The next morning, they were awoken by howling wind through the trees. The sky overhead was gray. Rosalea stayed in her wolf shape because it was warmer, and she and Fen walked along either side of Genya’s legs, trying to keep her warm as she held Lio. But soon, there was wet, sleet falling down on them. They took shelter near a tree, and Genya used all of her imber magic blocking it. Then Rosalea took human shape so she could use her magic, and she blocked it. But it lasted several hours. None of the snow piled up around them, it was too wet. It was cold enough to see their breath, but not so cold that the rain was not half frozen. It was miserable as Rosalea struggled to keep them dry.
The only good news was that it would make it hard for Ieshans to look for her. The bad news was that it was making a lot of mud. It would be nearly impossible to avoid leaving obvious tracks. Rosalea’s magic held out until the sleet passed, but as they were slogging through mud, everyone but Lio got rather wet.
They did not get very far as a result, and finally took shelter near a granite overhang since they had been getting in higher elevation as they headed further south. Rosalea spoke with a fox that lived in the area.
“I have heard that the half-humans have been looking for you,” she said.
“Are any close to us?”
“Not that I can sense.”
“If they approach you, can you tell them we are not here? Can you tell us if you see any?” Rosalea pleaded.
“Will you feed me?”
Rosalea agreed to an offering of jerky, to be left at the rock in the morning, since the fox did not want to approach. “Fen, what do I do?”
The wolf paced a little, and then, “We are not really safe until we reach the dragon. I am fairly sure they still have Xavia - a gryphon.” Rosalea watched the tawny wolf pacing back and forth more, torn with indecision. “If we are caught by the Ieshans actively looking for us; Genya will die for helping you to escape. It is probable you will die, and they will take Lio, just like they took you from Lindir.”
Rosalea felt anxiety flowing from the wolf intensely into her, and it made her own anxiety worse because of the situation they found themselves in. She held her arms out to Fen, who came over to her immediately, and Rosalea pressed the wolf close. This naturally inspired Lio to grab fistfuls of fluff from her sling, but Fen judiciously ignored this. Rosalea still felt the prickling on her skin where the hair of her liana was being yanked on by the infant. “Could you walk me through how I called to the dragon for help?”
Fen shook her head. “I am not sure it worked; I just know it was the last thing you really wanted to do to save us. I was also not fully aware of the dragon’s territory when you and I met, so I can only guide us close.”
Rosalea winced as Fen hauled and twisted on a clump of Fen’s fur, so she let go of the wolf to free her fluff from her six-months-old’s grasp. She breathed out and then spoke aloud. “Well, we are exhausted, I think we should try to rest here.” She used her terra magic to pull mud from all of them, and then her caelus magic to create a nice warm bubble of air around them. “In the morning, we can try to move again.”
Genya nodded. Rosalea fed Lio and fell asleep. No one noticed her brand lighting up.
***
Kaylar breathed in deeply and then out slowly. First, I cannot get the council to agree since they think one human girl is enough to raise an army and make Dyran nervous. Then, I get their approval based on obvious military activities the Ieshans have undertaken, but only to defend my own land. Ieshans are favored by the Gods, just as Uryans are, and should not be attacked. Fine, but I have actually met Gods. Finally, passed that hurdle, and now the spring is cold and dumping snow and sleet.
Oralee watched his tail curling and uncurling with his irritation, and she sent for some tea. When it arrived, and he had a long drink, she came alongside of his right elbow and rub his scales. “So, the preparations were made, but you will not be able to leave for a few days because of the weather.”
He nodded. “It is unfortunate. I am shocked by the amount of resistance I have had to overcome… and who knows what has been happening to her all this time? I am sure none of it is good, but I cannot do anything about it. They do not move her, and I cannot just come after them myself because they know I want to.”
She nodded. It was a conversation they had a few times when he had fumed about the issues he had struggled with. “Have you checked on her recently? It would be good to know if the weather is clear tomorrow that it will be worth moving your army.”
