Fall of Autumn, Week 4, Day 7

  We were several paces away from the entry steps to the church and I was surrounded by the knights and squires and maids.

  I clapped my hands—in a good mood despite being forced to be in the church.

  I was, admittedly, choosing to ignore the voice of a Goddess that had rang in my ears. I just had to not pray to Frill again. Easy. Next week, I’d pray to Morloch no matter the sermon. It’d be fine. And, now that I was actively away from a Priestess of Ital, memories of Sir Rellar were attempting to fill the back of my mind. Nevertheless.

  I’d had some tea. I’d shown off Noir. Shade and Haze remained gently tucked into my bag alongside him. I was surrounded by friendly faces—mostly, if one ignored Sylvie’s existence.

  I frowned. I was doing a lot of ignoring of things. It was a momentary frown, before I decided [Mental Fortitude] would tell me if I was being too crazy, and let a neutral expression come across my face.

  “I joked about dresses earlier, but really I’m interested in just walking around the main square.” I paused, glancing around the rounded streets and tilted my head. “Or main circle? And seeing the glassworks.”

  Dame Arella huffed. “Wherever you want to go, we’ll follow. Do you want to stop for an early lunch soon or wait a bit?”

  I perked up. “Is there a cafe nearby? With coffee?”

  “Nora,” Dame Arella said warningly. “Didn’t you just have some tea?”

  I put on my best innocent face and dug my hand into my bag, pulling out Haze. I held him up, partially covering my face. “But coffee is so much better.”

  I didn’t notice the look on Sylvie and Juniper’s faces as I interacted with Dame Arella, until Sylvie cleared her throat. “Lady Nora, if I may. There is a cafe within the main square that serves a wide variety of drinks, as well as sweets.”

  I scrunched my nose up. “I’m fine without the sweets, but thank you, Sylvie. Let’s go there.”

  Sylvie blinked, the slight pout of her face falling away to show some unreadable emotion.

  “Very well, my Lady, this way.” Her voice was stilted, and her shoulders stiff. But what else was new? Sylvie always seemed on edge around me.

  It wasn’t truly a surprise. I was more than just Nora. I was Eunora Dawn, the fourth Child of the Dawn. I was, in a way, a threat to Sylvie, were I a pettier person.

  Beside me, Juniper bounced on her feet. “Lady Nora, do you not like sweets?”

  I shook my head. “I’m more of a savory and bitter person. Citrus is my go-to sweet, though. You?”

  Juniper shook her head in disbelief. “Not a sweet person. Oh, my, the chef will be so sad. I’ll have to let him know. He was so sure you loved sweets.”

  Despite the words of concern, she had a vindictive smile on her face, which I found hilarious. Juniper had, of course, been working in the kitchen as a hireling. The chef was her old boss. There must be a story there.

  “Anyway, yes, I’m a fan of most kinds of cookies.” She finished happily, taking exaggerated steps next to me.

  Ahead of us, Sylvie snapped her gaze back and focused on Juniper. Juniper was clearly ignoring her gaze, and I chose to do the same.

  “Mmm, I prefer almond cookies,” I hummed. Beside me, I watch something click in Juniper’s mind.

  “Because they are more nutty than sweet!” She said, clapping her hands together.

  I nodded, and as we chatted, I let my eyes roam the main square.

  Now that the sermon was over, there was a bustle of people filling the area. Some were setting up carts with trinkets, and others were pulling out wagons with foodstuffs and pricing. The shops had grown busier, with people coming and going constantly. They were in all different outfits, from the warmth of sweaters and pants to shorts and flowing shirts, and the occasional suit. Some were fancifully dressed, and others looked as though they’d just come in from the forest.

  It was so different than Adeline, where all the different social strata were segregated by the gates. Here, they all mixed together.

  I even spotted several foreign styles of dress that I couldn’t name even if I wanted to. The colors just seemed richer, and their clothes had more metal than was common in the Duchy. As I looked at a particularly dark-skinned man, a memory flashed in my mind. Metal accents on the cloth itself were popular in Nemo, Dawn’s neighbor to the North. It was interesting to see up close.

  It was a short walk to the other side of the square. And Sylvie stopped in front of a set of windows. Peering in, I could see a counter and several machines behind it. There were half a dozen tables of varying sizes, half of which were filled, and mounted atop the wall by the cash register was an illustrated menu several feet wide.

  “There are so many options,” I said, looking over the vibrant pictures.

  “Indeed, and they are all unique to the Fritter,” Sylvie said, opening the door for me.

  Behind us, Sir Neil and Dame Arella paused, and though they whispered, I could still hear their exchange.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “I’m going in.” Dame Arella hissed.

  “Oh, just let her drink some coffee, Ari, who cares?” Sir Neil retorted.

  “I care.” She said finally, and I felt warmth bloom in my chest—despite the fact that I knew she’d try and get me to drink something that was not caffeinated.

  Sir Neil and Arlen stayed outside, while Dame Arella, Klein, Sylvie, and Juniper were inside with me.

  I peered up at the menu, with its beautiful illustrations of different drinks and sweets, and a young woman popped up from behind the counter.

  “Welcome to the Fritter! Have you been here before?” She asked brightly.

  Everyone but me and Juniper nodded. I looked at the girl curiously, but didn’t ask aloud.

