#vhasshal

She nodded, fighting a fresh wave of tears. “I saw them...when...”

“S’alright. Don’t force yerself. Just take deep breaths and talk when yer good and ready, eh?”

After a moment, she had regained enough composure to begin to explain just how she had managed to come across the catacombs.  

“Oh, Dumplin’. No need t’be scared of some dusty old bones,” Yale assured her. “The dead can’t hurt ya.”  

“But...”

“Probably been there since the castle was first built thousands of years ago. This place has been destroyed and rebuilt and switched hands so many times over the centuries I wouldn’t be surprised t’know it use to be a human castle. Someone had t’ave built them tunnels after all.”

“Yale...” she said quietly. She was so afraid to say it out loud. “They spoke to me...”

He blinked in confusion and seemed to have trouble understanding exactly what she was trying to say. “The...bones?”

“I’m not crazy...” she sobbed, feeling the shame and fear of not being believed, but Yale hurriedly hushed her.  

“Nah, nah. I believe ya!” he assured her, bending his head lower as if to show her his grinning face. “Just...never heard of bones talkin’ before.”  

He watched her for a moment, studying her face. “Ya tell Maevis about it?”

She shook her heard as she wiped the moisture from her face with the collar of her smock.

“Just you...”

“Just me?” Yale asked pleasantly surprised. “Well, don’t that make me feel special.”  

She could not help but smile at that and it was glorious how it seemed to break apart the heavy stone that seemed to have lodged inside her stomach. The welling of emotion seemed to be drying up and she began to feel a little more in control of herself.  

“S’ what did they say?” he asked, propping his head up in his hand. “These chatty bones.”  

“I couldn’t understand them at first,” she said. “But they were saying...the prophecy about the King? The one that… why everyone calls him the Gold King...”

Yale looked incredulous and just a bit disappointed. “That’s...odd. I would’ve thought they’d have something a little more interestin’ to say stead of that old thing.”

“But in my dream...the nightmare, I mean...” she said. “It said...he said that someone could see me and was coming...”  

“Hm,” Yale pondered that, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “That what has ya scared, eh? Something from the dark’s gonna come after ya?”

"I don’t know...maybe...”

“Well,” said the young giant. “I’ll say this. You’ve had a rough go of it fer as young as ya are. I’m not gonna tell ya yer wrong to be scared, ‘cause if I were ya, I’d be terrified all the time. But if ya can believe anything, ya can believe me in this…"

He pinched her face gently between two fingers. “I ain’t gonna let anything bad happen to ya.”  

She did believe him, but even that wasn’t enough to fully erase the questions and concerns. As though sensing her doubt, he squished her face lightly and despite her somber mood,

Nenani could not keep the giggle from escaping. Yale hummed, satisfied.  

“Have I ever told you about my family or how I started here?” he asked. Nenani shook her head, still smiling, as she pushed his fingers away. He gave her no paused and scooped her up then settled into his bunk himself. One he made himself comfortable, he sat her down on one of his bent knees. “Well, there’s me Mum. Dad passed some years ago when I was small, around yer age. I’m the oldest and only son and then there’re m’ sisters. I’ve got six younger sisters, lass. Six! Lots of hungry lil’uns running round, gettin’ into scapes and pullin’ hair. I had t’be there fer ‘im when I was still a babe myself.”  

Yale paused, lost in thought, and then seemed to snap back to attention. He smiled warmly at her. “And ya remind me a whole lot of ‘em. Th’way they were back then. Suppose that might be why I took such a likin’ t’ya right after I first caught ya.”

He poked her in the belly, grinning when he was able to weasel another giggle from her.

“It was real rough after dad died. Real tough. Mum and me were at it alone just the two of us fer a long while, just trying to keep food in the house and a fire lit. I...didn’t handle it well. Started stealin’ and being a lil shit and makin’ hard fer Mum.” He paused to take a long rejuvenating breath. “I know how hard life can get when ya don’t have just one of yer folks around and had I lost Mum too...I don’t know what I’d done. I was a mess back then. Worried Mum sick that I’d end up arrested or worse. So she got me a job here as a tenderfoot under Farris since he had a reputation fer straightenin’ out snot nosed hooligans like me. M’first day I called Farris fat and he punched me in the face.”

Seeing Nenani’s incredulous expression, Yale laughed. “Oh yeh, I did. It took some time, but he managed to straighten me out right. Hatin’ him fer it fer a while too. But once he saw that I wasn’t entirely hopeless and actually had a brain, he made me his assistant and started teachin’ me about the spices and plants. Gave me responsibilities. A purpose. A direction t’my life that I didn’t have before. And in a lot of ways he saved m’life too. And m’family’s. S’why he call yell and scream and curse at me all he wants all day long and I’ll still be singin’ his praises till the day I’m six feet under the dirt. He made me family.”

“...but don’t you miss your Mom and sisters?”

“A’course! Oh, I write to’ em when I can,” Yale said. “Four of m’sisters are married with lil’uns of their own now. I try to visit ‘em just before th’ winter solstice, but I haven’t been in a long while. Last letter I wrote t’my Mum was just after you came to us actually. Wanna know what she said?”

“What?”

“Well, first she scolded me fer makin’ ya think we were gonna eat ya and makin’ ya cry, but then she also reminded me to remember what it was like right after Dad passed and all that hurt I had inside and how scared I was. She said imagine if ya were one of my lil’ sisters goin’ through all what ya were and to make ya feel like ya had a safe place to just be to get through that hurt.”  

He smiled sadly at her and for a moment, he looked much older than he was and she could see the faint traces of his own trauma etched into the lines of his face.  

“Now, I know we ain’t ya blood family and maybe we’re not the best role models fer a wee lass, but I think we’re an alright substitution. We do in a pinch, eh?”

Nenani belatedly realized she was crying again, but the fuel that was feeding the tears was an entirely different emotion. “So ya don’t need to be scared no more.”    

Gingerly, Yale wiped her cheeks with a corner of his apron. His smile was so comforting to Nenani that she could feel the last flecks of her night terror dissipating and leaving her with a solid sense of warmth and security. Wordlessly, Yale plucked her up again and settled down against his pillow before placing her on his chest and draping one hand over her shoulders and back, rubbing lightly. He began to sing…

Far away in the blue hill valley

Therein lies a weeping willow tree

Its bark is silver  

and the leaves are golden

But I care for none of these

Don’t cry my darling

For I am here with you

Though you can no longer see me

I’ll be with you

In the blue hill valley

Sleeping with you  

Underneath that weeping willow tree

…………………………………………..

When she woke the next morning, light was spilling through the open curtain to the barracks and she was confused to find that she was all alone. All around her, the other bunks were empty with clear evidence that they had been slept in, but no giants. She found it very odd that she had not been awoken with the rest of them, but as she thought about it further, she decided not to question it and enjoy the relative quiet and comfortable place on Yale’s pillow. However, just as she was drifting back to sleep, the light from the kitchens flickered and she opened her eyes to see Farris standing next to the bed, looking down at her with an amused smirk.  

