Atenica had been split up into Four Tribes. Everyone thinks there is no hope of uniting them, until four teenagers from each tribe find themselves locked in the same room "by coincidence."
Finally, we were off. We weren't technically on top of the mountains, but we were in a high valley. Which meant we would have to climb up before going down again. Trudging up the mountains of Atenica, we wrapped ourselves in fur coats to keep warm. Everyone was silent. The snow fell slowly and silently. We climbed all day. We only took five-minute breaks. My legs ached, but I said nothing. Nobody wanted to disturb the silence.
Nothing was happening. Hours passed extremely slowly. My whole body hurt, especially my brain. Would this hike ever come to an end or would I never be free? Where were the woods? Where was the top of the mountain, let alone the other side of it? I wanted to talk. I wanted to start some sort of conversation, but Damien made me uncomfortable and none of the soldiers were sociable. This didn't make me regret leaving Dolores behind, because talking to her would have made me stab myself with my sword.
My sword. It was the most beautiful weapon in Atenica. Its silver handle was uniquely-shaped and studded with diamonds. We weren't called the Diamond Tribe for no reason. Our food was scarce, but the mines in the mountains burst with resourceful metals, especially diamond and silver. Damien's brother worked in the mines, and Damien was the blacksmith. He had made this sword especially for me, and gave it to me as a gift saying, "Starling Swan, I present to you the Sword of Temperance. This cardinal virtue is a gift you must learn to use wisely. And then you will truly deserve this sword."
To be perfectly blunt, I had no clue what he was talking about. Cardinal? Temperance? He wasn't joking. Damien never joked around. He was always serious. I thanked him, smiling, and never spoke to him about the sword again. His words had almost scared me. Who spoke the way he did anyway?
Suddenly, after hours of trudging, I noticed Damien was glancing at me. Everyone was looking down at the ground, but Damien's eyes were raised, staring at me. Annoyed, I caught up with the soldier at the head of the line, and started talking to him. I had never talked to a soldier before.
"What is your name?" I asked him, looking at him in the eye.
"Why do you want to know my name, Mistress?" he asked, looking away awkwardly.
"I'm just trying to make friendly conversation!" I said, trying to laugh. "What is it?"
Confused the soldier replied, "George."
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Realizing I had nothing else to say, I nodded and looked down. The silence started again. Sighing, I looked up to see how far up the mountain we were. The peak was a few dozen yards in front of us. I sprinted to the very top, the soldiers scrambling to catch up. Gazing around, I saw a little path, winding down the mountain towards the forest. The green, lively forest. With no snow. We surely had made it! The path was quite a few miles long, but no matter. We'd be there...by night. It was getting dark. I mean I never saw the sun, because of the clouds in the mountains, but it was somewhat lighter in the day than the night. The soldiers commanded to stop and camp here for the night.
