It was a strange time to ride, but the last light in the village had dimmed a few hours ago, and all the curtains had been drawn. Now he was sure that he wouldn’t be seen and had chosen to disappear under the inky night sky. The figure was wearing a billowing black cloak, and a silver dagger was just visible tucked into his belt. His hands were covered by thick leather gloves.

The disgruntled neighing of a jet-black stallion trailed behind him. The horse didn't belong to him, and from its sheer size he could only guess that it belonged to one of the nobles. He didn't mind stealing from them. It was hardly like they needed the dozen horses in their stables. The man straddled onto the horse’s back. He didn't have enough time to gear up, so he was riding bareback.

He forced the horse into a slow trot, until he approached the point where the path narrowed and was covered with trees. He grasped some strands of the horse’s mane as he prepared to speed up.

Suddenly, a large raven swooped down to greet him, cawing loudly as it recognised him and settled on his shoulder. He kicked the horse into a gallop, and the deafening crunch of its horseshoes on the gravel broke the silence as he sped out of the town, invisible in the eerie darkness whilst everyone slept.

_ The next morning _

Lea woke to the sound of clamoring horns and hoofbeats. She ran to the front porch, not even bothering to put on shoes, to see what all the commotion was for. The sun was not yet up, but its earliest rays cast shadows on the village square.

A troop of mounted riders stood in the center of the square, knights with green and gold heraldry she had never seen before. Their horses were broader than the ones in town, and steel swords flashed at their belts. Traveling soldiers came through Stillsbury on occasion, but never like these ones. These men were clearly on a mission.

Young enough to be curious, but not young enough to be afraid, Lea walked right up to one of the knights. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

He flipped up his visor to look down at her, revealing the reddish beard and light blue eyes of an easterner. Once he saw her face, he laughed. "You're just a girl."

"My ma says I'm a fighter," Lea protested. "You're on a mission, aren't you? What is it? Did somebody kidnap a princess?"

Another knight, mounted on a golden stallion with hawk's wings worked into his armor, trotted up next to the easterner. This was clearly the man in charge. He looked down at Lea with a mixture of impress and amusement. "We're chasing after someone," he told her, voice deep like a bear's growl.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Bandits? Outlaws?"

"A man known as Blackbird," said the head knight. "A thief who works by night, kin to the creatures of darkness. He passed through here last night around midnight, riding on a black horse. Have you seen any sign of him?"

Lea thought about it. "No, I was sound sleeping. But there's a farmer up the hill who's awake at all hours. Maybe he's seen 'im." She pointed toward a small path, where the bleats and squeals of animals were audible even at this early hour.

"Excellent." The head knight nodded his head, and without a word, the others surrounded him and prepared to head toward Farmer Cass's house.

"Wait!" Lea said. "Take me with you! I wanna go on an adventure!"

The head knight turned around just long enough to look her in the eye. "Not this one," he said, a dire sound to his voice.

She watched them disappear in a cloud of dust, then sighed, kicked a rock, and went back inside. There had been something strange in that glimpse she got of the knight's eyes. They weren't brown, like a normal man's, but the cold yellow of a predator who hunted and killed for sport.