“Enjoy yer pitty sleep, Dumplin’?” he asked. She stretched and tried to bury herself further into plush bedding while making an incoherent mewling sound that translated roughly to ‘I still wanna sleep’. Farris laughed and slapped the wooden support of the bunk above. “Yer burnin’ the mornin’ away, lass. C’mon, up with ya. Yer with me today.”  

She mumbled something in reply, but her words muffled by the pillow.  

“Well, suit yerself,” Farris replied, walking back through the curtains and yelling back to her, “Ya just wont be gettin’ any breakfast then.”  

Nenani pushed herself upright, strands of wild frizzled hair draping over her face and she hollered back. “No! Wait! I want breakfast!”

Nenani rolled down the pillow and hastily clambered down the side of the bunk and stopped just outside the barracks entryway where Farris’s boots blocked her path. He looked down at her expectantly and raised an eyebrow. “Yer lookin’ a lil’ bushy there, lil’un.”

Nenani ran her hands over her head and tried to brush down her wild hair. She had not braided it the day before as she normally did to keep it neat as Lolly had shown her, and having slept with it unbound had left her with quite a mane. Farris watched her try to tame her hair for a moment before shaking his head and bending down, crooking his finger at her and trying not to laugh. “C’mon, lass. Ya can try and manage that thing over yer porridge.”

Farris sat her on the long table with a small helping of porridge and handed a note off to a footman before disappearing into the spice pantry. Kol and Quinn were in the throws of the last big push for the morning’s baking and had no time for morning greetings as servants and footmen flooded in to collect their offerings onto trays and into baskets for the upstairs tables. Herit was on pit duty and still wore his torn shirt, now repaired, but not very well.  

“Feeling better?” he asked, smiling at her despite the arduousness of his task.

“Yeah, a lot,” she replied, flushing a little in embarrassment. “It was just a nightmare. Sorry for screaming...”

“I had real bad nightmare once,” Herit told her. “I dreamed that m’ old Gran visited me here and she started yelling at me fer not puttin’ enough sultanas in the scones like she’d taught me,” he said. “Then she turned into Farris, but still had on Gran’s frock and I ended up brunin’ the scones.”  

Nenani snorted into her porridge, which Herit deemed a victory, but his smug grin dropped as soon as Farris exited the spice pantry. The spice master pinned the younger Vhasshalan with a warning eye. “I don’t wanna be hearin’ nothin’ about me wearin’ yer Nan’s frock again, Herit.”

“Aye, boss.”

“Good lad. Keep that spit going now, no slackin’. It’ll put some strength into them beans ya call arms.”  

Red in the face with both embarrassment and exertion, Herit turned his attention back to turning the iron handle of the spit. A fat boar, just barely showing any color, rotated slowly over the fire. Nenani ate her breakfast, watching the comings and goings of the kitchen in full swing. When no one was looking, Kol ran over and slipped her a piece of sweet roll and then gave the remaining portion to Herit, who gratefully stuffed it into his mouth. When Farris walked back into the main kitchen, the young giant hurriedly began to turn the spit faster to make it appear that nothing was amiss while trying to quickly chew and swallow.  

Farris had began to organized a selection of various cloth covered pots and small satchels filled with herbs, placing the lot of them in a basket. Once satisfied,  he set a kettle onto to the fire and then took a moment to check the rotating boar. He hummed disapprovingly and turned his head to bark at Herit that he was turning too fast.  

“Yer gonna drop dead at that pace,” he warned. “Steady, boy.”

“Avery makes this look so easy...” Herit grunted, wincing as he went. “No wonder he’s built like a bull.”  

“Let that be a lesson to put ya off from fightin’ in my kitchen,” Farris laughed. “Think about yer sore arms next time ya get the urge to throw a punch.”

“What’s this about fighting?” Nenani’s head turned at hearing the familiar female voice and she smiled brightly as Lolly stepped down from the servants stairway and into the kitchen.  

“Nothing, lass,” Farris assured her. “The tenderfoots got into it last night. Gjerk’s got a busted lip, but that’d be the worst of it.”  

Lolly looked Herit up and down with a critical eye. She did not seem impressed. “Brawling at your age? Really. Your mother would swat you.”

“Already did it fer her,” Farris quipped proudly. “Pit duty fer that one today, then Gjerk’s turn tomorrow. A few hours turnin’ a boar will do the trick nicely.”  

“I suppose it would,” Lolly said approvingly before turning her attention to Nenani who was standing near the edge of the table. She crouched down, smiling brightly and gently took each of Nenani’s hands in hers, playfully swinging them to and fro. “But I’ve come to check on this one. How are you, my darling?”

“I’m doing good,” Nenani said. She had not seen Lolly very much at all since first arriving in Vhasshal as her duties kept her very busy and it made her that much happier to see her again. Lolly and the other lady servants had been so charitable to her and she had never forgotten that kindness. Lolly laughed lightly, turning her attention to Nenani’s wild mane of unkempt hair. “What are we going to do with all this? Haven’t you been keeping it tied up like I taught you?”  

“I have, I promise,” she assured Lolly. “But I didn’t yesterday. I...forgot.”  

“She had quite th’adventure yesterday,” Farris added. “Suppose ya heard all about the Ibronian.”

“Creag?” Lolly asked, saying his name almost like a curse. She scowled at the mentioning of it as though it left a sour and unpleasant taste in her mouth. “Yes, I am regretfully very familiar with his person.”

“S’ya hear about him tyrin’ t’kill Jae, then?”

“I did,” Lolly said, looking genuinely concerned. A stark contrast to how Nenani recalled the last time she had spoken about the King’s ward. “He isn’t hurt is he?”

“Nah, the brat’s still in one piece,” Farris assured her. He jerked his head down in gesture towards Nenani. “That one was with ‘im when the Ibrinoan went after ‘im though.”  

Lolly’s eyes grew wide.  

“What? No!” Lolly turned her attention back to Nenani, seeming to be searching for some evidence of injury or trauma. “He didn’t hurt you, did he? Ah! That bastard, I could skin him.”

“Oh, ho-ho!” Farris laughed, eyes bright with mirth at Lolly’s verbal slippage.  “Language, lass!”

“Oh, shut it, Farris. I’m sure she’s heard far worse down here with you lot.”

“Oh, aye,” he agreed. “That she has. But narry ya worry. He wasn’t interested in that one anyway. They’re both fine and unharmed. Rattled a bit maybe, but nothing more. Did manage to lose her marker though.”

“Oh, did she,” Nenani felt her face flush as Lolly hummed thoughtfully, scanning her over with a critical eye. “Well, I see you’ve gotten her a new one.”  

“Keral found her wanderin’ the halls alone,” Farris explained as he retold the story of the prior day’s escapades. He seemed to have been able to find the humor in it and didn’t seem to be at all angry and she was very grateful for that. “And ya know how he gets with ‘em.”

“Oh, you haven’t any standing this that defense,” Lolly reprimanded. “You’re just as terrible. You all had this one absolutely petrified. Took us over an hour to convince her she was safe and no one was actually going to eat her.”

