> A Bounty to Fight
>  by NightSugar pone
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> chapter 1
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	After the last attack that Star was a part of she was forced to submit to the law, and was currently being held in a cell meant for extremely dangerous criminals. She knew that deep down she deserved to be there, but it still felt wrong for her to be muzzled and chained to the wall behind her. For the fourth time today a gryphon had walked in, but he didn't have armour and a food tray like the rest did, and she sat up quickly. 


“Well, miss fall, I believe we have some business to discuss,”
The gryphon spoke, his voice was demanding and dominant but she wasn't known to submit easily. So instead, she lifted her head high from where she was sat and glared at him. 
“You see, oh well, I don't think we can talk about much like this. You are Star fall right?”
She nodded, keeping her movements as militant and as mechanical as she could. 
He grinned and looked back at the guards that stood by the door of her cell, and with a nod they came in and unlocked her chains and pulled off her muzzle. 
“there, can we speak now?”


“I don't feel the need to talk to a gryphon that seems to dabble in criminal affairs, what do you even want with me?”
Star shot back while getting to her hooves and snarling at one the guards who dared to point a spear at her. 


“You’re feisty, that's good, and I promise I'll explain everything on the way,”
He said, and he just began to walk out as the guards beside her pushed her to follow him. 


****


He talked about her current situation the whole way there, and with little chatter from Star he confirmed her understanding of the dangerous situation she was now in. 


“So you see, I need fresh and strong new fighters and you just happen to be one of those ponies. And don't worry about being set free, after you serve your time here you'll earn every last bit of your freedom,”
He stepped out of the cart they were in, and just as he reached for her hoof she glided out on her wings. 


“I'm hearing a lot about you needing me, but what's in it for me?”
She said, it nearly took all her determination to stay put. 
She had none of her weapons on her, and very little energy due to the less than satisfying prison food she was offered. 
It wouldn't be too bad to play along until she got them back, she could always dart off after they were in her hooves again. 


“You'll earn a sum of the bits for every fight you win, think of that as added incentive to stay in the game,”
Star flicked her tail, it sounded like she might have enough bits to run away with if she won all her fights. 
So she agreed to it and was soon lead to a building that took them to the underground of the city. 
> chapter 2 
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Star had expected less of a welcome when she got it, but instead she was met with a tailor and was even given her own change room. 
They want to keep me alive, I don't blame them for taking every precaution. 
She thought to herself, sitting impatiently and waiting for her first suit. And eventually, it came, along with news for her first fight. 

“Alright, we've got you set up with another young and new fighter, what do you want your name to be?”
Her gryphon escort said, as she hastily got dressed in the black suit. 
It had what looked to be embroidered blood splatters on her front hooves, and even one around the opening for her muzzle. 

“How about…night hunter, that's guaranteed to catch someone's attention,”
Star had begun to brush out her mane so looked more presentable when she heard an uproar of cheers nearby, and she took a deep breath as she was lead out of her room.

“Just last longer than one round, and don't kill anyone unless you are sure there is no other way to win.”
Star could barely hear his words as they got closer and closer to the large double doors that seemed to separate her from the immediate chaos of the fight, and the uneasy calmness of the main hallway. 

“Oh, and don't die good luck,”
Without another word the doors opened and she stepped in hesitantly and chose to lift her large wings for intimidation. 

“and from this corner, a mare responsible for most of the criminals we have here, the night hunter!”
The announcer’s voice boomed all around her, before the mixed sounds of cheering and even more loud booing filled her ears. 

You've got this night, size up your opponent, take them down fairly, then leave, it's easy.

She blocked out the noise and leant down in a powerfully defensive stance, and as she did so, the doors on the other side of the stadium opened. They reviled a young earth pony mare orange with part of her ear missing, and a heavy thick brown mane covering part of her face. But despite the obscured side of her face, she could recognise that the mare knew her, and her face contorted to one of true rage. 

She happens to have a blind spot but she knows me, this is bound to be a hectic battle. 

Star waited for the bell to ring and immediately held her ground when it did, the orange mare, however, she ran to her at full speed. 

First mistake, a wise thing to do is stay on the defensive route. 

Just as the mare got close enough Star manoeuvred under her and bucked her rear end up. With all the momentum she had built up she was forced to take a fall and slide to the other side of the stadium, giving Star a chance to attack her while she was down. She grabbed her tail in her teeth and flung the mare back to where she had come in, making her wince in pain and hold her side as she writhed in pain. 
Star stood in place to see if she would get up and she did but stumbled as she tried to regain her footing. Star took this as a perfect time to run at her and firmly bucked her in the head with both her hind hooves, which had knocked out the mare the moment it hit her. The crowd was silent for a while as they expected the orange mare to wake up, but when she didn't budge the announcer gryphon came down and lifted one of her hooves. 

I won, but this doesn't feel like a true victory, I hope that mare can recover. 

When her doors opened again Star began to walk out, but when she was out of sight she looked back at the mare being dragged away. 

“I'm so sorry,”
She said under her breath and sighed as she made her way back to her room. 


> chapter 3 
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When Star had gotten back to her room she immediately took off her suit and took a quick shower.
the fight wasn’t  terrible, but I still feel like I was the one who lost.
she thought to herself, as she dried off her face, wings and mane with one of the towels she was given. but just she began to get settled, her gryphon escort walked into her room and smiled as he dropped a bag of bits onto her desk. 

“Congrats on winning your first fight, it’s not a bad start for your name and a good way to get some exposure,”
Star stopped drying her ears and looked at him with slight confusion.

“I beg your pardon, what kind exposure are you talking about? what do I even need exposure for?”
as she sat down and began to brush her hair out he began to talk about the advantages of exposure.

“The advantage is sponsors, when you win fights you have more buyers wanting to support your name and offer you more money and training, and in some cases pay for your bail. but you must win more fights and get more attention,”
he said as he sat down beside her, and put his hand on her back as he looked at her in the mirror on her desk
“And look you hardly have any scars at all, you’re a natural kid,”
Star just sighed and sat there before forcing a smile, 
I think I can keep this up for a little longer, I just hope that my freedom comes soon.
“I suppose I could keep it up for a while, when will my next fight be?”
she said as she got up and hung up her body suit so it could air out, and also put her towel somewhere it could dry as well.

“In two days, that should be enough right? enough time to train, enough time to rest and plenty of time to be mentally prepared. I’ll come back to check on you alright, just keep up the good work,”
he smiled and patted her back before walking out of her room and leaving her alone again.
your right, a couple days should be good enough for me, maybe I can send a letter home and get someone to visit me and get me out. I just need enough bits to get my stuff back, it might take a while but it will be worth it.

> chapter 4
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Soon after Star was done cleaning herself up and counting up her bits she was escorted to a holding cell in the upper parts of the building, and she didn’t even this about fighting back for a second. Soon after she got to her cell she asked if she could have a quill and parchment to write a letter on, but the guards only gave her parchment and a small bottle of ink and said that if she wanted a quill she could pluck out one of her own feathers. She quietly grumbled at her misfortune at being considered a criminal but did not complain, instead, she pulled one of her older down feathers and began to write away.

Dear Sapphire

It's your mother, and I know it has been a while since you've seen me but believe me, I’m not in any trouble. However, I do need you to tell the rest of the team that I’m in the gryphon Kingdom, you also need to tell grandma this. I will write to you as often as I can but I might be kept busy at some points, so don’t worry if it takes me too long to send you another letter. And as always my little sea turtle, I love you and trust you, please take care of yourself for me.

Sincerely
Star Fall
PS. keep your aunt out of the house, I know you love her but she’s more trouble than you’d want to deal with on your own.

when she was done she used her wings to air dry the ink, before folding it up and handing it to one of the guards outside.

“Send this to 27 Oakville Lane in Ponyville, and thank you for the parchment and ink,”
she faked a pleasant smile and the guard took it wordlessly before walking away.
but now that Star was alone she decided to back away from the door and practice her fighting moves, a right kick and an uppercut here and a spinning kick there and she felt more than ready for another fight. That was until she heard the guard return to take his place by her door again, except it wasn’t the same guard. this puzzled her a little bit but she didn't bother to question it.
I might be in here a while so I might as well make conversation with anyone I can get.

