Chapter 8: The Royal Line Begins Anew
Sergeant Grack led the road-weary group across a broad stone bridge spanning the river, then turned left onto one of Safe Haven’s larger streets.
Jamie immediately understood why.
The cobblestone road was easily wide enough for two wagons to pass each other with room to spare, with raised walking paths running along either side. Even at this early hour, it was packed. Horse-drawn wagons rattled over the stones alongside smaller handcarts, while pedestrians moved in both directions carrying baskets, tools, bundles of cloth, and whatever else people apparently needed to start their day.
Fairies were everywhere.
Jamie spotted one flying above the traffic with a large basket held in both hands. A male Fairy zipped past her a moment later, clearly unhappy with the slower Fairy’s pace.
Jamie smiled.
Apparently, the slower-traffic-stays-to-the-right rule applied in this world too.
She imagined the male Fairy muttering something rude as he passed.
Hey, I’m flying here...
Nobody else paid the slightest attention. Just another morning in Safe Haven. The whole thing reminded Jamie strangely of the two main boulevards back home in Mira Mesa, California. When she'd first learned to drive at sixteen, she'd hated those roads. They were always packed with traffic, everyone was always in a hurry, and apparently turn signals were considered more of a philosophical concept than an actual requirement.
Safe Haven had somehow managed to recreate the experience without inventing cars.
A sharp whinny snapped Jamie's attention forward.
“Whoa!”
She jumped backward just as a two-horse wagon rolled past close enough that she could have reached out and slapped the sideboard.
The goblin holding the reins twisted around in his seat.
“Sorry!”
“Sorry!” Jamie called back at exactly the same time.
For half a second, they stared at each other. Then the goblin’s expression changed. His eyes widened.
“You’re her!”
Jamie blinked.
“Yup. I’m me.” What else was she supposed to say?
She'd never met the goblin wagon driver before in her life, but apparently he knew her; or of her. So Jamie did what she always did whenever she found herself completely out of her element.
She faked it.
The goblin broke into a grin, gave her an enthusiastic nod, then turned back around and urged his horses onward.
Beside Jamie, Eriy covered a laugh with one hand. Ember sent a warm pulse of amusement from her perch atop Jamie's ruck.
In Jamie's defense, she'd had a perfectly good reason for not paying attention and wondering out into the road.
Another flight of Sprites had been passing overhead.
There were eight of them, armored much like the warriors she'd seen earlier, flying in two tight rows as they headed north over the rooftops. The sight had reminded Jamie of Mira Mesa again—or, more specifically, Naval Air Station Miramar whenever the Blue Angels came to town.
Watching them had almost caused Jamie to crash once back then too. Apparently some things transcended worlds.
You nearly got hit by horses, Ember snorted from behind her.
We nearly got hit by horses, Jamie corrected. Remember who you're riding on.
There was a short pause.
Good point.
Jamie felt Ember shift on the ruck. When she glanced over her shoulder, she found the little Kitsune staring indignantly after the rapidly disappearing wagon.
We’re walking here! Ember shouted after him.
The goblin, of course, couldn't hear a word of it.
Jamie laughed. You really are my spirit animal.
Grack continued leading them deeper into town, apparently trusting Jamie to avoid any further collisions on her own.
Safe Haven carried on around them, but as they walked, Jamie began noticing something she hadn't before.
People were noticing her.
A well dressed Sprite woman walking with a young boy slowed as Jamie's group approached. She leaned down and pointed Jamie out to her son.
“Do you see that Dryad, Erial?”
The boy looked. His eyes grew wide. “Is that her, Mum?”
His mother smiled. “Yes.”
The boy stared at Jamie with the completely unabashed fascination only a child could manage. His mother rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Remember this day. Someday you'll tell your grandchildren you were here.”
Jamie’s smile faded. Not because the words bothered her, but because of the way the woman had said them.
There had been hope in these words.
The mother and son continued down the street. After several steps, the boy twisted around to look at Jamie one more time.
Then he waved.
Jamie hesitated before raising her hand and waving back.
The boy's face lit up. He turned excitedly toward his mother, already telling her something Jamie couldn't hear as they disappeared into the morning crowd.
