Rhian

Captain Kavelin came through for Oskari in a big way. He'd sent workers, supplies, food, even a small medical team—seemed to me he'd rallied the whole bloody city to help in one way or another. The locals who recognized me gave little waves or nods when I passed through that morning. One of them even stopped me and said it was good seeing me back, and not in a sarcastic way. And not in a hurray, saviour kind of way either. Just normal and whatnot.

Seeing as almost nobody had their houses anymore, the Widow's Peak became everybody's new home. Breakfast service was booming, and when I walked through the big double doors, I trained my eyes toward the bar. Behind it, Marta was wearing a dress I could have sworn I'd seen Ivana wearing once or twice afore. She was also wearing one of her aprons.

Marta smiled when she saw me, gesturing me over.

I plunked down on my usual stool.

"How're things?" I asked.

"These Oskarians are resilient. The outpouring of support from the city has given them hope, and there are plans to start rebuilding in the spring. For now, I'll be working here."

"Aye, and what say you? Commander of the Iron Hand, Captain of the Guard, or this?"

"It's only been two days but, honestly? This."

"Aye, that's reasonable. Good on you, mate."

Marta nodded, picking up a glass to polish.

"Look," I said. "I've gotta talk to you real quick. It's about Michael."

"I have to talk to you about Michael, too," Marta replied. "We have to get him back."

"Wearing Ivana's clothes and you're reading minds now, too? Should I be worried?"

"Heh, no. I'm still regular me. But after what happened here, everything I've seen, I—I think I made a mistake. I never should have left him."

"Right, well—that's what I came here to say. We're going to get him, leaving in a few hours."

"I can't go with you."

"I know. We've got this," I said. "But I need something from you first. See, my waltzing up to the city gates when I was the last person to have seen you on the day you went missing? Not a good look for me. I'm really trying not to get thrown into jail in every civilized corner of Amalia. So far, I'm two for five."

Marta chuckled. "Yeah, that would be a problem. I'll write you a letter. Fess up to leaving on my own. They'll recognize my handwriting, and I still have my signet ring."

"It's almost like having Michael around again. I miss that charming son of a bitch."

"Hey, that's my mother you're calling a bitch." Marta swatted me over the head with the rag. And then she laughed on account of she wasn't boring.

"I can't wait to meet him," Marta continued. "You know, adult him."

"Look, we're gonna do what we can, but—"

"Yeah."

There wasn't anything more to say on the matter.

"Where's the Historian?" I asked.

"He's somewhere—" Marta took a quick look around the common room and shrugged, reaching for a glass to start polishing. "Yeah, somewhere. Elijah's been a huge help. He plans to stay in Oskari, too. Wants to oversee the construction of a schoolhouse. I can't believe this place didn't even have a school."

I hadn't even thought about it. "By the by, Strauss and Adeline say hello."

"Andrei's back? He okay?"

I took a quick look around the common room this time, and as I suspected, the breakfast crowd were all turned our way at the mention of Strauss.

Looking back to Marta, "Aye, he's all right," I went with.

And the breakfast crowd went back to their breakfasts.

It wasn't long after that Marta disappeared into the kitchen, and from there into Ivana's old office I reckoned. I waited long enough to start getting bored enough to start polishing the glass Marta left behind. It was about an hour afore she returned with the letters.

"One for my parents, too," she said.

And that's about all there was to it. I tucked the letters away in my bag, and seeing as I was in a hurry, I tossed Marta a two-finger salute and zipped out the door.

Not long afore Palisade came to claim us, Gus and I ran away from the orphanage. We didn't have any notes, and even though Stracha functioned mainly on barter anyhow, we didn't have any possessions or trade skills as eight year old vagrants, neither. Tough break, but eventually, through highly questionable means that I'll explore with you lot later, we earned ourselves enough coin to get something to eat.

I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth, so the bakery in Hollyhock was our first stop.

The lady behind the counter was all cheer. Even if she damned well knew two tiny Partisans shouldn't be out buying baked goods alone, she didn't make us feel like we were doing anything wrong. She called us wee miss and wee sir and gave us more than our money's worth. I remember thinking she was pretty, and I wondered what life would be like if she was my mum.

Thirteen years later, I bust through the door to Alexander's Estate—tired, dirty, and grumpy.

Alexander must have heard someone coming, because he was standing in the bare-ass-naked atrium waiting. It was good seeing him.

"You'll never believe what I have to tell you," I said, barreling my way through the room and toward the corridor. We all know catching up is best done in the library on the comfy couches.

"Rhian," Alexander answered in a way that made me screech to a stop.

"Aye?"

"Slow down," he said.

"What the fuck for?" I ignored the warning and carried on toward the library, motioning Alexander to follow. The glass-paned double doors were wide open, so it was easy to barge.

Over at the couches, two people rose to their feet right quick. One I definitely recognized, the other I vaguely recognized. Oddly enough, the one I vaguely recognized rushed over and squeezed me so tight I reckoned my head might pop off. The perky blonde lady was a wee thing, a bit shorter than I was, and about twenty-five years older.

She smelled like honey and lemons.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glared at my Random Father still standing by the couch.

Alexander shuffled into the library behind me.

"Let me have a good look at you," the hugger said, pulling back and holding me by the shoulders at arm's length.

Like I said: tired, dirty, grumpy.

"All grown up now, aren't you? And you're so beautiful," the lady said.

