Sybil, Ruben, and Tor crowded around me in a protective circle long after the Faraldi courier had disappeared from sight.

  The alleys had fewer twists and turns, this close to the city wall, but there were still many gaps and nooks that assailants could hide within, so I understood the potential dangers. However...

  "Everyone, please. The Faraldi had an outstanding deal with Erika. They aren't going to kill me until they collect."

  Sybil bristled, the corner of her mouth pulling into an unsure frown.

  "How did they know we were coming, Soph?"

  "I... don't know. Are we sure they did know?"

  "We just got here, and they immediately tracked you down. They must know something. While I can believe them having someone stationed at the gate, it beggars belief that they knew to approach you."

  "Oh..."

  I suddenly felt much less safe, and withdrew into their circle of protection.

  "I wish Erika were here. She could have made sense of this."

  My eyes welled up with tears, but I blinked them away before they could fall.

  ---

  The Nightingale guild hall was just as humble as I remembered, but the sight of it made me feel as if I was finally shrugging a great weight off my shoulders.

  That tiny building was more a home to me than any other.

  As I let the relief wash over me, I noticed a small sign was now leaning against the front wall, simply saying "open."

  "Sybil, is someone else here?"

  Sybil immediately perked up. "Oh! We've arrived at a good time."

  I squinted, trying to peek through the windows as we approached. "Why's that?"

  "Alana is here. We can sort things out pretty quick this way."

  I heard Ruben step away, and turned to see him stretching out his arms with an exaggerated yawn. "Well, I s'pose I'll be headed to the inn, then."

  Tor gave a sheepish grin, turning to follow after Ruben. "Think I'll go fer a bath."

  I watched them disappear into the city, and heard Sybil give an exasperated sigh. "What's going on with them, Syb?"

  "They're cowards, Soph. They're waiting to see if Alana is in a good mood before they show their faces."

  I startled at that. "Is she violent?"

  "No, you'll see. Well, actually, hopefully you won't."

  With that, we arrived at the door, and Sybil walked in without announcing herself.

  "Sybil!" shouted a woman from within.

  Before she could even make it more than a couple steps inside, there were the sounds of heavy footfalls, and Sybil was lifted off the ground into a bear hug.

  I heard the woman's full throated, ugly crying. "Sybil... she... she left me..."

  "That's... a real shame, Lana, but you should really pull yourself together. We have company."

  Sybil was dropped to the ground onto her feet, and a tall woman, taller than even Sybil, stepped into my sight.

  She was massive, filling the entire frame, with red hair braided down to her shoulderblades. Her eyes, hazel, and still wet with tears, pierced directly through my gaze like a lance.

  Though she was unarmed, and dressed in loose fitting linens instead of armor, I felt immediately that she didn't need anything other than her bare hands to kill me if she wished.

  Her face forced a friendly smile as she approached, and I froze, like a rabbit before a lioness, making neither motion nor sound.

  "Well hello, darlin'. How can we help you today?"

  Her voice was raspy, but kind, and she reached her hand out to me. I made to shake it, but she leaned down to kiss my fingers.

  "Calm down, Lana. She's with me, not a customer."

  Immediately, she relaxed. Her head tilted, and with a slight lean to her entire body, she looked down past her nose at an angle to inspect me.

  "Oh? With you how?"

  Sybil walked over to wrap her arm around my shoulders.

  "This is Sophia, my apprentice."

  Alana raised an eyebrow, still giving me an evaluating look that had my heart pounding with fear.

  "Huh. Well, come on in, then."

  She turned to walk inside, and I felt the pressure fall off of me as I took deep breaths to try to calm down.

  Sybil leaned down to level her face with mine. "You alright, Soph?"

  I rubbed my arms to try to shake off the jitters and avoided her gaze.

  "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. She's just... really strong."

  Sybil laughed. "You have a gift for understatement. Don't worry about it, Soph. Alana is strong enough to be kind even to her enemies."

  "I don't envy anyone who could call themselves her enemy."

  ---

  As we walked into the small main room of the guild hall, Alana was sitting on the desk, facing the door, and leaning back to rest her feet on a crate. She was practically lounging, but I still felt her control in her rock steady poise.

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  Sybil was first to break the silence.

  "So Lana, who left who now?"

  Immediately, my image of Alana as a deadly predator crumbled to dust as her eyes became flooded with tears.

  She leaned forward to wipe her tears away with her palms, barely managing an intelligible response.

  "S-S-Sara left me, Sybil. For some stupid guy. Just like they always do."

  Sybil stepped forward to awkwardly pat Alana on the back.

  "C'mon now. You don't need to get all worked up over this one lady."

  Alana looked up to Sybil with snot dripping down her face.

  "You don't get it. It's so much harder to find gals willing to give me a shot, Sybil."

  I felt more and more out of place as their conversation continued, but one thing stuck out to me.

  "Alana likes women? And... Sybil is okay with that?"

  I felt like I had eaten rocks, for how heavy the pit in my stomach felt.

  "I wonder if they'd be okay with me, if I explained about... me."

