Light filled the room when Eldred opened his eyes, awoken by Leola’s gentle shake. He blinked a few times, looking up at the old woman, the sleep in his eyes making them itchy. She stood over him, wearing the same apron as the day before, one hand holding a bundle of what looked like clothing to her hip as she waited. It took him a moment to piece together exactly where he was and why he was there. Ness stood in the doorway, leaning haphazardly against the frame. The room smelled of fresh bread, a warm scent that overpowered the existing mustiness, and Eldred wondered how late in the morning it was. It was full bright outside, the sky pale blue through the window, tree tops standing out darkly against it.

Leola smiled and beckoned for him to sit up, dropping her bundle onto the far end of the bed. “Let’s see those bandages, shall we?”

Whatever she had found underneath the bandages seemed to satisfy Leola. She unwound them carefully, Eldred squinting as his covered eye was exposed to the light. She tilted his head back and forth, looking at him for a few moments, before she’d re-wrapped his head in fresh bandages.

Then she had all but dragged him from the bed, leaving him briefly to change into the clothes she had brought for him- belongings left behind by old patients- before coaxing him downstairs with the promise of food. He went along with it, although he felt stiff and sleepy even after the hours that had passed and the clothes itched like nothing he’d ever worn before, allowing himself to be led down the stairs and through the hall. Ness followed behind, rising from the floor and trailing after them. “Come, sit,” Leola called, releasing him as she squeezed past him at the kitchen door. She gestured toward the table, hand flicking in a flourish as she reached toward the counter.

He hesitated in the doorway, no longer being pushed along. He glanced back into the hallway as Ness reached the bottom of the stairs, and then stepped into the kitchen and retook his place at the table. A moment later, the armoured figure joined him, taking the seat to Eldred’s left.

Leola bustled around the kitchen, moving pots and pans as she prepared food, stepping around her seated guests to retrieve ingredients from her pantry, or to pluck a few stray leaves from some of the potted herbs she kept on the far windowsill. Eldred watched her in fascination, intrigued by the smells and sights as the old woman put together a meal far fancier than any Eldred was sure he had eaten in his life. She fetched eggs and dried meat, slicing fresh bread from the still steaming loaf on the counter, moving to and fro between different cooking vessels. He found himself growing hungrier, enticed by the scents and the growing prospect of a good meal. Ness remained still and silent, sitting straight-backed in her chair, her fingers laced loosely in front of her on the table.

A steaming plate of food was slid in front of him, cutlery clattering down beside it. He stared, glancing up at Leola in some disbelief- this food was for him? She had already turned back to the counter to collect her own plate. Even if it was a mistake, he decided, he would eat as much of it as he could before she took it back. He scooped up the cutlery, giving the knife only a moment’s consideration before he dropped it back down and dug in with the fork, practically inhaling the meal before him.

Leola chuckled as she returned to the table, putting her plate down gently before her and readjusting her apron as she sat. She wore grey today, the dress plain and practical. She ate at a measured pace, using both knife and fork. Between bites she spoke to Ness, the tone of their conversation cordial if a little stiff.

Eldred, too absorbed in the food before him, didn’t start to pay attention to their words until after he’d mopped the last of his egg yolk up with his bread.

“… summons?” Leola asked, watchful eye on Ness.

“No,” she answered, shoulders lifting in a shrug. “They have more important things to attend to than one rogue horseman.”

Leola snorted, reaching to take a sip of the tea she had brewed for herself. “Their campaign won’t go anywhere if they’re this lax with all of you- we’ll lose all of the gates at this rate.”

“Is that really so bad? We don’t stand a chance if they realise what is happening and attack. The Courts are edging us closer to all out war.”

“What are the courts?” His voice seemed loud compared to the silence that fell over the room after he’d asked the question. Leola’s gaze snapped to him, hand frozen in place clutching the teacup by her face. Ness didn’t move, but Eldred got the feeling she was watching him too.

