The house on the plain was by a small creek. Usually at this time, two children would be playing in the river, or trying to catch fish.

The sky crackled, and rumbled.

She looked up at her father, “He’ll be all right, won’t he?”

The man wrinkled his eyes with doubt. “I-yes. He will be all right.”

The girl looked at her brother, who was stricken with fever, and tried to stop her eyes from trembling.

The bearded man glanced at his wife, and they stepped outdoors, closing the door behind them.

The auburn haired girl could hear their faint murmurings, and glanced back at her younger brother. 

The pair was very close. Only two year apart in age.

The boy coughed in his sleep.

The open window caught snatches of conversation, like leaves in the wind.

 “...Dame… but… woods…” 

The girl, red faced, wiped her cheeks of any loose tears with the back of her hand, and then patted her brother’s forehead with a rag.

“She is so young…”

The girl perked up.

“...safe...Roger?”

Roger? The girl thought. Roger, the son of the farmers to the south?

She couldn’t hear any more whispered words. The wind had picked up to a steady howl. Lightning flashed on a hill in the distance.

The inside of the cottage was like the inside of a carved pumpkin, the girl thought. Orange and warm. Too warm.

Her brother’s lips were cracking.

She got up to fetch some water from a pitcher when the door opened. The girl gathered her apron in a fist, and looked at her parents, who were shrouded in the doorway. 

As if they were ghosts, the girl thought. She shuddered.

“Olivia,” Her mother started. The fair haired woman cast her eyes down.

The girl’s father stepped forward, “Daughter, your aunt. Dame Maria. She lives east of here, you remember?”

“Yes,” Olivia started. She wrapped her apron around both of her fists.

Her father had sad eyes. “She is a kind woman. She has money, and… Your Mother needs to stay to take care of Jonathon. I, I cannot leave this place.” He glanced down, ashamed at his weak leg.

Olivia realized. “Am I to go to Aunt Maria?”

“Only if you wish, dove.” Her mother said. “I can go, you are just a wee miting.”

“I could run and fetch Roger to do it!” The girl said.

Her mother shook her head.

“His father passed on just a month ago, we can’t ask him to leave his mother and sisters alone.” Olivia’s father said.

The girl bit her lip and looked at her feet, bound in their wrappings to keep warm. “I will go,” She said faintly.

“Olivia,” Her mother reached out and touched Olivia’s hand. “You don’t have to, I can-”

“I will go.” The girl repeated, glancing at Jonathan. “Pa and I can’t take care of him well enough if you left… for however long…”

The parents hugged their daughter fiercely. Her mother smoothed her hair, “You are a blessing, my sweet daughter.”

“When should I go?” Olivia said, shifting her gaze on the downpour outside.

“The storm should pass by tomorrow.” Her mother said.

“Yes,” Her father nodded. “You should leave by tomorrow morning. I’ll accompany you to the edge of the forest.”

“The forest?”

The man nodded seriously. “Take the hounds. If you stay on the path, with them, no beasts will bother you. You’ll only be in the forest for a part of the first day.”

Olivia bobbed her head, jittery. The hounds. All right. She glanced at the pair of lean dogs asleep on the rug. Could they truly protect her?

“Having the dogs go with you makes me feel a bit better about this.” The girl’s mother nodded. “They’ll be good companions.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “How will I know which roads to take? I don’t remember much about the way to Aunt Maria’s keep…”

Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “I will draw you maps to take along. Don’t worry. You’ll follow rivers most of the way, on a well-traveled road. It will only be a three days walk.”

“Three days,” Olivia whispered.

“Get some sleep Olivia, and if, by the morning, you change your mind, I will go-”

Olivia looked up at her mother, “No, Mum. I can go. I think… I think I can do it.”

They nodded goodnight to her and then Olivia curled onto her mattress in one corner of the single-room hut. She listened to her brother’s labored breathing.

