Rebellion - 9 (Patreon)

The wind stirred softly, silently, nary a whisper in the leaves and branches of the bushes around me, and yet once again it carried the scent of blood and raised my hackles. Once, even twice or thrice, could have been attributed to the war, the many casualties of the rebellion – but for the sixth day running? A warning given so constantly and quietly?

If I could without giving away I'd finally noticed, I'd kick myself for not noticing it sooner. The signs were, in hindsight, plainly obvious.

But as stupid as I felt for ignoring Hannah's wolf howling and having its calls answered in a well-settled valley, I wasn't actually stupid enough to head out and try to deal with this alone.

Finishing up my business and pointedly ignoring the urge to scan the rocks and crags that made up the hilly slope we were encamped beneath for our stalker, I waved to the men on night watch and made my way back to mine and Vivi's tent.

Unless I saw glowing eyes in the dark, all I could possibly do was alert them that I was aware. And, quite frankly, being ambushed and bitten because I had to go pee in the night was not something I wanted to live with – not that any other time would be much better, but I had to look at the incredulous to not be worried here.

Arugal had been containing the infected soldiers well, hadn't he? Had some slipped through? When Genn ordered new victims... to not be kept... had they started hiding their wounds?

In the end, worrying over whatever method this one – and the way the air wrapped around me told me there was just one – used to get through the wall was pointless. Deal with the worgen first, stop them from going out and infecting others, then spend time figuring out where it came from.

It wasn't like it would tell me how it got here. Though I might as well ask.

Slipping into my tent I paused, Vivi had shifted in her sleep; one hand reaching out to where I had been, while she had the most adorable disappointed look on her face because I wasn't there.

I'd much rather just lie down, snuggle up to her, and enjoy the night... but no.

"Vivi, wake up; we're being tracked." I said, trusting in Frazzle's silencing enchantment. It'd done well enough with all the other noise we'd made on the march. "Need to deal with it, get dressed."

Not bothering to even pretend to look away, quite enjoying watching Vivi as she sleepily started stretching and shifting, I started getting ready myself. Enchanted as my night clothes were, they weren't made for protection. Something I might need to rectify in the future...

It's not like I could choose when I got into a fight all the time. If I'd been attacked I'd have been... well, in a shift and knickers.

I snorted heavily, barely restraining my laughter.

"What?"

"Just thinking about battle knickers." I answered with a grin, unable to stop myself from imagining Vivi in that kind of gear. "You know, enchanted for protection when you get ambushed in your sleep. Or going to the loo."

There was certainly plenty of provocative 'armour' which I remembered, but whether it actually existed...? I hadn't a clue!

Vivi stared for a moment before shaking her head. "I meant by what. What's following us?"

"Ah." Right, of course, relevant information. "Blood on the wind, wolves howling, etc. Definitely a worgen lurking in the hills, and worse, it's been following us since Carnam Castle. I just didn't pay attention."

"I didn't either." Vivi muttered unhappily. "I smelt it too... but it's been weeks. And I smell it in my dreams."

"Yeah." Keeping my distance from the fights themselves left me with... less visceral images to haunt my nightmares, and the aftermath was easily filed under my already plentiful catalogue of medical horrors. But that didn't mean I didn't have any problems; we were killing people. "That's why I missed it too."

Taking a deep breath I shook myself, pushing away those thoughts. We had work to do. "It's just the one, I'm reasonably certain of that at least."

"And if it's been this long without an attack, considering how they behave, it's following us for a reason. It wants something – which means something to do with you." Vivi said as she affixed her sword to her belt. "And it hasn't approached because–"

"I've not made myself vulnerable." I finished for her. Even just now, out there in the dark, I'd barely been out of sight enough to have privacy. Half a dozen men on watch, more who'd leap to action within a few minutes. "I just... don't go wandering out alone. Whenever I go out like that I'm flying, which they shouldn't know about."

