Mystien basically pushed me back to the small carriage we'd come in, as I was having a hard time moving on my own.

"I... don't understand, didn't he know he'd die?"

"Probably suspected it, might have thought he could get away after he killed us."

"But why? I knew him, I was in his class. He never acted like that."

Mystien sighed. "Alana, Klien was one of those we knew we'd have to send out of the country, at best. His family was one of the higher ranked ones, and he was a known supporter of the former king. He lost though, he lost his home, his status, a fair bit of his family, and now he knew he would lose everything else except his life. He chose to try and take us out, desperate men do desperate things."

"He always seemed so nice though."

"He probably was. You were no threat, and no real issue to him. At the end though you were the traitor who brought him low, at least in his eyes. I hated that you had to see that, but it is better that you did now, when you could be protected rather than see it later, when you cannot."

I was quiet for the rest of the ride. We had one more place we had to go, and I'd been the one to ask to go there anyway. Mystien took me over to where the army was handing out goods to those who needed them. They had a system whereby a household could sign up to receive some basic food and fuel aid. It would be temporary, but the people waiting in line there didn't seem to be in any distress.

I watched as a woman and her children were given several packages of food and a small thing of oil. They thanked the guard and went on their way. It was easy enough to ask to see what was in one of those, and of course since I was with an officer in the army I would be allowed. Each contained a few pounds of tubers of various kinds, some grain, and a bit of dried fruit. I knew about what someone needed to live from long and harrowing experience and that, along with the oil would certainly be enough.

In the end I had to concede that my getting involved wasn't really needed. These people were getting taken care of at least as well as those in the temple district, and they also had the chance to take care of their homes and try to make things better there. Someone had even organized to clean out the main roads of snow, something still very important to keep on top of.

"Satisfied?" Mystien asked after I finished looking about.

"Is he like this to everyone everywhere?"

"Lord Durin?" Mystien asked, and I nodded. "Mostly, he understands the value of keeping the populace happy, and of seeing to their basic needs. Keep in mind that what we're doing here is a temporary measure, one designed to keep further issues at bay. It will end, and when it does things will return to... well, not how they were before, but a form of normal."

"I'm a bit surprised, from what I've seen I'd think the common people would be ignored in favor is keeping the remaining nobility from causing further issues."

"Lord Durin is abolishing the nobility."

That came as news. To be fair, I knew little about his policies so far, but I imagined that it would cause a number of issues. "Really? But doesn't he need magic?"

"Are you a noble now Alana? Or do you think I am? What about your friend Dras, or Lucien, or Kala? There are plenty of other casters than just the nobility. We will be recruiting as many as we can, and even some of the lesser ranked of the nobility who didn't participate. It will be made clear to everyone that those who can excel will be given power, and those who cannot will have it removed."

"Alright then. I'll just have to wait and see what Lord Durin does."

"Indeed, your father and I have known him for a long time and his plans do have a tendency to work out well for us."

----------------------------------------

In a couple of weeks Kala was finally able to come and see me again. It had been miserable without her and we spent a lot of time catching up. The temple district was still a mess with all of the people there who were afraid that Lord Durin would just kill them, particularly the fallen nobles. They were managing though and she hoped it would all be over soon.

I told her all about my time, and the continuing training I was getting. Having a tutor on hand to help me polish up some magic had been wonderfully useful. I'd even learned the spell she used to move the dart things around during our practice battle. It was a variation on a standard movement spell, but there were some little tricks here and there that worked very well with moving objects. It helped them maintain speed while allowing you to alter their direction.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

It was during one of our afternoon meetings that she brought along Dras. I was thrilled to see him, and the reverse seemed to be true as well.

"Hey there, long time." He opened with.

"Indeed, how is everything?"

"Mostly good. Our house is gone and my mother still hates your guts, but that was kinda expected."

"If she didn't I'd be more worried. Where are you living?"

"Oh I found us a place to rent for the time being. Mana is at a premium these days so money isn't a huge issue."

"That's good, anything else happen recently?"

"Not too much, some personal stuff, trying to get things in order. You?"

"Just training mostly, not like there's too much to do until the snow melts."

Around that time my father showed up. He was in and out most days dealing with a lot of the bits of administration that he had to personally take care of. From my understanding he left all the paperwork to Mystien while he took on the business of seeking out all those on their list who were trying to hide in the city. I'd only been taken to his office once or twice, but it was mostly empty except the desk piled high with reports.

"Good evening Kala."

"Good evening sir." The two of them were getting along swimmingly. Dad seemed to think that Kala was a polite young woman who was having a good influence on me, and the fact was that I didn't really have many people to spend time with.

