“Am I imagining it?” Jessa’s voice echoed as her platform shoes clacked against the stone floor. A taller, thinner young woman accompanied her, and the two ambled through the university’s halls catching up on their time apart. Jessa’s summoned imp trailed behind them, and her companion looked back over her shoulder to examine it.

“No, it is most certainly bigger now,” she confirmed. “I don’t think it’s ever had horns before, either.”

They eventually reached the courtyard. Jessa shielded her eyes as the reflection of the midday sun glared off the fountain, and she took a seat on its marble ridge.

“It may be a coincidence, but… Well, I joined a guild and had my first job with them, and since then I haven’t been able to summon anything else except for this stupid imp. Now it's growing as well, and what's worse is one of their leaders seems to hate Lus'rak.”

“A guild? What sort of guild?” her companion asked, the revelation ripping her attention away from their talk of summoning troubles. She smoothed the skirt of her robe as she sat down beside her, a gentle breeze rippling her mousy hair.

“Oh—well, an adventuring guild,” Jessa said. “They’ve been running their business out of the basement of the Brass Tusk for a while now, although they’ve not been terribly successful…” She trailed off, remembering that her friend knew well of her father’s tenants.

“You mean the delinquents you’ve been ranting about who’ve jeopardized your enrollment here? Does your father know about this?” the young woman stared wide-eyed with disbelief at Jessa. “I almost wish you’d have told me you were joining the Association instead. Those ‘adventuring’ guilds are unstable at best and scams at the worst. Please tell me they didn’t ask you for any money.”

“Gods, Elyza, I'm not that stupid!” Jessa’s small voice was gentle but firm. She wrung her hands together in an attempt to soothe herself, but her gaze was burning, leaving her feeling pressed. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Very well,” Elyza relented, letting out the last of her frustration in a sigh. “I’m sure you’re aware of the implications regarding your time to work and study, but aside from that… Why?”

“Well,” said Jessa, “It could be that I'm just hoping for some independence. For the longest time I’ve wanted to do more than read dusty tomes and listen to lectures from decrepit old professors. And my father keeps such close watch of me, I’m sheltered no matter how far I might travel…” Her gaze shifted to the fountain. Ripples of water lapped against the side, and a bite of cold rose up through her arm as she stuck an idle finger in.

“Something more established might have been a better place to start,” Elyza gave one last push to her persuasion, though she understood Jessa’s plight. She slid her hand toward hers and laced their fingers together. “What’s this guild called? What are they like?”

“They’re called Valorforge. They’re… Intriguing,” Jessa said. “I’ve never met a group quite like them. Administratively, they are a bit lacking, but when they’re together and working, it’s like they all know exactly what to do. And when the day is over, they go out to drink and have fun. They’re kind of like a big family.”

“I suppose that sounds nice,” Elyza admitted, gently squeezing Jessa’s hand with reassurance. “Just… Please, be careful. People like to use familiarity to manipulate others into doing stupid things.”

“What do you mean?” Jessa asked as she shrunk back, pulling her hand away from Elyza’s. Her brow furrowed.

“I’m just saying people can hurt you no matter how kind they may seem.”

“Elyza, they aren’t only kind, they saved my life when a troll tried to kill me. They’ve all been incredibly gracious. Why would they want to hurt me?”

“There are plenty of sick and twisted reasons a person would want to harm a beautiful young woman, or worse. Especially when they owe money to her father. Perhaps they saved you this time so you’ll trust them when they lead you to your death next time.” Jessa said nothing as she reflected on her words. After a long silence, she said,

“You’ve yet to even meet them…”

“You’re right. I haven’t met them,” Elyza said, softening her tone. “That’s why I’m all the more worried about their intentions. What information I do have on them is troubling. The world is cruel and unforgiving as is, but for a sheltered young woman… You’re a mouse in the middle of a field, and there are always hawks circling overhead.”

Moving in with caution, she reached over to wrap her arm around Jessa’s waist. She wasn’t quite sure whether she would be receptive to affection after being subjected to such ruthless scrutiny. To her surprise and relief, she was—Jessa leaned in, and she pulled her closer. Elyza led a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head upward to plant a kiss upon her lips.

“People might see us,” Jessa said as she opened her eyes.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Right, I forgot how uncouth it is for two people to be in love,” Elyza remarked. A sigh of finality flowed past her lips as she averted her gaze, relinquishing her embrace. “Oh, well, I should get to my class early. Stop by my room later—I’m not done.”

“You’re never done,” Jessa said, giggling as heat rose off her blushed cheeks. As Elyza moved away, she held onto her hand, hesitant to let her go after such a short meeting. “Do you still have my spare change of clothes?”

“Of course I do,” Elyza said. Then with a wink, she sauntered off, leaving Jessa to stare at the figure of her hips as they swayed back and forth. She sighed, remaining where she sat for a few seconds more before setting off to attend to her own tasks.

After a few hours had passed, the two reconvened.

“I’ve never seen anyone use a wand like that before,” Elyza said, sighing with contentment as Jessa poked her head out from under the goose-down duvet. “Where did you learn that?”

