Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:13

Olivia’s Bedroom, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

My brother and sister had already been prepared to go to school well before dawn, and now that it was almost half an hour past that time, they had already boarded a carriage together and departed to school. For my part, I had pretended to still be asleep and had skipped the family breakfast, I hadn’t even seen them off.

In fact, it was only a few minutes ago that I had finished bringing Gimmy back to the warehouse Captain Nev had rented for me. Controlling a puppet like that, was a very exacting type of magic, as long as I maintained the connection with my blood, I could manipulate it at will, but it required a majority of my attention. I could leave it idle, as I did when it was within the pillow, but to actually make use of it, I had to focus entirely on it, it was not a golem or other type of magical construct that could take action on its own.

In the past, I was rather skilled in manipulating puppets like that, for a time, it had been a game of sorts between my contemporaries, to have mock fights and battles with puppets. But like all fads, it had fallen to the side, and it had been an incredibly long time since I did it last. Besides those stumbles when I was learning how to walk with the sheep’s hooves, I think I did a pretty good job. Afterall, Michael never even noticed, even as the knife’s tip was crashing through his skull.

Still, while I did accomplish what I wanted, having Gimmy navigate its way through the capital to the warehouse was significantly harder than I expected, and took longer than I wanted. Now, I was behind schedule.

“Ava, come in here please,” I called out towards the maid who was waiting in the hallway for me to wake up.

“Pardon me, My Lady,” Ava spoke as she entered the door, and having closed it behind her, she dropped to a quick, but flawless, curtsy.

Ava looked as if she was in her mid-thirties, she had the earliest hint of wrinkles around her eyes, and her rusty red colored hair was just beginning to fade. But, she had a quarter of elven blood within her, and while she had nowhere near the lifespan of even half-elves, she would still live at least another hundred years.

“Ava, have a carriage prepared, I wish to go to Varsin’s.”

“Yes My Lady. Do you want to leave before lunch, or after?” She asked.

“No, I want to leave as soon as possible.”

“...Will My Lady take breakfast before you depart?”

“No, have something prepared and I will eat during the trip.”

“Understood My Lady, I will go see to the preparations. I will have someone come in and help you dress.”

“No need, I will be fine. And, use one of the basic carriages, no need for an extravagant one to be used.” I added.

“Yes… I understand. The preparations will be complete within a quarter of an hour.”

“Okay,” I nodded as Ava curtsied again before she retreated from the room.

Today would be busy.

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

 Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:30

Pine Family Courtyard, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

Fifteen minutes later, I was wearing a heavy white and gray overcoat that wrapped around my neck and came down to below my knees, and was about to enter the carriage, but, there was a problem.

“My Lady, I can not allow this.” The problem stated.

While I had told Ava to prepare a basic carriage, I had not told her I would not need an escort, as such, a team of knights had been prepared to guard me as I went. Rejecting the escort should have been easy, but, my remaining Guardian Knight had adamantly refused.

“Carla, It is just a small trip, I do not need an escort.”

“No. I am in charge of My Lady’s safety, I can not allow you to leave like this.” Carla, my Guardian Knight, rebutted me.

Guardian Knights are knights that focus entirely on protecting their liege, unlike a normal knight, a Guardian Knight will almost never act independently from their master. As a woman, my Guardian Knights would likewise, be women, all so that they could follow me anywhere I went. Originally, I had two such knights, Carla, who was an expert swordsman, and Bethany, who while not as skilled as Carla, handled the setup of my security detail. Technically speaking, the recent mishap my carriage had suffered would have been a failure on Bethany’s part, the advanced party she sent should have investigated the bridge more thoroughly.

Granted, there was no telling if they would have discovered anything, sometimes, these things are simply unavoidable, and as such, it would have been unlikely for Bethany to receive any form of reprimand, however, there would have been an unspoken mark on her record, it was even possible she would have been reassigned from my security detail for a while.

Of course, none of that ever came to be, because when the bridge collapsed and the carriage tumbled into the waters, Bethany had been sitting alongside the driver. The driver, an experienced coachman, had suffered a head wound before he was thrown into the water where he drowned, and Bethany too, had ended up in the icy waters. Unlike the coachman who was knocked out, Bethany’s neck had been twisted and snapped, she had likely died instantly.

