Lanarot let out a sigh as she finished her cup of juice, holding up the cup towards her mother with both hands. “Mama, more peas, mama. Mama, more peas, mama.”

  “Okay,” Sonarot replied, wiping the girl’s face with her sleeve, before p holding the girl’s cup and p more juito it.

  “Thakh you,” the girl said before sipping her juibsp;

  Konarot’s witched as she smelled a familiar fng over to the entrance of the shared estate. There, an Iyrman appeared, with pale skin tinged with grey, dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a long fur cloak over his thick clothing, also dark. At his back was a greatsword, like a hauck to a giant sb of metal.

  The Elder smiled at the children, who stared at him with awe. His eyes fell to Citool, who stepped aside to speak with the Elder.

  “I have e to collect the sheets,” Zijin said.

  Citool waited to see what else he wanted, but after a moment she nodded, stepping away to collect the sheets for the Elder.

  Zijin stepped towards the tral fire, his eyes passing along the children, fshing them another warm smile. Sonarot sent her eldest granddaughter to hand the Elder some fruit, the girl pg them down into his rge hand.

  “Thank you,” the Elder said, eating them one by one.

  “Okay,” the girl replied, before retreating away from the Elder. She gnced back towards the Elder, before she returned back to eating herself, her tail swaying behind her lightly.

  Citool returned with the sheets, the Elder gng over them quickly in front of them, before slipping them into his book.

  “Okay?” Citool asked.

  “Okay,” the Elder replied. He gnced down towards the children once more, from Inakan to Konarot. His eyes theo the napping babies to one side, where Gurot and Shikan sat, eating silently, while keeping an eye on the children. They kept to themselves and their thoughts.

  “It is Elder Zijin?” Jirot whispered trandmother.

  “It is.”

  “Is… is Majin’s daddy?”

  “No, he is not.”

  “No?”

  “Majin’s father is Tijin. Elder Zijin is his cousin.”

  Jirot slowly nodded. “Papo Saygak is papak’s cousin.”

  “That is right.”

  “I am not papo’s cousin, I am niece.”

  “That is right.” Sonarot brushed the girl’s hair gently.

  “I am daddy’s dohta.”

  “That is right.”

  “That is wight,” the girl replied, slowly nodding her head, before smirking towards her grandmother. “I am not daddy’s dohta.” She cackled, before being distracted by the hand on her head, gng up.

  “Your father will be sad if he hears such,” Elder Zijin said.

  Jirot flushed areated back trandmother’s leg, Jarot following after her.

  “It is not good,” Konarot said, wagging her fi her sister.

  “Are you behaving?” Zijin asked.

  “Yes,” the eldest daughter replied.

  “You must be sensible. If you cause as much trouble as your father, I will grow old too quickly.”

  “I am not twouble.” Konarot pouted.

  Zijin chuckled. “I have heard only one of the children is trouble…” Then his eyes fell to the red skinned baby to one side, snoozing lightly. ‘…’

  Jirot hid her head beside her grandmother’s leg, one eye peeking out towards the Elder, though she gnced away once more when the Elder gnced her way.

  “I will leave you to eat,” the Elder said, noting the eyes of the other children. He waved towards them, before stepping away, feeling the gazes of the children against his back. He could hear the older children chattering away about him as he left.

  Sonarot thought little of why the Elder had spent so much time with them. If it was something she o know, he would have informed them.

  Ziji out a sigh, reag for the book, slipping out the sheets once more. While he stared at them, barely reading them, his thoughts fell to his ret dream. ‘They are growing well…’ His eyes fell towards the darkening sky. ‘If I am receiving such dreams, Adam must be causing much trouble.’

  Once Zijiurned back to the tral estate, he he young boy who was currently cheg the equations. Churot ticked off several of the boxes, before writing down the range of how long the supplies were to st, depending on the average estimates he had calcuted for the Iyr.

  “Churot, you are w well,” Zijin said, dropping down in his chair, before pulling out a small tray of snacks. “ month you may return to your family. Yrandfather misses you.” The Elder tapped the book against his chest, where one of the sheets had taihe strongly worded letter from a certain Iyrman by the epithet of Mad Dog.

