Closing the door on the sunset behind him, Lewis followed Arthur into Thomas’ house. ‘Thomas, we’re back!’ Arthur called.

‘In here,’ Thomas replied from the next room. Following Arthur silently, Lewis saw Emily standing beside one of the windows and Thomas standing beside one of the chairs in front of the fire. ‘Did you deliver the letter to Jonathan?’

‘Yes, he was just about to pack up. He said he would read it when he was done,’ Arthur said as he sat down, glancing at Emily for a moment. ‘I’m guessing you want him to take us to The Misty Islands.’

‘I’m hoping so,’ Thomas said as he sat down, gesturing for Lewis to join them.

‘What’s going on?’ Lewis asked as he took the offered seat, his eyes lingering on Emily, who still had his back to the room.

‘I think I need to make a few introductions,’ Thomas said. ‘Arthur, this is Emily Bridwell.’

‘Bridwell as in...’ Arthur began, trailing off as Emily turned to face them.

‘Apparently so,’ she said, her eyes skipping over Lewis to focus on Arthur.

‘She is your twin sister,’ Thomas explained. ‘I told you that Sebastian brought you to me from an orphanage. Your mother also left Emily at the same orphanage. Sebastian took her in and asked me to look after you.’

For a couple of minutes, Arthur sat in silence, torn between looking at Emily and Thomas. ‘How long have you known?’ he asked quietly.

‘Always,’ Thomas said. ‘I’ve been expecting this day to come for a long time. I didn’t expect it to be under these circumstances, though.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Arthur demanded, rising to his feet again.

‘You were in danger,’ Thomas said calmly. ‘Besides, I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case we weren’t able to find her.’

‘To hell with that!’ Arthur shouted. ‘How much else of this has been a lie?’

‘Nothing else,’ Thomas assured him calmly. ‘Everything I told you about your mother is true as far as I know.’

‘So, looking after me was just a favour for your brother?’

‘At first, yes,’ Thomas admitted. ‘Not anymore. It hasn’t been like that for a long time, though. You’re as good as a son to me.’

Baffled by Thomas’ revelation, Lewis watched as Arthur turned between Thomas and Emily, unsure what to do. Sinking back in his seat, he tried to meld into the furniture of the room. It seemed as though it didn’t matter in the end; no one in the room had so much as glanced in his direction since Thomas had revealed that Arthur and Emily were brother and sister.

‘Have you ever felt like something was missing?’ Emily asked as she slowly stepped away from the window.

For a moment, there was silence before Arthur nodded. As if the tension in the room had suddenly been cut, Emily crossed the room in a handful of steps, throwing her arms around Arthur. Uncertain, it took a couple of seconds before Arthur embraced her, the opening and closing of the door going unnoticed by both of them.

‘What’s going on?’ a voice whispered from beside Lewis. Looking up, he found Amanda standing behind him, leaning forward as she rested her arms on the back of his chair.

‘Apparently they’re brother and sister,’ Lewis muttered, still in shock himself. Behind him, Amanda exhaled deeply. He couldn’t agree more.

‘Let’s give them a minute,’ Thomas said quietly as he stood up, walking out of the room, beckoning for Lewis and Amanda to follow him. When they reached the kitchen, Thomas turned to them. ‘What did they say?’ he asked Amanda.

‘They said they'd do it if it’s Jonathan’s boat,’ she replied quietly, glancing back at Arthur and Emily in the other room.

‘Is there anything else we can do?’ Lewis asked as he also glanced back at Emily and Arthur, who now stood apart, talking quietly.

‘Not at the moment,’ Thomas said. ‘We’ll give them some time to talk. You’re welcome to hang around here until they’re done.’

With that, Thomas left the two of them in the kitchen. In the distance, they heard him shutting a door somewhere else in the house. ‘Come on, there’s no point standing around in here,’ Amanda said, leading him out of the kitchen. In silence, they passed Arthur and Emily, who seemed completely oblivious to their presence.

‘Where are we going?’ Lewis asked as Amanda led him up half a dozen steps to a door that had been closed.

‘We might as well have somewhere to sit down as we can’t go in the other room,’ Amanda said as she pushed open the door to reveal her bedroom. Taken aback slightly, Lewis followed her into the room in silence, watching as Amanda sat down in the middle of the bed and crossed her legs. ‘So, what are you doing here? Her, I get. Not you, though, she asked, tilting her head to one side as she considered him.

