Four days had passed since Nerya had left the village, the sun rising over her room.

  She had arrived at the Arvencourt manor, which had welcomed them warmly, though Nerya felt a certain tension ever since her arrival.

  She woke while stretching, yawning widely as the birds accompanied her waking through the open window.

  She then got up and dressed, the manor’s servants preparing her clothes each morning and discreetly leaving them for her.

  She left the room wearing a small long dress paired with thin stockings and little shoes, heading toward the dining room.

  As she entered, everyone was already gathered around the table, and the conversations stopped when they saw her come in.

  She bowed slightly to greet those present, then went to sit beside Telyssia.

  A servant approached her, serving her a hot chocolate and a fruit juice.

  She set down a basket of pastries beside her, and Nerya did not hesitate to take one and dip it into her chocolate.

  “Did you sleep well, Nerya?

  Lorietta told me you slept with the window open again last night, you’ll end up catching a cold,” Elyze Arvencourt said to her.

  Nerya quickly swallowed the piece in her mouth, a small hiccup escaping from the rush of swallowing.

  “Yes, that way if papa and mama arrive, I can go see them right away,” Nerya replied.

  Elyze gave her a broad smile and turned her gaze to her husband, resuming their conversation naturally.

  Telyssia placed a hand on Nerya’s head, and the girl went back to eating.

  “Don’t worry so much.

  You know your mother, she’s stronger than all the village’s mages combined.

  As for your father… aside from those rather brutish traits, he is an excellent captain.

  I’m sure they think of you every moment that passes,” she said.

  Nerya looked at her and gave her a clumsy smile, her cheeks puffed out by the milk and the pastry she was chewing.

  Telyssia laughed when she saw the face Nerya was making, the girl turning back to her cup with a grimace.

  “Tell me, Nerya, would you like to go into town with Lorietta today?

  We need to buy you new clothes, and also something to take care of your magnificent hair,” Answel Arvencourt asked her.

  Nerya nodded vigorously, happy at the idea of being able to go out a bit.

  She quickly finished her chocolate, then climbed down from her chair and hurried toward her room to get ready.

  “She’s really adorable.

  It’s moments like these that make me regret not being able to have children, Eldran and Zephyra are truly lucky,” Elyze said with a smile.

  “My dear, don’t think about that.

  It’s not your fault if you can’t have children, what matters is that we’re together,” Answel replied.

  His wife then took his hand and gently stroked it, smiling at his comforting words.

  “I really hope they’re doing well though, it must be hard for them too to be far from their daughter,” Elyze added.

  “More than one might imagine.

  Even if Eldran was hard on Nerya so she would leave, you could see how much it weighed on him to be separated from her,” Telyssia affirmed.

  “And to think that when I knew him he was a slacker who slept through sword lessons, who would have imagined he’d become the strongest in the region,” Answel said.

  While their discussion continued like this, Telyssia curious to learn more about Eldran’s past, Nerya was getting ready in her room.

  She took hats out of the wardrobe and tried them on to go with her dress, until she finally found the one she liked.

  She put it on, put the others back in their place, then left her room.

  She made her way while hopping and humming to the dining room to announce that she was ready to go out.

  She pushed the door open, the conversations falling silent once more as everyone looked at her.

  “Ooh, well look at that, a real little princess making her entrance,” Elyze exclaimed.

  Nerya blushed slightly at the idea of being compared to a princess, walking toward them with her joyful air.

  “Lorietta, you may go when you wish.

  Nerya is waiting for you,” Answel said in a louder voice.

  Lorietta then entered the room, dressed in a long blue dress with a matching hat.

  She took the envelope Answel handed her, then went over to Nerya and held out her hand.

  They left the room and headed toward the exit, descending the large spiral staircase.

  “So then, what would make you happy?

  If you want, we can also go eat something, it’ll be our little secret,” Lorietta said, lowering her voice slightly.

  “I don’t know the city, so I’d like to visit it,” Nerya replied cheerfully.

  They then left the manor and climbed into a carriage, the crack of the reins cutting through the air as they moved away.

  Telyssia, for her part, stayed in the dining room talking with the Arvencourt, resuming their discussion and her curiosity to know more about her captain.

  “You should know, Eldran was not always so respected.

  He caused a lot of trouble, especially for his parents.

  How many times did I see him leaving the academy while being pulled by the ears,” Answel explained with a laugh.

  “Really?

  And to think that today, he’s the one putting the youths back in their place.

  I understand better why he is so direct,” Telyssia replied.

  “When my husband introduced me to Eldran, I had trouble accepting him at first.

