I pulled Varis by the hand and ran into the middle of the backyard as the door cttered shut behind me. Varis looked at me with wide eyes.

  “Y-You’re n-not mad at me?”

  Well, you did punch the hell out of my chest. But once again, I know you’re just a dumb kid. That was what I wanted to say to him, but I shook my head and smiled.

  “Nope! It hurts a little, but it’ll go away.” I then pointed towards the distant road that wrapped around my home and smirked. “Look! You can kind of see the soldiers downhill from here.”

  My brother looked stunned; he shook out of my grasp and ran to get a clearer view. “Whoa! There’s so many!” he excimed as together we watched the gray-uniformed army march eastwards along the dirt highway. We could hear the fading shouts of the superiors and the singing of the soldiers as they trudged further and further away from us.

  My eyes narrowed as I tried to make out extra details. From what I could see, all the soldiers carried rge packs of supplies on their backs. To be expected, I guess, I thought.

  Yet what made me bite my lip were the siege armaments that the dorrogans, the massive quadrupedal ground dragons, were pulling. These creatures were the size of elephants, and strapped to them were cannons nearly as big as they were, at the center of this fighting force.

  It brought to mind my vague memories of the Frostnd March I attended five years ago. Part of me wished we stayed for the one this year, so I’d have had a more recent comparison. Yet it was obvious this wasn’t a celebratory march.

  Not to mention that tent city I saw from my room. My mind wandered; if there’s one thing I was kind of grateful for from my past life, that was my obsession with the First World War. Right now, I was seeing a lot of parallels. They’re preparing for something big.

  “I wonder where they’re going?” Varis asked as I heard the back door opening.

  Over my shoulder, I saw Isa coming outside in a red dress and a comfy brown jacket. Turning to Varis and the marching forces, I said, “If I remember right, Isa told us over the eastnd mountains is Veilnd.” I pointed to the far-off mountains; they looked purple in the sun’s light.

  Varis, staring ahead, said, “Why are they going to Veilnd? That’s the pce with the big fuzzy people, right?”

  “They’re called ursans,” Isa said as Varis jerked and turned around. “They were the natives of the nd; however, not many of them are left.”

  “What happened to them?” I asked, and Isa took a breath.

  “Settlers came and now outnumber them.”

  Colonialization—even this world isn’t safe from imperial powers.

  “So, a lot of new folks moved in? Guess it got crowded,” Varis said cluelessly as I simply gulped.

  “That’s awful.” I shared a solemn look with Isa.

  Her eyebrow rose as we made eye contact. For a second, she seemed surprised that I caught on to what she meant. Soon she nodded.

  “It is. The nd the Heinn’s Guard is marching towards is now controlled by the Veillrite people. Ruled over by Empress Natasha Tarasovna.” Isa snarled the st bit.

  I winced; this is not looking good at all.

  “Is she a bad person?” I asked.

  Isa clenched her fist and said, “She is one of the vilest monsters to exist on this pnet. The monster hides behind the face of a beautiful half-elven woman; in their culture, it is said that she is the avatar of Igor, Lord of the Frost Wind. With that, she was able to secure absolute power. Behind her facade, she is a power-hungry witch.”

  Varis gnced up at Isa and said, “You really don’t like her? She sounds cool!”

  “Varis,” I hissed, dismissing him with a hand.

  Yet Isa seemed lost in her thoughts as she gritted her teeth. “The vile witch and her people were the ones who came to my nds. They offered my people trade, wealth, and protection. All these gifts, yet it was a trap. They ensved and imprisoned us. They…” She stopped herself, took a deep breath, and said, “My apologies.”

  “No reason to be sorry,” I said softly.

  I think I know why Isa doesn’t like talking about herself…

  Isa smiled, pced her cwed hand on my head, and lightly patted me. “Thank you, little one. Now, let us not get distracted. Weren’t you going to py tag?”

