Lady Madaleene, no longer the acting Duchess of Akahi, and driven out of Barune, was on the roof of the Goldfeather post as she prepared to run again. The wind above the mountain pit whipped her brown hair around no matter how she tied it down. She was bundled against the weather, wearing a winter coat she was able to acquire in trade for some of the trinkets she had on her during the battle. Sir Byr’s sword was tied at her side, where it would be safe.

Alyss was there, as stoic as ever. They had two Goldfeather couriers there, large brown-feathered men who wore harnesses meant to assist in carrying people for annoying journeys like these.

They were waiting for Whitetune, who was finishing some paperwork inside before joining them. Her presence was already ‘a disturbance’ to the post. Whitetune was already doing her a favor she may never be able to repay, and the guilt burned at her. When she set everyone loose, Whitetune wouldn’t hear it.

“At least, I will see you to safety. We will discuss then.”

She couldn’t find the strength to argue with him then.

She watched the skyline. Whitetune rose into view, flying onto the rooftop instead of just using the stairs.

“At last, we can be on our way.” She said as she turned to face Whitetune.

He nodded, and then nodded again to the two couriers. The two skymen approached her and Alyss, unwrapping the harnesses further in preparation.

Then she heard steps behind her. She turned, not knowing who to expect. She found CJ Eastman, helping Larl climb the stairs to the roof. She took a step back, then turned away from him. She walked to one of the skymen, and as she hoped he began to wrap her in the leather harnesses.

“Lady Mae, before you go can we talk?” CJ said.

Alyss answered for her. “There is nothing to talk about, Eastman. This is over.”

“If that’s true,” CJ said, “then there is no harm in listening before you go.”

Alyss snarled, which was always a bad sign. She was protective, to a fault. She knew how Mae felt, but Mae was sure the woman was acting on some hang up of her own. When Alyss put a hand on her sword, Mae put a hand up.

“Go ahead,” Mae said. It put a pit in her stomach to say it, but she was raised to make hard decisions. “You have until we are ready to depart.”

He didn’t speak right away, which made her worry that he actually had nothing prepared. She didn’t want him to convince her, but him having nothing would somehow be so much worse.

“Look,” CJ began, launching his plea with the same kind of messy informal speech as always, “I know I failed, that we failed. I know that all you probably want right now is to escape all of this, but I have a suggestion, one you can take or leave. Come with us instead.”

Mae stiffened. She looked to Alyss in her periphery, Alyss was similarly stunned. Mae looked over her shoulder, and saw that CJ Eastman was standing with a hand out.

The Skyman stopped his procedure when Mae turned her head. When she turned back, he began again by wrapping another harness around her at the waist.

“You said you had nothing left, no one to call on, no allies, but that ain’t true. You have us, Mae. Larl and me, Whitetune, and maybe even more.”

“What could we hope to accomplish?” Mae said. “What could five of us do?”

Alyss crossed her arms, “Four, I’m not joining another suicidal plan.”

Mae nodded her head at that. It made sense, it was proper. She already didn’t want to go, Alyss shouldn’t either.

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“Plan,” CJ said. “We fought against Greywind, and they took so much from all of you, and tried to take my life. You said there may have been a plot to stop me from arriving here, which means they also stole time from me. We were behind the curve, Mae.”

“Stop calling her that,” Alyss hissed.

CJ paused. The Skyman was almost done, but she could tell he wasn’t speeding through the process. Whitetune stood there, hands on his hips. Mae knew enough about Skyman body language, they were hearing him out.

“You can’t join us again,” Mae said. She needed to cut this idea down now before it grew out of control. “I don’t represent Akahi, I can’t take you in.”

“You said yourself, you aren’t a duchess anymore. You aren’t accepted anywhere. You don’t have allies. I don’t want to join Lady Madaleene, Duchess of Akahi. I want Mae to join me, CJ the Hero General of Mankind… in training.”

Alyss narrowed her eyes. “She won’t be joining you.”

