''Just a crow''

-Tower-

They had indeed controlled the flow of information.

And so no one here for the feast, no one that didn't already know, was aware why a death bird was seated on the shoulders of the young king.

They all knew of superstition and they all, in their own way, asked on why in the gods' good graces did they keep such omen of death as a pet.

But 'such omen of death' had done more for the royal court then many of these noble people had.

And Hellebore would do much more still.

There was literally not a single chance that one of the pissed off brother's didn't try anything today, she knew, the winds whispered of evil and vile acts in the making.

And the whispers were horrible.

"What is it Hellebore?" He asked the crow who had accepted to wear a like bird sized cuff around a foot with a little silver chain on it tied to his cape to show she was indeed there on purpose and not just a bird let in by the castle workers and stuck here.

She seemed restless, head looking around with a slight puff to her feathers, he ran a hand through them but it didn't seem to stop her.

With a look at those expressive eyes...

He reached up and undid the little cuff.

"Go." She didn't need to be asked twice, following the anger of the winds as outside clouds started to gather.

He decided to trust her, an animal sees more then a human ever could, much more if it is one given thoughts, she'd trust her that it was worth it enough to be set free.

And gods did Hellebore fly.

Up and up, climbing the floors through the twisting and winding staircases and halls, flying as she could as the winds yelled about the plight of a child in the care of her king and queen.

At the top of the stairs, it was human legs that landed and sprinted along, needing human hands to throw the doors open.

And throwing one of them open she did.

The window broken in, wind whipping into the room, sending her hair up in a whipped mess.

They could not hurt the king, surrounded by so many, they couldn't hurt the queen, conversing with the ladies but there was one person they could, hurting the king so badly that he'd give up the fight.

And the princess didn't knew who this pretty woman was, but through tears, through terror, she reached for her.

Nothing more was to be asked, in a flurry of feathers, passing through the gap and grabbing the young child up in her arms from the middle in a slide across the room.

"You'll be safe princess, your brother sent me." She said, this child must have affinity to the magic in the wind for it to have called for her help.

The child finally let her tears free, having been too scared to even do that before knowing that she'd be safe.

Hellebore stood, making the princess stay behind her, winds shrieking outside the tower she was hidden in for her safety. A gentle hand on her head.

And a gentle smile that held anger in it.

"Now, why are three masked men in the room of the princess?" She calmly asked, the wind drying the princess' tears, whipping up a blanket and wrapping her up, yeah, affinity to the powers of wind that's for sure.

Getting no response was answer enough for her, in a slash of her hand in the air and a burst of feather, she held the dark blade in her hands.

"The winds talk of evil." She declared. "Evil to not be forgiven and I agree, such vile whispers reached the ears of the princess that today you are sentenced to death."

With a twirl of her blade and a lunge forward, she pierced her blade through one of their torsos'.

"You have been tasked with taking the princess." Twisting the blade and hearing ribs break, winds whipping papers in the air to cover the noise of it. "Not think and talking of defiling her body beforehand."

The two other men looked in shock at the quickness of the death.

"Pray that the gods are as merciful to your souls as I am to you."

With another swing of a sword, a head rolled.

The last man running down the short hall she came through but a blade thrown like a javelin pierced him, none of the three having expected any resistance, there was never supposed to be any.

Falling over, gasping as he reached towards the spiraling staircase, wanting to pull himself down it but he couldn't move.

A gentle hand rested on his back and grabbed his reaching hand.

"You were moved by evil thoughts." She kissed his knuckles as he looked up with mouth agape. "Rest and wash yourself of them so that you can soar with no weight on your wings." She said as the body went limb.

She was ever gentle, she was ever calm, everyone deserved rest, despite it all, death was not to be punishment but what came after it. Hellebore would be a gentle guide to all, deserving or not, hoping one day they'll get to fly, washed of their sins while stuck on the ground.

She stood, gently putting the hand down, walking back to the princess.

She kneeled down at the little bundle hiding in blankets.

"They are all gone princess, they will not bother you."

The blankets burst open, a previously quietly sobbing child threw her hands around her neck, gripping tighter then anything they had previously. Hellebore just wrapped her in her arms in the gentle caress of the winds.

"You are now safe princess." She said to her. The wind will not abandon her.

-----------------------------------------

He was a bit worried.

Mar had set Hellebore free a good few slices of sun ago, the nobles were heading home to prepare for tomorrows continuation of the festivities and the staff had cleaned up, she was still not back.

But he chose to trust her.

But this trust turned to terror as he headed up to get his sister hiding place.

He thought, he thought so hard, that this would be the safest place but as the sounds of wind and sniffling came he hurried up.

The terror truly gripped when the body of a man was seen.

But it soon took an end, humming of a gentle voice calming to all and not only him.

From the top of the stairs he could see Hellebore, her voice filling the room over the wind, walking in circles while holding the youngest of siblings in her arms, leaving bloody footprints around as she carelessly walked through blood puddles of two other men, the princess seeing none of this, sniffling while looking mostly asleep, exhausted by fear.

Mar did good to trust her and he knew.