Oscar Voidsailor stared at his second son through steel bars. In his cell, Basil sipped his water merrily as if his father wasn’t there.

James Seaskimmer in the meantime sat on his bed, back straight. The half-orc faced his visitors with an almost quiet dignity.

Rachel Windstorm was the first to speak. “Why? Both of you. You’re both of Erlenberg’s greatest houses. Our Houses helped found this city. Why would you bring it down?”

“Rachel, I was trying to save Erlenberg,” said James.

Eleanor Windwhistler’s mouth opened. “Save her by giving her to its enemies?”

James sighed. “You know how strong the Kingdom of the Alavari. We can’t win a war against them, even with the support of the Human Kingdoms? If we somehow do win the war, it’ll be at a cost so steep that Erlenberg will be devastated.”

Oscar growled, “We could have fought—”

“Our army isn’t prepared. The Human Kingdoms are exhausted. The only reason you succeeded today is because you had the best of the Otherworlders and Edana Firehand herself present.” James sighed. “You all should know this and if you don’t, you’re fools.”

“Then why didn’t you bring any of this up? Suggest that we persuade the Alavari? You resorted to betraying your home off the bat?” Eleanor blinked and growled. “This isn’t about Erlenberg. This is about your family isn’t it?”

“And what about it?” James asked, smiling sadly.

“You… you betrayed us because you know that the Alavari would treat your family kindly due to your actions,” Eleanor growled, turned on her heels, she stomped away. “Selfish bastard.”

Shaking his head, Oscar turned to Basil.

“Well, son. Why?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Basil said.

“You betrayed my trust, used our family’s money to fund our enemies. I demand an explanation,” Oscar hissed.

Basil shrugged. “I’m not going to satisfy your curiosity.”

“Our family demands an explanation, especially your son!”

“Our family? Family, family. Do you mean your family? You always say it’s for our family, but who is really our family? You oppose or ignore the deals I broker for my brother Oliver’s. You give Ophelia have all the Gold Rings she needs to pay for her magical equipment whilst you give my son Basileus a book for his birthday.”

“I’m sorry for my poor choice of gifts, but Ophelia’s magic is critical to our house’s standing and smuggling arrangements are not trade deals!” Oscar roared.

Basil rolled his eyes and turned his back to his visitors. Oscar, gripping his cane, stormed off.

Nobody, except for his son missed the tears in his eyes.

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“Do you have to leave now, mom?” Frances asked, as Edana packed her things into her travelling chest.

“I do. The War Council is planning the next year’s campaigns and while we’ve been doing our best over magical mirrors, I need to be present for this next part.” Edana waved her staff and whistled to usher another batch of clothes into her chests. “Speaking of, they’d like you, Elizabeth and Martin to stay in Erlenberg for the moment, help them get mobilized for the war to come. I’ll try to visit for your birthday.”

“Mom, please be honest, was there anything else I could have done to stop this?” Frances asked.

Edana straightened and took in her daughter. Frances’s arms were wrapped around herself again, her norma ‘comfort’ gesture. Her eyes were averted.

“Frances, you did everything you could. The war starting isn’t your fault.”

“I know that, but if we’d quit the tournament, started investigating earlier, maybe we could have uncovered the plot? Stopped so many ships from being destroyed or damaged?” Frances asked.

Edana sat down on the bed, facing her daughter, whose eyes were still averted. “You made sure it wasn’t worse, dear.”

“But the truth mom is that Erlenberg’s fleet is no longer as strong as it was, and it won’t be when the war restarts after winter ends. That’s in two months!”

Edana winced. “You can’t know that for sure.”

“Maybe, but I hear things from my cousins and uncles and aunts. It’s all the same.” Frances finally met her mother’s eyes. “I’m sorry, mom. I just… do you think we can hold Erlenberg?”

Edana froze. Frances’s eyes widened as she realized her mother was holding her breath.

“You don’t think we can’t hold the city can we?” Frances whispered.

Edana pinched the bridge of the nose. She hadn’t thought this was the case during the tournament. This was Erlenberg after all. Independent, strong, bickering, but filled with intelligent and capable people.

That was before the raid on the ships. Before ten warships of Erlenberg’s eighty-strong warship fleet were sunk, and twenty or more were damaged. Before the raid demonstrated a truth that Edana hadn’t realized she’d been ignoring.

