Tatiana Koi was finally 21, which meant that she was free. And she knew exactly where she was going. 

    "We will miss you, Tatiana," her best friend, Cheiry, as she helped her pack. "Why are you so excited to leave?"

    Tatiana was silent. "I . . . I am going to find Komi, don't tell my parents please. They haven't cared to hear his name since he left and they would probably be angry at me."

    "But, Tat, I think he's dead. He left at night and was probably eaten by wolves."

    "I don't think so. I heard news a few days ago talking

about a town near ours. The Village of Sun, as they called it, has experienced a strange appearance of so called "sorceresses". It also said something about a Captain Komani Koi."

    "Could it be?"

    "I think so. But I believe that Komi was helping the wrong side and that is why I must find him and take him back home."

    "But your parents-"

    "I know. Maybe he had a good reason for leaving, and once they hear it then they will forgive him. Yes, they will. I just have to find him."

    "I understand. I hope you're safe, Tatiana." Cheiry hugged her and she hugged back.

    Mr and Mrs. Koi's eyes were teary as they bade goodbye to their daughter that evening.

    "Remember, dear," her mother started. "This will always be your home and you can visit whenever."

    "Yes, pumpkin," her father said, smiling.

    "Dad. I promise I will visit after I find a job and a house."

    Tatiana pulled herself onto a large wagon scattered with other travelling townspeople. 

    "We love you!" both her parents yelled as the wagon

drove their daughter farther and farther from them. Tatiana waved until her arm was sore.

    "I promise to return and bring something special back with me," she promised in her head as her home disappeared.

    It wasn't long before they reached the Village of Sun. Night was approaching fast and the streets were almost empty. The wagon dropped Tatiana off at a large inn. She entered and was startled at all the noise inside. Voices talked over each other in a ruckus that made her close her ears. 

    She walked through the crowd until she reached the 

reception desk. A large, balding man signed her in and checked the rooms for an empty one. 

    As he was doing this, Tatiana heard a small conversation behind her between two men and a woman.

    "I don't think that poor boy deserved it," the woman was saying. "I'm sure Jaxon was just using him."

    "Using or not, he tried to kill the daughter of the Suns' more than once," a man said. "That captain deserves to be put into jail."

    Tatina jumped at this and turned around, asking, "What was the captain's name?"

    "Uhh, Captain Komani Koi," the man said. "He's a pest

and a scoundrel. He doesn't belong here and I hope the authorities transfer him to the prison in his actual town."

    "Whatever, Billy," the woman said. "I don't think he deserves it. Well, goodnight."

    She left and Tatiana was handed her metal room key and pointed in the right direction. She found her room easily and deposited her bags. But it seemed like the former resident of the room had left a newspaper on the bed.

    Tatiana picked it up and read the title: Formerly Known Captain Komani Koi placed in Shuti Prison for Harming Innocent Girl, Raina Sun.

    Tatiana decided to visit that prison in the morning to see her brother. She flipped the page and saw a large black and white picture of Komani holding out a sword and aiming it at a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. "That must be Raina Sun," Tatiana said aloud.  Then, she stared at her brother. He had grown so much but the look on his face was like none she had ever seen before. 

    She placed the newspaper aside and laid down. But she couldn't get the picture out of her mind. "Could Komi have changed?" she thought. "It has been seven years and I guess that's possible, but I still won't believe he's changed until I've seen him.

    The next morning, Tatiana caught a ride to the center of the village where the prison was. But once Tatiana got there, it was all in lockdown.

    She grabbed a guard running by and asked what happened.

    "A prisoner escaped," he said.

    "Who?"

    "Komani Koi. We were putting him in the barred wagon to transfer him to a different town once he d=broke free and ran into the woods."

    Tatiana didn't wait a second. She dashed off toward the woods as fast as she could. She had to reach him before 

the guards did. She ran through the underbrush, not caring if her dress got torn by thorns. She saw a newly made path of broken sticks and boot marks in the wet mud and followed it. The trees grew thicker together and it was harder for her to see where she was going. But she soon reached a small clearing.

    She entered it and sat down on a log to catch her breath. She had to find him. She cupped her hands in her mouth and yelled, "Komani! It's me! Tatiana! Please come out!"

    She yelled this for a few minutes until she was out of breath again. She laid down on the log and listened to the birds of the forest. Then, she heard a branch snap and she