We ended up getting out at an inn. A building meant for travelers. She handed the man at the front a yellow-covered disk. Lady Evelyn noticed me looking at that but simply told me to wait a bit longer. Our room was on the second floor. We had two, one for the girls and the boys, or the boy in this case.

  Before anything else, she got me out of the riding clothes. She had already asked the man at the front to prepare us some warm water and whatever was for dinner. By the time she got me out of the clothes, she patted me down with a warm rag. It felt really nice. Today was the first time I wouldn’t be getting a proper bath, it would seem.

  “Do you need help getting out of your riding clothes?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “Mine is a commoner version. The lace in the back is just for show; the actual straps are in the front.”

  “How is that fair!” I said with apparent frustration. She got the better version.

  “It is a status thing. A commoner cannot have your version because they cannot use it effectively. A noble can. In what world would a noble be helping a commoner with their dress? You have the better version, even if you don’t like it.”

  I just pouted with my eyes as she pulled the nightgown over me. Oh, that felt nice after the long day of traveling. She walked over, picked up a bag that made a clicking noise, and tossed it towards me.

  I caught it. Peeking inside, I saw lots of grey disks. “What’s this?”

  “Currency. Anlage silver coins. So, let me guess, in Hatula, you did bartering?” she asked.

  I nodded. Bartering was just a basic life skill. She went on to explain that while that was common in villages, it was never something you’d see outside of a village. Most of the world uses an updated version known as currency exchange. This is part of why we could get a room like this so easily by just handing over a coin. Interesting.

  I looked at the silver disks. They had an imprint of a three-pointed leaf on them. “So, how much are these worth?” I asked.

  “Well, those are meant for sending letters to your parents. So, if you lose them, we won’t be able to send any letters.”

  “What!” I said, clutching the bag tightly. “Then you should-”

  “Nope. You hold it. You can use them on whatever you want. Each coin is worth one letter home and one letter back to you. So, that way you can get an idea of how valuable they were,” she said.

  Ugh. I wanted to stick my tongue out at her, but I instead counted the coins. Twenty-eight. Twenty-eight precious letters home. I clenched the bag tightly. Hmm. Where to put it before bed? When she wasn’t looking, I slipped it between the bed and the bed frame. I felt that was pretty secure.

  Dinner was more what I was used to from Hatula: steamed veggies, some butter, and a cut of meat, from the taste, I think rabbit. It was very similar to what Mom would make—definitely a decent change of pace.

  We had gotten up early, and the travel had tired me out more than I realized, so after dinner, I found myself getting tired. Evelyn noticed, walked over to me, and brought the blanket up. “I am going to do a bit more before bed. If I am not here when you wake up, the door to our left, that way,” she said, pointing towards the desk she was sitting at. “The coachman is staying there. You did well today. Goodnight, Julia.”

  I smiled. My name was something I seldom heard this past month. Though she did say I would hear it more during our travels. Since we were keeping my status a secret, but that didn’t change, hearing her call me by my name at bedtime had a particular effect on me. That wasn’t luck or circumstances. It was a promise.

  The next morning, Lady Evelyn woke me up before sunrise. So early, I grumbled. I thought I would be wearing my riding clothes today, but she said we would wear our regular clothes instead. The only trip she would have considered taking a carriage for was to our first spot, and that wasn’t worth changing clothes.

  “We should talk about today,” she said. “We are going to be meeting knights. I mentioned it yesterday. Twenty in total. And you're going to pick both a male and a female knight.”

  “A night? A person? I don’t understand,” I asked while yawning.

  “Kuhler Atem,” she said as cold air hit the back of my neck.

  I cried out in shock. “What was that for!”

  “Not night as in nighttime, a knight, it is someone who can fight. The word sounds similar, but it is different. Understand the clues, nighttime isn’t a person.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I sighed. How was I supposed to know the difference? Both words sounded exactly the same! Not just similar.

  “So, what is a knight then? Why are we going to meet some of them?” I asked.

  “As I said, they can fight. They will be protecting us,” she added.

  “Protecting us from what?” I asked. I thought we had like the king's protection or something.

  She flicked the back of my neck with her middle finger. “Don’t tell me Hatula is so safe they never need to fight?”

  “I guess the men occasionally fight wolves or a bear that gets too close to the village,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “Will you stop messing with me?”

  “I didn’t realize you struggle to operate as well in the morning. We will need to work on that,” she said as she began lacing up my dress.

