“Three days?” I repeated in utter disbelief.

“I don’t understand why she is surprised.” Ms. Lao said to my mother from across the table.

We all sat around the table that I had eaten at alone more times than I could remember. Suspended in the air at just the right height, it bore no legs and hung from no chains. The scattered remnants of the food I had devoured with a focus I had rarely found myself able to harness spread from end to end.

It had been the first time that I had eaten at that table with more than just my mother as company.

The same was not true for everyone else.

“It is evident to me, Ms. Lao, that something transpired to make the three days past feel like hours. I believe that is why she is surprised.” My mother answered.

“Ah. That makes sense,” Ms. Lao nodded. “And I asked you to call me Mai.”

Mai Lao. I never knew Ms. Lao had a first name. I looked at the two women who could not appear to be any more different. My mother, long red hair and brilliant green eyes, seemed to be genuinely enjoying talking to the dark haired woman opposite her.

“My apologies, Mai,” My mother answered, placing special emphasis on using the name she had been asked to. “After a century and a half, it becomes very difficult to break old habits.”

Arthur leaned forward. “Wait, how old?”

“Arthur! Don’t be rude.” Ms. Lao snapped.

My mother smiled. “Mai, he has not offended me. Naturally, as all of you grow accustomed to what is normal here, there will be moments of surprise,” She looked at Arthur. “I am just past my one hundred and fifty ninth birthday. Which,” she added with a raised eyebrow and a pointed finger. “Is still considered quite young.”

I met Anna’s questioning eyes and nodded, reaffirming the truth in what my mother had said. My mother had once told me that the oldest Mother was nearly one thousand years old. I didn’t fully understand how it happened and my mother had said herself that she was hardly an expert, but something about using your aura, your soul, kept the body young.

“Ma! You’re like a third her age.”

The disbelief in Arthur’s voice combined with his eyes shifting between the two women said exactly what he was thinking.

Ms. Lao scowled at her son.

Arthur seemed to choose his words very carefully. “You are so. . . young!”

Ms. Lao smiled, though her brows remained furrowed. “Good boy.”

I took the opportunity to interject. “Mom. How was I gone for three days?”

“I do not know, my little Delpha,” She answered, shrugging her shoulders. “There are uncountable amounts of ways such a thing could be done.”

Anna spoke. “How many names do you have? What is a Delpha?”

My mother laughed and I couldn’t help but smile at the sound. It was a wonder that she was not utterly heartbroken over what I had done. “It’s not what is a Delpha, but who is Delpha.”

“It is a story she used to tell me when I was young.” I said.

“Don’t break my heart. You are still young.” My mother said, feigning falling into hysterics

“What's it about?” Arthur asked.

“Delpha is this little fox,” I began

My mother interrupted. “A very curious fox and she isn’t little because she is small, she is a cub.”

“Right,” I continued. “Delpha is this little fox cub and is very curious. She lives in a burrow with her parents, Papa rabbit and Mama rabbit.”

“Papa and Mama found Delpha in the woods when she was a baby and took her in. And they live in a warren, not a burrow. That is very important.” My mother corrected me.

“What is the difference?” Ms. Lao asked.

“A burrow is little more than a hole to hide in but a warren has tunnels and rooms. Plenty of nooks and crannies to keep a curious fox cub busy.” My mother answered.

“That’s right,” I said. I never liked the part in the warren which explained why I had forgotten. “But Delpha gets bored and wants to leave. So, she goes to the rabbits and tells them.”

My mother jumped back in. “You are leaving out so much! When she goes to her parents, Papa says,” My mother dropped her voice and put on a stern look, giving us her best impression of a gruff rabbit. “No. There is a dragon that lives on top of the mountain and he will eat you like he ate all the rabbits that used to live here with us.”

I took up my imitation of the high voice my mother always used for Mama. “When you are older and bigger, we will go with you but you have to stay inside where it’s safe.”

My mother cackled at my voice. Her laughter spread to Anna and Arthur. Even Ms. Lao let out a chuckle.

Any hint of reservation or embarrassment left me then and I threw myself into the story fully. “You're right, I did leave something important out. For Delpha's whole life, these terrible earthquakes shake the warren and make dirt rain down inside the tunnels. Anyways, Delpha isn't just curious," I paused.

