Episode 51

The system of power turns like wheel

You can rise to the top through money or steel

You could lift up others or leave them in muck

But it’s the poor who will suffer when the wheel becomes stuck

If the problems aren’t met with any solution

The wheel must turn in bloody revolution

The vermin will rise as the predator sinks

Let’s see then if the fox can outsmart the lynx

Lilian Lausanne was standing in the light of the moon shining bright and blue through stained glass. She was at the top of the palace in Freedos, in a large, empty space with several dark doors leading off it. By her side was Fritha, the feinhound in shimmering blue and at her feet, lying prone on his back was a man called Nicholas Telson. This man was the founder of the mysterious group called The Guiding Hand. They were racketeers, war mongers and if they weren’t power hungry, they were power mad. But now that Lilian had cut off the stinger, the scorpion would hopefully be less dangerous. She had never been one to gloat and so she said nothing. She watched him struggle against dark ropes and when that did no good, she saw his eyes cycle through fear, anger, resentment and finally acceptance.

Lilian heard a sound from the staircase which she had used to reach this place. She looked up to see Mr Attorcop, cloak billowing in haste, rushing up the stairs and into the moonlight. The sight of him made her feel safe and so she relaxed. The sense of power and connection with the darkness around her gave way and she could feel herself going back to normal. She looked down at her forearm and watched the moon and the mountain fade away. It gave her comfort knowing that they were there and that they could come back if she needed them.

Mr Attorcop rushed towards her, he was followed by William who was clutching a cut on his left arm, and a small group of men and women who seemed to all be holding improvised weapons. Lilian saw sickles, rakes and even a table leg.

“Lilian, are you alright?” said Mr Attorcop, glancing down at Telson, “restrain him,” he pointed at two men and they rushed over to Telson and quickly bound his hands behind his back with thick rope.

“I’m fine. What about you?” Mr Attorcop looked a little pale and out of breath, but he nodded.

“Yes, yes. Fine. There was some trouble down on the balcony but thankfully a group had broken through the main entrance and came to our aid.” He gestured to some of the newcomers. They were either looking around the strange room, up at the big circular window or at Lilian and Fritha.

“Cromwell,” Lilian lowered her voice, “something happened…” Mr Attorcop cut her off.

“I saw Lilian, no need to speak of it now. I saw you and I know. But the fight is not over, we need to find the Empress.” Lilian nodded, hearing the urgency in his voice.

“Telson came in from over there,” she turned and pointed to one of the far doors, the two guards who had swallowed the Nightshade were still lying nearby in crumpled heaps. Mr Attorcop turned to William.

“Take Telson to the tower and keep him there under guard, while you’re at it, find Katherine and release her.” William looked concerned,

“What about the guards?”

“Once they hear about the fall of the palace,” replied Mr Attorcop, “they should reassess their positions. Persuade them if you have to. We’re going to find Empress Sylvia.” William nodded, shot Lilian a smile and then turned away to catch up with the group who were already leading Telson away.

“You think this will change things!?” Telson was shouting over his shoulder, “You think you’re better than me? You’re just the same, you’ll see, one day soon you’ll beg for my return. You hear me?? You’ll beg for me to help you!” A thudding sound followed this twisted prophecy and Telson bent double from a swift punch to his gut. Lilian called out to Telson as she watched him get dragged away.

"Nicholas!" he turned back to glower at her, "Eleyna has not forgotten." Telson's face flashed a confused sneer, but after he processed the words, his expression changed into one of understanding mixed with fear. As he was lead away, Lilian took solace in the fact that his past had finally caught up to him and that she was able to deliver her sword mistress's message.

“Lead the way, Lilian.” Mr Attorcop was already setting off towards the door. Lilian followed him, still reeling a little from what had just happened. What had just happened? She wondered. Fritha was thankfully uninjured and was padding happily alongside them. Lilian reached up and round to touch her shoulder, there was the hole in her armour where Telson had stabbed her, but she felt no pain there. Too many questions were racing through her mind, she decided to put them to one side for the time being and focus on finding the Empress. They had handled her guard dog, but who knew what kind of trouble they would encounter while trying to actually apprehend her. Mr Attorcop remained silent and determined.