“I have not checked on her in a few days. If I check on her now, they might see the brand light up. We have been lucky so far, that it has not occurred to them to cut off her hand. Then I would just think she was dead.”
Oralee grimaced. “I am sure we do not need that issue added with the rest,” she agreed.
Kaylar huffed. “With all that magic she has since she did not get away right away, I am guessing she is heavily under the influence of their magic. It is another reason I feel lucky she seems to still have at least her hands. At least one of them, so I can tell where she is and that she is alive.”
It was not the first time he was annoyed about the limited magic in his brands, but it was the most frustrated with it he had ever been. “She is alive, so there is hope,” Oralee tried to soothe him. “I am glad in some ways that you feel strongly about her. She was very difficult and definitely got beneath your scales in the beginning.”
“I just did not understand her.” He sighed and flopped over on his side with a groan. “I said I would keep her safe. They took her practically from beneath my nose. I was such a fool.”
She moved to his belly and tried to continue rubbing and soothing him. He placed a paw around her back and pressed her gently to his body, hugging her to him; he appreciated her.
After Oralee had settled against him and long since fallen asleep, Kaylar would see Demias shining in at him from the high window. It is late enough. I will check now. As he received the feedback from the spell, he jolted up, making Oralee awake with a startled squeak. “She’s moved!” he said bringing his nose to Oralee’s sleepy face. “Moved! Closer to us!”
Oralee yawned and blinked and held his nose as it sunk in. “Well, that can only mean one thing, right? She escaped? They would never bring her closer to you.”
Kaylar grinned and pressed his nose to her. “I am going to go get her right now. I will be back by the morning.”
“I will make sure we are ready!” Oralee said with a big grin.
***
Rosalea was the first to awake that morning because of Lio. It was gray light, the sun was just coming up and the moon was setting. She was cold, but her magic had recovered a bit. Fen stretched and yawned next to her, “First focus on meditating as we talked about yesterday.”
Rosalea nodded her head, closing her eyes and breathing out slowly, holding Lio to her to keep the baby warm now that she had her breakfast. It came easily just because she knew what she should be feeling. Her inner world of rich bronze magic felt depleted, showing just how ragged she was feeling after the last couple of days. Still, even with half her magic available, she felt ready to try to push forward. Every chance they got to move away from the Ieshan eased the intense fear she had of being captured again, even if it might not matter if they moved.It was easy to comb the loose tendrils of magic back into place. She was aware of Lio’s life force near hers, a black little pool of magic near her core. She left behind the inner worlds, and looked to Fen.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Fen knew her question and answered, “Black is just undeveloped magic. Lio is too young to have definite magical traits.”
Rosalea breathed out. “When we are safe again, I want to try and see if I can recover my true self. Until then, I guess all I can do is try to learn everything I can again.”
Fen tilted her head and looked deep in thought, her ears splayed a little to the sides of her head as she looked a little disheartened. Rosalea could feel the complicated emotions with the expressions. “You will always be your true self. There are parts of you that no amount of magic can just cover up. But there are versions of you that have learned different lessons and operate on different wisdom. But at your core, you are still you, and even though the loss of wisdom and relationships is sad, you will still be you.”
Rosalea smiled a little. She was grateful Fen was with her as she made the air around all of them warm for a moment. Genya was still very much asleep, and Rosalea did not feel up to forcing her awake just yet because it was still so early. She rocked Lio, encouraging the baby to go back to sleep when she saw a slight pale blue glow.
She raised her right hand from Lio’s side; it was definitely glowing again. Then she felt a pressure on her from above. She slowly stood up and came out from beneath the granite.
There, a shadow against the gray dawn, a big winged thing. “Dragon,” Rosalea thought as her adrenaline went up.
