Darin knew that Ridahne was right. She just didn’t like it. She supposed that she should be grateful that the Sols had decided to be done with Ridahne. That meant she got Ridahne. The Sols honestly didn’t know what they were missing. Though it still didn’t mean that Darin liked them. How had Ridahne been the only one to know what Khaltira was doing? Were the other Sols blind by choice or was the traitor just that good at hiding her crimes? Whatever the answer was Darin wasn’t sure she liked what it said about Azurei culture and laws. She wasn’t sure it was something she wanted The Seed to take into Its Planting. She rubbed at the scar on the palm and back of one of her hands. Maybe Ridahne had a point about law breakers having to be punish.

Suddenly she held up a hand to show Ridahne, “See this?” She laughed a little, “Well, it’s kind of dark so probably not now, but I’m sure you’ve seen it before.” She dropped her hand to her lap to study the old injury as best she could in the dark, “There was a man back home named Phillip. He was a lazy incompetent fool. He was also a bully who was always drunk.” She sighed, “He had this dog named Max. When he was a pup Max was as sweet as could be, but years of training and abuse from Phillip turned him mean. So, Thomas, one of the best men I ever did know even if he is my age, got all us kids together to rescue Max. We bribed a trader in Lively to take him. Well, we weren’t as sneaky as we would have liked. Phillip found out and reported us for theft to the elders. We were a crew and we all lost the privilege of going to the next dance in Lively. The crew leader would get a physical reminder of the crime.” She wrinkled her brow, “It was the first time I asked anyone for help since my father left. I asked all the other crew members save one to lie to the elders. When the elders asked who lead the group Thomas stood to tell the truth. George was the first one to provide a conflicting the story. Then Milla. Then Jess. Then Samuel. Samuel was a terrible liar. That’s when the elders knew which of the two stories was truth, but it was easier to believe the lie, especially when I scoffed at the sheer absurdity of Thomas, Thomas of all people, looking to cause trouble. Of course, Thomas was being noble and self-sacrificing, I mean who did the elders think had caused this much trouble. Who was the only one to ever cause this much trouble? They ran my dominant hand thru with a red-hot poker. They treated it to avoid infection; they were looking to punish me, not torture me. And then Thomas didn’t speak to me for two months. That hurt more than the burn.” She finally turned her attention to Ridahne, “So, I get what you mean when you say that the law has to be follower. Criminals must be punished. What I don’t get now, what I didn’t get then, is why is good considered a crime, just because it conflicts with the law. Why is the law automatically higher than doing what’s right? I know that the law is there to keep order, but sometimes chaos is good.” She shook her head, “I don’t expect an explanation that makes sense from you or anyone. It might be something a little more complicated than a farm girl can understand. I think that because I didn’t understand why getting a victim away from their abuser was less important than theft. I think I will never understand it because I don’t understand how saving an innocent is less important than killing a monster.” Her gaze dropped back down to her hand, “An elder. Nicoli, who’ve I mentioned before, came to my farm a few days later. He told me I had done the right thing. I asked him what thing I had done right. He gently took my burnt hand in mine and said, “You took the fall.” Then he left. Why was there a need to take the fall for a good man trying to do the right thing? Why was there a need to let a good woman trying to do the right thing have just one last conversation with her fiancé? Why will right always be less than the law?” She scoffed, “And I know that you will say that there is a difference between stealing a dog and killing a ruler, but boil it down to its essence oh you warrior who has spent time in the highest courts of Azurei. Think of it not as an Eija or an Eija-Alihn, but as a fisherman’s daughter. Is there a difference between a small right and a big right? Can you really say there is a difference in the abuse of power over others? I am Darin, a famer’s daughter.” She laughed, “I was picked because I am a farmer, soil, sun, water, and seeds. There’s a simplicity there that people seem to be forgetting all across Astra. It’s the simple things I think we need to remember.”