The doorway revealed a set of steep steps, twisting up and round, presumably leading to one of the palace's many towers. The trio bounded up two at a time until they came to a door. It was big, made of thick, old wood and peppered with ancient woodworm holes. This part of the palace had not been changed in many years. Lilian looked at Mr Attorcop who studied it. He tried the handle but it was bolted shut from the inside, as expected.

“Step back,” he instructed Lilian who turned and took Fritha down a few steps before turning back to observe. Mr Attorcop closed his eyes and breathed in a long breath through his nose. He then pushed all the air out slowly through his mouth whilst bringing his right hand up to his side, palm facing forwards. A few more breaths followed the first and after about a minute he thrust his hand out with a quick breath and it struck the door with the speed and force of a battering ram. Lilian felt it shake and heard the hinges rattle with the impact. One hit was not enough though. Lilian found herself wishing for more of Peter’s exploding powder. But it was not necessary. After three minutes and four more big hits, the door swung open.

“Can you teach me how to do that?” whispered Lilian. Mr Attorcop nodded,

“Let’s get out of here first shall we? Come through, and stay on your guard.” Lilian stepped across the threshold but strangely did not feel any sense of nervousness or fear. She’d dealt with the Empress’s attack dogs and although animals were at their most dangerous when cornered, she did not anticipate much trouble from this particular cornered creature. What she did begin to feel was a mounting sense of rage.

The darkness of the stairwell was overwhelmed by the brilliant glow coming from inside the room. The ceiling was tall, for a tower chamber, and its height was made all the more impressive by the mountains of objects guiding the eye upwards to the old ceiling beams. These piles were made up of precious things: golden rings nestled in silver cups, necklaces of pearly strings draped on paintings and platinum plates. There were only two or three torches, spitting and flickering in brass sconces but this was enough to bathe the room in a shimmering golden light. It reminded Lilian of the sun room where she found the bird statue in Zandt. Only there was no water or stained glass here, just velvet carpet and stacks of wealth. Lilian, Mr Attorcop and Fritha wound their way through mounds of copper coins, heaps of important looking papers and Lilian even spotted a small lock box, filled to bursting with a rainbow array of gemstones. As her footsteps pressed against the floorboards she saw two or three cascade carelessly down onto the floor. Lilian was in awe, but that feeling was quickly replaced by anger. There were enough riches in this room to feed a starving town for several years. Enough to make sure every citizen in Freedos had a warm and happy home. Enough to banish the city’s poverty problem into the realms of mere memory. All this made Lilian hopeful, and furious.

As the trio rounded a particularly voluminous mound of silver cutlery they saw her. She was sitting on what looked like a footstool. Its squat and sturdy legs supported a red velvet cushion, trimmed with gold thread. She was dressed in white a gown, accented with silver icicles around the collar and sleeve hems. On her head was a silver coronet with a deep red ruby embedded in its centre. In amongst the heaps of haphazardly scattered treasures, she looked like just another trinket. Dwarfed by a bronze statue of a lynx to her left and a large portrait of a serious looking man to her right. She looked up at them as they approached. Her big brown eyes glistened in the gold. The Empress. The woman. Kitty Sylvia.

“Lilian?” she said, in disbelief. Her eyes darted from Lilian, to Mr Attorcop, to Lilian’s tungsten switch. Her mouth curled into a small smile. “When I invited you to come back and see me this is not exactly what I had in mind.” Lilian’s hand tightened around the handle of her weapon. Surrounded by all this inordinate wealth, this physical manifestation of injustice, The Empress didn’t have the humility to admit she was beaten, instead, she was making jokes. Lilian took a step towards her. Mr Attorcop whispered softly behind her.

