Mia and Anne were already mounted on their horses, Silvermoon (not her real name) and The King's Horse (sadly, his real name), as they waited for Michelle and Bernardo. To pass the time they strolled in a circle around the courtyard. Anne smiled and gave Mia a sympathetic look.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"The headache is a little better, but breakfast was torture! Crackers! Why Anne? They had all that bacon and eggs and..."

"Be thankful I let you have crackers—they will help settle your stomach. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of Sir Bernardo and Michelle."

"Ugg! Whisky. Never again! I don't even want to be near the stuff—I don't think I could handle the smell..."

"You do remember where we are going?"

"A farm, right?"

"It's not just a farm—"

Mia looked across the courtyard, and her face immediately lit up, "Michelle! Bernardo!"

Michelle approached Mia on horseback, "Princess Mia, Miss Anne, it's so nice to see you again. Thanks so much for waiting for us!

"Oh, you are so welcome, and thank you for agreeing to take us to your farm."

"It is our pleasure!"

As the four made their way out of the courtyard, Mia, who was not one to dwell, did briefly wonder about her precious maid's words, 'more than a farm?' I wonder...

Mia enjoyed the ride to the farm. The fresh air cleared her head, and riding the horse calmed her nerves. And, the countryside was beautiful. But then something began an assault on her nose, then her stomach, and then her head...

"What's that smell?"

Michelle's face beamed with happiness. Isn't it wonderful! That smell is home!

"The smell is home? But that doesn't smell like a farm—it smells like..."

"Whisky," Anne completed her thought, "Their home is more than a farm. It's a distillery."

"Distillery?"

"The whiskey from last night was made there—right Michelle?"

"Yes, we are the largest producers of rye whisky in Remno—in the continent, really. Let's get going, so you can see it yourself."

"Whiskey..." Mia groaned. "whatever— let's go Silvermoon."

Not long after the assault on Mia's olfactories, the scenery surrounding the stone road changed—grain fields began to displace green trees and shrubbery. In the distance, a lovely home flanked by two large buildings came into view. The home was somewhat nicer than that of Anne's parents, but nothing like those of the central nobility of Tearmoon.

As they got closer, the smell of whisky only got stronger. But, aside from a few tummy grumbles, Mia was able to acclimate herself to the smell and shift herself into gracious guest mode. The Smiling Princess of Tearmoon dismounted from her loyal steed, Silvermoon.

"Michelle, Bernardo, thank you so much for allowing us to visit here today."

The big man chuckled, "Oh, we are so happy to have you. You are both well well-known celebrities here!"

Anne looked puzzled, "Both? But, I am not..."

Squealing could be heard coming from the house, "They are here! The Princess and the Lady Anne are here!"

"Lady Anne? But, I'm no—"

Before Anne could complete her sentence the two young heroines were mobbed by five rabid little fangirls-—the youngest didn't look to be much more than four years old, while the oldest was maybe twelve—and, yes, their hair was as red as Michelle's —and Anne's!

One of the middle girls looked at Anne in awe. "Are you the Princess!"

"No," Anne blushed, "that's Princess Mia." She nodded in the direction of her friend.

The youngest girl examined Mia from head to toe with dismissive eyes, "But, she's so small!"

Mia Blushed. I am not small, I'm almost average height, really. Maybe she meant that I'm thin. I have been trying to slim down a little...

"Sadie! That isn't very nice." Bernardo corrected his youngest, "She is our guest, and she is the Great Sage. Let's all sit down at the dining table, I know your sister has a wonderful lunch prepared for us."

As they were seated one of the older girls quizzed Anne, "Are you a knight? I heard girls can be knights in Tearmoon!"

"Yes, girls can become knights in Tearmoon, but I am just a..."

"Anne is more important than a knight," Mia interrupted, "she is my right hand and confidant. And, she has saved my life several times."

"Not, several times..."

Mia felt a little ambivalent about hiding Anne's title of Maid in Waiting from the girls, Anne took such pride in her skills as a maid, but somehow it seemed important for these girls to see this woman, who so resembled their own mother, as something more than a maid. Besides, Anne was much more than a maid to Mia—more than a knight, more than an advisor. Yes, Anne had literally saved her life, but, much more importantly, she had also saved her soul—she gave her love when there was no one left to love her, and guided her to what was right when Mia had lost her way. Anne was her heart and her strength. In short, Mia knew that Anne was as much the Tearmoon Princess that existed in these little girls' imaginations as Mia was—and the five girls seemed to know it, too. The two youngest crawled onto Anne's lap, as soon as they reached the dining table—while the older ones continued to pepper Anne with, questions.

