Header image: https://imgur.com/ez4ANKY

My breath caught in my throat as everyone in the Sweet Surveyor turned to look at me.

I quickly stood up and walked over to the counter, aware of how everyone turned their heads to follow. The man at the counter, a stout middle-aged man with curly black hair and green eyes, set down the glass he'd been polishing, and peered at me.

"Sorry about the mess," I mumbled. "Um, I'll pay for it later, but I just don't...have..."

My voice trailed off as the man's eyes slowly lit up with recognition.

"Aren't ya that wizard kid?" he said, his face crinkling into a frown.

I gulped, and shook my head. "No, no," I said frantically. "What?"

The man took a good look at my face, noting my features, and eyeing the knitted hat I wore. "Oh, aye, got to be," he said, the frown slowly lifting into a smile. "Nobody else quite looks so...elfy in these parts, you know?"

Told you. It's that elf.

Sweat trickled down the back of my tunic. "Dunno what ye're talking about," I mumbled, trying to put on an accent. "'m just passing through."

But the old man wouldn't listen. He raised his hand and called over the barmaid, who'd been staring at me the entire time. "Aye, Sarina," he said, smiling. "Isn't this that wizard?"

Seems awfully young, doesn't he?

"I'm not a wizard," I stammered, but if anyone had heard me, they didn't say so. The barmaid walked over and cooed as she got a closer look at me. "

It's that elf blood. Keeps them pretty forever.

Aye, sure as rain it is," she said cheerily. "The famous Elomir, weren't it?"

Thought he was off having an adventure. What's he doing here, looking like that?

I closed my eyes, and tried to imagine myself slowly sinking into the earth. It'd be cold and dark, but at least it'd be quiet.

Maybe he's hiding.

"You alright, son?" The barmaid sounded concerned. She placed a hand on my shoulder, in what I'm sure was meant to be a comforting manner. I shook it off, roughly.

Hiding from what?

Wish as I might, the floor didn't crack open and swallow me. My breath came faster, shallower. My head felt light, like it was only a matter of time before I floated off and away into a land where I didn't have to answer any of these questions.

Why isn't he saying anything?

Seems a bit ungrateful, if you ask me, after that display.

Shhh! He could put a curse on you, you know.

Could I? Could I really? I could feel the power crackling at my fingertips, the knowledge of all those old spells coming up to the forefront of my brain, still remembered after all this time. My lip trembled.

What would it take, really? What would it cost? Just a little bit of force, and I could be out of here, no questions. Nothing painful. Nothing lethal. My fingers twitched free from my grip, tracing out the runes that would set the spell off.

Just a quick stunning flash, and--

Another hand on my shoulder, this one slimmer and lighter than the work-worn hands of the barmaid's. I roughly jerked away, only to find that I couldn't shake it off. I shrugged, and stepped to the side, but the hand seemed to remain on me, not through force, but by a simple application of being in the same place my shoulder was.

I opened my eyes in panic, ready to shove the assailant away, only to be greeted by an unusual sight.

An exceptionally lovely woman stood beside me, dressed in immaculate armor that looked like it had been made out of white scales. She wore a luxurious grey fur cloak, the hood pushed back to reveal a lovely face, that in a lot of ways, resembled mine. Her long, black hair was tied into an elegant braid, highlighted here and there with blue feathers.Her ears, like mine, were long, and pointed.

She lifted an eyebrow, and stared at me with a look of faint amusement.

"So sorry for the trouble, darling," she said lightly to the man at the counter. "I'm afraid this isn't who you're looking for, though." The man frowned, and crossed his arms.

"Thought for sure it was, lady," he said, thoughtfully appraising her. The barmaid had covered her mouth with one hand, awestruck by the beautiful half-elf.

"I see that," the lady in white continued gracefully, "But this boy, is, in fact-" At this, she lightly tapped me on the head. "-my page!" she declared, with a dazzling smile.

Silence filled the room, and the man forehead wrinkled in thought.

"That's true!" I said, a little too loudly. My voice rang throughout the pub. "The lady's page, that's me, definitely. Lady, uh..."

"Verona," the lady said, rolling the r. "Again, very sorry for the trouble, here's some gold to compensate your lovely establishment." At this, she placed a small bag of coins on the counter. It clinked.

"Well, it's as you say, your ladyship." the man said, his eyes fixed on the bag.

"Indeed," Verona said, flashing one more charming smile at the man, and at the people in the pub in general. "We'd love to stay longer, but I'm afraid we have more urgent matters to attend to." She grabbed me by the arm, and led me outside.

"Thank you so much," I said, once we were some distance away from the Sweet Surveyor. I'd picked up our cart, and was pushing it as we walked down the road. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

The lady's eyes glittered, and her mouth turned up a little on one corner. "I can help you there, darling," she said. "50 gold pieces, with interest."

I blinked. "Surely there hadn't been that much in the bag, ma'am," I said carefully. She shrugged.

"We can go back to the pub and count it, if you'd like," she said slyly.

"We don't need to do that," I hurriedly replied.

She nodded, satisfied. "You'll pay me back when we get to your shop, I expect. But before that, I have to ask: what was all that about? You and your sister seemed quite distressed."

"How do you know about our store?" I asked, confused.

"I asked first, wizard boy," she replied. I winced.

"It's complicated," I said. "They recognized us." The sun finished setting, drawing the streets into darkness. Inside their houses, people started to light their lanterns.

"Doesn't seem complicated to me," Verona said after a while. "Although I can't help but notice the people seemed excited to see you. Her...not so much."

"If I could switch places with her, I would," I said, surprised at how easily I'd told her that.

She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't probe any further. "Family, huh?" she said.

I nodded slowly, not sure what she'd meant by that.

"I can't help but notice that the two of you seem to be..." she said, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"Different?" I provided, knowing what she meant.

"Different," she agreed, looking pointedly at my hat. Of course she could tell. "Stepsister? Adopted?"

"We're here," I said sharply, pointing down the street at the Hero's Welcome. We were, in fact, still a few minutes away, but as easy as it had been to talk to the woman in white, I knew there was nothing easy about the answer to her question. She pursed her lips in disappointment, but said nothing.

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of rattling as someone rummaged through our drawers, swearing as they dropped item after item onto the floor.

I dropped the cart and went into a sprint, Verona keeping close pace behind me. She'd heard it too. From inside the store, Lia screamed.

Something was wrong. My sister was in danger.

I could only hope I wasn't too late.