***
I did not expect her to come back with company, Kaylar thought as he saw magic lighting up an area in an obvious way, and he went toward it. There she was, standing there, looking up at him in a manner that was calmer than he expected.
He did expect the wolf that was alongside her.
Truthfully, he might have expected the baby on some level. But as she turned and called out to someone, who also came out, he realized she had an unexpected companion. An accomplice to her escape?
He looked around, but he could not see or sense any Ieshans, and so he felt confident that she had, indeed, somehow escaped.
He circled and landed. The dark woman had put her arm around Rosalea in a protective way. They stood and waited for him as he walked up to him. She did not call out to him, she just watched him. It began to feel really off, even for her. “Rosalea?”
“Yes,” she answered. Her face remained mostly neutral, if a little concerned. He watched her, expecting something more, even just an explanation of what she had been doing. She adjusted the sling with the baby with her, and she held out her right hand with her palm face up. “You?”
He felt a thickness in his throat that he swallowed down. “Yes, that is my mark. Who is with you?”
There was an awkwardness in her, and she turned, “This is Genya. She helped me to escape. She raised me when I first lived with the Ieshans. I owe her my life. This is Fen,” she indicated the wolf with a turn of her body and her hand. “This is Lio, my daughter.”
Completely off, Kaylar thought as she just openly answered questions, without the slightest attempt at deception or wondering how to best play the situation in her own favor. They were muddy and ragged looking; the wolf was thin. Only Lio looked clean and warm, and that was probably an effort from both women trying to protect her as much as possible.
In his silence, as he tried to guess how serious the mind magic on her might be, she grew uncomfortable. I suppose I will just have to ask outright. “I am hoping, Lord Dragon, that you can at least shelter us. Fen says I thought you may help me before. We are being chased by Ieshans. Please, we would appreciate even a little help.”
His heart twisted. Lord Dragon now, am I? He closed his eyes for a second, You do not remember me. He swallowed his emotions down again, “Genya, I am going to mark you as my own just as Rosalea is mine.” She nodded, and he was not sure if he was relieved by the thought she had: I expected something like this.
Ieshans knew more about dragons now than most Myraduilians, and he was uncertain that was a good thing. He placed his brand on Genya.
“You two will be separated for a moment. Rosalea, please hold tightly to Lio and Fen. It will only feel like a moment.”
He placed them all in gem storage and flew toward home. Poor Rhainnon.
***
A green, angular world turned into a stone hall around her. It was immediately warmer, which she was grateful for. Even with her efforts with magic, she had not felt that she was all the way warm in a couple days now. There were a few people here, and the dragon was talking to some of them. She checked to make sure Genya was nearby and was relieved as she saw her.
The next thing she knew, a fair-skinned, black-haired girl about her age was rushing up to her. Rosalea braced, almost wanting to back up until the woman threw her arms around Rosalea, hugging herself to Rosalea’s side since Lio’s bundle was an obstacle. She must know me, whoever she is. It made her anxious as she hugged awkwardly back and did not know how to respond. “I thought you would never come back!” the woman gasped.
“It has definitely been some time since I was here,” Rosalea tried to agree, and knew that it had been more than a year, given how old Lio was and what she remembered. Yet, as she was released, the dark-haired woman’s face almost instantly clouded with alarm and confusion.
I do not know a good way to tell you I do not remember you without it being like this to everyone, Rosalea thought as she saw the wide-eyed alarm. It did tell Rosalea one thing - whoever she had been before the Ieshans would not have said whatever it was she just said.
“How did you get away from destiny this time?” an icy voice demanded. Rosalea looked in that direction and saw a shorter woman about her age also. She looked like an Ieshan - from the darker skin to the brown hair and intense yellow eyes.
The first woman immediately exploded, “Yelena! Why are you even here? Kaylar, why is she here? How dare you talk like that to anyone?!”
