It was good to be home, Janna thought as she looked out through the window of her carriage at the rolling hills that surrounded her family’s estate. The winter moon-lilies were in full bloom, painting the landscape in glorious shades of white, pink, and purple. Tens of millions of the flowers lined the long, winding road that led from the nearest city to her home, and even though she’d seen them hundreds of times by now, the sight still took her breath away.

There was nothing else quite like it in the world. Each flower was smaller than her palm, but they grew so closely together that from a distance you could just barely make out the pale green stems and leaves hidden beneath the blooming flowers. Each flower had six petals, pale white at the center and darkening to a rich purple along the edges. The stamen at the center of the flower glowed with a soft, pale light, tiny sparkles drifting off them before dissipating into the air, giving the whole field a sort of ethereal glimmer.

It was barely visible during the day, lost in the bright light of the sun, but at night the fields glowed as brightly as a full moon. As beautiful as the flowers were during the day, they were twice as radiant at night and Janna had spent long hours sitting by her open window admiring the blooming flowers and the luminescent bees that pollinated them. Her room was not the largest bedroom in the manor, but the view was well worth the minor annoyances of living in one of their many well appointed guest rooms and not the family suite.

In a few weeks, they would start to wilt and a mix of paid servants and oath-bound penitents would descend upon the fields to harvest their valuable fruits. Soon after, the spring ice-drops would start to bloom, then the summer sunblooms, and finally the fall pearl-roses. Then, the cycle that had first elevated her family’s status and given them their name would begin again, ensuring her family’s coffers never ran dry and decorating their lands.

For now though, she could just enjoy the beauty of it all. The carriage window was open, allowing the breeze to carry the flowers’ sweet fragrance to her nose. The perfume made from them was good, but it really was no substitute for the real thing. These flowers were the reason that winter had always been her favorite season and it had been heartbreaking to not be able to see them at all the previous year.

Unfortunately, the logistics had simply not worked out. Even for her family, traveling from one side of the globe to the other was not something one could do lighty. There were few mages willing and able to teleport such distances, and travel by land and sea was not nearly swift enough to make the journey in a reasonable time frame.

Thankfully, this year that was not an issue. Oratrice City was not necessarily close to her own family’s lands––she’d only ever visited the city a handful of times in her life––but all the cities of the Gulivine Republic were connected by nationally maintained teleportation platforms. Such things were expensive and difficult to create and utilize, but the utility of rapidly transporting sensitive materials and important persons around the country was well worth the expense according to her father.

It had been easy enough to arrange for her own transportation. She’d met briefly with the a representative of House Vaalis––it was rather offensive for them to send a mere representative to speak with her, but she understood that both the de’ and fa’ were monstrously busy dealing with the other mages of Avalon––and the man had swiftly arranged everything as soon as he’d realized who she was. Their families had had good relations for nearly six-hundred years now, and such a minor favor was simple enough to accommodate.

There had already been a carriage waiting for her in Hwa city when she had arrived. She’d spent a few hours visiting her favorite shops and a number of friends that lived in the city, paid her respects to the new Justicar fa’Dumin and his young heiress, and then departed. It was about two hours from the city to her family’s estate and she was greatly looking forward to a relaxing trip before spending a night in her own bed for the first time in far too many months and eating something with real flavor. That was by far the worst part of studying at Avalon. The quality of the accommodations was horrendous, and the food…well, it was better than what penitents ate, but only just.

Unfortunately, her quiet carriage ride was ruined before it even began. As much as Janna missed her home, there were certain elements of being back here that she could have really lived without. Certain people she had really hoped to not run into even though she knew she almost certainly would.

People such as Fabian Dumin, the annoying, ambitious younger brother of the newly appointed Justicar fa’Dumin. Fabian Dumin, who was ten years her senior, but had the brain of a hormonal teenager. Fabian Dumin, who had been trying to woo her ever since her father had chosen her as his heiress. Fabian Dumin, who was too important to just brush off, and was sitting directly across from her in the carriage.