  “Oh, oh! Is this an Awakening treat? You two look so young and fresh!” The woman tittered, bringing her hands up to her face in excitement.

  I felt myself smiling in response. “I Awakened last season, actually. This is just my first time in Fellan.”

  “Oooo, welcome to the borderlands then!” She gushed, leaning over the counter to get a better look at us, particularly focusing on Dame Arella and Klein. “Actually, you two look familiar.”

  “I used to come by every Seventh Day after the Sermon.” Dame Arella agreed, then bashfully she continued, “And on my off days.”

  The woman laughed lightly. “Wonderful! We love regulars.”

  I turned away from the exchange and went back to looking at the menu. There were blue drinks depicted with whipped cream and some kind of pearl-shaped toppings, and orange drinks topped with a cream pumpkin, and even a purple drink topped with sparkles.

  “Are they enchanted?” I asked, interrupting.

  “Most, yes. They’re simple things, though, nothing like you’d find in the Capital.”

  I nodded and pointed to a navy blue drink that seemed to be closest to what I wanted. “I’ll take this one—the Mistlight Latte.”

  “Um,” the woman stumbled, looking from me to the older members of our party, “Is that all right?”

  Dame Arella looked back at the menu. “It’s tea-based, right?”

  “It is, but it’s more like an energizer.” The woman confirmed.

  I nudged Dame Arella and widened my eyes. “Tell the lady it’s fine, Ari.”

  Sylvie and Juniper turned to look at me, wide-eyed, but Dame Arella just huffed a laugh. “Fine, fine, yes, Nora can have the Mistlight Latte.”

  The woman looked between us once more, and nodded. “Very well, anything else?”

  Once Dame Arella said no, the woman was off, and Klein was shaking his head.

  “You shouldn’t do that, Lady Nora,” he said just loud enough for our group to hear, “The poor lady will think you’re sisters.”

  It was the nicest thing Klein had ever said to me.

  “As long as she doesn’t freak out because I’m a Dawn, I’ll be happy.” I hummed and beelined for the only table large enough to hold the five of us. Even then, Dame Arella had to pull up a chair from another table for there to be enough seats.

  I placed Haze on the table lightly, and he stood up on his own. I watched another customer glance our way, but I quickly tuned them out.

  “How are you today, Defender?” I smiled at Haze and leaned forward, putting my chin in my hand and looking down at the knit panda.

  “Upset,” Haze huffed, and I blinked, a laugh bubbling up.

  “Oh? About what?”

  “You only let Commander speak earlier,” the panda grumbled, and I felt an easy grin fill my face.

  It was the kind of interaction I really only got with my spirits.

  “Terribly sorry,” I said earnestly, “But I didn’t want to overwhelm our new friend.”

  “The warm woman? I could feel her from the bag.”

  “The very same.” I hummed.

  Around me, Juniper had dropped her jaw, and Sylvie was staring at her hands. Dame Arella looked amused, and Klein looked frustrated.

  “Uh-oh, Defender, it looks like I’ve revealed another card,” I said lightly. “Would you like to say anything to our companions?”

  “Hello, you can call me Haze for now.”

  “Lady Nora,” Klein choked out, yet remained quiet. “How many Skills do you have?”

  “Klein,” Dame Arella said warningly.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I grumbled and ran a finger from Haze’s stomach to his nose and gave him a boop.

  With a sigh, I gently grabbed Haze’s paw and twirled him. I watched silently as the light reflected off his iridescent yarn that made up his stomach and face. The rainbow reflected on the table and decorated my hand as well.

  “My Animations are friends,” I said wistfully. “The only friends I could bring from the main estate. The only friends I had at the main estate.”

  I paused my musing, realized I’d said that aloud instead of in my head, and let out a long breath.

  “Do you think I’ll meet anyone nice at the sword academy?” I asked no one in particular.

  But that kind of question was obviously meant for Dame Arella.

  “I think you’ll have the opportunity to meet a wide range of people at the Academy and the Tower both,” she responded. “Klein, you were at the Academy just a few seasons ago. What do you think?”

  “I think…” Klein trailed off, and I focused my gaze on him, with his crimson hair and vibrant green eyes. “I think you’ll do fine, Lady Nora. The Academy is set up to where you’ll be grouped by strength, in addition to age. So there will be loads of chances to impress and be impressed.”

  I nodded.

  “I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak.”

  Klein’s expression fell from the rare open and earnest look to back to being closed off. Distant. It fit him better this way. He was too funny to have anything but a well-guarded heart. And I had no intention of bringing down his walls.

  I had too many of my own up to bother with that.

  “Nora, be nice,” Dame Arella laughed and shook her head. “Klein only insulted Noir once.”

  “Once is more than enough.” I rebutted.

  The truth was, when Klein was with Arlen, he was relaxed, funny, not quite kind but not quite mean. With the full-fledged Knights of the Dusk, his entire demeanor shifted to being more serious and more dependable. One day, Klein would make a great knight.

  But I wasn’t sure I wanted him to be one of mine.

  Not after the journey to Fellan.

  Right now, there were only two people I fully trusted with my heart and my mind.

  Dame Arella was sitting here with me, and the other?

  Well, Sir Limrick was somewhere in Fellan, too.

  At that thought, the woman from the counter brought out a steaming navy blue drink that smelled like cinnamon.

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