"Where's Peacekeeper Neila? She's supposed to be with you at all times," Lisa frowned. The front desk only had Sorochin up front. Sorochin wasn't even on desk duty today. "And what happened to Desiree and Kali?"

Sorochin slinked back, obviously uncomfortable with the barrage of question. Seriously. The man was only good for his muscle. She crossed her arms and patiently waiting for him to answer. Once he realized she was actually waiting for an actual answer, he sighed. "Desiree felt sick, so Kali went to walk her home. But then since we wouldn't have anyone up front, Neila volunteered us. But then someone asked Neila to help out with something in the back. And I couldn't just leave the front..."

Lisa sighed. This is what she had to deal with all the time. "How are you supposed to train her if she keeps wandering off? Why didn't you veto that? You're the one in charge."

"Well... Jess looked like she really needed help..." Lisa shot a glare at him. It was times like this that she really regretting promoting him to Vice Guard Captain. "They're in the back."

After she chewed them both out, Yarro had already long since left. She would need to visit Calindra after work. Her best friend since childhood. She helped Calindra deliver Yarro, and both of his siblings. Lisa could still vividly recall how sick Calindra had been after Yarro. She had been ranting and raving something about how her child had a terrible destiny. She quit her post as Guard Captain over it and tried to keep him away from this line of work. She even named her Godmother in case something happened to her.

Calindra had gotten so mad at her for accepting Yarro into the ranks. Lisa has only gotten her to calm down by promising that she would only put him as far away from danger as possible. Just how was she going to explain this?

Lisa retreated into her office. Stacks of papers piled up past her eyes. File cabinets burst with previous complaints and guard rosters. The entire city's history of crime laid in this very. Tiny. Office. She had attempted to clean it up at once point before, but as papers just kept being added, she got more and more behind on her actual work. It just wasn't worth it.

The chair creaked and squeaked as Lisa flung herself into it with a groan. A brand new paper awaited her on her desk. It detailed the program for the annual Midsummer Ball the Queen held. Lisa was personally invited as Guard Captain and representative of the capitol's peacekeeping force, and the rest were relegated to keeping the peace between the rowdy, drunken Capes set to attend. As Guard Captain, she needed to sign off on this little excursion to the castle. It wasn't stated in the invitation, but Lisa was also expected to perform her usual duties alongside pleasing the Capes.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, just as she readied her quill. One of the guards she had stationed at the southern district walked in. "A report for you, Madam," she said. Lisa set her quill back down and nodded for her him to continue.

"There is unrest in the southern district. Non-elementalists have begun to assemble near the northern gates of the district. They want justice from the guards that have wrong them, and want equal pay in crowns." The guard handed her a report of the situation. It stated more or less what she had just said. Which was preposterous.

"Peacekeeper, what have I said about giving false reports?"

The guard flinched away, but still stood her ground. "It's not false, madam. They really are protesting. At least, that's what they say they're protesting for..."

Lisa waved her hand. "It doesn't matter what they're protesting for. Your job is to handle such protests. As long as they're not destroying property, I don't care how it's done. Just stop them."

The guard hesitated a moment before she spoke. "Yes, Guard Captain."

Lisa had a feeling about which specific guards were giving the non-elementalists problems, but she had no proof, and she already had way too much work on her hands already. It will just have to wait until she's done. Hopefully the protests would have calmed down by then. But for some reason she didn't believe her own thoughts.

After that, Lisa was finally able to work in silence until her shift was over. Instead of going home, she headed to Calindra's house to update her on her son. But not before stopping by the store for some nice wine. They'll both need it.

Calindra opened the door soon enough. A bright smile spread upon their faces as if it had been eons since they had last seen each other. Lisa reached over for a hug, which Calindra happily embraced. As tight as she could, and a little bit of rocking until they parted. She smelled of orange lotion. Lisa knew by now it was an attempt to mask the bitter pain medicine. For her bad leg.

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

Calindra slipped a hand around her arm, which she took as the cue to lead her to the sofa.

"Mom, who is it?" a voice came from upstairs.

"It's your Auntie Lisa. Come say hi," Calindra called out.

There was a rush of footsteps from upstairs. They were both home, then. Soon enough, she saw them. "Auntie!" they both cried out. Calindra saw down just as they jumped on her. She scooped them up onto a big hug. Even though they were teens, and certainly old enough to feel embarrassed about such things, she was glad they still enjoyed hugging her. Lisa wanted to relish this as much as possible.

"Auntie, too tight. I can't breath," Luneo squeeze out.