“Hmm, that sounds lovely,” she said softly, paying just enough attention to the man’s story to respond with the right words at the right time. There was an enchanted scroll in one of the expanded pockets on her dress that was tirelessly noting down every word coming out of the man’s mouth, allowing her to tune him out without potentially missing something valuable.

She’d hand it, along with the reams of similar scrolls she’d collected over the past months, over to her uncle for analysis later. Someone would go through it all and fill her in on any important details she would need to memorize later. That was one of the things she greatly enjoyed about heading home. Typically she had to do such reviews herself each evening, instead of having trusted servants to do it for her.

“It most certainly was!” the man exclaimed, “Oh, I know. I can take you to see it. I believe their next performance is scheduled in the capital later this month. I’m certain my brother, Justicar fa’Dumin, will be more than capable of securing seats for the two of us. Did you hear that the Orbix family opened a new restaurant in the capital? I haven’t had a chance to visit yet, it's very exclusive, but perhaps we could go together before the show? I’m certain they’d be happy to accommodate us. And––”

Janna’s teeth ground together and it took her a moment to compose herself. She turned away from the window and smiled at Fabian. “That does sound like a pleasant way to spend an evening, but I’m afraid that I’m unlikely to have enough time to join you for such a trip. I’m only here for a few weeks, after all, and my lord father has planned a number of commitments for my time already. There are many duties that I as the de’Floris must attend to that other house members are free of..”

There. Reasonably polite, a reminder of their difference in status, and trying to insist that she join him would directly infringe on the work of a Justicar. Fabian was too influential for her to tell him to fuck off, but that was as close as she could reasonably get.

Unfortunately, the man was undeterred. “Well, that’s a shame. A beautiful young flower such as yourself shouldn’t be stuck inside reading dusty law books and meeting with stuffy dignitaries all day. Perhaps there is some other day where I can spirit you away for a picnic or a hike through the mountains.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Janna suppressed a huff. “I would have to speak with my lord father before I can commit to anything. My magical studies and other duties take up much of my time, leaving little room for such entertainment. It is difficult, but the Republic deserves nothing but my best effort.”

Fabian was quiet for a few seconds, long enough that Janna almost dared to hope that she’d shut him up for good. Unfortunately, that was not to be. At least he set that particular topic aside for the time being, instead launching into an elaborate retelling of his recent travels. Janna smiled politely and focused on the view through her carriage window. Just another hour and a half to go and she’d be home, free to ditch Fabian and go do literally anything else. Just another hour and a half to go…

By the time they finally made it to the sprawling manor and surrounding outbuildings that Janna had called home for her entire life, she was fully ready to gut Fabian like a fish, or perhaps set him on fire. She was confident she could do it too, particularly since the guards on the outside of the carriage belonged to her family and not his. Fabian liked to brag that he was a third-circle mage, but Janna knew that to be mostly bluster. If she wanted to kill him, he’d be dead before he could so much as call upon his mana.

Her long nails, painted a lovely shade of pink that matched her pastel blue dress, shifted minutely. Keratin hardened, sharpened, and turned hollow, droplets of potent poison forming beneath the shiny pink exterior. It was not a visually impressive transformation, in fact it was intentionally all but invisible, but a rather effective one for her purposes.

She was both highly resistant to and intimately familiar with many kinds of plant-derived poisons, allowing her to safely shapeshift drops of blood into deadly weapons without risking killing herself. A single scratch from her modified nails could kill a man in a matter of minutes, if the bleeding from their razor-sharp edges didn’t get them first.

She swiftly changed them back before the intrusive thoughts plaguing her mind could get to her. She could probably get away with killing Fabian, but it would forever sour relations between their two families and would bring dishonor to her House. As much of an idiot and leech as Fabian was, he was close with his brother and the price of his death was simply not worth his life.

Thankfully, she did not have to resist the urge for much longer. The carriage stopped outside the gates of her home and a servant opened the carriage door for her before helping her out of the vehicle. Janna stood silently as another servant who had been waiting for her to arrive curtsied, then cast a number of spells to help freshen her up and make sure her hair and clothing remained pristine and unrumpled after the long journey.

Only once the woman was done did Janna turn back to the carriage. “Thank you for accompanying me, Fabian. I’m afraid I must go meet with my father now, duty waits for no one. Have a safe trip home.”