“Hey there, how are you doing today?”
That sounded terrible, note to self. don’t sound as corny next time.
Star thought to herself as the guard began to look about as if he thought that she was talking to someone else he didn’t see, but the hall was empty.

“Uh did you mean me?”
he asked hesitantly, and star leant on the bars as she stuck her hooves through the open holes they made. 
This seemed to catch his attention enough to make him look at her, and she nodded to him with a relaxed smile on her face.
“Well, it's been alright I suppose, not much happens when I’m on duty, but you are the first criminal who decided to talk to me, though,”
Star sighed and shifted her hind hooves so she was more comfortable.

“It wasn’t  on purpose you know, it was a mistake when I didn’t know how to control myself, I would go back and change things in a heartbeat if I could,”
the memory of what happened came back in a flutter of flashes and she shook from the sad chill she got. the guard seemed to sense her sadness and sighed as she continued.
“I do honour you gryphons, though, and I’m not willing to fight any of you guards, I deserve every part of my punishment and I’ll take it even though I didn’t mean to do what I did,”
the guard went quiet, he hadn’t expected a killer to have so much honour and accept such a horrible crime even though it had come out of a mistake so far in the past, it was new for him.

“Why, though? like you said it was a mistake and that you would change it if you could, why wouldn’t you just try to escape?”
Star no longer kept eye contact with him and instead stared into the empty cell across from her as she spoke.

“Because it would be dishonourable, he would have wanted me to fess up to my crimes and mistakes, I would never just run from it because it would still be there and no matter how fast I’d run I’d never truly escape from it,”
she looked at him and their eyes met,
“Take a lesson from this and never run from a punishment, no matter how hard you want to it won’t help to go out the same way a coward would,”
with that, she moved away from the bars and lied down on her cot, and pulled the thin blanket up to her chest before slowly falling asleep. leaving the once uncomfortable guard to his thoughts.

> chapter 5
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Star had been woken up by an abrupt clanging on the floor of her cell, and a Griffin guard Loudly saying soups on night hunter before walking away. She had to force herself up when she had collected herself enough to do so, but it wasn’t all that worth it. The food looked like pre-chewed mush that looked dry and wet at the same time, she sighed heavily after seeing it and sniffed at it hesitantly. It smelt fruity and meaty at the same time.
What the heck is this? are they even sure that this is, is it even edible?
She had pushed it away and sat down next to her bed, preparing to write another letter to home, and began to hastily write.

****

once it was done she gave it to the guard, and once again, the same young looking Guard she had talked to came to take his place. She was even pleasantly surprised that he looked back at her and waved, he was actually being nice to her.

“Hello again, it looks as though you’ve been told to watch me again, I hope I don’t bore you,”
She walked up to the bars once again and leant on them, kicking the tray of the slop to the back of the cell, making a loud clang come from the far wall.

“What was that?”
he said, and he leant in to look into the cell, seeing the splatter of the mushy food on the wall and floor.
“Why aren’t you eating? aren’t you hungry?”
She shrugged as she looked down at the floor.

“When I don’t know what I’m eating I don’t eat, besides, I’ve lived on less,”
She looked at him and noticed his concerned expression, and she frowned when he looked away suddenly.
“You seem to actually care, why?” 
He lowered his spear before moving his talons farther up the length of it, his eyes darting around as he stared at the stones on the tiled floor.

“Well, you're a fighter and if you're going to be fighting you’re going to need your strength, and if you don’t you might not win or even survive your next fight,”
he took a second to speak again, but this time, he turned to her and gave her a worried look.
“can I have your tray please? you know, since you're not going to eat it. I think I can find you something better to eat,”
she obediently moved away from the bars and grabbed the tray before giving it to him, and as he took it from her nodded to her politely before quickly walking away. When he returned he had brought back lose vegetables and a few apples, each of them looked fresh and delicious. And soon after receiving the new food she began to eat it and thanked him gladly after she was done. 

“I really can’t thank you enough for this...uh..what's your name?”
he smiled and sat down near the bars, setting down his spear in front of him, just out of reach for Star. 

“It’s really not much of a big deal, I’m just helping out a kind bounty hunter who seems to favour honour quite a bit,”
Star shrugged as she leant her back against the bars, taking a small bite out of a celery stalk.

“Any kindness is worth a thank you, no matter how big or how small,”
as she continued to eat with her back to him, he began to feel more proud of himself for helping someone.
> chapter 6
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“So the reason why I kept having to go on duty is because you kept writing letters to your daughter?” 
the gryphon guard asked as they walked down the hall to the exercise room in the compound, and star had just nodded as she kept her eyes forward.

“I went on a personal mission and got stuck here, I didn’t want her to be worried about where I was and if I was ok so I’m keeping in touch with her,”
she had said, as her gryphon escort mouthed a surprised wow while he looked away.
“By the way, I don't think I caught your name sir guard, what should I call you?”
the question seemed to surprise him and when he looked at her he noticed that she was still keeping her eyes on the path in front of them, and he decided to quietly comply.

“My name is Windbreaker, but can call me sir or whatever else you want, as long as it’s not degrading,”
Star had let out a small giggle and he sighed as he rolled his eyes in annoyance and embarrassment,
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up, it’s not like you’d understand having a name so easy to make into a joke and I shouldn’t have expected you to understand that,”

“Oh but I do understand, and I never said I didn’t like your name, it’s different and I like it, although, my baby might find it amusing when I tell her about you,”
he seemed surprised by this but stayed quiet about it before eventually bringing it up, in the most careful way he could.

“Why would you do that? I mean, I’m not that interesting and I’m expendable as far as I’m concerned, why would your daughter want to hear about me?”
Star stopped walking and looked at him, and as he noticed that she stopped he did as well and turned to her, as their eyes met.

“Are you kidding me? you are anything but expendable, you're the first gryphon who hasn’t been mean to me or had a fetish for dangerous life threatening fights, not to mention your not a power hungry pain,” 
she walked up to his side and put a hoof on his shoulder,
“And the next time you say something stupid like that, I’m going to punch your beak in,”
she smiled a fake smile for a second before beginning to walk again, and Windbreaker took a deep breath before beginning to walk with her again.

****

After doing some cardio and lifting some of the weights Star had moved to a punching bag in the far left corner of the room, and Windbreaker was going to spot her while she trained.

“What’s bounty hunting like? I mean, I’ve heard things but I want to know how you feel about it and if you actually like it,”
Star had begun punching the bag around the time he began to speak but since he spoke in between the punches she managed to hear him clearly.

“It’s like you're in a more lenient military, we are given missions and sometimes a team and we're given the chance to take care of the mission any way we see fit, as long as we follow the rules about what condition the victim needs to be in to receive our payment. So to make a long story short, it really depends on how capable we are in situations that don’t always abide the government's rules,”
Star had begun to pant as she began to slow down, and sat with her back against a wall while Windbreaker got her some water.

“So how does this work, do you just choose to be a bounty hunter or are you in an agency?”
Star drank a mouthful of water and called him to sit beside her, and he did after looking around the room to make sure that they weren't being watched.

“there are many agencies that involve bounty hunters, but there are only two types of agencies that deal with bounty hunters, ones that work within a region and ones that work with an alliance. I chose to do the ladder so I could have more opportunities,”
she drank another mouthful and he looked up at the ceiling as he thought hard about what agency she was working with.

“Which alliance did you decide to go with?”
he said, and his answer came back almost as he asked.