Carla, for her part, had been in the carriage with me and had protected me as we tumbled by wrapping my body up in her embrace. I only received a few light bruises and scrapes, mostly from being smashed into Carla’s breastplate, while the Guardian Knight herself ended up with several cuts and even a fractured arm. I also had three ladies in waiting in the carriage with me, and after getting me out of the water, Carla had gone back to rescue them. Ultimately, she got two of the three out of the sinking carriage in time, but one ended up drowning, and for her efforts, Carla was bedridden for several days and almost died from hypothermia. Even now, she was a bit pale.

And then, because Guardian Knights required a large amount of training, and because their loyalty needed to be assured, a replacement for Bethany hadn’t been found, Carla was now doing the job by herself.

“Carla…” I said with a sigh.

“No, My Lady. Not after what just happened.”

“...haaah…” I sighed again, heavier this time.

Carla, technically, was one of the people who could override my orders within the estate, the other being the steward, Old Man Hart. For Carla, it was limited to situations pertaining to my safety, but that was precisely what this was about. If she wanted to, she could actually bar me from leaving.

And, she wanted to.

“Fine, Carla, you may accompany me, but I do not need an escort,” I said.

“My Lady, that is unacceptable.”

“And… Sir Jop.” I added.

“...” Carla pursed her mouth and didn’t say anything for a second.

Anyone with martial skills was given a ranking within the Fredirin Kingdom, and this ranking, for the most part, coincided with the ranking that other countries gave their warriors.

Rank 0, these are average humans with no training what so ever.

Rank 1, people who at least knew how to use weapons fell here. Most people fall here since a simple spear isn’t that hard to use, and merely a few hours of practice is sufficient to earn rank 1. Most conscripted forces consist of rank 1’s.

Rank 2, people with actual training in weapons. People of this rank are generally stronger, tougher, and faster than those of the prior two ranks. The basic soldiers of most standing armies are rank 2, along with most beginner adventurers.

Rank 3, these are the highly skilled basic soldiers, or those with specialized skills. Novice mages and priests usually start at this rank. Most knights are also rank 3, my brother Timothy is a rank 3 even though he is only a knight in training.

Rank 4, this is where the truly strong start showing up, people of rank 4 are equal to at least ten or twenty rank 2’s.

From there, the ranks are a little less clear, they are well beyond what normal people can really understand.

Guardian Knights are always at least rank 4, but often times going up to rank six. Carla is rank 5, and she’s in the upper levels. Bethany was at the peak of rank 4. My siblings have roughly equal setups, a slightly higher rank that is the main combatant, and a slightly lower rank that handles the planning and command aspects. Our parents use the same system, but they use rank 6 and rank 5 respectively.

But, outside of the Guardian Knight’s that act as our bodyguards, the Pine Family has many other Rankers that follow us, some are loyal members of the family, others are paid mercenaries.

Sir Jop is the second son of a baron family under our umbrella, one that is firmly, very firmly, under our umbrella, so there is little risk of betrayal. Sir Jop technically holds the noble rank of a knight, in that our family had knighted him and given him a small territory.

But, contrary to what one might think of when they visualize a knight, Sir Jop is actually an Elementalist. And not only that, he is an Elementalist of rank 7.

Our estate here in the capital also has a rank 7 Arcanist, and a rank 7 Druid, these three, along with several rank 6 guards, were the estate’s main military force.

That being said, a threat that was able to overwhelm the rank 6’s and force the rank 7’s into play, would lead to a battle that would devastate the surroundings. If enough rank 7 existences were to join in battle, the capital might cease to be.

So in that sense, Sir Jop would be a perfect guard.

Not only due to his power, but Sir Jop specialized in water magic, which out of the six elements, was the second best at healing. If anything really did happen, then Sir Jop would be able to at least prevent the worst.

“My Lady, having Sir Jop escort you is…” Carla said hesitantly.

“It is fine,” I responded.

Sir Jop was one of the linchpins of the estate’s defenses, but unless he was gone for an extended period of time, there would be no real effect on the estate, the other two could easily hold the fort, and an attack from someone stronger than them was largely impossible.

As for whether or not he would be willing, to start with, it was only Carla and Old Man Hart that could over-ride me, and I doubted the steward would do so. If I ordered it, Sir Jop would have no choice.

But, that wouldn’t be necessary, Sir Jop was almost an uncle to us, he even taught Pamela magic occasionally.

“...Fine,” Carla gave up reluctantly, before turning towards one of the servants, “Go pass a message to Sir Jop, My Lady would like to ask him to be her escort.”

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

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 8:41

Pine Family Courtyard, 3rd Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

It took another ten minutes for Sir Jop to arrive, putting my plans even further behind schedule.

