TWO days have passed since we chased Brianna away. The guards wanted to follow and arrest the group but hesitated to leave the house unguarded. Ultimately, Ethan decided to increase the number on duty, and they will look for her once my lord husband comes home.
I am practicing with Ethan again and he produces a blue crayon from nowhere. I still don’t know where he hides things. Why?
“It’s a little windy out today, my lady. Shall we stay indoors and write letters? Lord Samuel is still waiting for a reply from you.”
“Yes! My blue crayon’s running out, so this is perfect, Ethan!”
Lord Samuel sends me pictures he’s drawn, so I always send him some in return. His most recent is of tadpoles in the castle pond, according to an accompanying note from Lady Stella. Maybe I should draw some frogs. Because I have a new blue crayon, I could draw frost toads. Frost toads appear strong due to the three large twisty horns growing from their heads but are actually soft and bouncy to the touch. I’m sure Lord Samuel won’t be scared of them.
In the greenhouse, I fan out the papers Ethan has given me. I sit at a table with a view of the courtyard, and sunlight falls onto my hands, passing through a glass roof supported by intricately carved beams. The day is windy but sunny, so I have enough light to draw well.
As I’m finishing up, I hear a commotion from the entrance of the house. I reach out mentally and sense the aura of an unfamiliar human. Abruptly, I notice the sound of staff dashing through the corridors. How strange. Rarely does anyone run in the house.
I enter the front hall to see Ethan instructing some servants and guards. One servant then darts out the front door. The aura is gone, so the other human must have left.
Tabitha is sprinting down the hallway toward me. She grabs my hands and leads me to an armchair by the wall, urges me to sit. She kneels before me, still holding my hands. “A messenger was just here. The troops returning from assignment were caught in a rockfall. We haven’t received any other information yet, so we’re sending someone to the military headquarters to wait.”
So the unknown human is a courier relaying word of the incident to families of high-ranking officers. As soon as more news arrives, he’d said, the servant we dispatch to headquarters will notify us.
The assignment involves many soldiers, and the troops march in a long line. The rockfall occurred while they were traversing a ravine, splitting the column in half. My lord husband and his men are at the back, trapped behind the rockfall, the courier said.
“The map, Ethan,” I say. “No, which direction are they? Which direction, please?”
He pulls a map from nowhere anyway, spreading it to point to a location. I ask him about the distance to the ravine, then focus my mind in that direction.
I’ve checked every night before bed. The monsters have all been on their best behavior. So why did this happen?
Since I can’t sense human establishments, the numerous villages and towns between us interfere with my sight—yet I should be able to see beyond them.
“But I can’t. Why? Is there a town nearby?”
“Yes. There’s a big town just before the gorge. The first messenger bird reported that the incident occurred on a narrow road leading to the checkpoint at its mouth, so the safety of the troops on the other side hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
“The military is trained to respond to disasters, my lady. They must be clearing the rock away now. Will you wait with Tabitha until the next message arrives?”
A veteran guard comes to share an account of a similar incident in Drewett in the past. My lord husband was still a child then and nevertheless joined the recovery effort, so he is experienced in handling such events and is likely in charge of the current response. Chuckling, the guard tells me to stay optimistic before returning to his post.
Humans are good at certain things. They’re good at lying, forgetting, and dying.
“My lord will be home soon.”
“Yes, yes. Master promised that, didn’t he?”
“Yes. My lord is strong, and I don’t lie. So why don’t I feel calm, Tabitha?” My chest is empty, and my stomach uneasy with…pain? Maybe a little ache.
She strokes my hands, and they feel colder than usual. Oh!
“Rodney!” I cry.
“He’s always right beside Master, so he’ll be fine too,” she answers with a smile.
That’s right. If my lord husband is safe, then Rodney is safe. But I still don’t feel calm. I give Tabitha’s icy fingers a squeeze before standing.
“My lady?”
“Maybe I could sense them from the top of the outermost castle wall. There are too many humans here; I can’t see very well.”
I tug her out the front door and toward the closed gates. My lord husband and Rodney are surely fine, yet something feels strange. Although built by humans, the checkpoint at the canyon’s entrance forms an invisible boundary between the realms of human and monster.
If only I could get a better look beyond. The town near the ravine must be really big to obstruct my view in such a manner. Or maybe too many humans live there?
They’re just…in the way.
Tabitha pulls me to a stop just inside the gates. “My lady! No, my lady. Didn’t you promise Master that you won’t go outside the estate grounds?”
“Oh, that’s right!”
“Besides, we still don’t know if those people from Longhurst are…” She trails off.
The two guards glare at something on the roadside, and Tabitha’s eyes narrow as well.
Brianna. Hands on her hips, she struts across the street with her men. She’s still here. When they reach the closed gates, she crosses her arms and huffs loudly. “Do you want to know more about your beloved husband?”
“We don’t have to listen to her, my lady. Let’s head inside,” Tabitha urges.
“What insolence, servant!” cries Brianna.
“Can you tell me more about my lord and Rodney?” I ask.
“My lady!” Tabitha shakes her head again, but I nod. This is my job as mistress.
Brianna smirks. “Your place looks nice, so why don’t you invite me in first?”
One of her men starts to tug on her sleeve. “That’s not part of the pla—”
“Shut up, I’ve had enough of this! I’ve not been in a proper house in forever!” The ragged hem of her dress is soaked with mud, and her robe looks dusty and dirty. She must be hungry too.
Ethan rushes from the mansion, coming to stand beside me. I glimpse another servant silently running toward the back gate, probably to alert the guards there.
“You can come in,” I say. “Please open the gates.”
One of the guards looks between Ethan and me, then hefts his spear and opens the gate wide enough for one person to slip through. Brianna moves to enter, and the guard blocks her way.
“What now?”
“Only you. No one else has business being here.”
“And don’t expect any hospitality from us,” Ethan adds. “So, what have you done?”
“Huh?”
Ethan steps forward to stand in front of me, and I sidle away. It’s not an emergency yet! I don’t have to hide! Brianna may be bigger than me, but I’m stronger.
“The message from the military arrived just a short while ago. How would you have any knowledge of what’s happened?” presses Ethan.