Saga had the same dream that night. She woke up in the early morning hours, her heart and breath faster than normal, and she was also stiff from the less than ideal sleeping spot. The ache and coldness of it mixed with her fear.

For a few moments, she sat in the carriage, taking slow and deep breaths, calming herself down in a way she was used to. When she felt fine again, when she felt she had suppressed her fears enough, she got out of the carriage.

Nothing else at the camp site stirred as the darkness had begun making way for light. She wasn't surprised for she doubted she had gotten more than a couple of hours of sleep. Certainly the knights would rest for quite a while more.

The fire had turned into embers which were on their way to go out completely. For a moment, Saga wondered if she should make herself useful by starting it again. Then she realised she wasn't sure she should, and even if she should, she did not know how to do it.

She also wondered if she should get some food going for them all. But again, she didn't know if she should, and even if she should, she did not know what food to make or where among their packing food was.

So instead of making herself useful, all she could do was sit at the step to the carriage and wait. And think. Something a part of her knew wasn't a smart thing for her to do. It would risk her thinking in destructive and negative patterns, like how useless she was for not even knowing if there was anything she could do during the early morning hours to lessen the burden for everyone else. She quite literally knew nothing about surviving, but had to depend completely on the knights for every small thing.

"Lady Saga?"

Turning her head to the side, she saw Kai standing up and making his way over to her. He rubbed his eyes a bit as he did and stifled a yawn. Compared to the other times she had seen him, he was without his armour and she could with ease see he had the muscles to fill the armour out.

"Why are you awake this early? Is it too uncomfortable sleeping in the carriage? Should we find more blankets for you?" he asked as he sat down on the ground in front of her.

"No, it's all fine," she answered, though the pain in her back told a different story. "I simply had a dream which woke me up."

Tiredness had still been visible in his eyes, but at her words it disappeared. "Dream? What dream? I've always thought dreams are so interesting."

"I can't really remember," she lied, then looked to the side while her mind grasped at a change of topic. "What are you doing awake already?"

"Oh, I got the early guard shift for today," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "We all take turns."

She hummed in understanding, as yet another weight settled in her. The knights couldn't even get proper rest every night.

"Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? Or cold?" he asked next.

She was on her way to say no when her stomach gave off a treacherous growl.

Kai smiled at her and hopped up to his feet again. "I'll see what I can find you!"

He returned not a minute later and handed over a bit of dried meat and an apple.

"All we really got for the rest of the journey," he said and shot her an apologetic smile. "But soon we'll be home, and you'll get to taste some real delicious food. I know the Duke's cooks are probably great. But I doubt they can compete with Lord Viggo's. The food is absolutely mouthwatering. I've more than once eaten far too much, so I've ended up with a stomach ache. Oh, and there's this mushroom you have to try! I don't know what it's called, but I haven't seen it anywhere other than the forest around Sinkbek. I'll pick some for you some day for you to try."

Saga smiled as she ate the food and continued to listen to Kai's voice. The boy was so unguarded. So enthusiastic and open. She still found it hard to imagine him wielding a sword in battle with how his temperament seemed to be. So sweet and so innocent. And listening to him was very calming and comfortable. It made Saga lean her head against the carriage and feel like maybe she could get a bit more sleep.

"You are not making for much of a good guard if you're preoccupied talking to others," a stern voice cut through Kai's words.

Saga straightened herself and looked at Audun. His face was impassive as he stared down at Kai, who scrambled to stand again.

"I'm sorry, sir Audun," he rambled as he hung his head. "I just wanted to keep the Lady company for a bit. But it won't happen again."

"I would hope not. With how you talked, any danger would have been able to sneak up on you," Audun went on.

Kai opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Instead his head hung even lower as his cheeks reddened.

Audun sighed. "Will you fix with breakfast?"

"Yes!" Kai exclaimed as his head shot up again. He sent Saga a lopsided smile before hurrying to do the task he had been given.

Silence fell thick between Saga and Audun. He gave her a look, and she got the feeling he wanted to say something. But he simply shook his head and then turned his back on her.

Though Viggo had said Audun hadn't been upset with her during the first interaction they had had, Saga had the distinct feeling Audun didn't like her. Not that she blamed him for that at all. She was nothing but deadweight for all of them, only pulling them down, but unable to help with anything. Something which was made clear to her again as they packed up the camp. She asked Viggo if there was anything she could do, but again she was told there wasn't. So all she could do was sit by the carriage as the men worked.

She didn't like it at all, especially not with how the knights threw glances her way.

When it was time for them to leave again, she felt relief over being able to hide from everyone's eyes in the carriage. Relieved enough that she didn't even hold any fear for if her dream would come true that day.

It was after their lunch stop. Saga sat with her eyes on the trees outside the carriage. Viggo was, like before, sitting opposite her. They had exchanged a few words during the day, but mainly they had remained silent.

Viggo moved to look out the other window, making her look away from hers and to him. She could see how he scanned the forest with somewhat narrowed eyes. It looked a bit like how animals scanned for prey.

When he looked back at her, the gentleness she had got used to wasn't there. Instead his eyes had darkened. It made every muscle in her body tense.

"Stay in here no matter what," he told her before exiting the still moving carriage.

A few seconds later, they came to a halt. She heard Viggo shouting orders, shouting positions. Moving closer to the window, she peered out, trying to see what had caused his sudden change.

Then the first wolf leaped from the forest.

Saga gasped and pulled away from the window. Pressed herself against the carriage wall as if it would make her disappear.