Sir Jop was somewhat taciturn when in public, so other than greeting me, he said nothing else and entered the carriage.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I watched as Carla finished up the last details, and I was somewhat concerned.

Both her and Bethany had been somewhat close to the previous me, not exactly friends, but closer than bodyguards would normally be. I did, in my own way, grieve for Bethany, but rather than wallowing in sorrow, finding out who had caused her death, and making them suffer for their transgressions, was a much better way to honor her.

I had lost Bethany, but Carla was still looking tired. She was slower than normal, pale, and she seemed a bit absentminded. I knew she was just being overwhelmed with the duties that were just pushed on her, but I was still concerned.

“Carla, With Sir Jop, perhaps you should…” I started to say.

“Hmm? What is it, My Lady?”

“No… Nevermind.”

Carla took great pride in her work and her position. I also know, she considered the mishap to be her responsibility just as much as it was Bethany’s. I also knew Bethany was probably one of Carla’s only friends, she had to have been taking her death hard.

She was clearly focusing on her work to numb her pain, and suggesting that she stay behind and rest would be an insult.

“Carla, you’ll sit inside of the carriage too,” I said and turned and headed towards the carriage.

At least she could rest somewhat during the trip.

“My Lady, are you boarding?” Sir Jop’s voice, his head looking out the window of the carriage, brought me out of my musings.

“Yes, Sir Jop.”

“Hmm,” He said, and then stood up, leaned out, picked me up, and brought me into the carriage.

“Thank you, Uncle Job.” I smiled.

“Olivia, you really gave me a fright. You don’t know how worried I was.”

“I am sorry.”

“Well, it isn’t your fault. Still, we need to be careful. We can’t have that happen again, my heart can’t take it.” He said solemnly.

“Do not worry uncle, it won't happen again.”

“Ha, you rascal, that isn’t for you to decide, protecting you is our job,” Uncle Jop smiled reassuringly while he patted my head.

“...”

How strange, a simple act such as rubbing my hair somehow created a warm feeling in my chest. If I didn't know he was extremely unskilled with fire magic, I would have thought he was casting a spell on me.

“Hmm?” He slowly withdrew his hand and looked at me oddly for a bit.

“What is it?” I asked, but I had a good guess.

“Eh, I guess it is nothing,” he said while shaking his head.

Before we could continue, Carla effortlessly pulled herself into the carriage and stood in the doorway.

“Well, we are all ready to go, just to confirm, we are just going to Varsin’s Home of Plush?”

“Yes, but tell the driver to take the Old Stone Bridge Route,” I said without much thought.

“Uh, yes.” Carla then leaned back out the door and conversed with the driver.

But, not before I spotted a dark expression cloud her face, much like the one that had appeared on Uncle Jop’s. They both probably thought I was intentionally taking the path with the more durable stone bridge.

I was, but not for the reasons they thought.

Well, they would understand soon.

Finally, Carla pulled herself back in, and this time shut the door, then she looked at the two open seats somewhat hesitantly.

This carriage was a basic four-seater, two benches each faced each other, and each was large enough to allow two people to sit side by side. Me and Uncle Jop were sitting across from each other, so the two remaining open spots were next to both of us.

Normally, both Bethany and Carla would have sat on the same bench, in fact, it would be strange for a servant, even a Guardian Knight, to share a bench with their master.

But, Carla was a rank 5 warrior, and Uncle Jop was a rank 7 Elementalist, not only was he two ranks above her, but he was also a mage, which automatically increased his prestige. And there was his nobility ranking on top of that too. Sitting next to him would be somewhat odd, and to make matters worse, Uncle Jop wasn’t that familiar with Carla, so he stoic facade was back up.

Even if she wanted to go with whichever seat had more space, my overcoat added some extra mass to myself, and Uncle Jop was thin, short, and just generally lanky. In fact, he looked like any average person off of the streets.

“Carla, take a seat,” I said as I patted the bench next to me. I knew if I didn’t say anything, she probably would have stood, hunched over, in the rocking carriage.

Carla was just a bit taller than normal for a woman, but otherwise, had an average physique, at least looking from the outside. She wore a cloak, and under that was thin Mithril armor, even though you could hardly tell she was wearing it, it had defense almost comparable to full plate armor made of steel. Even the seemingly simple gloves she wore had a Mithril mesh within them.