  “Kids!” my mother shouted as she smmed a wooden spoon against a pot. The cng alerted Varis and me to the fact that the day was drawing to an end.

  The two of us and Isa sat upon the decline of the hill in our backyard, behind the cabin. The game of tag had grown stale after about an hour or so, and we had decided to sit and rex, cloud gazing as Isa told us random facts and tales she knew.

  Whenever the topic of the marching army came up, or what was happening in town, she sidestepped it. Varis didn’t seem to care, yet I thought I had an idea of what was going on.

  I don’t know what’s brewing, but it’s big. I gnced at Isa from the corner of my eye as we got up and began to head towards our mother.

  “It’s dinnertime!” Mother only stopped smming the pot when we came over the hill. Varis, excited and hungry, ran forwards, leaving Isa and me alone as we walked.

  “Something bad is about to happen.”

  Isa’s head perked up, and she looked down at me.

  “Mr. Bxen told Mom and Papa something that scared them; Papa now wants to move, and I’m going to be sent away. A rge army is here in town and is sending troops to the border, and I heard Mom and Papa talking about ‘running out of time.’” I stopped. “There’s a war coming, isn’t there?”

  Isa stopped as well. Knowing something was up, Mother stepped onto the back porch and shut the door.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked as Isa and I shared a long stare.

  After a few moments, Isa sighed and shook her head. “Poor girl, why can’t you have the innocence of your brother?” she said sadly and dropped the facade.

  I blinked. “What?” I asked.

  “You’re very observant,” she said as Mother came over. Isa looked at her. “The little genius here figured it all out.”

  “Figured what out.”

  “There might be a conflict.” I crossed my arms, and my mother stopped and stared at me wide-eyed.

  She sighed. “Star’s light, if only you were as oblivious as your brother,” she muttered, and I frowned.

  With a shrug, I said, “It wasn’t hard to figure out, Mother.”

  Mother bit her lip and looked to Isa, whose ears were fttened. She took a deep breath.

  I blinked at them. Why do they look so sad? What’s wrong with me knowing? Why would they hide this, anyway?

  “I’m sorry, Luna,” Mother said. “I’m so sorry.”

  Isa pced a hand on Mother’s shoulder. “There’s trouble brewing on the border.” She looked at me. “Rumor has it that a government official was sin in Aeilhart st week.”

  “Wait, what?” That’s the country south of here. “I never heard anything about that.”

  Mother set a hand on her chest; she seemed to be getting anxious. “Isa has a lot of friends, sweetie. She knows a lot.”

  “I can pull many strings when need be.” The serelli nodded. “After Mr. Bxen spoke with your family, Slyran asked me to reach out to those who owe me favors.”

  “Why would a tutor be owed a lot of favors?” I asked, my stupid brain tching on to the least important bits.

  Isa gave a small shrug. “I teach a lot of important people, but I wasn’t always a tutor.”

  Mother got onto her knees beside me and pced both her hands on my shoulders. “Luna, please, do not say anything about this to your brother or anyone else.”

  My frown deepened. What? …Why—oh. It makes sense now; they’re trying to protect us. That’s why they look so down.

  If I told Varis this, he probably wouldn’t understand. He was a kid; he thought of war differently; he thought of it like a game of pretend or those cool storybooks. Yet I knew what war was like. I never served in my old life, no, so I didn’t know it on a personal level. But as a spectator, I’d seen cursed shit on the internet and in the local news. One of my uncles even served in Iraq during Desert Storm; he’d told us stories of the horrible things he’d seen.

  I nodded slowly as I felt my chest tighten. I kind of wish I didn’t know now. Is this why they wanted to send me away and move?

  “A-Are we in danger?” I asked, my anxiety starting to bubble out.

  My mother smiled and shook her head. “Your father and I are working on a pn to get us all somepce safe; we still have time. If you remember, he made requests before the trip to get a wagon made and a strider from Mr. Harold a few months back. We’ve also been storing supplies.”

