The Lady Valeria Tullus is the daughter of Lord Griffith Tullus and Lady Amber Stellarum. Her mother's family motto, 'Through hardship to the stars' is written on the lady's favors as she is the last of both the lines of Tullus and Stellarum. The lady is, of course, magical and at the time of writing this tome, she was in her first year-

"U-Um...?"

I look up from my book. I'm sat outside the front of the house. My mother and father are both in the village, preparing to send a care package to Kasper.

It's been a month since he left.

At the garden gate is Harriet.

I suppose she is pretty, in a way that all girls are pretty when they're young. Kasper certainly thinks so. She has blonde hair that verges on red and large golden eyes framed by fair eyelashes. Her cheeks are dotted with freckles.

"Hey Kit," she says, clasping her hands before herself as though to bow but then remembering I'm not magical and hesitating awkwardly. I covered the awkward pause by bowing, deeply and respectfully myself.

My father's advice of gaining allies still rings in my head. Harriet's family is undeclared for Light or Dark, not especially important or gifted, but she is able to produce magic and will attend the University in the next year. She will be perfect to practice on.

"Oh, um, thank you," she says. Her cheeks stain pink.

I give her a calm smile. She isn't intimidating now I've framed her presence around helping my brother. I'm less ill at ease when I can ignore any other context for our conversation.

"You're Lady Harriet, aren't you?" I ask, as though I don't know. I may have spent most of my time isolated away from the other young people in the village, but I've carefully studied all who Kasper came into contact with.

"I know we haven't ever really spoken much..." she begins. That is probably an understatement. She is friends with Urias and I give their group an even wider berth than the other young people in the village.

"Anyway, I just thought you might be lonely... You know with Kasper gone?" she pauses as though waiting for me to deny or confirm what she'd said. I just wait for her to continue. She can think what she likes.

Her cheeks turn an even deeper crimson.

"Well, we're having a dance at Paddy's barn. It's just a small thing, nothing formal. And only young people. I know you don't like socializing much but I thought..." She trails off, nibbling her lip, her courage having failed her.

I take pity on her. She is far from the elegant ladies like Valeria Tullus that I've been reading about. Not one of the ten families. Even though she is a mage, she is just a country girl, trying to be nice.

"You thought I might like to come?" I finish for her. She nods once, red to the tips of her ears. How have I become so intimidating? Usually, girls act this way around Kasper, not me. Though surely Harriet doesn't have the same interest in me that she would has in my brother? She is purely being kind.

"I'd be honoured," I say. If the local mages are going to be there, it's the perfect opportunity to create more allies who could help Kasper at the University.

"R-Really?" Harriet stammers, then collects herself. She offers me a curtsey that isn't quite right, her movements too stiff, her hands too far apart, but I don't comment. Not everyone is trained as I am. Not everyone knows their Purpose in life.

"I'll see you tonight at sundown," she says.

I nod.

"I can't wait," I lie.

My father would never allow me to go, so I don't ask for permission that night at the dinner table. Besides, formal alliances between mages are difficult things and take months of work. Better to beg for forgiveness with alliances in hand than to ask permission and never get the chance to showcase my skills. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can get to the University.

I creep downstairs. My parents have both retired to their room shortly after sundown. I make it to the door easily and carefully undo the latch.

I am into the free air faster and with more ease than i'd anticipated. The night air is cold and I wish I'd thought to bring my cloak but the walk is short. I pick up my pace to avoid the chill.

The barn is lit up and welcoming. I slip in the door. Oil lamps hang along the walls and young men and women alike are sat on bales of hay. A young man, possibly one of Urias' many brothers, plays a fiddle in the corner and a few couples are up and dancing, laughing to each other as they spin around the makeshift dancefloor.

There are a handful of mage children dotted about, their blond hair standing out amongst the brown and black of their fellow villagers.

Urias is in the corner, and I give him a wide-berth, instead looking around for Harriet.

She is sat on a hay bale near the fiddler, tapping her foot idly to the music. She's wearing a mage gown rather than her usual day clothes, the edges trimmed with frolicking deer. When she sees me she gets to her feet, a smile breaking across her features.

"I thought you wouldn't come!" she says. I smile at her and gave her a quick bow.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

She laughs, though I'm not sure I've said anything funny. The fiddler pauses for a moment between songs to sip from a bottle of something that almost certainly isn't apple juice.

"Would you like to dance?" I ask. Harriet looks surprised.

"You want to dance with me?" 

I fix a smile on my face.

"It's why you would come to a barn dance, isn't it? To dance?" I ask. She quickly grabs my hand, as though I might change my mind, and pulls me closer to the fiddler.