Morning took lifetimes to roll around. On one hand she didn’t want to meet her fate, but on another level the anxiety and worry was eating her alive and she wanted to get things over with. Sleep was a non-starter and she didn’t even attempt to go to her room.

Her family stayed with her in turns. Most of them, anyway. Sometimes there were several of them there with her. Other times one or another stay with her by themselves. At no point was she left alone. She liked to think that wasn’t necessary, but as terrified as her thoughts became at times, she would have been lying to say that taking a shortcut out the tower window hadn’t crossed her mind. It would have the virtue of being quick, at least.

As her relationship with each of her family was different, their shifts had different tones. Her father kept a silent vigil, but with a comforting hand on her arm or shoulder, quietly giving her support. His only words were that he was proud of her, something she would previously have done anything for. She quashed a petty and bitter thought was that she ultimately had done something inconceivable for it. Her mother was a wreck and they spent much of their time together in a tearful, tight hug. Erek, as always, managed to calm her down with his presence, using his voice and wise reason to steady her almost subconsciously. Fina, Gand, Lina, Morri, and Eron all took their time with her in different ways, though the younger ones obviously didn’t understand the depth of what was happening. It was a large family, but with the exception of the prime heir they all treated each other with genuine affection. Bree knew from her interactions with other children of noble houses that this wasn’t a given, and many whole lines tended to be more like Denas’s example.

Finally, dawn started to break over the horizon and light started streaming through the windows. All of her family except the eldest sibling had eventually gathered back in the sitting room. Despite their efforts to stay awake, the night had worn Morri and Eron out and they were fast asleep curled against her sides. Her parents and the rest of her siblings were spread out on furniture throughout the room, and the mood had turned grimly somber.

A knock on the door cut through the thick silence of the suite. At her father’s prompt to enter the chamberlain came in with her maid following. Both looked sad and tired, especially her maid.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to start getting Lady Ambreala ready,” the chamberlain said gently. “We don’t know when… he is coming back.”

Without an argument, Bree untangled herself from her young siblings, who were too far asleep to be awoken by something as minor as being jostled around.

The maids, who were friendly and she had always treated as friends, were quiet and refused to meet her eyes or interact with her beyond what their duties absolutely demanded while she bathed and dressed. She felt even more isolated, alone, and cold afterward.

She found herself being put into an ornate red formal dress. She was also lightly treated with perfume and a bit of makeup, probably in order to hide her paleness and the swollen and red eyes. She wasn’t sure whether this was a futile attempt to make her feel more confident or some sort of symbolism for giving her away, to benefit her father.

Eventually, she was as ready as she was going to be. She was left sitting on one of her favorite chairs in her room, alone. There was a maid discreetly standing in the corner of the room obviously trying very hard not to be noticed. The maid was almost certainly placed to guard her from herself.

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That left her alone with her own thoughts, which was the last place she wanted to be. Her thoughts were traitorous imaginings of the worst things her mind could imagine for her fate. The worst tortures she could imagine. Unfortunately, her mind also knew that she was relatively sheltered, and that tortures her imagination could conjure were far from the worst things that could, and almost certainly would, happen to her. The longer she had to contemplate by herself, the worse her imaginings became.

She found herself literally shaking in terror when her thoughts were finally interrupted by the chamberlain knocking on the door, and then entering after the maid answered. The way his face became more grim after seeing her told her that her thoughts were affecting her appearance. She couldn’t force her thoughts out of their downward spiral, though, no matter how much she wished she could just stop thinking about it.

“He is here,” the chamberlain said somberly.

She just nodded, not trusting her voice. She followed him through the halls, and two guards fell in behind them. Her brother, Erek, also joined the procession. He squeezed her hand as they walked, and the silent gesture lifted her spirits a great deal. At least she would be remembered fondly by someone.

All too soon, their journey ended at the door to the courtyard of the castle. The chamberlain stepped to the side, with the guards stepping to his side. Erek put a hand on her shoulder, which gave her a renewal of courage.

The mage, Rendan, was standing in the middle of the courtyard. His clothes appeared to be either the same from yesterday or very close, but they were clean and sharp. His arms were clasped behind his back where he stood, and his eyes were staring out into the distance without any apparent focus. A good sized pack was on the ground at his feet.

A large number of soldiers were attempting, poorly, to be inconspicuous around the courtyard and on the walls. Another day it would have been reassuring, but after the brutal performance yesterday she didn’t think any number of them could thwart him from doing whatever he wanted.

Rendan looked up as she entered the courtyard, and his eyes gave her a once over. He closed his eyes for a long moment, and even as they closed the difference she thought she heard an exaggerated sigh. She was sure that she heard him muttering as they reached each other, though she couldn’t make out the words.

“Milady,” he said, with a frown on his face. “I didn’t think I’d inferred we were going to a ball. No matter, we will have to make do. We have places to go and I don’t want to wait any longer. You probably don’t have any decent travel clothes, anyway.”

“Where are we going?” Bree asked. “I thought...it...was going to happen here.”

“It?” he asked, then shook his head. “Nevermind, we will talk once we are on the road. For now, we already have to add another stop.”

“It is time for us to take our leave,” he said, turning towards Erek. “I’m sure eventually we will meet again, hopefully under better circumstances. I’d advise you to keep your men here, and avoid following us.”

The mage flicked his wrist in an odd way, and Bree realized that he had pulled something from a wrist sheath. Before her mind could parse what she’d seen, the same black staff from yesterday was suddenly in his grasp. He used the bottom of the staff to trace a circle around some sort of simple symbol on the ground, then placed the tip of the staff in the center of it. He gestured for her to put her hand on the staff, which she did, reluctantly. He put his left and at the top of the staff began making gestures with his right now while muttering nonsensical words beneath his breath.

Suddenly, she felt a surge of something pressing in on her. It was like nothing she’d ever felt, and couldn’t begin to describe. And then, just as suddenly, the energy was gone, the sounds of the world were gone, and a thick blackness surrounded her.