Her parents were up awhile, packing the things she’d need. Her mother was called Lacille, and her father William. They were good, loyal, and hardworking people, everyone in the nearest villages said so. Olivia imagined a memory of just the three of them, in a garden in an old home…

Light from an early sun glinted off the plant’s leaves, and her small hand. She reached for a butterfly, and for a moment it flitted onto her palm. Her mother laughed in delight. A lute was playing beautiful music somewhere…

Was that her father?

Olivia blinked, realizing she was falling asleep. She yawned and rolled over to the cooler side of the lumpy mattress. Towards the shadowy wall. Rain dripped in through cracks in the window’s shutters.

As light came in through the doorway, Olivia sat at the table, drinking milk and eating honey biscuits. 

She was full of nervous energy. Jonathan coughed hoarsely, and the girl set her biscuit down carefully, licking honey off her fingers. She squinted her eyes with concern and laid a hand on her brother’s forehead.

His eyes flickered open.

“Jon!” Olivia said.

“Oli?” He croaked.

“I’m going to Aunt Maria’s. To... visit..”

“Going? Where… where are you going?” He asked.

“Aunt Maria’s. The dame. She lives in a beautiful castle. Maybe one day we’ll all go to see it, together. When you are well.”

“It’s a real castle?”

Olivia laughed. “Yes,”

“Wow… You're going there? When?”

“This morning. I’ll be back soon. By the end of the week.”

“You’re leaving,” His eyes flashed with realization. 

Olivia’s throat constricted. “I’ll be back before you realize. Promise.”

Jonathan smiled, “Will you bring me back candied fruit from the castle?”

Olivia raised her eyebrows, smirking, “If they have candied fruit, I will bring it back. Which kind?”

“Peach, what else?” He laughed, which turned into a rasping cough.

Olivia nodded. Just then, Father appeared on the doorstep. He gave Olivia a small wave. 

“I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back.” Olivia hugged Jonathan.

“Bye Oli, be safe.” He said sleepily.

“Ta-ta Jon,” She gave a last concerned, backward glance at her brother, and then swung her bag onto her shoulder and took her biscuit in one hand. 

The morning was bright, and cool. Drippy. Olivia’s mother washed clothes in a bucket outside. Olivia gave her one last hug. Then her Pa found the dogs and untied them from their ropes.

They walked up and out of the valley, the pair of hounds at their heels. 

“Good dogs…” Olivia whispered, slipping them bits of dried meat.

The edge of the forest came upon them like a line of soldiers. Greenish blue soldiers. Giants, Olivia thought.

She hugged her father, and then, with him nodding encouragingly, started into the wood.

She waved until he was swallowed by the trees.

At first, she flinched at every noise. 

But soon the forest turned green, and glowed golden. Olivia started to enjoy the sound of birds in the trees, and of the two dogs Bean and Leaf, pattering quietly beside her, huffing with their tongues out.

The path she followed went parallel to a brook for a bit, and she filled up her water pouch several times. It was a clear path, well worn dirt strewn with leaves. Olivia avoided mud puddles, and once had to wait for the dogs to chase a squirrel. The pair barked and howled as if they were on a great hunt. Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes. She let out a piercing whistle and they came running back.

She started on faster then, remembering the point of the trip. Her family had no money to buy medicine, or anywhere to buy it from, for that matter. Her house was on a farm in a big empty valley, several miles from any other true settlements. 

By evening, the trees thinned, and eventually tapered off into a grassy, wet field. It was colder then. Olivia shivered, and wrapped her cloak tighter around herself. She followed a rough path through weeds for a while until she came upon a wide road. It was flat and followed a mild river.

It became dark, too dark to do much. Olivia found a spot under a tree and set up her bedroll. She was too timid to try to make a fire anywhere though. Her and the hounds slept in the cold. Who knew how biting the wind could be when you didn’t have a warm house to take refuge in?

She didn’t sleep well. Her dreams were plagued with horrible illnesses and dark trails through looming trees. 

When Olivia awoke, she realized Bean and Leaf were nowhere in sight. 

