It took me some time to find my way back to Wellswood. I thought of the place many times as well as the master and mistress of the manor. True to my word to Meig, I had written to Kaarlo at Wellswood since as far as I knew, Meig was traveling all around Ashlar. For the Blood Year, I wrote every month. After that, I wrote less often. It became harder since things around me were not always things I could disclose in a letter that may be read by someone it was not intended for.

  Relations with the goblins to the east had improved dramatically. Trade was opened up between us very successfully. With my help, the goblins had learned many trades. Not that I could teach them, but I explained the basics and their young took apprenticeships at villages which I helped arrange and they eventually went back to the hive to teach others.

  I caught up to Meig before too long as well as Pency, Emmon and Boyln. We found more profitable adventures together. But something had kept my feet from stepping toward Wellswood.

  I had travelled extensively around Ashlar. I had crossed mountains, sailed seas, and forded rivers. I had even gone back to Thornhill to visit my family when news of one of my brothers passing reached me, but I had put off going back to see Kaarlo and Pardy until a bright spring day almost nine years to the day that I had set off with the goblins at the start of my Blood Year.

  I had a new mount, a gelding and small mare which I towed behind me. Aelfie was still with me, but her joints would ache, especially in cold, wet weather like we were experiencing that day, so I let her ride in a basket I had attached to my saddle, lined with old blankets to keep her warm and steady as we rode.

  I approached Wellswood much like I had the first time I’d ridden in to aid Kaarlo all those years ago from the west after a long stay in Holdstone only in less of a rush. The gates stood open. It looked like the town was prospering and they were no longer prepared for battle. The gates did not look like they had closed in some time. No effort had been put into the outer defense of the town. In fact, it looked like the fortifications we had overseen had fallen into disrepair.

  No one came to meet me, but I hadn’t written ahead to notify anyone, so that wasn’t surprising. Just as I neared the stables of the manor, a grizzled old man, stood from where he’d been smoking and walked to me. Underneath the grey beard and balding head, I recognized Gavendor.

  “Aebbe! You’ve come! Look at you! Still young as a daisy and as you can see, I’m older than the hills!” I dismounted and clasped his hand, but he pulled me into a hug and held me close with strong arms, slapping my back hard. He coughed and I could hear a wheeze in his chest and he was a little stooped.

  “It's good to see you, old friend!” I told him and I felt a lightness in my chest to be with him again.

  “What's this then?” said a low voice from the direction of the manor. I turned to see Kaarlo striding toward me. He looked handsome as ever with only a little grey in his beard which was neatly cropped and at his temples. His usual fine clothing in striking colors accented his dark hair and eyes. “My word! Aebbe! You are back! I’m so pleased!”

  “Mama, mama! Come get Aelfie. She wants to say hi, too!” a high little voice said. I pulled away from Gavendor and went over to the mare, where my little girl perched. I pulled her down from her saddle and got Aelfie from her basket who’s tail was wagging like mad. Aelfie ran over first to Gav and then to Kaarlo greeting them like old friends.

  “Come, Kara. Say hello. This is Gavendor and this is Baron Kaarlo whom I’ve told you about,” I told her. She hid behind my legs and looked, wide-eyed at the two. Kaarlo looked like his legs had frozen to the wet ground, but Gavendor had a huge grin on his face.

  “Why, hello, Kara! Welcome to Wellswood! And Aelfie! You’re looking well!” Gavendor said as he reached to pet the old dog. I smiled at their interaction.

  Kara slowly walked over to Gavendor.

  “You're Gavendor?” she asked in her sweet little voice, looking up at him.

  “I surely am!”

  “Will you teach me to fight with a sword?” she asked standing as tall as she could before him.

  “Well,” he coughed. “I suppose so. If it’s alright with…” here he glanced up and me then at Kaarlo.

  “It's alright with me,” I said and laughed when Kara hopped up and down in excitement.

  “Come, then. I’ll take you to the practice yard. I don’t run it myself these days, but Collen is quite good…” he glanced at me and I gave him a nod, letting him know it was fine. Meanwhile, I was a bit concerned that Kaarlo still seemed to be stuck in place.

  He searched my face for something.