  “But I heard you and Papa say there’s not much time.”

  My mother squeezed my shoulders, and I saw it very briefly in her eyes. Fear.

  “We’re working on it. Just don’t worry. For the next while, just… stay near the house, within earshot. Try to keep your brother close; don’t tell him. If he asks, tell him we’re going on another vacation.”

  “You want me to lie?” I began to tug at my skirt.

  Mother bit her lip. “Yes. Just this once.”

  “Why don’t we leave sooner?” I asked her. “If war is coming, we need to move away.”

  A new emotion fshed across her face. Maybe not fear. Guilt?

  She took in a sharp breath. “We will,” she said, “but we don’t have the capacity to carry everything with us. As said, Father is trying to get us a strider, but… he told me Harold is having a hard time procuring them.”

  “Most likely the army is buying them up, or taking them,” Isa muttered softly.

  Mother nodded. She stood up took my little hand in hers and said, “Come. Let’s go eat dinner and get you and your brother settled for tonight. I’ll read you both a bedtime story.” She tried to smile to calm my nerves, yet now that I’d seen it, I couldn’t unsee the fright behind that smile of hers.

  A few days had passed since the arrival of the brigade, and a strange sense of normalcy returned to the town as we adapted to the vast increase in popution.

  The day after I learned the truth, Father came home absolutely livid. I had never seen the man so angry as he raved and swore.

  Isa ter told me that Mr. Henderson, the carpenter working on our wagon, had run into numerous deys with the military in town. They had confiscated most of his wagons and lumber. Thankfully, he still had ours, yet he told Father it’d take another week for him to finish it due to the supplies he’d lost. To make matters even more nerve-racking, Mr. Harold, the stable owner, had nothing for him. He’d received word that he’d be getting new striders from his niece, which were en route and arriving the next morning. The problem was, however, that the military was also snatching up every creature they could get their hands on in preparation for what was coming.

  Ever since I learned the truth, I had been confronted by night terrors, visions of faceless soldiers and mages barging into my home and sughtering us as they pilged Oren for all it was worth. One night, as I jolted awake, I thankfully stifled a scream. I felt a sudden urge to use the bathroom and wash my face, so I stumbled out of my room and made my way there.

  Yet as I passed the stairs, I heard voices, and was surprised to see the lights below were lit. Curiosity got the better of me.

  After relieving myself, I carefully pretended to go back to bed before sneaking to the top of the steps. People were talking downstairs. More importantly, I heard the familiar guttural tone of Mr. Bxen.

  “The Veillrites tricked us. We thought we had perfect intelligence regarding their supply chain, but we recently uncovered that they’ve been subtly rerouting some supplies and hiding others right under our noses. Originally the Sovereign Right estimated that we had a year or more of preparation. With the facts we have now, we were wrong. My contact, who I thought reliable…” His voice grew solemn. “They can no longer be trusted… I am sorry,” he said dejectedly. “We… I was wrong. I was a fool. The Veillrites are far more prepared than I had anticipated.”

  My eyes widened.

  “How long before they’ll attack?” I heard my mother’s concern.

  There was a brief silence before Mr. Bxen said, “If I had to guess, any day. My secondary contact said before going quiet that the parliament was drafting up an ultimatum.”

  “Were you able to get any information as to what the demands are?” my father asked gruffly; he sounded pissed.

  “Not as of yet,” Mr. Bxen said slowly, “but in the coming days, we may know.”

  “What about the other members of the Warriors of Light? Any news on them?” Mother asked.

  “Not much, unfortunately. The Sovereign Right has been having issues infiltrating the eastern nations. The st thing we learned was that the Defender of Order fleet departed from Port Nangshi and were making their way to the Pelongshi Strait near the nation of Saishi.”

  “They could be pnning a naval invasion,” Father grumbled as gss cups cnged, followed by the pop of a cork.

