Swan Song

Chapter Five

The first thing anyone would notice when setting eyes on Biana Vacker was her face. More specifically, the scars that covered it. 

Her exact memories of the accident were a little hazy, though she could clearly remember the sound of her mother sobbing as she threw her arms around her. It had only been, what, one? Two years ago? 

The rules were simple: She kept quiet, didn't tell anyone she was alive, and she was provided with her property in return. People too scared to face the wrath of the Vacker family stayed far away out of fear. Criminals who deemed that sixteen acres of trees were too much of a hassle to bother stepping foot in left her alone. And so, the princess of Everglen, the once-praised beauty of the nation, spent her days traipsing through thorny brambles and over muddy ground. 

It wasn't all useless. In her short time living here, she had been able to focus on archery, a skill she hadn't had time or reason to practice at the palace. She was no longer reliant on the workers who served her parents. She was able to practice vanishing as she wished, free of her idiot father's useless ability ban. 

Biana had not seen a single person so far into the woods since the day her father had banished her. She stared at the girl in front of her, with hair a fiery copper and eyes that were ever-so-slightly too blue. This woman couldn't be more than a year older than her. What was she doing? 

She didn't know what drove her to remove her hood and reveal herself to the intruder. In hindsight, that was an incredibly stupid thing to do. But the combination of the hood blocking her view and the thought that this girl had looked so easy to finish off and maybe, just maybe, the fact that Biana was sick of being cut off from the world, sick of her only friends being the squirrels outside her house, compelled her to give away her biggest secret to a person who could have very well been trying to kill her. 

It would have all been fine if the girl hadn't been extremely good at dodging. Despite the pure shock etched onto her face, her talent and heavy training was very apparent. Had she simply slowed once, she would be on the ground with an arrow spearing her skull and Biana's secret would be safe. But the way this woman was able to dart around the arrows flying at her should have been impossible for any mere elf. When Biana reached her arm to her quiver and realized she was out of arrows, she put her hands up, signaling peace. 

"Alright. No more arrows," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. Judging from the girl's stunned expression, she wouldn't be posing much of a threat to Biana. "I'm open to discussion."

"You're really the princess?" the girl managed to say at last. 

"Yes, I'm really the princess." Biana plastered her royal smile to her face, a curve of the lips that never met the eyes. 

"You're not dead?"

"Do I look dead?" Biana lifted her arm and poked it in demonstration. 

"Y-you're alive."

Biana glanced around her. She couldn't hear anyone else, and though she had no reason to trust this girl, she felt perfectly safe around her. A sense of safety she had never felt in the palace, although she had been surrounded by guards at all times. "Is anyone else with you? Does anyone know you're here?"

"No," the girl shook her head. "I'm alone." She trailed her arm up her opposite sleeve, almost as if to pinch herself. Biana's eyes flew to the jagged cuts covering her palm, which appeared fresh. 

"You're injured," she said. "Here, follow me. I can fix it." She gestured in the direction that her house was, turning and starting to walk. 

"Oh, no, I can't--"

"Trust me," Biana swiveled her head around to face the girl, pointing to the marks covering her arm. "If you don't get them treated, they'll scar." 

The girl nodded once and wordlessly followed. 

_________

"So, nobody can know I'm here, okay? Nobody," Biana said, tying the bandage around the girl's hand. She hadn't felt comfortable enough to reveal everything to this stranger, but she needed to make it clear that she required secrecy. 

"Yeah, got it," the girl muttered, gently touching the white cloth bandage. 

Biana stared at the girl, with her tangled orangey hair and bright blue eyes. Her own long brown hair had been tied in an elaborate fishtail braid that hung over her left shoulder, and she absentmindedly smoothed it over as she examined the girl. 

"Did you..." Biana crouched down, squinting. The girl backed up, her eyes widening in confusion. "...dye your eyes a different color?"

"You can tell?" the girl blurted out, before seeming to realize that she had just given herself away. "Uh, yeah."

Biana wrinkled her nose, reaching out to touch the girl's hair. A pale hand gently slapped her fingers away. "Sorry," Biana said sheepishly. "But did you dye you hair too?"

"How in the world are you seeing this?" the girl stared at her, dumbfounded. 

"It's pretty obvious. Your hair looks rather like a carrot. People from the northwest have slightly brown tinted hair, and freckles."

The girl ran a hand through her hair self-consciously. "I'm not from this area," she said quietly. "I don't want to stand out."

That much Biana could understand. "Look," she sighed. "Whenever I have to go out, I alter my appearance too. I get the elixirs from the best apothecary in the nation. I can help you." She had no idea why she was helping this total stranger, but it felt nice. Almost like the fun she had doing experimental makeovers back at the palace. Nowadays the only people she had to experiment on were the animals. 

"I don't know what to say." The girl looked shocked at her generosity. Biana tried not to feel offended. It wasn't like her family members were known for being the kindest people around. "I couldn't repay you."

"Just one thing," Biana said. "What's your name?"

 "Sophie," the girl replied, looking at her confusedly. 

"Sophie," Biana repeated once. Then she stuck her hand out and smiled, a true beam that spread across her whole face. It was quite possibly the first real smile she had felt since the accident, maybe even the first in her life. "It's nice to meet you, Sophie. I'm Biana."