“Lilian…” his voice was tense with caution. It fell on deaf ears. Lilian took another step, her boot folding into the softness of the carpet. A vision flashed through her mind, followed swiftly by another and another. She saw herself grabbing the nearest plate and whacking her royal smugness with the flat side, she watched herself feeding a coin to the Empress and asking if it sustained her, in her mind she tore down the mountains of money, ripped up the paintings and beat the empress with all the unbridled rage she could muster on behalf of the people dying from starvation all across this supposed great city. But she did none of this. Instead, she took a deep breath, shut her eyes and brought her emotions under control. Lilian Lausanne then brought herself down to the floor and sat cross legged. Then she opened her eyes, looked at the Empress and said,

“Talk.”

“Well, what do you expect me to say? That I’m sorry? That I feel bad? Well I won’t. You know why? Because everything I’ve ever done was for this city. For the people, for my people. But how would you know? You’re just a child. You probably look at all this and think, well isn’t she greedy, isn’t she dishonest? But tell me, when a famine hits the farms, who do you think pays for overseas shipments of grain? Who helps business owners, people who provide jobs, when they’re struggling through hard times? Do you think that money just appears out of thin air? No. It comes from here, from me. How do you think I pay the army to help keep us safe, hm? And you have the nerve to march up here and… what? Drag me away? Kill me, perhaps? I was your age once. I came from a small town too, just like you. And, just like you, I was brought here by men who thought they knew what was best for me. My father, my uncles, counsellors, politicians, priests. They all had their say in what I was supposed to do, supposed to say, supposed to be. And I suppose it worked. I married the emperor. I was the acceptable, loveable face of his reign of terror. It was… awful. When he wasn’t drunk he was plotting the murder of his enemies. And that could be anyone from a rival lord to the cook who burned his breakfast. And then I met Nicholas and he promised me a different life. His methods might be unconventional, but compared to the company I was keeping he seemed positively placid. And he delivered on his promise, something few other men in my life ever managed to achieve. The emperor met his mysterious end and I was free to take over. Of course I don’t have to tell your friend about all that. I suspect he’s forgotten to mention the part he played in my late husband’s demise.” She shot Mr Attorcop a dagger-sharp look. She seemed to see him for the first time then, she looked him up and down and tutted. “I suspect he’s conveniently forgotten to mention a lot of things. They never tell you the whole story do they? Has he ever explained why he’s taught you all these things? How to fight? How to lie, how to perform dark and dangerous deeds. Look at you Lilian, what child your age knows how to wield a sword, what child wears armour and is forced to take her life into her hands each night as she fights, steals, is thrown out of windows, consorts with criminals and is sent away to far off lands with no way of knowing if she will be safe? No child should have to go through what you’ve been through Lilian. Girls your age should… they should be with their parents. They should play with their friends and do simple things and get upset over trivial matters. But look at you. What has he made you into? A walking weapon for him to wield without mercy. And you call me a tyrant? Let me guess. Whenever something truly terrible happens, your aged friend here is not far away. Yes. I see it in your eyes. Ask yourself, really ask yourself, can you be sure he did not cause the injuries you’ve suffered, the pain you’ve endured, the deaths of your friends. Ah… So there was a death. And he was there wasn’t he? Offering comfort with one hand and poison with the other. Men like him, they don’t stop, you know? Just look at where you are now, poised and ready to drag me away and feed me to the wolves or perhaps to your beast. There she is.” The Empress looked at Fritha now, taking in all her colourful splendour with envious eyes. “All I wanted was to see her for myself. And here she is, just as beautiful as the rumours described her. An animal straight out of a story. You’ve likely twisted her as well. Taught her how to attack and maul and maim. But she seems calm now, pretty even.” Lilian looked back at Fritha, the feinhound was sniffing the rim of a large vase, seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of the situation unfolding around her. The Empress spoke again. “But that’s what they do, these people, men like him. They take something beautiful and twist it into something useful. You’re looking at me with hatred in your eyes Lilian but how can you be sure you’re not going through exactly the same thing as I did? Hm? How can you know you’re not becoming just… like… me.” Lilian pondered the Empress’ words. There was something desperate about her tone, something sharp. She was reminded of a bird or a cat caught in a trap, scratching at the humans trying to free it. She thought about what the Empress was suggesting, about how she too might be becoming the very thing she fought so hard against. But then, a word popped into her mind and with it her body relaxed, her shoulders dropped and she smiled. She had spoken this word, this concept in the Stave Church in Bonneville a few weeks ago, just before Mr Attorcop’s attic rooms were blown to smithereens by the Weardian. She thought of Kilde, she thought of her friends and of all she’d done these past few months. The word was forgiveness and it was the difference between her and the Empress. Not that she was ready to forgive her majesty for all she’d done, but she was ready to try and understand her, to treat her with kindness, even though she hated her. This was not just the end of a dynasty, it was the beginning of a process.