“The pony gryphon Alliance, so not only could I work with and support my kind, but I can honour the kind of my lost friend and help keep the peace between us all, little by little. Heck, even my boss is a gryphon and a very respectful one at that,”
when she said this she had chuckled, and she was now wearing a prideful smile as she began to think about getting him into the alliance agency as well.
> chapter 7
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On their way back to Star’s cell they stayed mostly quiet since they were passing other inmates in the hall, many of them glaring at her coldly. The glares made her feel a tinge of guilt for a moment before she reminded herself of the crimes that they all had to answer for, just like her. 
Don’t think about what you did to them, think about what they did to others by belonging here. it’s not your fault that you had to send them here.
She thought to herself, it was true but she really wasn't any better than them anyways, but very few knew her crime. or at least she thought that maybe they all knew and hated her more for that. The thought bounced around in her mind as they continued to walk, and she hadn’t noticed Windbreaker stop or even heard him calling her when she stumbled further down the corridor, blinded by her thoughts. 

“Huh? oh, I’m sorry, I was just thinking about those other inmates,”
she said, as she walked back to her cell and walked in with her eyes still glued to the stone floor beneath her hooves.

“What do you think they were thinking? I know all criminals tend to look pissed if they're stuck down here but a lot of them were staring at you. did you happen to know any of them?”
by the time Windbreaker had closed her cell door she was already lying down in the centre of her cell, facing the bars so he could see her face. But it must have surprised him to see a tear rolling down her cheek as she seemed to sit there expressionless, and after it had just begun to run down the curve of her cheek she wiped it away absentmindedly.

“I just feel sorry for them, I mean yeah they committed crimes but so have I, yet they hate me all the same. Am I even all that deserving of the mercy I’ve been given since the moment I arrived?”
she looked up at him, expecting an answer to come to her as quickly as the question had left her lips. But instead, she saw Windbreaker’s brows furrow in thought as he stared at her, searching her bright blue eyes for a sign of doubt. But her face was unreadable as if she had put on a mask within the time she was crying and now.

“I um..but..you're not like them, what you did was to make places like the gryphon Kingdom safer for new locals. And you have honour, something those other inmates could only dream of and you actually accepted the fact that you're here. and nothing will change that for you as far as I’m concerned,”
the words didn’t surprise her too much, she expected him to defend her honour, bet his facial expressions were a different story. He had paused a few times that he was speaking as if he were trying to think of things to say on the fly, and his face seemed flushed with embarrassment when he was done.
This gryphon confuses me, I should watch him more closely so nothing unexpected comes out of this.
She thought to herself, before standing up and faking a smile as she walked up to the bars.

“Thank you, you truly are worth your title and you are truly a kind soul,’
She bowed to him and his face had gotten more flushed as he looked around frantically, until Star had lifted her head to look at him.
“Well, I think it’s time for me to rest, but I will be sure to write about you in my next letter. Goodnight sir Windbreaker,” 
She said with a teasing smile as she crawled under the blankets on her cot and got settled as she began to drift off.
> chapter 8
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	On the day of the fight Star was extremely out of it and almost lost to the other mare, her suit now drenched in both her blood and the mare's. And it took some time for her to leave the ring before Windbreaker came to help her, even then, she seemed so emotionless. At this point Windbreaker was getting more and more worried about her and her well-being, it had been two nights since she had spoken with him so of course, he was concerned about the reason why she hadn’t sent a letter lately. 

“What ‘s wrong with you? you’ve been so out of it lately that we might actually need a doctor to look at you,”
he said with a forced chuckle, obviously trying to help and failing at the attempt, as she kept her eyes focused on the ground.

“I appreciate what you're doing for me but I’ll be fine, just bring me to my dressing room and let me get cleaned up first, you can even come in with me if you’re that concerned,”
she said as more and more blood trailed out of her nose as if her current wounds meant nothing to her and her somber tone made him not want to question her. 
So instead of talking the rest of the way, he stayed silent and hurriedly helped her into her room, and she let go of him she slowly made her way to her shower not even bothering with taking off her suit as she stepped in. During the time she spent in the shower Windbreaker sat on the other side of the room, and when another gryphon came in with her payment he quickly hurried out after noticing that she was showering. But while Star was in there she let the warm water wash away the blood that was beginning to can her fur, and she began to slowly slide off her body suit, letting little wisps of magic dance around her wounds. She tried her best to smother the glow that they gave off with her wings but every now and then a glimmer of light showed, and it was more than enough to get Windbreaker interested. And as soon as Star had stepped she was met with his serious face, but she didn't seem to care much as she almost returned the glare in full force.

“What do you want a cookie? you know my secret so what do you want?”
she pushed past him and he could feel the warm dampness of her coat as she did, and a blush nearly threatened to take over his cheeks, but he quickly fought away the feeling of nervousness as he saw her sit down in front of her mirror.

“What happened to honour? you told me you were and honour filled mare that always followed the rules of fairness and truth, you basically lied to everyone out there,”
Star just dabbed the remains of blood from her nose and dried off her mane, minding her own business like he didn’t seem to exist to her.

“I fight fair, I don’t do what I don’t have to in the ring, and I give my opponent a fair chance before taking action like I did today,”
she said as she checked her face to be sure that she didn't miss any fresh bruises before turning to face him.
“Besides, why do you care so much? it’s not like you actually felt anything for me...or did you?”
the words made him freeze in place as he tried to think of a way to respond, and his eyes scanned the entire room for something else to talk about but nothing came to mind. And he stood there Star stood up and walked up to him, forcing his eyes to meet hers again.
“You know why this can’t happen right? at least it wouldn’t be good for you if someone found out they would probably split us up or even put you against me. It would be like torture, and I couldn’t do that to you, it’s nice but it can’t happen, at least not right now,”
she had looked down at the floor as she spoke her last words, and her ears drooped as she looked away from him. and in that moment, a warm dose of courage filled his chest and he pulled her into a hug.


“I..don’t care, you're the first genuinely nice pony I’ve met in years and I feel like I can learn a lot from you, and possibly, you can learn a few things from me,”
she didn’t speak the entire time he held her, the feeling was so familiar and so gentle that she buried her face in his feathers and let tears roll down her cheeks.

“Thank you for not judging me, I feel the same way.”
> chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day after Windbreaker had found out that she could use magic, she had been escorted to her cell and spent her time thinking.
Should I have waited to heal in my cell? no, the guards would just tell the gryphon that brought me here, even so, it would have been better to hide it.
She thought to herself in her head as she laid back on her hard cot, staring up at the ceiling as she was lost in her own mind. Soon she had grown bored of just lying there and got up to write another letter, grabbing her plucked feather and the small ink bottle she was given. And like before, she was quickly writing away and had finished almost as quickly as she had started. The letter was just to check in on things at home and it wasn’t very long at all but it was still very important, so she got up and handed it to the guard, making him grunt in annoyance as he had to leave again. And as she settled back on her cot as the familiar clicking of claws on the cobblestone floor began to approach her cell once again, but she didn’t bother to move from her spot until she was sure that he wanted her close.

“Sent another letter?”
Windbreaker said with a cold tone, it made her want to stay silent but responded to him to answer his question.

“Y-yes, I did send a letter home, I have family to take care of and watch over, even though I’m here and can't be with them I still need to keep things in line,”
At hearing her voice seem so distant he looked back at her through the bars of her cell, seeing that she was staring at the ceiling of her cell, she seemed relaxed but could feel the cold feeling of regret floating around her.
“You really must know that I’m sorry for not telling you about me earlier, but I had to be sure that I could trust you and I couldn’t risk dying here, not without my family knowing where I was,”
She laid still before furrowing her brow and looking at him, and to her surprise, she met his eyes, and he looked away so fast that she almost missed the worried expression and blush. But it was unfortunate, she was really expecting him to hold his gaze, but seeing him look away made her suddenly think about why.
Why did he look away? is he afraid of me now? does he feel weaker around me now that he knows what I did?
Her mind was racing, but she eventually stopped herself from thinking about the questions as she got up and went over to the bars to get closer to him, but the closer she got the more noticeable his discomfort was with just being there.

“How about you ask me anything you want me to know and I’ll tell you the truth, but only if you’ll promise to keep what I tell you a secret, it should be between us and only us. I figure you deserve it after dragging me back to my room yesterday,”
she smiled nervously as she looked away, trying not to think too hard about his helpful act.

