Gwen had told Arian about a bridge on the route back to her family estate. If they found it, Gwen would know the way they needed to travel. The plan was to follow the river and hope it took them to the right crossing. After about two hours of walking, they saw the bridge in the distance. Filled with joy, Gwen had begun running to arrive at the road where many carriages and travelers were milling.

“Gwen, wait!” Arian said, apprehensive of the crowd, “What if you run into the people who attacked you?”

The redhead paused looking at Arian with eyes that said the world was a good place and that everything would be fine. A look that Arian wanted to shake out of her.

“Wait here!” Gwen said, as she took off running, throwing all caution to the wind.

She watched the red-haired woman run directly into a group of armored men. Arian wiped her face in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose as she groaned loudly. This girl was going to get herself kidnapped twice in one day.

To Arian’s surprise, two of the men removed their traveling cloaks and held them out to Gwen. She took one to put on, it was massive and hung on her small frame, then came running back holding the second cloak.

“Here Ari,” she said holding out the cloak, “We cannot have you travel with company in your undergarments.”

“Do you know those knights?” Arian asked as she covered herself with the cloak.

“No, but they are honorable men,” she said with an earnest smile.

“How do you know that?” Arian asked as she pulled on the cloak and they began to walk towards the crowd of people again.

“They just seem like good people.”

Arian’s soul died at this romantic notion of the world. “Have you no sense of self-preservation Gwen?”

Gwen laughed, “Val often says that exact same thing.”

“Val sounds like a smart girl.”

“Oh no,” she corrected as they began walking towards the road. “Duke Valen Cael is my closest friend that I have known since birth.”

“Oh yeah?” Arian mused, “Does he trust Prince Walter?” She was still suspicious of him considering the events of Gwen’s attack.

“I would be very surprised if he did not. They are close companions and have fought alongside one another in the war many times.”

“The war?” Arian asked with dread in her voice. This was not ideal.

“The Kingdom of Rovari is trying to conquer Maltisha for control of the ore reserves in the mountains,” Gwen said with sadness in her eyes. “I accompanied Val to the Warrior’s Last Embrace some months ago when he departed for the war front.”

“What is that?” Arian asked.

“Before each cycle of troops leave, there is a ritual at the Gate of Farewell where the mother or wife of the leading nobleman performs a small ceremony. She represents the nation of Maltisha and embraces him to show the country’s gratitude to all the knights, then she kisses him as a token of luck for the battle ahead.”

“And your best friend asked you to do this special ceremony for him?”

“Yes, it was outside of tradition since we are not family or wed, but I am so grateful that he asked me to be there. A member of the royal family always presides over the ceremony, so that is where I met the prince.”

Oh no, Arian thought sadly, bestie asks lifelong friend to kiss him goodbye and she falls in love with his close companion immediately afterwards. 

Given the opportunity she would have gambled a small fortune on a bet that the dear friend, Duke Valen Cael, was absolutely in love with Gwen.

They arrived back to the small group of traveling knights that had loaned their cloaks to Gwen. The men had agreed to accompany them safely back to her family estate. The knights offered them water and a small portion of food for the journey. Gwen chatted politely with the men, but Arian walked silently to listen. 

Being on the outskirts of social interactions was where she was the most comfortable, and she needed to glean information as discreetly as possible. Gwen had said they were in Maltisha but Arian had no idea where that was.

Arian’s greatest weakness in all her scholastic endeavors was history. The events of the past seemed irrelevant to a kid that was just trying to survive her present and get a foundation started to have some sort of future ahead of her. 

Aside from major world events, she only remembered a few important medical related historical incidents. None of the conversations she listened to were triggering any memories in her mind and she hated herself for not paying better attention in school.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, they arrived at the magnificent Hartfield estate. Arian was dirty and tired. Her calves and feet were tight with weariness. The jaunt across the river left her shoes damp for hours and they had chafed the back of her ankle. Wide stone stairs led up to a majestic, engraved set of double doors, but Arian’s legs were resentful of the effort to ascend them.

Standing there looking at the expensive architecture of the building, Arian was confronted with a feeling she was too familiar with. She could never belong in a place like this. Places like this had always been out of reach. Gwen walked up beside her to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Welcome to my home,” she said in the most inviting tone Arian had ever heard.

Arian smiled at her, but her stomach was filled with a sense of foreboding. Warm welcomes were always short-lived in her life.