The town no longer felt safe, even to Lillien. The house on the hill seemed to be the only place she could stay and feel free. Ambrose had only left a few days ago, but already the whole town seemed to know what had happened. That night in the glade, staring up at the stars, she’d offered up a silent prayer of safety to Yukima before letting him go. She’d watched him run away from her, away from his old life. He was probably glad to get away from it all, to start fresh. To get away from her.

No. Stop that. Stop the voice. Lillien turned and glared up at the sky. Get out of my head, Knight.

“Lillien?” Accalia beckoned to her from inside the house. “Dinner’s ready.” When Lillien returned home the night Ambrose left, everything had been fine. But the morning after, her parents hadn’t woken her before leaving. They’d simply left a note for her. It hadn’t been a particularly nice note either. They already hadn’t approved of her relationship with Ambrose, but this sealed her fate in their eyes. She’d taken one look at it, packed her things, and hiked to the edge of town.

She looked over her shoulder. “Coming.” She looked back out at the town, obscured in some places by the trees.

Ambrose’s mother joined Lillien on the crooked porch. “You know, Ambrose used to do this exact thing. Stand, not sit, on the porch and watch the trees. I teased that it was because they would float away if he wasn’t watching them.”

Lillien cracked a small smile. “Well, someone has to take over for him. At least until he gets back.”

The smile on Accalia’s face lost some of its warmth. “Here, you’d better come inside. You’ll catch a chill out here. And Yukima knows we don’t need another case of winterflu.”

“I guess you’re right.” Lillien turned and followed her into the house. She hadn’t been looking at the trees. She’d been looking at the man in the bushes to the right, opposite the town. He hadn’t noticed her looking. But after spending her whole life as the daughter of the Surface Council member, she’d learned a trick or two of her own.

The table had three settings, two smaller plates and a large one. The large one was the only one open. Lillien sat down at it, noting the two cushions stacked on top of the chair. It put her a little above comfortable height, but she didn’t complain.

“I’m so sorry, but the only things we still have out are from Ambrose. If you’re going to be here for some time, I’ll try to find a better replacement.”

“Please don’t worry about it. You’ve already done more than enough. And I promise…”

Accalia held up her hand. “Let’s pray first. Then we can talk all we want.”

“Of course.”

Accalia looked down at her daughter. “Sylvie, would you like to pray today?”

The little girl had always seemed to be bouncing off the ramshackle walls whenever Lillien visited, but today she seemed more sullen than anybody Lillien had ever seen. “Okay, Mama.” Sylvie closed her eyes and looked towards the ceiling, her hands playing across the ribbon in her braided black hair. A blue ribbon. But no crescent on the end. A poor-man’s moonbeam? “Dear Yukima above, we come before you in supple… supple…”

“Supplication, little one.”

“Supple-cation. Please bless Ambrose that he can be safe. Bless this food. We’re thankful that we can be here and that Lillie can be with us. Please watch over us until the next moonrise. Amen.”

Lillien smiled. The little girl’s ‘r’ in ‘Ambrose’ sounded more like a ‘w’. There was simply no way not to love her.

Now that she noticed it, Accalia had a blue ribbon in her braid too. Yet Ambrose never had a braid or a ribbon. Had he been afraid of offending Lillien? She wouldn’t have been offended.

“I’m sorry, I interrupted you before. What was it you wanted to say?” Accalia was looking over at her now.

“Oh, right. I promise I’ll make it up to you for letting me stay here tonight. I don’t have money, but I’ll find a way.”

“Nonsense. You can stay here as long as you need.”

Lillien smiled. “Thank you, but I know finances are tight for everyone right now. I’ll help out where I can.”

Accalia’s smile broadened. “I see why Ambrose likes you. Your help would be welcome.” She lifted the lid off the small pot in the center of the table. “Now, please, eat. It’s only going to get colder.” Lillien took the tongs from next to the pot and pulled out a hardened rod of bread wrapped in leaves. She’d seen this dish before, though mostly when she stopped by places other than her own home. The dough was normally shaped into sticks and set in a pot of boiling water. After a minute or two, it was fished out and wrapped in leaves before being replaced in the water. The leaves gave it more of a flavor, if a little color as well. Lillien bit into it, peeling back the leaves. For once, it didn’t taste like all the refined things her father ordered made each night.

“This is wonderful. Thank you.”

Sylvie smiled a little. “Yep! Mama does magic with food.”

Accalia tousled the little girl’s hair. “Hush, little one. Eat your dinner.”

Lillien took another bite. “She’s right, you know. This really is magic.”

“Only the Engineers can do magic. This is just skill. But thank you.” The three fell silent as they ate, each thinking about something different. Or maybe they were all thinking about the same thing. Lillien didn’t know. But her thoughts were on Ambrose. As always. But this time, they were a bit more accusatory. Why leave all of this behind? He’d had a good life here, a family that loved him. What could have pushed him to leave? Adventure and action seemed so foolish when she saw how fragile the world really was.

Stolen story; please report.

Ambrose, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, please find your way back home. Not so much a prayer as a silent plea. But that had to count for something.

“Aina? Would you come help me?” Mikhel’s voice echoed in from outside the front door. Kima looked up from her books in the corner. She’d amassed quite a stack, cleaning off most of the shelves in the room and in the master bedroom off the kitchen. If Mikhel had finally made it back, that meant he might know something about the University. A little of the tension in her mind eased.

“Kima, dear, would you come help us?”

“Absolutely.” Kima shifted two stacks of books apart from each other to create a walkway, careful that the books on top didn’t slide too much. She stuck the edge of one of her blankets inside her current read to mark her spot before standing and maneuvering her way into the open space beyond the stacks. Mikhel was visible through the open front door, opening the saddlebags on the mule he’d taken with him. Kima ran through the doorway and gave him a hug, though she didn’t quite know why. He seemed as surprised as her, although he returned the gesture after a moment. “How was your trip?”