  Mr. Bxen grunted. “That’s what we’re thinking. It’d make logical sense. Saishi, Iona, and Vinnd control much of the Atlurian Ocean. If Xing and Sunlit can wipe out the Saishiri, their closest rivals, that’ll drive the Alliance’s staging base off of the Light’s borders, dividing the ocean and making the war for Enora’s seas easier.”

  “Not to mention it’ll make a great staging area to take on the wall,” Mother said.

  “Doing that would be suicide,” my father said as a cup smmed on the table. “‘An attack on the wall is an attack on all.’ If they did that, the entire world would be against them.”

  “The entire world would be against them if they attacked us anyway.” Mother sighed.

  An attack on the wall is an attack on all. I repeated it to myself. What is he referring to? Wall… wall… wall… I dug through my sleepy mind until it hit me. The wall encasing the southern continent! The ancient empire of the Dark Lord! Isa taught us that the Warriors of Light wish to destroy the Dark Lord. Yet that wouldn’t work; gods cannot be killed, not by traditional means. She said you cannot destroy a concept. If they destroy the wall, they could release him…

  “Aye,” Mr. Bxen agreed. After a moment of silence, he said, “I apologize for the false information.”

  “No need to be sorry, Lorzio,” Father said as he poured another gss. “Whatever these religious nuts are pnning, they fooled all of us.”

  “I know; I just hope that you and your family can get somewhere safe.” Gsses clinked together as if making a toast. “How are your pns for escape?”

  “I’ve sent a letter to my brother in Johanneson about our arrival,” Mother said before they all went silent to take a drink. With a deep sigh, she continued, “Even if he can’t shelter us, he can point us to somepce that can. Slyran is currently trying to get a wagon and a strider off of Harold and Henderson, yet we’re hitting some irritating roadblocks.”

  “Load of grokshit!” Father growled. “He told me two months; it’s nearly been three now.”

  Bxen sighed. “Supplies have been tight with the military eating up everything. But you said you’re aiming for Johanneson?” he grumbled. “Not a terrible idea. Governor Trenton has a mysterious construction project going on there.”

  “Mysterious?” Father said. “What’re they building?” Someone took another drink and set their cup down.

  “Admittedly, I do not know, though the city has been buying mountains of magrite and the soldiers have been fortifying the metropolis to the point it looks like an impenetrable castle. If you’re looking for a safe pce and don’t want to go far, you could go there. Though personally, I would suggest leaving the country altogether.”

  Another silence went by. Then Mother said, “That is the pn. If things are going to kick off as soon as you think, it’s best to at least get ahead.”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying,” Father growled, and I couldn’t help but notice the passive-aggressiveness in his tone. “Herbert Hautchkins told me his family is leaving with Mr. Olson. It seems like some of the townspeople are catching whiff of what’s happening.”

  “If Henderson and Harold don’t pull through, do you have any other means of transportation?” Mr. Bxen asked them. “Johanneson is far, about a two-and-a-half-week walk.”

  “Unfortunately, not.” My father’s voice became louder as he went into the living room, closer to the stairs. “The only other thing I could think of is the Hautchkins; they have a wagon that could probably fit all of us, but I’d have to speak with him.”

  He took a deep breath. “Come sunrise, I’m going down into Oren and seeing if I can scrounge up a mount. Harold said his niece had a shipment of striders coming in; if I can beat the soldiers to them, we can maybe pick some up, and I’m going to see if I can try to convince Henderson to finish that goddamn wagon,” he snarled. “How much gold do we have, Cailynn?”

  “About two hundred pieces.”

  “Good, I’ll take a hundred.”

  “What?!”

  Now he was nearing the stairs. I squeaked and began to step back.

  “Look around, love, soldiers in the streets; the people know something is up. I can guarantee you, Mr. Harold isn’t going to be selling his striders cheap, and I bet the snake Henderson is going to milk us for what we got.”

  As my father climbed the stairs, I turned and scurried back to my room. Just as he reached the top, my bedroom door clicked shut.