‘We’re actually here because of me,’ Lewis said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. ‘We need Thomas’ help to get to the crown for the coronation in Tristan. My coronation.’

‘You’re the King of Tristan?’ Amanda asked excitedly as she shuffled closer.

‘Apparently I’m the heir to the throne since my father died,’ Lewis said.

‘What happened?’

‘They said it was a hunting accident, but that looks less likely each day,’ Lewis said. ‘I’ve heard whispers that he was actually murdered by someone who wanted to become king.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Amanda said, twisting around so that she was now sitting beside him. ‘I know how you must feel. My parents were...’ she trailed off.

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‘I know; Arthur told me what happened,’ Lewis said gently when she fell silent.

‘Thomas has been looking after me ever since, but it’s not the same,’ she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. ‘Maybe one day I’ll find out what happened to them.’

‘You think they’re still out there?’

‘Somewhere, I know they are. Whether they’re alive or not is another thing, though. I keep trying to tell myself they are, but I don’t think so anymore. It’s been so long,’ Amanda whispered as she started to cry.

‘You never know,’ Lewis said quietly as he placed an arm around her shoulders to try and comfort her. ‘Hope is all we have sometimes.’

‘I know,’ she muttered as she buried her face in his shoulder. ‘I’ve never really told anyone this before.’

‘What about Thomas and Arthur? I’m sure they would be more than happy to talk about it,’ Lewis suggested.

‘I can’t talk to them. Thomas lost his daughter, and Arthur has never really had any parents; he wouldn’t understand,’ Amanda said as she pulled away. ‘You’re different, though. You know what it’s like to lose a parent all of a sudden.’

Wiping her eyes, she looked up at him hopefully, as if she expected him to say something. Before he could think of anything, though, there was a knock at the door. A moment later, the door opened to reveal Thomas, Emily, and Arthur standing behind him. At the sight of them, a strange look crossed Emily’s face for a second. ‘There you two are. Jonathan came by. He was reluctant, but I managed to convince him to help us,’ Thomas said. ‘I was just talking to these two, and as there’s nothing more we can do today, we thought we would call it a night.’

‘Thank you,’ Lewis said gratefully as he eased Amanda off his shoulder and stood up.

‘Unfortunately, I haven’t got the room to put the two of you up here, but I do know somewhere that I might be able to get you a room for a couple of nights,’ Thomas said as he led the way through the house, pausing to pull his coat on.

After telling Arthur and Amanda that he wouldn’t be long, Thomas ushered Lewis and Emily outside, escorting them through the dark streets. ‘When are we leaving for The Misty Islands?’ Lewis asked, breaking the silence.

‘Jonathan said that he would need a day or two to organise his crew and some supplies,’ Thomas said as they turned the corner, and he led them across the street to a large thatched cottage. ‘I have some things that I need to pick up, including a star map, somehow.’

‘I have one,’ Emily muttered as Thomas knocked loudly on the cottage door.

‘Sebastian gave it to you then?’ Thomas asked as they waited for the door to open.

‘No, I found a man selling it in Arcis; he thought it was a piece of rubbish,’ Emily said. Whether she was referring to the seller or him, Lewis didn’t know. Perhaps she was talking about both of them. Since she had seen him talking to Amanda, she hadn’t said so much as a single word.

‘That should make our job a little easier at least,’ Thomas said as the door finally opened to reveal an elderly lady. ‘Evening Mrs. Miller.’

‘Thomas, to what do I owe the pleasure at such a late hour?’ Mrs. Miller asked, eyeing Lewis and Emily carefully.

‘I have a favour that I need to ask. It’s urgent,’ Thomas said when Mrs. Miller beckoned them inside.

‘What would that be?’

‘I was wondering if it would be possible for Lewis and Emily to stay in your spare room for a day or two,’ Thomas asked hopefully. ‘I would put them up myself, but I don’t have the room.’

‘A day or two?’ Mrs. Miller asked warily.

‘Yes, just until I can collect some supplies that I need before we head out of town,’ Thomas said. ‘I did pick up your tab at The Red Clover the week before last.’

‘Damn you, Thomas Vandemark. I knew that would come back to haunt me,’ Mrs. Miller sighed. ‘Alright, just a day or two, and they’ll have to get your own food.’

