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tell. You have my word!” Annatrice blurted out in an attempt to appease him. It was a gesture not lost on the giant.
    “Aye and I believe your word. You have the heart of a lion and the vision of a seer but I have set myself on a path of exile from this place.”
    “And what of me? What path will I follow?” Annatrice asked understanding the feeling of emptiness.
    “You'll return to the castle. I cannot offer you the life of which you're are destined. There you will live in comfort, you will see an education. I believe there you will also have your time to seek the vengeance your father's end deserves.”
    Annatrice was certainly confused and emotional. She had mixed feelings about returning to the castle as some kind of prisoner, yet the alternative was more unedifying. To wander around the land without a protector was idiocy; even at her tender age she knew this not to be a sensible option.
    “Annatrice, you have an extraordinary power. Use it wisely and you will have all you could desire, use it unwisely and you'll see the axe at dawn. Mark me; take this advice from an old man who has learned from his many mistakes.”
    Annatrice did not need to be told Heynagan's opinion; she could look into his eyes and take it right from his mind itself. When she looked into his heart, she knew he was contrite and a soul who had been lost and perhaps reborn.
    “You've given me a second chance, girl.” He added as he walked back to his cousin and paid his last respects. Heynagan knelt and held his palm to Jeaynus' chest. Noticing the girl had disappeared from his peripheral vision, he looked around only to see Annatrice walking off in the distance, back in the direction of the castle. Heynagan smiled and shook his head in frustration. Annatrice knew that Heynagan's return to the castle would complicate things and even though the soldier was not the brightest candle in the dark, he was all too aware that she had once again shown compassion when none was deserved.
    The warrior slung his fallen comrade over his precious horse, mounted his own steed and pushed on towards the dark horizon. Maybe he would one day again cross paths with the extraordinary girl, or maybe hear of her deeds from afar. One thing was for sure, he knew that the name Annatrice of Cayborne was one that would resonate across the lands in the fullness of time.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    The morning sun greeted Araman as the storm which had blown hard across the landscape finally passed over and on to the more northerly territories of Eastern Corustyn. Annatrice stood once again in the warm chamber awaiting Marianne as a burly but curiously friendly guard watched over her. Marianne was barely aware that her charge had even left the castle when she was presented to her that morning. Sopping wet, filthy and exhausted, Annatrice did not know what to expect from her seemingly benevolent nanny as Marianne stood open mouthed with shock as she listened to the guard's tale.
    “So then I saw the poor lovely waiting at the gates all wet through.” The guard said feeling a sense of responsibility for the safe return of the child.
    “And how did you come to be wandering the county in the middle of a stormy night, child?” Marianne's question was valid. She could not understand how she could have escaped the castle walls without escort. Annatrice looked dog tired and was silent. It was clear that her secret would remain so for the time being and Marianne in her wisdom did not press the matter any further.
    “Thank you for returning her safely to me, I will see to it that you receive some reward for your trouble.” Marianne said as the guard straightened his back and lifted his weight to the balls of his feet in kind regard.
    “No trouble at all Madam. In fact it was she who demanded to be brought back here, I merely followed her instructions.” The guard replied looking down upon Annatrice and smiling, clearly demonstrating a soft spot for the unusual girl.
    Marianne ushered