Vivi nodded; that was probably as good as we were getting for its motivations. "We need to deal with it before it infects anyone... if it hasn't already." She let out a disgusted groan and flopped back into our bedding. "Which means a miserable hunt and trying to corner it."

I shook my head. That just wasn't going to work, not in this terrain. Though depictions of the worgen hadn't exactly been consistent, they were fast, strong, and nimble. The limits weren't something Krennan, Arugal, or I had found but...

Being able to leap up onto the roofs of multi-story buildings, like I vaguely remembered? Yeah, at least some of them could do that.

"It'll just escape into the hills, divination or not this is the worst place for us to track it." I reached out and took Vivi's hand preemptively, she wasn't going to like my suggestion. "But, if it's after me... well, why don't we go for a moonlit stroll through the hills for a bit?"

Not unaware, not recklessly, but still acting as bait.

Predictably, her brow furrowed and she frowned. "I'm supposed to be keeping you safe." She accused.

I smiled back widely. "But you will be." The two of us should be able to take on a worgen, unless this was sodding Prime – at which point we were in a bad position no matter what we decided to do. "And besides, I'm not saying we do this stupidly. We can tell Howard what we're doing; we lure it out, make a ruckus, and have everyone come to back us up while they can't get away."

There were risks, no question. Trying to claim they were more present than the risks we faced by taking part in a war... well, I'd disagree.

Vivi hummed for a few moments thoughtfully, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb. Then, the moment she came to a conclusion, she snatched my collar and pulled me down into a passionate kiss. My mewl of surprised protest went entirely ignored, and, as she dug her hand into my hair and held the other, clasped tightly with mine, to her chest, it soon turned to pleasure.

Too soon, too bloody soon, we had to separate for air.

"Wouldn't love you half as much if you weren't such a hero." Vivi said through her pants, her cheeks flushed and desire burning in her eyes. "C'mon, let's go get scolded by my brother because we're gonna be reckless adventurers."

Pulling her cloak around her shoulders she made moved out of the tent quickly, leaving me alone.

Feeling a little dazed, and still very breathless, it took me a moment to follow. "I'll show you adventurous..." I muttered, distracted by thoughts of what to do after the worgen was dealt with.

Two steps out of the tent I had to head back in to finish buttoning up my shirt and put my jacket on. Bloody sexy distractions!

-oOoOo-

No moon hung in the sky, only the stars shining down dispassionately to illuminate the land; the crisp air sat still in the quiet dark of the night. The only sound stopping the silence from being absolute as Vivi and I walked hand in hand along the top of the hills was the tune I hummed; mere fragments of a song I could scarcely remember.

Isolde, who'd been sharing an intimate moment with Howard when Vivi interrupted them – leaving her an entirely different, and very deep shade of red – had been the one to fuss over and protest our plan.

Not so much because she was worried about us; instead it'd been because she wanted to come too.

Howard had been worried, of course; his little sister intended to put herself in danger, but that hadn't been enough for him to argue against it. Instead, he focused on what he could do to make sure they reached us quickly once we needed the help.

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Vivi's cheek, smiling even as I used the moment to breathe deeply; the scent of blood and wolf hung thickly in the air.

It wasn't just for a cover of course. Vivi was walking more confidently tonight, more self-assuredly, and it was bloody alluring. Howard trusting in her abilities, having faith she could judge what she could, and could not, handle gave her a boost that I wasn't terribly good at providing.

"It's close," I whispered.

And, in response, something leapt. With a thud a towering figure – seven feet tall, or more – was mere feet away. As it began to growl, so too did a pair of other creatures, and my heart stopped.

But only for a moment; parsing the sounds I quickly recognised the differences, but for one utterly terrifying instant I thought we had been surrounded by a goddamn pack of worgen rather than the one we had been warned about. But no, these were mere wolves...

Growling, hungry, fucking massive wolves that stood up to my shoulder and tasted of thorns.

I pulled away from Vivi, my heart pounding in my chest, to give her room to move. Her sword was in her hand already, held between us and the worgen.

