Kal and Jaina reached the High Elder unharmed, and found him embracing a young woman. She was pretty, Kal saw right away, despite her sopping wetness. Maybe even as pretty as Jaina?

Kal punched himself in the side of the head. What the hell was wrong with him? They were in the middle of an invasion, hours after his farm was burned to the ground and his mother callously murdered. And all he could think about was how “pretty” a couple of girls he had just met were?

Jaina, the High Elder, and the new young woman all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. The strange idiot farmer who sometimes punched himself in the head.

“Uh… there was a… a bug. On my head. I think. Or something…”

The High Elder shook his head to indicate he didn’t care. “Lilliana, this is Jaina and…” He waved his hand in Kal’s direction.

“Kal.”

“Kal,” the High Elder repeated.

“Aren’t you the farmboy?” Lilliana asked him.

“The… what?”

She put her hands on her hips and smirked. “You are! The farmboy who cussed out the Godknight last week.”

“I wouldn’t say I ‘cussed him out,’ exactly” he replied, a little crossly.

She put out her hand, still smirking. “I’m Lilly.”

Kal took her hand and squeezed with just a little extra oomph. “Kal.” A painful grimace flashed across Lilly’s face and she pulled her hand away. She held it to her chest and frowned, almost pouting.

Kal savored the tiny bit of satisfaction her reaction gave him.

Lilly turned away from him and focused on Jaina. She pointed at her, as if to emphasize losing interest in Kal. “You’re a Whisperwind, right?”

Jaina smiled a little. “That’s right. We played together once.”

Lilly tilted her head. “Did we?”

Jaina bowed her head ever so slightly, and Kal could almost feel her disappointment. “Yes. My parents were visiting your father and we ran around Elder Hall. We ended up in the kitchen, pretending we opened our own tavern called—”

“The Red Lantern!” Lilly cried out suddenly, a delighted smile that didn’t quite fit their situation warming her face. “That was you?”

Jaina nodded and smiled sheepishly.

“Wow,” Lilly said. “We must have been, like, babies. How do you even remember me?”

Probably because you’re practically a Princess, Kal thought.

“Are you people crazy!” A new voice shouted at them. They all turned their heads to see a man carrying a heavy pack over his shoulder and wearing an ugly red sash around his waist. He was trotting towards them, looking impatient and incredulous. And more than a little scared.

“You’re all standing around catching up on old times while the city is being destroyed and the Godknight is getting killed?” Windham said. “We have to get out of here!”

“Who’s this joto?” Kal asked, thumbing at the stranger.

“Windham,” Lilly responded. “He’s with me.”

“Hey, what gives with the ‘joto’ crap?” Windham asked. He sulked a little, making him look more like a child than a grown man. It was a look not unlike the one he had just seen from Lilly, which led Kal to a common sense assumption.

“You guys are brother and sister, right?” Kal asked.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

It was the High Elder who answered, sounding aghast at the idea. “Lilly is my only child.”

“Ah. You guys are a couple, then?” Kal tried.

Both Lilly and Windham’s eyes shot open wide. “What?” Lilly practically screamed.

“I mean…” Windham began, and shrugged. Lilly shot him a nasty little look and Kal changed his assumption to a conclusion. They weren’t a couple. But Windham wanted them to be.

“We’re friends,” Lilly insisted. “That’s it.”

“Well, I’d at least say we’re good friends,” Windham interjected, a little whinily.

Lilly started to roll her eyes but stopped midway. Instead, she just nodded, then took a quick, deep breath. “Yes. We’re very good friends.”

Someone screamed “look out!” and they all turned just in time to see a pair of soldiers flying their way. Kal pulled Jaina safely out of the way, while Lilly steered her father and Windham the other way. They paused a moment to look at the unconscious soldiers before gathering back together.

“He’s right, though,” Kal said. “We really should get out of the city.”

“What did you mean, ‘killed’?” the High Elder cut in, as if Windham’s earlier words had just registered with him.

“Huh?” Windham replied.

“Why did you say that?” the High Elder snapped at Windham. “That the Godknight is getting killed? He can’t be killed. Surely you understand that?”

Windham looked flustered. “Well, of course. I mean, it’s just a figure of speech, is all. Nothing, really.”

Kal was, by nature, generous of spirit. But there was something about this Windham character he didn’t trust. Or like.

“I’m not leaving,” Lilly said, staring back the way the soldiers had just come. Kal was starting to have trouble following this particular conversation.

“Lilliana—” the High Elder started.

“He’s here now, Father!” she interrupted, a little too much excitement in her voice. “The Godknight. And he’s throwing these guys around like the trash they are. When he’s done with them, there’s going to still be a lot of wounded to take care of. There are probably people buried under rubble, or trapped beneath wagons…”

“Lilliana, what exactly are you suggesting we should do?” the High Elder asked condescendingly.

“She’s saying we should stay!” Windham whined. “Aren’t you? You’re saying we should stay in this city. In the middle of a blasted war.”

“No,” Lilly said, calmly turning on him. “I’m saying I am staying.”

“Lilliana, listen to reason,” the High Elder started, the gravity of her statement settling in.

“No, Father, you listen to reason. You’re the High fucking Elder—”

“Lilliana!”

“And you should already have taken charge. Should already have been helping these people. Organizing an evacuation. Anything!”

“Well, I was,” he responded, a little timidly. Kal wasn’t sure what to make of the man. He knew he was important and a leader, but he had seemed even more terrified when he found them than Jaina had. Or, if he was being honest, himself.

“Look, you guys should go,” Lilly said. “Get out of the city. Me, I want to get a closer look.”

Her gaze lingered on Windham, who looked exasperated.

“We should stay together,” Jaina offered. “There’s only five of us, but five together is better than five alone.”

They all paused a moment, considering. Lilly tapped her foot impatiently.

“I’m going to stay with Jaina,” Kal said. “I mean, I agree with what she’s saying. Staying together is the smart thing to do.”

Windham stood up a little taller and spoke a little louder. “Well, so do I.”

All four of them turned to the High Elder. As his daughter had just pointed out, he wasn’t in charge and this wasn’t his decision. Not exactly. But they were all still very young and the High Elder was many centuries old and the closest thing they had to a leader, outside of the Godknight.

“Okay,” he said at last. “But we stay a safe distance from the fight and we stop to help who we can. And make sure they’re moving away from the city.”

Kal wasn’t sure where the High Elder’s decision was coming from. Perhaps his daughter had shamed him enough for him to act. Or perhaps he just wanted to keep Lilly close. Either way, Kal felt like the decision took something away from the High Elder. Diminished him somehow.

Lilly grinned. “Good.”

Without any further conversation, Lilly started towards City Center. Jaina looked up at Kal. He shrugged.

“I guess we’re following her.”

They caught up to her, the High Elder moving to jog alongside his daughter.

“Lilliana?” Kal heard the High Elder whisper. “What is a ‘joto?’”

“It’s slang, father,” she explained. “You do remember slang, don’t you? I mean, it’s only been, what, a couple thousand years since you were a kid?”

“Well…”