Once I got the hang of it, I found that cartography came very easily to me, and I discovered that I remembered a lot of details from my few fly-overs of the Wild Lands. I would definitely need to fly over it all again if I wanted to be more detailed, but, for a first try, it wasn’t bad.

“That’s very good,” Augustus whispered.

“Thank you,” I shyly, almost proudly, said. “Are you feeling better after your nap?”

He hummed, nodding. He adjusted his veil. “I….” He stopped.

“What is it?” Ethyn came down to join us in the nest.

“It’s… not something I should talk about, not something I even really want to talk about,” Augustus whispered, curling up. “I…. I know Cornelius and Stefan aren’t mad about it, but…. I shouldn’t have hid it. I should’ve just…. I was just… so scared,” his voice cracked, and he blinked back tears.

“I can talk to them, if you’d like,” I softly offered. “Check to see if they’re mad, and, if so, how mad. But I don’t think they are. I think they’re concerned.”

“I-I know they are, I just… feel bad.”

“Maybe that’s your mind reacting to all the bad things,” Ethyn offered. “With a lot of slaves, they learn how to… disconnect from their emotions. And, when they’re freed, they don’t quite know how to deal with those emotions. We see it a lot. This might be your mind and body still thinking you’re in danger, that you’ve messed up and will get punished for it. But you won’t, Augustus. No one will lay an unkind hand on you.”

“And if they do, I’ll handle it,” I said. “I will not allow anyone to be harmed here.”

“Anyone but yourself,” Ethyn half-sarcastically muttered. I playfully hit him.

“I‒” Augustus choked. He couldn’t look at us. Until he could. “I have a nephew. H-he was alive when I was free. D-do you think…. Did they know? Did they know that I once…? That I was under the floors they ran across? That I…? B-Bia said….”

The door opened. “Augustus, there you are!”

“H-hi, Cornelius,” Augustus whispered, wiping his tears.

“He just wanted to be in the nest,” I assured Cornelius. I looked up at him, “You’re not mad at him, right? For not telling you whatever he didn’t tell you?”

“What? Of course not!” Cornelius said, sitting with us. “I’m concerned. Augustus, it’s clearly something you carry shame about, but I promise you don’t need to. We don’t think of you any different, we aren’t angry in any way. If anything, we’re angry at your brother and parents. And that’s it.”

It looked like Augustus didn’t quite believe him.

“Do you want to stay here in the nest, or would you maybe be okay with talking to me and Stefan about your nephew?” Cornelius asked.

Augustus seemed to lighten, “Can…?”

“Yes, we’ll be discussing a meeting with him,” Cornelius nodded.

Augustus slowly got up. Cornelius offered his hand, and he took it. Augustus looked down at me, eyes a sad sort of hopeful. “Thank you.”

I nodded, “You’re welcome in the nest any time.”

I couldn’t see it behind the veil, but I knew he was smiling. Maybe one of the first real smiles he’d had in a long time. Augustus carefully stepped out of the nest, and shyly waved as he followed Cornelius out of the room.