My own was filled with Astral magic, the shining light of the stars expanding and both revealing our stalkers and serving as a signal to those below. Shaggy black fur, dark as the night sky, was covered only by the ragged remains of a stolen robe.

Watching us intently the worgen started to chuckle. Deep and guttural, mixed with his growls, the sound was deeply unnerving.

"Girl. You have the scent." He said, accent thick and strange as he grinned with a maw filled with nought but fangs. "The talent. But not the knowledge."

"Oh?" I hummed. "I'd say I have a fair bit of knowledge."

"Nor the gift." The worgen continued over me, holding out a hand and splaying his claws wide. "Come. Join me. Accept the gift and become a sister, one blessed by the purity of the wolf."

"I'm afraid she'll have to decline." Vivi said firmly as she stepped in front of me.

If anything, the worgen merely smiled wide as he looked at Vivi. "All you need do is cast aside your weakness."

"Honestly, cousin," I said with a raised brow, "I'm more of a fox girl than a wolf. They're cuter, sneakier, cleverer, and, of course," I snickered lightly, remembering Lord Renard's boast, "by far the superior species of canine."

For a brief moment, the worgen looked confused. Unfortunately, that didn't last terribly long and quickly turned to anger and he lunged.

Vivi's sword met claws, knocking them aside as the beast man snarled viciously. "Should've bantered longer Gwen!" She reprimanded me.

"But it's true! Lord Renard didn't die, unlike Goldrinn!" I retorted as I blasted one of the wolves with the magic I'd been preparing, sending it hurtling down the slope.

"Goldrinn is a god!" The worgen snarled as he tried to rend me with his claw–

Fucking bastard. That was my trick!

Roots were curling up my legs, and while Vivi had been stepping lightly – and quickly – enough to avoid them, I had to refocus to free myself before I could get away from the melee and let Vivi fight without having to protect me constantly. Which, of bloody course, meant the other wolf closed in.

A rushed lance of Astral magic left scorch marks in its fur but didn't deter nor slow it, and fangs sank into my arm as I interposed it between the wolf and my head.

Stomping my foot, those same roots that had been turned against me wound together into a spear and thrust up from the ground. "I. Am. Not. Food!" I hissed at the animal as it let go and jumped away, narrowly avoiding being skewered. "Fucking dogs."

Never liked dogs, loud, annoying, and too bloody excitable.

"Move!" Vivi yelled, her blade carving a bloody gouge into the worgen's side as it lunged past her.

At me.

Instincts screaming of danger from those approaching in a way the wolf hadn't provoked, I shifted. The worgen sailed over my now diminished form and landed, spinning around to stare at me with calculating yellow eyes.

Then I was tackled by the bloody wolf again – or would have been if my first instinct hadn't been to hide, making an illusion of myself displaced by just enough to obscure my position. Instead, I just got smacked and knocked aside by the wolf as it charged right through my mirror image.

"Fox girl." The worgen growled, morphing into a chuckle once more. "Fox girl! Hah! Yes, yes! I was right to chase you! To hunt you!" He rose to his full height a fanged grin on his muzzle. "Accept the gift. Accept Goldrinn's blessing."

His claws touched his side and a sickly sweet scent, mixed with blood and blossoming flowers, filled the air.

The wound Vivi gave him healed over completely, leaving only blood-soaked fur; bloody cheater, stealing all my tricks. "My mate." His speech was noticeably more broken than earlier, his voice and desires more feral. "Both mates! New pack, our pack. These lands ours to hunt, to claim."

"Changed your mind, did you?" Vivi said, running her hand along her sword to burn away the blood and leave it aflame. "Sorry, but no, you're a bit... fuzzy. And male."

Shifting back I healed my arm, just as he had his side. And, taking the opportunity while he was distracted I snagged– No, I fought to snare his wolf, merely managing to slow it as it attempted to get behind us.

This was annoying.

