“It’s just a house, Lux,” she said casually as she dumped a basket of knitting supplies into a small crate.
I cocked my head to the side. “Right. Uhm, of course. Even so, I’ll help in any way I can; we won’t be able to pack everything, but we can—”
“They’re just things, Lux,” she insisted, turning to face us. “Nothing here is so valuable that we can’t live without it. I can replace my knitting needles. We can find a new house. But those things aren’t what make this a home.” She crossed the room and placed a hand on my shoulder. “My family is what I care about. As long as we’re together, we can make a new home.” Her smile seemed to brighten the room as it spread across her face, creasing her well-worn laugh lines. “Thank you for protecting my family.”
“Oh. You’re, erm, you’re welcome,” I stammered, my cheeks burning. Silence fell over the room as I stewed in the awkward silence, and I felt like squirming out from under her hand and running to the basement to hide. Lia wrapped an arm around my waist and spun me away from her mother’s grip.
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” she said loudly. “We still have a lot of packing to do, and not enough time to do it.” Hana turned away with a soft chuckle and went back to packing, her puffy gray tail twitching mischievously.
“I’m going to go pack my things,” Lia continued. “You should probably go help my father in the basement.”
“That’s a great idea,” Marten called out as he entered the room from the basement stairwell, carrying a large box. “I’m going to ready the wagon. Lux, bring up the empty crates from the storage room, then help Hana pack. Essentials first, then keepsakes.” I was impressed by his collected demeanor given the circumstances and gave him a sharp nod in response.
We all quickly fell into our assigned roles, scattering throughout the house to go over the space efficiently. Marten’s spare shipping crates from the basement were a huge boon for our efforts; the large boxes were made of sturdy wood and designed to fit large amounts of cargo, so it was a simple matter to consolidate an entire room’s worth of essential items in one place. Whether I was ferrying crates out to the wagon or helping Lia and her mother pack, I kept my Detection up at all times to ensure we weren’t taken by surprise.
The first guard entered the edge of my mana as the sun began to dip behind the horizon. I had just enough time to find hope that he was a lone guard on patrol before the hope was shattered; men poured in from the black veil at the border of my Detection in scores, both on foot and in large troop transports. I lost count somewhere above sixty men, but it was clear that an entire company of at least two hundred were on approach. A familiar man in heavy armor rode near the front of the group atop a muscled destrier: Third Company Commander Savitz.
“They’re coming,” I stated suddenly, interrupting the comfortable silence of our work. “We need to leave.” Hana and Lia shared a concerned look, then nodded as they moved to finish packing the last of their belongings. I stacked two full crates on top of one another and rushed outside, following the dirt path to the barn where our wagon stood waiting with Marten on the driver’s bench. “They’re almost here,” I told him as I jogged to the opposite end and heaved my cargo into the wagon.
“It’s time, then,” he said solemnly. “What’s the plan?”
“Marin wants to try to convince them that this is all some big mistake. She doesn’t want to believe what happened at the keep is true,” I said, shaking my head. “Her plan won’t work, but it should provide us with a nice distraction. We’ll leave as soon as she reaches them.”
He scratched his chin in agitated thought. “That seems dangerous.”
“It was her idea,” I shrugged. “The sister of the King’s Shield should have some level of respect; not enough to make a difference for us, but at least enough to keep her safe.”
Marten sighed. “Fine, fine. As long as my girls are safe.”
“No matter what happens today, I can promise you that,” I said firmly. He held my gaze for a long time with his brow furrowed, but eventually nodded and went back to finishing preparations. I sped back across the yard to where Marin still sat against the house. “If you still want to help us, now’s your chance; the guards are only a few minutes away.”
She jumped to her feet, scanning the horizon. “Is my sister with them?”
“Fortunately, no. It looks like they sent the entire Third Company, under the leadership of Commander Savitz.”
Her face lit up at the name. “Commander Savitz knows me! He was always kind to me whenever we ran into each other in the city.” She clapped her hands together excitedly. “I know this is all a terrible misunderstanding, somehow. I promise I’ll get it sorted out!” Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran out to the road.
I watched her go with a mixture of annoyance and worry. “Marin!” I yelled after her before she disappeared from view. Her head snapped back around as she skidded to a stop. I clenched my jaw, then let out a sigh as I shook my head. “Be careful.” She flashed a large smile, then turned and disappeared from sight. I kept track of her progress through my Detection, watching as she closed in on the encroaching wall of soldiers.
Lia and Hana appeared in the doorway carrying the final crate between them. Hana gave one final, longing look back into the house, then turned back to me with determination. “That’s everything. We’re ready.” I followed them to the barn and helped to load the crate into the wagon. As