Lilian stood up, she’d heard enough for now. A plan was forming in her mind, but she needed a little distance to figure out the finer details. She looked down at Empress Sylvia and saw fear in her eyes.

“Kitty Sylvia, you are from this moment, no longer the Empress of Freedos and the western realms. You are a citizen, like the rest of us. You’ll spend some time in the tower to pay for your crimes and then we will figure out what to do with you. Take off that silly crown now and follow me. We’re leaving”

A long silence followed the order, but slowly, the reality of Miss Sylvia’s situation dawned on her and her expression transformed from hatred to understanding. There was even a trace of gratitude there as it was well known that treason under her rule was normally met with swift execution. The one time leader slowly removed her coronet and placed it on the floor. Her fingers lingered on it for a few seconds, as if they were leaving the hand of an old friend as they said their goodbyes. But then, ever proud, Kitty Sylvia stood up, held her chin high and followed Lilian and Mr Attorcop down and out of the palace, Fritha padding beside her, tolling her gong with each passing minute.

When they reached the entrance to the palace they were met by a thousand silent gazes. The stunned and quiet faces of nobles, beggars and labourers stared at them as they left the grand building. Lilian glanced at the ground and saw the fallen weapons of palace guards, scattered besides pitchforks and pickaxes. The traces of blood on the flagstones and the bruises appearing on the cheeks of those around them all pointed to signs of a great struggle. The people of Freedos had joined the fight and by the looks of things, they had won. Now they were watching as their fallen leader was marched through their ranks. They did not shout, they did not throw things as Lilian feared they might. Instead, they just looked at her, every face telling a story of how this woman had hurt them. Mr Attorcop lead the way, making sure the crowd parted as they approached. Word quickly travelled down the slopes and as they walked out of the palace gates and began their descent, they saw the crowds lining the roads. The sun was just rising on the horizon, shining its warming light on the hundreds of faces that stretched down the side of the extinct volcano. It was a beautiful morning, the sky was clear and the only thing that broke the silence were the footsteps of a deposed Empress and the sound of birds singing.

They left the city and walked the dirt road to the tower. When they reached it, they saw that the guards had laid down their swords and halberds and were sitting in a group by the door, their hands bound by thick twine. A group of revolutionaries, lead by William, were close by. By the looks of things, the guards had not put up much of a fight. William greeted them.

“We’ll take it from here. Thank you Lilian, and Cromwell and Fritha, the city owes you a debt.” Lilian shook her head.

“Everyone played their part, we just did what we needed to do.” William smiled.

“You did so much more than that. And if you won’t take my thanks perhaps you’ll take someone else’s.” He moved to one side and glanced behind him. A few feet away a woman looked up and smiled.

“Katherine!” Lilian jumped for joy and ran to her friend, throwing her arms around Katherine’s waist and squeezing her tightly.

“My darling, I was so worried about you.”

