As they had discussed in the morning, Aletta had sent Miguel an invitation to a small café at the north end of town. His reply came back about an hour later, in which he accepted with gratitude this invitation.

When Grischa actually got up sometime around 11 o'clock, Cale explained to him what all he had missed this morning. He seemed a little upset that he didn't get to say goodbye to the others, but didn't complain. Aletta's meeting, on the other hand, felt like it was a nice change of pace. After the three of them had visited Yusuf together and spent the morning doing some research in the library, they had gone back to Cale's apartment to change.

"Are you excited?", Grischa asked the young girl, who was nervously rubbing her hands together.

"A little, yes", Aletta confirmed, letting her gaze slide over the crowd.

The High-Magician waved her a gentle smile as they walked through the streets toward the café. Aletta wore her robes from Frignez and had her hair down as usual, except that a braided pigtail decorated her head. Both Cale and Grischa wore neat but ordinary clothes. They wouldn't want to draw all the attention if they appeared in their uniforms. Besides, Cale wasn't entirely sure Miguel knew about him. He would probably recognize Grischa , but whether the 1st chief had told Miguel that Aletta was staying with him, he didn't know. Somehow, Cale feared that the man wouldn't trust him very much if two High-Magicians showed up for this meeting.

"Ah", Cale gave voice, catching sight of the tall man. Aletta quickly followed his gaze and spotted her fiancé as well.

"Is that him?", Grischa gave questioningly, the question being more for Cale than Aletta.

"I think so, my father's description fits him and he's wearing the robe", she confirmed, however. Aletta was right. The man in front of them was definitely Miguel Heriog. He was taller and broader built than Cale or Grischa, had blond, slightly curly hair and the same light blue eyes. Aletta and he optimistically looked quite similar, but only his clothes confirmed that they were from the same country. Just like the girl, he wore a white and blue uniform and held a noble sword around his waist.

"Is that...?", Grischa raised in wonder.

"Zurakekama", Cale completed dryly. The sword Miguel had received from their shared master after he had passed away. Cale hid that part of the information, but Grischa seemed to understand anyway why Cale was trying to get Miguel Heriog as an ally. The man was a swordmaster and carried one of the legendary three swords. Even without a more detailed description, Grischa could roughly imagine how powerful Miguel Heriog actually was.

Miguel had also spotted the group. His gaze moved from Aletta to Grischa to Cale, where he paused for a moment and then looked back to Aletta.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Miguel Heriog, son of Chief Heriog", he introduced himself politely, bowing to the group as if no one knew who he was. Perhaps it was also a warning to the High-Magicians, Cale wasn't so sure.

"Pleased to meet you as well. You know who I am, but I'll introduce myself anyway. I am Aletta Merensen, daughter of Chiefs Merensen", Aletta returned the greeting, sounding rather tense. "The two men here are High-Magician Grischa Vonstetten and my friend Caleb. As announced, are my escorts for today."

The three bowed to the tall man as well, while Grischa and Cale saluted the man in unison. As they all straightened up, Aletta pointed to the café to their right.

"Shall we?"

Aletta felt the group into the store. Upon entering, they were met by a young waitress, to whom Aletta indicated that they had contacted this morning regarding a free table. The lady politely led the group to a lovingly decorated table by the window before taking a step to the side and letting the group pass. You could tell by their faces that the people seemed a little strange to them. Three tall men following a young girl had to seem strange from the outside. Especially considering the fact that two of them were Frignezer.

Aletta took a seat on the bench, with Miguel sitting across from her. Cale took a seat next to the swordmaster, which is why Grischa sat down with Aletta. They ordered some drinks before the lady left the round and the table fell silent.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Sorry for delaying the meeting like this", Aletta finally began. She had talked with Cale a bit about what she should say to Miguel, and his important comment was that she should be honest and explain what she was thinking. "I was always a little uncomfortable with the whole thing. I didn't mean any disrespect to you, please forgive me."

"I'm not angry with you, Lady Merensen", Miguel replied calmly.

"Ah, please. Call me Aletta. Anything else would seem strange."

"All right, Aletta", Miguel replied, the young healer's face immediately turning red. Cale almost had to laugh at the response, but restrained himself. "I can understand you well. The fact that our fathers had decided this engagement over our bodies probably didn't sit well with either of us. Still, I must say, I didn't expect you to just disappear."

