The spring thaw allowed her to bury the bodies found in the ruins of the farmhouse. She didn’t know who they were, but she wept as she stood over their graves, for they had been innocent victims of the violence of bandits. She swore on their graves that she would do whatever she could to protect people like them, who couldn’t defend themselves from the brutality that life so often dealt out.
It was with a heavy heart that she left the farmhouse, for it had been her home for months. She turned onto the road and stopped to look once more at the farm. She patted Lightning's neck; he was such a good listener. She twisted around to look at Archibald, munching on a stray strand of grass that had poked through the remaining snow; he was not a great conversationalist. She turned back to face nort
