“I can do it, I promise! I won’t let you down.” She hugged Lia again, then hopped over and hugged me as well. “Thank you, both of you. You won’t regret this!”
I smirked as I patted her head, thinking back to Lia’s first few days of training. We won’t regret this, but you might. With our important conversation out of the way, we showed Marin around the property, leading her out to the stream and up to the spring that fed it. Her exuberance was on full display as she immediately kicked off her shoes and splashed out into the stream, wading around the shallow areas and drinking deeply from the crystal-clear water. To my great relief, she was perfectly content with entertaining herself and didn’t attempt to draw us into the water along with her.
When our excursion was finished, we returned to find Marten and Hana leaning against the deck railing, quietly staring up at the house. “You’ve built something special here, you two,” he said as we came into view. “You should be proud. We certainly are.”
“Awww,” Lia said, catching her parents in a group hug. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Yes, thank you,” I echoed. “I’d invite you in for some supper, but we’re a bit light on food at the moment. And on furniture.”
Hana laughed. “It all comes with time. Until then, we’d love to have you visit for dinner as much as you’d like.”
“I think we’ll take you up on that,” I answered. “Until we really get ourselves established out here, we might be over to visit quite a bit. Not that I’ll complain; I’ll take any excuse to keep eating your cooking.”
“In that case, why don’t we head back now for lunch?” she suggested. The idea garnered unanimous support, and we all filed down from the deck toward the woods.
I rested my arm around Lia’s shoulders, grinning, as we walked at the back of the party. “Apart from eating your food, I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of us, regardless. We’ll be by every day at noon to pick up Lia’s new student.”
Marten and Hana stopped and looked between the two girls with amusement, which brought a blush to Lia’s cheeks as she looked away. “You’ll be teaching her, Marlia?” Marten asked. He let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Oh dear, Marin. You’re in for it now.”
“What’s THAT supposed to mean?” Lia yelled defensively.
“I still remember when you tried to teach me letters,” he said through a toothy grin. “It was...not a gentle experience.” Lia sulked at the accusation but offered no rebuttal.
Marin laughed. “It’s going to be great! We’re starting tomorrow, as soon as I’m back from our meetings.” Her statement reminded Marten of their impending business ventures, and the conversation quickly shifted away from Marin’s training as we made the trip south to the Corells’ house. Lia was quiet, but her face softened over the course of our walk, and her mood seemed much improved by the time we arrived.
The remainder of our day was filled with food, conversation, and multiple rounds of cards. Compared to the last time we had seen it, the Corells’ house was nearly overflowing with their belongings, both old and new. The hallways were lined with bureaus, chairs, and other large pieces of furniture, all part of a matching set crafted from emberwood and upholstered with thick green and blue fabric. Crates from Marten’s business sat in the corners of every room, still packed with the belongings we had been able to save before fleeing Kaldan. When the sun had set, Lia and I quickly moved the larger pieces of furniture to their intended destinations before preparing to leave. With her parents’ blessing, we said our goodbyes and left with a crate full of Lia’s clothes and keepsakes and the mattress from their guest room.
The night sky was overcast and dark, but I required neither Detection nor my enhancements to find our well-traveled path. Our trip started in silence, but a growing look of concern on Lia’s face soon culminated in a question.
“Do you think I’m going to be a good teacher?”
“Of course I do,” I answered matter-of-factly. “You have a fantastic teacher, so I’m sure some of that will trickle down.”
“I’m being serious, Lux.”
“I am, too! At least, with the part where I believe you’ll do well.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. What if I’m too mean, and Marin quits training just like my father did?”
“Lia, you don’t have a mean bone in your body,” I answered. “Well...maybe one of the tiny ones, like a finger bone, but that’s all.” I nudged her with the corner of the mattress until a small smile lit up on her face. “In all seriousness, I think the best way to prepare to be a teacher is to be a good student. You’ve already got that down, so I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it this way. Marin is going to be in the same position you were a few months ago; she has no prior combat training and absolutely no idea of what she’s getting herself into. When you were in that position, what did I do that helped you the most? What did I do that made you frustrated? With all of the knowledge you’ve gained since then, what would you go back and tell that version of you to help you through it?” I let the thought linger as our house came into view through the trees. “If you can answer those questions, you’ll be an even better teacher than I was.”
We paused
