“What's going on? Is it time for the break?”

“I don’t know.”

Someone was yelling outside and while Em rubbed her eyes and oriented herself, Tracy watched whatever was happening.

Not waiting for Tracy’s report, Em stood up and poked her head out the other seat window.

“- letting that thing run out onto the road! I should beat you both into the ground!”

“Please, sir, allow me to take both punishments.”

There was a man kneeling on the ground, his body crouched forward. His whole appearance said ‘tattered’ and ‘worn’. Like many peasants outside a big city. Or, at least, outside the areas of a big city Em had any memories of.

It took Em about half a minute to identify what the man was bending over and protectively trying to hide with his body.

A child.

She couldn’t tell the age (though she guessed fairly young) because the child was half transformed into some animal. Pointed ears, tail, clawed fingers that clutched at the adult’s shirt…

She knew about Lycan.

Of course she did! They were part of this world.

But it was the first time she’d seen one in their transformed state. Even in her Prince dreams, she’d never once seen one in their animal form. Maybe if she’d seen more of him before being enslaved?

In any case, the coachman and two of the knights were looming over the two Lycan. Like crows or executioners.

Em was already full of agitated energy and for some reason this pitiful sight was just the excuse she needed to spur herself into motion. She had pushed open the door and gotten onto the step before Tracy made a grab for Em’s arm.

Em twisted her arm the way Maddie showed her, breaking Tracy’s grip, and hopped to the ground.

“What’s going on here?” she demanded. Hands on hips.

She heard someone laugh behind her and turned to see her brother’s right-hand man. Who was also the one Flint had left in charge of the escort. The one with purple hair. His name was Ralph, and he had often checked on her throughout the long journey.

She liked him. He was Flint’s opposite in temperament and could lift the mood in most situations.

The knight patted her head as he also came to survey the disturbance.

Then crossed his arms and arranged his face to look more serious. (It didn’t suit him at all.)

“You heard her. Will someone explain what’s going? To me and the little miss?”

“That little rat ran out in front of the carriage.” The coachman spat a wad of gunk toward the pair on the ground. “Shoulda just run it over. Filthy Lycan.”

The adult Lycan tightened his grip on his burden, and a muscle jumped in his jaw. The little one squirmed and whined. Like a puppy wanting to escape.

“I see. Was that all?”

“If we’d hit the rat, it could have endangered the little miss!”

Really?

Em frowned and glanced back at the carriage. She didn’t know much about carriages. Could running over a small child really have caused a significant accident? Maybe a bruise falling off the bench seat…

When she looked forward, she found Ralph was looking at her.

“What do you think, miss? Should I punish them?”

The coachman and his two knight supporters blustered.

“Why are you asking her, captain?!”

“She’s just a child! How can she properly assess the situation?”

“Do your duty! You can’t let these roaches get away with-”

Ralph held up a hand. “Enough.”

Em studied their resentful glares. She’d thought it before, but now she really saw it. No one liked that Ralph was in charge. Or, rather, there was mixed feelings about it within the group. Most of them didn’t care but some of them were barely hiding their hostility.

And they obviously didn’t like that he again turned to Em.

“Well, miss? What do you think?”

Em frowned and crossed her arms. This dream was nonsense, anyway. She didn’t have to pretend to agree with social norms or anything, right? Maybe if she acted out a little now, she could relieve some of the tension she’d been feeling for weeks.

So she strode up to the kneeling man and surprised everyone by crouching.

“What’s her name?”

The man jerked his head. Muscles still tensing and untensing in his jaw. But now he had Em’s face really close to his, and he made a visible effort to relax.

“Laisha. Miss.”

“She’s really cute. How old is she?”

He hesitated. “Three.”

Em nodded. That explained everything. What do you do with a three-year-old that was also half animal? If they wanted to run around, who was going to stop them for long? She patted the little girl’s head, and the child swiveled her face around to study Em.

Fearless. Those big, brown eyes were fearless.

“I bet she runs off all the time. And I bet she doesn’t see many carriages down this road. She doesn’t understand she could get hurt, huh?”

“No… miss. I mean, yes, miss.”

Stolen novel; please report.

The man shot a confused look around at the looming adults and dropped his chin. Trying to appear submissive. Em could sense there was no real submission in him, but he was doing his best to cover it up.

Probably for the sake of the child.

“Do you live around here, sir?”

Hesitate. “Yes. Just over that hill, miss.” Pause. His tone turned a tch bitter. “My master checks on my work, but otherwise I’m allowed to live out here.”

Without supervision, he meant.

“Who’s your master?” Ralph asked. Arms crossed and listening.

The man’s hands trembled, and the child squirmed even more. There wasn’t fear in his trembling. He was angry.

“Avery Sucket.”

Em almost laughed. Suck it. Hahahaha! She swallowed the laugh as she looked at Ralph. Who was frowning.

“Sucket,” he muttered darkly. Apparently he not only knew who that person was, but he also didn’t like the man.

Again, he looked at Em.

Waiting for her call.

“Miss, if I may,” said one of the hovering knights. “What you should do is punish these rogues and this Sucket person. For allowing the animals to run around wild.”

