Once all the horses were content, Endermon went inside the house. She found things to do to busy herself before dinner and was working on her correspondence, meaning the weekly letters to her parents. Even though she told Dresden they would wait for his decision, she felt it couldn't hurt to let her parents know what was going on, or if they could find out anything more.

Having finished that, she poked her head into the kitchen to see how things were going. Once again getting shoo'd out. She went back to her room. She was thinking about how much had changed since she started her journey.

She started out wanting adventure and a bit of time away from the palace. Now she had a partner, 2 steadfast friends and a place she could call home. She still gad no idea what to do about Dresden's situation, but she hoped it would play itself out.

Shiloh asked from the doorway if she was ready for dinner, and Endermon said yes. They walked into the dining room hand in hand. As Endermon tucked into her food, Shiloh would take sips from her flask.

The conversation remained on what was going to happen with Dresden but he just said he'd write and see what happened after that. They all considered the subject dropped. But there was no lack of other conversations to be had, so it was all good.

Later that night Endermon's mind was racing. All the stuff that happened since they got home was running through her head non-stop. Shiloh held out her hand and Endermon took it without question.

Shiloh took her up to the rooftop. There they danced without music. The quiet and calming presence of Shiloh helped clear her mind. While they danced, they discussed everything. Finally feeling calm enough, they headed back downstairs and went to bed.

The next morning, Dresden announced that he'd like to go and see for himself what was going on in his village. He also said he'd like the original group plus the maid to go with him.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

They decided packing could wait til after breakfast, and they ate in relative silence, but at least it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Once they were done they immediately went to get started on packing.

The morning passed in a blur. They were zipping back and forth to make sure they had everything, the cook and the butler were trying to get them enough stuff for the road, and Endermon was preoccupied with making sure they had enough of everything else.

Once they had it all loaded on the cart, they got into their armor, and after a few minutes of getting used to it again, saddled up. They waved goodbye to their friends and said they'd write. And then they were off.

The maid split her time between riding with Dresden and riding in the cart. The main difference between their first trip in, was that the driver opted to stay at the house, so the carriage was not rumbling behind them and it took some getting used to.

It wasn't long before they stopped for lunch. Endermon made sure the horses were okay. Being forest adjacent, there was plenty of grazing materials. Then she made a small fire. As everyone got the chairs set up, the maid asked what she could do.

Endermon had her find ingredients for a smallish soup. She found the things Endermon asked for, then went back to setting up. A short while later, they were eating and drinking coffee.

They asked Dresden what to expect from his village, and he said there were no animals that weren't people, so be careful what you say.

They finished eating and got the area cleaned up. They got back on their horses, because there was a long bit of riding that they would have to do. Endermon let the maid ride her horse so she could ride with Shiloh.

They rode in silence. Not because of anything in particular, they were just not in a talking mood. They were all thinking of other things. Being back in familiar territory, everyone was relaxed. Endermon wondered if they would recognize any of their previous campsites.