  “How old is Kara?” he asked.

  “Eight,” I said and looked him straight in the eye giving him a soft smile. He seemed to take that as the answer to his real question. He swallowed, glancing at where Kara had left with Gavendor. He strode over to me and took my hands in his. He started to open his mouth and I was afraid of all his questions suddenly, so I surprised him by pulling my hands away from his and enveloping him a strong hug.

  “It's good to see you, Kaarlo. I’m sorry it’s been so long,” I told him. Over his shoulder I saw Pardy approaching us, so I pulled back away from him. “Lady Pardama,” I said addressing her and giving her a slight curtsey. She laughed and came up to me hugging me one-armed since there was a baby in her other arm. A whole gaggle of children ran up, surrounding us and began flinging questions from all sides.

  The eldest appeared to be a young boy, already tall since I figured he must only be about nine years old or so. Most of them had Kaarlo’s dark hair and eyes, but one of the girls had more of her mother’s look.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Yes, this is our brood,” said Pardy, chuckling. “Don't pester our guest with all your rude questions!”

  A little girl pulled at my hand to get my attention and asked me in a squeaky voice, “Who are you? Why is your hair short and why are you wearing boys clothes?” Pardy let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

  “My name is Aebbe Wymer. I’m an old friend of your parents’,” I looked down to tell her.

  “You mean you’re Aebbe, the savior of Wellswood?” she said in a high squeak, gasping.

  My jaw dropped and I looked up to see Kaarlo’s eyes twinkle in amusement.

  “We may have exaggerated your achievements over the years. But she did stay with the goblins for the Blood Year,” Kaarlo informed everyone. At this, more excitement was elicited by the gang of children. “Now, now. Let’s let Aebbe and Kara get settled and rested from their journey before we bombard them with questions and hear all their stories, alright?”

  “Yes, come along children. It’s time for lessons anyway,” piped up Pardama, shooing them into the manor house as they collectively groaned and complained.

  “Come, I’ll show you to your room and have your things brought up,” Kaarlo told me, but I chuckled and just pulled my pack, crossbow, and Kara’s pack off our horses.

  “I'll get it. I would appreciate our horses being looked after, though,” I told him. He looked like he wanted to help me, but I shouldered everything easily.

  “Of course,” he said and told a stable boy to tend to the animals. Aelfie came trotting along with us.

  “It's the same room you were in all those years ago,” he said, leading me inside and up the staircase to the room. “Two baths are being drawn just down the hall.” I just nodded and put our things down on the floor.

  “Listen,” he started, looking uncomfortable. “You know I would have…”

  “Kaarlo,” I interrupted him. “I'm fine. We are fine. I…I didn’t want to disrupt your life and as you can see…”

  “What does she know of her father?” he asked in a quiet voice. I wondered if there was a little anger simmering below his words.

  “Only that he and I share a special sort of bond that…,” here I searched his eyes, “…that time and distance can’t break.” He gasped and we looked at each other’s lips and faces. For myself, I could remember every touch and gesture. “But not his name. She uses my last name,” I concluded and broke the tension between us.

  “You were gone a long time,” Kaarlo said, looking at the floor.

  “I know. She’s never been in need of anything. I’ve kept up her schooling as best I can. We hunt and track, identify plants and mushrooms…,” I said, feeling like I was rambling.

  “Like the wild things you are,” he finished for me with a small smile and I’m glad he was teasing me since all sense of anger was gone from him.

  “We'll stay for a little while, but I have a job to get to in Holdstone. Meig is there. We’re working together on it,” I informed him.

  “I hope you stay some weeks at least,” Kaarlo insisted. “I'm glad you’re still with Meig. She is the other savior of Wellswood, by the way!”

  “Oh, I’ll let her know. I’m sure she’ll be pleased,” I told him, chuckling.

  “Mama!” I heard Kara’s little voice in the hall. Kaarlo was closer to the door and stepped out to call to her.

  She rushed into the room and ran into my arms nearly knocking me over.

  “Mama! Mama! Gavendor says I have a good arm!” she told me.

  “That's wonderful! We’ll have to work on it, then! Come. I think a bath is in order so we can leave the dust from the road behind us,” I told her.

