“More than usual,” remarked Ogban. 

 “Why?” asked Trin.

 “Don’t take much,” Ogban shrugged. “Rebel activity, I’m sure they’ll say.”

 Trin growled in frustration. “Town’s going to be so boring, then! I wanted to show you all the fun places.” 

 Should we make a run for it? This might be my last chance. 

 Giselle came back to life. She crawled over the stones to position herself behind Ogban. “You’re fun enough all by yourself, Trin. I promise.” 

 I followed her, as the cart rolled to a stop next to a soldier, in a dusty uniform with a cap that shadowed his eyes. armed with a sword and - 

 "Evening," said Ogban calmly. His tone was familiar. 

 "Evening. Ladies." He dipped his head at us briskly. There was no flash of recognition in his eyes. He handed me a piece of parchment. 

 "They say the Princess is missing - again. Southern rebels, apparently. What they were thinking, letting a royal loose south of the border, only God can guess. And with her reputation... They say she was taken around the Western border, and they think she might've ended up around these parts." 

 "What does that mean for us?" 

 The soldier rolled his shoulders and scratched an ear. "There's a curfew. No one out after sundown. And no one in or out those gates without papers." He raised his eyebrows and I couldn't see Ogban, but sensed something pass between them. 

 "Well," Ogban said. "Lucky we aren't staying the night. We'll drop our goods and be on our way. Oh, and we'll keep an eye out for your princess." 

 The soldier tipped his hat again. "That'd be much appreciated." 

 Ogban stirred the donkey and we jolted forward. 

  "The princess is missing?!" Trin gasped. "Which one?" 

  "There's only one, dummy," Giselle said. "I wonder what happened..." 

 I looked down at the flyer in my hand. It wasn't a very good likeness. It didn't look any more like me than everyone else. 

 The people round here looked a lot like me. Dark hair, light-coloured eyes... none of my features marked me as more important that any of the people before and after me in this queue. A line of potential princesses carrying baskets on their back, carts full of stone, babies strapped to their chests. 

  We began to roll under the arch of the gate and into the town. Giselle leaned in to me. "I wouldn't be too worried. They won't find you. They didn't last time," she whispered. 

 A wide, bustling, dusty yard. Packed with carts, and workers unloading slabs of stone, heaving them to a great pile in the corner. Royal soldiers watched the entrance. We parked in a newly empty space and helped unload. Ogban and Trin chatted with the yard workers and the cart was empty in a matter of minutes. Now what? 

 Ogban approached the foreman, who marked something in his book, then handed him his pay, a handful of coins. With his other hand, Ogban passed him something in return. Neither man said a word. 

 "Through here." 

 Giselle grabbed my elbow and pulled me after Trin and Ogban, disappearing behind a shed. We ducked through a crack in the wall and into a cramped alleyway. My heart hammered in my throat. 

 Posters of me were plastered the length of the streets. There was hardly room for wall. 

 If Ogban made any connection, I couldn't tell. "Getting in to this town's the easy part," he said, slow and calm. "It's in leaving that things can get a bit... sticky." 

 "If there's anything I can do-" Giselle began. 

 "Helna said it well enough. Stay safe. Keep warm. Get back home as soon as you can... Lucky for both of you girls, Ogban is the top man for this job." 

 "Thank you," said Giselle. 

 I nodded, too. 

 We walked through crowded streets. No one so much as cast a second glance, at me or anyone. They all had places  to be, I guessed. Ogban stopped at a grimy-looking cafe. 

 "I may be a little longer - usually people are trying to go in the other direction. But I should not be an hour more," he said, and left us there with Trin, who looked none too happy about it. 

 Inside, the cafe's sole worker greeted us warmly, Trin by name, and seated us at the best seat in the house - apparently - none of them were filled to begin with. 

 "Three wood-apple juices," said Giselle, resting her cheek on her palm. "You're sure Ogban knows what he's doing?" 

 Trin pouted. "This really is what he does best - much better than carting stone. But he would be much better if he let me come too - I keep saying it's not fair to leave me behind."

 "All in good time, right?" Giselle raised an eyebrow. 

 "But this part is soooo boring! I just sit here and wait." She stretched all her limbs out like a starfish. "Aargh! What's the point waiting! I'm s'posed to learn how to help out, like I do with mum!"

 Giselle poked her playfully. "We're here, this time, and you're still bored? I'm hurt." 

 "Then do something interesting!" 

 We both burst out laughing. The waitress brought out our juices in greasy metal cups. 

 "Have you ever played spoons before?" asked Giselle, with a wink. 

 She had the same playing cards in her bag, after all this time. I remembered how the world had been the last time I played this game. My heart hurt a bit. 

 We filled an hour with games. 

 Now Giselle kept trying to look at the cafe's iron clock without alarming Trin. Ogban was late, but it wasn't cause for worry. Not yet. 

 Trin had been cleaning up, because we were both letting her win. It was working. She threw all her attention onto the game. After winning her fifth game in a row, she stood. 