“Bean! Leaf!” She shouted, rolling from her warm bedroll and onto damp grass. She searched around and whistled loudly. Suddenly, the sounds of two creatures sprinting in the grass came forward. She jumped.

Something was hanging from Leaf’s mouth. The remains of some poor animal. Olivia wrinkled her nose, “Did you two find breakfast already?”

Bean barked happily. 

Olivia smiled, and still fetched the food Pa had packed for the creatures. To their delight, she tossed a chunk of dried meat to each hound.

Olivia nibbled on bread and cheese in her blankets, and watched a bird rustle twigs and grass for its nest. Then she folded her items neatly and slung the bag over one shoulder. 

“Come on, let’s go.” She said to the dogs. 

They all set off on the wide road, eastbound and following maps that her father had provided. She didn’t see any other people most of the day, until around noon when a farmer with a pair of horses and a cart came down a perpendicular road. 

He was an old man, with a kind old face, wrinkled and tanned. He held up his hand and smiled with several teeth missing.

Olivia smiled back uncertainly and waved. She hoped the old man would offer her a ride, her feet were starting to get sore, but he seemed a bit senile and continued ahead wthout a thought, humming a song to himself.

Olivia’s raised hand sagged. Missed that chance. 

The sun was high in the sky, and warm. Olivia had to remove her cloak, and carried it, sweating, tucked under one arm. No more room in her bag.

She was so tempted to swim in the river, and just took a moment to walk barefoot on the edge, but then scolded herself. Jon was so sick. Shame came over her at the thought that he wasn’t there to enjoy this with her.

The road seemed to stretch on and on. Olivia walked through an entire valley that day. The road was more of a southeast direction now. By evening she entered a little village, and glimpsed an inn, but ultimately decided not to waste what little money she had. She tied up the dogs and led them by their ropes, just so they wouldn’t attack anyone who was selling food.

Olivia gave a woman a pence for a bowl of warm soup at a stand. The smell overtook her famished senses. 

“What you doing here all alone, miting?” The woman asked kindly.

Olivia swallowed her spoonful, “I’m on my way to my aunts. She’s a dame.”

The woman raised her eyebrows. “A dame, eh? What’s her name?”

“She’s called Maria. Her home is a day's walk east.”

The woman’s eyes widened, “Oh, I think I know the lady you said, she has a beautiful manor. Very lovely gardens. My cousin worked there a year or so back. Very rich isn’t she?”

Olivia nodded slowly. The woman’s eyes had taken on an odd look. 

“You’ll be stayin’ at the inn then?” The woman asked. She nodded over at the low building.

Olivia shrugged. 

“Oh, well then. It’s a good place there. If ya need a place to sleep. The owner might let you in even if you don’t have any money. He gives to all the homeless...”

The girl ruffled her eyebrows. “I might, I suppose…”

The woman regained her cheerful expression. “Have a good night lass, you seem to be on your way. Keep in mind that inn, it can get cold out in this season.”

Olivia nodded, “Thank you, I might.”

As Olivia walked away, she saw the woman whispering to a man with glinting eyes. He met her own, and grinned.

Olivia shuddered.

She tugged on the dogs, pulling them forward. 

Maybe she could walk out of this place at a time no one would notice. Was there any kind of tavern or place she could stay safe at for the moment? Perhaps slip away under the cover of the dark night?

She looked around nervously, a growing feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. The sun was setting. Maybe if she started off now, and walked as long as she could in the dark, her dogs could protect her. 

Hopefully that woman and man weren’t planning anything.

Stiffly, Oilivia walked directly to the road she was on before, and started off again. Once she got far enough away from the village, she released the dogs from their ropes. They stayed close at her sides, as if they too, felt something bad was going to happen.

A group of kids suddenly ran by her, laughing. 

“Doggies!” One shouted, a little girl with stringy brown hair. She darted forward and patted Leaf on his tangled head.

Olivia cringed and put a hand forward, but Leaf just licked the girl happily. 

“What are their names?” A boy asked.