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I glanced over my shoulder toward Alexander. I couldn't quite pin down the expression on his face. Somewhere between expecting happiness and disaster.

"We look alike, don't we, Rhydian?" the woman said, squishing her cheek against mine.

Random Father grunted.

"She has each your best qualities," Alexander said.

Random Father side-eyed Alexander.

Meanwhile. I wished I'd never bloody walked through the door.

Finally, the wee blonde said, "I'm Evelyn."

And then she let me go, right before she nudged me toward the wing-backed chair. She patted the seat, and seeing as I was still feeling a bit stunned, I sat.

Random Father and Evelyn took their places side by side on the couch, reaching for each other's hands.

"I'll let the three of you talk," Alexander gestured non-chalantly, but he paused before leaving the library. "I'll send Peter in with refreshments soon."

Random Father grunted.

I shifted in the chair.

Rhydian Sinclair, looking the same as the last I saw him with his marked-up and frayed travel wear. Shoulder-length blonde hair matted and braided, and a scruffy beard. Smelled like Hocks and tobacco. Evelyn—my mum apparently, looking sweet as the pies she baked. Upturned nose, freckled all the way across, mid-length blond ringlets, and those classic Strachan emerald green eyes.

She waved happily.

"Look," I said, "I've got stuff to do, so, how can I help you both?"

"Heard you got yourself knocked up by a pasty half-breed," Random Father said. "Thought you might need someone to talk to about it."

Evelyn released his hand, but only to slap it.

"Your father traveled all the way to Stracha to get me. He's been so happy to have found you again, Rhian. We both are."

I narrowed my eyes.

"You're the lady from the bakery," I said.

Evelyn's curls bounced when she nodded. "Green's Great Big Buns. It's a family business."

I snorted. Great Big Buns.

"Green," she went on to say, "your maternal family name."

Green was my favourite colour.

I narrowed my eyes.

Rhydian leaned back and propped his muddy boots up on Alexander's glass table.

"How'd you both end up here?" I asked. "At Alexander's."

"We ran into him in Jaska whilst looking for you, wouldn't you know it," Evelyn said.

"Must've been quite the surprise for you, mate." I turned to Rhydian. "Finding him not dead and whatnot."

Evelyn patted Rhydian on the arm. "Rhydian's promised me he won't try killing our friend again, hasn't he?"

Random Father grunted.

"Uh huh." I looked back and forth between them a few times. "So, what. You've both just been together this whole time?"

"As much as your father's job allows it," Evelyn said. "I can't join him as much as I'd like anymore, with the business and your sister. But maybe now she's older—"

My eyes were still narrowed.

"Sister?"

"Aye, she's just turned nineteen now. Shane's her name," Evelyn said.

"All right," I said.

When I didn't know how to react, I tended to under-react, and this was one such a goddess-be-damned moment. I looked to Rhydian then.

"And you thought this might help? Help what? Everything's gone to shite around here in case you hadn't noticed, and I don't really have time for whatever this is."

Rhydian's cheek twitched above his beard line. "It was never supposed to be this way."

"No?" I said. "What then?"

"We had it all worked out. To grab you both before conscription. You and the Finlay kid. Plans went sideways, and now we're here."

I clocked the shelf full of shiny bottles behind the bar and took a deep breath through my nose.

Evelyn traded her seat on the couch with a seat on the armrest of my chair.

"I want you to come back with me, lass," Rhydian said. "You and your strange fucking friends. With Rick dead, I need a new right hand."

Evelyn put her arm around my shoulder and squeezed.

"What do you people even do besides experiment on Anima?"

"The Anima we keep are only a small part of what we do," Rhydian replied.

Guess he didn't know they were all dust in the bottom of their cages yet.

"We have forces in Endica right now," he added.

Strauss had told me about what was going on Endica, something I couldn't squeeze out of neither Michael nor Gus. Freeing tiny empaths from virtual slavery was a cause I could get behind, but as we know, I had options. On one hand, we could all join Random Father at the lair—try to fix whatever social damage Strauss might've caused by being a stand-up, moral gentleman. On the other, Sebastian.

Rhydian took his feet down from the table when Peter clinked and clanked his way through the door with a platter of tea and biscuits. Without saying anything, the butler set down the tray and took a bow before leaving.

"I'll have a think about it," I said.

Rhydian opened up to respond, but something shut him up quick.

"Take all the time you need," Evelyn said, pulling me in for another hug. I just sort of sat there, stiffly or what have you.

"How are you feeling, love?" she asked. "First few months can be rough."

"I'm fine," I said.

Look, I realized then I was being a bit of a brat. It wasn't my mother's fault she'd had to give me up. She could've chosen to raise me for the first years of my life, but maybe she'd done us both a mercy. Her not having to say goodbye to the child she'd looked after for eight years, and me not having to say goodbye to my mum. I couldn't miss what I'd never known, and I hadn't. Not much, anyhow.

"Thanks for asking," I added.

"Come on." Standing from the armrest, Evelyn reached for my hand. "Let's go upstairs so you can show me your room. I wonder if you picked the same one I did."

I stood from the chair, taking the hand of the stranger in the mint green dress.

"Pink and gold?" I asked.

Evelyn laughed, her whole face lighting up. A punch in the gut of sincerity.

"Pink and gold!"

Random Father snatched a biscuit from the tray before we left.

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