He stepped out of the shadows, dark cloak hiding his face and hands.  He walked slowly towards the little girl, her blonde curls still springy in the summer heat.  She began to tremble, backing as far away from the man as her tiny hiding place in the store room would let her, pressing her back to the women behind her.

Kinley took the young girls’ head, stroking her blonde curls back from her face.  She didn’t know the girls’ name.  She would have liked to know, to mentally be able to keep track of every such instance such as this.  Such beautiful curls, such a calm face, to know such suffering.

Kinley looked up at the man in the dark robe.  No, she couldn’t let this man take this child.  Couldn’t bear the pain of this small girl growing up to be used by this withered man, no matter how much potential she had shown.

Kinley stated to chant under her breath, hoping the old man was too intent on his apparent capture of his new ‘apprentice’ to pay attention to his old one.  As he reached forward, the girl screamed, Kinley stood and gripped the old man’s arm, and his memory was gone.