It was only after the campfire was a speck in the distance Jillian began to absorb what had just taken place. They kicked her out! Was she a fool to think she had any real friends? Jillian blinked away angry tears as their betrayal replayed in her mind.

She hovered there, wringing her hands. What was she going to do now? They certainly weren't going to forgive her overnight and let her come back. Robinson wanted her gone and the others were going to follow suit. Jillian was on her own again.

Jillian looked around anxiously. She didn't know where to go or what to do. Her brother was wherever that piper took them, the giants were literally out of reach, and the Snow Queen's kingdom was so far away it was laughable. A small idea formed in her mind as she looked at the path that snaked back into the woods they had come from.

The pirates had visited a tavern back there. She could go back there and-and...Jillian let out a fustrated sigh. "I could be a barmaid," she grumbled. It was an option, a humiliating one. But one that provided food and shelter. After reassuring herself it would only be temporary, Jillian quickly started down the path to find the tavern.

She soon realized that traveling alone, in the dark, was terrifying. The trees were dark shadows that stretched out to grab at her clothes and hair. The wind was a ghost, rattling the branches and rustling the leaves. Jillian moved at a rapid pace, afraid to look behind her for fear she would see something chasing her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the rosy glow from the tavern windows.

Hurrying up the steps, she glanced at the sign above the door, reading The Dusty Panpipe. The place was hopping. Jillian caught sight of a large, sultry woman cleaning the counter with a rag. Her short, frizzy red hair was tied back and she was dripping with sweat. Jillian noted she was to only barmaid in the room. Jillian squeezed around drunk men, cloaked merchants, and one who suspiciously looked like a troll to reach her.

"Hello," Jillian said cautiously.

The barmaid squinted at her with watery blue eyes. "What will it be?"

At first, Jillian had no idea what she was talking about. "Excuse me?"

"What is your order?" the woman repeated, stuffing her rag in her pocket.

"Oh," Jillian tried to make her voice heard over the din. "I'm looking for a job." Her heart thumped in her chest as the woman glared at her.

"No. Now get lost."

She gaped at her. "Why not?"

"Because I said so! I don't want to have to keep an eye on a runty dollface like you." The woman leaned over the counter as if threatening her. "Beat it."

The woman then walked off to wait on some customers. Jillian stood there for a moment, waiting for her to return. She was desperate for somewhere to stay and refused to give up that quickly. After a while, Jillian edged around the counter and sat on a little stool to rest.

Almost immediately, a bearded man stumbled up to the counter. "Two shots of peacock," he mumbled.

Jillian leaned back, slightly repulsed. "Excuse me?"

The man pointed a dirty finger at the bottle he was refering to. "Peacock, and make it snappy, wench."

Jillian slipped off the stool and quickly filled to two shot glasses with the purpulish liquid. "Here," she said, placing them on the counter. The man tossed her two coins and left. As she scrambled to pick them up, a shadow loomed over her. Her breath caught and she looked up to the furious face of the large barmaid.

Swallowing hard, Jillian shakingly got to her feet. Would she be thrown out? "Give them to me," the woman snapped, holding out her hand.

She stepped away. "What? The coins? I earned them!"

If possible, the barmaid would have breathed fire. "You weren't hired so they're mine!" Jillian held out her hand and the woman snatched them up. She studied them, muttering, "I don't usually see these." She stared at Jillian for a long time.

Jillian had no idea what was going on. Should she just leave?

The barmaid dropped the coins into a jar and grabbed Jillian's arm. "Come on," she said, pulling her through a door and up a flight of stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"We are getting you something decent to wear," the woman said, eyeing her ragged dress with disdain. "We can't have you serving my custometrs looking like a street urchin, dollface."

Jillian didn't like being called a street urchin. Or a dollface for that matter, but she smiled. She had a job.

It was a busy, loud, and rather sweaty job. Jillian was right in thinking there wasn't another tavern for miles. The Dusty Panpipe was always packed. Unlike taverns by the sea, the customers were typically dusty farmers and loggermen instead of fishermen and pirates.

Pirates. Jillian often wondered if the crew of the Jolly Roger would show up. The idea made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't bear to face them. Whenever a large group walked through the door, Jillian would duck behind the counter or run off to the side door. It never went unnocited by Bertha, the grumpy barmaid, who called her a yellow-bellied mouse of a girl for hiding.

Bertha ran her tavern with an iron fist and a stronger iron frying pan. If anyone got too rowdy, they had two choices. Settle down or eat metal. She didn't treat Jillian any softer. Dollface was the nicest thing she called her. But Jillian knew the woman still cared for her in other ways. Letting her sleep in the back room and giving her a new dress. Green with simple half sleeves and a smooth hem, it was the nicest thing Jillian had ever worn, though it was faded and had a couple of holes.

But the dress was the same color of Robinson's eyes and that made her furious. She didn't want to think about him but everytime she thought of something, it led back to that blasted pirate. More than once, Jillian felt that perhaps maybe, just maybe, this new life could be long-term or even permanent. She could forget about everything else and move on. Easy, right?

She wiped down the counter. Who cared about the Snow Queen's battle? Who cared about her brother? She scrubbed harder than she needed to. Who cared about her promise to Kit?

Jillian sniffed as tears began to flow down her cheeks and despair washed over her like a wave.

Who cared about her?

The bell tinkled as new customers arrived. Jillian glanced up, ready to serve them, and had a heart attack.

Eye-Eye, Sparky, and Robinson just walked into the Panpipe.