Shade's POV:

We had walked for hours until we finally found a place that had enough coverage to mask us from any enemies. The sun hung low in the sky, allowing a new cooler air to surround as we approached the long abandoned village.

Where buildings used to stand proudly and sturdily there were now ruins. I looked around at the cobbled stones and thought back to my old childhood village, it was so similar to this one, it even followed its inevitable demise.

"Do you think that it's safe to stay here?" asked Aurora who was weaving in and out of the ruins with her daggers drawn to scan the area for danger.

I looked around again and noticed that there was absolutely no life present here, it held the sort of aura that could have only be created by a tragedy of great malice and bloodshed. I approached a stone wall and closed my eyes, holding my hand out to touch it. As soon as my hand made contact with the brick, countless painfilled screams and imaged of battle filled my mind making me snap my eyes open and quickly remove my hand from its ancient surface.

"Something truly evil happened here" whispered Aurora, voicing my thoughts.

"A great battle, countless were slaughtered" I replied regretfully.

Not bothering to question me on how I knew this, she looked to her left and picked up a piece of cloth from the rubble, it seemed to be some sort of flag and had the image of a phoenix with its wings spread upon it.

"We should find somewhere safe to sleep" I suggested, taking in the flags pattern.

I assumed it was the crest of the village but I had never seen one like it before, proving that this village must have fallen a long time ago. I watched as Aurora hung the flag on one of the walls before she turned and walked further into the town.

"What about the watchtower?" she questioned, pointing up to a big stone tower.

"Perfect" I replied with a smile.

We approached the doorless tower and walked straight inside, these things were built more or less the same in every village, having a spiral staircase as soon as you enter that lead to the bigger open area at the top where various guards would have formerly been positioned.

As we ascended up the stone steps I thought back to the time that I had bumped into Aurora on the way back from the nursery at the Academy. I was such a dick to her back then, and no matter how many times I told myself that it was all for her protection I just couldn't believe myself, after all, the tattoos still appeared, and she was still put into danger regardless of what I had done to try and prevent it.

"I think that its safe" called Aurora, who had gotten quite a bit in front of me.

I jogged to catch up to her to see that she was standing in the middle of the spacious area at the top of the tower.

"Be careful, if it collapses you could get buried" I gasped, looking down at the wooden floor.

"But the stairs are supporting it, the woods just for show" she revealed making me mentally facepalm.

"Right" I sighed before walking into the room.

I approached the large gaps in the wall that were meant to act as windows, to see that it was already dusk and the night's icy air had begun to intensify.

"I'll take first watch" stated Aurora, who had taken a seat near one of the more broken walls.

"Are you sure? you must be tired" I replied, walking across the room to sit next to her.

"I'm fine," she said instantly, averting her attention to the sky that was once again giving off a variety of orange, pink, and purple colours. "besides, the sky is beautiful" she finished, her purple eyes holding the calmness of the stars within them.

"Yes, it is" I replied, taking in every small detail of her face.

It was quite pathetic when you think of it, I can tame dragons and slay demons but I couldn't tell her how I feel. I don't know what made it so hard, maybe it was the fact that she may not feel the same or maybe, it was the fact that I still believed deep down that I didn't deserve her. After all, I had done something truly terrible, something that proved me to be the monster that my family had branded me as.

I laid down onto the cold wooden floor and pulled the hood of my cloak over my face for warmth. But instead of enduring a peaceful sleep, I was taken back to the very day that I first became the monster.