“I think it’ll be very hard, and there won’t be many reinforcements the Human Kingdoms can send. I know you’ll do your best, though.” Edana swallowed and rose to her feet to hug her daughter. “I just wish I could be with you when they attack. The War Council…”

Frances sighed and let herself relax a little into her mother’s embrace. “I know, mom. They want you as the last resort. And I agree with them.”

An expression of shock came over Edana’s features. “You do?”

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“Mom, you made sure we didn’t lose everything, but you nearly died, and I won’t make you stay, like I did at Vertingen.” Smiling, Frances squeezed her mother’s shoulders. “I know you wanted to stay, but I did make it so you had to.”

Edana swallowed. “If you ask me to, I will stay.”

“Which is why I won’t, mom,” said Frances. “If you can come back for my sixteenth birthday, it will be enough.”

For a brief, insane instance, Edana was tempted to say “to hell with it” and just defy the War Council, but she couldn’t. If there was a way to do so without repercussions, she would, but that option didn’t exist. At least, not yet.

So for the moment, the mage hugged her adopted daughter and steeled her heart to leave her in harm’s way.

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As the days passed, winter began to thaw. The snow in the street started to melt and the clear sky filled with clouds.

A new year began.

Erlenberg bustled, but there was a pall that suffused every street and every household. Perhaps it was the columns and formations of men and women that now trained and marched outside of Erlenberg’s walls. Maybe it was the many ships that were laid up in the dockyards. The sound of cannons firing at targets in the harbour and outside the walls.

Frances was occupied with training. Not training herself, but training Ayax, Robert, Ophelia, Jeffrey and many of Erlenberg’s youngest and brightest mages through the courses that Edana had once run her through. Assisting her was Elizabeth.

That being said, although Elizabeth would insist that Frances was leading the training, in Frances opinion, it was Elizabeth directing and leading the training and Frances providing the necessary instruction. There was just something about her friend that made you want to listen to her orders.

Elizabeth also worked with Martin and Erlenberg’s soldiers, advising them of the tactics and formations that they might encounter. That is to say, they tried.

Frances was trying on a new dress when she heard the door to her room shake as someone knocked on it.

“We’re back. Frances do you have a moment?” Martin yelled.

After a quick glance at herself to make sure she was presentable, Frances rushed to open her door.

“Martin? Elizabeth? What happened?” Frances hesitated as her friends filed in, silent. “Nothing good I suppose?”

Elizabeth groaned. “Nope. The Erlenberg army commanders aren’t listening to us!”

“It can’t be that bad—”

“Frances they think they can hold the forts at the border,” Martin said.

Frances blinked. “You mean the fifty years out of date forts that won’t stand up to Alavari cannon?”

“And the backup plan is that if the forts fall they want to counterattack on the fields to the northeast of Erlenberg,” said Elizabeth.

“But the orc and centaur cavalry will ride them down, while harpies harass us. It’s better to hold the pinewoods north of the city…” Frances felt her brow furrow as Elizabeth and Martin’s frustration didn’t abate. “Oh dear.”

“General Yuan S. Antoine—don’t ask me what the s stands for—thinks that the flat ground will provide better angles for his cannon and muskets, which I get but then why not dig field fortifications or something!” Elizabeth, wringing her hair.

“I’ll ask Grandma Eleanor to see if she can convince some people,” said Frances.

Elizabeth nodded. “Please and tell her I love the gift she and you got me for my birthday. I love the armor.”

Frances smiled. She, with her grandmother’s help, had gotten Elizabeth armor, and a shield. It wasn’t quite the same style as Martin's heavy armor. Elizabeth’s was half armor, sacrificing leg and arm protection for thicker chest plates to protect against bullets.

“I will. Speaking of…” Frances got up and patted her dress down. It was made of purple silk, and bought with the money she had made on her missions. “How do I look?”

Elizabeth looked Frances over and nodded slowly. Martin blinked and smiled. “Good! I think the purple is nice. Would you like me to do your makeup?”

“In the same style as when you did it for Elizabeth’s birthday? Yes, please,” said Frances.

“Oh! Can you do me too? You’re really good at it!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“Comes with having an older sister and two moms,” said Martin, grinning.