Jamie slowly lowered her hand.
“Lady Dryad?”
“Yeah, sorry. I'm coming,” Jamie called to Grack as she quickened her pace to catch up with the group.
They only walked for another few minutes before Grack led them off the busy main road and into a broad stone courtyard. Standing at the far end was a large structure that reminded Jamie of the town halls found in just about any midsized town back in America.
That was, if the average American town hall had been grown rather than built.
Four enormous trees formed the bones of the structure, their trunks rising at the corners before spreading outward and inward. Massive branches intertwined overhead to support a broad canopy of living leaves, while smaller limbs had been coaxed together into arches, supports, and covered walkways. Stone walls filled the spaces between the trunks, but they almost seemed secondary to the living structure surrounding them.
Jamie slowed as they approached.
She had no idea how the hell they'd done it.
The trees hadn't simply been planted around a stone building. They were the building. Someone had deliberately shaped their growth to create something that was part architecture and part living organism, with the stonework and slate roof tiles incorporated afterward to close the gaps and keep out anything Mother Nature might throw at it.
Everything Jamie thought she understood about architecture had just been thrown out the window.
She wanted to find whoever had designed the place and interrogate them immediately. How long had this taken? Could any tree be shaped this way? Was it magic, some kind of Dryad ability, or a combination of magic and conventional construction? Could you add rooms later? Could you grow an entire house this way?
Possibilities began piling up faster than Jamie could sort through them.
That raised an even more important question.
Did this world have architects, and how much did the job pay?
Who was she kidding? If Jamie could get her hands on whatever techniques had been used to create something like this, she'd do it for free.
The entire structure was a work of art.
Jamie's thoughts about what she might be able to create with techniques like these were interrupted when a particularly tough-looking goblin approached from the front of the town hall. She'd been so fixated on the architecture that she'd completely missed the goblin guards stationed outside.
The newcomer was built differently from Grack and the others. He was broader through the shoulders, with the compact, hardened build of someone who had spent most of his life doing something considerably more strenuous than walking around town. Two short swords hung at his hips, their grips worn from use rather than decoration.
Jamie didn't need Analyze to know this goblin was way higher level than she was.
She used it anyway.
STATUS SCREEN
Name: Captain Gerg
Race: Woodland Goblin
Sex: Male
Lv.: 33
Class: War Dancer
Affinity Types: Physical (Primary), Reinforcement (Secondary)
Weapon Focus: Dual Short Swords
TITLES:
Royal Guard Captain
Unyielding
Level thirty-three.
Jamie tried not to stare. Grack and his soldiers had seemed plenty dangerous when she'd first encountered them in the forest. Captain Gerg made her reconsider what dangerous meant around here.
“Lady Dryad?”
“Sorry, what?”
Grack glanced at her. “I said, this is Captain Gerg. He commands the Royal Guard and will be taking responsibility for your security from this point forward.”
“Oh. I see.”
Jamie wasn't entirely sure that she did.
Having someone level thirty-three responsible for keeping her alive was certainly reassuring. What was considerably less reassuring was the question of why anyone thought she needed someone level thirty-three responsible for keeping her alive.
Gerg turned his attention to Grack, who straightened slightly.
“Captain, if you'll permit me, I have personal matters that require my attention. My people and I have fulfilled our mission, and I ask leave for us to depart.”
Grack bowed his head and waited.
Gerg's eyes moved over the remaining members of the patrol. “Your team appears to be one short.”
“Yes, Captain.” Some of the stiffness went out of Grack's shoulders. “We lost Kibb. I misjudged the danger involved in the mission and brought men who weren't ready for what we encountered. I'll have my full report on your desk by tomorrow morning.”
Gerg was quiet for a moment.
“I see.”
His eyes briefly moved toward the other goblins before returning to Grack.
“Yes, Sergeant. Your team did well. Go take care of your family and get some rest if you can. Please pass my condolences on to your sister.”
Grack bowed his head lower.
“Kibb held much promise,” Gerg continued. “He will be missed. May the Forest shelter him.”