 "I need to use the toilet. Don't play without me. Us orphans have to stick together, you know." Turning on her heel, she disappeared into the bowels of the cafe. 

 "Trin's an orphan?!" I hissed. "Aren't Helna and Ogban her parents?" 

 "They are. But her parents before that are dead. That's what Helna and Ogban do - help those who have no one else. Mostly they just get people over the mountains. But Trin - and me and Amacia - needed more than that." 

  "What a coincidence..." 

 Giselle lowered her eyelashes. "Is there war, where you're from?" 

 It took me a second to answer. This was the first time she had asked me about myself. "There is. But not where I was." 

 "Then you cannot understand. Didn’t you notice? There’s a lot of orphans in this country, and it’s not a coincidence. How many died in the war?" 

  I cast my mind back to the Palace library. I’d read that number often enough. It wasn’t like they were hiding it or anything. “Ten thousand - Five thousand soldiers. Five thousand civilians.”

 Giselle brushed her thumb across her bottom lip, then raised her eyes to meet mine. “That’s what they write in the history books. I could not count them myself – but I can remember those whose names never made the list. Those who starved, those who died of disease. Those who had no name to begin with. They did not count witches among that number."

  "How many witches died?" I asked. 

 "There were no witches in the South until the Queen put a name to them. And now - there are no Witches in the South. Not anymore.”

 All that reading I had done in the palace library was looking more futile by the second. 

 "Where is my dad? He should be back by now!" 

 We both turned to see Trin, staring straight at the cafe clock. 

 "He's probably - just running a bit late," I said. 

 "Trin, he said to wait here, no matter what." Giselle said, at the same time.

 She looked at me, then Giselle, then back at me. Her brows knit. "But I'm the only one who knows where he goes." 

 She left the cafe. 

 "Trin!" Giselle shouted, standing so fast her chair hit the stone floor. The waitress looked up, then back down again quickly. "The curfew - " Giselle growled in frustration, but she did not move. 

 I ran outside. 

 Trin was easy to follow. I was sure Giselle was just behind me. We weaved through the streets, bathed in sunset. I finally caught up to her on the main street, packed with people moving with purpose. We had less than half an hour to be out of here. I clamped a hand on her shoulder. 

 She whipped her head back. "Don't stop me. He's just around the corner." 

 "We won't stop you," said Giselle. I knew she had followed. "Just make sure first, okay?" 

 Trin's top lip twitched, looked from me to Giselle. She didn't trust us. "Okay." 

 We slipped into an alleyway. She stayed close to wall, looking without fear of being watched. She was shaking. Cold washed over me. I grabbed Giselle's wrist and pulled her close to me. 

 "How bad are things here, exactly," I hissed, careful that Trin could not hear. 

 "As bad as they are everywhere else." 

 "Dad!" Trin screamed. "Dad!" 

 She ran into the crowd. 

  “Trin – don’t!” Giselle cried out but Trin wasn’t close to listening.

 I ran after her.

 I saw him. He was surrounded by soldiers. He saw me - he saw Trin. 

 "What are you doing?!" shouted Trin, before I could stop her. "What are you doing with my dad?" 

 The flow of the crowd paused, then started up again. I couldn't reach her. Ogban said something I couldn't make out. Trin tried to push past the soldiers to get to him. 

 "This man has been detained under suspicion of falsifying Crown documents. Do not interfere." 

 "Don't hurt him! He hasn't done anything wrong! Hey - where are you taking him?" Trin tried to get to him again, throwing herself at the soldiers. 

 This time, one of them stopped her by grabbing her under the arms. "What do I do with her?" he asked as she squirmed. "She's just a child." 

 "Take her in, too." 

  “No!” Trin screamed. I wanted to scream too. She was looking around for help – for us.

 I fought my way through the crowd. I was so close - 

 Someone was dragging me backwards. Giselle slammed me against the wall and forced her hand over my mouth. Shut up, she silently compelled me. Pain radiated through my bones. Trin was still screaming as they dragged her down the street.

 The second Giselle relaxed her pressure I broke free.

 I ran towards the street. Giselle caught me again. This time I fought back - struggled with everything I had.

 “We have to do something!”

 “We can’t!"

 “She just needs someone to stand up for her! If you won’t then I will!” I threw both of us bodily closer to the crowd.   

 “No!” Her knife was at my throat. “You’re ruining everything she worked for! If this is what it comes down to, I will kill you.”

 A line of blood trailed down her neck. I knew one must be trailing down mine too.

 I spat in her face. “This is all your fault, you know! You sent them here. You used Ogban and Trin and now you’re leaving them to rot. You called me selfish. You hate me for not doing anything to stop their suffering, but you caused it. All these people are suffering and you don’t even care!”

 “I’m doing this because I care! You don’t know everything I’ve sacrificed! The people I lost! And I would do all of it again!”

 “Then tell me!”  I found it again – Amacia’s voice. And again, it hit.