The widow huffed and scowled at Aneja again. "All ten acres are ripe! Th' red ribbon jes' shows these peaches are fer th' king. An' bein' the king's peaches, that means we're allowed ta kill anybody what steals one. 'Sides, I thought you said it was critters. What makes ya think a critter knows anythin' about a red ribbon?" She eyed Aneja suspiciously, deciding she'd be checking this city girl's breath in the morning for the scent of peaches.

Widow Harper ignored Phaelan and his singing, assuming that anyone with that kind of physique couldn't be much use for anything besides looking pretty. Had she been looking in his direction, though, she might have seen the thing that caught his eye. Something vividly red was caught on a branch about 12 feet off the ground. It had been lying hidden along the top of the branch, hidden by leaves, but something had caused it to stir. Perhaps the breeze had changed slightly, or perhaps it had been the vibrations from Phaelan's singing, but whatever it was definitely didn't belong in a normal orchard. Drawn by the bright color, Phaelan arrived directly underneath the red thing, and saw that it was a large scarlet feather that shimmered slightly as if it was dusted with gold. And 'large' was almost an understatement. It seemed to be a body feather, but it was large enough to cover the orc's palm.