"You saved the Princess from wolves?"

"Well, I helped. Tiona, she..."

"You know the Duchess Tiona!"

"Duchess? She's..."

"Were you there when she commanded the King to forgive the revolutionaries?"

"Tiona is very brave, but I am not sure she commanded..."

Mia, for her part, laughed to herself—half happy that Anne was receiving the respect and admiration that she deserved, and half relieved that she wasn't the one having to sort through the exaggerated tales of their adventures.

While Anne dutifully answered to her responsibilities as reigning superstar, Mia decided to have a conversation with the grownups.

"Your daughters are lovely."

"Ha!"

"Michelle, don't be that way. Our girls are lovely."

"Terrors! All of them!"

"Beautiful, just like their mother."

"Well, you're half right. They are just like me! Not one of them will back down from a fight!"

"Ha! We wouldn't be together if you weren't one to stand your ground!"

"So, you are the brave one!" Mia laughed, "May I ask— how did the two of you meet?"

"Well—"

"Let me tell the story..." Bernardo looked at Michelle with pleading eyes, "Please?"

Michelle just threw her arms up in the air, "Okay, you tell the story!"

The big man smiled,

"I guess it was about fifteen years ago, I was a young officer then, serving in the south. We had heard a complaint about bandits raiding some farms, so I took a few men to check it out. We got to Michelle's parents' place— and the bandits were there—six of them!”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"And, you saved Michelle, and she fell in love with you! How romantic!", Mia sighed, dreamily.

"Well, I guess that might have been romantic," Michelle glared at Bernardo, "but that was not even close to what happened."

"Let me tell the story!"

Bernardo continued, "So, I get there, and two of the bandits were already out cold laying at Michelle's feet. She was a sight! This red-haired goddess with a blade in her hand— fighting four men at once."

"So, you subdued the villains together?"

"Oh, sweet Lobo no! Actually, a couple of the men did suggest that we help her out. But, that would have ruined the show!"

"Idiot!" Michelle punched her husband in the arm with an audible pop!

"Ouch!" the big man rubbed his arm and looked towards his wife, "You had it under control!"

"Stupid soldiers—never around when you need one!"

"Anyway, after she was finished with the last bandit. I walked over to her. I needed to know her name!"

Michelle let out a groan, "You walked up behind me. What sort of fool walks up behind someone in a middle of a fight!"

"Well, I thought you were done, but yeah, it was pretty stupid,"

A little bit of embarrassment showed up on his cheeks, as Michele interrupted

"He tapped me on the shoulder..."

"Yes, and she gave me this!" He pointed to a three-inch scar running down his right cheek.

"You were lucky that you kept your head."

"Seven years in the army, and not a scratch!" Bernardo chuckled, "one day with you... and I was in love!"

"Well, I wasn't in love. But I did feel bad about the scar, so I agreed to spend a little time with him."

"Ha, pity is an emotion. It was something I could work with!"

"You did good work!" Michelle smiled and gave her husband a hug from the side.

"And the rest is history. We got married. I moved up, the ranks, and Michelle built all this."

"Oh, and I started popping out these terrors!"

"They aren't terrors! They are angels! Daddy's little angels!" Bernardo pulled the oldest girl to his side. "And, this little angel can cook!"

The eldest girl grinned at the compliment.

"You did a wonderful job, Eleanore." Michelle agreed.

"You cooked all this? Well, I am impressed!" Mia didn't want to say anything to discourage the girl—the meat and vegetables were delicious—but the bread was a little...off. It was darker than she was used to, and a little...dense. After years in prison Mia just wanted her bread to be fluffy, white, and a little sweet—and this was none of those things!

"Bernardo, why don't you entertain Anne and the girls, while I show the Princess around the farm."

"Shop talk! I got it!"

Mia and Michelle made their way down a stone path. Mia marveled at fields of grain, and the large buildings flanking the house.

"Oh, you have a beautiful place! But. what exactly is going on here?"