“Thank you, Captain. I'll pass your words on to my kin.”
Grack turned toward Jamie and bowed again, this time to her, before standing to his full height.
For a moment, Jamie thought about apologizing again. The words were right there, but she'd already said them more than once, and saying them again wasn't going to give Grack back his brother-in-law.
Instead, she simply met his eyes.
“Thank you for getting us here.”
Grack gave her a tired smile. “It was an honor, Lady Dryad.”
The shaman offered Jamie a warmer farewell, while one of the archers gave her a small wave before following the others. Then the goblins headed back the way they'd come, Grack walking at the front of a group that looked noticeably smaller than the one Jamie had first encountered in the forest.
Jamie and Ember watched them disappear into the traffic. Captain Gerg allowed the silence to linger for a few moments before turning toward the entrance.
“Lady Dryad, if you'll follow me inside, I'll announce your arrival to the Elders.”
He extended an arm toward the entrance but allowed Jamie to precede him. As she climbed the steps, one of the goblin guards pulled open one of the massive wooden doors.
Jamie stepped inside.
The light inside was considerably dimmer than the morning sun outside, forcing Jamie to stop just beyond the doorway while her eyes adjusted. She felt more than saw Captain Gerg move past her, his footsteps carrying several paces into the hall before stopping.
As the shapes around her sharpened, Jamie realized the inside was somehow even more impressive than the exterior.
The four enormous trees she'd seen outside continued straight through the structure, their trunks forming the corners of a vast central chamber before spreading into an interlocking network of branches high overhead. Living wood curved into arches and balconies while stone filled the spaces between, the two materials joined so naturally that Jamie had trouble telling where the work of a mason ended and whatever magic had shaped the trees began.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Faint green runes followed several of the larger branches overhead. They gave off just enough light to reveal banners hanging between them, each bearing symbols Jamie didn't recognize. Sunlight filtered through tall panes of green-tinted glass along the eastern wall, throwing shifting patterns across the stone floor.
Jamie wanted another hour just to look around.
She wasn't getting it.
As her eyes adjusted to the lower light, she finally noticed the people.
There were dozens of them.
Goblins, Sprites, Fairies, Naiads, and several others Jamie couldn't identify stood along either side of the hall. Most were older, though not all, and their clothing ranged from simple robes to armor and finely made formalwear. Conversations that must have been taking place before her arrival had gone completely silent.
Every face was turned toward her.
Captain Gerg stopped near the center of the chamber and turned to face the gathered assembly.
“Elders of Safe Haven,” he announced, his voice carrying easily through the hall. “Jamie Godwin, Dryad and Chosen of Nia, has arrived.”
Every person who wasn't already looking at Jamie turned toward her.
Jamie stopped walking and looked around helplessly before glancing back at Ember, who was still riding on her ruck.
Am I supposed to do something?
I don't know, Ember sent.
The heck with it.
Jamie had seen enough shows and movies that dealt with situations like this. She performed what she hoped was a proper curtsy before returning to her full height. No one corrected her, so Jamie figured she'd done an adequate enough job.
She sent Ember a mental high-five.
Ember responded with a wave of complete confusion.
Jamie mentally added high-fives to the list of things Ember very much needed to understand in the future.
At the far end of the hall, two women stood apart from the others, who were gathered behind two large tables running the length of the chamber.
The first could only have been a Dryad.
Jamie had never seen another one before, but there was no mistaking it. She was tall and carried the same warm complexion and pointed ears Jamie had discovered on herself, though that was where most of the similarities ended. Age showed in subtle lines around her eyes and mouth, but there was something else about her that made Jamie think old in a way wrinkles never could.
She looked more like what Jamie imagined a Dryad should look like. She looked like she belonged to the forest.
The older Dryad also had flowers in her hair, but twice the number Jamie had, along with green leaves woven naturally among them. Her skin was slightly darker than Jamie's, and bark-like patterns covered portions of her arms and legs. They reminded Jamie of the tribal tattoos people sometimes got when they were young because they thought they would make them look cool and edgy.
Beside her stood a woman Jamie couldn't place at all. At least, Jamie thought she was a woman.