  I caught Sybil glancing at me.

  "Well... here's something that might cheer you up. Sophia here is looking to join the guild."

  "Ah... what? And you got me all snivelling and crying in front of her? Is this your idea of a joke?"

  "Yes."

  Sybil calmly sidestepped a playful slap on the arm from Alana as she reached inside one of her pockets for a bit of cloth to offer her.

  Alana accepted, wiping her face and regaining her composure.

  "Well, nice to meet you, Sophia. I'm Alana Nightingale, and I'm the leader of these knuckleheads."

  She made another playful swat at Sybil, but Sybil deftly stepped to the side again and pretended not to notice.

  I let out a small laugh, possibly the first real one in many days.

  "I'm Sophia Pr..."

  "...Just Sophia. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam Nightingale."

  Alana laughed with her whole chest.

  "Holy hell, Sybil, where'd you find this one? Steal her from a castle tower? 'Madam Nightingale.'"

  She reached out to shake my hand, grinning, which I accepted. Her hands were calloused and scarred, but her grip was gentle.

  "Listen Sophia, there's no misters or madams in this guild. I'm Alana, alright?"

  "I understand."

  She sighed dramatically, putting a hand to her forehead.

  "Well, we'll work on it."

  Alana turned to Sybil.

  "If you're vouching for her, I'm willing to look the other way, but her build leaves something to be desired. No meat on her at all. It'll be months before she'll be fighting fit. You willing to front her dues until she can start taking work?"

  Sybil scratched at her scalp.

  "Well, she's real good with numbers, Lana. Real good. I was hoping you'd consider letting her handle the ledgers until her training is over."

  Alana looked at me, suddenly appraising me quite differently.

  "The ledgers, huh? You sure she can be trusted?"

  "With my life."

  I felt an immediate spike of panic. "Please don't say that, Syb. I'm not worth anyone's life."

  The mood in the room turned ice cold, and silence blanketed the room like snow.

  Alana coughed, taking out a thin book bound with leather straps from the desk.

  "Well, far be it from me to deny someone that Sybil is personally vouching for. What name should I put on the register?"

  "...Sophia."

  "Do you have a family name?"

  "..."

  I didn't want to say Printemps.

  After a moment, Sybil leaned in to take the book from Alana. She wrote something down before passing it and the pen to me.

  My name on the sheet said "Sophia Kynigos," and there was a blank space next to it for my mark.

  I looked up to her, and she rubbed her nose with her thumb, embarrassed.

  "You don't have to sign if you're not alright with it, but... you uh... you know. Being family might be nice. If that's okay with you."

  I stared back down at the sheet, before carefully signing my new name.

  Sophia Kynigos.

  It felt a bit odd, having a Corone name. But being family with Sybil... didn't feel too bad.

  "It's certainly better than my old name."

  Sybil beamed with pride.

  ---

  My room at the inn was nice, but not as nice as I was used to.

  It was clean, but not fresh. There was a small chest, but no wardrobe. When I fell onto the bed, it was stiff under my weight.

  This would be my home for several weeks to come, at least.

  Alana had offered me a small initial salary, contingent on my work from then on. Her training didn't come cheap, and it was also taken out of my pay.

  But even accounting for that, I would likely never again be able to afford the luxuries that had been freely given to me as a noble.

  I considered this, quietly, as I turned in my bed to look out the window.

  This room didn't have a standing mirror.

  But there was a small metal sheet on the table.

  I sat up, reaching out to grasp it.

  It was a piece of steel with rounded edges, polished until it was clear enough to see my reflection in.

  I stared at it for a long, long while.

  It was cloudy, and oddly colored.

  But if I tried enough, I could almost fool myself into thinking it was a strange sort of window.

  And right there, on the other side of that little window, I could see Erika's face in my own reflection.

  My tears fell again, scattering on the small mirror, as I reached out to touch Erika's face on its surface.

  "How am I supposed to live without you, Erika? When I see your face in my every reflection?"

  I slowly brought up the mirror until I was pressing my cheek against its surface.

  It was cold.

  Just like...

  I threw the mirror onto the floor, leaving a mark on the wood, and turned back over onto my side to bury my face into the pillow.

  I heaved, and the throbbing pain in my chest grew so tremendous that I thought I might be dying.

  I breathed, deeply, and desperately, like I was trying to come up for air, like I was drowning in nothing.

  I felt cold, and curled up in the blankets until I was in a tangle, but I couldn't get any warmer.

  "Erika..."

  "Erika!"

  I threw off the blankets and stood up, my heart pounding. The entire room felt too... too much. The silence felt too loud.

  I stumbled out into the hallway, making my way toward Sybil's room to knock, desperately, on her door.

  Shuddering.

  Cold.

  Alone.

  Her door cracked open, and my eyes barely registered that she was holding a knife as she braced on the wall to the side.

  "Soph? What's wrong?"

  I couldn't manage to say anything, but after searching my face, she gently reached out to pull me into a hug.

  "Shh. Shh. It's okay."

  She ran her fingers through my hair.

  "I'm here."