Olivia cleared her throat, “Uh that one there is called Leaf, and the brown one is Bean.”

The boy laughed, “Funny names.”

Another girl asked, “Who are you? Are you a traveler?”

Olivia nodded, “Yes, I’m headed east.”

“Where are you going?” She asked.

The boy added, “Where you from?”

“Oh! I’m from the west, in a valley a day's walk that way.” She pointed at the hills she passed through earlier.

“What’s your name?” The small girl asked.

“Olivia,” She told them.

“I’m Burt,” the boy said.

“Liz!” The little girl said.

“I’m Aalis,” The other girl said.

“Nice to meet you,” Olivia said, allowing a smile. The group kept walking as they talked.

“We’re headed to our house,” Burt said, pointing to a small home perched up a ways on a hill ahead. “Do you need a place to stay?”

“Momma would make you cake!” Liz shouted.

Olivia’s mouth watered, and she recalled her own Mother’s sweetcakes. And then she recalled the sinister couple in the marketplace.

“Could I really stay the night with you?” Olivia asked, relieved.

“Of course!” Aalis said, “Momma and Pa always tell us that hosting travelers is a kind deed!”

Olivia grinned. “Thank you so much. I can… I can tie the dogs in the back.”

Liz wrinkled her face, “Couldn’t they sleep inside? I’ve always wanted doggies.” She sighed and laid her head on Bean’s furry back.

“Oh, well if it’s alright with your parents.”

Olivia followed the siblings up a trail to their house, which appeared to be quite cozy, with smoke billowing from a chimney, and windows glowing warmly.

The three children skipped up to the door and threw it open with a holler, “Momma we got a visitor!”

“Can we let her dogs stay inside?” Liz asked before she hopped over the threshold.

Olivia followed them timidly. It was a nice home, clean, with smooth stones as the floor, sturdy walls, and a multitude of fur rugs. Something was cooking in a pot over the fireplace. The smell of the place was pleasant, different from Olivia’s home, and mostly overwhelmed by the scent of bubbling spices.

It even seemed to have more than one room. Two other doorways led off to each side. 

“Who’s here?” A female voice shouted from the room on the right. A woman in her mid thirties appeared, fair, with a layer of dirt covering her outer apron.

“Olivia. She needs a place to stay, is that all right?” Burt said as he plopped down onto a wooden bench covered with a blanket.

“Oh, hello.” The woman said, noticing Olivia near the door. “Are you a friend of them?” She nodded towards her kids.

Olivia changed her grip on the rope, she had tied up the dogs again, for a moment. “Well, yes, I suppose. But really I’m just traveling through.”

The woman realized, and a smile crossed her face. “I see. Would you like a place to sleep Olivia? You may use one of the benches, or you could take one of the kids’ beds..”

“I don’t want to intrude!” Olivia said.

The woman waved the rag she had in her hands, “Nonsense. You may stay with us. Oh, and you have dogs!”

“Can they sleep inside Momma, please?” Liz said, still hugging Bean.

The woman squinted for a moment at the dogs’ dirty coats. “They can sleep out here, dear. But not in your bed, if that’s what you had in mind.”

“Aw…” Liz sagged. Then she jumped, “Actually that’s ok!” 

The woman laughed and removed her dirty apron. “Excuse me for a moment, I was in the garden. You may put your things anywhere Olivia, I’ll set up a bed for you out here, if that’s alright with you?”

Olivia nodded, “Anywhere that would be the best place for you. Thank you so much for letting me stay here.”

The woman smiled. “Of course, oh and I’m Barla, by the way.”

Olivia smiled and nodded at her, and then Barla went through the front door with a torch in one hand. 

“You can let your dogs free now!” Liz said.

Olivia hesitated. “They might make a mess…”

Their mother reappeared, “It’s okay, you can untie them.” She winked, “If they make a mess you can just clean our house up, right?”

Olivia laughed. “Of course.”