"She's mischievous." My mother filled my pause in a wicked tone.

"So she waits until Papa and Mama go to sleep and she sneaks outside."

My mother sighed and drank the last sip of her wine. "This really isn't a proper way to hear the story for the first time. I will have to write it out or see if I can find a copy."

"Keep going." Anna encouraged me, looking at me with a smile on her face.

"What about the dragon? Does it swoop down and attack Delpha?" Arthur asked, literally on the edge of his seat.

"No, the little fox cub crawls out of the warren and finds. . ."

I stepped in. "There are fallen trees all over the mountainside and big gashes torn through the ground, but no dragon. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she begins to climb."

"Don't forget the crow." Said my mother, tipping her empty bottle into her cup and frowning when nothing but a single drop came out.

"I won't forget the crow," I assured her. "The higher Delpha climbs, the more torn up the mountain side gets. Nothing but moonlight to guide her way, she jumps onto the biggest fallen tree yet and begins to walk up its trunk."

"Then, one of the earthquakes shakes the tree under her little paws and she is thrown off the tree and to the ground below."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I continued from where my mother had left off. "When she gets back on her feet, she stands up and sees that she has fallen into a pit filled with the bones of the rabbits from the warren."

"No!" Ms. Lao gasped.

I ignored the laugh that wanted to bubble out of me and continued. "Delpha gets very scared and she starts to miss Mama and Papa. She turns around to go back home, wishing she had listened to her parents, but a big black crow lands right in front of her and stops her in her tracks."

My mother played the part of the crow in her raspiest voice. "Little fox, where are you going?"

I played Delpha, finding it easy to color my voice with fear. "It's cold and I miss Mama and Papa. I don't want to get eaten like all the rabbits."

"The crow flaps its single wing," My mother added, folding her arm and acting out the gesture before returning to the crow's voice. "You will not."

"How do you know?" I said, continuing in Delpha's terrified voice.

I smiled before my mother spoke. The next line was my favorite and I couldn't keep myself from mouthing the words alongside her. "You are not a rabbit. It is not in your nature."

"Delpha heard the truth in the crow's words. She was still cold and still missed Mama and Papa, but she no longer wished she had stayed in the warren. That's what rabbits did and she was no rabbit."

"The crow flaps its wings again," My mother flapped her arm again. "I've fought the dragon. It took my wing like it took all of the rabbits. I can tell you how to defeat it."

Still in Delpha's voice, I asked. "If you know how then why didn't you?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I would have flown off and left her if I was the crow. That's insulting."

Anna hit her brother in the shoulder. "Shut up, she's curious. Its in her nature."

"Very good," My mother beamed at Anna. Then, she retook her crow voice. "You have to bite its tail. I am not a fox but a crow. I have no teeth to latch on with."

I skipped forward until the moment Delpha reached the top of the mountain. "Delpha reaches the peak and sneaks up until she sees the dragon. It's big, much bigger than her, but it isn't moving."

In her own voice, my mother took over. "She moves silently, feeling more and more fearful of its pointed teeth and sharp claws. Then, the dragon snores and she realizes that it is asleep."

"Reminding herself one last time that she is a fox and not a rabbit, she creeps over to the dragons tail and sinks her little fangs into it."

My mother turned to me. "You keep missing the details! What did the tail look like?"

"Right, right," I agreed. "She creeps over to the dragon's fluffy red tail and sinks her little fangs into it."

"Dragons do not have fluffy red tails." Ms. Lao asserted. It surprised me how involved with the story she had continued to be.

"Exactly!" My mother clapped her hands in delight.

I finished the last important part of the story. "The dragon, shocked awake, jumps out of its own skin. Except, it was no dragon at all."

"It was another fox." Anna said in understanding.

"Yes! But only another fox could ever find that out," My mother sighed and we all settled in to the lull that comes with a story ending. "So, that is why I call her my little Delpha. In all my years I have never met someone as curious and mischievous as she is. Those two traits led her to The Well and is what eventually led to you all being here."

Sam, perched on a small shelf that nearly but his newly larger head at the ceiling spoke up. "The crow was enjoyable."

"I didn't like it," Arthur offered, crossing his arms. "It's a way better story if this little fox actually slays a dragon."