‘It’s alright; they’re welcome at my house for meals,’ Thomas insisted. ‘I expect to see you two first thing in the morning as well,’ he added with a sharp look at Lewis and Emily.

Thanking Mrs. Miller again, he allowed her to show him out, leaving the two of them standing in the hallway. ‘Thank you for doing this,’ Lewis said when Mrs. Miller returned.

‘It’s no trouble really; I just like to make him think it is,’ Mrs. Miller laughed. ‘To be honest, it will make a nice change to have someone else in this big old house. The spare room is down the hall on the right; if you need anything, just ask. I don’t sleep much these days with my bad hip.’

‘Thank you,’ Lewis said with a smile as he turned to Emily, ushering her in the direction of their room. As Mrs. Miller disappeared into another room, Emily flinched away from him, walking quickly towards their room. Perplexed, Lewis paused for a second before following after her.

‘What were you doing?’ Emily demanded, turning to face him when he entered the spare room.

‘What?’ Lewis asked, taken aback.

‘You and Amanda,’ she said, sharply pulling his bag off his shoulder and throwing it on the bed without looking away from him.

‘We were talking,’ Lewis said slowly as he made to go and pick up the things that had fallen out of his bag.

‘No, you weren’t,’ Emily insisted, pushing him in the chest forcefully to stop him in his tracks.

‘Yes, we were,’ Lewis said, pushing her hand away from his chest. ‘Thomas wanted to give you and Arthur some time to talk.’

‘Well, where was he then?’

‘I don’t know! He probably had better things to do than discuss the weather with me and Amanda, you know, seeing as he was trying to find someone to take us to The Misty Islands,’ Lewis said angrily as he pushed past her to his bag.

‘It didn’t exactly look like you were talking,’ Emily said, rounding on him. ‘She was all over you!’

‘We were talking,’ he insisted. ‘If you really want to know, she was telling me how her parents were captured by mercenaries.’

‘What?’ Emily asked. It was now her turn to look taken aback.

‘The mercenaries took her parents and probably killed them. She didn’t feel like she could talk to Thomas or Arthur about it, and I had been in a similar situation with losing my father!’ Lewis said, stuffing his belongings back into his bag.

‘Oh,’ Emily whispered.

‘Oh, that about sums it up,’ Lewis said bitterly as he pulled a change of clothes out of his bag. ‘I’m going to get changed.’

Without waiting for a reply, he pushed his way past her, pulling the door to the bedroom shut behind him with a snap. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he wandered down the corridor in search of a bathroom or somewhere else he could get changed.

‘Is everything alright?’ Mrs. Miller asked, looking up when he entered the kitchen by mistake.

‘Yes, thank you,’ Lewis said, faking a smile. ‘I was just looking for the bathroom so I could get changed.’

‘It’s the first door on your left in the corridor,’ Mrs. Miller replied. ‘Are you sure you’re alright? I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear some of your argument.’

‘It was nothing,’ Lewis said. ‘Thank you.’

Leaving Mrs. Miller in the kitchen, Lewis headed back down the corridor, opening the door to the bathroom when he reached it. Pushing the door shut behind him, he slumped against it, breathing deeply. What on earth had gotten into Emily?

When he finally moved away from the door, he headed to the sink. Running the tap, he splashed his face with cold water. Still turning the argument over in his mind, he got changed quickly. He had never seen Emily act that way before. Whatever had happened, it must have had something to do with Amanda, he thought as he remembered the scene in the alleyway when they had bumped into them trying to escape from the mercenaries.

Having decided that he couldn’t hide out in the bathroom all night, Lewis dried his face quickly and slipped back out into the corridor. There was no sign of Mrs. Miller or Emily. Hoping that she might have gone to bed already, he set off in the direction of the spare room.

As it turned out, she hadn’t gone to bed. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the door when he entered the room. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said quickly, looking up as he entered the room.

‘Leave it,’ he replied harshly, in no mood to talk about it anymore. Walking around the bed, he tossed his bag on the floor, dumping his old clothes on top of it.

‘I didn’t realise,’ she said, twisting around as he pulled the covers back, slipping under them.

‘I said leave it,’ he repeated, pulling the covers up as he rolled over so that he was facing away from her.

For several minutes, he lay there, silence filling the room, until Emily finally stood up, slipping out of the room quietly. Closing his eyes, Lewis hoped that he would fall asleep before she came back. He didn’t think he could deal with another argument tonight.