  He spent his time looking at me, let’s say, in a rather improper way.

  It was Zephyra and her temperament that set him straight, he was unbearable before they were together,” Elyze continued, slightly embarrassed.

  “Strangely enough, I would say that doesn’t surprise me much.

  But how did the two of them meet?

  I know Zephyra was an adventurer, but I know nothing of their meeting,” Telyssia asked.

  Answel and Elyze sighed together, Answel taking a long drink of water and setting his glass down as he looked at Telyssia.

  “They met in a completely absurd way.

  Eldran was on a mission, but since he never listened in class, it turned into a catastrophe.

  It was Zephyra who came to pull him out of the mess he was in.

  From that day on, he never let her go, it was the first time a woman didn’t look at him as a handsome man,” Answel explained.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Yes, and the irony of fate is that Zephyra was learning magic at the academy in the same city.

  He took an uncountable number of slaps, but he never gave up.

  I think Zephyra ended up giving in little by little, her temperament calming Eldran bit by bit,” Elyze added.

  “However, I must admit that this letter you showed us troubles me deeply.

  He was reckless, certainly, but never had he written words like these,” Answel continued.

  A silence settled between them, Telyssia taking the letter back out that she kept on her so Nerya would not come across it.

  She handed it to him again as Answel unfolded it and reread it once more.

  “What I can’t explain when I read it is that it feels like he doesn’t plan to return.

  It sounds more like a farewell letter than simple instructions, as if he were already dead,” he explained.

  Nerya, on her side, took the ice cream the merchant handed her.

  Lorietta took the money from her pocket before taking her own, then headed with Nerya toward the carriage.

  The day had passed quickly as they enjoyed themselves together, their bags filled with new outfits for Nerya.

  “Thank you so much, I’ll have lots of things to show papa and mama like this.

  Even if I can already hear them complaining that I shouldn’t have used your money,” Nerya sighed with a laugh.

  “Don’t worry, when they see you in these outfits they’ll have sparkling eyes in front of their little princess.

  I’m sure they’ll be happy to see their child so joyful,” Lorietta replied.

  They climbed into the compartment, sitting comfortably as they placed all the bags on the free seat.

  Lorietta gave two light knocks against the wall and the carriage set off.

  “But I wonder why papa never told me about you, even though he told you about me,” Nerya asked.

  “Because the Arvencourt are a discreet family, and your father and mother were instructed never to speak of them.

  A child, no matter how intelligent, could let information slip.

  High nobility requires taking precautions, how shall I put it, not always pleasant ones,” Lorietta explained.

  For the rest of the journey, Nerya asked questions about what nobility was and other such things, realizing she had never taken an interest in any of it.

  But deep down, knowing that her father knew such important people gave her a certain pride.

  They arrived at the manor, Nerya gathering some of the bags and rushing inside, eager to show her purchases to Telyssia.

  But she did not find her in the dining room nor in the other rooms, so she went to her bedroom where she set everything down, deciding to show her later.

  Nerya took the clothes out of the bags, laying them neatly on her bed while wondering which one to wear for the evening.

  She wanted to wear something pretty, hoping it would please the Arvencourt so they would not regret having paid for all this.

  She changed and put on a midnight blue dress, falling to just above her elbows and ending in finely embroidered silk.

  It covered her legs down to the knees, prompting Nerya to put stockings underneath, and she slipped on small blue shoes also stitched with a creamy white.

  She looked at herself in the mirror, turning around proudly at her choice.

  She then went to the small bedside table and opened the drawer, taking out the hair brooch her mother had given her on her fifth birthday.

  “The colors will go well together, but maybe it’s all too dark,” she wondered.

  But as she hesitated, a sound by the window caught her attention.

  The noise of wooden wheels and hooves striking the ground slowly, Nerya rushing to the window.

  She saw a man climbing down from a cart, and without thinking further, Nerya hurried out of her room.

  She rushed down the stairs as a servant tried to call out to her.

  “Nerya, come back here.

  You mustn’t—,” she began.

  “Damn it, damn it, and that idiot went straight to the study leaving the cart outside.”

  The woman then ran toward Answel’s study, not knocking and entering directly.

  Inside, Telyssia, Elyze, and Answel were speaking with the man who had just arrived, who was explaining that he had brought back the bodies of Eldran and Zephyra.

  “May I know the reason for your entering without even knocking?

  I do not pay you to—,” Answel protested.

  “There’s no time for that, sir, the little one ran down at full speed.

  I… I didn’t know what to do, so I came to get you immediately,” she replied, breathless.

