My seventeenth birthday finally rolled around, and I shared it with Timoth. It was a small affair, comprised of a lavish dinner at his house, and was spoiled when Duke Wilbern presumed to invite himself.

Still, no matter how the celebratory event went, the achievement was one that could not be taken away from me. As a seventeen-year-old, I would be granted much of the respect of an adult. It wasn’t uncommon for seventeen-year-olds to begin courting their future spouses, with prominent bachelors and bachelorettes often locked down before anyone else could even enter the market for their affections. Still, Timoth advised that it would be best if I left Alum alone until I was much closer to coming of age.

As the months passed, I was soon halfway through my stay at Hollowhold. Homesickness was replaced by contentedness. I nurtured a fear of returning home to the iron grip of my family and the backwater country lifestyle, and it became difficult not to seriously consider Wilbern's offer.

A life at Helmfirth would see me in a proper city, away from my parents, and I could focus on myself and my children. Children who would be Dukes and Duchesses - as I would be. My courtly rank would be superior to that of my family. The soldiers that Wilbern would send to Haelling Cove would benefit the entire realm, and as long as he was a gentle husband and a fair Duke, I would likely be content to live in Helmfirth for the rest of my days.

It was this last thought that concerned me. Wilbern possessed neither the commanding presence of a Prince nor the clear sense of righteousness of Father - nor even the well-liked geniality and dedication to duty of my brother.

I did not recognise his qualities as those of a ruler. A second or third son, perhaps, one who was expected to live quietly, wed for influence, and never inherit. But not a ruler.

I was also concerned that he would see me as one of his boyhood insects, and entertain himself with peeling my wings. I shuddered at the thought of it, but always placated him in conversation. I did not want to remove my one good option, for who knew what Prince Alum was up to? My servants had been unable to furnish me with fresh gossip regarding the Prince, and the other noblewomen seemed to think that he had spent much time in solitude in recent weeks. I was constantly terrified that he’d found another woman; that I’d missed my chance.

Pae played her harp to distract me from my nightly reveries. She must have purchased it with the salary my House provided her. Similarly, the house was made colourful with the products of Regeda considerable skill in embroidery. I forgot about Daegwin altogether, Gwaeda, and all the nameless servants who had come before them.

The house began to feel like home, and my fears of returning to Haelling Cove intensified. I did not want to return to the cold, isolating stone corridors of the keep. I had fallen in love with my privacy and autonomy, with Hollowhold's colourful and vivacious market square, and with the predominance of nobles, who were so commonplace that entire sections of the city were populated by them and their servants. Haelling Cove would only ever be home to one noble family, and it would always be necessary to treat mere landowners as nobility to secure their support. I loathed it.

The frequency of Master Orjeik's visits began to diminish. While I was sixteen he had taught me every day of the week, but soon after my seventeenth birthday he began to drop by at first only every second day, and then only every third or fourth day. A few months later I saw him but once a week.

'There is little more I can teach you, Saemara,' he told me. I wished that he could teach me politics and history instead of Master Robarin, and that way I could keep seeing him. 'I will visit occasionally to ensure that your mind is in the right place, but it is from your mind that your portal will expand. Not from me.'

I nodded to indicate acceptance of his words, but in the following months my devotion to portalmancy waned nevertheless. Without Master Orjeik to motivate me I soon convinced myself that my portal realm was already sufficient. I would not be embarrassed by it at a joining ceremony with a future husband and there existed no real reason to expand it, other than for the sense of enlightenment that doing so was said to bring the portalmancer.

Eventually, as I neared my eighteenth year, I told him to stop coming altogether. He been disappointed, but did not protest. I think he understood that it was his vivacity that had interested me in the first place, and seemed hurt to discover that I cared not for his art.

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Master Robarin was not quite so acquiescent.

'You don’t care!' he accused me, and I did not disagree. 'Unless it affects someone you know personally, you won’t even listen! How can I teach history to someone so focused on the present?'

'Why do I even need to know all of this stuff? It's so boring, and none of it matters anymore.'

Robarin was so apoplectic with rage that if he’d been standing, I think he would have collapsed. I regretted my hasty words. I had never seen Master Robarin this angry.

