The woods around the eastern mountains of Avvyr did not consist of the soft leaf bearing trees of the south, but instead were a tangle of conifers. Pines stretched tall toward the blue sky above, and intermingled among the trunks were spruces with their low hanging branches.

Jane led the group north, keeping well away from any roads or villages, whilst Lukas covered up their tracks behind them. Walking between the two guards, Ellanor was chatting quietly with Tara. Anytime Jane signaled them to be silent they would immediately shut up, nervously glancing around, and up at the sky, spying for the black wings of the Legionaries.

“What happened between the beginning of the ball and when you woke me up?” Ellanor asked, her breath laboured. “I saw Lukas talk to th– to Tor, and them leaving. I never noticed when he returned.”

Tara was doing much better, seeming to never tire, despite having been up for much longer than Ellanor. “Right before the ball – when you were in the midst of greeting guests – I overheard a conversation between the Duchess and her guards,” Tara said. “She ordered them to arrest you and the Duke come morning, on accounts of him being a ‘smuggler’ and you being a ‘human sympathizer’.” She snorted. “You would have to be a monster not to sympathize with humans,” she added.

“Most people in Avvyr are monsters,” agreed Ellanor solemnly.

Tara shook her head. “No, they are just too comfortable to stand up and say something. It will always be easier to turn the other cheek for those with the privilege to do so.”

Silence befell their party, and they trod on through it for a few minutes, listening to the nature around them. Eventually Tara spoke again.

“When I heard of the Duchess’ plan I went back to your rooms and told Lukas,” she said. “We decided this was our que to leave, but we also realised that was not the right time to make decisions in haste. So, we laid out the base of a plan, and then we went to get the Duke.

“He was not exactly surprised at his sister’s order, but he was not expecting it so soon. We made up a plan, set out to pack and prepare for the departure, and once you were asleep we filled in Jane on the details.”

Ellanor kept her eyes on the pine needle covered ground, careful not to trip on any stray roots, but her mind was slowly piecing the night together. “Why did you let me go to sleep? I could have helped– we could have left earlier–”

“We needed the Duchess to be asleep, or at least occupied enough to allow us to leave unnoticed,” interrupted Tara. “Besides, you had been dancing for hours. Out of all of us, you needed whatever sleep you could get.”

Not wanting to argue, Ellanor just nodded. She knew their choice to let her get some sleep was the right one, as she could barely keep upright and her muscles aced from the countless dances, but it also made her feel slightly useless.

Up ahead Jane had stopped to wait for the girls. As they came up beside her, she looked them over from head to toe with calculating eyes. “Are you two all good?” Jane asked. “There is a small river about half an hour away – I am thinking we can rest there.”

Tara simply nodded as Ellanor said, “We are good, just– exhausted.” She was offered a waterskin from Jane and gladly accepted, taking a few mouthfuls of water. As she did, Jane continued speaking.

“At dusk we can make camp and get some proper rest for the two of you,” she said, putting the skin back in her bag. “It will be too dark to walk comfortably then, but we will be far too easy to spot flying, even if we keep low to the ground.”

Ellanor knew she and the two Avvir would have no problem at all to walk without light, but did not point this out as to not make Tara uncomfortable. Whether the human understood this or not was beyond Ellanor, as Tara’s face was as impossible as ever to read.

“You waiting for me?” asked Lukas from behind them. Jane only rolled her eyes and kept going, earning a laugh from her colleague.

As promised they rested by the river, refilled their water supply and ate a few bites of food before continuing on their trek. Once the sky began to fade, Jane moved ahead to scout for a good spot to camp and returned fifteen minutes later from a completely different direction. She led them west until they came to a small clearing, shielded from the sky by an overhanging cliff. There they finally set up a temporary camp, Lukas and Jane securing the perimeter whilst Ellanor and Tara rolled out their sleeping bags and settled in for whatever sleep they could grab.

Soon Tara’s soft snores could be heard from the small opening in her bag, and Ellanor smiled at the mouth and nose sticking out. She had never before seen anyone fall asleep so quickly, and it made her sad to think of how truly exhausted her handmaid was.

Lukas returned before Ellanor had managed to fall asleep and he sat on the ground with his back to the cliff wall. Ellanor watched him as he cleaned his sword, keeping one eye on the forest ahead the entire time.

Sitting up and scooting closer so as to not wake up Tara, Ellanor asked, “When did the two of you figure out?”

Lukas looked up from his sword with a frown. “About what?”

“Me being half-human.”

His eyes widened. “You are human? Ah, I am just kidding with you, Madam, apologies,” he laughed, and Ellanor hit him lightly in the back of the head. “We have always known.”

It was Ellanor’s turn to look surprised, though her shock was real. “Wha– when– then you–” A few more noises escaped her before she decided to give up on forming a coherent sentence. Luckily, Lukas continued without any prompting from her.

“Do you really believe the late Madam would assign two guards to her half-human great niece without doing thorough interrogations of them first?” Lukas shook his head and continued maintaining his sword like it was second nature. “I thought she was simply paranoid – like any sudden parent, I supposed – and I was surprised when she picked me and Jane for the job. We were not near the top guards of Skyward, but as it turns out, we have one major thing in common.”

When he did not immediately keep going, instead putting his sword aside and picking up one of his daggers, Ellanor pushed. “What was the thing you had in common?”

“We were both trusted – liked, even – by the human servants.” He scoffed. “Which should not be considered some act of heroism, it’s just general politeness, but Avvyr is fucked up– sorry,” he added.

Ellanor ignored both the curse and the apology. “So she trusted you to be my guards, and informed you of my heritage.”

“Only that you were part human, never who your parents were,” Lukas said, voice softening. “We always imagined you were actually Madam Lourelle’s great niece – what, with you two being so similar. She told us of the letter, and what was in it, when she knew she would...” He let the sentence drift away, and silence fell around them. Lukas looked about to say something more when he was interrupted.

“You should sleep, Madam,” Jane said from where she had appeared at the edge of the camp. She looked tired and worn, but her eyes held a caring warmth Ellanor had not seen before. She seemed suddenly older. “We have got a long flight ahead of us.”

Ellanor nodded, her body and mind agreeing loudly as she scooted back to Tara and lay down. Before she closed her eyes she whispered to her guards, “Thank you. For everything.”