Then one of the nine tails fanned out behind her moved.
Jamie stared.
The woman caught her staring and smiled.
Definitely a Kitsune.
Jamie only knew the term from the many anime she'd watched over the course of her previous life. Both women were gorgeous, but not like Jamie. These women were women, not late-teen somethings.
“Welcome to Safe Haven, Princess Jamie,” the Dryad said.
The Kitsune glanced toward her. “It seems someone revealed what was meant to remain a secret a little longer.”
“So it would seem,” the Dryad replied, although she didn't appear particularly upset by it. “No matter. The Princess made it here safely, and that was always the greater concern.”
“True, but I still think a reminder is in order. Young Jamie is far too weak for word of her arrival to spread beyond the forest yet.”
The Dryad nodded before turning toward Captain Gerg. “Captain, I assume the title came from someone among the patrol sent to retrieve her. Find out who it was and make certain they understand why we asked for discretion.”
“No!”
Jamie's protest came out louder than she'd intended, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall right back to her.
“The fault was mine,” she continued, trying not to think about how many people were watching her. “I had a lot of questions on the way here, and I kept asking them. If somebody told me something they weren't supposed to, it's because I pushed until I got an answer.”
Jamie... you lied.
Jamie kept her attention firmly on the two women ahead of her.
And?
You said it was your fault.
I'm trying to keep Grack from getting in trouble.
There was a brief pause before Ember answered.
The woman like me knows you lied too.
What?
Jamie's gaze shifted toward the Kitsune and found a knowing smile waiting for her.
“Oh.”
The woman's smile widened. “You don't need to protect Sergeant Grack from us, young one. He isn't in trouble. We merely need to remind him that there are good reasons some information has been kept quiet.”
Her expression grew more serious.
“If the word Princess had been spoken outside these walls, there is no guarantee it wouldn't have been heard by ears unfriendly to what your return means.”
Jamie glanced back at Ember before looking at the woman again.
“Can you read our thoughts?”
“Not yours,” the Kitsune said. “Hers.”
That got Jamie's attention.
“You can hear Ember?”
“When she wishes to be heard, yes. Though at the moment she isn't being particularly subtle.”
I don't like her.
The Kitsune laughed.
The Dryad's attention had moved to Ember as well. “Is she one of yours?”
“No, not one of mine.”
The Kitsune continued studying Ember, her amusement slowly giving way to curiosity. She stepped a little closer, tilting her head as Ember did the same.
“Lady Akari?” the Dryad asked.
“I know that face.”
The Kitsune's expression changed again, settling somewhere between recognition and annoyance.
“Oh, Kylie. What have you done now?”
The Dryad sighed. “Your sister?”
“Who else?”
“I had hoped she'd finally developed some sense.”
“You've known her for three hundred years, Lady Sylvara. I am unsure why you would expect more from my little sister.”
Akari studied Ember for another moment before nodding. “I'm almost certain. She has Kylie's eyes, and there's something familiar in her scent. More importantly, I can feel the relation now that I'm looking for it.”
Jamie reached back and scratched Ember gently behind one of her ears.
“So Ember has a mother?”
Akari's attention snapped to Jamie. “You found her alone?”
“Yeah. Right after waking up in this world. She was up a tree watching me while I was...” Jamie stopped herself just in time. “Busy.”
Akari's smile flickered, but only for a moment.
“Kylie is many things, and I have called my sister most of them to her face, but she would never willingly leave one of her kits that young to fend for herself.”
The humor left Sylvara's expression. “When did you last hear from her?”
“Long enough ago that I should have asked that question sooner.”
That answer changed the mood between the two women.
Akari looked toward Ember again. “I need to find her.”
Sylvara nodded. “Then go. Take as many of the Sprite warriors as you believe necessary.”
“Thank you.”
Akari turned toward Jamie. “We'll speak properly when I return, Princess. Until then, take care of my niece.”
Jamie glanced at Ember. “I was planning on it.”
“Thank you.”
Lady Akari's form began to shimmer before Jamie could ask anything else. The woman dropped forward as her body expanded, dark fur replacing clothing and skin until a Kitsune considerably larger than Ember stood in her place. All nine tails swept out behind her before she bounded toward the entrance.