Farris just shrugged noncommittally. He was not denying the accusation.  

“Best way to keep wayward humans from wandering onto the grounds is t’make ‘em too scared to even try,” he said. “’Course that was before I decided I’d keep her. Then she caught the reap.”  

Lolly’s eyes turned sad for a moment and she nodded knowingly.

“So it’s true then?” he asked her suddenly, bringing the topic back to Creag. “He’s bein’ sent off?”

“Yes,” she said. “He was escorted to the border this morning.”

“Suppose the Queen’s not too happy about that.”

“It was her idea,” Lolly replied. “His majesty was going to have him serve a small sentence and return back to her service, but she recommended that he be sent back home.”  

“Really? Well, I find that shockin’.”

“I know what people have been saying about her. And while I don’t think she has not been deserving of some of it, Queen Rosanna is making an effort to conform to our ways.”  

“The humans ya mean.”

“Yes. She’s been very receptive to my and the other ladies advice when we speak of their virtues. The war is over. These people are broken and lost and mean no harm to us. I think we finally began to get through to her and I believe that might have been what angered Creag into action.”

“That’s why he went after Jae? ‘Cause he was pissed his mistress might be changin’ her tune?”

“I don’t know this for a fact,” Lolly replied. “But the day before yesterday was when I suggested she try and make amends with Jae or at the very least allow him to properly apologize for his behavior. As a good faith gesture to the King at the very least. His majesty has been worried that Jae hasn’t come to see him in so long. Since the wedding, I believe. She must have noticed her new husband was not happy about that. And then yesterday Creag did what he did. And now here we are speaking of it.”

Farris leaned against wall, humming contemplatively. “Hm.”

“I was actually hoping to speak with Jae,” Lolly said, craning her head looking about the room. “He is here is he not?”

“Aye,” Farris replied with a nod. “King’s orders were to keep ‘im down here till he collected the brat himself. Bart’s puttin’ ‘im to some weed pullin’ out in the yard. Gotta keep them little hands busy or they’ll find their own trouble.”  

“Ah, good. I will go to him later,” she said, running her fingers over the brush of Nenani’s hair. “For now, though, I think I need to fix this one’s hair before she starts attracting birds.”

“Attracting birds?” Nenani asked bewildered. Farris grinned at them both.  

“She’s sayin’ birds might wanna start buildin’ their nests in yer hair,” he chuckled. “If they haven’t already.”

Nenani opened her mouth to protest, but could not come up with an adequate response.  

“Hm,” Lolly mused, again studying the whole of Nenani’s person. “Maybe a bath first and a change of clothes. Farris, could I trouble you for-”

“Already ahead of ya, lass,” Farris replied, pulling the boiling kettle from the fire and setting it down atop a wooden trivet. “I’ve got a basin ready in the pantry and her spare clothes are in the chest on the shelf just there.”

Lolly nodded approvingly. She gathered Nenani up and tucked her into the crook of one arm and reached for the kettle with her free hand. “If I didn’t know any better, Farris, I’d say you’re starting to become quite good at this.”

“Ain’t nothing to knowin’ when someone needs a bath, lass,” he laughed.  

“I do not stink!” Nenani snapped, incredulous.  

Farris did not reply and Herit just laughed.  

…………………………………….

She had forgotten how nice a hot bath felt, especially as the weather was increasingly cold and rainy. The basin was quite large and its normally use was for pealing giant rhotas, which were just very large potatoes. So she had plenty of room to splash about and Lolly even indulged her and allowed her a few minutes of free play before getting down to the business of actually washing. Her hair, as Lolly warned her, was a beast to get washed and untangled. But at last, Lolly exited the spice pantry with a clean and brushed Nenani. Hair neatly plaited and tied.  

“I’ll talk with the girls about making you some more clothes,” she muttered as she rummaged through the small chest of clothes, all of which had been made by her and her fellow lady servants. “You’ll be growing out of these ones in no time. And a scarf too, I think. And some boots, as well. These slippers are starting to wear awfully thin and – oh! Jae there you are! I had hoped to...why are you all wet?”

Jae had wordlessly entered the kitchens, red faced and fuming. And completely soaked from his head to his toes. Out in the courtyard, Bart was hysterically laughing. Upon hearing Lolly, both Quinn and Kol glanced over and upon seeing the boy’s sorry state, they too let lose a bout of hearty laughter.  

“Yer lookin’ like a drowned rat!”

“Fuck off,” Jae growled.  

“What happened?” Nenani asked.  

“The gutter was clogged,” he growled, not really looking anyone in the face. “I unclogged it.”

“Are you alright?” she asked.  

“No,” Jae replied. “Not really...”

Jae leaped easily down the few steps and into the kitchen proper and made a bee line towards the hearth, ostensibly to warm himself up. Lolly stopped him, blocking his path with her foot.  

“You need to change out of those clothes, young man. You’ll catch sick.”

“Fantastic,” Jae replied flatly, glaring up at the large woman. “But it doesn’t matter anyway since I haven’t any spare clothes.”

“You have plenty in your room,” Lolly replied, returning his glare. “You remember, don’t you? Your room? The one you haven’t even seen in weeks?”

“Well I can’t get to them now,” Jae snapped, raising his voice and becoming visibly agitated. “Warren says I can’t leave till he says so. So here I’m staying. In wet clothes. Because fuck it!”

“Don’t take that tone with me, son,” Lolly shook her head disapprovingly. “What has gotten into you of late? You disappear for weeks at a time and when you do show up you’re in the Library and you don’t speak to anyone-”

“You mean I don’t speak to you,” he spat.  

“Or the King,” Lolly spat back. “Do you have any idea just how worried he’s been?”

“Obviously not enough to actually come and find me!” Jae yelled angrily, his voice breaking. “You tell me that I’m wrong for not going to him? Why did he never come to check to see if I was okay? Because I’m the joke. Oh let’s have a big laugh at Jae! Fucking idiot can’t do anything right. It’s so funny how he got drunk and spilled gravy on the Queen! So embarrassing for him. Let’s laugh at the poor fucking orphan boy who can’t even sleep in his own damn room anymore because some boulder headed lunatic thinks I’m somehow going to kill Vhasshalan’s unborn heir. Isn’t that fucking hilarious!”

No one was laughing anymore and Herit’s winding of the spit had slowed almost to a stop. Both Quinn and Kol were frozen and staring, bowls of dough stopped mid-knead. From the outside courtyard, Yale and Avery poked their heads inside, curious at the commotion.  

“Jae,” Lolly said softly, her words painted with faint concern. “None of that is true...”

“You wanna know why I spend so much time up in the tower with Barnaby and Maevis?” he asked, breathless with emotion and anger and pain. “BECAUSE THEY DON’T MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I’ A FUCKING IDIOT!”

“Alright,” Farris snapped, appearing from behind Lolly. He glowered down at the human boy and reached down to sweep Jae up in his two calloused hands, not very gently either. “That’s enough of yer bellyaching, ya lil’shit.”