  Everyone froze for a moment, as if the information refused to be understood.

  Telyssia got up abruptly and left the room.

  Outside, Nerya had reached the horses, her heart racing at the idea that it might be her parents.

  She tightened the barrette she was still holding as she kept approaching.

  “I know I saw people in the back, they’re probably too tired to get up,” she whispered.

  She went around to the back and arrived behind it, seeing a sheet covering figures while a hand stuck out strangely.

  She placed her free hand on the threadbare sheet and pulled it toward her, letting it fall to the ground.

  What she saw then cut her breath short, as if her heart had decided to stop at once.

  She stepped closer and placed her hand on the one belonging to Zephyra that protruded from the cart.

  She felt icy skin, its pale color giving her a strange appearance.

  Beside her, she saw another person.

  But she could not manage to recognize who it was, the body unrecognizable beneath the lacerations and missing pieces of flesh.

  “Ma… mama?

  Why are you sleeping next to a strange man who smells bad?

  You have to come, you’ll end up getting sick,” she said in a gentle voice that refused what she was seeing.

  But no answer came.

  Her hand trembling, she grabbed Zephyra’s hand and began to pull on it to wake her.

  A strange cracking sound was heard, the stiffness of the arm resisting under the slight pressure Nerya applied.

  “Come on please, they have very comfortable beds upstairs.

  You can sleep afterward, you have to come back, you’re all cold,” she went on, her voice shaking without her even realizing it.

  The manor door then slammed violently, Telyssia running toward the cart and quickly going around it.

  She grabbed Nerya by the hand that held the barrette, pulling her away and pressing her against her to block her view.

  But Nerya did not want her to hold her.

  “Let go of me, Telyssia, we have to wake mama.

  She’s going to get sick, why is she next to such a strange person,” she said, trying to push her away.

  “Nerya stop, she… she won’t wake up.

  Come back with me, we’ll explain,” Telyssia replied.

  “No let me go, Telyssia, why are you saying that huh?

  Why are you being mean like that, she promised me she’d come back and she did come back,” Nerya replied, her voice rising.

  The other people of the manor came out in turn, Answel and Elyze joining them.

  They looked toward the back of the cart, Elyze immediately turning her gaze away.

  Telyssia then firmly grabbed Nerya by the arms so she would not turn around.

  “Nerya stop, come back with me please and let them do this.

  Come with me,” Telyssia said again, trying to keep calm.

  “No, I don’t want to.

  You’re saying mean things, let me go now.

  If you don’t want to help her, I will,” Nerya snapped.

  She struggled and broke free from Telyssia’s grip, turning back toward the cart.

  But as she turned, she stumbled in her movement and fell to the ground.

  In the fall, her hand reaching out by reflex let go of the barrette.

  It fell to the ground, the inlaid bird shattering into several pieces.

  She looked at it, tears starting to flow as she saw the fragments on the ground.

  She rushed to pick them up.

  “No no no, why.

  I’m sorry mama, I didn’t mean to break it,” she said in a low voice.

  She gathered the pieces, Telyssia and the others around not knowing how to react to what they were seeing.

  “That… that really is Eldran there?

  Gods, what happened?

  How can someone be so cruel?” Answel asked.

  Nerya stood up with the broken pieces of the brooch in her hand, looking at Answel sharply before turning her gaze back to the cart.

  “Be quiet, stop saying things like that.

  That’s not my papa, he’s going to come and take us home.

  You’re mean for saying things like that, I’ll tell him everything,” Nerya shouted.

  Unable to bear hearing them speak like that anymore, she began to run, her vision blurred by tears.

  Telyssia followed her, leaving the others alone in front of the bodies.

  “I… I’m sorry, sir.

  All of this is my fault,” said the man who had brought them back.

  “Do not apologize.

  It was a mistake to bring you here, she would have had to see them eventually.

  But in a more presentable state would have been preferable,” Answel replied.

  “Should we go after her?

  I don’t even know how it’s possible she got that close given the smell, and even less after seeing the state of her father,” Elyze asked.

  “No, we must let Telyssia handle this.

  She will find the right words, we are only strangers to her,” Answel explained.

  Silence then settled as night fell, faces heavy with sorrow, no strength left after the shock of seeing them like that.

  Time seemed to freeze, no one moving as if it demanded a superhuman effort.

  Nerya continued deeper into the forest, refusing to turn back as Telyssia’s cries echoed between the trees.

  Her hand eventually let go of the pieces of her barrette, thinking only of fleeing as far away as possible.