Mikhel handed her a loop of new rope and a box of tools. “Mostly good. The city’s always bigger every time I go down. You’d think that it couldn’t grow much in half a year. But each time, it surprises me.” He grunted, hefting a bag of seeds from another saddlebag. “Go stack those on the floor under the kitchen table. I’ll figure out where to put them afterwards.” He waddled over to the side of the cottage and dropped the bag of seeds

Kima took her load of supplies inside and placed it gently on the floor under the table. She looked over at her corner with the palace of books, but she couldn’t go back to reading just yet. She had to know what Honored Mikhel had found out concerning the University. Books could teach her a lot, but there were some things they couldn’t teach her. And books were expensive. She didn’t have any sort of money to buy more of them. This would be the best way. If there even was a way. Mikhel could tell her.

Aina closed the door behind her, a bag over her shoulder. “Would you heat up some water on the stove? We’re going to have an early dinner tonight.”

“Of course.” Kima knelt down in front of the stove, pulling open the hinged door. She blew on the glowing coals, whiterock brightening and starting to flame. A few logs on top and the black metal plate over the fire started to heat. She placed a lidded pot of water on the plate and closed the stove door. Maybe twenty minutes of watching the lid and she could call Aina over.

Mikhel came in the back door and removed his boots, placing them in their usual spot. He walked over to the closest chair and plopped down in it, stretching his back. “Finally, somewhere to relax. Three days never seems like long beforehand. But afterwards…”

Aina placed a hand on Kima’s shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on the pot, dear. I’m sure Mikhel has some things to tell you.”

Kima nodded and sat down across from Mikhel. He looked up at the ceiling, as if wondering where he should start. “While I was down in the city, I asked around as I was purchasing goods to see if anyone knew someone at the University.” He looked down and ran his fingers along a small crack in the table. “Apparently it’s not easy to find out things like that. But I finally found the name of a low noble who works in admissions. I met with him for a few minutes in the evening, after everything had shut down for the night. He gave me this and told me it was unlikely anyone I knew would make it in, but that they might as well try.” Mikhel pulled out a letter, a blue wax seal pressed with a coat of arms. He passed it across the table to Kima.

She took the paper, her hands shaking a little. This whole idea about the University had been just that: only an idea. But the more she’d thought about it, the more she was sure that was the place she needed to be. Kima broke the wax seal and unfolded the letter. A long and flowing script greeted her, but the words remained remarkably clear.

To Prospective Applicants at the Royal University of the Sixth Spire,

Congratulations on your aspirations in coming this far. You have set yourself above many of your peers in confidence and dedication. This will serve you well in life. And perhaps, at this University.

Unfortunately, the odds are against you in this undertaking. We, the admissions committee here at the Royal University, strive for excellence. We admit a very small fraction of each year’s applicants in the hopes that we are receiving the best and brightest into our programs; that is, the people that we feel have the capacity to make the most difference in this empire.

Admission to this institution is not a task to be taken lightly. After a battery of tests, you will be scored in various areas, including leadership, military aptitude, learning ability, and perseverance. These tests are difficult, more so than you have ever seen. Many will not complete them. Many more will not pass. Those who do pass will be expected promptly, where education will begin without delay. Although people of all ages may apply for admission, the general age of beginning students is anywhere from seventeen to nineteen years.

Below is the date of the next battery of tests. These exams are held in the city hall annex, off the third square. If you wish to participate in these tests, be present by the eight o’clock bell. May your path be clear and your mind enlightened.

Date of next exam: __Cycle of Frost, fourth day of the rising crescent__

Duke Aaron D. Lembeck, Head of Admissions, Royal University of the Sixth Spire

The date seemed like an afterthought, scrawled across the line by a different hand than the rest. But it held the exact same weight.

She had a chance to find her place in the world. To learn more than she ever could on the mountain. And to make a difference in more lives than her own. She had to get in.

The Cycle of Frost was the sixth of the year, marking the beginning of winter. The exams were at the end of the first week, right as the first crescent spun into the first quarter.

That Cycle had started yesterday. The exams were down in the city in five days.

Kima looked at the note once more, trying to memorize every detail. Then she passed it back to Mikhel. He read through it twice as fast as she had before setting it on the edge of the table for Aina to pick up. “If we’re going to go, it has to be within the next day, maybe the morning the day after. That’s… the first day of the rising crescent. It takes three days to get down there, and you’ll want a full night’s sleep before the tests.”

So many thoughts vied for Kima’s attention, trying to distract her or make her unsure about her decision. But she had to take those tests. If they wouldn’t take her down the mountain, she’d go herself.

“I don’t know, Mikhel.” Aina put down the letter. “You just got back from the Sixth Spire. We both know how hard that hike is. And the goats need you here.”

Kima stood up. “You don’t have to come with me. I can go myself if I need to.”

Aina checked on the pot of water before speaking. “Absolutely not. The mountains are dangerous, even to those that know them well. I will go with you.” She looked pointedly at Mikhel. “He needs to rest, and I think he’ll survive on his own cooking. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the city.” She sighed. “Yukima knows I don’t get out enough.”

A new emotion started to bubble up inside Kima, a warmth she wasn’t familiar with. “Why do you care so much about me?”

Aina smiled. “You are family now, wherever you came from before. And we take care of our family.” She glanced over at the master bedroom, the doorway just to the right of where she stood. “I’ll go through the closet tonight and see what old shawls I can find. We’ll leave at midday tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Honored Aina.” Kima wrapped her in the biggest hug she could muster. “I’ll clean up the books.”

“You do that, dear. It’s going to be a long night for all of us.”