Fuck it. Keep it distracted and– "While I'm not so adverse to men as Vivi is," I hummed softly, thoughtfully, while shaping the power I drew, "I am in a committed monogamous relationship. Hey, do you mind telling me how you got past the wall?"

His response was a dark laugh as he started to slink back into the shadows. "Girls not mates. Alpha take mates."

Bigoted bitch of worgen, even trying to slink away. No, that was entirely unhelpful right now...

"Ah well. There's another reason to refuse, of course; the whole murderous beast part that you and Ralaar don't seem to care about. How about you settle down, help us find a cure, and maybe–"

"No cure." The worgen snarled viciously, his body shifting and bulging, pulling him down to all fours; his claws distorting as they tried to become thick paws and failing. "No weakness. Only hunt!"

Rather than charge at me, he leapt into the shadows beyond the illumination of my magic. "Damnit!" I cursed; he was using the fact our night vision was going to be completely and utterly buggered against us. And so would the wolf – before it could slink off after its master I unleashed the spell on it, a beam of starfire falling from the sky and crushing it into the ground.

Before it could stand, Vivi sprinted over and cut deep into its neck; it struggled briefly and then fell still.

Goddamn wolves were stronger than our soldiers... but then again, they had also been buffed up by the bloody druid; it made one hell of a difference.

I started moving towards Vivi, her protection as the scent of blood hadn't faded yet; the wind danced back and forth, as if arguing with itself and unwilling to commit to a side, but it still carried the worgen's smell. But Vivi held up a hand to stop me.

"What?" I asked, confused as she stood from the wolf's corpse.

A moment passed, then another, and I started drawing magic again; unsure what her plan was but trusting her judgement. Finally, as Vivi lowered her sword and started walking towards me–

"No more weakness!" The worgen roared as he lunged out of the shadows, going straight for Vivi with his maw open and fangs ready.

Only for her flaming blade to be waiting for him, her feet planted in the heart, bracing against his charge, and held steady her sword as it plunged deeper and deeper into his chest, his maw coming panic-inducingly close to reaching her.

Again, starfire fell from the sky, this time laced with my fury at the bastard for targeting Vivi, my Vivi, over me. He was not cursing my girlfriend!

Claws struggled feebly, scratching and tearing against her arm guards, but he didn't reach her.

And then, joining in on the assault and injury, was the crack of a rifle. Followed by a wolf – Hannah's, I realised, stopping myself from blasting her companion – biting into his leg and trying to shake him to death.

Probably overkill. But entirely deserved.

Vivi stepped to the side, swinging and lowering her blade, and practically flicked his corpse from her sword. "He was remarkably predictable." She muttered and shook her head. "Why didn't you entangle him?"

"He's a druid, not as strong as me–" Hadn't been hard to overpower his control. "–but still capable of fighting back. And he tried to entangle me."

Tempting as it was to kick his corpse, try and take me for a mate would you, I refrained. It was disrespected and stupid; if he was somehow faking it, all it'd take was one bite to fuck up my plans.

"You alright?!" Hannah called, jogging the rest of the way up and reloading her rifle as she moved. "Others're still catching up, be just a minute."

"Yeah, we're fine." I rubbed my arm. Just a wolf bite.

Of course, now came the question of how to deal with the aftermath. Not so much the body, as that was just... bury it–

I dropped to my knees beside the corpse, placing a hand to the still-warm fur, and closed my eyes. No, there was something more important to do first. I reached up, touched upon the vision of the stars above, and asked.

A man who is a wolf following a girl as she travels–

Blood spills forth from a barn as a dog barks furiously, a loping figure stained with blood leaving with belly full–

Peace shattering as a howl rips through the air and defies–

Pausing, sniffing, waiting, grinning; the hunt–

The wall, towering, imposing, and but no barrier as the figure walks into the land beyond–

Undead, broken, shattered, weak, and left behind for better–

A circle of blood and mud and shadow, clawing a wolf who is a man into the world from the dream–

"Damnit." I hissed, shaking my head. No luck on seeing how he got past the wall. Still, we needed to tell people; specifically, one man who'd taken up the responsibility for handling this.