“I was worried about you, I’m sorry I left, I didn’t know you would be sent here, if I had I…” Katherine pulled her close again, shushing Lilian’s apologies.

“Hush my love, you had nothing to do with this. You did the right thing in leaving or you would have ended up in here with me.” Lilian wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at Katherine’s face. Her cheeks had lost some of their colour and she’d clearly not been eating well, but her eyes still sparkled with that same kindness she’d seen in her first week in Freedos. William walked Miss Sylvia through the tower gates.

“Come on your majesty, I’ve got a cell in here with your name on it.”

As they watched her get swallowed up into the dark halls of the tower she turned to look back at them. Lilian saw fear in the Empress's eyes and felt a small pang of compassion in her heart. Once she’d disappeared from view Mr Attorcop put his hand on Lilian’s shoulder.

“You did well Lilian. Few would have gone into that room and shown her that kind of mercy.” Lilian looked at the floor.

“If we’re going to start from scratch, then we can’t be like her. We start as we mean to go on.” Lilian turned to look her mentor in the eye, “we have a lot of work to do.” Mr Attorcop nodded.

“Yes. But it’s not your work. I think we can all agree that you’ve done more than enough. The Empress said a lot of things up there, she was wrong about most, but she was right when she said that you’re still just a child. I’m… I’m sorry if I’ve robbed you of that.”

Lilian saw remorse spread across the old man’s face as he slumped his shoulders in shame. Lilian hugged him.

“Everything I’ve learned, everything we’ve done together, it’s all thanks to you. I wouldn’t change anything.” She broke away and looked at his face, his eyes wrinkled in a smile. “But, in the nicest possible way, I do think I’d like a break. She got in my head a bit back there and I just think some time apart might do us both some good.” Mr Attorcop nodded.

“I understand. And you’re quite right and even though it does not need to be said, I still feel as though I should tell you, I had nothing to do with Kilde…” he faltered and Lilian interrupted him.

“I know.” Mr Attorcop nodded and wiped his eye with the back of his hand.

“Ahem, well. I think we should probably head back to the city, maybe eat something, hm? What do you say? After some food I’ll start organising a way to manage the city and you, well, you should do what you wish.” Lilian looked at her friends and smiled.

“I’d like that.” They all started to walk away and after a few steps, Lilian realised that Katherine was not following them. She turned to look back at her, she seemed hesitant to leave.

“Katherine? Are you coming?” Katherine turned to look at the tower and then back at Lilian.

“No… No I don’t think so.” Lilian was confused.

“Why not?” Katherine considered the question.

“I think I need to stay here. I know that I didn’t hurt those officers, not directly, but it was still my fault that they suffered. Walking away freely from doing that feels… strange. I think I’m going to stay here and work with the Empr… with Miss Sylvia. She’ll need feeding and guarding and I think I’d do better to serve here than to go back to looking after some very wealthy children. Heh… maybe my job won’t be as different as I thought.” Lilian understood and went back to hug her again.

“If anyone can do it, you can.”

“Thank you my love,” said Katherine, “And it’s not like I’ll be disappearing. I’ll still be able to visit you in the city for tea and cakes.” Katherine returned the hug and squeezed Lilian just that little bit more, to tell her how much she meant to her, to tell her all the things that words were too ill equipped to say. Then they parted, said goodbye and Lilian turned back to the city.