Jamie moved aside as Akari raced past. The doors had barely opened before she was through them.
Jamie felt Ember's worry through the bond. Her spirit fox friend didn't need to voice what she needed Jamie to ask.
“Will she be able to find Ember's mother?”
“Fear not, Princess. Lady Kylie could not be in better hands. I'm sure it will not take Lady Akari long to discover what happened.”
Jamie couldn't help but notice what the Dryad had not said.
She let it pass without comment—and, more importantly, kept it out of her thoughts. Ember was already worried enough.
As though sensing the need to move away from the subject, Lady Sylvara turned her attention fully to Jamie and Ember.
“You both look weary from your journey. Whatever questions you have for us—and I suspect there are many—they can wait until morning.”
Jamie wasn't about to argue.
Sylvara turned toward Captain Gerg. “Captain, would you see them to the manor and make certain they're given a proper meal?”
“Yes, my Lady.”
Sylvara looked back to Jamie. “Sleep well, Princess.”
There was that word again.
It lingered in Jamie's thoughts as she followed Captain Gerg out of the grand hall. The sun had climbed much higher in the sky since they'd entered Safe Haven and was now approaching high noon.
The Captain led them away from the busier streets of Safe Haven, following a quieter road that climbed gradually through the trees. The buildings thinned as they walked, giving way to larger gardens and stretches of carefully maintained forest. Jamie was beginning to wonder how much farther they had to go when Gerg turned onto a wide stone path and the trees opened ahead of them.
Jamie slowed.
The manor was easily one of the largest buildings she'd seen since entering Safe Haven. Like the Council Hall, it blended stone construction with living trees, but where the hall had been designed to impress, this place felt different. Softer somehow.
Enormous trees rose through different sections of the manor, their trunks incorporated into walls and their branches supporting balconies, overhangs, and portions of the upper floors. Flowering vines climbed pale stone walls, while large windows looked out over gardens that seemed to wrap around the entire property.
The place was old. Jamie couldn't have said how old, but she could see it in the size of the trees and the weathering of the stone. What she couldn't find was any sign of neglect. The gardens were immaculate, the paths swept clean, the windows spotless, and even the oldest portions of the building looked carefully maintained.
Someone had been taking very good care of this place for a very long time.
“This is the manor?” Jamie asked.
“The Royal Manor,” Captain Gerg corrected.
Jamie looked from him to the enormous house. “Where is the Royal Family?”
“Dead. For over a thousand years now.”
Jamie turned back to him.
Gerg stopped and faced her, clearly understanding that his answer had created far more questions than it had settled.
“It would be best to let Lady Sylvara explain the rest. She was right about one thing—you've had a long journey, and I suspect you have many more long days ahead of you.” He glanced toward the manor before adding, “A good soldier learns to rest when the opportunity presents itself. I suggest you do the same.”
Jamie looked back at the manor.
A Royal Manor without a Royal Family for over a thousand years, and now they were putting her in it.
She had questions. A lot of questions. But Captain Gerg was right.
She was exhausted.
Jamie followed him toward the entrance, deciding that particular conversation could wait until she'd slept enough to participate in it without accidentally saying something stupid.
They didn't make it to the doors.
The entrance opened while they were still approaching, and a group of women began filing onto the broad front steps. Most were Sprites, though several Fairies flew out behind them before settling along the railing and steps. Jamie recognized the similarity in their clothing immediately and realized she was looking at the household staff.
There were considerably more of them than she'd expected.
The Sprite woman standing at the front was older than most of the others. Whatever greeting she'd prepared seemed to leave her the moment she saw Jamie. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared at her with an expression Jamie couldn't quite place.
Several of the other maids weren't doing much better.
One of the younger Sprites was openly smiling. Two Fairies whispered excitedly to each other until the woman beside them quieted them with a look. Another Sprite appeared to have tears in her eyes.
“Decorum, ladies,” the elder maid snapped.
The words had their intended effect. The maids—including the elder maid herself—all seemed to suddenly remember who they were and why they were here.