“Uh ok..hmm, the accident, how did it happen?”
he asked, turning his head to her but not fully turning to face her.

“I was friends with a young gryphon that I had run into a couple times in town so of course, we hung out together, but after a while, his older brother found out and tried to separate us and I got so mad that I attacked him. apparently, I had torn his face apart and burned what was left of him, and during the attack, I unknowingly hurt my friend,”
Her voice began to be choked by her tears as she went on, even though she was trying her hardest to hold back her tears.
“I remember being so scared seeing him so hurt and broken, blood was everywhere and I was too scared to try to help him or even touch him, but he knew that I was there enough to ask me why I had attacked him before he was gone. after that had happened I ran away, I didn’t know that he and his brother were heirs to the throne until I had started working far far away from the gryphon Kingdom.”
By now tears had filled her eyes completely and she let them roll down her face as she squeezed her eyes shut.
“We could have ruled together and I messed everything up, he didn’t deserve to die, his kind, loving heart should have gotten to live,”
Windbreaker hastily opened the cell door and ran in to hug her, holding her close as she let the tears flow and allowing her to bury her face in his feathers.

“I didn’t know that you cared so much, you must have been really close be crying like this,”
He said, and she nodded silently as she rested her head on the breastplate of his armour.

“He would have liked you, you're such a caring guard and you seem to really respect the morals of honour bound bounty hunters, even the ones like me,”
He gently rubbed her back as they sat there together, and he thought deeply about her words.

“What are you like, though?”
He asked, curious about what she meant, and as she traced a hoof over his breastplate, she softly said, 

“Broken and secretive, even to those I could trust with the honesty of my words, even with others like you,”
She looked up at him with a small smile and half-lidded eyes, and it took him a second to know what was going on before he abruptly cleared his throat and looked away. 

“Well I should be getting back to my post before anyone notices that I’m not there, but thank you for telling me about that unfortunate accident, it didn't look easy to say,”
He said as he got up and helped her to her hooves before she gave him one last warm hug.

“That you for being so sympathetic, I couldn't have trusted a better guard or gryphon with my emotional wounds,”
As she let go they both smiled and she was first to go back to where she was before he had exited her cell, locking the door as he let out a sigh and stood up straight beside the door.
> chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

the next morning, Star woke up to the clang of a tray being thrown into her cell again, but this time, the mush had bits of celery and carrots sticking out of it. It still looked as unappetizing as it did before but at least she knew she could eat something that was on that tray, even if it had some of the unrecognisable gunk on it. So she quietly said off her cot and moved closer to it when she was sure that the guard had left, and carefully pulled out the vegetable bits with her teeth and began to gingerly nibble on them. As she had guessed before, the mush had meat in it, the irony taste of blood and the slightly stringy feeling of muscle was almost too fresh to chew properly, but she ate some of it regardless of her expected diet. when the mushy puree meat was half done she stopped and gave herself a chance to breathe, even if she finished it wouldn't be much help to her body in any way. So she laid next to it on the cell floor as she felt the uneasy gurgle and movement of her stomach, it was in no way comfortable for her and it distracted her so much that she almost didn’t notice Windbreaker standing outside of the cell door. But as she groaned in pained disgust he looked back at her with a worried expression.

“Are you ok Star, you look like you tried to swallow a sentient ball of slime,”
He said, before noticing the half eaten pile of meat mush and vegetables, and he quickly opened the cell door so he could run to her side. She seemed to be vaguely aware of him being there before he hoisted her body up so she was sitting up. 
“You didn’t eat that stuff, did you? you know it’s all just partially drained meat right? ponies aren't supposed to eat stuff like that,”
she tried to say that she knew what it was but the pain in her gut hurt too much for her to get it out, and another pained groan took its place.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you until you feel better, no other guards will go by here until the fight tonight,”
He said, trying to comfort her as he gently rubbed her belly, helping ease further into his grasp as she nuzzled him slightly. He jumped a bit at her sudden show of affection but just let her do her thing after a while, chopping it up to the fact that she wasn’t feeling well enough to think about what she was doing. And after a while of rubbing she started to feel limp in his arms, the gentle and rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, showing that she was now asleep. At first, he didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want to wake her up but he also couldn't stay in the uncomfortable position he was in, so he carefully tried his best to lay on his back without moving her too much. As he laid back he let out a relieved sigh, and the mare now lying on top of him shifted slightly to lay on her belly, resting her chin on the curve of his breastplate. He was still worried about her feeling sick but decided to just enjoy the moment while it lasted, and wrapped his arms and wings around her as he let himself drift off into sleep as well.
> chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Star awoke it was to the soft purring snores coming from the soft mass beneath her, and when she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw that Windbreaker had fallen asleep holding her. She had begun to feel better and got up to stretch while she was still on top of him, but she made an effort to get off of him without waking him up short after. She knew that he couldn't stay asleep like that with guard patrols still on its way to them, so she gently nudged him awake when she felt ready enough to.

“Hey sleepy head, you might want to wake up now, guard patrols might just catch you in here if you don’t,”
He groaned sleepily and sat up slowly, before rubbing his eyes and carefully getting to his feet, almost falling over as he exited her cell. But as soon as he was out he immediately plopped down beside the door and resumed his sleeping, leaving the cell door unlocked and forcing Star to close it and lock it herself. 
She had managed to close the door and put the key into the keyhole when the sound of talons clicking on the floor made her rush and nearly drop the key as she hastily locked it and tossed the key over to Windbreaker, the sound of the key hitting the floor was enough to wake him up and the now closer sound of another guard approaching made him sober up quick enough to make it look like he was awake before. As the clicking of the talons got closer Star got the idea to push the tray out into the hall so it would give Windbreaker something to do that would be more convincing than just standing there, and although it took him a moment to remember that he needed to take it he did finally get the picture and comply without a word. 
As he passed the guard as his way down the hall he tripped and ended up face first in the mushy food, and as he pulled his head out of it the guard merely grunted in disapproval as he walked away. Star, on the other hand, had stuck her head through the bars to look at the source of the noise, and when she saw Windbreaker with the mess of mashed meat on his face she frowned before glaring at the other guard as he began to pass by. But the moment he saw that he saw her hand poking through the bars he turned his full attention to her, before forcefully pushing her head back into the cell, even though it was small enough not to push with such brute force. And as her head was forced back in she had fallen to the floor, softly grunting in pain as her stomach felt like it was twisting with the sudden movement.

“Keep all limbs inside the cell at all times! next time I see you sticking your head out like that I won’t be so gentle,”
She slowly managed to sit up as she held her stomach with a hoof, trying to hide the fact that she was in pain.

“I wasn't trying..to cause...any trouble,” 
She said as her pained groans forced her to focus on the floor in front of her, but the guard suddenly opened her cell and walked over to her, a malicious grin set into his mature features.

“What’s wrong little bounty hunter? not the kindness you were expecting? I Thought you were supposed to be stronger than this, you look like a useless petty mare,”
She glared up at home coldly, her still heaving chest making it hard to seem well composed as she stared him down. But the staring only seemed to make matters worse as he stepped closer to her, forcing her to back away from him for few that he would take advantage of her vulnerability.
“Do you have a problem with me little mare? you don’t seem so tough now that You're outside of the ring, I bet you're really just a weak little filly who acts like she's tough shit. You’re a sad excuse for an elite bounty hunter,”
by now she was pressed up against the back wall of her cell, and he was standing over her as he got so close that she could smell the death on his breath, and she winced each time he spoke.
“I bet I could crush you right here and no one would care, it wouldn't even matter If we lost one star act,”
This time he had gripped her by the neck and slammed her head against the wall, forcing her to face him as he held her there, gradually tightening his grip on her throat. She was squirming around and trying to pull his talon off of her but it only seemed to excite him more, as he quickly tightened his grasp before releasing it enough for her to breathe again. 