Jae was not happy at all as he was lifted off of the ground and he struggled violently, tears blurring his vision. “Farris, I swear to the fucking Gods if you don’t put me down right now-!”  

Farris deftly grasped the boy’s face between his fingers, forcing him to maintain eye contact. “You’ll be quiet is what yer gonna be, boy. Do you understand me?”

Jae’s breathed hard through his nose, nostrils flaring. He glared into the kitchen master’s face, but did not say anything. Farris brought his face closer to Jae’s and lowered his voice in warning. “I said...do you understand?”

Jae jerked his head in something akin to a nod. Satisfied, Farris tucked Jae under one arm and turned to Lolly. “We don’t have anything fer ‘im to change into. Ya mind fetchin’ him something, lass?”  

Lolly looked as though she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. She spared one sad glance towards Jae before nodding to Farris. “I can do that. I won’t be long.”

As Lolly turned to rush up the servants entrance stair well, Farris turned and disappeared into the spice pantry and closed the door behind him.

………………………….

Nenani sat quietly on the table, staring at the green door and worried. Since she first met Jae, she had sensed a sadness about him, hidden under his jokes and laughter. And it made her incredibly sad to know her friend had been hurting and not once had she tried to help him.

She was a terrible friend and it made her feel wretched.  

“Cheer up, Dumplin’,” Yale told her as he took an empty seat near her. “Jae will be fine.”

“He was really sad,” Nenani answered back without looking away from the green door. Her dejected and sad frown gave Yale pause, and he reached out nudged her shoulder. When she turned her doleful eyes to him, he sighed.  

“Remember what I told ya last night?” he asked her. She nodded. “Well, he’s going through that hurt too. Best thing ya can do fer ‘im to keep being his friend, eh? He thinks just ‘cause we give ‘im a hard time means we ain’t ‘is friends, but it ain’t true. Don’t gotta be ‘round here long before ya realize we haze all the tenderfoots. He’s just growin’ up and confused. Old enough to know some things and too young to know anything else. He ain’t the same lil’ urchin the King dragged back from the moors all them years ago. When ya get t’be around his age you’ll understand. The time between being a kid and becoming an adult is really hard and confusing.”

“...will I be that angry?” she asked, not entirely following.  

“I’m ain’t no prophet,” Yale shrugged. “But maybe. Ya both have a lot in common, losing yer folks young. That pain can make ya real angry if ya don’t know what t’do with it.”

She did not find that to be much consolation, but she nodded anyway. Lolly returned a little over twenty minutes later with a small bundle and without any greetings to the others, she went straight for the green door and knocked lightly.  

“It’s me, Farris,” she said. “I have his clothes.”  

The door opened a crack and there were some words exchanged that were too quiet for anyone else to hear. Finally, Lolly nodded and turned back towards the stairway as the green door closed shut once more.  

Yale’s attempt at distraction was to have Nenani name all the herbs and vegetables as he went about his work prepping for the afternoon luncheon. Avery made himself a nuisance of himself by walking near their work table every so often and try to convince her that she was mispronouncing the names.  

“It’s not pars-lee, lass. It’s pear-shly.”

“No it’s not,” she said as he walked away. “Pars-lee.”

“Pear-shly!” he yelled back with a cheeky grin.  

He would repeat the exercise whenever he walked by and over the course of a half hour, its scope extended beyond just the items that they were working with to any random fruit, herb, or vegetable. Yale was no help and allowed the torment, finding it too amusing.  

“Tay-mat-a,” Avery quipped as he walked by with a basket of venison heads to be boiled down, heading out into the courtyard.    

“Tomato!” Nenani yelled back at him.  

Avery poked his head back inside and answered back, “Poy-ta-ta!”

“POTATO!”  

From her vantage point, she could just see Avery’s back as he turned towards the courtyard, but he stopped and turned completely around, hurrying back into the kitchen. He plopped his basket of deer heads onto a counter and peeked back through the archway.  

Yale stared at his fellow cook bewildered. “What’s all this?”

“The King’s in the courtyard,” Avery replied in a hushed whisper.  

Yale started. “What now?”

“The King!” Avery turned to look at Yale with fervent eyes, a mixture of excitement and confusion. “He’s in the yard right now!”

Yale was immediately on his feet and rushed to the archway, peeking out curiously. Nenani saw every muscle in the black haired giant’s body stiffen.  

“Oh, fuck. He is.”

“I wasn’t lying!” Avery protested, still in a hushed whisper.  

“Well so much’a what comes outta yer gob is rubbish,” Yale countered. “I had t’make sure.”

“Ah, go fuck yerself, Yale.”

“Not in front of the King, I ain’t!”  

Avery looked like he wanted stay mad, but his scowl broke and he snickered. Something outside caught both their attentions and they scrambled away from the doorway and stood stiffly to the side. A Vhasshalan guard, dressed in the same type of boiled leather armor as captain Rheil, walked through. He scanned the kitchen, eyes falling to all persons inside.  

“Over here please, gentleman,” he said to Avery and Yale, gesturing with a jerk of his head for them to stand off to the side and away from the door. Both cooks moved with alacrity and stood straight and stiff. He pointed to Herit. “You, over here too.”

Herit looked panicked. “B-but...but I can’t stop spinning the spit sir, it’ll burn!”

“I’m not going to repeat myself, lad.”

Poor Herit was shaking, looking between the guard and the green door and knowing very well what Farris would have to say of he saw Herit walk away from pit duty. Guard's orders or none. With extreme reluctance, Herit stepped away and moved to stand next to Avery and Yale. The guard spotted Nenani on the table and did a double take, blinking. “Ah...uh, y-you’re fine there, human.”

“Oh...okay,” she replied awkwardly. There wasn’t many places she would have been able to go in any case. She couldn’t climb table legs like Jae.  

“William, please,” said King Warren as he stepped into the kitchen. The air seemed thinner suddenly as everyone seemed to breath in all at once. He was much as Nenani remembered him, but he was dressed more formally than she had ever seen and his hair had actually been pulled back into a plait. “These men have plenty to do without us interrupting them. Please, continue as you were. I don’t wish to distract you from your duties.”  

The King nodded to each of the kitchen staff present and he eyes fell to Nenani and he smiled warmly. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well, little ma’am. I do hope these fine fellows have been taking good care of you.”

All of a sudden, Nenani lost all sense of what she should be doing with her hands and her face felt hot. She nodded.  

“A-are you here to see Jae?” She asked, hoping she wasn’t stepping out of line. She suddenly realized she had not curtsied. Did she need to curtsy? How did one curtsy again?

“I am,” he replied with no inflection of irritation. “I’ve come to collect him, actually.”  

There was a part of her that was aware that she was being impertinent and she really just should remain silent, but she decided it was worth the risk. “He’s been really sad. But he won’t say it. And he’s really angry too, because he’s hurting. I think...I think he misses how things were before the wedding. Uh, your majesty.”  

She bobbed awkwardly in a pathetic attempt at a curtsy. Her heart thrummed alarmingly in her chest, hoping she had not insulted the King or spoke out of turn. But the King did not look angry at all. He looked sad in the same way she had seen Jae look sad.  

