It has been a month since Larene arrived in Bredost with her family, yet despite that much time she still could not get used to how cold it is. Every step that she took outside echoed with the slush of snow and it is starting to annoy her now. She does not understand why her father tends to the realm's affairs in one end of Divios instead of their home in Solsari, but she did not think much of it any further as she was snapped out of her thoughts with the voice of soldiers dragging a group of armed men that bore a black banner. If she remembers well, this is the second group that was arrested this week. Another defining feature of the captured men are the black scarves on their heads. The Black Scarves, they call themselves. They claim to be fighters for justice but all they did was spread chaos.

  "Bloodshed...", she muttered to herself. "Why must they rebel? They live peaceful lives, they are not taxed more than they make and they are well protected..."

  More and more men, about fifty as she continued counting, were taken captive. Their hands and waists bound together by ropes as they are led by a soldier to where she could only assume is to Lord Felkin's halls.

  "Why are you out here on your own, Your Highness?", a young man's voice asked.

  She turned around. It was Glen. His figure always struck her as creepy because he looked like a younger version of her uncle Felkin in every sense. His only resemblance of Lady Catherine is his green eyes that seemed to shine brighter than hers.

  "Ah. Just clearing my mind, don't mind me, My Lord.", she answered with a polite smile.

  She doesn't really know how her family is related to the Ays' but she can remember her teacher saying once when she was a child that her father grew to deeply respect Lord Felkin and they have sworn an oath of brotherhood with another man that she forgot the name of but remembers enough that he was one of the three men that rose up against the tyranny of House Angr and died in the campaigns by the end of the war.

  "Is something worrying you?", he asks again. "The Black Scarves, perhaps?"

  She nodded. "Maybe so. But...I'm worried about someone more than something", she paused. "I'm thinking about how Orewell is faring right now. If the Black Scarves are really as widespread as the agents say, then it won't be long until he encountered one and--"

  "Let me stop you there, Your Highness", Glen interrupted her. "I don't believe this mob of peasants will be the one to kill my little brother", he paused, shaking his head. "He's not a great fighter but he's tough as an anvil. Ever since he was a child, he attracted one misfortune after the other. And those misfortunes made him grow stronger. He already survived multiple near-death experiences, I don't believe this one would be the one to do him in."

  She smiled. "I hope you're right."

  "Trust me on this one, Your Highness", he smiled back. "As he put it, he wants to spite my mother by being alive and he'll do it for as long as it takes. He swore that to me. And he never breaks promises."

  "Still. I'm confused about these Black Scarves", she says, her eyes following the line of men that eventually left her view as they were taken away. "They already have peaceful lands, fair taxes and protection from bandits. Why would they trade it away to be brigands?"

  "Who knows?", he replies. "The most prominent theory according to the council meetings is there is or are lord or lords assisting these rebels, be it funding, training, supplying or all of the above. But so far, no lords have been proven to be disloyal yet so they can't say for sure. That or those lords are really good at hiding."

  "But why would they?", she asks. "It doesn't make sense. We just achieved a decade and a half of peace because of my father's rule. Why would they want to undermine that?"

  "Personally, I think there are just sick bastards who enjoy seeing blood. Or maybe they're trying to say something that we just could not understand yet", Glen sighs. "Whichever it is, it is still our duty to uphold the king's peace and justice."

  Larene nodded in agreement. "Yes. Though I hope this conflict comes to a peaceful resolution..."

  "That depends on them.", he simply replied. "I'll be taking my leave now, Your Highness. I'll go check on our...foreign friend." He said before he stepped away from Larene and left, leaving Larene to her own thoughts, her eyes wandering down to the townsfolk of Bredost who carried on with their affairs. Children played, men worked labor and women tended to harvested crops. It made her smile and wish to herself that this peace continues. But she knows she can't be naive. She is the princess of Bredost, heir to her father. Soon, all these people will be hers to rule and she cannot let naivete cloud her. She was taught that there are times for kindness and times for firmness...and this Black Scarf rebels are the example of the firmness needed from her.

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  Before she could get deeper into her thoughts, she shook her head and decided to have a walk.

