Rowan found Seres resting in her home with Lochlan and Liadra watching over her. She looked both surprised and relieved when Rowan walked in and announced herself.

"Did you find your sister?" she asked.

"Along with a small group of people from Aran Village," Rowan answered. "They were being attacked by a mandra."

Rowan saw the colour fade from Seres' face as she processed what Rowan had said. "Please tell me they're okay."

"I got there just in time. The wolves will be feasting tonight."

"What do you mean?" Seres inquired hesitantly. There was some relief in her tone, but the concern was still very much palpable.

"The mandra's dead. I kinda sliced it in two."

"In a single cut?" Liadra interrupted in shock."

"Like butter."

"So they're safe?" Seres asked, bringing the conversation back to the villagers.

"Completely. I found them around thirteen miles away and escorted them back. They were dressed in rags as well so I bought them all some new clothes."

"That's a relief. Where are they now?"

"The Crimson Drakiir. It's that inn that we passed on our way here. I wanted to make sure they had food and shelter for at least a few days. Reserved us a couple of rooms as well because we cannae stay here. Not when it's like this."

"I'm sure we'll be able to get the place cleaned up in no time," Seres suggested.

"We can start tomorrow," Rowan replied, shaking her head. "I'm not sure I'm prepared to stay the night here. Tehri and Da certainly aren't."

"If that's what you think is best, I'm not going to argue."

"Thanks," Rowan said earnestly. She hadn't expected that Seres would suggest that they should try and get the place cleaned up then and there. It would have been an ambitious ask, even without Rowan's excuses, given how late it was.

"Shall we get going then?" Seres asked, getting up from her chair.

"In just a moment," Rowan replied. "I just need to gather a couple of things first."

"Take your time," Seres smiled.

With Seres giving Rowan leave, she made her way up the stairs, nostalgia warming her spirit as she navigated the familiar corridor that led to her room. She coughed a few times when she opened the door as it kicked up a thick layer of dust. When the dust settled, she looked upon her room for the first time in five years. With the exception of the dust, it was exactly as she had left it. Even her bed was in the same unmade state.

It was a melancholic reminder frozen in time. By stepping inside, the stasis was broken and time was given the chance to finally start moving forwards again.

Rowan started looking around. She only vaguely remembered where everything was. Thankfully, she had enough of an idea that she was able to find the lute that her parents had bought her for her eleventh birthday in the closet. It had been kept safe from the dust by the case it had been stored in, much to Rowan’s relief.

She took it over to her bed and opened it up. The lute was completely unmarked by time. Even now the polished wood and golden filigree shone just as it had done on the day Rowan had been given it. When she sat down and played a couple of notes, the sound was magical. It gave Rowan hope that her plan would work.

After stretching her musical muscles for a few more minutes, Rowan packed the lute up and took it downstairs. "I'm ready now," she announced as she entered the living room, "Shall we go?"

Rowan saw three nods and they were off. Lochlan and Liadra parted from them around half away to gather the horses so they could be stabled at The Crimson Drakiir while Rowan and Seres went straight there.

By the time they walked throughb the door, the villagers were all chowing down on a hearty wild boar stew and thick slices of buttered bread. The smell was salivating, but Rowan refused to drool. Unfortunately, her growling stomach betrayed her. She hadn't realised it, but she was absolutely starving. It wasn’t exactly surprising, considering the speed she had been going earlier or the distance she had travelled, but still.

As she blushed away in awkward, hungry embarrassment, Seres asked Reiman for four extra servings. Rowan then found herself being led to the table that Tehri was sitting at. Seres must have seen the familial Resonance.

Rowan did her best to push away the embarrassment as they got the silent go ahead to sit down. Hana, Byrden, and Kamren were also sitting at the table which gave Rowan a small degree of comfort.

"Hello again," she greeted them before moving on to introductions. "This is Seres, the Star Flower Princess."

"Stop that, Rowan," Seres complained, giving her friend and sister a mighty poke of protest. Rowan just laughed in response and Seres turned back to the others. "Anyway, yes, hello, as Rowan said my name is Seres and I'm the second princess but please don't act all stiff and formal because of that."

Despite Seres' request, everyone at the table still bowed. Seres just sighed and rolled her eyes in response while Rowan took charge of introductions again.

"So this is Byrden and Hana, the couple that have been watching out for Tehri this whole time. I've not actually properly introduced myself or spoken to Hana yet so sorry about that. Over there is Kamren. He's Tehri's boyfriend, not that either of them would tell you that. They're being adorably hush hush about the whole thing. Lastly we have my dearest little sister, Tehri. I say little, but she's already taller than me. She also hasnae been able to talk this whole time."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Tehri," Seres said and signed with a smile.

Animatedly, Tehri signed back and the two had a quick silent exchange that everyone but Rowan could understand.

"Since when could you talk like that?" Rowan asked Seres in surprised amazement.