Jessa giggled as she crawled up beside her panting partner and placed her head against her shoulder. She breathed a contented sigh before answering and looked into the deep forest of Elyza’s eyes. A smug grin appeared on her face as she spoke.

“From a book I procured in Wyvern’s Rest. The bookkeep I bought it from had no idea what it was about.”

“Always the books with you, isn’t it?” Elyza asked with laughter in her voice. “I’ll remember that the next time I feel the urge to nag you for reading too much.” After giving her a quick peck on the top of her head, she closed her eyes, the warmth and softness of her partner's hair soothing her as she ran her fingers through it. Comforted by her touch, Jessa let the weight of her body melt into her lover’s arms.

“I’m sure I’ll have to remind you,” Jessa said, playfully tapping her on the nose. “I guess I could stand to give you more attention.”

“I wouldn’t mind that. We could stay here like this forever to be sure of it.”

“That would be amazing,” Jessa said, unable to conceal the sadness which seeped into her voice. “I do wish I could stay longer.”

“Why can’t you?”

“I… I have responsibilities back in Grimros,” Jessa said, quieted with nervousness. A wave of hesitance washed over her. “I came home to show something to my father for a job. Deventh is expecting me–”

“I see,” Elyza interrupted, quite noticeably irritated as she released Jessa from her arms. As she distanced herself from Jessa, she added, “You just came to see me while you were passing through.”

“I-I did, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to any less.”

“But you wouldn’t have, were you not on an errand for your guild.”

“Elyza.” Jessa reached out to touch her shoulder, but she rolled onto her side to avoid it. Frustration welled up inside her and erupted into her words. “Why does it matter? I didn’t have to come back here at all, but I did just to see you! I'm starting to think I shouldn't have.” Fighting back tears, she reached over the side of the bed to gather her clothes. Elyza kept her eyes on the view outside the window, hands balled into fists under the covers as she held them up to her face.

“Don’t go back,” she pleaded. “We hardly see each other anymore as is. If you stay with them...”

“I want to stay with them. Even if I didn’t, I’d want to finish what I started. I can’t just abandon them in the middle of an investigation.”

“So you choose to abandon me instead?”

“I’m not abandoning you!” To her own surprise, Jessa raised her voice in frustration. “I’ll come back to visit you as often as I can. Maybe when you graduate here, you can join me as well.”

“You know that’s out of the question,” Elyza reminded her. “Being associated with an amateur guild would spoil any chance I’d have of becoming a court wizard.”

“Where the king wouldn’t approve of our relationship and we’d be forced apart regardless, yes — but that’s fine, as long as you get to do what you want to do. Not that that’s a reasonable worry anyway, when you know my father can help you into any position you could ever dream of.”

“How long are you going to cling to that mentality?” Elyza sat upright and turned to her, holding the duvet over her chest to cover herself. “Have you once considered that some people might prefer to earn their living? You are fully at the mercy of your father’s reputation. And as much as you think this..." She scoffed before continuing, "Valorforge is going to be the thing to change that, you know you’re going to fall back on it if it doesn’t work out.”

Thick, agonizing silence hung in the air. Jessa, having begun to dress herself, paused with one leg halfway into her stocking. The harder she tried to swallow the lump that rose up in her throat, the more she had to blink to hold back the tears. Slowly, she gathered every shred of her resolve and made her decision.

“I’m leaving,” she said. The silence grew thicker following her declaration. Jessa slid her stocking up to her thigh and grabbed the other from the floor. Elyza did nothing but watch as she felt her lover slipping further and further away with each passing second. Her heart ached at the thought that this was where they would drift apart.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, defeated. After tying her robe, Jessa stood up, reached down to pick up her shoes, and turned to face Elyza.

“Goodnight,” she said. Elyza did not respond. She watched, instead, as Jessa walked out of the room, the creaking hinges of the door proclaiming her leave. Every drop of her resolve exhausted, her eyes flooded with tears. She was alone. The room seemed to grow three times its size, leaving her small and shivering as the warmth of her lover faded away.

Elyza wiped away makeup-swirled tears which streamed down her cheeks, leaving black smudges around her eyes and in the creases of her knuckles. It was futile, as her vision soon became obscured by another welling. Choking back a sob, she reached over and opened a small drawer at the apron of her nightstand, where a lone envelope awaited.

In her bony, trembling hands she held the envelope with her fingers squared along its edges, staring down at the broken wax seal imprinted with the letter “M.” Shivers rolled through her thin, naked body, goosebumps forming on pallid skin over protruding ribs and vertebrae. She lowered her feet to the floor and, though her legs were weak, she managed to stumble over to her wardrobe. After slipping into a warm sleeping robe, she moved to her desk and sat down. She gathered her quill, inkwell, and a piece of parchment, and steadied her hand to write.

Dear Maestus, she began. Uncertainty swelled and retreated, testing her resolve. With the final reserves of her willpower, she continued her letter, fighting her hesitation as a single makeup-stained tear fell onto the page.