"So when was anyone going to tell me that we've been travelling with a witch?

  "Sybil, they're called 'mages' 'round 'ere. An' sides, I s'pose we weren't to know."

  My vision was murky, but I was aware that people were shouting again. My body burned with the feeling of my magic doing its work, my wounds nearly completely closed as the haze cloaked the area around me.

  "You're right, Torsefers: it's none of your business to know. Now get away from her; I need to change her clothes before she gets any colder."

  "An untrained mage is a danger to everyone, especially themselves. Just look at her."

  I was lying on a blanket on the floor of the carriage; that much, I could put together. My clothes felt disgustingly sticky, and clung to my chest and arms, but someone was shuffling me out of them. The pain was slowly subsiding, and I managed to weakly resist being handled.

  "Oh! Sophie!"

  Something heavy pressed against my chest and I wheezed out a painful cough. Erika began wailing and sobbing tears of relief, so I attempted to hug her with one arm.

  "Sophie! What in the world were you thinking!?"

  "Sorry Erika... I guess I... just wasn't thinking, actually."

  Heavy boots approached the carriage, and I recoiled a bit with fear until the blurry figure came close enough for me to see that it was Tor.

  "Lass, I won't say I don' appreciate what ye did. Odds are, Sybil an' I would've died if ye 'adn't. But truly, they were ransomers, not assassins. Likely as not, you and yer sister would've been sold to yer Father for coin, not killed."

  He held out his hand to hold mine, and I felt the calluses and scars that covered the whole of it as he rubbed his thumb against my palm.

  "Risk of dyin's part of the job, m'lady. Next time, please, keep yerself safe first."

  His other hand reached out to pat my head, giving it a playful ruffle.

  "Now, get yerself dressed fer bed an' rest up. Sybil an' I 'ave some words fer our companions over there."

  Tor closed the door on Erika and I, and I heard muffled, fearful shouting in the distance as his heavy boots crunched against the ground.

  ---

  When I awoke in the morning, I found that I had been allowed to sleep well past noon, and that we still had not left the town because the coachman had not returned.

  As I stepped outside the carriage, Tor greeted me heartily.

  "G'mornin' m'lady. It seems our driver won' be joinin' us today. What'll we be doin'?"

  I blinked in the light as I looked around in confusion.

  Erika was speaking quietly with Sybil by the campfire, which was now reduced to coals and being used to keep the remains of breakfast warm. The two other guards, Rupert and Paul, were nowhere to be seen.

  A cart was passing us by on the road, several peasantfolk riding in the back. The sun was high above us, and the open sky was clear in all directions.The river was clean, and flowing quickly with snowmelt. A few men were fishing at the bank, behind the stone breakwater created to protect the town docks.

  "Why are you asking me?"

  Tor smiled back at me, gently taking me by the hand to help me down from the carriage to lead me to the cut log seats.

  "Well, m'lady. We took our orders from yer father, but it seems 'is representative 'as absconded after last night. That means yer in charge."

  I reeled back a bit, leaning into Tor's arms as he sat me down and Erika put a plate in my hands. Sausages. Toasted bread. A few eggs, possibly purchased in town given their uniform size.

  "I... I'm in charge?"

  "Yes, my lady," answered Sybil. "You need to be the one to make the decision. Are we moving on without the coachman, or are we waiting for him?"

  I turned to Erika for help, but she shook her head and turned away.

  "I have to make the decision?"

  Sybil raised an eyebrow high at this, but said nothing.

  "I suppose... We'll move on, then? We're a bit late starting out, but those men may have had allies that will be displeased if they find us lingering here."

  Sybil and Tor nodded, rising to their feet to begin packing up. Erika pointed at my plate. "Good. Now eat. You need to build your strength, no?"

  I finished my plate, feeling rather awkward as everyone else around me began cleaning up what remained of the camp supplies. Sybil whistled, and the horse came back from its grazing immediately at her call. Tor hitched the horse to the carriage and assumed the reins as Sybil took her position at the rear.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Erika took the plate from my hand and helped me inside before following after me.

  The dizzying feeling of responsibility and trust didn't fade until long after we left that place, but in its place I felt a profound sense of freedom.

  ---

  Thankfully, the rest of our journey was uneventful.

  I used my newfound power to request that we all stay in town together, stopping every afternoon or evening where we could to sleep at an inn or tavern's loft in safety.

  On one occasion, a small village no larger than Bump had been the only safe place to stop, and the village chief let us sleep in his home. No matter how much I insisted, he refused to allow me to sleep on the floor, instead leaving with his wife and children to stay at a neighbor's home while Erika and I slept in his bed.

  The plains became even flatter and more gentle as we approached Doromare, and the air was noticeably more humid. Despite this, the final few days before our arrival were intolerably cold, the wind bringing a deep chill inland from the sea.

