Arielle flinched at the ferocity in her ma’s voice. “I really didn’t mean to- ”

“Mean to or not, you certainly did something,” snapped her Ma.

Trudging in, she sat down at the table next to Pa and looked at the party standing awkwardly in the doorframe. “Well, don’t just stand there, come on in. Try and explain things, please,” said Arielle.

Aymon led the way and the rest followed suit. Taking seats on whatever was available, Arielle watched with amusement as Tysla jumped up to sit on a pile of floursacks in the kitchen, while Fuso sat on a upright log by the fireplace. Ainir and Calyana took the two remaining chairs and Aymon stayed standing like the stubborn elf he was.

“You have nothing to be smiling about young lady,” reprimanded her Ma who was staring at her with accusing eyes. Arielle could see the concern behind them too though. Her Ma, never one to beat around the bush, looked to Aymon and pressed him, “Alright, get on with it. What did she do?”

Aymon, who although he was the leader, was clearly not the diplomatic type. He looked uncomfortable being the recipient of her Ma’s interrogation. “Well, Ma’am, Arielle was found to have broken a saint’s seal.”

Her Pa, who was sitting quietly and letting Ma do all the talking looked to Arielle with a quirked eyebrow and Arielle just shrugged in response. Without hesitaiton, her Ma jumped into the questions, “Okay, so what will it cost us? Was it a crime? How many weeks of labor will she owe? Maliorn isn’t a big province, only a Viscount rules these lands. If a higher rank is needed to make a decision, she can work in Halix next door, they have Margrave.”

Arielle watched her Ma with admiration as she deftly negotiated her way through a problem she didn’t know all the details of. Aymon, still appearing extremely awkward, attempted to explain further, “Ah, no Ma’am, that’s not quite it. You see, a person can’t accidentally break a seal. It breaks only under the hand of someone meets that saint’s requirements.

This was news to arielle. She looked at Aymon, flabbergasted, and asked, “What requirements were those?”

She expected her Ma to chide her for interrupting but it seemed she was equally interested in the answer. Tsyla, from atop the sack of flour, answered, “Only the saint, in this case Saint Lenore, knows. However, the saint’s chosen being typically proves themselves by defeating the demon trapped within the seal but -”

Her Ma gasped and interrupted Tysla, “Did you fight a demon, Arielle? Are you okay?”

“Oh, no I didn’t,” replied Arielle. “See, funny story…”

“As I was saying,” interjected Tysla, “but because Arielle did not kill the demon and instead bonded with a Spirit and Shade, we might have more insight into what Saint Lenore intended.”

“That must be our cue, Krad,” said Evol, who popped up onto the table. Krad followed suit and the two fluffballs sat there, the complete center of attention.

Arielle glanced at her Ma, who appeared enraptured by the cuteness of the Spirit and Shade, but held back the urge to try and pet them given the seriousness of the situation. Krad squirmed beneath the attention but Evol beamed up at her Ma.

“Earlier, Krad, you were saying you don’t remember much right,” said Arielle.

“That’s correct. She sealed us away to help the person who broke her seal but with what, we can’t remember,” Krad paused for a moment and then added, “there was something though…” Krad looked around, appearing hesitant to mention it and Evol seemed apprehensive as well.

“Go on,” purred Fuso, who watched keenly from the fireplace.

“It had to do with the Demon King.”

Her Ma dropped the ladle that she was holding and it clattered against the floor for what seemed like eternity. “Arielle will have nothing to do with this. You may go now,” declared her Ma with a voice that left no room for argument.

Everyone else was also taking time to digest what Krad said, but the break in silence jolted them out of it.

Arielle looked at her Ma, then to Evol and Krad, and finally to Aymon who was staring at her with an unreadable expression. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Ma’am,” said Aymon slowly, his speech slow as though he was deciding what to say as he was speaking.

“In fact, in the name of King Drummond, I must insist that we escort Arielle to Laveria Academy for the foreseeable future.”