“Thank you,” he told her, voice gentle and he sounded sincere. “Thank you for taking care of him. He is very dear to me.”  

“You should tell him,” she said. “It would mean more if you told him.”

The King nodded thankfully before turning his attention to the green door. As though sensing, his Majesty’s presence, Farris pushed the door open and stepped through. He bent down in a shallow bow to King Warren. No words were spoken as the King walked to the door, giving Farris a nod before entering. Farris closed the door behind the monarch and stepped aside as the guard took post in front. The kitchen master gave the guard a once over and snorted as he moved away. A glance to his left and upon seeing the boar over the fire standing still, jerked his head towards Herit who was decidedly NOT at the hearth.  

“GET YER ARSE BACK ON THAT SPIT!”  

Herit leaped back to his place and began to spin in earnest, sweating and panicked. “S-sorry!”

Farris loomed over poor Herit, laying into him, but Nenani’s attention was drawn away as she was suddenly swept up and carried out through the archway.  

“W-what?” Nenani looked up to see Avery’s face. He grinned down at her.  

“Got a job fer ya, Dumplin’,” he told her.  

“What job?” she asked, frowning with suspicion. He walked along the side of the wall to a small window set near the ground. It was the window that looked into the spice pantry. He sat her down carefully and stepped back. She looked at him confused. “What?”

“See what the King’s sayin’,” he whispered. “Yer small enough no one’s gonna notice ya.”

“I-I don’t wanna get in trouble!” She replied, matching his hushed whisper.  

“Ya wont!” he assured her before slipping back inside the kitchens.  

She stared incredulously at the spot where Avery had been and then looked around the courtyard to find it quite empty. Bart and Gjerk were no where to be seen and neither was anyone else. Her ears prickled as she picked up the faint sound of the King’s voice and she turned to the window. It was dirty and obscured by weeds. Careful and trying not to make a sounds, she knelt down near the edge of the window and listened.  

“Are you going to speak to me at all?” the King asked.  

She wiped some of the dirt from the window and through it, she could see Jae sitting next to the basin, his hair wet, but now dressed in dry clothing. His eyes were red as though he had been crying.  

“Jae, I know you’ve been avoiding me these last weeks. But this silence is not helping. I cannot fix if I do not know what is wrong.”

“I just want to be left alone,” Jae replied, his voice raw. “I know your busy.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t make time for you. Gods above, I rely on you to give me an excuse not to have to speak with Lord Eldherst. I’ve had to sit through seventeen meetings with that old fart. He is convinced that the south moor would be the perfect spot to erect the new armory.”  

Jae’s morose face cracked a smile. “Heh. Serves you right.”  

The King seemed to take heart in his ward’s small smile. “Please tell me what you want of me.”  

Jae’s smile faded and he looked down at his feet, pained. “I don’t need anything from you that you’ve not already given me. I know...I know I’ve been a brat. I haven’t exactly made this marriage thing easy for you and I’m sorry for what happened at the wedding. I thought it would be easier for me to just...not be around while you and the Queen...y’know. Got to know each other?”  

The King looked tired and as Jae spoke, he seemed to wilt. “Rosanna does not hate you, Jae, if that what you fear. She wants a chance to apologize to you properly.”  

“Why? What does she have to apologize for?”

“For driving you away. From me.” Jae had spent most of the conversation staring at his feet, but upon hearing that, he looked up. “You are very dear to me, Jae. I owe you so much that I could never put into words and will be in debt to you for the rest of my life.”

“You don’t owe me anything Warren,” Jae snapped. “I was gonna die out there if you hadn’t found me. You took me in, clothed and fed me, you even taught me to read! I don’t want to be a burden or to get in the way. I don’t feel like there’s a place for me here anymore. So, it’s just easier this way.”

The King crouched down so as to be eye level with the human. “Why would you ever think you’re in the way?”

“You’re gonna have a kid soon,” Jae replied, scrubbing fiercely at his leaking eyes. “There isn’t a place for me by your side anymore. I...I k-know I’m not...I’m not your son, so...”

Jae’s words broke and he shook with real effort to hold back his emotions. King Warren looked awestruck and horrified. Then without a word, he reached out his arms and wrapped them around Jae, drawing the sobbing youth into him and tucking him into the crook of his shoulder.    

“What would make you ever believe that?” the King demanded. “Of course you are my son. From the moment we left those moors, I took on that mantle and I will never betray that vow. You are my son, Jae. And I love you dearly.”  

Jae’s eyes were wide and he shook as he began to cry and hiccup. His face disappeared as he buried it into the King’s shoulder.    

“Of course you are, you daft boy!” the king answered, though Nenani did not hear the question. She felt her cheeks and there were wet. But she was not sad. She felt happy and relieved and looked down at the King of Vhasshal, an imposing giant with the power of an entire kingdom behind him. And there was Jae. A human. Small and penniless. And she felt so happy for them.

The back of her shirt was abruptly yanked upwards and she was swept up from her spot on the ground and lifted high into the air. A warn calloused hand wrapped around her middle and she found herself the focus of a very unamused Farris. “Just what in seven hells d’ya think yer doin’?”

“Nothing...” she replied meekly.  

“Nothing,” he echoed back, clearly seeing through her. “’Nothing’ she says. First yer caught stealin’ from th’ King and now I catch ya spyin’ on ‘im? Yer sure determined to see them dungeons, ain’t ya, Dumplin’?”

“No!” she said, worried now. “I didn’t...I wasn’t! It...it was Avery’s idea!”

He gave her the already measured out ingredients and had her simply practice muddling them in the mortar, which was a hard enough task in and of itself. The stone pestle was heavy and she needed both hands to proper grasp it. She had only just been working at it a few minutes with Farris watching over her when his laugh broke her concentration. He was shaking his head and she furrowed her brows at him.

“This is hard!” she proclaimed defensively.

“Ah, thought it looked easy, did ye?”

“It’s really heavy...” she whined. “And you’re a lot stronger than I am...”

“Oi, yer not quitin’ on me are ye, gal?”

She frowned at him stubbornly. “No!”

He seemed pleased with her answer. “Good. Now keep at it,” he told her with a jerk of his head in an encouraging gesture. He left her then to her own work and with a stubborn determination, she pressed on. Once the flowers and ginger had been mashed to the consistency that Farris wanted, she scooped it out into bucket. After rinsing the bowl with some vinegar, she used the pestle to smash up the licorice root. It only needed to be broken open to proper steep later so it was not quite as arduousness. The jar of vinegar was as tall as she was and filled almost to the top. She had to climb onto an overturned ramekin to to be able to reach high enough to dump the ingredients. She watched the debris of the flowers and crushed ginger slowly float down while the licorice root dropped fairly fast and settled at the bottom. For something meant to make a person feel better, it sure smelled bad. The smell of ginger was not too awful, only that it was pungent and clung to her fingers, but she did not care at all for the smell of the licorice. When Farris returned to check on her, her held the jar up to the light and hummed approvingly. “Not terrible fer ya first go at it.”

