Jake’s POV

After letting Talik measure me, I visited the Queen one last time, and said goodbye. “Thank you for your hospitality, Queen Ompera.” I said, bowing down to her in her throne room.

“I hope you have found the answers you needed from my family’s archives during your stay.”

“Yes ma’am, well… most of it, but I think I got everything there was to find.”

“If you ever wish to return, please do.”

“Thank you, your majesty. Well then, I guess it’s time for me to go.” I said, and started standing up. I had told Suma what I was doing before the meeting, so that she would be ready to summon me. All I needed to do was call her.

“Hold one moment, Sentinel,” the Queen said, “I want you to understand something.”

“Yes?”

“Whether it is fair, or right, I do not know, but you have become the most important person in this kingdom in a matter of days; possibly the whole world.” She said.

“I don’t know if that’s-” I tried to say, but she cut me off.

“It is, I assure you. And for your own protection, I suggest you keep our arrangement, our meetings, and this matter with Deyja to yourself. I already informed Lady Suma before her departure, and now I am telling you. For your own sake, tell no one of what has happened during your visit here. At least, nothing regarding the dragon.” Queen Ompera said seriously.

Thinking for a moment, I agreed. “I understand. Suma and I won’t say a word.” She nodded, and dismissed me. With that, I called Suma, and she summoned me back to our base.

As the darkness of the summoning spell overtook me, I held my breath, and my heart pounded like a drum. For what felt like minutes, I hung in that void expecting to see him again, but he never showed up. Reappearing back at base, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Welcome home.” Suma said. It’s weird, those two simple words really hurt. I looked around and realized I was inside the room the that had been assigned to me a few weeks ago. It was smaller than I remember.

“Thanks.” I said, sadly. (I guess this is home, for now.) I thought to myself. “Did anything happen while I was away?”

“No, but we do have our first patrol duty tomorrow, and our first in-field exercises.” Suma said. “You should get some rest before then.”

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“Nah,” I said looking around the cramped room still littered with vines I had been neglecting to clean, “I’d rather go say hi to everyone first.”

“Alright then. Our team is in the pit gambling over sparing matches.” Suma flew up and landed on my shoulder. While we walked, I told her about the rune experiment I ran. She seemed interested, but also confused. We were just arriving at the pit by the time I finished explaining, but I couldn't see the team.

“Where is everyone?” I wondered.

“Up there,” Suma said, motioning a wing towards the perches near the top of the dome around the pit. “Also, I was told by the Queen to keep what happened a secret, so they do not know that we were attacked by the court. I told them that our mission went as planned, but that we were attacked by marauders on the way.”

“Queen Ompera talked to me too. Thanks for keeping me in the loop though.” At that moment, one of them flew down from the perches and landed in front of me.

“Jake!” Rou said, as she flapped her wings excitedly. “You are back! How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah; I’m fine.” I said. One by one the rest of the team flew down and said hi. They all asked how I was feeling. Apparently, Suma told them that I spent a few days recovering after the attack, and that’s why I stayed in the city longer than Suma.

We gathered around the pit to watch the matches. At the moment, one of the other squad’s Lieutenant was training with her team with mock battles; a regular form of training for us in the last few weeks.

“Jake, about the rune experiment you mentioned, do you plan on continuing it on base?” Suma asked.

“Yeah, but I need to get permission and a professional to teach, or maybe babysit, me.” I said.

“You have an interest in runes?” Odens asked. “I knew you had some on your garments and weapons, but I did not know you enjoyed crafting them.”

“I just started. It’s new.”

“Is that not rather expensive? How do you afford it?” Nine asked.

“I used to sell paper, so I’ve got plenty of gold coins, and a spare daljar.”

“You sold paper?!” Oden asked, shocked. “Do you have any now?”

“No, sorry. I used to carry some, but I don’t anymore. My backpack weighed too much when it was full of paper. I wish I’d kept some though.” I said, sadly. Those scraps of leather weren’t enough, and writing a letter to my mum without paper would be really hard anyway.

“I heard that Captain Gigoales got a shipment of paper recently.” Rou said.

“What, when?”

“While you were gone.” She answered.

“Do you know where he is right now?” I asked, urgently. (If I have paper…)

“Probably his room.” Nine suggested.

“Suma, would you mind going there and summoning me? I really need to talk with him.” I said.

“Right now? I suppose I do not mind.” Suma said. I thanked her, and she flew away.

“Are you going to ask for some paper?” Nine wondered.

“Yeah, I just need one piece.”

Jake’s Letter

Hey mum, it’s Jake. I want to start by saying I love you, and I’m so sorry for disappearing. A lot has happened, and I only have one piece of paper to say everything that I want to. First, I need you to send me more paper, and pencils and pens. Second, I’m fine, but I can’t come back home for a while. I’m stuck here in Suma’s world. That figure in flame tried to take over my body. If I come back, he’ll try again. I miss you so much, and I will find a way home, but it will take a while. I hope you’re safe. I hope the police aren’t bothering you. If you need anything, use the gold coins I have hidden under my bed. If you want me to have anything, just put it into my backpack, and I will grab it when I summon it again.

PS. Please try not to worry too much, I’ll be fine.