The kids’ mother closed the front door behind her. Olvia knelt on the ground and untied the two hounds. “Oh, you might want to put a chair or something in front of the fireplace, these two can get jumpy if food’s lyin’ around.”

Burt hopped up and dragged a chair in front of the fireplace. Aalis got on her knees by Olivia, followed closely by Burt. Liz was already there. 

Bean and Leaf almost immediately jumped on the kids and started licking them. They laughed and shrieked with delight, getting smothered with kisses. Olivia finally pulled the dogs away and held them as they calmed down. Burt, Aalis, and Liz giggled and wiped slobber from their faces.

“Eww…” Aalis said, pulling a wet strand of hair from her face.

Olivia laughed, covering her mouth. “Ew, sorry…”

Their mother returned and ladled out bowls of beef stew for each of them, and they ate around the table. Olivia told them of her brother, and where she was going.

Their faces softened with sympathy.

“Maybe we could give you some money… just to help.” Barla said.

“It’s okay, I don’t want to take all your money.” Olivia said, setting her spoon into her bowl. “You’ve already been so kind to me.”

Barla squinted. “Maybe we can find you a ride to the Dame’s. Wasn’t the Belker family headed that way for a trip or something?”

Aalis shrugged. 

Burt shook his head, “They went to trade that way a month ago.”

“Oh.” 

Barla looked up. “Is that your Father out there? Would you check, Liz?”

“Yeah!” Liz piped up, and went to the door.

Olivia’s dogs, who were sound asleep on the floor, looked up.

Liz opened the door, and a large shadow lumbered up the walk.

Bean and Leaf growled. Olivia dove from her seat to grab their collars. She sat with them on the floor.

“Papa!” Liz shrieked. 

A tall, dark haired man with a curly beard appeared and lifted the little girl up and kissed her hair. “Lizzy bear!”

“Hi Papa!” Burt said.

“Hellooo…” Aalis called.

The dogs were stiff under Olivia’s grip. 

“Hail little family.” The man said.

Barla stood up, “Hello, love.” They kissed.

Liz made a face at Olivia, who laughed quietly.

The family introduced the father to Olivia. The tall man’s name was Finn. He greeted her warmly, and together they ate stew while Finn told his children animated stories about his adventure hunting in the forest that day. 

Eventually they realized that Olivia was exhausted, and all retired to their rooms. Barla set up a space on the floor for Olivia, a square covered in blankets and a pillow. Olivia thanked her again, and curled up under the blankets. The room was dark except for the dying embers of the fire and a candle lit in the children’s room.

Bean and Leaf jumped onto Olivia’s makeshift bed, and she laughed with amusement as they settled by her feet.

After that, Olivia was asleep in a blink.

The next morning, Barla made gingerbread cookies, and insisted that Olivia take a half a dozen of them, as well as slices of brown bread, and more meat for the dogs. (Liz slipped each dog a cookie too).

They tried to find her a cart to ride some of the way, but no one was going east that day. Burt, Aalis, and Liz volunteered to walk with her until the sunflower and strawberry patches, which apparently belonged to an old woman they knew well and visited often. 

Olivia thanked her hosts graciously, and left with her dogs and new friends early.

The day was already warm, and the road led into another forest. Halfway through was the old woman’s cottage and gardens. Olivia visited for a moment, enjoying the kind but feisty woman’s offered strawberries, and then left on her way again. 

Before Olivia left, Liz gave her a squeezing hug, and one to Bean and Leaf as well. Aalis and Burt waved.

Olivia turned a corner, and they were replaced with late summer trees. She felt a bit sad leaving them, but eventually she regained her nervous vigor, and quickly passed through the small wood. She found herself in a hilly, mountainous country then. Small houses and farms were nestled in groves of trees. She passed several farmers, and a merchant hauling rugs and exotic items on his back. 

Late in the day, she saw it. A keep, high on a hill. It sat above another village, and a beautiful little waterfall fell beside it. It was a lovely place. Olivia thought it could be the holiday house of a King and Queen.