“Sir, is there something I can help you with?”
Windbreaker was now standing in the doorway of the cell and glaring that other guard, and soon after he heard the question he dropped her to his feet, leaving her gasping for air and holding her newly bruised throat.

“ I was just having a little fun with this waste of a bounty hunter, I don’t think I need anything else from you,”
he spat, as he began to leave, and once again they were alone, with Star sitting up and frowning at the ground as she sat there. Windbreaker held her close and stayed with her to comfort her, letting her know that he was there for her. she felt wounded but didn't bother complaining, breathing hurt now and she didn’t want to just sit there and give the bruise the chance to swell up, but she also didn’t want to use her magic all at once to heal it. so she looked up at him with pleading eyes, looking for approval, and he slowly nodded as he gently stroked her mane. and with a deep breath, the purplish wisps of magic healed her neck little by little while Windbreaker watched her in the calm quietness of the room.

“I really didn't mean any harm..and I’m sorry that you have to see me like this, weakness was never really my strong suit,”
Her voice was hoarse and scratchy but she didn’t move from his side, she felt safe with him holding her like that, it just felt right to her.

“It's no trouble at all, I don’t mind taking care of you, it gives me a stronger sense of purpose and you already know how much I care about you so it shouldn't really be a surprise,”
He said, and his smile was warm as he stared down at her and squeezed her closer to him, making her giggle softly before she leant on him. 

“You really deserve a raise, keeping me alive and well is something that the other Guards haven’t tried to do, so that's another reason why you're special,”
she gently traced her hoof around the crest of the gryphon Kingdom carved into his breastplate, and he blushed a little bit as he smiled.

“Are you flirting with me?”
He said with a chuckle, and she just gave him a smirk as she looked up at him and held his gaze as she stared into his golden eyes.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but what would you like to hear me say?”
She said as she smiled a bright and confident smile, but his expression changed to one of uncertainty, and she frowned in confusion when it did.

“You're a bounty hunter, you probably flirt like this all the time to trick your targets into trusting you right? are you lying about your feelings for me?”
Her ears folded back soon after the question left his beak and she bit her bottom lip as she moved away from him slightly.

“Why would you think that I would try to manipulate you? do you really think so little of me? that I would have no remorse or even care about how you feel?”
Her tone was and offended one and she tensed slightly as she stared into his eyes, looking for and unspoken answer within the brow streaks of his irises.

“No, I was just thinking about it and wanted to be sure, that I wasn’t getting played for a fool here,”
She moved out of his grasp and stood up as she began to take a few steps away from him, her face now twisted into and inquisitive and cold glare.

“It was one of the other guards wasn’t it?! one of them said something, what did they say to you?”
She struggled to keep her voice down but managed to get the words out without it sounding like a snarl.

“Ok ok, they said that I should be careful when watching you so I asked why, and they said that you were known to be manipulative and violent to get what you wanted. I didn’t believe them but I just wanted to be sure that you weren't just using me to get out,”
Star had begun to pace as she struggled to stay calm, she felt a little betrayed but also so angry. who were those guards to her? they didn’t even talk to her and they already thought they knew her.

“Do you trust me..and I mean really trust me?”
He stared at her in silence for a few seconds before quietly saying yes, and she sat down next to her cot with her back turned to him.
“You better go back to your post, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because of me,”
He wanted to go over to her and hug her but he thought against it and made his way out of her cell quietly.
> chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the time came for Star to wake up she was exhausted, but the guard at her door was loud and unrelenting as he yelled at her about getting ready for the next fight. She said off her cot carefully and stumbled over to the cell door when she noticed that Windbreaker wasn't around to greet her and escort her to her change room. She was worried but she didn't think about it too much, as she walked beside the darkly shaded gryphon at her side, mentally preparing for the battle to come. 
Soon after Star had suited up and began to leave her room she noticed other gryphons lining the hallway, all staring at her, some were smirking while others were glaring and even spitting at her feet. She made no attempt to show any weakness or acknowledge them, though, keeping herself in the right mind so her focus would solely be on the fight. When she entered the ring and lifted her wings there was an uproar of screaming and cheers, she looked around at the crowd above her and scanned their faces for anything that would tell her why they were so excited. Her answer soon came when the doors in front of her began to open, revealing a female gryphon, the first she was ever expected to fight inside the circular room. But regardless of the species, she was ready to fight for her life just as much as she had before. She lowered herself to the ground slowly as the gryphon across from her began to circle, and she reflectivity copied her movements as she lowered her wings slightly.
It’s not like intimidation would help me here, she's a lot bigger than me and she'll tear me up anyways.
She thought as she began to quietly snarl, trying to trigger the more feline instinct in the hybrid, and as a result got a hissing snarl back as her back arched and her fur stood on end.
Well now I’ve got your attention, let's dance.
Star flinched at her and made her jump back before she hissed and jumped at her with her talons out. Just as she did, Star jumped up and stomped on her head as she launched herself into the air and landed behind her, regaining her balance in a second. The gryphon quickly got back up off the ground, turning on her as she shook the fuzziness out of her head and charged at her at full speed, talons at the ready again. But like before, Star dodged and kicked her in the throat as she went over her, causing her to cough and choke. But this time, the gryphon had a lot more trouble righting herself as she tried to dig her claws into the ground beneath her.

“Are you feeling ok miss?”
Star said in a quiet tone, but the gryphon hissed at her, as she held her throat and glared back at her.

“Why do you care night bitch!? you're a murderer anyways,”
Star’s ears drooped as she sighed and flapped her wings, and flew up above her, before diving down so fast that the impact of her hooves on the gryphons skull was almost enough to break it. And with that, the fight was over, and star had once again made her way back to her dressing room, saddened by the act she had committed and the words that she heard. And as she walked to her room she felt so alone in the packed hall she was in.

****
Later on, in her cell, Star was still pondering her life deeply as she began to really crave some conversation, and she made a small letter that wasn't really saying much about what was going on, but she really wanted to talk to Windbreaker. She would never admit it to herself but she did miss him, he was so sweet and genuinely cared for her, and it was worth trusting and going for if she was planning an escape. So when she gave the letter to the guard she was anxious to see Windbreaker come back, even if things got a little harsh yesterday. But when he arrived, he was silent but she could see that he was clearly uncomfortable standing there, so when she approached him she made sure to make it obvious and clear what she was doing. 

“Windbreaker? are you alright? you seem kind of….out of it,”
She asked, and she reached out to touch his shoulder gently, and he jumped at her touch. The sudden movement made her move her hoof away from him, and her ears drooped sadly as she backed away from him. 

“My superior got involved after the guard from yesterday said that I was getting too close to you, so I’m not really supposed to talk...to you,”
He said in a shaky quiet voice, his uncertainty and nervousness showing through and making Star feel like she was responsible.

“We are getting kind of close, but I don't think it should be considered a reason to be punished, that guard hurt he physically not you, you should be just fine,”
She reached out a hoof to him, and as he turned to her and held her hoof, a smile beginning to take the fear’s place on his face.
“Besides, if anything does happen I can protect you,” 
She smirked at him just as he began to lean in to kiss her, and as a result, she kissed him back.
> chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, Windbreaker had come into her cell so there would be no bars between them while they talked, and during their time together he had given her a bundle of letters from home. It was more than a little exciting for her to read as well, and she could barely stop herself from reading them out loud.

“She’s doing just fine, I knew that she would be fine but it’s always good to have a little reassurance. Do you have a foal or um hatchling?”
she asked him as she folded up her letter and set it down in front of her, giving him her full attention as she anxiously awaited his answer.

“I don’t actually, I’ve never really gotten away from my job long enough to ask a nice young gryphon or mare to start a family with me,”
Star wanted to apologise for his unfortunate situation, but then she realised that he had said mare, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of her or how he felt about pony kind before. 

“Well, I think you’re charming enough to take your time searching, even if you can't always make searching your main priority in here,”
He smiled as a warm blush filled his cheeks, and they sat in silence for a moment, Star focused on the bars of the cell while Windbreaker was trying not to stare at her too much.