His eyes narrowed as he turned to Dras, focusing on him with harsh intent. "And you must be young mister Dras, it's a shame that we haven't been able to meet before now."

"Oh, uh... yes sir. The paperwork so that I could come into the complex just went through. Even if it's only this area, the security is quite thorough sir."

"Oh, I see, I see. I didn't know you were trying to get on the list or I might have stepped in to handle things personally. Actually, while you're here let's go and check on everything, so there are no problems in the future. I'm sure the girls won't mind me borrowing you for a bit." With that he practically pushed Dras out of the room, taking him along to... somewhere.

"Be nice!" I piped up as he moved to close the door. It only got me a lazy wave of his hand back.

"Does your father think you're dating Dras?" Kala asked after they'd left.

"Probably."

"Haven't you told him about us though?"

"No... not yet."

"You should."

I grumbled a bit before settling down with her. "I don't like to talk about that kind of thing, and I don't really think my family would get it."

"Mmm, still." I could tell she was a bit irritated that I hadn't divulged that tidbit to my dad, even after all this time, but it just never seemed like the right time. Anyway, she was here as much as she could be, and he knew we were basically sitting in each other's laps the whole time.

"Can I at least wait until my mom makes it here so I don't have to go over everything several times?"

"Fine." Oof, that was decidedly irritation.

She let the subject drop and we sat silently, each afraid to begin the discussion again. That was until Dras came back, looking pale and a bit shaken.

"Good grief, he wasn't nice was he?"

"Alana, did I do something to piss your dad off? I don't think I've ever had my life subtly threatened so many times and in such a short span. Particularly not by someone I think would actually kill me."

"I think he's just being overbearing." I answered.

"Do you now? My mother is overbearing Alana. She however has never tried to intimidate my friends."

"Now Dras, that is flagrantly untrue and we both know it. I remember her little screaming fit at The Sky, and how she tried to have The Shield toss me in an orphanage. If dad does anything like that though let me know and I'll straighten him out." I made a little punching gesture with a "Uwah!" at the end. The fact that he was about three times my mass and a monstrously powerful physical magic user just made it funnier.

Both of them left well before dark. It wasn't because the city was dangerous to them, that would have been a real joke, but that the ice would be worse at night and it would also just generally suck more outside with the snow and all.

----------------------------------------

Our visits continued apace well past midwinter. It was at this point that I was told that dad had a surprise for me, and we'd need a day. At our meeting time he appeared and we walked towards one of the covered areas in this complex. This one was set up with large doors out to the street, a place for the wealthy to come and go without having to walk out in the rain or snow.

His personal carriage was there. It was a plainer affair, but seemed well made. He didn't use it much but rather had it for when some personal goods needed to be moved from place to place or the rare occasions I wanted to visit some shop or other. He'd asked that I use it for that kind of thing, since I was being discouraged from walking and one could not as easily ride a horse in a dress. There were methods, sure, but I didn't know them, and I didn't have one of the special saddles ladies tended to prefer when they were doing so.

As we plodded down the road I kept an eye on things. We were definitely headed to what used to be the noble's district, and as we went the different mansions flashed by. There was rather little that I knew up here, having only come by carriage a couple of times and one walk back from it back when I first met Kala.

Soon we came to a mansion that I recognized. Rooke's home loomed tall over us as we came near, still looking massively impressive. Then the slowing carriage pulled into the drive opposite, slowly advancing up towards the house.

"What do you think?" Dad asked as he helped me step down.

"It's massive, and lovely. Whose is it?"

"Ours."

"What?"

"I've been told that I need a home to match my new station. The former owner of this one was killed in the fighting, and he had no clear heirs, so it's been given to me."

"Dad this place is huge, what would we even do with it?"

"I don't rightly know Alana, but I'm hoping to get ideas on that soon."

The gravel crunched under our feet as he led me up to the doors. "So you brought me out here to see this new place?"

"Oh the real surprise is just inside." He smirked a bit as we came to the door and he pulled it open.

Inside was an impressive entry. There were statues and decorations all over the walls, and a floor of some stone I couldn't identify, black with gold streaks through it. I wasn't much for ostentatious, but it was pretty. More importantly as we came in my mother turned around to look at us. She'd been talking to some people who I guessed must be staff but dropped that as soon as we came in.

Mom walked right up to me. She looked almost the same as she always had. Her clothes were much nicer, sure, and she'd aged a bit, but it was still her. Silently she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close, and I felt a few hot tears form as I buried my head in her shoulder. We didn't need words for now, just a feeling of finally being home again.