“Is everything here?” I asked the coachman.

“Yes. We will be ready to depart shortly,” he informed me.

Rena scowled at me from the side. “Come on, even the queen said you could take a vacation,” she complained, “I know the sea might not be the most inviting thing right now, but we’re close! It wouldn’t be hard at all.”

“We need to hand over all of the evidence to the castle,” I sighed. She had been going on about this all morning.

“You already reported everything. Can’t it wait? Just for a couple days?”

“We aren’t in a hurry,” Alvis reminded, “While a vacation might be too much, there is no reason not to take the sea road back to the capital.”

I hesitated. “Alright,” I gave in, “but no extra detours without a good reason.”

Rena grinned. “Don’t worry,” she promised, “There shouldn’t be any need for detours to do what I want to do.” Her quills seemed almost bouncy as if to match her elated mood.

“I wouldn’t mind getting an opportunity to see the ocean better,” Keane admitted as he walked up to the carriage, “There were a lot of obstacles in the fishing village, and the seaport is too big to see anything.”

It seemed that everyone wanted to get a good look at the ocean since they were that close. I informed the coachman of the change of route and we set off. Once again, Storm sat across from me and ate my newly replenished stock of cookies I had purchased from Silas.

“Not quite as good,” he judged.

“Those cookies were purchased at the capital. I can’t get them here,” I pointed out, “and you don’t have to pretend to be my bodyguard anymore.”

“We aren’t back in the capital yet,” he replied, “and from what I recall, our deal doesn’t end when I stop being your bodyguard.”

“You were definitely a big help,” I assured him, “I will make sure to hold up my end of the deal. From what Alvis said, we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you.”

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“You just would have had to use a different plan,” Storm replied, “It was all very entertaining. Be sure to let me know if you have more work for me. Whatever you ask is bound to be more interesting than anything I would get back home.”

I was glad he enjoyed himself, but it was hard to know how to react to his relaxed attitude. Storm continued to stay by my side as we traveled. I managed to stop him from securing a servant’s room attached to mine at the inn.

We had decided that the next morning we would spend some time at the coast before continuing on. I found myself awake in the early hours before the sun rose and decided to take a walk to the coast myself.

When I arrived at the beach I saw a local relaxing in the sand and staring at the sky. I found myself staring at her. She seemed familiar somehow, but at the same time I was certain I had never seen her before.

The sky was filled with hues of pink and orange when she turned to look at me, and smiled.

“Cassandra,” she called.

“Yes?” I answered cautiously.

“It’s me, Mickey.” she replied, “I have so much to tell you!”

Mickey? Now that she had said it I was somehow convinced, but Mickey was dead. Did that mean…

“I am sure you have a lot of questions, but I shouldn’t answer them here,” she replied, “Can you take me to where you are staying so I can explain?”

Even though I wanted to trust her, I had to be careful. This could be some kind of illusion. “Can I bring everyone to where you are staying instead?” I asked.

“Ah… You should ask Alvis about that first. He can guarantee who I am,” the girl who claimed to be Mickey promised.

“Then I will,” I replied and began to walk back to the inn. If she really was Mickey, then why hadn’t she contacted us sooner? No, it would have been dangerous to do so. But why call out now? Did she know Alvis was with them?

Alvis was waiting by the entrance to the inn when I arrived. “Ah, so you met her after all,” he commented after seeing my face.

“How long have you known?” I demanded.

“I am sure she will explain everything to you when the time comes,” he replied.

I scowled. “She did say she would explain but I would need your permission to go see her.”

“I have employed her to take care of Yuki while I am away,” Alvis explained, “I cannot allow just anyone to find Yuki or they might be gravely injured when they try to wake him.”

I had heard of that before, and for a moment curiosity about the sleeping Found Head Magician filled my thoughts, but it was pushed aside by thoughts of Mickey and what her presence here could possibly mean.

“I will wake the others and get ready,” I sighed, “This doesn’t seem like something that should be put off.”

When I woke and informed the others, Keane was the most tense. Storm was disappointed when I asked him to stay behind. In the meantime Alvis had gathered everyone else. They all seemed confused and barely awake. Alois, especially, seemed like he could use a few more hours of sleep.

“Is it true that Mickey is here?” Caleb asked me.

“I think so,” I replied, “She doesn’t look the same at all. We will have to get the explanation from her.”

“Shall we go?” Alvis prompted.

His expectation and preparation made me suspect that he had planned this from the beginning as soon as he found out I would be heading to Lion Seaport. This place was just a day’s travel from there if the sea route was taken back to the capital.

“Let’s,” I replied, unable to keep the suspicion from my tone and voice.