Olivia followed a wet brook through the center of the pleasant little village, and then up a steep path that went beside the waterfall. Bean and Leaf went up without a problem, but Olivia struggled to get her footing. The path was muddy and rocky. Was there a more direct route to the castle?

All of a sudden, Olivia lost her footing. She slipped and grappled for a handhold, but the grass ripped out of her hand and she tipped sideways. She slammed into a bank and then fell down the waterfall.

Olivia screamed as she tumbled. Everything was a blur of sky and water, and then there was a sharp pain in her head and in her shoulder. She choked on rushing water and everything broke into a painful darkness.

Olivia awoke, shivering. She was wrapped in a blanket. Dizzily, she opened her eyes and found several people looking at her. Bean and Leaf were crouched protectively at her side. She was on the ground beside the river, back on the edge of the village, and propped up against a rock. She also realized that she was actually wrapped in someone’s cloak. Her head pounded, and collarbone stung sharply.

Her things were on the ground nearby, soaked through.

“Are you alright lass? You took a nasty fall into the river.” A woman with wispy white hair wrapped in a head covering smiled at Olivia gently.

“I-” Olivia started, and then winced. She reached up and felt a bandage wrapped around her forehead. “Ow…”

“Yeah, you got a bad cut there, but Mrs. Shepherd wrapped it up nice for you. She’s the best healer in the village.” A man said. 

“It’ll heal up fine, I’m sure.” The old woman said. Olivia assumed she was Mrs. Shepherd.

“Th-thanks…” Olivia’s teeth chattered.

“You must be freezin’, poor darling.” Mrs. Shepherd said, rubbing Olivia’s arms. Olivia gasped.

“Oh my! I’m sorry darling, is your arm hurt?” The woman asked.

“My shoulder aches…”

Mrs. Shepherd glanced at the two men beside her. “Would you help bring her to my hut? I could start a fire and see if she needs anything else, poor girl.” She turned to Olivia. “Would that be alright if we moved you darling? Your dogs will come too.”

Olivia shrugged, awkwardness coming over her. “I think I’m alright, I can probably just-” She tried to stand and a wave of nausea rolled through her.

The two men caught her as she tipped.

“I’m fine…” The girl maintained.

But her vision tunneled and then she awoke in a hut, who knows how much later. 

She saw the woman called Mrs. Shepherd, and croaked to her, “I must get to the Dame’s.”

The woman turned to her and bustled over, “What was that darling?”

Olivia cleared her throat painfully, “I must get to the Dame’s. Dame Maria. Please, she is my Aunt. My brother, he is very sick.”

“Dame Maria is your Aunt? My, my, do I need to send someone to give her a message?”

Olivia nodded, “Tell her I’m her niece Olivia. Tell-” Olivia yawned.

Mrs. Shepherd finished for her, “Tell her your brother is very sick? I’ll tell her you are too, while I’m at it. You just stay there and rest. When I get back you best not have moved from that bed. I’ll send someone to the lady right away.”

Olivia sagged into her pillows as the wispy old woman left the room. She watched a fly buzz near the thatch, and then reached up a hand to rub her shoulder, which had a cold water pouch over it. That tired her, and soon she was asleep again.

This time, Olivia awoke in an airy room, in an impossibly comfortable bed. She lifted her head, which felt strangely heavy, and looked around.

Where am I? She thought to herself. 

Is this- oh. It came to her. She was in her Aunt’s house. Her right shoulder was held in a sling. 

The bed had a canopy over it, made of what looked like silk. Golden silk. Like liquid light from a sunset. The comforter was light, well made, and stuffed with something. Olivia pulled it up to her chin. 

The door clunked open. Olivia looked up as a woman came in quietly.

“Olivia! You’re awake!” The woman said. Her hair was dark and she wore it loose below a braided crown. 

“Aunt Maria?” Olivia asked. She squinted her eyes at the woman and saw her Father’s nose in the woman’s face.

“Yes, dear. I haven’t seen you in years, you’re so grown up!” The woman said kindly, taking a seat beside Olivia’s bed.