  "It's not just the Black Scarf rebels...", she muttered to herself, her head cast down as her feet dug through the quarter foot of snow. "The Angr woman is also a cause of concern...", she sighed, her mind wandering back weeks before, all that happened. And the trial by combat...Ser Dert's body that quivered and struggled when Orewell dug his hands into his head and crushed it...no blood spilled on her but it felt real all the same. That woman is back...and her father feared that she is out there raising an army and forging alliances to retake the throne that he usurped from her tyrant father. "Would she?", she asked herself.

  Understanding that she won't get anywhere, she decided to just go back to the castle and listen in on the council meeting. If her memory serves her correct, the council meeting is about the Black Scarf rebels. She figured she might learn something new.

  In the halls of the castle that she was all too familiar with at this point, two soldiers held a man down who's clad in leather armor and a black scarf wrapped around his head. Her father sat on a throne as he looked down at the captive while Lord Felkin sat beside him, looking at the man with a stoic gaze. The man spoke a litany of curses, to the king and to Divios as a whole. She guessed that her father wanted to talk to the man but seeing him this uncooperative just made him sigh and he gestured for the guards to send the man away. As he was being dragged back to the cells below the castle, the man yelled, "The age of the yellow sky is over! It is now time for the black sky to rise!", and he broke into maniacal laughter as his voice became smaller with each passing moment.

  "Father.", she called out, catching both her father and Lord Felkin's attention. Despite her calm face, she can only guess that her father can still sense a tinge of worry in her as he beckoned for her to come closer.

  "Tell me, Larene", her father spoke, gesturing her to stand at his side. "What do you think we should do with that man?"

  As she stood next to him, she caught Lord Felkin's gaze on her, as if he was silently studying and judging her. 'Is this a test of my wisdom?', she thought to herself. 'This seems to be a bad time for such...'

  With every fleeting moment that she spent to mull over what to do, Lord Felkin suddenly spoke. "Your Highness", he called with his stern voice. "I mean not to rush you, but in such time as this, one cannot afford to hesitate. I trust that this can grow into a crisis soon if not acted upon immediately."

  She gulped. She knew he was right. For all she knows, the Black Scarves could be wreaking havoc elsewhere, devastating villages and killing the commonfolk...but thinking on the spot is just too much.

  "My daughter", her father called. "I know this situation is difficult. Believe me, it is. But this is what it means to rule. To make hard decisions when the time calls for it. You don't have the luxury of thinking for a long time and you must think of something before everything gets worse beyond your control."

  Larene gulped again. She knew her father was right. As he said, she many situations may arise where she may not have time if any at all to think for a solution. After thinking for a while, she finally answered. "I think our first course of action is to call for a council meeting, gather information from the spymaster and use said information to inform the master of war in order to get the best course of action. If need be, inform the master of finance and master of statecraft as well. They might provide us less destructive alternatives to this growing crisis", she paused to look up at her father, as if seeking reassurance. "Is that right, father?"

  The king smiled. "Aye. That's wise. Many-a-time, there will be times where you would not know what to do. In which case, that is when you rely on the council to seek advice for action. However, debate might take some time and the urgency of the matter means we could not rely on them right now", he replied, his face grew stern. "A good attempt, my daughter. Right now though, we will have to deal with them now before they to be a bigger problem."

  "Brother", her father called as he looked at Lord Felkin. "I suppose this is goodbye", he said as he stood up. "By the end of this week, we will take our leave and go back to Solsari so I can deal with this better. It seems like even after a month of persuading you to ride south with me, you still seem adamant to stay", he laughed. "Rally your lords and deal with the rebels in the North. I'll send letters to the lords of the other regions to do the same."

  Her father then left and went to his office which left Larene with Lord Felkin. "Is war the only choice, My Lord?", she asks Lord Felkin.

  "I hope not. But as it is, aye. More people will die if we don't uproot these rebel scum.", Lord Felkin answered as he also stood to make his way to his office. "Think long and wise, Your Highness." Those were the final words she heard from him as he left her alone.

  Sighing to herself, she left the castle again. The blanket of white greeted her as it had for the past month, and they will have to leave it soon...and it scares her. Before, everything was just fine and now, their country will be plunged into war once more.

  As her eyes looked up at the dull sky, the man's words echoed in her mind.

  "The age of the yellow sky is over and it is now time for the black sky to rise..."