Luminaria jolted up from her bed in the middle of the night. It felt like a lightning flash went through her head. Her heart pounded in her chest. "Tia? Tia!" she shrieked.

Maids came running at the sound, confused looks on their faces, but Luminaria ignored them as she kept screaming.

"I need to go. I need to go! Something happened to Tia!"

Our stay in Windal was supposed to be for just one night, but because of the disaster I stayed to help with the recovery. It was currently the third day since the landslide. My water magic came in useful for controlling and redirecting the flooded areas, and I used a combination of water and light magic to purify the wells and ponds that were filled with dirt. The terrain was still unstable, so I had to ferry people and supplies around. There were a lot of people that I had to heal up too.

A brilliant flame caught my eye as I flew. I hurried towards it, but it turned out to be Marina's flame. I thought that there wouldn't be much for a fire (and secretly dark) mage like her to do, but she found work clearing out wood, house frames, and miscellaneous items that couldn't be salvaged anymore. Because of her expert control, they were able to safely remove and clear obstacles that would otherwise hinder the town's recovery. A bit of pride welled up in my chest whenever I saw the formerly shy and reserved Marina talking and coordinating with the town's people.

I finished another survey lap and landed in front of the town hall.

"Tiana-sama, thank you for your work!" A few people cheered and waved at me.

I waved my hand and smiled. "Thank you for all of your hard work too."

The hall was full of tired people who needed shelter and volunteers handing out food and blankets. A group of children were huddled in a corner. Many lost their parents in the disaster.

I conjured a Healing Mist as I walked past everyone and headed into a room in the back. My mother, as the acting feudal lord in my father's absence, was currently talking with the mayor.

"Tiana-sama, thank you for all that you have done." The mayor stood up and bowed deeply to me.

"Don't worry about it." I held up a hand. "More importantly, what's going to happen from now?"

"I already sent word out, there should be food and some workers arriving soon," said mother.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"I'm thinking of heading out later today. There are some things I can't do away from our estate. You don't have anything to take care of anymore, right?"

I scratched the back of my head. "I feel like there's still a lot I can do as a mage here."

"We're past the immediate aftermath," said mother. "What they need now isn't a single mage, but a sustained workforce for the recovery effort."

"I guess that's true." I sighed.

Mother stood up and came over to hug me. "You look like you're utterly exhausted too. I can't have you destroy yourself like this."

"Un." I nodded. "Mama, there's another thing..."

"What is it?"

"Windal doesn't have an orphanage, right?"

The mayor nodded. "Usually kids are taken in by their relatives or neighbors. Kids in apprenticeships are taken in by their teachers. Some don't have any connections willing to take them in though..."

I looked up at my mom. "Can we take some of them in?"

Mother frowned. "Take them in?"

"Food for a few kids would hardly amount to anything on a ducal house's budget. And they can help out around the house a bit or run errands until they're ready to move out. Or they can stay on and work for me."

"Work for you?"

I straightened myself. "There might - there probably will - come a time where I need allies I can trust."

Mother tilt her head as she looked at me. "Tia what are you... well since you're a good kid, I'll listen to your request."

We went outside into the hall and stood against the wall out of the way of the workers. The mayor checked with the workers and the kids, and brought three of them over to us.

"These two girls are siblings," said the mayor. "The older one is Kanan, nine years old, and the younger one is Karen, five years old."

The girls nodded their heads when they were called. Both of them were pretty and had slightly wavy brown hair. Kanan was a little bit taller than me even though I was older, though Karen was still a cute little tiny thing.

So they're the Ka Sisters. Or maybe I should say Sisters Ver Ka.

"This boy is Char, eight years old."

Char, huh? Did he come here to laugh at me?

"H-hello-" The black haired boy bit his tongue. His lips quivered as his eyes darted all over the place.

I couldn't help but pat his head. "Hello everyone. I'm Tiana. If you have nowhere to go, would you like to come with us? You might have to work a bit, but you'll be fed and have a place to stay."

The kids all became wide-eyed. "P-please!" they said in unison as they clumsily bowed.

"Lescia," I called.

Lescia suddenly appeared by my side. "Yes, ojou-sama?"

"Could you please take them to the inn? Get them refreshed to prepare for travel."

"Understood." Lescia smiled at the kids and led them away.

I met up with Marina again, and we walked around town helping out with miscellaneous things until it was time to leave.

The capital city of the Bracklin duchy, Blianca. It was a huge sprawling city that rivaled the royal capital in size. It also sat on the western coast of the continent, making it an economic powerhouse in the region. An enormous amount of trade passed through it every day. And on a hill to the east of the city, overlooking the buildings and the vast coastline, was the Bracklin House's estate.

"What a waste of taxpayer money," I muttered as I looked out the window of our carriage. Our huge mansion steadily came into sight. "Why do we need a house this big?"

"It's a show of authority," said mother. She lightly tapped my head with her fan. "It says 'we are an entity with the wealth and power to do this much on a whim - will you still dare to oppose us?' We have to negotiate with a lot of nobility and merchants. Sometimes foreign ones, since our duchy borders Bosmarken. This helps prove that we can hold up our end of a bargain, and that they can't get away with breaking theirs."

"So it's psychological warfare."

"You can think of it that way."

I nodded. I wish the money could be used for something more practical, but I can see how it was necessary. I wasn't skilled in these kinds of subtleties.

It took a while after we passed through the gates to reach the mansion itself. Even the gardens were intricate. Our carriages stopped at the front entrance and we came out to a row of maids.

""Welcome back, Lady Rosalia,"" they said in unison.

A tall thin butler with grey hair and spectacles stood in front of them and bowed to mother. "Welcome back, Mistress."

"I'm back, Alfus," said my mother. "Thanks for taking care of the work while I was gone."

"It is no problem at all." Alfus then smiled at me. "It is nice to see you again, Lady Tiana. I hope you are well."

I curtsied. "I am indeed. Nice to see you, Alfus." I haven't been here since I was five or six, so I only had vague memories of the place and the people. But Alfus had always been by my parents' side, so he stood out in my mind.

Marina appeared beside me, and I introduced her as my dear friend. Behind us were the three children I picked up in Windal, staring wide-eyed at the mansion and looking like they were about to keel over and faint. For the time being, the three would stay in the servant dormitories, while Marina was assigned a guest room close to mine.

The maids carried in our luggage and we went to our own rooms to rest from the trip.

Marina soon showed up at my room though.

"Aren't you tired?" I asked.

Marina nodded. "I'm most relaxed when I'm with you."

I smiled. "I guess it would be hard to relax by yourself in an unfamiliar place, right?" I jumped onto the bouncy bed and pat the space next to me.

Marina beamed and jumped next to me. We laughed and bounced around a bit before tucking ourselves under the blankets.

"The trip just started, but we already did a lot, huh?" said Marina.

"I wonder what Lux would say if she found out about Windal."

"She'd probably scold you."

"Hahaha, yeah." I snickered. I let out a deep sigh and snuggled myself next to Marina. I yawned and lay my head against her shoulder.

"Rest well, Tia."

"You too." I faintly felt Marina kiss my cheek before I slept into my dreams.

Author's Note: My mental health took a deep dive lately and it made me completely dysfunctional, hence the slow updates. It's pretty hard for me to do anything at all right now, so any comments would be greatly appreciated >_>