  But when Doromare was finally in sight, it took my breath away.

  It was a tiered city built around a series of locks, managing boats as they made their way to and from the Aurum river and the ocean. The river had cut its way through the cliffs many, many years ago, and the city rose up over them grand and tall, with the towers of the king's castle faintly visible above the walls of the highest tier.

  It was a testament to the wealth of the Lombardis, and to their power and influence. That the city was larger than the capital itself was a given, but the sheer magnitude of it all was a difference that beggared belief.

  Above the gates, while the guards verified the paperwork that Sybil held and the seal upon our carriage, I read the words "From the sea of gold, our dominion," written in old Lombardi script.

  After we had entered the city proper, Tor took the carriage aside and he and Sybil came around to speak to me through the window.

  "Well m'lady, this'll be where we were told to part ways. Seein' as ye 'ave no coachman, though, I reckon we could escort you just a ways more. 'Ave ye any idea where ye were meant to be staying?"

  I felt my heart sink into a deep pit in my stomach. "No. Father never tells me anything," I thought, but was too embarrassed to speak aloud.

  "Unfortunately no, that information was left with the coachman."

  Sybil now approached.

  "Well, based on the timing, you're here to make your debut, correct?"

  "Ah, yes."

  "Well, that would mean that you'd probably be staying at either an estate owned by your family, or with a friend of your family at their guest house. Any ideas there?"

  I held back the tears that were threatening to emerge, and I briefly wondered if now might be the right time to simply abandon everything and disappear into the city streets.

  Children laughed nearby, chasing a cloth ball down the street. Wheels turned and creaked as other carriages and wagons passed in and out of the gate.

  "Actually, that might not be such a bad idea. Who's to say we didn't get captured in that attack?"

  Erika coughed, and squeezed my hand.

  "Well," she began, "in absence of any leads, we could use the services of an information guild, no?"

  I cocked my head to the side, as Erika waved Sybil and Tor off so we could speak in private.

  "If we don't know where the Duke intended for us to stay, or as a proxy of that, where he intended to stay, that information would probably already be for sale. These sorts of things are valuable for merchants and... other sorts."

  "And we could afford this?"

  Erika coughed awkwardly. "Yes. I could afford it. Tell them to take us to the Faraldi merchant company's Doromare office."

  Erika turned back to the side, feigning ignorance as I bade Sybil return and made the request.

  I looked to Erika for more answers, but she seemed too uncomfortable to speak, and we remained in silence as the carriage began moving again.

  ---

  The Faraldi merchant company's office was a three story stone building with deep green heraldry proudly hanging from every available space on the front of the building. The family crest, a bird flying over a forest, was emblazoned in gold on the front of the building and the sign out front simply said "Faraldi."

  A bustling stream of couriers and other employees was flowing through its side entrance, and the front entrance was abuzz with a small crowd of merchants waiting for their opportunity to enter, signalling prices and offers to the stoic guards out front to no avail.

  I turned back to Erika, wondering how on earth she planned to get inside, but she remained distant, staring off to the side without explanation. As the carriage came to a stop, she turned to me rather gravely.

  "Sophie. I need you to promise me to never, ever tell anyone that I came here. If anyone asks, you came up with this idea with Sybil's help. I was not involved, and you definitely didn't see what you're about to see. Okay?"

  I shook a bit with fear and trepidation as she took my hand. The last time Erika had been this serious with me, she had broken down into tears.

  I nodded, squeezing her hand in mine. "We're in this together, Erika. I don't understand, but I trust you."

  Erika sighed a breath of relief, and exited the carriage.

  She took long strides up to the front, pushing past the crowd to approach the guard. With only a few whispered words, she entered without any delay.

  I heard Tor let out a long whistle. "Well now. Now that's interestin'."

  We waited there a long while, and I listened to Tor and Sybil resume their usual casual banter. Normally, I would be more deeply interested, as Sybil was being quite vulgar in her depiction of something that had occurred a few nights earlier, but this time I was too focused on staring at the doors of the merchant's office.

  "Erika, what in the world have you gotten yourself into..."

  Finally, after far too long, she emerged, looking a bit shaken but no worse for wear. She pushed her way back to us, ignoring the complaints and shouting of the crowd, and stepped into the carriage.

  "Your father is planning on staying at the Desrosiers' estate. They're a vassal family that owes him quite a bit of unpaid taxes, so he was intending to use this opportunity to pressure them for some extra hospitality. I don't know exactly if that's where he intended for us to stay, but we're far too close to the Queen's court for him to do anything too drastic about it. Propriety will require him to put up with our being there."

  I nodded, and gave the signal to Tors and Sybil for us to move on.

  Our brief respite from our family was now over. It was once again time to face them.