“Hey where’s the birthday girl— ah there you are,” said Ayax, waltzing into the open door. “Happy Birthday, cuz.”

“Thank you, Ayax. Would you like Martin to do your makeup too?”

Ayax smirked. “While he’s damn good at it, nah. Dom-Dad is doing mine. Just came to tell you Edana’s arrived and is cleaning up.”

Frances let out a sigh of relief. “She made it! I thought she was going to miss it.”

“She might need a good shower and a coffee but yes, she made it.” One of Ayax’s eyebrows arched. “By the way, how old are you now?”

“Sixteen.”‘ Frances frowned. “It’s my third birthday in Durannon. The um, the second I’ve ever celebrated. That’s not mom’s fault. I didn’t tell her about my fourteenth because, well, you know how bad I was. I was a lot worse then.”

“First with your friends and adoptive family then!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“Yes. Like there is a war that’ll probably restart in a month but we are not going to talk about that today.” Frances sighed. She was still smiling, but she had to put in a lot more effort. “Or at least let’s do our best not to.”

Martin put his right hand out and nodded. “Let’s do our best.” He kept his hand out and blinked. “Um, this is how it’s done on Earth right with the whole cheer thing?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth chuckled and put her hand on top of Martin’s, followed by Ayax and Frances. The four gave a loud whoop, pressed down and flung their hands in the air.

Tomorrow was going to be harder, but for now the teens had a party to get ready for.

----------------------------------------

It was a great party. Maybe the Windwhistlers sensed that this would be the last thing to celebrate for a while. Maybe they wanted something to lift their spirits after weeks of war preparations, but Eleanor and her husband Paul coughed up the money and they’d had a bash.

Food, entertainment, fireworks, set amidst a lavish ball where there was fun for both kids and adults.

There were even some unusual guests in the form of Oscar Voidsailor and Rachel Windstorm and family. Ophelia, tailed by an unusually well-behaved if apprehensive Robert and a quiet, almost contemplative Jeffrey wallflowered at the ball, sometimes chatting or hanging with Frances and her friends, sometimes enjoying the party games imported and adapted by Frances and Elizabeth from Earth like “pin the tail on the dragon,” “smash the chocolate candy filled piñata” and “magical musical chairs.”

Frances felt it was a lot more of a thrill, and more fun than her fifteenth, but she felt unable to quite remember exactly what happened.

What she’d never forget, though, was finding herself alone, seated at a side table with her grandma Eleanor and grandpa Paul, sipping her drink as her friends danced.

“Grandma, grandpa, the party is… amazing. Thank you.” Frances knew she’d said this before but she had to say it again. She knew how precious the memory would be to her, should the worst happen.

“You’re welcome, Frances,” said Eleanor warmly.

Paul nodded, smiling, and yet there was an almost urgent look he gave his wife. With a sigh, Eleanor coughed and asked, “By the way, can we steal you away for a moment?”

Frances agreed and followed her grandparents to a room she knew as her grandmother’s study. From one of the shelves, Eleanor produced a large book and laid it on her desk.

“This is our family ledger, a record of every Windwhistler. It’s… been modified in recent days. Rachel…. well, Windstorms, have… oh I don’t know why but they’ve added us to their ledger and acknowledged my mom as one of their legitimate children. So we had to do the same and add them.” Eleanor said this as if she was brushing it off, but Frances could see her grandmother’s eyes were moist and her hands wrung together.

“That’s very nice of them. And of you,” said Frances.

“We also made another modification, Frances,” Paul turned the book to a family tree and pointed to it. There, in new ink, was Frances’s name, under Edana’s.

The air in the room seemed heavier, harder to breathe, and yet Frances couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

That was also when she noticed a note underneath her name.

Turn to page 57 for her story.

Eleanor swallowed, “Frances, we know this war is dangerous. We are confident you will succeed, but… just in case, we want to ask if you can write a little bit about yourself in your own words. It’s so that even if you do return to Earth, our family can and will remember that you are a Windwhistler.”

Frances’s vision blurred. Taking a deep breath, she sat down before her legs would give out and wiped her tears clear with her handkerchief. Smiling, tears still trickling, she met her grandparents' gazes.

“Thank you. I… I won’t ever forget you.”

“We know,” said Paul and Eleanor quietly, smiling and teary-eyes as well.