With more than a little reluctance, not really wanting to leave her, I turned to my girlfriend. "Vivi–"

"You need to inform people, and quickly." She said immediately, moving back to me from where she was talking to her brother who'd shown up while I was divining. "I know." Letting out a sigh she cupped my cheek and gave me a light kiss on the lips; entirely worth the blood she'd smeared on me.

"I'll leave in the morning." I said as I opened my eyes after. "Tonight we're going to show this idiot's ghost exactly how two girls can be mates."

If I was going to be away for a while I was getting my fill of Vivi first.

-oOoOo-

The wall finally in sight after two days of hard flying, my wings aching from using them so much, I spiralled down towards the grand edifice. Things had changed since I was last here, the months of winter passing and so many men departing to join the war on either side... the barracks and storehouses still stood, remnants of the great army that had been here, but most stood plainly empty.

Yet, at the same time, there was still life happening here. Older buildings, ones less suited for habitation, were being torn down and new ones put up – with a slight propensity for towers, albeit in the Gilnean and not Dalarite style – and the many streets were chock-full of merchants hawking their wares.

There was also a remarkable, if not surprising, amount of magic on display; tThe familiar thrum of the arcane lampposts of Dalaran lined the main road to the gate, and a number of mages were putting on a show.

Or, in the case of one in front of a grand gaggle of children, teaching.

It was... heartening. Here, under the eyes of Archmage Arugal, a new home – what might even be a new city – was being built for so many of the refugees.

Much like last time, a few of the ravens in the area rose up to meet me; asking curiously about events elsewhere and, very bluntly, wondering if I knew any good battlefields to feed from. That I managed to put aside, despite my disgust, until one asked if I'd had my fill of eyeballs yet.

Croaking affrontedly I attempted to smack the offending raven with my wing, but merely sent them into a burst of acrobatics as they flew upside down around me.

And all the others found it hilarious, letting out a grand chorus of croaking laughter.

Friendly and helpful as they might be, Rokkri's children were still ravens. To them food was food and, outside of the Scourge who were rot and poison, the corpses of the fallen were food; there was a reason they had the reputation and symbolism that they did.

Despite my disgruntlement with the birds, they led me faithfully to the window from which Archmage Arugal sent out his letters, and told me extensively about his generosity.

Yeah, I could see where this was going. They wanted to be paid for guiding me to him.

He was present, thankfully, and looked up from a batch of paperwork at the sound of talons clacking on stone. "Oh, hmm. I wasn't expecting a letter." He mused, examining us closely with narrowed eyes. "Nor do I see one."

I hopped forward, his eyes lingering on me and my feathers that shimmered like the dusky sky, and shifted back – it wouldn't take him long to figure it out.

"Does it count if the one who would write a letter comes in person?" I asked as I stretched and circled my shoulders; it was somehow worse as a human, muscles that didn't normally get used echoing the exertion I'd put my wings through. "Archmage Arugal, in the Carnam Vale deep in the Northern Headlands we encountered a worgen."

The archmage blinked slowly, placing his pen aside and spreading out a map. "Yes, that is out of the way. Troubling. How long ago?"

"Three days for when we dealt with him – he's dead, by the way – but he was following us for at least six more before that." Should I tell him I'd missed the warnings? Maybe, but it wasn't relevant to stopping them... so I didn't. “He wanted to turn me, offering me the curse as a gift. He recognised I use a form of Life magic, like he did, which means he's one of the originals and a druid at that."

"I attempted a divination, but it didn't show me how he got through, unfortunately." I huffed out irritatedly; there'd been a lot of other information, but not what I was actually after. "I did, however, see that the worgen are summoning each other; blood and shadow to claw their kin from the Dream one by one."

"Unfortunate indeed." He agreed. "And I have scried some of these ritual sites myself, of late. That however is not the matter of concern for the moment; tell me of this worgen's abilities, please. Perhaps we can discern..."