"Since I was around seven years old," Seres answered smugly.

"It would have been nice to have known that sooner," Rowan sulked.

"And what would you have done if you did? It's not like you would've known to learn."

"Point," Rowan said glumly.

"Stop being such a downer," Seres chided, nudging Rowan with her knee.

"I'm not!" objected Rowan loudly before immediately shutting up with a soft, rosy blush.

"Is she usually like this?" Byrden asked.

"All the time," Seres answered. "She'll be back to normal in no time. Congratulations on the baby, by the way."

"How did you know about that?" Hana asked.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"I can sense the Resonance," Seres explained. "It's small, but it's definitely there."

"We'll take your word for it," Byrden replied. It was clear that the explanation had gone straight over their heads.

In the awkward silence that followed, a barmaid arrived with their food. Rowan practically inhaled the meal before the woman had even finished serving them. She then asked for seconds and let the slightly horrified barmaid know that she was very likely going to ask for thirds.

As she waited for the extra serving to arrive, Rowan looked at Hana and Byrden and bowed her head in gratitude towards them. "I want to thank you both for looking after my sister for all these years. Even with your village being destroyed, it is clear that she's had a good life whilst living with you."

"It was the least we could do," Byrden replied.

"And we'd do it again," Hana added.

"Even so, I cannae thank you enough."

"You really don't need to."

"I really do. Because of you, I was able to see my sister again. You cannae believe how much that means to me. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to pay you back in full. For now, I'll have to settle with making sure you can have a life here. Be it a place to live or a smithy to work, I'll pay for it until you can support yourselves."

The shock from Hana and Byrden was palpable beyond measure. "I don't think we can accept that," Hana replied after a moment of consideration.

"Why not?" Rowan asked.

"It wouldn't be fair on the other villagers," Hana responded.

"You don't need to worry about them," Seres interjected. "They'll get plenty of support from my mother and the Bureau of the Red Chain."

"The what now?" Hana and Byrden asked in unison.

"It's the agency in charge of supporting people that are less fortunate. They aren't perfect but they will help if we can get word to the capital or one of the city branches."

"How are we going to do that?" Rowan asked.

"We'll need to go to Tærin of Feldran. The sooner the better as well. This storm was even worse than I had imagined and my mother needs to know."

"If you give me a day or two to get things started here, I can go to Tærin. With the speed I was going earlier, I could probably get there in less than an hour. I just need to maintain it for long enough. I'll be able to make it back the same day as well."

It was a ridiculous proposition and one that resulted in Seres giving Rowan a look of 'seriously?' for a good few seconds. Eventually she managed to say, "If you think you can handle it, I won't stop you, but only if you're sure."

"Of course," Rowan laughed. She then looked at Hana and Byrden sincerely. "Do you both still think that you cannae accept my gratitude? Starting a new life from scratch isn't easy, especially when you've got a baby onf the way."

"When you put it like that," Hana started.

"It'd be difficult to say no," Byrden finished.

"Great. All I ask in return is that you continue to care for Tehri. Unfortunately, our father isn't doing great and neither myself or our brother, Tyris, can give her the care she needs and deserves. All we have is our love. I ask that you do the same, Kamren."

"Yes, ma'am."

"We'll do our best."

"Thank you. I think that's enough serious talk though. As for a lighter topic to carry on the conversation with? Please tell me all of the embarrassing things I've missed Tehri do these past few years."

Tehri squirmed in silent protest as Hana and Byrden relayed the awkward and extremely embarrassing highlights of Tehri's adolescence. Every so often, Rowan could almost swear that she could hear small indiscernible sounds coming from Tehri. Actual proper sounds as well, but only for, at most, seconds at a time.

After around fifteen minutes of story time Seres tapped Rowan on the arm. "Hey, Rowan? Shouldn't Lochlan and Liadra be here already?"

The question immediately put Rowan on edge. "You're right. They've been way too long." She half stood up and started looking around for signs of the duo. Then she sighed in relief. "They're over there in that shadowy corner eating some stew."

Seres joined in with the sigh of relief. "The location of that table is far too appropriate for them. It's almost uncanny."

"Tell me about it."

The conversation returned to normal after that slight interlude, and people started to pile in having heard of Rowan's upcoming performance. She knew that's why they were here because practically everyone was talking about it.

There were a fair few familiar faces amongst the crowd. Some were less recognisable and others not at all, but it was enough to bring a smile to her face. Even so, she decided not to mingle.

That didn't stop people from approaching her, the first of which being Brent, her old family doctor.

"Ah, Rowan, it really is you," he greeted her. Unlike many of the other people she had seen, he was looking great for his age and mostly unchanged. The only aspect of him that was any different was his shiny bald head.

Rowan smiled warmly at him. "Doctor Bræn? I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm more than okay," he laughed. "This must be Tehri," he then said, looking across the table.