“It is nothing you need to worry about,” Ness said after a pause that seemed just a moment too long. “Besides, I am sure such things would be boring to you.”

He frowned, about to protest that what they had been talking about did seem interesting.

Leola cut in before he could get a word in, though, putting down her cup with a quiet chink, and stood, chair scraping with the action. “I am going to go for a walk in the woods- there are some ingredients I need that should be ripe for harvesting now.” She tugged her apron straight, and then stopped, looking at Eldred with a speculative gleam in her eye. “Perhaps you’d like to join me? Some fresh air would do you good, I think.”

He perked up at the invitation- he could see the trees from here, looming up tall and mysterious in the window. The house lacked a back garden, instead opening straight out into the trees with little buffer between them. “I would!” he said, standing up as well, the conversation forgotten.

Her smile widened, and she nodded to herself. “You can help me pick the plants if you wish- there are a few in difficult to reach places that you might be able to fetch better than me.”

His nod was enthusiastic, and he hurried over to the door to look out through the window there. “Are we going now?” he asked, looking back at Leola.

“We will in just a moment- let me just get my basket and coat-” she started toward the kitchen door, about to pass through when Ness spoke.

“I will come too, if it will not bother you.” The words were more statement than question.

Eyes narrowed, Leola shook her head. “Oh but there’s no need- surely you’d like some time to yourself, after such a chaotic last few days?”

“It is no trouble- I would like to stretch my legs as well. Walking outside where I can stand without having to hunch over will be a nice change.” She started to stand.

“Ah but your armour, it will frighten the wildlife with its glinting and clanking- I was hoping we might see some of the deer that range the area,” Leola said with disappointment. Eldred looked between the two of them, frown creasing his brow. “Come, you could take Ardghal for a ride, perhaps? I’m sure he is bored of sitting in front of the house, anyway.” She gestured for Ness to go before her into the hall, and after a pause the armoured figure took the invitation, although Eldred got the sense that the conversation wasn’t over. Leola turned back to Eldred, her smile feeling a little forced, “You go and fetch your shoes, I just need to get some things from my workroom.”

He nodded, darting past her and up the stairs. Ness stood at the base, facing Leola.

He reemerged a few minutes later, shoelaces tied messily in his hurry, and he took the stairs two at a time as he hurried to get to the back door. Ness was nowhere in sight, and he wondered momentarily where she had gone until Leola came into sight again at the end of the hall. She held a woven basket in one arm, a worn leather bag slung over her shoulder. He hurried over, and she offered him the basket. He took it, holding the handle with both hands as she led the way over to the back door.

“After you,” she said with a smile as she held the door open. He skipped outside, taking in a deep breath of the cool fresh air and staring up at the bright colours of the land. Leaves lay thick on the path before them, blown in by autumn winds from the trees that stood just a few strides away. Leola stepped out after him, shutting the door carefully behind her. She paused, closing her eyes as she faced the trees, taking in the day.

Eldred, already done with his cursory examination of the immediate area, started to move down the narrow path that led from the cottage’s back door into the trees, eager to explore new territory.

“Stay close,” Leola called after him, shuffling forward in the leaves, “I need you to keep an eye out for the plants we’re gathering this morning, and you need to be careful of going off the path.”

He pulled up short, squinting down the path ahead of them, and then walking back to the old woman’s side, although it pained him to do so instead of continuing to run down the forest path. “How come?” he asked as he came up beside her, holding a hand out to brush the smooth leafed ferns that sprung from the ground beneath the trees.

“I’ve got some traps laid out for rabbits and such- I would hate for you to hurt yourself in one of them, not after I put so much effort into patching you up last night.” This last part she said with a smile in her voice, and she reached out to pat his bandaged head.

They walked like this for a few minutes, Eldred staying close to Leola as she walked steadily along the path. He darted ahead a few times, or lingered behind when he found something that caught his attention. Occasionally, Leola would stop to examine something- a trap tucked into the undergrowth in a rabbit path, or to check the conditions of the area for suitability for the plants she sought out. So far they had found nothing- the old woman’s traps had been empty, and the conditions of the forest hadn’t been right for what she sought- but Leola assured Eldred that they would find something soon.

