It took all of ten minutes to change into a dress she had sewn herself with material she had salvaged from her childhood clothes, grab her three trinkets, a white scarf from her childhood, a glossy colorful feather she had found in the bleak garden last summer, and the hairbrush Amanda had given her almost nine years ago. She also grabbed a small purse of money she had been saving over the years usually by finding coins that the gardeners or someone else had lost in the garden and scrawled a quick note to Roger saying goodbye and that she would be in touch.

   After a trip to the kitchen to say goodbye to Emily she took a final look out at the garden wishing it a silent farewell and thanks for the years of comfort it had provided her.

A minute later Ice was back downstairs standing in the entrance hall with Charlie waiting for the car. Handing over her note for Roger she asked if he would mind delivering it to him when he returned from his latest travels. As her aunt and uncle were nowhere to be seen she realized her acting had paid off. By repeatedly suggesting she would lead a hard life they were inclined to automatically do everything in their power to make sure the whole family distanced as far and as quickly as possible insuring her peace, practically tripping over herself to compliment their “honorable intentions” and “generosity” would reassure them that she would not steal anything, and taking only what she had owned outright without any money from their pocket would leave nothing they could hold over her as a debt.

          In two days', time she would be twenty years old have a house all to herself and a whole world in which to thrive. She could not have asked for a better birthday present.

          As the car Aunt Priscilla had promised pulled into the circular drive, she eagerly made her way towards it. Charlie followed close behind. Reaching around her he pulled the door to the backseat open for her.

  “I wish you the best of luck Miss.” He said sincerely. “There is a whole world out there just waiting for you and I know you will do great things.”

   “Thank you, Charlie. Out of all that I found here I have to say you were the best part.” Ice smiled at him warmly, realizing even as she spoke how true her words were.

Throughout her entire stay, Charlie had never offered her a shoulder to cry on or played with her in the gardens or took care of her after being covered head to toe in a bucket of mud courtesy of her cousins, but he had always been there just out of view standing steadfast looking out for her in his own unique way. By watching her grow stronger with her hardships standing by ready just in case he thought she was pushed too far. 

  “I would love if you would visit sometime when you have a few days off. I am sure that this is not the end of me but the very best of beginnings Charlie.” She stored the memory of the broad smile across the older gentleman’s face into her memory as she climbed into the car. She couldn’t remember a single time before that in all her years of memories him smiling at anything.

           Eagerly she soaked in the scenery of the world around her as her journey home began. Seeing people moving on with their own lives throughout the city in all manner of lovely chaos created a very interesting view.

          With an amused smile on her lips at the thought she wondered when her tutor would be told her services were no longer needed. Immediately? Or had they already forgotten about the poor oblivious woman?

The trip was indeed a long one having taken the rest of the day and all night to make, but as the sun slowly rose in greeting, Ice saw a small village come into view. It was sprawled up and down a mountainside and around a river with wonderfully haphazard lanes crisscrossing this way and that in no particular way. Some of the lanes she saw in fact ended with absolutely nothing meaningful in any way at the end of them. Overgrown bushes at the end of that one, a mud puddle at the end of another, and she even saw one that led directly to the river.

She understood immediately why her Uncle Zeb had chosen this place for his home. She had been here all of ten minutes and was already in love. Farther up the mountain than the other houses was a large sprawling manor whose very shape in architecture suggested it was designed to complement the natural beauty of the mountain sat perched proudly.

          Her new old home. She could hardly wait as the car pulled up to the front gates. They clearly hadn’t been used for some time as they were riddled with surface rust and had vines weaving through the old wrought iron bars covering most of the clearly intricate filigree design. Her memory served her well here however as she remembered the many walks, she had taken up the house for many months while she lived with Amanda the design that was covered was of an elegantly designed dragon after her family name. Dragonstone.

 It seemed funny seeing such a strong representation of it now when she hadn’t even thought of it in years. She had a feeling a lot of things were going to be that way here.

Her driver got out and opened the door to let her out. The man looked utterly exhausted having driven without stopping for anything but fuel and necessaries. It was clear he wasn’t used to making such trips. She recalled fondly that Charlie hadn’t seemed fazed at all by their trip going the other way all those years ago.

   “Thank you very much sir. I know you’ve already been compensated for the travel, but I would like you to have this to buy yourself something nourishing to eat to prepare yourself for the long journey home.” Ice said handing the driver enough money to cover a healthy meal.

   “Thank you very much Miss.” He said bowing his head gratefully. “My instructions were to deliver you to the gate of this property, but if you are inclined, I would be more than happy to drive you the rest of the way to the house.”

    “That is a very kind offer, but my load is a light one and the walk will do me good. Instead, knowing that you got some valuable rest before beginning your drive back would put my mind at ease.”

   “If that’s what you wish for then that’s what I shall do.” He said in a chipper voice tipping his cap and after making sure there was nothing else, he could help her with climbed back into his car and turning around drove back the way they had come.

   Smiling Ice reached into her skirt pocket and removed the envelope with the deed. Also tucked inside the envelope was a scrawled note of when the lawyer would meet her at the manor gate. She hadn’t long to wait.

          A silver car pulled in and parked in the same spot her chauffer had just left not fifteen minutes prior.

 A thin, tall, young man that strongly reminded her of a tree as he climbed out of his car and bending very slightly as if he were afraid a sudden strong breeze would blow him right off the side of the mountain as he walked toward her. As he approached, she saw he had sharp smart eyes hidden behind a pair of round-framed glasses and a shocking color of natural red hair. 

  “Good morning!” He called. “You must be Lady Nari Dragonstone.”

  “I must be.” Ice found it amusing that although in the time she had left home she hadn’t heard someone speak her name in almost a decade, but she was back home for less than an hour and she had heard it.

  “Well, that’s a relief then. I thought for sure I was meeting someone else’s stranger in the mountain.”

          “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not meeting someone else’s lawyer then. I do not believe it would make a very good first impression.” Ice smiled.

  “I expect you’ll be wanting this. Here you are.” The man dug into the pocket of his long coat and pulled out a large old key.

   “Excellent.” Ice took the key. “And?”

  “And what?” He stared looking genuinely confused.

  “What is your name Sir?”

  “Oh right! How terribly rude of me! I do things like that time to time. Know me long enough and you’ll find that out right quick. The name my lady is Baltimore Fredericks.” He finished this was a elegant little bow.

  “Pleased to meet you, I’m sure.” Ice laughed giving a curtsy at the unexpected formality.

  “It is funny that we should meet actually. My pops, Fargo

Fredericks, was your uncle’s lawyer did you know that? He’s the one who wrote up the document that gave you ownership of Dragonstone Manor, and now how we are me giving you the key to it.

It's all sort of poetic. Your family home changes hands and my pops law firm doing the same. Building something that lasts for generations. Wow!” Ice smiled at Baltimore’s enthusiasm he was clearly a very deep thinker and well suited to his trade.

  “Indeed. Shall we?” Ice held up the key.