Lilian spent the next few months in Freedos. She spent her days training, walking Fritha and helping people when and where she could. Occasionally she would go back and visit Mr Twitchett who, after a brief explanation, had understood why Lilian had left her position at his shop so suddenly. He’d hired a young lad to help him and Lilian was always happy to drop by and catch up over a pot of hot tea. Some days she would shadow Mr Attorcop and observe how he went about setting up a new way of governing the city. Representatives from each quarter formed a small council, the members of which would meet once a fortnight to discuss how best to run the city. The nobles and business owners were allowed to keep their enterprises running but stricter rules were put in place surrounding the treatment of workers, and how much profits they would be allowed to keep before having to reinvest their money back into the society that made them. It was complex work which involved a lot of arguing but even in just a few weeks Lilian began to see changes. The royal coffers were raided and used to pay builders and workers to fix the poorer parts of the city. Anyone living on the streets were employed to do menial tasks or paid a small sum to attend classes. The bad smells emanating from the base of the volcano slowly disappeared and even the rat population seemed to decrease. Occasionally Lilian would catch sight of Bried or one of her gang, doing their best to keep alleyways dark and dangerous. They did their best to ignore each other but Lilian knew that Bried would never stop trying to carve a piece of the city out for herself. A stranger sight in Freedos than the queen of crime was the ex-empress herself. Katherine came to believe that simply locking her away was not enough. Kitty Sylvia owed the people of Freedos a debt and she would not be able to pay it from behind the bars of a cold cell. Katherine accompanied her into the city most days where she was promptly put to work. Together, they worked in kitchens feeding the hungry, they helped to paint old buildings, fix broken things and generally tried to place themselves wherever they were most needed and most useful. At first the old tyrant was treated with cold indifference. Food was aggressively slopped into her bowl, harsh whispers followed her wherever she went. The first few weeks she was spat upon, shoved, kicked and treated with utmost disdain. But she was diligent and under Katherine’s watchful eye she persisted in her duties. One day Lilian was watching her clean an old sewer grate. She was on her hands and knees and up to her elbow in muck. Lilian was nearby helping a stall holder sell her wares when out of the corner of her eye she saw an old woman approach the ex-empress and hand her a cloth with which to clean herself. Lilian watched Kitty Sylvia accept it warily, as if expecting some trick. But there was none. The old woman just smiled and walked away. It was a small moment, and Lilian had nearly missed it, but just as soon as she had witnessed this small act of compassion, something clicked in her mind. Lilian was ready to leave.

It took a week to get her affairs in order. She planned a dinner with Katherine and William, took Mr Attorcop to his favourite drinking house, brought Mr Twitchett a bouquet of wild flowers and even found a gift for Katrina. It was a small perfume box built to house a tiny bottle of perfume. It was made of bone porcelain and painted red with gold detailing. Lilian gave it to her in the rare flower market, between the tall shelves stacked high with perfectly preserved materials.

“My goodness Lilian, it’s beautiful. Oh, I’ll be so sorry to see you go. And not just because I’ll miss you, but when you’re around Cromwell is just easier to get on with.” Lilian smiled,

“Hopefully he won’t change too much.” Katherine laughed,

“Ha, if only you knew how much he has changed. The years before he went to Benlunar and met you he was, sad, and bitter. Watching him do his work with the council now I see real hope and energy in him. It’s marvellous. Thank you, Lily darling, and not just for the box, but for that.” Out of the corner of her eye, Lilian saw Peter appear at the door to the back room. She turned and smiled at him.

“You’re really going?” he asked. Lilian nodded. She felt a lump appear in her throat but before a tear could escape from her eye Peter was already across the room and hugging her. “I’ll come visit, aye? If Benlunar is as beautiful as you say then I should think it’s worth a trip to see my friend.” Lilian giggled and sniffed.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said, her voice muffled by his woolly green jumper.

“Then it shall be the easiest promise I have ever kept.” They both smiled and then the mood shifted to bittersweet sadness.

“Farewell, Lilian Lausanne.”

“Farewell, Peter Sturgeon. Bye Katrina, I’m sure I’ll see you both very soon. And in case I don’t see her, please send my love to Serena.” Peter’s face turned a bright shade of pink.

“Who?” exclaimed his mother and Lilian left before she put her foot any further into her mouth.

