"It was not that bad," Edeline protested.

"Of course not," Nela said with a wide grin. "It was worse."

Myron was content to stay out of this. Nela getting to return to working as a healer, if only for a short while, had left her in a good mood. As he knew all too well, when Nela was feeling this energetic she tended to show it through playful teasing. Right now, the main target of this teasing was his sister.

Privately, he agreed that the stew wasn't well made, but they ought to be grateful that Centurla had generously shared her family's food. They had probably shorted themselves out of ingredients for later, given how poor Faehaven seemed. Which raised the question of how many other elven families had done the same for the other villagers from Verdan.

"Are you serious?" Edeline let out a sigh. "Hamond, back me up."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to cook it for you any time you want." Nela didn't even give Hamond time to say anything. "New mission for you: get that stew's recipe."

"Inside Kelshir," Hamond muttered from where he sat by the hearth, distracted and lost in thought.

"What?" Edeline asked.

"Oh, sorry." Hamond stood up, yawning. "I suspect the Elefae here are getting supplies from inside Kelshir."

"Really?" Nela spun with a bounce. "Why'd you think that?"

"The chairs," Hamond said, "I got a close look at the ones in Centurla's house. They're not fancy, but the wood cut is too clean. They're too well made when compared to the table there. Combined with what their daughter almost said, I'm willing to bet they have their own way inside Kelshir's walls. One that doesn't require them to pay at the gates."

Myron had to admit his attention had been focused more on figuring out how to handle Centurla and Astorel. He had no reason to doubt Hamond's observations on this matter. It did make sense, with there being no obvious signs of farm fields around Faehaven. They had to get their food from somewhere, and it was not likely they got everything from Verdan or the other nearby villages.

It did raise a different question though. "I wouldn't think they would have the coin to pay for things like these chairs, if they can't afford the gate tax."

"I agree. So either someone is freely giving them supplies and such, or they're stealing." Hamond sounded doubtful. "But both seem unlikely."

"They can't be thieves," Nela insisted.

"With the knights setting torch to Verdan, they would have done worse here if they suspected such," Edeline pointed out.

"Will they attack here?" Jelinia, as was becoming all too usual, had kept so quiet that her presence all but vanished from the room. She'd been entirely silent the whole meal, now that Myron thought about it.

He didn't know what reassurance he could give the girl. Building this close to Kelshir, in hindsight, was a huge risk, and at any point the knight or Lord Kelshir's men could come. In fact, they were within firing distance of the walls. A company of men with crossbows up there could easily take aim at the elves of Faehaven.

"Don't worry about it," Nela said, "You need to get some sleep."

"You know that she will just listen in on us," Edeline pointed out.

"Can you at least let me try?" Nela protested, then mumbled something.

"What was that?" Edeline asked.

"Nothing," Nela said quickly. Myron suspected he knew what it was, or at the least who it involved.

Edeline probably guessed the same, as she didn't argue further. Nela, in the meantime, picked up a blanket and tossed it in Jelinia's direction. Unfolding in the air, it fell to the floor between them.

"Shit." Nela trotted over and picked up the blanket, then handed it to Jelinia. "I know this isn't easy, dealing with everything new. Same as when I was in the army. You've got to sleep at some time, or else you can't deal with it."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You were in the army?" Jelinia said, her face showing that same stunned awe again. Myron covered his face. Aether, at this point all of the horses in the kingdom would not be enough to drag this girl away from her idol.

"Not the point," Nela spat, flustered. "Just...look, I'll tell you more about it in the morning, but only if you lay down and try to sleep. Alright?"

Jelinia paused a moment, and then all but threw herself on the floor.

Myron was able to hold himself to a grin, though it was hard. Edeline, not even bothering with restraint, burst into a fit of laughter. Hamond, who was in the process of laying out his own blanket, was also smiling.

"None of you are helping!" Nela snapped, with the mock anger Myron had come to expect. Even she could not stop her mouth from twitching with amusement.

Myron couldn't resist. "We were supposed to?"

At this point, even Jelinia was giggling under her breath, despite trying her hardest to lay still with closed eyes. Myron supposed the girl needed this time to laugh and relax, even more than she needed sleep.

"You're all worms," Nela declared.