The dream was coming true, like she had known it would. It meant she would soon be in danger of being killed by one of those wolves. Or even worse. What happened before could happen again. But it would only happen if she went outside the carriage. As long as she remained inside of it, she was safe, everyone was safe.

A thud sounded against the carriage, and it rattled.

She placed both hands against the seat to keep herself steady.

Her fingertips warmed up, but she ignored the sensation.

Shouts and growls outside mixed together.

Then a growl sounded much closer, and next thing, a wolf pressed its head through the carriage window. Saga screamed as the wolf snapped with its jaws in her direction and clawed at the frame to get further in.

A slash and the wolf yelped, pulling back from the frame, but leaving blood trickling down from it. A moment later something else appeared in the window. By reflex, Saga was about to scream again, but it quickly turned to a shaky breath instead as she saw it was just Kai.

"You alright, milady?" he asked, his blue eyes scanning her.

She could only muster a nod, and earn a quick smile in return before Kai's face disappeared again.

Another wolf hit the carriage, making it shake again. One more thud making the carriage rattle, then yet another wolf stuck its head through the window. This time the opposite one compared to before, the one Saga had retreated closer to.

She felt the animal's breath on her skin. Could smell the scent of blood from it. She stumbled when moving away, falling to the floor of the carriage.

The heat in her fingers increased, and a few sparks, like tiny stars, emitted from them. Saga closed her eyes to breathe, to calm down, to force the growing power away. She could not afford it to flare up. Could not let anyone know about the danger she was.

One more wolf hit the outside of the carriage, making it tilt somewhat, and in her unbalanced position and focus on other things, that was enough to have her tumble to the door which gave way for her weight.

Panic and adrenaline coursed through her, mixing with complete and utter shame. She had been given one task, just one. To stay in the carriage while the others fought to protect themselves and her. It was the easiest task, and yet, she had failed at that as well.

And worst of it all, the heat spread up her arms.

With tears stinging in her eyes, she scrambled to stand and make it back inside. But the dream was playing up in her mind, and her dream had already shown her what would happen next.

The terror she had felt in the dream paled in comparison to the terror she felt as it happened for real.

The wolf was much larger than a normal wolf. It looked to be at least twice her size. Blood left its mouth as it growled at her, and Saga knew she had to move, had to escape this somehow.

But she couldn't. Her body refused to listen to her. It was frozen cold, as well as on high alert. The two different sensations clashed, making both fight and flight impossible. Her mind screamed at her to run. Her legs refused to move.

And the magic grew stronger and stronger in her. Spread and caused more sparks in her hands. The little ability at concentration she had went to pushing it away. It couldn't come out now, not with all the knights around.

She couldn't carry that responsibility and guilt as well.

So all she could do was watch as the wolf ran at her, as it leapt, while pushing her body's defenses away. She closed her eyes waiting for the impact.

The wolf yelped, and she opened her eyes again. It was on the ground with a sword rammed through its body. Kai's whole body trembled as he twisted his sword around to harm the beast further, to ensure it wouldn't live.

Saga's body relaxed. The magic retreated, the heat ebbing away from her body, leaving it cold and shaking with residual fear over the attack and herself in equal measures. What she had thought her dream would lead to hadn't come to be. She was safe. Kai had saved her.

But that relief only lasted for a second.

Kai turned his head to look at her. Their eyes met and the terror in Saga came back, but for a very different reason.

Kai's eyes, those blue eyes which had reminded her of the sky, didn't look like the sky anymore. They were much harder, much colder. Like ice. Like her father's eyes. Like how he had always looked at her before beating her up.

The terror she felt was too strong for even the sparks to again come forth. It always had been. Her fear of her father trumping everything else.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Kai asked, but Saga barely heard him because her mind was elsewhere. She felt the echoes of pain all over her body from the past beatings. The raw and senseless pain.

That had been the worst of it. She had been powerless to stop it because her father had taken all his anger out on her. He could have simply had a bad day and decided to take that frustration out on her. Sometimes he would use his cane. Other times a belt. She knew it would be really bad the times he had ordered her to be bound over a table so she could do nothing to shield herself from it all.

After he was done, he had always asked a mage to come and heal her. As if fixing her skin somehow made it okay, somehow took the pain and horror away.

"Lady Saga?" Kai said and took a step closer to her.

A sob climbed out of her throat and she stepped to get away from him, get away from those eyes, even though the ice was melting to make way for the sky again.

"It's oka..." he started saying when a growl to the side interrupted him. He turned and cut another wolf down. Did it to protect them both, but seeing the animal's body torn by his sword, seeing the blood leak from its body only amplified the fear Saga felt as those blue eyes fell on her again.

"You're safe," Kai said as he turned back to her.

She shook her head in small and rapid movements because she wasn't. Her mind played all the foul things her father had yelled at her over the years as he had beaten her raw. How she was worthless and evil and should have been the one to die.

"Please, Lady Saga," Kai begged and let go of his sword as he tried to move closer to her again. Though tears swam in his eyes now, something which had never happened in her father's, her mind was too far gone in remembering her pain to feel anything other than fear as she looked at them.

She took a couple of more steps back to get away, but made a misstep and began to fall.

Kai moved to catch her, but it was other arms which stopped her fall. Looking up, she saw brown eyes. Gentle brown eyes. It was eyes which were safe, which were the first ones to ever show her kindness. And she moved closer to them. Wrapped her arms around the one they belonged to as it felt like the only safe place she knew. He had saved her from her father once after all. If need be he could do it again.