The Lycan adult couldn’t take it anymore.

He growled, and bared teeth that were suddenly very pointed. Glaring at the knight who had just spoken.

“Enough.” Em stood up. Making a show of brushing off her dress. “Laisha is just a child who doesn’t know any better. And this Lycan is probably busy with all the demands being made on him. Too busy to watch a baby. We will ignore the incident. Everyone get back to your post.”

Ralph swallowed a smile as he bowed to her.

“You all heard the miss’s command.”

“But, captain-!”

“Tyson, I’ve been looking for an excuse to exchange you to another knightage. Do you want me to take the opportunity now?”

The oldest of the two knights openly glared at Ralph. Grinding his teeth. Then he bowed to Em, turned, and marched away.

Ralph escorted Em back to the carriage and handed her up.

“Well done, miss. Your brother would be proud.”

Em gave him a puzzled look. “He would be?”

Ralph smiled. “Yes.”

Then he closed the door with a snap, and the carriage started moving.

Flint would be proud of her? For what? For taking charge of the situation?

But that was Ralph’s doing. No one would have listened to her if the knight in charge hadn’t insisted. She was fairly certain the other two knights would have escorted her back to the carriage and then dealt with the situation the way they wanted to.

Still, she was glad she’d gotten out.

Laisha really had been super cute. For the last fifteen minutes before lunch, Em tried to guess what animal the two were. Laisha’s tail was fluffy and the ears pointed. Maybe a fox?

And if she was a fox, was the man a fox, too?

She wished she could’ve asked the hold the little girl.

But that seemed too close to thinking of the child as an animal. Gads! Why did navigating species and national relations have to be so difficult and touchy?! She just thought the girl was cute!

Em pouted.

Stupid adult stuff! They’re supposed to be the grown-ups!

She started.

There she went again. For that instant, she felt the difference. She’d slipped into being and feeling like an eleven-year-old instead of eighteen. Well, almost eighteen.

It was surreal.

And disturbing.

Em was disappearing. And it scared her.

At this rate, she’ll wake up in the hospital and be treated like someone with alzheimers. Her memory and behavior regressed to childhood.

She groaned.

“Are you alright, miss?”

“I’m fine, Tracy.”

Em glared out the window and clenched her fists in her lap.

Just fine.

***

He was just sitting there. Eyes closed, legs crossed and palms up on his knees. Classic meditation stance. Though Em didn’t know how anyone could sit with their back straight like that for so long.

Well, maybe she did. Emmaline had much better posture than Em ever did.

His hands were badly blistered and showed signs of recent bleeding. There were also bruises, big black and blue ones, on his shirtless torso and arms.

Delighted with an opportunity to make contact, Em touched his palm. Not feeling it but feeding her golden thread into it.

“Don’t do that.”

He didn’t open his eyes.

“Why not?” Em argued. Pouting.

She waited, but he didn’t reply. So he still couldn’t see or hear her. How annoying! Part of her hoped that with the initial contact, the dream would magically stop following its own rules and she could interact with him.

Argh!

Being an observer was so frustrating!

With a pout, she touched his other palm and defiantly watched the blisters shrivel and vanish on this one as well.

“You’re frustrated.”

Em started, and the boy smiled. Eyes still closed.

“And I just surprised you, didn’t I?”

He had a beautiful smile. Even if Em wasn’t struggling not to feel like an eleven-year-old, she still would have thought he had a beautiful smile. One that matched his pretty face.

Though her seventeen, almost eighteen-year-old self would never have admitted that she could find a younger boy’s smile attractive.

He wasn’t that much younger… though as Emmaline he was technically older…

It was confusing.

She flushed, and the boy wrinkled his forehead.

“I’m not sure I understand those emotions… there, now you’re embarrassed. I got that one.”

More than embarrassed. She was mortified! How much worse would it have been if he’d known what she was thinking?!

To distract both of them, she touched his shoulder.

She’d barely started a new golden thread when he pulled his shoulder away from her fingers.

“Please, don’t.”

She pouted. If he can feel her emotions, was there a way to project them? She thought about how she pushed mana into things. An image in her head. So she imagined her emotions in the shapes of sickly green ribbons then pushed them at him.

It must’ve worked because he flinched.

“That came through very strong. You’re upset. Because I’m asking you not to help me?”

She pushed again.

“If you help me, they’ll notice.”

She paused. They’ll notice? Did he mean…?

“If they think I have some sort of super Lycan power to regenerate, they’ll make it harder.”

Oh.

She hadn’t thought of that.

Disappointed. Sad. She pushed those emotions, imagining sky blue and gray ribbons.

His smile had faded a long time ago, and it just got sadder as he felt her projections.

“Thank you, Angel. For caring.” He lowered his voice. “It means a lot.”

Angel? That again? She wasn’t trying to project this time, but he felt her amusement, anyway. He wrinkled his forehead and opened his mouth to respond...

When the door suddenly slammed open. Em and Prince both jumped.

“You!”

Prince rolled to his feet in a crouched position. Warily watching the furious newcomer.

“I lost today because of you, you little wretch! What trick did you play?”