Jamie glanced at Gerg, wondering what exactly he'd brought her into.
The older Sprite looked every bit the strict head maid, but Jamie could still see the joy in her eyes. She stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“Welcome home, Princess.”
The rest of the household followed her lead.
“Welcome home, Princess!”
After raising her head, the head maid gave Jamie a quick once-over before continuing.
“Princess Jamie, I am Quila, Head Maid of the Royal Household. On behalf of everyone here, it is my honor to serve.”
“It has been far too long,” she added quietly.
Home.
“Thank you,” Jamie said, because she couldn't think of anything else that wouldn't lead to another conversation she was much too tired to have.
Captain Gerg formally handed responsibility for Jamie's care over to the household staff, and that was apparently all they had been waiting for.
Jamie and Ember were swept inside.
There wasn't any other way to describe it. Jamie's ruck disappeared from her shoulders before she'd made it through the entrance hall, politely but firmly taken by one of the Sprite maids while another asked when she'd last eaten. A third wanted to know whether she'd prefer to bathe before or after her meal, while two Fairies flew around Ember and immediately began inspecting the state of her fur.
Jamie tried twice to explain that they didn't have to go through all this trouble before realizing nobody appeared to consider taking care of her trouble.
If anything, they seemed excited about it. Not merely professional or attentive. Excited.
Every time Jamie said she didn't need something, someone seemed to find something else she did need. Her gear was taken away to be inspected and properly stored. Food was already being prepared. A bath was being drawn before Jamie had actually agreed to take one, although after walking through the forest for most of the previous day and spending much of the night and morning on the road again, she couldn't honestly pretend she didn't desperately want it.
The goblins had set a fast pace getting her here, and Jamie's dogs were barking.
Ember initially regarded the Fairies surrounding her with considerably more suspicion.
Why are they touching me?
Jamie glanced over and found one Fairy carefully examining Ember's paws while another worked a small brush through the fur along her back.
I think they're taking care of you.
I can take care of myself.
The Fairy with the brush reached the fur beneath Ember's chin.
Ember's eyes closed.
Jamie smiled. Looks terrible.
Be quiet.
The staff somehow managed to feed them while simultaneously preparing everything else they apparently believed needed doing. Jamie ate until she was full, while Ember received her own meal and quickly stopped objecting to having several Fairies attending to her. By the time Jamie and Ember were led away for their bath, Ember had been brushed so thoroughly that her coat looked softer than Jamie had ever seen it.
It's much harder to brush out the knots once her fur is wet, one of the Fairies had pointedly explained when Jamie questioned why the brushing couldn't wait until after the bath.
The bath itself was another reminder that Jamie was apparently no longer living out of a ruck beside a river. Hot water had already been prepared for the two of them, along with everything Jamie needed to get herself clean. A Sprite maid remained nearby in case either of them needed anything, until Jamie finally managed to convince her that bathing was one activity she and Ember could safely handle on their own.
Ember, for her part, seemed to take quite a bit of joy in the warm water.
Is this your first hot bath? Jamie sent.
Yes... and it is perfect.
Jamie smiled as Ember pushed away from the edge and doggy-paddled across the large bath.
For a while, Jamie simply sat in the warm water and let herself enjoy it while Ember happily paddled around nearby. She hadn't realized how badly she'd needed this.
The last day had been one thing after another. Waking in a body that wasn't hers. Discovering magic. Meeting Ember. Goblins. Kibb. Safe Haven. And now, apparently, she was some kind of Princess with a Royal Guard and an entire manor full of people who had been waiting for her.
All of that in barely more than a day.
Jamie sank a little farther into the warm water.
Tomorrow.
Whatever all of that meant could become tomorrow Jamie's problem.
Getting out of the bath introduced a new problem when Jamie discovered her dress was gone. One of the maids assured her it had only been taken to be inspected and would be returned, then presented her with clean clothes to sleep in as though having clothes waiting for Jamie was the most ordinary thing in the world.
Jamie had questions about that too.
Tomorrow.