Anna glared at him. "You completely missed the point," She turned back to me. "What's The Well like, I mean, what is it like going to a place in your own head."

I wished I wouldn't have but I looked to my mother for permission to answer the question.

She shook her head to give me permission.

"It's like, think of a library but instead of books its just all doors. When I go through a door, it puts me in a memory." I answered, not satisfied with my words but unable to bring any more fitting ones to my mind.

"A library of doors, you'd have to draw it out for me." Arthur said.

"I wish it was a library, maybe then it would be organized."

Ms. Lao let out a big yawn through the cover of her hand. "I am sorry, please excuse me."

"Don't apologize, it's my fault that we are up so late," My mother said, standing. "We should all get as much rest as we can manage, we have a full day tomorrow."

"Why is it full?" I asked, realizing I was the only one left sitting and moving to remedy that.

"We are moving. I thought I told you that already?"

"I think I would remember if you told me that, why are we moving?"

"The Laos have been recognized as members of my house, unless you want to live all piled on top of one another, this place no longer suits our needs." My mother answered.

Ms. Lao spoke to me. "My house was destroyed and your mother said it was dangerous. We had no other options."

Something bright and happy threatened to bring tears to my eyes. The Laos were staying for what seemed like the foreseeable future.

I had run away, taking a priceless and dangerous construct with me. I had broken through the barriers the Mothers had placed in the construct in my mind and encountered an evil that had subsequently come after me. Revealing myself to mortals was a small mistake compared to bringing them back to Zenithcidel with me and that was nothing compared to how close a sorcerer had gotten to stealing me away. After it all, I had told the Mothers to their faces that I regretted none of it.

And yet, I had been healed and restored. I was still very much alive and unchained. The people I had come to care about and put their lives at risk by bringing them to Zenithcidel were not only being allowed to live, but had been made members of my house. Above it all, my mother was the happiest I think I'd ever seen her.

None of it made sense. Why did it feel like I was being rewarded?

Sometime later, I found myself in my room laying in the small bed I had hardly ever used. In the three days since Ulet had brought us back to Zenithcidel, a second bed had been added. Anna lay on it, A wall hung lantern between us.

"It's kind of exciting isn't it?" She asked.

"What is?" I asked, putting my thoughts away for a while.

"We live together now. Like, really live together.

The lantern between us winked out. "Silence. Both of you."

For a moment, the only light in the room was Sam's blue eye lights reflecting off of the surface of the shallow pool that was set into the floor. It had been my inspiration for using the bathtub to access The Well.

Then, Anna snapped and the light winked back on.

"You are happy with what has happened? You don't secretly wish you never met me?"

She stuck her hand out to me. "Shut the fuck up. I thought we were past that shit. Of course I don't. I had literally nothing going on before I opened your door that morning."

I grabbed her hand and rolled onto my back, the beds were placed close enough that it was comfortable. "Sorry I flashed you."

"Sleep." Sam commanded and the light winked out again.

Anna didn't snap it back on. I didn't either. The two of us laid there in near complete darkness and silence, holding hands.

After a while, Anna spoke. "Do you think that someone here can fix my mom?"

I knew it was possible but I didn't know if I could make it happen. I was barely more familiar with Zenithcidel and dealing with sorceresses than Anna was. I lied. I lied to my friend. I lied to my friend because my eyes were getting heavy and I was sure that hers must be as well. I lied, because it was a small comfort I could offer my friend. "I'm sure of it."

Quiet reigned then and after a time, I felt Anna's fingers relax into my hand as she drifted off to sleep.

I didn't let them go despite sleep not coming to me the way it had her.

An uncomfortable feeling that I had experienced entirely too much had been nagging at the back of my mind since dinner had ended.

In that dark room, I knew that no matter what I did going forward, something would be watching me.

Sam, with his irritating questions.

The Mothers, coming with their nine punishments.

The lich, who remained unknown to those that could protect me.

I had no way of knowing who the watcher would be, but I knew where I could go to be unseen.

Anna's hand still held in my own, I closed my eyes and let myself slip effortlessly into The Well.

End of Arc One.

Continue following Autumn’s journey in. . .

The Near Infinite Names of Autumn Aubrey Volume Two: Passion and Rage (Releasing now!)