He sealed the jar and put it away inside a chest with other similar jars. For the rest of the day, Farris had her working on more of the meadowseet tinctures until she was able to make it from start to finish on her own and only needed Farris to fill a jar with vinegar for her and seal it once it was done. Nenani found it oddly pleasant change of pace for Farris to actually be pleased by something she did rather than exasperated.

…………………………….

In the end, Farris declined to attend Gregis’s funeral, but sent his condolences and several gifts of foodstuffs with the attending Vhasshalan party as well as a message to the presumptive successor, Warrick.

“It’ll be a day or so before he sends any message back,” Farris was telling Bart. “I’m not sure how much Gregis shared with ‘im about the arrangements, so the sooner he’s up to speed the better.”

“When do you expect t’ be making another trip?”

“Next week at the earliest,” Farris answered. “Unless Keral hears anythin’ different, but he’s got a tick up ‘is arse about somethin’ else and hasn’t answered my last note.”

“Seems like they’ve been much quieter this year. Not as many. Might be a sign that they’re finally stoppin’.”

“Aye. Had ourselves a dozen or so this time last year. We’re only sittin’ on four or so now. Five if ya include the Dumplin’.”

Bart let out a breathy snort through his nose. “Wouldn’t count her in the lot. She came to us by basket, not the markets.”

“Not much difference,” Farris replied. “If they’d ‘a found her at any point during the journey, she wouldn’t be here right now. Could have very well ended up in that market.”

“Well, best be thankin’ whatever stars she was born under that it didn’t happen that way.”  

Farris nodded. “Believe me, Bart. I do.”

…………………….

By the morning Jae arrived to drag her on a tunnel exploration, Nenani had all but forgotten about the entire conversation they had regarding that very thing. She had just finished her ninth successful tincture when he suddenly popped up on the table next to her. He wasn’t wearing his fine clothing and instead had opted for his preferred outfit of trousers and a tunic. She jumped when his head suddenly popped up from the table’s edge and he loudly greeter her. “MORNING!”

“Ah!” the empty bucket she had been holding went flying and bounced several times before rolling off the side of the table. From the next prep table over, Avery was loudly laughing.

“You scared me!” she whirled on Jae as he climbed up, breathlessly laughing.

“Oh boy,” he said, brushing off the front of his shirt. “I really got you good.”

She threw a piece of licorice root at him and he turned away just as it hit his upper shoulder. He was still giggling like an idiot as she walked over to the edge of the table and looked down to see her bucket in the grass far below.  

“Forget it,” Jae told her. “Besides, we got tunnels to explore today, remember?”

She bristled, having done just that. Forget, that is.

“Can’t,” she replied simply. “I’m making tinctures.”

Jae looked over at her set up and tiled his head at her curiously. “Uh...why?”

“Farris gave me a job,” she replied proudly, sitting down next to her mortar and pestle and began to break meadowsweet into manageable pieces and dropping them into the bowl. He watched her for a moment as she ground the blossoms.

“He’s having you make heartburn tonic?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” Jae didn’t say anything else and just quietly sat down. Propping his head up in his hands, he watched her work and was quiet for several long moments. She glanced at him periodically, viewing him with deep suspicion. But he simply sat there, placid and still. Behind him, Nenani noticed Kol walking over with a bucket of water to fill up one of the cauldrons. His eyes briefly glanced their way, but he continued on with his work.

“So, how long will it take?” Jae asked finally. “Until you’re done, I mean.”

She shrugged noncommittally. “Until he tells me to stop.”

Her eyes caught sudden movement and she turned to see Kol standing behind Jae, a wicked smirk playing on his lips while Jae remained ever unaware. Jae opened his mouth to say something just as Kol slammed both of his hands down on either side of the boy and shouted, “MORNIN’!”

“SON-OF-A-!” Jae jumped and scrambling to his feet, but slipped and just ended up face flat on the table. Above him, Kol doubled over as he belly laughed himself to the point of not being able to breathe.

“Fuck you, Kol,” Jae said, making a rude gesture in the cook’s direction. “Just...fuck you.”

“Sorry, lad,” Kol said once he was able to breathe. “I couldn’t not...”

Jae pushed himself up onto his elbows and sighed. “Get all our jollies out?”

Kol smirked and put his finger to his lips in mock consideration. “Hm...not sure yet. Might be - AH!”

Farris smacked a hand across the back of Kol’s head as he walked up behind him. “Get back to it, Kol. Ye can pester the humans after ye done yer fuckin’ job.”

Jae did nothing to mute the very satisfied grin as Kol walked away, nursing his sore head. And then winced when Farris tapped him on the head, just hard enough to smart.  

“As fer you, lad,” Farris continued. “Won’t Donal be missin’ ya? Or ya shirkin’ yer new job already?”

“I’m not shirking anything,” Jae replied. “It’s my day off.”

Farris grunted. “Must be nice.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. Not my fault you never actually take yours. And don’t say you don’t have them, because I’ve seen your contract,” Jae said, pushing himself to his feet. “In any case, I’m hear to steal your ward for the day.”

Farris raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? And where might ya be stealin’ her off to?”

Jae grinned. “We’re gonna go look for dead people in the tunnels.”

The particular face that Farris made was one Nenani was not familiar with. He looked equal parts horrified, angry, and incredulous. “Yer fuckin’ what?”

Nenani buried her face in her hands, groaning. “Jae, it sounds bad when you say it like that.”

“And just what other fuckin’ ways are there fer ya to say that it don’t sound bad?” the giant demanded. “And what do ya mean by dead people in the tunnels?”

“That day she lost her marker?” Jae explained, sounding far too excited. “Yeah, she found some other tunnel and there was this room full of dead people. Like...graves. Old ones. Human. We’re gonna go find it.”

Farris pinned Nenani with a look. “And just when were ya gonna say anythin’ about this, hm?”

She squirmed under his gaze and when she didn’t answer him, he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gods piss on it...”

“So, can I borrow her for a bit?” Jae asked, his face pleading.

“So long as ya bring her back before sundown,” Farris replied gruffly and then pulled a slip of paper from his apron. He carefully rolled it up and then held it out to Jae. “And ya can be givin’ this to Maevis fer me while yer at it. Yer day off be damned.”

Jae eagerly reached out and grabbed the roll of parchment and tucked it under his arm, giving the spice master a lazy salute. “Can do, Farris.”

…………………………………………

Nenani regretted not speaking out to say that she was in fact very uninterested in trying to find the catacombs again. She was sure Farris would have told Jae to bugger off or something if she had said so. She really needed to learn to speak up more.

“After I drop this with Maevis,” Jae was saying. “I figured we could start near the tapestry you described and try to find the door you left from.”

“Okay,” she said. “But, just...if is it alright with you if we do find it that...that I don’t go in?”

Jae looked at her. “Uh, yeah. I guess. Why?”

She frowned and stared at the floor pensively. “They...kind of...sort of...spoke to me.”

Jae did not say anything and she could feel his eyes on her and she was beginning to feel real unease until at last he spoke. “Huh. That’s kind of neat. What did they say?”