Following his request I detailed the events of the fight, the magic I'd seen the worgen use and my assessment of its abilities.

Given more time to think on it, it was slightly surprising they still could use those abilities. The misshapen and broken attempt at a bear form meant there were... issues, but even so, worgen in my memories were not known for utilising Nature magic.

Lots and lots of Shadow magic on the other hand... yes. Maybe it was the degree of stability, of reason – twisted as it might have been – that he could manage which let him keep his connection with Nature.

If we managed to cure some of those that Ralaar had turned when he betrayed the Kaldorei, would we gain teachers who could help the Order of Amber grow further beyond what it was now? It was a fascinating thought, but not one I could work on.

I was just going through what I'd seen of its journey in the divination when a knock came at the door, and before I could hide – or even shift – it was already open.

"Archmage, I brought the papers you– oh." She, the woman who'd been with Arugal at the gate, stopped and blinked at me. "Is this a bad time?" She asked.

Shaking his head, Archmage Arugal waved her in. "Come in Alice, but do shut the door if you would. We were just discussing a worgen that had slipped past the wall; Gwyneth rushed to inform me of the danger."

"How?" She asked, prompting yet another explanation.

It wasn't likely to achieve much, in my mind, we were already brainstorming–

"The wall was repaired by, ah, 'nature' magic by the witches, was it not?" Alice interrupted me part way through. "Could this 'druid' not simply move those repairs out of the way and slip past them? The wall is solid wood in places, even after the rebuilding we've done over the last month."

I opened my mouth, trying to find some flaw in her statement, and closed it.

No, that... that made sense? That would be a very easy way for a worgen still capable of using their druidic abilities to slip past the wall. It wouldn't even take a whole lot of effort, no more than growing the shelters for the refugees had. It was a lot of wood to shift, but it was just that, shifting wood.

"That... that could be it." I said, looking at her again. "I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced?"

"Adept Alice Corrinth, personal aid to Archmage Arugal!" She puffed herself for a moment before letting go and letting out a laugh. "Mary would be proud, she always wanted me to do more with myself."

"Alice is the daughter of a witch, though her father brought her to Dalaran as a child." Arugal explained his reason for selecting her, and why she'd made the connection she did so easily. "It gives her some insight into your order. And brought her mother in to aid us with our work."

Shrugging, Alice leaned against the desk. "My sister was the one interested in that sort of magic, I just remember my mother fondly. Hate my dad for taking me away... at least I've found her again."

"Corrinth, as in, sister of Magus Mary Corrinth?" I asked, recognition sparking. "She was my teacher– ah, it's a smaller world than we think, isn't it." I smiled at her genuinely; I reallly hoped Magus Corrinth was doing well. And Sorceress Goldensword, and Finall, and... hopefully I'd see them again some day. "Maybe I can stay for a day or two, help with an experiment while we–"

"No." Archmage Arugal interrupted me flatly. "I must refuse your offer, Gwyneth. While in matters of security, such as this warning, exceptions can be made in good faith, allowing you to work with us on our task would compromise our neutrality."

Oh.

"So long as you remain aligned with the rebel cause and the civil war rages, I must deny your participation." He inclined his head. "I respect your desire to help, but there are other matters that must be considered. Krennan Aranas would not take kindly to your presence as the simplest example."

I closed my eyes; he'd made the offer before, to let me work under a disguise and help them. But I'd declined. "Of course, you are correct. I was overly excited for a moment." It was a shame, but it was the decision I'd made. Shaking my head I smiled at Arugal, showing him that I didn't take offence from his refusal. "Let's finish up discussing how to better protect Gilneas, and then I will take my leave."

-oOoOo-

I decided to stop off in Crowford before returning to the north, and Vivi, to give Darius the same warning I had to Arugal. It wasn't that far out of the way, only adding half a day of flight unless the weather turned miserable – which, admittedly, it was going to – and the benefits massively outweighed the costs.