“Who knows? my search might just be over and I could have someone in mind right now and you wouldn’t know,”
By now he was smirking up at the ceiling, clearly happy with himself and his ability to be so secretive while giving her hints, or so he thought.

“I already know you like me, you don't make it super obvious but it is obvious enough for someone like me to see, and we've spent so much time together it would be crazy of me to think you were doing the same with somebody else,”
She smiled and chuckled as she said this, which made the fact that she already knew who was talking about seeming like less of a problem to her. However, he wanted to make it look like the easy guess bothered him, so he frowned as he looked at her.

“Was it really that obvious to you? I thought I could at least throw you for a loop, it looked like it didn’t even take you that long to come up with who I was talking about,”
Her smile drooped slightly as she looked at him before she finally looked away from him and instead stared at her hooves as she pushed around a pebble she had seen near them.

“Relax my little star-burst, I was just kidding, I actually don’t mind that you guessed so quickly, it takes a lot less stress off of me with having to tell you that I like you,”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, snapping her out of her worried trance and allowing her to smile without worry. Soon after they began reading the letters together and noticed that Star’s sister had indeed moved in on her home and was having stallions over almost every night. This had made her a little annoyed and even disturbed, the fact that her sister was exposing her daughter to the unhealthy habits that she had and was making it seem normal for her. 

“I can’t believe this, I knew that my sister was going to be trouble but no baby dragon should exposed to such debauchery, and in my home as well, I ought to shave her mane off in her sleep,”
Star was so enraged that Windbreaker had to hold her to calm her down, and even then it took five minutes for her to completely calm down.
“I swear to you, this is not how proper royalty conducts itself, she should not be laying with so many stallions around my child,”

“I get that it's b ad but trust me when I say it will be dealt with,”
> chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Soon after Windbreaker had gone back to his post another gryphon in armour had walked down to her cell and had informed her that a sponsor from outside of the gryphon Kingdom borders. At first, it took her a moment to remember what was said about her getting buyers, but when she did she had gotten the hint that it would open doors for her to get more money out of the fights she was already winning. So she hurried to get out of her cell and fix herself up, and Windbreaker had followed her and the other guard. Although she felt safe with him she was deeply concerned that his presence would make negotiations. 

****

It took a while to get there but once they were up to the visitation area of the facility, most of which was filled with mostly gryphons and very few ponies. So Bering escorted to the pony that was her supposed buyer, a well groomed high class looking stallion with a deep blue coat and dusty brown mane. Star sat down across from him and looked up at Windbreaker to see if he was reacting a certain way, only to see that he was staring down the stallion with deep hate. So instead she cleared her throat and turned her attention back to the stallion, who was now smirking as he pressed his hooves together on the table. 

“Well, we finally meet, how is prison treating you?”
Star shrugged and looked down at her own hooves and back up at him, studying his face closely as she at there. He met her eyes with a smile, before pushing a contract over to her for her to sign.
“Well, if you don’t like it too much in here I can offer you more money for your bail, but only if you agree to this contract,”
She looked down at it and read it, seeing that things were mostly in order she lifted her gazed into his eyes deeply, with a cold undertone that wouldn't fade easily as she tried to read his face.

“What do you want with me? I’m a bounty hunter with a shady past who has taken so many lives that I have learned to use my body as a weapon. I have won nearly every fight I’ve been in so your payment better be worth it,”
Star said coldly and was about to shove the contract back when the stallion placed his hoof on hers, making her tense up as her ears twitched down before she forced them back up.

“Don’t worry my dear, I'll give you some time to consider it, just give this to your escort and be sure to get back to me, I’m eager to know what you think,”
She got up quickly and gave the sheet of paper to Windbreaker as she glared hot death into his eyes while trying to stay mostly neutral.

“I’ll….consider it, but please don't touch me like that ever again,”
She turned to walk out with Windbreaker not far behind, keeping an eye on her as they passed the other inmates.


> chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once she was back in her cell Star was given enough time to think about her next fight, she wasn’t told whether or not it would be a pony or what gender the challenger in question would be. But she was sure that it wouldn’t be hard to win or at least make it entertaining for the crowd, and with a sponsor, she was bound to get more than enough money to go back home. And while she considered the prospect of going home a thought came to mind; where would Windbreaker go if she left? The thought made her mind race with ideas,
He could stop working here or move or even come with me, would he come with me? What would happen to him if he left this place? would he even want to leave?
The thoughts filled her mind until her head began to throb, and she brought her hooves up to her temples and rubbed them as she squeezed her eyes shut. The only time she had thought about something so much that her head would hurt was when Sapphire was the main focus for her worry, she loved her enough to worry about her when she wasn’t the to see if she was ok, then another question sprang up in her mind.
Am I actually so concerned for Windbreaker that I would stress my mind just to find a way to make sure that he'll be safe? Have I really let myself get so concerned for him?
She glanced out beyond the cell bars where he stood, stoic and firm, just the way she had been taught by her father. and she stared at him a small smile crossed her lips and suddenly her cheeks felt hot and she realised what she was doing before she sat up quickly on her cot. The sudden and loud creaking was enough to catch Windbreaker’s attention as he looked back at her and saw her flushed face.

“Star? are you alright?”
He said, his concern for her only helped to make her more flushed, forcing her to keep her back to him as she sat there.

“I’m fine, I just...thought of something...something about breaking out, I’ll be fine, asI can promise you that,”
She took a deep long breath before getting off the cot and turning to face him, he still looked worried but he seemed to be more attentive now.
“I was thinking...that maybe..you could come with me, but only if you truly want to, I mean I already know how to get out but I need to find my cloak and saddlebags first but we could make it work right? I mean I have so many places to hide in mind before we get to where I live, it could be so easy and you wouldn't have to work here anymore,”
She approached the bars slowly as she said this but lowered her voice as she got closer to him,
“No more long days spent in heavy uncomfortable armour, no more seeing sad or beaten up prisoners everywhere, you could have a really calm comfortable life with me and we could even travel together,”
She reached a hoof through the bars and touched the talon that was holding his spear as she stared into his golden eyes.
“we could really start something, no more fights and no more worrying about me, it would be so freeing for the both of us, so...what do you say?”
She smiled at him as she leant on the bars until he frowned and looked down, and he sighed as he closed his eyes.

“I don't know, wouldn’t this just make things...I don’t know worse..for you? I mean much much worse, like call your princesses worse,”
She pulled his talon closer to her and he lifted his gaze, meeting her eyes once more.

“I don’t care what they do to me, you deserve better than this and I can promise you this is better,”
He stared into her eyes for a long time, searching for doubt in them but they did not waver, she was truly passionate about this choice and had clearly thought it through, and it gave him a glimmer of hope.

“Alright, I’ll go with you, but you have to tell me when and where so I can get your cloak and your saddlebags. after that is discussed we can head out,”
When he said that she smiled and pulled him closer to her, kissing him passionately as a tear rolled down cheek. 
Hang in there my little sea turtle, mama is coming home.
> chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The next day, Star had prepared for her next fight, and the plan to get out was set in place for her. A windbreaker would bring her cloak and saddlebags to her dressing room and be ready to run off after she had one the fight, it was going to be much easier for the final part of the plan once she had all her weapons back. so after she was done training and went to her room for a quick shower, she was more than ready to suit up and run out. but while she was drying off Windbreaker came in with her stuff in different bags and set them down on a chair before giving her a hug from behind and making her smile.

“Hey there, you seem ready to go, would I be wrong for assuming that?”
He said as he nuzzled her, and she reached up to caress the side of his face with a hoof, leaning into the soft wariness of his feathers.

“No you're spot on, and I feel like this will be good for us, maybe I won’t leave the Griffin Kingdom just yet, hm? what do you think of that idea?”
He smiled and nuzzled her gently again, this time working his way up to her ear.

