.

  They had been horribly crumpled during her journey, so she carefully removed them one by one from inside each other, and began arranging them neatly.

  Before long she reached the last pouch, it was less mangled than the rest. Strangely, though it did not seem empty like the rest. The older sibling opened it and noticed a folded piece of paper inside it.

  What's this?

  Slowly unfolding it, she saw water-blurred, barely legible writing etched across the paper.

  A letter!

  She peered carefully at the letter, struggling to read the faded words. With some effort, she began reading it in her thoughts:

  Love, this is your mother...