  I pressed my back against the door and took a couple of deep breaths. That mad dash got my heart racing.

  So, I was right. Mr. Bxen told them everything. War is coming, for seven’s sake. We should’ve left far, far sooner!

  I gnced around my bedroom—my new bedroom. I hadn’t even been in this pce that long. I hadn’t even been in this world for that long. For seven years, I’d been the happiest I’d ever been. Now I would rather be sent off to some school, knowing that my home was about to plunge into chaos.

  Why? Why me?! I thought this was supposed to be a good life—a second chance.

  I’m scared. What if something awful happens? I don’t want to lose anyone. I don’t want anyone to die. I don’t want to die.

  A faint knock came to my door, and I gasped. “Luna, are you alright?” my father said.

  I turned and stepped back into the center of the room. It was here that I noticed my cheeks were wet. I’d been crying.

  I hiccupped and said, “I-I’m fine.” In a tone that betrayed what I said.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  A moment of silence fell. I mumbled out, “Y-Yes.”

  With a creak and a click, the door to my room swung open. Father came in to find me standing there. He looked at me for a few moments before taking a deep breath and kneeling.

  “Your mother and Isa told me you know what’s happening,” he said as I slowly nodded. “Did you hear what we were talking about? I heard someone go into the bathroom.”

  I hesitated, though it was my hesitation that gave me away, and my father sighed. He didn’t seem angry. He pulled me into a hug before I could react.

  “It’s okay to be scared,” he said in a hushed voice, and in a rare moment of vulnerability, I could hear his voice waver. “I’m scared too, as is your mother and everyone else. But it’s okay; it’s natural.”

  “Why did Mr. Bxen tell us?” I asked, and sniffed. A childish notion that if we hadn’t heard of this, this would’ve never happened came to mind. I knew it in hindsight: this was dumb. Yet as I trembled in my father’s arms, I didn’t care.

  He stroked my hair as he whispered in my ear, “Because we are very lucky; we didn’t know it, but someone out there cared for us, and he decided to come and warn us.”

  I sniffed and nodded as my father continued, “Luna, I know it’s hard. But you need to go rest. Come sunrise, why don’t we go together into town? I was able to get off duty for tomorrow. We can go see about finding a new strider and pick up our wagon.”

  I cleared my throat. “O-Okay.”

  Father smiled, patted me on the head, pulled away, and gripped my shoulders. “Whatever happens, just know that your mother and I will be there to protect you and Varis. Come the hells or high water, I will fight, scream, and run to get to you. Do you understand?”

  I nodded, but that wasn’t good enough.

  “I need to hear you, Luna; do you understand?”

  I gulped. “Yessir.”

  My father kissed my forehead, his mustache tickling my skin and putting a smile on me as he pulled away.

  “I love you, star.”

  I hiccupped, and my heart twitched. “I—I love you too!”

  The next morning, Varis stayed behind at home with Mother and Isa. News had gotten out among the Third Brigade that my mother was a renowned baker, and a stream of soldiers constantly flooded our home. Even higher-ranking officers stopped by to put orders in. Which my parents found welcome, yet also tedious. The pay was good, but as Father told me, it had made preparations to leave Oren slow as my mother spent a majority of her time baking with Isa’s help. Leaving only Father to do most of the work.

  Father and I got dressed and left together when the sun rose. He was wearing khaki suspenders with a white button-up, along with a matching jacket and vest, while I wore a simple dark-blue dress, vest, and stockings.

  We walked down the road, my hand holding his as he briskly led the way to town. A cool, still air hung over us, and an eerie silence made my hair stand on end. Something didn’t feel right as we moved towards the massive, sprawling tent city that was now the Third Brigade’s forward operating base.

  “Stay close to me,” Father said over his shoulder. “Don’t look at the soldiers or provoke them; if they speak to you, just refer them to me. We don’t need any interruptions.”

  “Okay,” I said softly as we entered the campsite.