  I grumbled a bit. Who wouldn’t be slightly tired after waking up before sunrise? It was positively unnatural.

  “But yes. We are traveling a long way. People who can fight would be useful. Whether what we need to fight off is a wolf or a bear or something different.”

  The tone of the last part caught my attention. “Something different?” I asked.

  She smiled as she began brushing my hair. “The wolves you encountered in Hatula were probably all the same. But in the wider world. Sometimes the wolves you face are bigger, or faster, or smarter. Sometimes they are good at hiding. Traveling to Stechen was one thing. But traveling to the royal capital is another.”

  “You didn’t arrive with any knights, though?” I asked.

  She flicked my ear this time. “Will you stop speaking without thinking? Why would I take a guard knight to the Malatise Barony? I am not that important. Plus, I did have a guard knight for three days of my journey. Just because you don’t see something, don’t assume it isn’t there.”

  I rubbed my ear and took a breath. “Will you please explain the difference in circumstance that requires us to have a guardknight for far longer? Since it seems we shall have them for nearly two weeks, to your three days.”

  She began tying my hair. “Better. And simple. I am a commoner, and not worth the price to pay knights for the entire trip. You are. And don’t you dare say you aren’t worth it. Whether you accept it or not. You are. This should become clear eventually.”

  I closed my mouth. I was still gonna think it. I understood what she meant. Obviously, being a Maiden of Wind was a big deal. A deal that forced me out of Hatula, threatened the lives of those I loved, and had all these people treating me differently. But knowing that didn’t change how I felt. I felt like just Julia of Hatula. Just well, a village girl.

  She tapped my shoulder to indicate she was done. I stood up and stretched slightly. “So you said this was a big deal? But if we are just getting two people to travel with us. Why is that a big deal?”

  “Because you're important. Protecting someone important is a huge thing. People who are behind in their marriage race may suddenly pull ahead. Others may have been preparing to marry, and you taking them away from home means they won’t get to marry their sweetheart. And those are just two of a thousand things that could happen.”

  “What!” I shouted. “You're saying I could run everyone's life by accident! How am I supposed to pick?”

  This was ridiculous. I didn’t know anything about them. I didn’t know anything about this situation. How could she expect me to… do that?

  She smiled but looked down. “Exactly. You need to learn. You can ask questions. You can look at them and try to tell what they are thinking. But I advise you not to ask them if they want to go.”

  How did she know I was gonna say that! She seemed to catch my next word more often than I could consider just lucky. She did know this stuff. “But… why not? Isn’t that the simplest question to ask?”

  She rested her hand on my shoulder. “Julia. If they hesitate to answer a question or refuse to answer. That could be grounds to harm them. And let's presume you did ask them that, and they all answered. And when it's not perfect. When it isn’t two wanna go, and the other eighteen don’t. When all twenty want to go. Or if all twenty don’t wanna go. Can your heart handle forcing them? Because, just like we are going to the royal capital. Two of these knights are coming with us. Do you really think that is a question you should ask?”

  I just looked down. “This sucks. Aren’t you better at it? Why-”

  “I have made mistakes too. You think I was perfect my first time? What a farce. I’m not even perfect now. One day, as the Wind Maiden, you are going to face choices like this that decide hundreds of lives. Do you really want that time to be your first?”

  I just sat there for a moment. I didn’t have words. I couldn’t argue, at least not against the idea. I could maybe argue I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve that power. I don’t deserve that responsibility. But, she would just flick me again. What would change?

  “Can I just have a minute, please?” I asked.

  I was shocked to hear her say yes. Apparently, this was part of her plan. She expected me to have a hard time with this. She woke me up early so that I could go slow. That I could have these minutes. Lady Evelyn, like all nobles, even if she wasn’t one, was an enigma I couldn’t understand. One moment, she felt like Mom; the next, like a bully. Switching faster than I could imagine. It churned my stomach to think that they wanted me to be like that.

  As the sun peaked through the window, we decided to begin walking. Lady Evelyn gave me some advice. She told me to look at body language. Try to understand it, and define what these people were saying to me. She also told me to pay attention to more than just whether they seem like they want to go. After all, if I picked an unqualified knight, they might fail to protect us. She said that she’d step in if she thought I was making a grave mistake, that I needed to have confidence in myself.

  Suddenly, I was happy that we hadn’t eaten breakfast first. Apparently, she planned breakfast after we made our selection. Lady Evelyn’s experience once again had proved useful.