"It is. She's been in Aran Village this whole time. Would you mind looking over her? She's been unable to talk ever since the attack."

"Are these the people that have been looking after her this whole time?" he asked, motioning to Hana and Byrden.

"Yes," Hana replied. "My name is Hana, and this is my husband, Byrden."

"Excellent. If you can tell me your own observations and what other doctors or healers have said, I'd greatly appreciate it."

Hana and Byrden spent the next ten minutes bringing Doctor Bræn up to speed as he pondered everything they told him. "Have you considered that it might be a psychological issue?" Doctor Bræn suggested.

"Psychological?" Rowan asked.

"Yes. I'd need to do a thorough exam to rule out everything else, but considering Tehri already suffers from psychological challenges and the symptoms started after a highly traumatic event, it would make sense."

"What can we do to help?"

"It's difficult to say for sure, psychology isn't my area of expertise after all, but I'd suggest trying to find a way to help her process the trauma. My theory is that she created a wall in her mind to protect herself and she's been throwing herself against it all these years, trying to find her voice. It's an unfortunate example of someone unintentionally hurting themselves with their coping strategies."

"Well I hope you're right."

"So do I. If it’s something else, it's far beyond my ability to treat. I'll give her a proper exam tomorrow. I can give you one as well if you wish."

"Thank you."

"Indeed. I won't take any more of your time. I'm just glad to see you're both safe." Doctor Bræn then offered Seres a slight bow before taking his leave.

The next familiar face came as Rowan was setting up for her performance. Master Idyr limped towards her with his daughter in tow. "As I live and breathe," he almost cried as he saw her, "it really is you."

"It is? I mean, yes, it is I." Rowan fumbled her response a little bit, but she was still very happy to see her old teacher alive and relatively well.

Out of nowhere, he burst into tears and wrapped his arms around her in an emotional embrace. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." He kept saying it over and over again while his daughter awkwardly kept back, though Rowan could still see the gratitude and adoration in her eyes.

"Um, what exactly am I being thanked for?" Rowan said awkwardly.

"My daughter! Namiiri is alive and free thanks to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I was one of the people that was able to escape when you went after your sister," Namiiri, the daughter, explained as her father continued to cry incoherently into Rowan's shoulder. "We barely made it back, but without you, we wouldn't even have had the chance. You're an Ardent aren't you?"

"I am and I'm glad at least some people were able to escape when I Awakened. Is the rest of your family okay?" Rowan knew it was a risky question, but she had to know.

"My little brother was trampled in the attack and my mother was horrifically scarred. She doesn't go out much anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise. You've suffered at least as much as we have."

"Even so…"

"We just need you to accept our thanks."

Rowan was getting an incredible sense of deja vu as the conversation parroted her earlier one with Hana and Byrden, only this time she was on the receiving end.

"Okay, I will. You can stop hugging me now, Master Idyr.

"Sorry," Idyr replied, taking a few steps back.

Rowan gave them both a warm smile and said, "I hope you enjoy my performance tonight."

They nodded and took their leave after that and Rowan took to the stage.

"Good evening, everyone," she called out as she set her lute to her lap. "To those of you that dinnae know who I am or cannae recognise me, I am Rowan, daughter of the Heartborne Songstress, Hlii'hæra, and Ardent Flame of Midiris, and I have returned.

"When Næmyris was attacked five years ago, we all lost something. This is not the same Næmyris that I grew up in, that I remember so dearly. Instead it has become a broken shell without the spirit of home. Everyone has been anchored to the past while the world has moved on without you.

"Things cannae continue on like this. That's why I'm here tonight. I cannae bring our loved ones back to life. I cannae erase what happened and I cannae free those that are still in chains. Not yet at least. What I can do is give Næmyris back its spirit. I can bring us together and give us all a future. I can give us Hope."

Rowan started to sing and play her lute as she let the light of hope take hold and fill the room. She sang of loss and pain, of love and compassion, and of taking the first step forwards. It was a purely original song and she was composing it on the fly with the aid of her mother and Elan Fiir.

As the song continued, Rowan pulled on her compassion and empathy for the pain that everyone was suffering. She took half of it from everyone and held onto it for a couple of verses. For those two verses, Rowan carried the full weight of that suffering on her shoulders. Then she started to spread it out across everyone.

By the end of the song, everyone helped carry the weight of everyone else's suffering. For some, it lessened their load, while others had their's technically heightened. Even then, however, they were stronger together. Rowan maintained her hope and compassion for the entirety of the performance.

There was no standing ovation when Rowan struck the last chord, no cacophony of applause. Instead there was just profound, emotional silence and tears. Rowan had reminded everyone that they weren't alone, be it in their suffering or in any other sense.

In the moment of silence, only one quiet, barely audible word was spoken.

"Rowan."

For the first time in five years, Tehri spoke.