"I can live with that," Hamond said, lowering himself down. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be a sleeping worm."

Time to settle down for the night. Myron collected his blanket and flattened it out. Now that he looked at it, it was travel-worn, with frayed edges. Another thing that probably needed replacing in Kelshir, and another thing they could not afford currently.

Tomorrow, while Nela was busy with taking care of that First Ascension, Myron was going to have to see what work was available here in Faehaven. At the very least, they ought to have a use for another pair of hands to do labor somewhere. Every extra piker would help.

As he lay down, Nela, with her own blanket draped on her shoulders, sat down next to him. "Long day," she said quietly.

"That it was," Myron replied, keeping his voice low as well.

"Sorry about before." Nela reached out one hand, resting it on his shoulder. "I know you didn't want them knowing I was a healer."

"There's a part of me that doesn't." Myron extended an arm in turn, pulling Nela close. "A part of me that thinks we can avoid any trouble if we just keep out of sight. Out of hearing. As long as who we are is kept secret, we can avoid any danger."

"The whole Verdan thing proved that wrong."

"It did. If it were just us...but there's the people of Verdan to think about," Myron said, thinking back to their earlier talk. "That part of me then tells me we can't put all of them at risk for our own sake. I listened to what it said. But...I shouldn't have."

"I was probably a little too hard on you about it." Nela admitted. "You know, with the note."

"No." Myron locked eyes with Nela. "We're together now. What you say should always be more important to me. More than..."

"More than being your father's son," Nela finished for him.

"Yes." Just as often as there were times when they disagreed, there were times when Nela could see straight into him, understand him in a way no one else could approach.

Nela let out a sigh. "Being a healer, there are times when I need people to shut up and do what I say. If they don't, things can get worse for them really quickly." She paused for a moment. "They could die."

Myron pulled her a little bit closer.

"But that's only when I'm taking care of people as a healer. You...you were born a noble. You were brought up to always be telling most people what to do, where to go. Even when nothing dangerous is happening, even when it doesn't help, being able to give orders is still what lords and kings and such expect every day. That's how I see it."

"I suppose walking away from that really was for the best," Myron said, not able to offer much else. They had gone back and forth on how to handle their respective families several times. Ultimately, the struggle to deal with Kalvarel and the truth of Edeline's parentage coming out had forced the matter.

"I mean, there's still going to be situations where you do know better than us. Like if we're in for a fight again." Nela closed her eyes, wincing at the same memory that still haunted Myron. "But this isn't a battlefield. It's a village, uh, town...whatever it is, it's a place of elves who need a healer willing to stand up with them. Like I told Jelinia, I'm an elf and I'm a healer. And I'm the first one to come along."

"And that's the hard part." Looking past Nela, Myron could not tell if Jelinia was asleep yet. The girl had rolled over, facing the far wall as she lay there halfway under her blanket. "If the knights are provoked, Faehaven will be a battlefield, just like Verdan was."

"I know...but I have to do this. Not just for them, but...for me," Nela said.

"For you?" Myron echoed, a little lost.

"I haven't done the rite in years. Not since before I originally left home." Nela smiled bitterly. "Hamond probably has more practice at it lately than I do."

"You could ask him to help," Myron told her.

"I could...but no. I don't think they'd accept it. Besides, someday I'll have to do it for you. And then..." Nela swallowed audibly, face pale. "...our children..."

Myron could feel a sudden sweat as he trembled at the words. "Are you saying that-"

"No! No, no, no! I...I told you I have a spell to check for that! I swear!" Nela burst out, voice rising in panic. "Shit, I didn't mean that-"

"Will you two keep quiet?" Edeline, groggy, complained from where she had been resting. Or at least, trying to.

Myron forced himself to calm down, as what Nela had meant finally took hold. She had never mentioned them having children and starting a family before. With the meeting with Centurla and Astorel, it was understandable why matters like that would come to mind. To think of a future, even with everything they faced...

Instinctively, Myron leaned forward and kissed the still-flushed forehead of Nela. "We'll talk about it tomorrow," he whispered. He would make whatever future she wanted for the two of them come to pass. In the name of Aether, the Fae, Hyarch, or whatever powers in the world there were, he swore it to himself.

"Tomorrow," Nela whispered back.

And hopefully, all the days and nights afterwards.