"Auntie, you're too strong!" Mela cried.

She set them down. Even with their complaints they were still grinning ear to ear. It made it all the more difficult to tell them the news. She sighed, and the air got noticeably heavier once they all saw her mood.

"Lisa what's wrong?" Calindra patted the seat next to her.

"I bring news of Dawic."

"Is Yarro OK?" Luneo immediately spoke up.

"Yes, yes. He's fine now, not to worry."

"Now?" Calindra asked. She was so upset her eyebrows reached into her forehead.

Lisa took the seat next to Calindra, and a glance at the kids was all they needed to know that they also need to sit. They chose the seats across from them. "Dawic has... collapsed. The mine collapsed, and the villagers are escaping. A Master Earth Elemental awoke from deep within and destroying the entire village."

Calindra gasped. Mela covered her mouth in surprise. "But my brother works as a Peacekeeper there. Is he helping them escape?" Luneo asked.

Lisa knew there was no getting around it. They were all going to be upset no matter when they found out. "No. He managed to escape, and alert me of the situation. From there, we went to Lord Chancellor Quince, who roused the army."

Calindra sighed in relief. "Good. No way my Yarro would go with them. So he's resting at the guard's post, then?"

"Not exactly. No. He went with them. To attack the Master Earth Elemental, and save what villagers he could."

Calindra froze. Lisa could see it in her eyes. Written all over her wrinkled face. She was reliving whatever it was that happened when she birthed Yarro. Any minute now she would be saying something like "This is it. This is it," and insist he was to die any day now.

Lisa intertwined her hands in Calindra's, cold and shaking. She squeezed tight, and placed her hand over it. Still no reaction. "It's not going to happen. I promise he'll live," Lisa said, as gently as she could. Barely above a whisper. She leaned in close. Watched Calindra's shallow breaths. Eyes darting everywhere but not seeing anything. Lisa put a hand to her cheek. "Listen to me. I promised you I would keep him safe, didn't I?"

"Then why are you here? You should have gone with him!" Calindra yanked a hand back and turned her face. Nothing but cold air replaced it. For just a split second, Lisa could feel the rejection creeping up but she forced it down. This wasn't like when they were younger. She needed to focus.

"I can't. The Lord Chancellor forbid it. They said I was needed here. Besides. You know how separate the army and the peacekeepers are. They would have never let me even follow. I know he will be safe there."

"How? How do you know?" Tears streamed down her face. They've had this conversation hundreds of times before. The last was probably when Yarro joined the Peacekeepers. She'll just have to answer the same as she did back then.

"Because I taught him how to fight. I trust that he knows how to keep himself alive." At last a tear stained face glared back at her. It was something at least. A small hole for her to worm herself into. "He is in my heart, just as he is in yours. In that, he is safe, I promise you."

Calindra wiped the tears from her face. "I don't want to lose him. I can't. The Deities can go to hell."

"I know. I know." Lisa wrapped an arm around her, which she leaned into. A heavy thump against her neck as her head collided with it. Still, she coddled and embraced her. Her kids were long gone by now, so they could allow themselves a moment.

Once Lisa was sure she had calmed down, she tentatively brought up the second subject she was here for. Calindra had a strong sense of justice when she worked as Guard Captain. She would know what to do for these protests.

"By the way, something is happening in the southern district. A protest, of sorts."

Calindra pulled away. "Really? That's the last place I'd have thought would have a protest. What's about?"

"They want to be paid in crowns, and for the guards who have wrong them to be tried."

Calindra narrowed her eyes. "Trials are easy. You can just switch those troublemakers out once you find out who did what. But are they not being paid in crowns? How are they making a living?"

"They're not... That's what they're upset about. I've heard of this sort of thing before. Since they don't have an element, folks don't want to hire them. And the only ones that do, don't think they're worth even a single crown. So they pay them with their own made up currency."

"And the only shops that take this currency are shops owned by the ones paying them, or those related. I see the problem. But you can't do anything about that."

"Not even you can think of a solution?"

"Oh, I have many ideas," Calindra smiled. "But this is a job for the Queen. You don't have any business dealing with things outside your purview. Or have you forgotten what happened 25 years ago?"

Lisa sighed. "No, I haven't. Well, if the guards are all I have to worry about, then I just need the time to investigate. But there's just so much to do."

"What do you mean? Don't you have assistants?"

"I fired them. None of them are good enough and it takes much too long to train new ones. It's easier if I just do it myself."

Calindra clicked her tongue. "No wonder you're overworked and exhausted."