  Around us, we heard soldiers’ ughter and chatter as they crawled out of their tents and gathered around fires. Many of them were digging into their mess kits and boiling water. A couple of them—an akumari woman and a human man—were dashed out of their tent, half-naked, the halfling officer who flushed them out yelling obscenities.

  Not too far off, a bugle bred, followed by a booming voice I knew was magically amplified. “Rise and shine! Another glorious day for Heinmarr! Wake up and report to your duties in fifteen! Hail to the republic!”

  Those who hadn’t awakened from their tents came out en masse, and suddenly the entire area was dense with activity. Father yanked me close so as not to lose me, and we pushed our way through the camp. A few soldiers helped by shouting for others to make room, for which Father thanked them with a curt nod.

  Yet as we were nearing the edge of the camp and the start of town, a shrill man’s voice shouted, “It’s happening! It’s happening!”

  A loud bang, bang, bang made us stop and turn to see a gray-skinned, orc-like man standing nearly eight feet tall, smming a bone against a trash can lid. Beside him was a tiny man in an officer’s uniform. A gnome?

  The little one ran towards the center of the camp, a newspaper in hand. “It’s happening!”

  “Out with it!” shouted an elven woman. She spat into her fire and set her ration tin to the side. “What’s it saying?”

  I looked up at Father, who was watching the gnome intently.

  The gnome cleared his throat as the orc bent over and lifted the little guy off the ground so everyone could see.

  “Ahem!” the gnome coughed. “The Blizzard of War! Veilnd Issues Ultimatum!”

  My blood ran cold.

  “On the fourteenth of Cirrus, the sovereign nations of Veilnd and Heinmarr reached a perilous crossroads as Veilnd Empress Natasha Tarasovna delivered a grave ultimatum to the Kaiser of Heinmarr, Brikur Lirner, just days after the assassination of his cousin Erlin Dommletel. The demands, bordering on the unprecedented, include an immediate surrender of Heinmarr’s sovereignty and unimpeded passage for Veilnd forces through its territories.

  “The ultimatum gives Heinmarr a mere twenty-one days to acquiesce to Veilnd’s demands or face the ominous threat of total annihition. In a move that has sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles, Empress Natasha aims to bypass the potential intervention of the Global Allied Nations, presenting a stark choice for Heinmarr: surrender or suffer the catastrophic consequences.

  “International observers, caught off guard by the audacity of the ultimatum, now turn their attention to the Kaiser’s response. The clock is ticking, and the Heinmarr Republic is faced with an unenviable decision that could reshape the geopolitical ndscape of the known world.

  “As the global community holds its collective breath, specution abounds regarding the motivations behind Veilnd’s bold move. Some experts posit that this is an attempt to redraw borders and consolidate power, while others fear it could ignite a confgration that engulfs neighboring nations.

  “Yet no matter what it is, in a swift and resolute response to Veilnd’s audacious ultimatum to Heinmarr, the Global Allied Nations have united in condemnation of the Empress’s aggressive maneuver. The Chief of Global Security, Ronald Dower, delivered a stern rebuke, categorically rejecting Veilnd’s attempts to circumvent the established norms of diplomacy.

  “Chief Dower, a seasoned diplomat known for his measured approach, expressed deep concern over Veilnd’s btant disregard for international protocols. In a press conference held at the Global Allied Nations headquarters minutes after the ultimatum was issued, he stated, ‘The actions of Veilnd are not only a threat to the sovereign rights of Heinmarr but an affront to the principles of peace and cooperation that the Global Allied Nations stand for.’—”

  The gnome continued, but Father squeezed my hand gently and said, “Let’s get going. We’re running out of time.”

  I hadn’t realized it, but I was trembling as Father pulled me along the streets of Oren. The town was bustling with activity as people rushed to shops to stock up. Others stood around and listened to the newsboys, or read the papers being sold on every corner.