Under that armor, Carla had a finely honed body that was pure muscle without a speck of fat, she did, after all, spend several hours a day training with her sword.

While her muscles didn’t show, and while she wasn’t that tall, standing in the carriage would have been awful, so with only a moment of hesitation, she sat down beside me.

While we sat in silence, the carriage slowly headed towards the gate that allowed entry and exit to the estate. A few words were said between the coachman and the gate guards, and then the gate rattled open and we were truly on our way.

We were two minutes away from the estate when I spoke up.

“Uncle, I have a favor to ask.”

“Hmm?” Uncle Jop raised an eyebrow at me, and Carla just looked a bit confused.

Without saying anything, I reached into my coat and withdrew a stuffed animal.

It was a fish, a trout to be exact. Its body was covered in little, felt, patches that looked like scales, the main body was gray, but the belly was red. In almost every way, it was simply a trout, but, it had a monocle over one eye, and its lips were big, puffy, and bright pink.

I handed it to Uncle Jop who looked even more confused that Carla had been.

“The monocle’s frame has been torn,” I pointed out the damage to the stuffed animal as he looked over it.

The monocle had no lens in the first place, a glass lens would be somewhat dangerous on a toy that was designed to be cuddled with. Even the frame was made of a soft material that mostly held its shape when left alone, but that could be squished and squashed as one pleased. Now, however, part of the frame had been cut, as if someone slashed it with a knife.

“This is… Fish Lips…” I trailed off as I deeply regret my past naming sense. “He was a present, but he came from Varsin’s Home of Plush, so they should be able to repair him.”

“Oh… Okay…?”

“So when we get there, just take him in and hand him off to get fixed. And tell him I had stayed in the carriage because I had gotten a chill.”

“My Lady, you won't be going in?” It was Carla who answered.

“No.”

Varsin’s Home of Plush was one of the major stores for selling stuffed animals. Varsin Himself had died before I was born, but his son had taken his name and his business and expanded it. Varsin’s made both pre-made stuffed animals, and also custom orders, he had a large showroom with many of his works of art there, and unlike the person who made Mr. Zlizvnikchlex, Varsin was normal. His stuffed animals were bears, dogs, cats, fish, birds, and things like that, not butterfly tentacle abominations.

All that being said, Varsin’s Home of Plush was one of my favorite places, Carla and Bethany had accompanied me here many times, so the fact that I wasn’t going in, came as a surprise to her.

“Carla, when will Bethany… when will you get a new partner?” I asked as gently as I could.

“I don’t know,” Carla still frowned. “There are no females skilled enough in the capital right now that we can use, so we will need to wait until we hear back from either the Mistress or the Master. In the meantime, however, a temporary replacement will be filling in. But, I don’t know who that will be.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Beth, she handled all of the behind the scenes work, and I regret to inform you, but I am somewhat struggling to take up her duties. When last I talked with Steward Hart and Commander Tale, my understanding is they’ll give me a military officer to assist with the management so I can focus more on actually guarding you like I did in the past, and they will also give me someone who is strong enough to act as a guard, even without training as a Guardian Knight.”

“Oh? who will that be?” I asked, interested in who the guard would end up as.

“Probably Abby. She’s loyal, and she’s a rank 6, even if on the lower end. The fact that she is so strong should make up for the fact that she is… well… basically a berserker. I'll focus more on protecting you then.”

“Okay…”

I didn’t know all of the important people in the estate, in fact, I hardly knew any of them. Old Man Hart was the steward, and I knew my own servants and guards, and Uncle Jop who was close to all of us, but that was it. As for Abby, I had no idea who she was.

“So Abby will be temporary then?” I asked.

“Yes, absolutely. She is strong, but not suited to be a guard. And, she is too valuable to do this kind of work,” Carla responded.

“In that case, I will tell you two now, but I would like you to keep this as a secret for now. Of course, Timothy and Pamela know, but I want it to just be you four.” I said after a pause.

“My Lady?” Carla asked while Uncle Jop just raised an eyebrow.

“When I was recovering at the Citadel of the Pines, I unlocked my Mana Core.”

“Wha?”

“Wha?”

Two identical sounds came out, one from a female knight, and the other from a middle-aged Elementalist.

Before, when I had shown off my magic, I had manipulated blood as a demonstration. That could be called an inherent type of magic, much like a dragon’s elemental breath, or a basilisk’s petrifying gaze. Just because I used that didn’t mean I couldn’t use other types of magic. As an outsider, unless we had a natural affinity to an element, we usually just used mana in its raw form, this was something largely different from any of the known types of magic that humans use. If anything, it comes closest to the type of magic that spirits grant to their contracted Spiritualist.