“Huh? Oh,” she said, taken aback by his lack of surprise. “The gold prophecy. The one about the King.”

“So...you think you might have a bit of foresight then?” he asked her and then laughed. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t be foresight since it’s already happened. What makes you able to talk to dead people? Necromancy?”

“Why is it funny?”

“It’s because the gold prophecy is a joke,” he told her. “You either believe it wholeheartedly or think it’s complete bunk. Most folks I know tend think it’s bunk.”  

“I don’t even understand what it’s even saying.”

“It stars with ‘The river runs uphill to the dying songs of the fall of fools and Kings that tear flesh from bone and the crown from the mountain.’ That’s suppose to be about the murder of Prince Thadeus and the Blood King declaring war on Silvaara. The next bit is ‘Water runs red with fire and shall rise when the old blood runs new.’ The interpretation I’ve heard most about is that it’s about the battle of Riftside where the Fire Mages set the Daehil river on fire to stop the Vhasshal advancement. One of Warren’s brothers died there. The last part is ‘The flesh taken will be paid in blood and the dead walls will rise with gold.’ This one everyone seems to agree is about the Blood King being usurped and Warren taking the throne. And that’s why everyone calls him the Gold King. But never call him that to his face. He really doesn’t like it.”

“Why does he hate it so much?” she asked.

“Lots of reasons,” Jae replieed. “But I think he hates it because it reminds him of what his father and brothers did. They committed genocide and reinstated the act of eating humans. He hates it because even though they did all that terrible stuff, they were still his family and he still loved them. Probably still misses them too.”

A heavy silence fell between them as Nenani mulled over Jae’s words. She supposed it would really hard on someone to still love a person who did terrible things. It was probably really hard to mourn them. But her thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at the library. Upon entering, Nenani was greeted by the distinct smell of parchment and ink.

“Hey Barnaby!” Jae called as they began to climb the human stairs carved into the table’s center support that led up onto Barnaby’s workspace. “I’ve got a message for Maevis from Farris. Can I leave it with you?”

“Absolutely, my boy. Come on up!” came the somewhat muffled response from the archivist. They stepped onto the table top and made their way to where Barnaby was sitting at a human sized table and drinking a cup of tea. Belatedly, they realized he wasn’t alone. Another human was sitting with their backs to them, also enjoying a cup of tea. Suddenly Jae stopped and Nenani bumped into him.

“Oof, ah. Sorry,” she said and looking at Jae’s face, she frowned. “Uh...Jae?”

He was staring wide eyed at the stranger and Nenani glanced their way just as they turned around in their chair.

“M...Maevis?!” Jae asked incredulously. Nenani starred uncomprehending. The man who sat in the chair did look like Maevis. He wore the same maroon robes and his hands were gloved and he had the same round amiable face and brown hair. But...he was tiny! Well, tiny for a Vhasshalan. He was as tall as a human and had they never met before, Nenani would have never known he was actually a giant. Still with the rolled up note tucked under his arm, Jae ran over to the table to stop by Maevis’s side. The magician was grinning at Jae’s slack jaws expression. “You...you’re...”

“...smaller?” Maevis finished with a knowing smile. “Amazing isn’t it? I’ve been working on my shrinking spells for years now, but I’ve finally found the proper methods to shrink myself. What do you think?”

Jae’s eye lit up with enthusiasm and excitement. “You look ridiculous!” Jae told him with a laugh. “I mean...wow. This is actually amazing. Not that you don’t do amazing spells already, but...this is so much more...wow.”

“Thank you, Jae,” Maevis replied with a bright smile and patting the boy on his arm. “I’m happy to know I have your approval.”

Jae suddenly recalled the note and held it out for Maevis with a smile of amused smugness. “This is for you. Sorry it’s a little more cumbersome than you’re use to.”

Maevis’s made a face as he took the rolled up note, it’s size awkward at his new height, and for several moments he floundered on what to do with it. Finally, he set it to lean against the table. “Oh. Thank you, Jae. I...I will read it later. I have a feeling I know what it is.”

Jae immediately slipped into one of the other spare seats and started in on Maevis with his questions. “So? How weird is it to be small?”

Maevis shook his head indulgently and spared his young companion a warm smile. “The first time I succeeded in shrinking myself it was horribly disorienting. That and the fact that the potion did the trick in shrinking my body, but...well, it does not work on clothing.”

Jae snorted into his hands.

“So I had to use the shrinking spell in line with the shrinking potion and get the ratios just right. Endlessly challenging, but such a triumph to have succeeded! And I must say how wonderful a feeling it is to be able to talk with you all on equal footing. I imagine craning your neck up at us all day long becomes quite tiresome.”

“Neck pain is just an inevitability,” Jae shrugged. “Why do you think I hang out on shelves so much? Oh, hey, Nenani, come over here. It’s just Maevis. He won’t bite. Plus he’s smaller so it wouldn’t be as bad even if he did.”

Nenani hadn’t realized that she had not moved at all and when Maevis turned to look at her over his shoulder, his face enigmatic, she had a brief moment where all she saw was not the sweet man before her, but the hard lined face of an angry Vhasshalan magician as he burned an attacking wyvern to cinders. A pain throbbed between her eyes and she winced, holding her head as an incomprehensible chant echoed in her head. She heard a chair squeal as it was pushed out from the table and rushed footsteps. Gentle hands gripped her shoulders and Maevis knelt down in front of her.

“Does it still pain you, little one?” he asked softly, his honey colored eyes soft and concerned. He gently ran his gloved hand across her forehead. “I have some tonic for the pain...”

“I’m okay,” she said, blinking rapidly as though to wave the lingering ache between her eyes away. “It’s gone now.”

He stared into her face as though trying to determine if she was lying, but then he closed his eyes with a resigned sigh. “Good.” he said. “I would hate to think you’re wandering around the castle if you should still be in your recovery bed.”

“I’m alright,” she said and when he raised an eyebrow at her she protested. “I am! Ask Sawyer!”

“No need,” Maevis chuckled. The sleeve of his maroon robe fell back and Nenani could see the bandages still wrapped around his arm. “I’m sure she took excellent care of you.”

  “Maevis?” She asked timidly, the evidence of his injury making her insides squirm. “I actually wanted to thank you. For saving me from the Wyvern.”

The magician looked startled for a moment and then smiled at her, but it seemed forced. Sad even. “Oh. Oh, my dear. You do not have to thank me.”

“Yes I do!” she insisted. “You were really brave and I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

Maevis cupped his hands around her face and laughed. “You’re terribly sweet, Nenani,” he told her and bristled when she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Ah-!”

“Thank you,” she said softer, her voice muffled by his robes. She felt his hands wrap around her to return the hug and his laugh shake her just a little.

“I believe this is the first time I’ve ever hugged a human. Properly at least.”

“OH MY GOD!” Jae suddenly yelled, startling them all badly. Poor Barnaby who had been silently drinking from his tea cup jumped and sent the cup flying through the air before gravity pulled it back down and it shattered on the floor.  