  “‘Chief Dower decres, “We will not stand idly by while the specter of aggression looms. The Global Allied Nations stand united against any attempts to disrupt the delicate bance of world affairs.”’ Read all about it!”

  My grip on my father’s hand tightened as we turned onto Main Street and continued our brisk walk towards the opposite end of town, where the stables were. As we passed by another newsboy, I heard him shout, “Global Allied Fleet on High Alert: Iona Dreadnoughts Dispatched to Reinforce the Saishiri Isnds!”

  I took a deep breath as my father began to walk faster, yet my little legs couldn’t keep up, and I gasped and nearly tripped. Seeing this, my father mumbled an apology. I yelped as he hoisted me off the ground and began to carry me.

  With me in his arms, he walked as fast as he could, and I clung to him as I watched the commotion in the streets. Constables, my father’s comrades, were blowing whistles for order as confused citizens began to shout and argue over the news.

  “Who the do they think they are?! Veillrite bastards!” an older, rotund man shouted to those around him. “If any one of those ursan-screwers’, snow-eating bastards comes near my farm, I’ll put one in them!” The people around him cheered.

  Coming towards one crowd was a soldier carrying and handing out a ton of fliers, just as I heard, “If you wanna shoot some bear-loving bastards—”

  Damn recruiters.

  We had left home just early enough. News of the ultimatum spread like wildfire throughout the town. All around, citizens were rushing to shops, and many young men and women were making their way to the city hall, where Father told me the recruiters were stationed.

  When we arrived at the stable, he set me down. We noticed an old man putting up a sign outside his window. It read, “Sold out, date till restock unknown.”

  “By the roots you’re kidding me,” Father grumbled as the hunched-over human turned to face us. He was wearing faded jeans and a white polo, with a fraying straw hat.

  “Oh, Mr. Ashflow…” The old man sighed and gnced at the sign. “Afraid ye just missed the st of my striders being picked up.”

  “Harold, what in seven?!” my father snarled. “I bsted told you yesterday that my family needed a bsting strider!” I flinched and stepped away.

  The old man gasped and stumbled back into the wall as my father jammed a finger into his chest. “Who took them, and how much?” Father asked sternly.

  “’Fraid it was the army!” The old man sputtered and sank against the wall, his mouth quivering open. “P-Paid m-me well, too! I-I’m sorry, M-Mr. Ashflow, th-they didn’t g-give me a choice!” He pointed to the stable near the shop itself, where soldiers were wrangling six beautifully colored ground dragons.

  “Roots!” In a fsh, Father turned around and picked me up off the ground. As I yelped, he walked over to the soldiers.

  Taking on a different tone, my father called out, “Excuse me! Excuse me!” With a desperate voice and a free hand, he waved for the soldiers to stop.

  Seeing him, the striders squawked and howled, and the six soldiers yanked on their reins and hissed at them to calm down. One of the soldiers, a dwarf, turned to my father and said, “Oi, look what you did: you made them excited!”

  My father stopped. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just… can I take one of those dragons off of you?”

  The dwarf scoffed and said, “I can’t do that. We were instructed by the colonel to take these beauties to the front.”

  “Please, I beg you.” My father bounced me in his arms, which made me squeak. “My daughter and the rest of my family need something to pull our wagon. We need to leave here; please, you have to understand.”

  The rest of the soldiers paused, and the dwarf took a deep breath. “Look, I get it, but you have to understand that we can’t go against orders.”

  “I’ll pay you! All of you.” My father reached into his jacket and pulled out a hefty coin purse. “A hundred gold coins. One dragon.”

  One of the soldiers practically doubled over.

  “It’s all I have,” my father pleaded.

  The dwarf gnced back at the others, who were struggling to restrain the dragons.

  “Please, sir,” I said. “Please, I don’t want to walk to the next city!” I whimpered, and to help my father, I gave them the biggest doe eyes I could muster.