It hadn't taken long either, though he took the opportunity to write up a series of orders and requests for his troops up there after I gave my report on the situation.

Back here, the Ember Hills had thoroughly been pacified. Walden might've sided with the king, but more or less the entirety of the Duchy of Lake and Embers had joined the rebellion; from the northern coast to the southern, the entirety of the east was ours and the duke's family had been captured.

Sir Magroth had been busy.

But, with that over with, I was happy to spend the night in my own house. And even more than that, as I opened the gate I was overjoyed to beam widely at the small silver-blue blur trying to sneak through the grass towards me.

I lunged for Tricks playfully, shifting into my fox form as I did, but she darted away, only to come barrelling back a moment later and sending us into a rough tussle of nipping bites and curled claws.

After a few minutes of fun and exertion, I turned back, picking up the adorable bundle of fur and holding her close. "Missed you Tricks. Thank Freya you're okay."

She nipped at my cheek chidingly, chirping to say she was perfectly fine. She was however rather irritated at me for vanishing on her, she can't fly like I can and it made doing her job very difficult when I took off like that!

Then, after a moment, she continued more sadly. She let out a low whine, apologising for not being able to protect Trix and letting her get taken.

"Not your fault." I shook my head and pressed my cheek against her head, stroking her as I moved into the house where Frazzle was winding down the workshop. It was Genn's fault, for treating a child like a criminal, or a hostage. It was mine for pushing for this war to happen.

But Tricks’? She was a kid, a kit, too. No, she was blameless.

"Gwen! You're visiting?" Frazzle said as she poked her head into the kitchen. "Just wait a few minutes and I'll make dinner! Oh, and there's a couple of letters – one from Great Aunt Kinder, she made me write it out for you. It's, um, very official. The other's from Queen Mia?" She shrugged, not having anything more to say about that. "They're on the table. Now, I need to finish this up quickly!"

Queen Mia? With a little trepidation I moved to pick it up, wondering what on earth the queen would have to say to me.

I almost wanted to ignore it, to leave it alone, to at least read the other letter first. But I knew the cost of leaving probable bad news to linger; it festered and only grew worse from the worrying.

Using a knife to pry open the royal seal, I started to read.

And needed, immediately, to sit down.

Hello Gwen, Teacher,

The Queen is letting me write a letter to you, at Princess Tess' insistence, she isn't so bad, really, once you get past the fact she could have your head cut off for drinking tea wrong, and why do they drink so much tea?! Tea is expensive!

Anyway! The Queen wanted me to tell you how I'm doing. Because she was worried you do something reckless with your magic and hurt people because you thought I was hurt.

You wouldn't, witches help people!

But she insisted, and I wanted to write to you anyway, so I did. It was bad at first but I'm being treated as a guest now and spending my time entertaining the Princesses there's two of them now and Mia says I'm their 'babysitter' I don't want to sit babies and the king promised me I was safe.

That no one would punish me for what you did.

"Thank you, Freya." I muttered, tears making it harder to read by the moment. "Hodir, your blessing... thank you. Thank you. She's safe. Oh gods, she's safe."

I pulled Tricks tight against me, hugging her tightly as relief washed over me like an unrelenting tide, and kept reading. Needing to hear her words, her voice ringing in my mind like a cure for a disease I hadn't known I suffered from.

They asked me why you did what you did, why you didn't tell the king, but I dunno. Wouldn't have even if I did either! And the queen laughed at me for writing that.

Probably should have been a secret.

Please be okay Gwen, I don't blame you for this and what happened. Tricks tried to keep me safe but she couldn't; you would've if you were there. The King was being a big meanie and misunderstood things, and the Queen even agrees. About the second part, he misunderstood things.

Maybe if you talked it could be fixed? I don't like the country being at war. War is bad. People shouldn't get hurt like that.

Yours Sincerely,

Patricia "Trix" Tailor.

Trix was alive, she was safe. She was going to be okay.