“I love that idea you know, I have a little place on the border of the gryphon Kingdom, we could stay there until you're ready to go,”
He whispered into her ear, and she turned her head to look at him and smiled, even more, when she kissed the end of his beak, and stood up.
“Just give me a chance to win the fight first, we don't want to get too far into things before they have a chance to happen,”
She slid her way out from under him and walked over to her skin-tight suit, putting it on before snapping on her heavy cloak. 

“You look good, that cloak really suits you, I’ll be ready for you at the end of the fight alright?”
She nodded to him after she was done looking at herself in the mirror, and he leads her out to the underground stadium.
Last fight, the claws are out Night, you've got this.
She thought to herself as she stepped pass the threshold of the doorway, lifting her head and wings high as the announcer introduced her, and then introduced two other names, one was a pony while the other was the griffin. She knew this fight was going to be special for some reason so she had mentally prepared for herself for the most interesting fight she had ever had. When the bell had rung she stepped into a more defensive stance and eyed her challengers closely, and the mare had broken into a gallop as she approached her at top speed. Star stepped back and pulled out one of her daggers before tripping the mare with it, and slicing at her back with blunt force. Shortly after that, the gryphon took the chance to get at her only to get kicked away just as she was about to dig her claws in.

“Oh and it looks the night hunter has gotten some ammunition since her last fight, and folks, it looks like she's not afraid to use it,”
The announcer said as Star backed away from the two fighters, the mare now bleeding and struggling to even stand and the gryphon already up but having a hard time collecting her bearings, but once she had she ran right for her. At first, Star wanted to gallop around to tire her out further, but then she decided against it and pulled out another dagger as she reared up. The next few seconds happened so fast that most of the crowd higher up was confused whether or not the gryphon was dead, but as Star pushed the gryphons body off of her they all returned to cheering. 
one down, one to go, let's make this entertaining shall we?
Star thought as she took a moment to shake the blood off her daggers and walk over to the mare and sitting on her wounded back, before looking up at the crowd and holding up the dagger, and as their cheers slowly moulded into a repetitive plea she lowered it. And as she lifted the mare’s head, she whispered a soft sorry before slitting her throat and getting up to leave the room. soon after she had left the stadium and had gotten into her changeroom she sat and leant on the closed door, feeling regret wash over her like a tidal wave.

“How did it go? Did you win right? tell me you won,”
Windbreaker’s eager voice snapped her out of her trance and as he approached she got up, nodding as she stared down before closing her eyes.

“Let's just get my last payment and get out of here, I can’t stand this place anymore,”
Windbreaker held her close as she stood there and she held onto him, her once strong feeling of being untouchable breaking down as they stood there together. it made both of them jump when the door opened, though, her sponsor and her original gryphon escort both came in, dropping bags of bits on the vanity counter.

“Here you go my dear, be sure to be as enjoyable as you were before in your next fight, this one was one hell of a show, just don't kill our own next time,”
The stallion had said as he followed the other gryphon out, Star didn't watch him leave, though, she kept her head down to avoid any eye contact with him as his words made her wince. Windbreaker had noticed and after the door had closed he stepped in front of her, lifting her head so that he could meet her gaze.

“What happened in there? You look more upset with yourself than you were before,”
she stared into his eyes and took a deep breath before meeting his gaze again,

“I had to kill two fighters today, a gryphon and a mare, it was just so wrong this time,”
She looked up at him and saw the worry in his eyes as she spoke,
“They were both so young, too young to be felons, especially in here,”

“I know that must have been hard but we really should get going if you really want to do this,”
She nodded, and walked over to the bits, grabbing them and dropping them into her saddlebags before putting them on and preparing to run out.
“Alright, open the door but wait a few seconds before following me, okay?”
He nodded quickly before opening the door and letting her run out, and without hesitation, she went straight for the exit. not shortly after Windbreaker followed suit, bounding past prisoners and guards alike as he caught up to her, and together they busted out.
> chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken hours to run to the gryphon Kingdom borders, but when the little cottage like house came into view it all became more worth it. 
I made it out, we made it out, and now we'll get to spend some actual time together.
She leapt into the air with enough speed to kickstart her flight for the rest of the way, and windbreaker took to the air at her side, making her smile and jump towards him. Seconds after she had grabbed him he had tucked his wings in and they tumbled down a hillside in each other's arms, laughing all the way down until they had stopped. 

“I haven’t had so much fun like this in a while, let alone with a guard who was just standing at my cell door a few hours ago,”
Star sat up on him with a wide smile as she fixed her mane as she looked over at the house, and her expression turned to one of concern and she turned her eyes back to the remnants of the busy city.
“Are you sure this is far enough away? I mean, won’t they be looking for me to hurt me and lock me up?”
He reached up and took her hooves into his talons, giving them a gentle squeeze to catch her attention again. 

“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise, and if anything happens I will do whatever I can to help you get back to your daughter. You are a good mother and I hope that I can be a good father for her,”
She nodded silently and he sat up to hug her, holding her close as she clung to him, showing weakness had never been her strong suit but with him, she felt like she could be weak. After a few minutes she let go of him and got off of him, and they both began to walk towards the building together. When they got inside the dusty interior had made Star's ears fold back in slight disgust, but Windbreaker just sauntered in like it was nothing.

“I guess you haven’t been in here for a while, the dust in here could choke a bear,”
As she stepped in past the threshold she lifted her cloak off the ground and took it off carefully, so that she wouldn't kick up any dust.
“Tell you what, when you head out to work tomorrow I’ll clean it up for you, if I’m I’m going to stay here with you I might as well help you out with all this,” 
And as she hung her cloak up and pulled off the suit, he smiled at her, knowing that he couldn't be more happy with the suggestion.

> chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Windbreaker had woken up early and to an empty bed, something that he would have expected if he was truly alone in his house. But regardless of the fact that he had woken up to an empty bed he gotten up and began to do his typical morning routine, before finally putting on his armour before he headed downstairs and to the kitchen. When he had got there, however, he was surprised to see Star reared up and leaning over the stove while the smell of eggs cooking reached he reached him.

“Mmm. that smells really good, if I knew you'd get up earlier than me to make breakfast I would have tried to wake up with you,”
He said as he walked in, setting his helmet on the kitchen table in front of him, before taking a seat. Star had turned her head to look back at him, and as she lifted the frying pan off the stove, shifting around the omelette in it.

“You looked so cute when you were sleeping I didn't want to wake you, so I just decided to get you something to eat before you go,”
She slid the egg onto the plate next to her and pulled on some oven mitts as she pulled some cooked chicken breast from the oven and sliced off a few bits of it to lay on the plate beside the egg.
“I hope this is good enough for a meal in the morning, you can have the rest for dinner when you come home,” 
She put the plate down in front of him before going back to clean up, humming softly as she did.

> chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Star had had a full day of cleaning and touring the house’s interior, it was almost a surprise to hear the door opening downstairs. And she bolted downstairs reached for a dagger before she remembered that it had to be Windbreaker, no One else knew her location. So as she slowly moved into his line of sight, and when he saw her he smiled a pleasant smile, and closed the door behind him. 

“You look like you had a busy day, did you at least enjoy yourself?”
She shrugged as she stepped out a little bit, tilting her head to the side slightly as she looked down at the floor.

“It’s nice here but...I’m having trouble adjusting to this, I nearly attacked you just now because I thought someone had found me,”
Windbreaker took off his helmet and set it down by the door before walking over to her, when he got to her he wrapped his arms around her.

“Just give it time, I know it's hard now but it'll get easier over time, why don't we go out and just enjoy the rest of the day? I bet the sunset will be magical with you,”
She stood there for a minute or so just thinking about it, but she eventually agreed to go out and relax with him, like a proper first date.

“I think that would be perfect, let's not waste our time catching it, it'll be worth it if it's truly magical,”
She seemed to noticeably brighten up as she trotted to the kitchen and took off the apron she had worn to prepare her lunch, and practically dragged him back outside and up to a small hill a couple feet away. It was only when she had sat down and comfortable that she noticed that he hadn't had the chance to take off his armour before they rushed out, and she gave him an apologetic look while a small blush filled her cheeks.