They were a ways into the forest when Eldred thought he heard something on the path behind them. He froze in place, Leola continuing on ahead of him, as he looked around with eyes wide and round. Would the dogs be here, as well? If they were chasing him, would they have been able to follow him through the stairway in the woods? He saw something moving through the trees, passing between trunks as it followed the winding path. “Are you alright?” Leola called from up ahead, unaware of the danger that was approaching.

He was unable to make himself speak, so he raised his arm to point instead. He heard her footsteps as she trudged back over to him, although he did not dare take his eyes off of the shape to see her reaction. Shielding her eyes against excess light, she drew up next to him, squinting. The figure was getting closer, steadily moving along the path, and Eldred was tempted to start running in the opposite direction.

A few moments of tense silence passed. Leola’s short bark of laughter made him jump, and he finally looked away to see her shaking her head in disbelief. He frowned, panic flaring as she continued to chuckle to herself- whatever it was would know where they were, it would be drawn to the sound-

“Don’t worry, child, it’s just your Ness,” she said, an edge to her voice as she said the name. Eldred’s frown deepened, and he looked back to the figure, trying to see Ness’s armour glinting in the sunlight, or to make out the sharp edges of her shoulder plates. She passed into a gap, finally close enough that there were few enough trees between them now, and Eldred stared at the figure.

If Leola hadn’t named her, Eldred would not have recognised her. Ness moved through the forest with her usual long strides, although her height was harder to discern when compared to the trees around her. She didn’t wear armour- the glinting, shining dark metal almost entirely absent from her garb. Instead, he now recognised the long coat that she wore- dark blue and padded in a diamond pattern, squaring her shoulders and bulking out her arms. On her lower half she wore padded trousers, as well, over the top of plain trousers. Her silhouette was blockier without the smooth curving shapes of the metal, the gambeson unrestrained and free to settle in its natural shapes, padding out Ness’s muscled figure. Her sword, a long blade of dark metal, poked out from its sheath at her hip, one hand resting on its pommel as it hung from one of her belts, transferred from its place around her breastplate to circle her waist instead. What surprised Eldred the most, however, after he had pieced together the clothing, was the face that now watched him as she approached. It was the first time he had seen her without her helmet, and the sight took him by surprise.

Her jaw was square, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes. Her hair, which was longer than Eldred would have expected, was plaited down her back, although from the angle he stood at, he could not see how long it was. Her skin was pale, with some colour coming into her cheeks, contrasting with the soft brown of her hair. As she drew closer, he met her eyes, almost as pale as her skin, a pale grey with a hint of blue in the shadows. It felt as though she looked straight through him, looking beyond his face and into his head itself.

“You couldn’t have left the sword behind?” Leola remarked, “The boy is safe with me, you didn’t have to come all the way out here, especially not as it inconvenienced you so.” She raised an eyebrow with this last comment, looking between her and Eldred.

Ness drew herself up taller, grip tightening around her sword. “There was an incident in seemingly safe woods just a few days ago, I would rather guarantee the boy’s safety,” she said stiffly.

The old woman clicked her tongue, turning back toward the path ahead of them and starting to walk again. “Come along now, you’ll get cold,” she said over her shoulder when Eldred and Ness did not follow immediately.

It took him a moment, but Eldred turned away from Ness, a little unnerved now that there was no helmet to hide her features. Something about her face made him uneasy in a way that no other person had. Guilt sparked within him at the relief he felt when he could no longer see her, and he scolded himself for the renewed uncertainty that had been conjured by the sight of her without the helmet on. He had spent so much of his life teased for a physical attribute that he could not change that he felt like he was betraying himself. Despite his reservations, he skipped ahead to catch up with Leola, clutching her basket close to himself. After a brief pause, he heard Ness’s footsteps resume as she followed behind them.