Early the next morning, Seres woke up to Rowan dancing.
“Have you been dancing all this time?” Seres yawned upon entering the living room.
“Aye.”
Rowan was dripping with sweat, and her body was screaming in protest at the lack of sleep. At the same time, she was still just as awake as she had been the night before.
Seres chose not to comment on Rowan’s lack of sleep. Not after what had happened. Instead, she offered Rowan a sympathetic smile. “You should probably get a quick bath before we leave. I’ll make sure we have everything.”
*****
They arrived at the precinct as the guard was switching over for the morning shift. The guard on desk duty greeted them politely, only to be immediately ignored as the girls marched straight past him in search of the guard captain’s office. They were there on a mission, and they weren’t about to be stopped by procedure.
Upon finding the guard captain’s office, they slammed the door open.
The captain jumped in his chair, knocking over some paperwork.
"What in the blazes? Who are you? Who let you in here?"
Seres gave him a steely look. She had insisted that she be the one to do the talking, at least in the beginning. "We're here to follow up on a complaint that was levelled against two of your men."
"What are you talking about?"
"Last night, two of your men mocked and embarrassed my companion whilst attempting to arrest her for merely defending herself against an individual who was actively attacking her.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve seen the report. A simple misunderstanding, I’m sure.”
“And you’re confident that a formal investigation from the Crown would come to the same conclusion?”
"The Crown?"
It was then that the guard captain saw Seres' signature eyes.
"Your Highness! We had word of your return, but never in my wildest dreams did I think you would visit our poor town so soon."
His tone had completely changed from annoyed to flattering with a hint of fear.
"I'm here with my friend and companion, Lady Rowan'efrii Alyris Naliir, who was attacked and almost raped last night. When your men arrived on the scene, they proceeded to mock, harass, and threaten her. Forgive me for not seeing the ‘misunderstanding’.”
“Well, according to the report, she was visibly armed.”
“Because she had to defend herself. The way Private Ilum and Lance Corporal Kasta acted was shameful and incredibly unbecoming for any lawkeeper. How many victims have they punished? How many victims have they made to suffer? How many victims have they put behind bars? Had Rowan not revealed her rank and station, I have no doubt they would have tried to arrest her. It should never have gotten to that point. They should have been offering their care and support. Now they will instead be facing disciplinary action.
“When we leave, you will inform the guardsmen that they are being dismissed until further notice. I will also be sending word to my mother and military command in order to inform them of the events that have transpired here. I’ll be requesting a formal investigation of your precinct for other instances of gross misconduct, malpractice, and corruption. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Completely."
"Excellent. Is there anything you'd like to add, Rowan?"
Rowan nodded. “I want the two guardsmen fined, along with anyone else that has facilitated similar injustices to the people of this town. The money can go to supporting the victims of their actions.”
The guard captain paled slightly. "I'm not sure — are you going to ratify that request, Your Highness?"
"I don't need to," Seres answered. "Rowan was granted the titles of Ardent Flame and An’Fær by my mother. Surely you’ve heard the news? She’d be well within her rights to demand a much harsher punishment. Here is the written decree and her seal if you don’t believe me.”
The guard captain paled even more. He could almost pass for a corpse. "That won't be necessary. Is that all?"
"I think so, don't you, Rowan?"
"Aye."
With nothing left to be said, they left the terrified guard captain to his duties. When they returned to the front desk, they met up with Lochlan and Liadra. Then they made their way back to the inn for breakfast and the small amount of packing they needed to do. They didn't say much as they ate. Conversation would just slow them down, and neither of them wanted to stay in the town any longer than they had to.
After breakfast, Seres let Rowan take another bath while she packed. The first bath had been enough to clean her from all the sweat, but it wasn’t enough to cleanse her of what had happened. Granted, it wasn’t the kind of filth that could be removed through bathing, but it helped.
When Rowan finished getting dressed, she attached the Seal of the Ardent Flame firmly to her belt. She knew it was meant to highlight her status, but she still forgot about it occasionally.
As she thought about it then and there, however, she wondered if the seal would have been useful with the guards. If she was wearing it and they recognised it, they might have acted differently.
At the same time, Rowan doubted they would have had the cognisance to recognise it as little more than fancy jewellery. It was also unlikely that descriptions of the seal and what it signified would have meaningfully reached someone of their ranking. She was sure, however, that with enough time, people would recognise both her and the seal.
*****
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The girls left Baromiir with Lochlan and Liadra as soon as they were ready. They rode hard and fast and remained quiet for the most part until the town was but a distant memory. The countryside flew by from naked fields, to verdant grasslands and onto forests of deepest crimson. Signs of winter were everywhere.
Rowan had forgotten how beautiful her homeland could be, and seeing it helped with the trauma. It helped to remind her that she was free. It was by no means enough to eradicate her nightmares, but it was another positive thought she could draw on to keep them at bay.
Keeping busy was another thing that helped. Besides conversation on the road, this was mostly achieved through practising or teaching Seres whenever they set up camp.
Following Baromiir, Lochlan and Liadra also started joining them for their training sessions, with Liadra taking an active role in teaching Seres whilst also offering to spar with Rowan. Her skill and experience in hand-to-hand combat, in particular, was highly beneficial for Rowan.
Liadra's involvement with Seres’ lessons also gave Rowan more opportunities to train independently. Most of this time was spent dancing or mastering Elan Fiir, though she added in some arboreal agility whenever they made camp amidst a suitable patch of trees. The thrill of leaping through the trees was one she could never forget.
There were still limits to how much exercise Rowan could do, so she needed other ways to keep herself busy. Some of that came in the form of some portable games that she and Seres had brought with them. With a few exceptions, the games were all new to them, which was both fortunate and embarrassing.