“No offense to you Alyss,” CJ said. “I know you’re scared, and hurt, and I am too. That is exactly why I need all the help I can get, and why I need Madaleene to make up her own mind instead of letting her bodyguard speak for her.”

Alyss pushed away from the Skymen helping her, ripped at a strap around her midsection. “Why you-“

“Alyss!” Mae snapped. Her chest felt tight, and she wasn’t sure anything good would come out of her mouth if she really tried to speak. But she knew she didn’t want Alyss to do something she would regret. “He is right, I’ll answer him.”

“But-“

“Don’t worry, Alyss.” Mae said. She smirked at her guard, and her friend. “I can handle this.”

She took a deep breath. “I may no longer be the duchess, but I’m still of noble blood. I am still the daughter of Duke Daen, and niece to King Mandin. Why would I go with you, CJ? I don’t mean to be rude or cruel, but what do you expect to amount to?”

CJ swallowed. Mae looked over her shoulder and saw Larl give CJ a pat on the back. Larl looked so tired, so frail, it broke her heart.

“One thing,” CJ said. “I don’t think I can get your home back, and I don’t know if I can save the world. But I plan to achieve one thing, and I am going to take on any challenge to get there. I’m going to beat Greywind.”

Her breath caught.

“When Greywind surrenders and pays for their crimes, against me, against you, and against Akahi, then I’ll figure something else out. But until then, I won’t rest until I’m strong enough to humiliate them, and make them face true defeat at my hands.”

Alyss chimed in again. “What makes you think you can do that?”

CJ chuckled, and she could see that he was smiling. “Honestly, because I know something about Greywind that none of you could possibly realize.”

Mae’s thoughts went to Byr, to him charging across that battlefield as they watched from above. She saw him go down as a blaze. She could see him training his guards back home, see his stern gaze. Then she heard his words as he passed.

She squeezed her eyes shut. “What is that?”

“Greywind is just a big old loser,” CJ said. “They come from the same place as me, and I know they learned to fight the same way I did, playing games. Which means I was wrong this whole time, princess. I’m exactly the kind of guy you need.”

She was still now. The Skyman with her was no longer working at all, just waiting.

“Larl knows a mercenary captain named Cianna, he believes she will take us in. With a mercenary band, we can protect ourselves and grow enough to find the right time to strike. I need time to learn the rules here, and how best to optimize, but I can’t do that without you.”

She turned her upper body to face him as best she could without taking the time to yank out of the straps. “What could I possibly contribute to any of that?”

CJ was a little closer now. He was taking steps during his speech it seemed.

“I need someone who hates Greywind more than any of us. Just like I need someone that will believe in us more than anything like Larl, and someone that wants us to live more than anything like Alyss. We need someone that is loyal more than anything, like Whitetune and Duskbreeze. We need all sorts, Mae, but I definitely need you so that Byr is avenged.”

She hated this. She hated dealing with choices that could get people killed, she hated that her life was upturned like this. There was a time where she thought she would spend her years overseeing ceremonies at the temple, and taking up her father’s mantle. But now she had this, and the world possibly hanging in the balance. She had Byr’s words in her head.

So she unhooked the straps, and turned on CJ.

“A new oath?” She asked. It took everything to hide the smile in her heart.

CJ smiled and stepped forward with his hand out.

“Fight with me! Until we get revenge on that asshole Greywind! Until we see justice done for Akahi!”

She hated how much she wanted to see a hero succeed. This was supposed to be Akahi’s hero, but now Akahi was conquered. Even if she wasn’t the duchess, who would she be if she let their hero wander around aimlessly with some mercenary band?

Mae stepped forward and put her hand on top of his. “Yes!”

Larl stepped up beside him and tossed his hand in. “Of course.”

“Perfect,” CJ said, “Thank you.”

Then he looked past Mae. “Anytime now, grumpy.”

Alyss stepped up beside Mae, tossing her hand onto the stack. “Fine.”

The wave of power hit her again, and she felt that rush of heat like the greatest thrill tripled and more. She gasped, and despite the strange flood of emotions mixing inside her she felt tears come to her eyes.

She could hear Byr’s words. Repay him, do it.