'I am done with you!' he declared, gathering up his books into a pile. 'I have done my best and achieved nothing! You will regret not listening to me when you are older. I am done!’

He gathered the pile of books and departed. I didn't offer so much as a ‘farewell,’ so shocked was I by his sudden abandonment of my education. I supposed that my apathy had been too much for him. Still, I was sure that plenty of noblewomen hid their poor education. How often did ancient wars and kings come up in conversation anyway?

Henceforth, my days were my own. With both Masters absent, and forbidden as I was to pursue Prince Alum, I occupied my days with leisure activities. I'd spend at least an hour in my portal every day, soaking in the rays of the void sun. I watched the men fight in the arena, and noticed how Duke Wilbern had improved. Timoth continued to achieve above his station, and Prince Alum was potentially the strongest fighter of all the noblemen.

Occasionally, skilled warriors were invited to join in the duelling, usually the most well-trained and battle-hardened men commanded by the King or veterans of the Borderlands, and that always created a lot of excitement. These soldiers would often defeat the noblemen, including Prince Alum, which made it obvious that much of the noblemen's swordfighting skill was designed more for display than practicality.

I let Regeda teach me some of her embroidery, and found myself knitting patterns onto some of my own undergarments. No dresses or skirts - nothing that anyone would see - but smaller items of underwear that were simpler to reinforce with embroidery techniques. Sometimes I would incorporate silver sequins or pearls into my undergarments, the latter particularly into my translucent silk chemises. I wondered if Prince Alum would appreciate them if he saw them, as I still nurtured hope that he would.

Many months passed and I kept my word, as did he. My portal reached its peak, my chemise dripped with pearls, and Wilbern became a skilful fighter, yet still he did not approach me. I was plagued with doubts over those months, and occasionally I indulged in expensive bloodberry wine to ease my mind.

Months passed without the sighting of a single Western Islander ship. There was even talk of rebuilding the Halivaaran fleet, which had for some centuries consisted of a mere handful of galleys harboured on the southeastern coast of the Kingdom, safely away from the Frostlanders of the north and the divided continent to the west. Nothing came of the increased number of soldiers stationed in the Borderlands, who seemed just as prone to being picked off by cavalry archers as the existing detachments. An initial surge of success failed to capture any major cities - possibly because there weren’t any in the Borderlands.

At least, that was what I gleaned from the criers in the town square. Father's letters also kept me up to date with developments in Haelling Cove, but they were minor. It seemed as if little had changed since my departure, other than the replacement of the King's men with those loyal to Prince Alum. It was good of the Prince not to withdraw his men despite the personal difficultes between the two of us, and I began to hope that he actually had the best interests of Halivaara at heart, not just words and bravado.

Alum finally came to me when the days were shortened by winter’s grasp. I was giddy with excitement at his approach, with two weeks left of my time in Hollowhold. I was so surprised by the Prince's surprise visit that I nearly swore out of sheer shock, but years of courtly education took over and prevented such an unseemly occurrence. I managed to recover in what I thought was a reasonable time considering the circumstances, and said as coolly as possible, 'good evening, Prince. Would you like to come in?'

'I would,' Alum smiled.

His demeanour was relaxed, which struck me as odd consider that we hadn't spoken in almost a year. I began to wonder if he’d thought as much about me as I had about him. Was I more than just a mistake to him? Could he have feelings for me?

As he stepped into my living room and I closed the door behind him, he stopped to examine the room.

'It's better decorated than I remember,' he said.

'One of my new servants is skilled at embroidery,' I explained. I hoped that she would not interrupt my time with the Prince by returning from her errands in the town, and that Pae would have the sense to stay out of sight.

'Very nice,' Alum replied, helping himself into one of the chairs beside the fireplace. There were three there now, but I took one and stowed it in the shadowy corner of the room.

I was suddenly gripped by the urge to ask him why he had come back; to ask him if he truly cared for me, for at that time my mind could consider no other reason for his appearance. The butterflies in my stomach were frantic as they had not been in many months. I was sweating, and not due to the heat of the fire.

Eventually, no doubt due to my silence, Alum continued, with a sigh.

'We should talk.'