“Rhainnon, you are barely Uryan, and so this does not really involve you. Shut up and let me talk to the Princess.” The amount of venom in that word made Rosalea want to back away from the woman. She stared fiercely at Rosalea, but her expression wasn’t as intense or dark as Rosalea expected. Her yellow eyes were big, glassy with barely restrained tears.
Is this a test? Why is she upset? Rosalea wondered. There was silence. Rosalea was aware of the dragon watching, moving as if to intervene. Rosalea took a deep breath in, and breathed out slowly, that near-tears expression made her think something else was going on. So, she tried answering just bluntly, “Genya and I escaped with magic.”
“Why are you running away again? Do you know how much trouble you have caused?”
She was aware of the dragon watching her, probably judging her, but she did not know what he was looking for. “I…” What is the right thing to say? I obviously knew them like I knew Genya, but I do not know them now. What is the right thing to say to help them understand we need help, and I hoped that they could give it to us? “I…” she started again, but as she looked at this Yelena person, she could see the glassy eyes overflowing a little with actual tears. Rosalea followed her instincts with a different response. “I… am sorry that I have caused you pain,” she tried addressing Yelena directly. “I can tell that you have been hurt in some way by the decisions that I have made. I…” she paused as she saw the dragon move forward to be alongside Yelena. “I cannot take them back, and I cannot say that I could have chosen differently.”
The one she had heard called Rhainnon gripped her shoulder, so Rosalea looked at her. She had very wide eyes, her brows were drawn together with intense concern. “What is wrong with you? What did they do to you?”
Rosalea felt her own face clouding with confusion, and she tried to smooth her brows as they wanted to press together: she tried to be conscious of the muscles in her face and keep them relaxed. What should I say?
“Rosalea, what did the Ieshans do to you? Who is this baby? Why are you acting so weird?”
***
Kaylar stood over Yelena as she retreated. He wished the poor Ieshan had not come at all since he was not sure that a confrontation with Rosalea was actually good for her. She had also caught on, just a heartbeat or so before Rhainnon did, that Rosalea had an infant with her that must be hers. There wasn’t a graceful way to step in, but he did so now. “Rosalea told me that she is called Lio, yes?”
Rosalea nodded.
Kaylar continued, “This is Genya, she helped Rosalea escape, and I would like to welcome her here.” Then, he paused, breathed out slowly, then in, “We all knew what could happen to her with the Ieshans. But, Rosalea, from your perspective, this is the first time that you have seen anyone here, right?”
She nodded and then looked down. “I am sorry. I… cannot remember anything prior to meeting Fen.”
“And the baby’s father? Do you know who he is or where he is? Does he know about you?”
He could feel Yelena melting where he stood, but what he did at this point was not for the Ieshan’s benefit as much as it was to help Rhainnon.
“Yes, I know of him. No, I do not know where he is nor would he know where I am or even about Lio.”
Rhainnon pulled Rosalea to her in a way that was almost like how she had in the barn, and she hugged her a second time, but she couldn’t find any reassuring words. He watched as Rosalea stared awkwardly at the floor and patted Rhainnon’s shoulder.
Some part of him still wanted to crush Ieshans today. He had known it might not be a happy event to recover her, but he could feel the pain shared by everyone here.
It was Rhainnon who broke the silent and grim aura in the room. “You’re always so good at getting muddy, you know that? I think… we should get you a bath, and clean clothes, and the best food, don’t you?” she begged Oralee.
“Yes, can you and Galena help me draw hot water for two?” Oralee said brightly.
Rhainnon gave Rosalea another squeeze and a bit of a forced smile. “I’m Rhainnon, and we’re best friends,” she said with forced brightness.
Rosalea forced a smile back. Rhainnon left with Oralee. Genya came up against Rosalea’s side as Rosalea tilted her head to look at Yelena. “Will you be all right?” she asked Yelena in a gentle tone that sent the Ieshan fleeing from the room.
“Do not worry, I will look after her. We will get you settled in and comfortable. You will be safe here.” This time.