"Thank you. We are the biggest whisky distillery on the continent! We do it all, from top to bottom—we even grow the rye ourselves."

"My, how interesting. So, what was with that funny-looking wheat I saw on the way in."

"Ha ha, that is the rye!"

"Rye? But, it looks so much like wheat!"

"Nope, that's the rye."

"So, you use that to make the whisky?"

"Yep."

"But, it looks like wheat. Can you eat it?"

"Wow! You are exactly as advertised! Yes, it's a grain—like wheat—you can eat it. But, most people don't. It's hard to get folks to even feed it to their animals. You know, the bread from lunch was made from rye."

"Ohhh! That was...edible!" While it was an extremely awkward compliment—it was very sincere. As the sole rememberer of the discarded famine timeline—Mia did not dismiss any food that was edible. And the rye bread was much more edible than the little bits of "bread" that she received in prison—bread that most certainly contained more sawdust than flour.

"Well, I guess rye bread is a bit of an acquired taste."

"Does rye grow well here?"

"Yes, even in the cold! We have had great crops the last three years."

The bread is made from a grain that grows well in the cold! Mia's review of Eleanor's rye bread just jumpedup from 'merely edible' to 'gloriously delicious!'

"So with the famine, Remno must be growing it everywhere!" Mia went into her manic mode, "We don't need cold-resistant wheat. Just grow rye!"

"Ha! If it were that easy! I said that we were the biggest distillery in Remno—really we are the only distillery left in Remno! Growing non-essential crops has been forbidden by the King on account of the famine, but the King still likes to have his whiskey, so we have managed to survive."

"Growing rye is banned? To grow wheat?"

"Yes."

"Has wheat grown well in Remno—with the cold?"

"Wheat doesn't even grow that well in Remno when it is warm!"

"But rye grows well?"

"Yes! It loves Remno's soil, and rye doesn't care about the cold.'"

"This is so confusing. So, why isn't Remno growing acres and acres of rye."

"Because the King believes that wheat is for food and rye is for whisky—and there is no need for whisky in a famine."

"But, you could explain..."

"Ha! There is no explaining to the King. But Princess Clarissa understands. She has persuaded the council to plant half the Kingdom's fields with rye. We are supposed to provide the seed. She has projects for irrigation and education, too..."

And, in an instant, the expression on Michelle's face changed. She looked sad, almost desperate.

"Princess Mia, is it true that you built a school"

"Oh, you heard of it? I guess it is getting a little popular in Tearmoon."

"Can anyone attend?"

"Well, yes. Anyone is welcome to apply. "

"Please take Eleanor with you. Put her in your school."

"Eleanor—your oldest? I would be happy to put in a good word for her!"

"You don't understand, Eleanore doesn't need a good word, she needs to get out of Remno."

"Needs to leave? But, you all seem so happy..."

"It's all a lie."

"A lie? What? Bernardo loves you...."

"Bernardo adores me. Bernardo is not the lie. Remno is the lie. Remno is no place for a woman."

"But, you are a successful businesswoman, you are on the council. You never back down!"

"I am a freak, an abomination, and I would have been killed years ago had I not married the Adamantine Spear. And my girls are just like me, they will never survive in Remno—not outside the farm."

"It can't be that bad. There are other women on the council—Princess Clarissa. Surely—"

"There were no women on the council until two weeks ago. Hell! I didn't even know that Remno had a Princess until two weeks ago!"

"You are teasing me now!" Mia let out a nervous laugh, "I had heard that Princess Clarissa was a little reserved, but the people had to know they had a princess."

But... Mia thought back. In the previous timeline, she had no recollection of Remno having a princess—it was only because she had researched (well asked Ludwig to research) everything about the Remno royal family that she knew about Clarissa.

"I don't know what she was doing, or where they had her locked up, but no one knew that she existed."

Of course, Clarissa was hidden —in plain sight—indistinguishable from any of the King's other servants—she dressed plainly, seldom talked, and was never addressed by the King by her actual name—just "girl" or "stupid girl." There was no reason to suspect that she was actually a princess.

"So, you really didn't know..."

"I had no idea why I was being called to the castle, and it was not just me, the two others, too. —we had no idea what we were there for. One the of ladies feared that she was going to be executed. She had been publishing a controversial newspaper under her husband's name. I was worried, too. I just don't know when to shut up. When we were directed to the council, it was a total surprise."