They were both particularly bad at card games, especially when faced with a pair of military veterans who, as a general rule, loved cards and dice. It didn’t help that most of the card games Lochlan and Liadra introduced to them featured a fair amount of bluffing. The mechanics were simple enough, but Rowan was pretty much an open book when it came to her emotions. Seres managed to keep a tighter hold of her tells for the most part, but her ears and tail had a mind of their own.
On the flipside, Lochlan was completely unreadable, thanks to his Gift. As he was relying on his Gift, however, Seres was able to see right through him. This left Liadra as the undisputed queen of cards as she had mastered the mannerisms of a stone-faced professional on account of her role as a Dusk Agent.
It wasn't all fun and exercise, however. There was one last activity that Rowan kept close to her heart. Singing, the memory of her mother made manifest. She would never forget. With Elan Fiir, she would always have a part of her mother nearby. To the world, however, Hlii'hæra Naliir was gone, and Rowan wasn’t about to let the world forget her. So she sang. She gave life to her mother's music so that it would never die again.
*****
After a couple of days, they arrived in Telmaris. It was surprisingly modest despite having a fair amount of inherent wealth from being home to one of the larger branches of the national hunter’s guild. Then again, the sea of log cabins and wooden lodges was extremely characteristic of a town founded by a group of hunters.
At the same time, the guild was only a part of the picture. The rest could be found in its position on the Telma River for which it was named. It was at the point where most of the larger river vessels had to stop as they were unable to venture the rest of the way upstream to Feldran. At the same time, it was also fairly impractical for the smaller vessels to go further downstream, so Telmaris became a much-needed exchange point for goods going up and down the river.
For Rowan and Seres, however, it was only a place to eat and rest for the night before moving on. After the events of Baromiir, they didn't want to linger any longer than necessary. They had even considered skipping the town entirely, but it was far too late to be worth it. The chance to stock up on supplies was also appreciated.
*****
After Telmaris, they entered the foothills that surrounded the Kærinsiir mountain range. The road continued to follow the river as it snaked through the hills, though it was occasionally diverted to allow for a slightly steeper, more direct path.
As they set up camp one last time before reaching Feldran, Rowan had an idea. She broached it to Seres after they finished doing their stretches.
"So, hear me out, Seres. I've got an idea that could help both of us, but it's a wee bit risky."
"Go on?"
"I need to practise dodging things, and you haven't done any training with your abilities."
"I don't think I like where this is going," Seres muttered quietly.
"So what I was thinking is that you conjure things up and try to hit me with them, and I dodge. Simple."
"You're right. That is dangerous. And stupid. When did you become an idiot? Do you want to get hurt? Is it something you ate?"
"I don't think so…"
"I'm not convinced."
Rowan rolled her eyes. "Just listen. Your abilities have excellent combat potential…"
"And I can practise with them without trying to hit you," Seres interjected.
"You could, but if you're going to use them to defend yourself, you need to be able to aim at a moving target; otherwise they'll be next to useless. Trust me, I'll be fine." Rowan responded with complete confidence in her own abilities
Seres stared right into her eyes for a good minute before throwing her arms up and turning back to her packs. "This is on you if it goes wrong," she said as she returned wearing a bracelet and a couple of extra rings.
"No holding back."
In response, Seres threw a small frozen dart straight at Rowan. This was Rowan's first time seeing Seres do anything other than lighting their fires and she was impressed. She didn’t even see the ice form, and it would have hit her just above the heart if she hadn't dodged.
Seres alternated primarily between more ice darts and jets of flame as her means of attack. Alas, Rowan was able to evade with ease. She wasn’t even breaking a sweat.
After five minutes, however, Seres proved that she had no intent of holding back. Light flashed from one of her rings, blinding Rowan for a second. When Rowan's vision returned, Seres was in the air, far higher than should have been possible, and she started unleashing a hailstorm on Rowan's location. Rowan dived to her left in the nick of time and landed in a roll, though she had to stop herself from going any further as she nearly rolled into a wall of fire.
Seres returned to her original gambit after that. Then another flash of light. Rowan looked up, expecting another frozen hail. Instead, she felt something wrap around her ankles. Seres was touching the ground causing gnarled roots to erupt and trap Rowan in place. With Rowan unable to move out of the way, Seres launched one final jet of flame. There was a glint, and Rowan was cutting the flame in twain, her sword striking the hidden ice dart.
When the flames dissipated, Rowan saw Seres fall to her knees in exhaustion. She cut the roots away before rushing to Seres’ side. The concern on her face was palpable.
"Seres? What's the matter? Are you okay?"
"I pushed the Resonance too far," Seres panted. "These crystals aren't meant for that level or rate of output, so I had to amplify the Resonance on my end. It isn't easy."
"When I said don't hold back, I didn't mean to the point of you collapsing."
"I wanted to impress you," Seres replied meekly.
"You certainly managed to do that," Rowan smiled, "but you really didn't need to."
"How else am I going to shine next to an Ardent?"
"You already shine, Seres. Even without any powers, you are loved. Do you not remember how people celebrated your return? Do you not remember what people call you? The Star Flower Princess. If that still isn't enough, we're sisters, and nothing will change that fact.”
“You're right,” Seres replied tearfully.
“Of course I'm right! It's a big sister's job to be right!”
“Learn that from Tyris?”
“From failing Tehri.”
“You haven't failed her.”
“I did,” Rowan replied simply. “Not when I saved her, but before that. I wasn't there for her, and I thought I was doing the right thing. I won't fail her again.” She made the declaration with fire in her eyes.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the clearing, Lochlan muttered something to Liadra.
“Do we include this in our report?”
“No. I'm sure Her Majesty already knows, so why ruin a good moment by sharing it unnecessarily?”
“I should have known you'd say something like that.”