On the morning of her departure Lilian got up early. She wanted to take Fritha to all her favourite spots before leaving. They went to the park, to Checkhad square, and they even did a small tour of old town before going back to The Greedy Goose to pick up their belongings. Lilian struggled a little to pack everything she had amassed during her time in Freedos into the little travelling pack she’d brought from Benlunar. Thankfully though, Beatrice and Chester, the innkeepers, had a spare pack that had been left by another guest. This one had straps that looped over both shoulders meaning the traveller could have both hands free while they walked. Lilian thanked them profusely and after a hearty breakfast, left for her appointment at the city gate. The journey there was strange indeed. People she’d only spoken to once or twice in her life smiled when they saw her and wished her a pleasant journey. Some would rush over to her in a sweat, thankful to have caught her before she left, and thrust packets of dried meats or sour berries into her hands. One older man gave her a beautifully carved walking staff in the shape of a thin tree, a full moon was at its top nestled in the intricately cut branches. No one accepted any payment and with each new street there were more people rushing out of their homes to say their goodbyes. Children threw their arms around her as their mothers enquired about which routes she would be taking. People leaned out of windows to wave and if Lilian hadn’t been so shocked, she might have been overwhelmed with emotion. They all said thank you, and they all had stories about how their lives had improved in the week’s since Empress Sylvia’s deposition. Fritha was just as delighted as Lilian, as everyone wanted to pat her head, hug her and feed her expensive cuts of meat. By the time she reached the city gate, a small crowd had gathered and Lilian became so inundated with gifts she began to worry how she might carry it all. But then, in the middle distance, she saw Mr Attorcop. Lilian was just thanking a young lady for her generous gift of a bag of grain, when she noticed him standing beside a very large and very handsome looking horse. He was holding the reigns and, perhaps even more surprising, smiling.

“Is this…” Lilian pointed up at the animal, not daring to speak the full question.

“This,” began Mr Attorcop, “this is Afaran and yes, he is yours. The least I could do really after having made you walk here.” Lilian gazed up into the horse’s jet black eye, he was calm, probably distracted by the bag of grain in Lilian’s arms but he remained placid as she approached him and lifted her hand to touch his nose. His coat was all black, save for a diamond patch of white on his forehead.

“He’s two years old and well trained, you might wish to keep him or sell him when you get to Benlunar. Speaking of which, there’s some money and food in his saddle bags and…” Mr Attorcop faltered. Lilian glanced at him, if she didn’t know any better she might have thought he was getting emotional. “Ahem, so, stay safe and I will see you soon.”

“Really?” she asked, excitedly,

“Oh yes. I’ll be due a visit to our mutual friend in Benlunar in a few months so I’ll be sure to say hello.” Lilian smiled. Words were nearly running out so she hugged him and whispered,

“Thank you,” into the folds of his starry cloak.

“Remember to keep training, I want to see that strange power of yours when I see you in Benlunar. Don’t eat food that you haven’t seen being properly cooked, boil your water before you drink…”

“Alright alright,” Lilian giggled, “I’ll be fine.” Mr Attorcop relented.

“I know. Here,” he offered her his hand and helped her up into the saddle on Afaran’s broad back. He was a little bigger than most horses she’d ridden before, but she sensed a confident calmness in him. This beast would not scare easily. Lilian took the reins in her hands and glanced down at Mr Attorcop. He was packing her various gifts into the saddle bags and making one final check to see that Lilian had everything she needed. Then he stood back, smiled and said,

“Be safe, be clever, be kind.” Lilian grinned and nodded. Then she turned to wave goodbye to the crowd who all cheered and waved back. Then she tugged on Afaran’s reins to make him turn, lightly kicked his side to make him walk and she headed out of the city gate.

The road stretched out in front of her paved with hopes and stones. Fritha ran ahead in excitement and Lilian rocked happily in the saddle. She felt a little sad to be leaving but excited to be going home. She found herself hoping the trip would not be too boring but remembered then that the way to the western mountains is long and dangerous. Many things can happen on such a journey. One might even have an adventure.