“What’s wrong?” Maevis asked standing up and pulling Nenani to his side protectively, his face full of worry. “Jae?”

“I just had the best idea!” Jae said with excitement and then looked over to see Barnaby kneeling on the floor and picking up the shattered cup. “Ah! Sorry Barnaby. Let me help.”

“My goodness young master Jae,” Barnaby said as the young man started cleaning up the spilled tea with a rag. “What was that hullabaloo all about?”

“Oh! Yeah, so my idea!” Jae turned to Maevis, his eyes bright with unbridled energy. “You should come explore the tunnels with us today. You never could because...well, you were too big. But now you’re small!”

“Explore the tunnels?” Maevis asked, confused but intrigued. “I would have thought you were the expert on the tunnels.”

“I am,” Jae replied with a prideful smirk and then pointed to Nenani. “But she found a corridor I didn’t know about...”

“Jae,” she whined, already knowing where he was going. “Please don’t...”

“...and there was a room full of dead people!”

Barnaby slowly stood with the broken tea cup in his hands, regarding Jae as though he were concerned that he had lost his mind. Maevis had an equally bewildered expression.

“Please find a better way of explaining it,” Nenani begged him. “It sounds so bad when you just say it like that.”

“Nah,” Jae replied with an impish grin. “The reactions are the best part.”

“Alrigtht,” Maevis said, his tone oddly serious. He placed his hand gently on Nenani’s shoulder and steered her to stand next to Jae so he could look at them both. “What exactly do you mean by ‘room full of dead people’?”

“There’s a catacomb,” Jae said. “A bunch of old graves and bones.”

“Vhassalan graves?”

“No,” Jae replied. “That’s the weird thing. She said they’re human graves.”

Maevis looked into Nenani’s face, his eyes seeking. “Is this true? You found a human catacomb in the tunnels?” Nenani squirmed under the scrutiny and wished she had never said anything at all.

“Nenani, dear?” he pressed.

“She’s just scared because they spoke to her,” Jae said. Maevis closed his eyes and sighed in restrained irritation.

“Jae, my boy. I appreciate that you are only trying to help,” he said sternly, but tried to keep his voice measured. “But I need to hear her speak. Please.”

The young man blushed and nodded, slipping into a chair. “Sorry.”

“Now,” Maevis said gently. “Nenani?”

She bit her lip nervously. “When Creag chased us that day and I got lost. I found an entrance to the tunnels, but when I went inside there weren’t any orbs or light at all.” Maevis did not say anything, but lightly inclined his head in clear encouragement to continue. “And I kind of walked around in the dark for a little bit and then this torch just...kind of lit up.”

The magician’s eyes narrowed as he considered her words. “A torch?”

She nodded. “But the fire was weird. It didn’t burn and wasn’t hot and didn’t...really look like fire.”

“How do you mean?”

“It was...kind of wavy, but...like this,” she moved her hand back and forth, trying to imitate the way she remembered the flames slowly danced. Maevis’s expression made her nervous. “And there were more of them and the when I got to the end, there was a big room with holes in the walls and...there were bones inside. People.”

Maevis rubbed his chin pensively as he contemplated what she had said. “And you say they...spoke to you?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes.”

“What did they tell you?”

“...they just kept repeating the Gold Prophecy.”

Maevis’s serious and thoughtful composure slipped and he looked at her with an expression of incredulity. “What? That old thing again?”

She only shrugged, her brows furrowed. She looked down at her feet, her hands wringing. “It’s everywhere...”

“Nenani,” he said patiently, cupping her cheek and bending down to look her in the eye. “I know such things sound terribly frightening. And that is not to say they cannot be dangerous. But it is important to remember this about prophecies: they are often lies wrapped in a thin veil of truth.”

“But why did they speak to me?” she asked, feeling the prickle of tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

The magician’s eyes softened and he looked at her sadly. “Do you remember when you asked me to evaluate whether you had been cursed?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do.”

“Well, my dear child, I am afraid I was not completely honest with you at the time. It is true what I said; there isn’t a speck of malignant magic about you,” he was quick to explain, but then paused as though mulling something over in his head. He sighed deeply and told her, “...but you are touched by magic.”

“...touched?” she asked quietly, not understanding him.

“Yes. Those who are touched by magic often draw arcane forces to them under no fault of their own. Magic is attracted to magic by its very nature the same way two water droplets will pull towards one another as they fall down a pane of glass. And wild magic can be very damaging if proper protections are not put into place. I believe that may be why your village thought you were cursed.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but it died on her lips.

“Now, you have not done anything wrong, little one. I need to you understand and believe it. I do not know why these graves are there or who they use to be,” Maevis brushed his finger under her eye to wipe away a tear. “But you do not need to fear them. If these spirits had any ill will or intentions, I would know about it.” He paused and then said, “They may even be trying to help you.”

“It won’t go away,” she whispered, her throat feeling tight and it was hard to speak. “I hear it everywhere. In my dreams. All the time. And then the attack happened and….he came. In my dreams, they said he would come and he did. I don’t know what they want. Keral doesn’t think he’s after me, but I can’t help but think it. I’m scared, Maevis. The smoke mage...he scares me so much.”

Maevis pulled her into his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder as she shook with emotion and fear. “The Smoke Mage will never get close enough to harm anyone. And by the Gods, I most certainly won’t let him ever harm you.”

She could hear the distant clang of metal upon metal and her uncle screaming at the smoke mage as they battled on the boat. Her heart ached as she recalled the image of her dear uncle’s face as he bled out and his bright eyes fall dull and dark. His kindness and strength had felt immeasurable to her back then. But he died. Like so many others. Like her father... and mother...

“...I think he killed my uncle.” Her voice was so low that she wasn’t even certain she had said the words. But she felt Maevis’s arms around her stiffen. She started to weep into the maroon robes. “I don’t think Keral is right anymore. But I really wanted him to be right because I know he would do his best to find the Smoke Mage and stop him and I know you are too, but...”

“Nenani...”

“...he’s looking for me,” she sobbed. “He’s trying to find me. But I don’t know why!”

The arms round her shifted and she was unexpectedly swept up into the magician’s arms. He held her tightly and swayed back and forth, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and for a moment, she could almost pretend he was her uncle and not a temporarily shrunk Vhasshalan magician. “Shh. No tears, little one. Shh...oh, you poor child.”

“This Smoke Mage is a mad man,” Barnaby said, his face hard and pensive. He had been mostly silents, content to watch and observe, but there was pain in his eyes. “He has power yes. But he is still human and only one at that. He can be stopped.”

“The might of Vhasshal is behind us,” Maevis said to them all, still rocking Nenani. “He will not succeed in whatever his intentions are.” He spoke to Nenani then, voice quiet and reassuring. “My dear, think of all the people who love you; Farris, Yale, everyone in the Kitchens. Lolly, Barnaby and I. Jae here. We will not let him harm you.”

Maevis lowered her into one of the chairs and pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, wiping her face and petting her hair as she composed herself.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she told him, tears pouring out of her.  

“Nor will they.”

“How can you know?”