Fabian looked like he was about to protest, but then he saw the welcoming party waiting for her just beyond the gates and thought better of it. He’s always been rather intimidated by her cousin Davius and avoided the other man as much as possible. There was a story there, she was certain of it, but not one she’d ever managed to convince someone to share with her.

“Of course, of course. It was my pleasure. Don’t forget to ask your father about my proposals, okay?”

“Of course not.” She wasn’t going to forget. She just wasn’t going to do so. He’d learn about the various offers to go here or there with the man, ask her if she was interested, and then ignore them when she said she wasn’t. Fabian was too important to brush off, but not important enough for her father to encourage the potential marriage if she was opposed to the idea. “I look forward to hopefully seeing you again soon, Fabian.”

Then she turned around, made sure her posture and apparel remained utterly flawless, and strode towards the gates. The nearly six meter tall gates of diamond wood opened smoothly before her and she walked through them without stopping. Father, mother, a number of her cousins, and several of the more senior servants were waiting for her, standing solemnly in front of the front doors.

She stopped a few paces away from the group and curtsied deeply, her knee nearly brushing the ground. “This de’Floris greets you, oh honored Justicar.”

Though she could not see it with her head bowed, she could perfectly picture the smile that was no doubt spreading across her father’s face. “This fa’Floris welcomes you, oh daughter of mine. Raise your head.”

She straightened, folding her hands over her belly as was proper. She and her father stared at one another for several long moments, both their faces utterly expressionless. For the first time, he broke first.

Her father sighed heavily and took two steps forward, wrapping her in his arms. “Oh my darling flower, how I’ve missed you. It has been far too quiet around here without you.”

Janna wanted to reply, but her face was completely buried in her father’s stomach. She took after her rather petite mother, not her giant father, and he was hugging her rather tightly.

Another set of arms, these ones considerably thinner, wrapped around her from the side. “Welcome home, sweety,” her mother whispered in her ear. “We’ve all missed you.”

Her protests that she wasn’t a teenager anymore died in her throat. Janna’s shoulders sagged and she hugged her father back. It really was good to be home.

A third set of familiar arms joined the cluster. “Hey, glad you could make it back this year,” her ‘little’ sister added. Violet was four years younger than her, but took after her father. “Zerin,” her third sibling, “should be back in just a couple of days. It's been a while since we’ve had everyone home at the same time.”

Janna nodded, “Yeah, it has,” she said, her voice heavily muffled. Zerin hadn’t been home two years ago, busy with a diplomatic trip to a neighboring country, and she’d been too far away to come home last year. They’d exchanged a number of letters, but she was still looking forward to seeing him in person.

Janna took a deep breath, the smells of home and family filling her nose. She felt more relaxed than she had in months. It was impossible to fully relax in Avalon, even with her family name to protect her, but here, surrounded by countless wards, mages and soldiers sworn to her family, and her father’s strong arms, she was as safe as could be. It was wonderful.

She hadn’t been fully lying to Fabian––there really were many duties and lessons that required her attention––but at least for a few minutes, she could forget about all that and just enjoy the presence of her family.

“So, did you meet any cute boys at that school of yours?” her sister suddenly asked.

Janna tried to elbow the girl, but she didn’t have a good angle and Violet leaned out of the way of the clumsy ‘attack’.

“Oooo, that looked like a yes to me!” Violet sang.

“Oh, what’s this?” her mother asked, “is my little girl growing up? I thought it would be decades before I became a grandmother, but perhaps not.”

“She better not be doing anything that would result in grandkids just yet,” her father rumbled. “Not before she introduces her special someone to the rest of the family.”

Janna was briefly reminded of her invitation to Orion to come visit her family home while the Avalon Portal remained in the republic, and blushed faintly. That boy was unfairly handsome. She turned her head to look up at her grinning father and sister and scowled. “It's not like that!” she protested before realizing that would only confirm things for her family. “I mean, uh,” she scowled, realizing that there was nothing she could say to spare herself a thorough interrogation. “Traitors.”

Violet laughed and just hugged her harder.