"I have a cousin, a smithy, he could use an apprentice," the guard said quietly. She named a town that Kynan, former prince, knew to be small and quiet and just beyond the border.

Kynan nodded from the other side of the bars. He could survive being exiled as long as he found a new identity, surely.

He knew weapons well enough; he could learn a trade even at his age.

The guard said nothing. Instead she continued on her rounds as if she'd not even paused.

But Kynan, former prince, had a bit of hope, which was probably more than he deserved.

#wss366