"I guess it would be a surprise, finding out that there was a princess."

"Well, that and not getting executed—you could never imagine the relief..."

"Well..." (yes, Mia could imagine!)

"That princess Clarissa—she's a real piece of work! I didn't know anything about her, but, she knew everything about me—everything about the farm....the distillery, even the strains of rye!"

"How?"

"I don't know. She's a witch maybe? Or she's just brilliant. The other two she found for council were just as confused on their appointment. The writer, Catherina, swears her husband is the only one who knows that she is running the paper, and Rosalind is a female scientist—how does someone even find a female scientist in Remno?"

"But, that must mean that things are changing. Things are getting better..."

"It's not getting better! It's just a game! We all know it's just a game. We know we can't win. Well, everyone knows, except for Bernardo. He's a patriot! He loves Remno—he even believes the King is really changing things. The fool! And, I love him. I guess that just makes me a fool, too."

"It's a game? Why?"

"It's a game the King is playing for you, honey. He wants to impress you to get Tearmoon's wheat. The silos are almost empty. Remno only has a few months until the stores are gone. Once he gets his wheat, the game is over."

If he wanted wheat, all he had to do...

"Michelle, if you all know it's all just a game, why do you bother?"

"We play because it's the only game in Remno. But, we know we can't win. I don't want this for my daughters. Just please take Eleanor with you."

"And, what about Bernardo?"

"Don't say anything to Bernardo! He would never allow it!"

"You have to talk to him! If he agrees then..."

"Once Eleanore is out of the Kingdom, I will talk to him. It will be okay."

But Mia was pretty sure it wouldn't be okay to just bring Bernardo's daughter to the Empire without his consent. It felt dangerous and wrong and crazy.

Was Michelle crazy? Mia couldn't be sure what Michele was saying was even true. It could have been an exaggeration, or she could have been just nuts. While Mia enjoyed her company, Michelle was definitely a little different.

But, Abel had been telling Mia that Remno was a bad place—but could it be as bad as this? For Michelle to risk everything to get her daughter out of the Kingdom?

But, Bernardo loves Michelle and their daughters—they have to talk about this!

When Mia and Michelle returned from the fields, they found Anne and the girls wrestling in front of the house, while Bernardo was preparing snacks.

Michelle laughed at the sight, "Five versus one that hardly seems like a fair fight!"

"Lady Anne is a knight! She can take on fifty," said the youngest who was hanging on to the back of Anne's neck.

Anne stood up with two other girls draped around each shoulder, and carrying the other two in each arm, "I keep telling them I am not a knight!"

Mia just laughed, and then walked up to the smallest, "Fifty? Lady Anne could take on one hundred!"

Anne blushed, and then gave Mia her best approximation of an evil glare, "I don't know about one hundred, but maybe one more—"

"Anne, no!"

But, Mia's protests would prove futile as Anne released two of the girls and then gently tackled Mia to the ground.

"Okay knights, tickle the Princess!"

Following their commander's orders the five little red-headed knights proceeded in tickling the Tearmoon Princess. Anne took a step back and watched contentedly with Michelle from the sidelines.

While the Lady Anne may have been a match for one-hundred, five proved to be too much for Princess Mia (really, just one of the older girls would have probably been too much). While Michelle and Anne seemed to enjoy the one-sided battle, Bernardo did not seem quite as amused, and began to peal his daughters off of the giggling Princess. Bernardo admonished, "A knight should always play fair."

As a breathless Mia emerged from the scrum, she spoke in a mock-shocked tone, "Attacked by... mini-Annes! Red... hair... everywhere!"

She then collapsed on her back, looking up at the sky.

Anne walked over, and looked down on the supine Princess, "You better get up, Bernardo made cookies, and the girls have a head start on you."

With her facade of princessness having already crumbled into dust, Mia popped up from the ground and plowed through five little girls to the snack table. You see, Mia really could fight—as long as she had something worth fighting for.

With a cookie in each hand, Mia walked up to Bernardo, "My! You really can cook! These are delicious!"

"Why, thank you Princess," the Adamantine Spear blushed at the compliment. "You should have some milk, too."

Having enjoyed her milk and cookies, Mia began to notice that the sun was looking pretty low in the sky.