Olivia smiled sleepily. “Thank you. I’m glad to see you too, Aunt Maria!”

“How old are you now? Twelve?”

“Thirteen. Jonathan is eleven.”

Maria frowned. “I hope he will be alright. I sent my physician and his assistant to your house yesterday morning. They should be there by tonight.”

Olivia bit her lip. “Will they be able to help him?”

Maria looked concerned, “I’m sure they will be, Olivia.”

The anxiety of giving her message dissipated, but now Olivia feared for her brother.

Maria seemed to sense Olivia’s fear, and patted her hand.

“Wait. How long have I been asleep?” Olivia asked. 

“A day and a half. Are you hungry?” Maria grinned.

Suddenly Olivia’s stomach grumbled. They both laughed a little. “Now I am.” 

“Would you like a bowl of pottage maybe? Something light? With fruit?”

“Yes, please. That would be wonderful.” 

“I’ll bring you some water too.” Maria said. She got up, holding the edges of her luxurious navy dress. 

“Why isn’t Pa rich like you?” Olivia asked, and then immediately blushed. “Sorry, I just meant...”

Maria turned back. She smiled. “He wanted to travel around the world, and then he met a girl in a country up north. Your Mother. Your Pa has his priorities straight. He wanted to make a family.”

Olivia smiled. Maria turned and left the room with her sweeping skirts. 

Olivia spent her time over the next several weeks sleeping and resting, still recovering from her injuries. Slowly, she explored more of the castle. Her pulsing headache finally lessened and her collarbone, which apparently had been broken, was still broken. But Mrs. Shepherd said it would heal in six months or so. 

One morning she awoke to find her brother Jonathan running into her bedroom loudly.

“Jon!” Olivia exclaimed in shock. Her brother was here! And he looked to be in good health!

“Oli!” Jon tried to hug her, but jerked back when she yelped. 

“Sorry…” He cringed.

“Jon, you’re all better! Aren’t you?” Olivia said, pulling back her sore arm.

“Yep!” He said. He grinned with purple marks under his eyes. His reddish hair was sticking up at odd angles, just like always. Olivia laughed in relief. She sat up and maneuvered to stand, while pulling a loose dress over her head and sleeping shift. It’s sleeves were wide enough to allow her sling to fit through comfortably.

“I felt horrible for a while, but then those healer guys showed up and I started to feel better… and then a messenger came to tell us news of you and ask if we’d like to travel here once I was better. He was a real squire in training! Isn’t that ace? He said maybe I could come to the castle and train to be a page!” Jon reddened. “In a few years or something, if Ma and Pa said yes…”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “Wow! That would be cool!” She grinned and nudged him with her good shoulder. “I never knew you wanted to become a knight,”

He grinned.

“So what of your adventures, good sister? I heard you fell down a waterfall…that is quite classic.” 

Olivia reddened then. They exchanged glances and broke out into laughter. Then the dogs ran in and went crazy licking Jonathan. 

“Bean, Leaf! Give Jon some space,” Ma scolded and pulled the two hounds off the boy.

“Momma!” Olivia said. “Papa!”

Her father had entered behind her mother, and together they pulled Olivia into a gentle hug, careful of her collarbone.

“Olivia, dove you did it! I’m so glad you’re safe...” Lacille cried.

Olivia smiled and hugged her mother back tight.

William grinned heartily, “My dear, you are a true adventurer now! How’s your shoulder?”

Olivia was all smiles, “It’s healing! I’m so glad you’re all here, and Jon’s better… Did you ride horses to get here, Pa?”

The man nodded, “The messenger brought two horses with him. Ma and Jon shared.”

“Oh!” Olivia said.

Lacille looked into Olivia’s eyes, “Are you sure you’re alright, dove? How was the walk? Were you warm? Does your head hurt much, and how about your collarbone?”

“I’m fine Momma!” Olivia laughed.

And so the four of them walked into the main hall to eat breakfast, light shining through tall windows to light their way.