By the time the maids finished with her hair and escorted her upstairs, exhaustion had begun winning the fight against curiosity. Even then, the staff wasn't finished. They showed Jamie her room, made certain she knew where everything was, asked whether she wanted anything else to eat or drink, and explained how to summon someone if she or Ember needed anything while they rested.
Jamie assured them repeatedly that she and Ember had everything they needed.
The maids seemed reluctant to believe her.
Eventually, however, the last of them bowed and stepped into the hallway—but not before one of the Sprite maids noticed a narrow line of sunlight slipping between the curtains. She hurried back across the room to adjust them, then spent several seconds making certain they overlapped perfectly before finally appearing satisfied.
Jamie watched the whole thing without saying a word.
Apparently even sunlight wasn't getting past the Royal Maids without permission.
The Sprite gave the curtains one final inspection, bowed to Jamie, and quietly closed the door behind her.
For the first time since entering Safe Haven, Jamie and Ember were alone.
Jamie stood in the middle of the bedroom for a moment, taking in surroundings she hadn't really had a chance to appreciate while the maids were fussing over her. The room was larger than anything she needed, with a bed that looked dangerously comfortable and tall windows overlooking the gardens outside. With the curtains now drawn against the midday sun, however, the bedroom was cool and dim.
Like everything else she'd seen in the manor, it was spotless and carefully maintained.
It also felt strangely prepared.
Not simply clean. Not like a guest room that had been opened because someone unexpected needed a place to sleep.
Jamie was too tired to decide what bothered her about that distinction.
She climbed into bed, and Ember wasted no time joining her. The little Kitsune circled beside Jamie before settling against her, freshly brushed fur pressing warmly against Jamie's side.
For several minutes, neither of them said anything.
Jamie could feel Ember through their bond, and now that the excitement of arriving in Safe Haven had finally passed, something that had been buried beneath everything else was beginning to surface.
Worry.
Jamie ran her fingers slowly through Ember's fur. “You're thinking about your mother.”
Ember didn't answer immediately, but she didn't need to.
“Do you remember her?”
That took longer.
No.
Jamie continued stroking her back. “Nothing at all?”
Ember shifted closer as she searched her memories.
I don't think so.
Jamie frowned slightly. Until today, she'd never really thought about what Ember had been doing before they'd met. Their bond had happened so quickly, and there had been so much for Jamie to figure out about herself that Ember simply being alone in the forest hadn't seemed particularly strange at the time.
Now it did.
“What do you remember from before you found me?”
Ember remained quiet for so long that Jamie wondered whether she had an answer.
Finally, an impression came through the bond.
A dream.
Jamie looked down at her. “You had a dream?”
Yes.
“What about?”
Ember struggled with that question. Jamie could feel pieces of the memory through their connection, but nothing clear enough to understand. There was light. Warmth. A presence Ember remembered more as a feeling than an image.
Then Ember sent something Jamie understood.
A woman.
Jamie's hand stopped moving.
“What woman?”
I don't know.
Ember tried again, concentrating harder this time.
She was beautiful. I remember seeing her, and then...
The thought faded.
“And then?”
I woke up.
Jamie stared down at her.
“Where?”
In the forest.
A small knot formed in Jamie's stomach.
She knew another person who had experienced something remarkably similar.
Jamie tried to remember exactly what Nia had told her before sending her here, but those memories were tangled together with pain, confusion, and everything that had happened after waking in the meadow. Ember's dream could have been nothing more than a dream.
But Jamie didn't think it was.
She also didn't know enough to say anything about it yet.
“Do you remember anything between the woman and waking up?”
Ember tried. Jamie felt her reaching for something that simply wasn't there before she finally gave up.
No.
Jamie resumed running her hand along Ember's back.
That could wait too.
Tomorrow they could ask questions. Tomorrow Jamie could figure out why an entire town had been expecting her, why everyone kept calling her Princess, why a Royal Manor had apparently been prepared for her arrival, and maybe even who the woman in Ember's dream had been.
Right now, Ember didn't need another mystery. She needed her friend.
Jamie settled deeper beneath the blankets and felt Ember press closer against her.
“Don't worry, Ember. I'm sure they'll find her.”