Aletta laughed sheepishly before apologizing again.

"That's all right. We're both adults. I hope we can be normal with each other despite all of this", Miguel politely chimed in.

"I hope so too", Aletta replied, casting a quick glance at Cale as if to thank him for being right. "I know you guys only got dragged into this whole thing because of me."

"It's not your fault. My father was the one who had been so enthusiastic about the idea, from that point of view we also carry our baggage."

Aletta smiled at the statement, which to her surprise also cause Miguel to smile. Cale and Grischa, on the other hand, looked at each other as they drank from their drinks.

Cale had admonished his friend several times that he should report immediately if he got worse and Aletta also asked him to do so. She didn't think he needed to force himself to do anything because of her, since she knew exactly how he was feeling.

"May I ask where you've been, Aletta?"

"Pretty much everywhere. I've been around a bit that year. Would you like to hear the whole story?"

"I'd love to."

Aletta began to tell about her little trip around the world. She proudly explained how she had snuck onto one of the ferries to Winstest with a false identity and arrived there after a few days of travel. At first, she was a little overwhelmed to be all alone in a foreign land, but many people she had met had always been very kind to her. She had visited the great peoples in Winstest, also the city in the mountains, had traveled on the river Serez, had spent some time contemplating nature, until she had reported home for the first time. Shortly after that, she had met Philippa, who had accompanied her from that day on.

At some point, she had left on the next ship for the islands of Sylve, where she had ended up in one of the many smaller towns. She had explored the area a bit until she had learned that they were looking for her. One evening she had met a group of Anuxers looking for work and Aletta hired them. Together they discovered Sylve, until at some point they had set off for the Bellator capital. By then, she had been on the road for over half a year.

The rest of the story she told very briefly. They had stayed in the city one evening and then made their way to Altona, through the creature plains to the trade city, and finally here. Miguel did not learn, however, who exactly had accompanied her then. Cale had forcefully told her that Ben and William's identities should remain unknown, and if Miguel didn't know who they were or what Aletta's relationship to Cale was, she shouldn't provoke it either.

"When we finally got here, somehow one thing led to another. I got lodged in the Magistrat, met my father, and helped out as a healer in the second attack. You should have experienced the rest anyway."

"You've had quite the experience, it must be said", Miguel replied with amusement, glancing briefly at Grischa as if wondering he was the High-Magician from the story.

"Yes, quiet. I was actually planning to return home after my visit to Altona to fulfill my duty, but that might be a little difficult now", she explained, referring to the marriage between her and Miguel. "I hope my absence hasn't caused you too much trouble."

"Not at all. Your father was constantly worried, but personally it was always clear to me why you were doing it. If I had known what you were up to, I probably would have joined you. I personally have never been to any of the other countries either, except for Altona, of course."

"Perhaps that can be arranged once the situation in Exarion has calmed down a bit", Aletta explained calmly, taking a sip of her drink. "Although I can't promise that improvement will come soon. Have Chiefs Heriog told you what was going on?"

"I was informed, yes", Miguel confirmed confidently. "I, too, will remain in the city until the chiefs say otherwise."

"I see. Then, I guess we'll have more opportunities to see each other", Aletta admitted with a smile.

"That might be the case", Miguel replied, looking down at the table thoughtfully for a moment before speaking up again. "Would you allow me to ask a question?"

"Of course."

"I'm just a little curious, sorry if this is getting a little too personal", Miguel lifted and turned to face Cale. Automatically, he lowered his drink, immediately getting a bad feeling at his serious look. "How did you meet the swordmaster? Caleb, if I remember."

"Swordmaster?", Aletta admitted in wonder as Cale cleared his throat in surprise. How in the world did Miguel know he was a swordmaster? Wouldn't it be much more likely to assume that he was a mage, considering the fact that Aletta lived in the Magistrat?

Irritated, he let his gaze wander to Grischa, who must have been thinking the same thing as Cale. Neither of them said anything, but neither had expected the conversation to develop in this way. Miguel seemed to notice the looks on the two men's faces before turning to Cale and addressing him in a soft voice.

"Sorry.... was that supposed to be a secret?"