They were brought to dinner from the washroom, which was a much bigger affair than either girl had anticipated.

They were deposited in seats to the right of Prince Lark, at the middle of a table easily ten meters long. Nearly every seat was occupied. There were even children present, which seemed odd and out of place.

The prince turned to them immediately. “I’m pleased the clothing fits adequately. Please, eat to your fill, and when you’ve finished my man will take you to your rooms. Don’t be shy to tell me when you’d like to leave. Dining is often an hours long affaire; you needn’t suffer that today.”

Odessa politely touched her forehead and tipped forward in a slight bow—a position that plainly said I mean what I say. “You have been too kind, Prince.”

The prince waved her off, smiling, and began eating.

There was an incredibly diverse set of plates strewn about the table, but it seemed a few major groups were repeated every couple of seats. Noodles, rice, bread, vegetables, meat, and soup. It was actually fairly similar to the variety they were served at school. Cognac immediately started pulling buckwheat noodles onto one of her plates, and then tofu with ginger root. She also got herself a cup of clear soup. Odessa took rice and sweet potato, walnut bread, and a stuffed tomato. The food was all very light, and highly seasoned. It was surprising there was no fruit, but there were lemon tarts set out, as well as candied orange peels.

Cognac was hungry enough to feel sick after having so little to eat over two days, and so she ate until her belly ached, full with bread and spiced eggplant on top of everything else she’d had. She sipped at the cold tea they had given her, hoping it could soak up and calm the food in her gut. Next to her, Odessa chewed on orange peels while listlessly moving around chunks of rice left on her main plate.

When the prince had said his man would take them back to their rooms, he had meant the guard-man that had been following him earlier, and who sat next to him at dinner. He valiantly offered to carry Odessa and Cognac both, like some kind of mother toddling babies on her hip, but Odessa quickly waved him off with something like embarrassment on her cheeks.

“I can walk quite well Brother Guard, it’s only my ankles that were hurt,” she urged.

He eyed her suspiciously. “You’re sure?”

She stomped her foot a bit to prove it.

He looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but assented, and kneeled to let Cognac climb onto his back. Looking down at Odessa, he awkwardly held out his polearm, using his other arm to grip Cognac. “Carry this for me?”

Odessa didn’t show on her face that she hadn’t expected that, but took the arm haltingly. She had to hold it with both hands to carry it comfortably. It was heavy for such a thin weapon.

The guard kept a slow pace, eyeing Odessa every so often to be sure she was keeping up. When they stopped at a door, he offhandedly said, “You’ll stay in the southern wing, near me and Lark. It’s a bit unorthodox for a prince, but he does sleep on the ground floor.”

The door opened up to a huge space furnished like a drawing room. Cognac was set onto a sofa, and with his hands free the guardsman took his arm back from Odessa. He then immediately leaned it against the wall and started to rummage through cupboards.

“I realize Lark didn’t introduce me,” he said offhandedly, while pulling out different parts of a tea set. “My name is Sedan. I’m captain of the estate militia, but day to day I act more as the prince’s personal guard. You will rarely see him without me.”

Odessa and Cognac watched him wordlessly. He had a seamless way of moving while he arranged cups and started lighting a fire. Even as he sorted through packets of tea leaves he was meticulous, swirling each packet before putting it in a line with the others. All of it was strangely automatic, as if each movement was predetermined and he needn’t even think for his body to go. He selected a couple of packets and put them together on a saucer, then lifted it and tipped them into the kettle.

“You should know, there will be a guard posted at your door at all times,” he continued. While he spoke, he used a finger to spin the kettle until the handle was nearer his right hand, then poured a bit into each of the cups he’d set out. He immediately poured the cups back into the kettle, and then filled them properly and handed them off. “If you need anything at all, you may go to them. We feel that you’ve been through quite an ordeal, even since reaching safety. We have taken you from room to room haphazardly today, so we hope that from now on you can rest peacefully. The prince will call on you tomorrow afternoon to speak about what has happened, but that can all be discussed here in your rooms. Food will be brought here to you, as well.”

Cognac sipped at her cup of tea. It was true, from the moment they had left the school, it was as if they hadn’t stopped for a moment. She felt like she was drained of everything, with nothing left to run her body or churn her mind. All that she could properly process was how the mint tea left her mouth feeling cold and clean. Odessa felt very much the same, but she had the strength still to pull her gaze back in toward Sedan.

A heavy sigh slipped out of her. “Thank you, brother,” she said. There was a lot she felt she wanted to say, but they were all vague half thoughts floating around together. Nothing was coming together. She couldn’t pull any more words out of her chest.

Sedan seemed to sense this. “If there’s nothing that you need from me now, I’ll leave ahead of you.”

Still present enough to be polite, Odessa mumbled back, “We will be happy to remain here.”

He took his weapon and left, and their room was silent.