So while I couldn’t cast a spell in the way Uncle Jop could, I was able to diffuse mana into the surroundings and create a pressure aura.

Pressure auras weren’t really spells, just like arm strength wasn’t really a fighting technique, but it could be used to overpower a much weaker opponent. And technically, anyone who could use mana could create a pressure aura, even Carla could probably make a weak one, it was just that mages, who are better able to control and use mana, can make stronger ones, and do it with ease.

That being said, a pressure aura served no real purpose other than to flaunt your strength and oppress those who are weaker than you, so it was largely a useless skill. It did have some purpose, however.

So without a word, my mana flooded out, dense, heavy, cloying, it spread around the carriage instantly. It wasn’t enough to actually suppress any of the people in the carriage, although having caught them off guard, I probably could have if I had wanted too, but it was sufficient to let them know that I had immense mana at my beck and call.

Generally speaking, mages are better able to resist pressure aura when they know to prepare, because they too can manipulate the mana around them. When caught unaware, mages tend to crumble. On the other hand, warriors and other fighters, tend to be able to resist it somewhat just based off of the durability of their bodies.

While I didn’t output enough to actually suppress them, even as I surprised them with it, it was Carla who seemed to have suffered the most, even now, after I retracted it, she was still lightly panting and trembling, whereas, Uncle Jop was just sitting there.

Carla wasn’t simply a warrior, she was a knight, specifically, a Guardian Knight, a person who devotes everything to protect another from all threats, including assassination. She is extremely sensitive to bloodthirst due to that.

For my part, unlike humans who have trained and learned to use mana as a tool, mana has always been a part of me, just like a hand, ear, foot, or eye. Mana is not a tool to me, but a weapon, much as a beast’s claws and fangs are. I have, since long ago, learned to use my mana in different ways, but at its heart, my mana is a weapon that I attack with. Even when I use it for something else, it is still, fundamentally, something I cultivated to hunt others with. At its very basic, my mana is overflowing with bloodthirst.

A normal warrior would have been shaken since those who fight hand to hand are more sensitive to bloodthirst, it was just worse for Carla.

And as for Uncle Jop, he probably suspected what I was going to do, after all, he had picked me up earlier and even patted my head, coming into direct contact with my body, he surely felt the stirrings of the mana that I wasn’t trying to hide.

“Knight Carla! Slow breaths. Easy…” Uncle Jop’s yell startled Carla, but then helped her calm down.

It was a task I couldn’t do, as the source of her agitation, anything I did would have made it worse.

“Haaaa.... I have shown you something disgraceful,“ a now calm, but still breathing heavily, Carla said.

“No, I was wrong to do that, My apologies,”

“Leaving Knight Carla aside for the moment, what was that Olivia? That wasn’t Elemental Magic, nor Arcane Magic.” Uncle Jop sat up straight as he asked me this.

“It is Bloodline Magic, I don’t know the source, and the inherited memories are still unclear,” I answered his first question, and what would have been his second.

“I see, well, it is certainly powerful, but we will need to be on guard when all of your memories awaken.”

“Of course.”

“So Olivia, I imagine there was some greater purpose for coming out here and telling us this?” Uncle Jop asked with a knowing smile.

“Yes, in fact, there isn’t much time,” I stood up as I spoke and took off the overcoat I had been wearing.

Underneath it, I was wrapped in dark brown leather armor. Not only my chest, but my arms, sides, back, neck, legs, I even had leather boots on, and within the pockets, I had a pair of leather gloves to go with it.

The Spectres had acquired this armor from several different stores, each piece bought by a different person. It was not only decently high quality, but it was specialized gear, well beyond a simple leather jerkin. Even though there was no metal involved at all, since several pieces came from powerful magical beasts, the protection value was on par with chain mail. And, it was shaped for a female halfling, so if it had been bought all in one go from one store, the shopkeeper would have certainly remembered who the buyer was, which would leave a trail I did not want found.

“When we enter the Old Stone Bridge, I will be departing from the carriage.”

“Absolutely not!” Shouted Carla, who was not only still breathing heavily, but was flabbergasted at my armor.

“...” Uncle Jop just frowned in thought.

“The truth is, when I returned from the Citadel of the Pines, I brought with me a squadron of Spectres. I will be meeting with them.”