“Oh, I um...sorry,”
She said quietly as he began to slide out of the armour, and why he was done he set it down beside him and sighed with relief, glancing up at the sky and at the blue expanse above him. He had gotten so relaxed that he laid back and sprawled out, and naturally, Star laid down at his side, resting a hoof on his chest as she too looked up at the sky. And as the sun began to slowly fall and turn the sky from blue to the reddish pinkish hues, before it slowly turned to a midnight blue star-studded sky, they both felt at ease.
> chapter 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The week that followed their first day together had been filled with excitement and their want to stay together, regardless of Windbreaker’s job and the fact that Star couldn't bring in the money she wanted to support him. And although he didn't want her to worry, he had noticed that the other guards had pushed their patrols out towards the borders of the town, and if they kept getting closer and closer. It had gotten to the point where they couldn't go out and watch the sunset anymore, and the more Windbreaker insisted on her staying inside the more she got suspicious of the reason why. until one day, when he had left for work she decided to take a look outside for the reason why she wasn't supposed to leave, nothing had come into view immediately, but after sitting and looking for a little bit she had noticed the glare of armour coming closer. It had made her heart race so quickly that once she had moved away from the window she was looking out of her hooves were trembling. Her instinct was to get her things and leave but at this distance she would never get away in time, that and the fact that she didn't want Windbreaker to worry about her sudden disappearance. so instead she decided to wait for him to get back before making a final decision, he was in the guard after all, he had to have known this was happening. So like the six nights before she made dinner for them both and waited for him to get home, but she decided against waiting for him in the kitchen when he had walked in.

“I’m home, Star? are you busy?”
She walked out of their room and went to the top of the stairs, catching his attention enough for him to look up at her, noticing her somber expression as she slowly descended the steps. 

“Welcome back, forgive me if I’m not as pleased to see as I usually am, I just found something troubling about how close the guard are getting to your..our home,”
She said as she passed him, heading towards the kitchen as he followed her, choosing to listen to what she had to say before responding.
“I was so curious to know what had you so afraid to let me go out, especially at night, so I took a little peek outside while you were out, and guess what I saw,”
She said as she put his still warm plate of food on the table where he had sat down.

“you..saw the guard, didn't you?”
He said, as he hesitantly began to eat, and his eyes followed her as she sat down in front of him, her front hooves pressed together in front of her as she sat there.

“Oh, so you did know? And the thought never would have occurred to you that I would maybe need to know this...important information?”
Her question was punctuated with a wave of her hoof before she set it back down on the table.
“Do you know why I chose to stay here and wait, I stayed because I was concerned with the fact that you’d be worried about me being gone, without a word, without a single sign that I had truly wanted to stay. But this, this could have spelled danger for me and you never told me how close they were,”
She was struggling to not raise her voice as she said these words, her worry and anger covering them with such a defensive tone that it was almost threatening to him. But in an attempt to calm her down he spoke carefully and tried not to make it sound like he was calmer than he was.

“I thought that it wouldn't come this close this fast, you must know that, I wouldn't keep it from you if I knew how fast that fleet would scour the land. And if they do come, I’ll instantly be there for you, and maybe we can make our getaway tomorrow, I can help you quickly and safely go if that's what you want,”
When he had finished his sentence her expression had changed to one of confused shock, which had quickly moved into a more offended expression.

“How could you think that about me? Do you think that I wanted to leave you!? Why in Tartarus would I ever want to leave you!?”
She was barely able to control her tone at this point, and the fact that she was now reared up and leaning on the table didn't make it any less frightening for Windbreaker, he had never seen her get so mad in the time they had been together, and it worried him.

“I’m sorry for assuming that you wanted to leave, I just want you to be safe, and you have a family to go back to, I would never want you to miss out on Sapphire growing into the strong well mannered dragon I know she could be. I would put your life before mine because you still have something to live for, and if you’re alive I will too,”
Silence fell over both of them and Star had slowly sat back down, she thought hard on his words and felt bad about getting so heated when he was just trying to keep her safe. After they had sat there in silence for a while she got up and had began to head back upstairs, saying a soft goodnight to him as she had left the kitchen, and Windbreaker only watched as she quietly walk away.
> chapter 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon after Windbreaker had come to bed he fell into a deep and peaceful sleep, and Star had unconsciously held onto him, making the sleep all the sweeter. They had stayed asleep for a few hours at a time, but they both woke up to a firm banging on the front door, and they both froze as they heard a guard yell from outside. Windbreaker looked to her and held a talon to his beak, telling her to stay quiet as he got up, which she decided to obey as she got up as well. While Windbreaker made his way downstairs she had begun to pack up her things and pulled on her cloak, she was ready to make her getaway if it would come that, she knew that fighting would only lead to her being caught a second time. So when she heard the front door open she stayed alert and listened in on the conversation going on downstairs. 

“Good evening sir, I’m sorry for waking you but I was sent here to ask you some questions, is it alright if I come in?”
Windbreaker silently nodded, and he stepped aside as the guard came in, being flanked by two others, equally suspicious as they looked about the entryway. 
“Would it be alright if my associates can search your home? it should only take a second and we’re pretty sure you have nothing to hide,”
Once again, Windbreaker silently agreed to let them do their thing, and one guard moved to check the kitchen, while the other went upstairs. Star tightened her saddlebags to her torso before she slid under the bed quietly, wrapping herself up in her dark cloak and making herself blend in with the darkness around her. She listened intently as the sound of talons pacing down the hall soon checked the bathroom and the storage closet, and now they were headed in her direction. She had stayed as still as she could be as the guard went to check the closet in front of her, and as the guard had walked out to check under the bed she readied herself to knock him out. And just as the guard had looked under the bed at her she shot magic at his face, and as the spell took its effect on him he began to lean forward, forcing her to catch him in her magic. The guard was softly snoring as he was pulled under the bed and out of sight, giving her the chance to enchant his eyes so he couldn't see her before setting him down on the floor beside the bed. When the guard had woken up he looked around curiously and seemed to be dazed as he walked out of the room and headed downstairs and back to the living room. Things seemed okay for the time being, but then she heard the main guard walking upstairs with Windbreaker. He began to do the same clean sweep as the guard she had enchanted.
maybe he was too out of it, or maybe it took him too long to leave, either way, I’m getting very close to losing my cover, it's now or never for me.
She thought as she pulled two daggers out of her cloak and turned to face the window beside the bed, waiting for the gryphon guard to come in front of her. The moment the guard turned his back she jumped out and stabbed both of the daggers into his shoulder blades, and rolled with him under her until he was pushed through the window and to the ground below. When he hit the ground she pulled her daggers out and put them back in her cloak, and looked up just in time to see Windbreaker looking down at her, his face a mess of fear and worry. And as the guard groaned behind her she took one last glance up at him before bolting, and as she disappeared into the night, her tears painted her face and gave way to her despair. 
I’m so sorry Windbreaker, I promise that I will never forget what you've done for me.
> epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following year Star had successfully made it home, and as a result ahead went back into her regular life routine. seeing Sapphire was worth the long and difficult trip back, but as she unpacked she noticed that she still had her skin-tight suit with her. She didn't like seeing it, it reminded her of the hell she had escaped, but it also reminded her of Windbreaker. And as she sat there she staring at it, she began to cry, she felt so sorry for leaving, but it was the only way she knew that he'd be safe from the trouble that followed her. But deep down she felt like he could protect her, and she would know if he really could if she stayed, but at what cost? It didn't feel right to simply get rid of the suit, though, so she brought it down to her basement, where she had three mannequins lined up side by side. One of them had her cloak, while the other had a dress she would wear for special occasions, the last one was bare and she pulled the suit on to it carefully. When she had stepped back to look at it a smile crossed her lips, even with the tears flowing from her eyes she seemed happy, and she vowed to never forget where that suit had come from, and who she’d met when she had gotten it. And as she went back up to her room she felt like things would be ok somehow.