  The dwarf clenched his fist, then sighed as he stroked his mustache. “Aye, fine. Seventy-five gold; keep the other twenty-five. You’ll need it. Chuger, hand him the red one.”

  “What about the colonel?” the halfling Chuger asked.

  “We’ll tell ’em the red one was me.” The dwarf grabbed the reins of the bright-red strider with purple and blue feathers and pulled it towards us. “Here, take this damned thing and go before anyone sees.”

  Father smiled widely, pulled out roughly twenty-five coins, stuffed them in his pocket, and handed the purse to the dwarf. “You’re a good man; you just helped my family immensely.”

  “Alright, alright. Now, go, before things get hairy.” The dwarf smirked as he took the money.

  Taking the reins, Father kissed my cheek. “Thanks for the help.” He smiled, and I blushed as we marched off with our new dragon.

  “What do you want to name it?” he asked me, and I blinked.

  A name? Oh, shit. Uh…

  “Is it a boy or girl?” I asked Father, and he blinked.

  “I think it’s a girl.” He was looking at the dragon. “I’ll need to ask Isa; she’ll know for sure.”

  “If it is, I want to name her Ruby!”

  Farther smirked. “Well, Ruby, then… Now we just need to find Ruby a wagon to pull.” We were doubling back through the bustling, chaotic, fearful, angry streets towards the carpentry shop.

  With the strider in tow, much of the animated crowd parted for us as we hurried our way over to Henderson’s shop. I had never met nor seen the man, yet once I’d heard the truth about the war, I couldn’t stop noticing how often my parents muttered about him.

  As we neared the other edge of town, Father picked up his pace, his expression conflicted. “I hope he takes the twenty-five,” I heard him mumble. “For the love of the gods…” Concern was written all over his face as we approached the workshop.

  No lights, no employees. The pce looked deserted.

  “No, no, no. What in the roots?” Father hissed as he jogged towards it with me, Ruby squawking as she moved along behind us. “Henderson!” he shouted. “Henderson, are you here?!”

  Yet we received no response.

  Father set me down a few yards away. “Stay here!” he said as he hitched Ruby to the fence and ran to the front door.

  I heard him banging on it. “Henderson! Henderson, open the goddamn door!”

  My heart rate kicked up a few notches as I rubbed my hands together and gnced at Ruby, who seemed confused. Turning back to my father, I noticed something on the window of the shop.

  A sign that read, “Closed until further notice.”

  “Papa!” I called out to him as my father jimmied the door handle. “Papa!”

  “What is it, Luna?” he snapped.

  “The shop sign… it says it’s closed.” I pointed as he looked back at me.

  Moving to the sign, he then turned and ran both hands through his hair. “Oh, you got to be kidding me!” He ughed and said, “By the seven, are you for real?” He threw his hands up. “Maybe, maybe he left it in the back! Maybe!”

  He came over to me and took my hand. The two of us rushed to the back of the shop, where most of the finished wares were stored. Yet there was nothing.

  The entire shop was empty.

  “Roots” Father released my hand and kicked the dirt. “Fifty gold! I put fifty gold down, and he said two months! Two rooting months!” He ran his fingers through his hair and panted. “We don’t have time; we don’t have time…”

  Fear was welling up inside of me. “Pa—Papa, it’ll be okay.”

  He stopped, looked at me, and took a deep breath. “Thank you, Luna…” He started to compose himself. “I just… everything isn’t going as I pnned. I can’t believe he up and ran.” He looked around. “He was here just yesterday; he told me another week and the wagon would be done. Yet it isn’t here. Roots take him… That krek.” He kicked the dirt again.

  I nodded. The bastard robbed us.

  “Not all is lost; we have Ruby,” I said. “We can maybe fit her with some bags and carry some of our stuff, at least the stuff we need.”

  Father nodded. “I guess.” He sighed defeatedly. “Let’s get home. We shouldn’t keep them waiting. We’ll figure out what to do then.”

  While our quest has taken us in differing directions, I have seen much that you haven’t...