“That… That doesn’t make any-”

“Knight Carla!” Uncle Jop’s shout stopped her before she went on, but then he just leaned his head back and continued pondering for a few seconds. “You will be fine, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…” He hummed to himself, his eye glancing at the clearly agitated Guardian Knight. “Perhaps a test is in order?”

“A test?” I asked, somewhat annoyed. We were only a few minutes away from the bridge.

“Yes, a test, a simple one too.”

Uncle Jop then raised his hand, and at the tip of his index finger, a small shard of blue ice appeared. It was about four inches long and had a girth that was just a bit smaller than the finger it floated in front of.

“Olivia, I will shoot this past you at the wall of the carriage, and it will have some force too. Block it, destroy it, do whatever you will, but if it hits the wall, I will not allow you to leave. If you can stop it, then you may do as you wish.”

“Interesting.”

“I will not fire it too fast, since we are pretty close, but it will have enough force to stick into the wood. Now, are you ready?”

“Yes, on three?”

“On three then. Carla, you count.”

“Ah, oh, okay. Then on three.”

“...”

“One”

“...”

“Two.”

“...”

“THREE!”

SLURCH.

“Eh!?”

“Wha!?”

The shard of ice never reached the wall of the carriage.

It wasn’t stopped by a magical barrier.

It wasn’t stopped by either a wall of fire, or of wind, or earth, or water.

It wasn’t deflected, nor was it redirected.

It simply impacted into my hand, smashing through my middle finger’s bones. Nearly three inches of the shard was sticking out of the back of my hand, blood was dripping out of the wound, skin and parts of bone were left hanging, but the shard had been stopped.

As my two fellow passengers stared dumbfounded, my blood covered the ice, and then slowly drew it into my hand. After only a few seconds, the ice was gone, and after a few more, the wound had closed, the bits of bone reformed and set itself, the muscles mended themselves, and the skin repaired itself.

Not even ten seconds since I had caught the spell, my hand showed no trace of anything having happened.

“I pass?” I asked.

“Um, yes. You’ve passed.”

“Good.” I reached into my pocket and withdrew the two gloves and then inserted my hands. “We are at Old Stone Bridge, once we enter it I will slip out, no need to stop the carriage. I need to ask you two to come back out later on tonight, say, about an hour after sunset.”

“Yes, Sure thing Olivia, I will be here.” Uncle Jop said.

“Thank you, then I will be off.”

I slid the door open and then slipped out of the carriage. I nimbly jumped, grabbing onto the edge of the carriage’s roof, and then flipped myself up onto it. I landed like a cat, barely leaving a single bump to echo within.

Old Stone Bridge was a bridge that was both old, and made of dull marble. It cut one of the rivers at a diagonal, so it was longer than it needed to be. It was also, a covered bridge. Because the center sunk in a bit, and because there was no drainage built into it, any water from rain or snow would pool on it, become a nasty mess. Long ago, the first simple awning was built over it, and after that rotted and collapsed, another was built, until finally, someone just constructed an entire fortified structure around it out of high-quality lumber. If the bridge wasn’t so thin that two carriages had a difficult time going by at once, Old Stone Bridge would have been one of the most scenic and traveled bridges in the capital.

Of course, none of that mattered to me. What did, was that within the bridge’s coverings, I was hidden from any prying eyes.

As my carriage passed under one of the wooden beams that held the roof up, I nimbly leapt up and grabbed onto that. The interior of the bridge was dark, and up here, no one could see me.

The odds were about even that someone was following my carriage, as unimportant as I was, spies might still keep an eye on me just in case. And while unlikely, the happenings at the Canyon Estate may have gotten out already, which would change the whole dynamic.

So I hid up here, even going so far as to bite my tongue so that I could use that blood to make a barrier around myself. Now, my faint heartbeat would be blocked, I would release no scent, and after I cooled the blood down to the same temperature as the wood, I couldn’t even be sensed through my body heat.

Five minutes later, an uncovered wagon entered the bridge from the opposite direction. In its back was simple trade goods, dried food, rope, tools, the like. The driver, keeping the old and battered horse in check, wore a brown cloak with the hood pulled tight. There was an unlit lantern hooked to the side, and next to the driver was a small bag of apples.

When it passed under me, I dropped down from the rafters, gracefully landing on the seat as if I was already there.

The driver was startled, but only for a moment.

“Good Morning Captain Nev.” I greeted.

“Good Morning My Lady.”

“We have a busy day today.”