  “Okay,” she said and started stripping her clothes off. “Where's the bath?” she asked once she was nude.

  “Uhm, second door down on the left,” Kaarlo told her, looking a bit uncomfortable.

  “Sorry, we’re not that good with formal company,” I explained. I rummaged through our things to grab some clean clothes for us. As I passed next to Kaarlo, he grabbed my arm.

  “My offer will always stand. You and Kara are welcome here whenever and for as long as you like,” he told me, glancing at my mouth.

  “I know. Thank you. You and Pardy have a very generous manor and estate. It’s really nice to see and to be so welcome,” I told him. Just then, Pardy came in and Kaarlo released me immediately.

  “Was that naked little monkey mine or yours?” she asked, laughing.

  “Mine. I need to catch her up. Sorry about that!” I said, but she just waved her hands.

  “It's about a weekly occurrence around here. Children are not so tied to clothes as the rest of us are. Something to be learned in that, I’m sure,” she noted. “Join us for a little meal when you are done and don’t worry about formalities here. The savior of Wellswood can dress as she pleases!”

  “Thanks, Pardy. We’ll be there shortly,” I said and jogged after my child, eager for a proper bath.

  After we had gotten ourselves cleaned up and dressed, we made our way down to the dining area where the Issakainen clan had already gathered and started eating. When we arrived, Pardy indicated two empty seats for us and asked us to excuse them for starting. I shrugged at her concern, perfectly at ease with the casual air of the manor.

  The meal was simple, but very good and Kara complimented everything from the china, to the bread, to the candelabra hanging over the table. They asked us politely about our travels, but kept from peppering us with too many questions. When we finished, it was already late and the kids were getting sleepy.

  “Let's put our children to bed and rejoin in the sitting room there,” Pardy indicated a parlor nearby. I nodded and pulled a protesting Kara to our room and put her to bed. I told her I’d be up soon and padded back down to the parlor where Kaarlo was already sitting smoking a pipe and having a strong drink.

  He offered me both, but I only accepted a drink. When he sat back down in a huge armchair worn to fit his form, he looked suddenly older and haggard. I sat on a nearby chair. We shared a look.

  “Did you tell her?” I asked.

  “She guessed,” he said and sighed heavily looking into the fireplace roaring with flames.

  “I'm sorry. I hope things are okay between you. It’s partly why I wasn’t sure I should come,” I confessed.

  “She's angry. Mostly that I kept it from her for so long,” he told me. I watched the light playing across his strong brow.

  “But you didn’t know…” I started to protest.

  “The cheating. She’s angry that I cheated on her. That I knew about. That I am guilty of,” he closed his eyes and sighed.

  “We are both guilty of that,” I said, my voice quiet.

  “But she knew of my feelings for you and how deep they ran,” he said even softer. “She was my comfort after you…left Thornhill.”

  “Should we leave? I…,” I started, a sudden fear clenching my heart that I’d made a terrible mistake. Also my feelings were all mixed up since I’d never understood why Kaarlo had agreed to marry me of all people.

  “No, she actually doesn’t blame you. It was my weakness. I asked. You only agreed. I told her everything.”

  I tried to think about that night. I supposed he was right, but it hadn’t taken much to accept his offer. I couldn’t think of anything to say to him.

  “And, she can’t forget that you saved my life. And ended the conflict with the goblins. Our lives would have been very different had you not come to Wellswood, so, of course, she cannot regret that. She said she will forgive me…in time.”

  “That's a relief,” I said. He looked at me then, his eyes wet with unshed tears.

  “I love her.”

  “I know.” We sat together sipping our strong drinks, he taking a drag from his pipe and releasing a cloud of smoke that hovered over the sitting room. It reminded me vaguely of my own father since he used to smoke a pipe as well, although I had tried not to spend much time in his presence.

  When we’d finished our drinks, Kaarlo stood, taking the empty glass from my hand and placing it on a tray. He left deep in his own thoughts, leaving me a candle to take back to my room. The maid asked if she could bank the fire in the fireplace and I told her to go ahead. I watched the flutter of red over embers for a few minutes before heading to my room and trying to find some rest.