  “Okay,” Churot replied, using a small spoon to eat the thinly cut fried dough snacks, not wanting to get his hand dirty while w.

  Zijin leaned ba his chair for a moment, letting out a soft sigh. Churot remained silent, noting the sigh, which was a sigh that was being familiar to the young boy. It was a sigh about a particur young man…

  A particur young man at the gates of East Port.

  “It’s our honour to meet you, Fourth Hope,” Jerry said, doing his best to sound more highborn.

  “Always a good day when we meet the fine priests of Life’s Rose!” Addler said. He uood they o dey the Hope and Rays so the Captain could arrive, but that wasn’t going to be a problem, after all it e and their Rays! Which guard i Port didn’t look up to such prestigious fellows, those whose prowess and piety had pced them as a perma order in the region? While the other orders each had their own vilges, this order in particur had aire town.

  “It is our joy that we serve the Good Mother so well,” Hope Willow replied, pg a hand over her heart. “Your words fill my heart with zeal.”

  Jerry and Addler flushed, fshing smiles towards the Hope and Rays. It wasn’t rare for a Hope to make their way to East Port, but it was often telegraphed in advance, and the onfolk would e and watch them enter.

  However, for a Hope to e without sending word ahead…

  The guards eyes then fshed across the group. Most didn’t seem like members of the order. Addler and Jerry gnced between one another.

  ‘I think there ain’t gonna be any trouble.’

  ‘Me her.’

  A small sigh of relief left their lips, before they he smile across the Hope’s face.

  “Ah, apologies for keeping you here.”

  “Are your panions members of the order?” Jerry asked. It was awkward to ask fate fee, but he spotted a heavily armoured fellow in purple who was currently palming several gems within his hands.

  “We are esc them through the nd,” Willow replied simply.

  “Ah, right, of course.” The guard tipped his helmet towards her.

  The jangling of armour filled the air before a slightly heavier armoured peared, a woman in her forties, with a scar across her ear. She raised her brows towards the Fourth Hope, who remained mounted.

  “Many blessings to you, Hope,” the Captain called, g her hands together in prayer.

  “Mother’s blessings upon you, Captain,” the Hope said, still sitting tall and proud upon her mount.

  “We had no idea we were going to be graced by a Hope tonight, otherwise we would have prepared.”

  “There is o prepare for our arrival,” Willow replied, smiling towards the Captain. “We are merely esc this group through the nd.”

  The Captain gowards the party before she blinked. She stared at the figure wearing the purple armour, her mind rag as she tried to recall what she had been told about someone wearing purple armour.

  “Excuse me, but are you Adam?” the Captain asked.

  A long sigh filled the air.

  “Yes,” Adam replied.

  “…” The Captain looked towards the Hope. ‘She’s esc…’

  “Is there an issue?”

  “We received word that a young half fae by the name of Adam who wore purple armour kidnapped a child from the Marquise’s employ…” The Captain suddenly tensed up, noting the way the Iyrmen shifted their position, some standing taller, pulling their ons further in front, hands pced over their ons. Some of them looked to have made it harder to draw their on while others seemed to have an easier time.

  “Who said what now?”

  “…” the Captain could hear something in the purple fellows voice. His voice had trembled in such a way. It was that kind of way. The kind of way which meant he was utterly annoyed by life. It was the kind of voice she heard from those higher up whenever someohered them too much about nonsense, from the abuse of their subordio onfolk who pined about the guards and some of the less savoury as they took upon them.

  “Do you mean to step fainst someohin our prote?” Willow asked.

  The Captain’s eyes gnced upwards towards the Hope. “The…” The Captain reached up towards her helmet, dropping her visor. It was obviously threatening, but she bowed her head, staring down at the floor.

  Addler and Jerry gnced between one anain, hoping to all the Divine, especially Mother Soza, the Captain wouldn’t say something stupid.

  ‘You wao treat him like the worst criminal when he’s being escorted by a Hope?’ the Captain thought, recalling the knight’s words. What else could the Captain do but press the issue? ‘Diviake you!’

  Uh oh.