The remaining drops from last night's deluge clung to the windowpanes of the monastery and crept down the clear surface. Father Hubert walked up the stairs with a young Madeline following behind him with a basket of folded sheets and clothes. As they approached the upper floor, he stopped at one of the closer doors.
"Madeline, we had a guest arrive last night, who will be staying with us for a while. Do you think that you could check on him to see if he's awake?" he asked.
She nodded causing a strand of her hair to fall from her bandana. "Sure thing, Father Hubert!"
Having still been awake at the time, Madeline heard the visitors arrive last night during the storm. She had been sure to watch from her window to try and catch a glimpse of the strangers. The door let out a slight squeak as she carefully pushed it inward, after twisting the knob.
"Excuse me," she whispered, "are you awake yet?"
Before Madeline could take another step into the room, she was tackled and pinned to the floor by a flurry of gray fur. Bewildered blue eyes stared into hers and were looking for answers.
"Oaq sitî-sauv?!" he barked out in her face. "Àu soas-ij?!"
She didn't understand what he was spewing but that didn't quite matter in getting her legs against his stomach to throw him off.
"Get off of me!"
The body of the mongoose made a loud thud as he fell back before Father Hubert rushed in. He swung the door open to see Madeline scramble back up while the mongoose was still sprawled across the floor.
He stepped in between the two of them to protect Madeline and glared at their visitor. Meanwhile, Madeline had recovered from her shock and was about to start swinging at the mongoose.
"What is going on here?" he said sternly.
The mongoose recovered from his position on the floor and switched his gaze back and forth from the two strangers. Father Hubert tried to pull Madeline behind him again but she noticed that he was more confused than he was vicious.
"Are you okay?" Madeline lowered her hands and adjusted her hair before taking a cautious step towards him. "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid. What's your name?"
The mongoose looked at her and to her hands before calming his breathing. His ash brown hair was a tussled mess from sleeping and sections of his coal gray fur stuck up at odd angles. Finding some form of a calming aura in Madeline's spring emerald eyes, he was able to think clearly and formulate his response.
"S-Sorry," he began with a heavy accent, "I am Fredrik. I do not know many Veronian. I am from Trojeim."
Father Hubert tensed up and watched Madeline walk over to him before lightly chopping him on the head. Seeing that the threat was from a state of displacement rather than animosity he managed to relax his mind.
"That was for pinning me to the floor, Fredrik," Madeline returned to the basket she brought with her and picked out a set of clothes. "As for your clothes, here are some spares that you can use before we find some you can keep. Now get dressed and come find me when you're done because you get to spend the day with me as repayment for your actions."
Fredrik looked at the freshly cleaned clothes that she handed him and then back to Father Hubert and Madeline as they started to leave the room. His eyes had calmed once more to their deep blue but still had sparks of confusion.
"What are names?" he inquired, carefully pronouncing the words.
Madeline looked back and gave him a warm grin. "This is Father Hubert and I am Madeline. He's in charge of this monastery and I'm one of the helpers here. Seeing as you don't know much about Oak-tree, it looks like I'll be in charge of keeping an eye on you."
"T-Thank you, Madeline and Fa-ther Hubert."
The two inhabitants left the room and Madeline closed the door behind them.
Father Hubert waited for the door to click before addressing her, "Are you sure about this, Madeline? I know he appears to have settled down but I don't want you putting yourself in danger."
"Don't worry too much about it, Father Hubert," she adjusted her hold on the basket before following him. "I can handle myself if he decides to act up again. I'm not as laid-back as other girls."
"Just be careful, okay? I'd hate for something to happen to you."
"I will be, Father Hubert."
****
In the main hall of the Oak-tree Monastery, many of the inhabitants bustled about carrying boxes and other assortments of containers. Fredrik watched them with concern expecting something to happen but the people appeared to be filled with mirth rather than looking to cause any trouble. A touch on his shoulder startled caused him to jump and pivot on the spot to find the face of Madeline looking at him.
"Sorry about causing you to jump there, Fredrik, I forgot that you wouldn't know your way around yet. Come on, I want you to meet a good friend of mine down in the marketplace."
"O-Okay."
She offered her hand out and led him down the stairs bidding good morning to those she knew. As they made their way through one of the busier sections, Madeline noticed how Fredrik's grip had tightened a little and glanced back to see if he was okay. His eyes were wide and he kept jerking his head around to keep track of the people around him.
Madeline gave his hand a light squeeze and continued to pull him towards the doors. "It's okay, Fredrik. No one is going to hurt you and I'm right here. They're just getting ready for the harvest festival tonight."
He nodded but his heart still raced in his chest as he searched for a familiar face in the crowd. Not understanding a lot of what they were saying only heightened his concern for where he was.
Down the hill from the monastery, the main marketplace began with several stalls decorated with colorful awnings. Several of the villagers bickered and discussed with each other while others sat silently at tables playing a game of cards. As Madeline and Fredrik passed some of them, she came to a stop at one of the stalls where a raccoon was dusting an odd object.
"Saul!" Madeline called out, prior to knocking on the stall's outer wall.
He glanced around before looking down to find Madeline standing there with Fredrik behind her.
"Ah, Miss Madeline! To what do I owe this pleasure? It better not be Father Hubert's way of bribing more of my mead out of me."
She shook her head and pulled Fredrik forward. "This is our newest arrival at Oak-tree Monastery. I just met him this morning when he pinned me to the floor. Little did he know that I have quite a bit of strength despite my age and size."
Saul turned his attention to Fredrik and looked him over. The young mongoose did his best to look at Saul but his eyes kept darting to the ground. He let out a light laugh and put the object on the counter.
"It's rude to do that, Fredrik. Didn't your father tell you?"
Fredrik's ears perked up when Saul began speaking to him in Trojeimian and Madeline got to see him smile for the first time.
"You know how to speak Trojeimian, Saul?!"
His hand wavered up and down with a shrug. "Only a little, but I can get by with what I know. Now about what you did."
Fredrik nodded and turned to Madeline. "I am sorry for what I did, Madeline. I should not treat you like that."
"There we go. Aside from bringing him down to introduce me to Fredrik, is there anything else you wanted to ask of me, Madeline?"
She tapped her chin and let out a low hum as she tried to think of anything. As she became lost in thought, Fredrik cleared his throat and raised his hand a little.
"Can I ask one thing, Saul?"
"I suppose so. What's one your mind?"
Fredrik glanced around again. "Do you know how I got here and where I am?"
He gave him a quizzical look mostly out of disbelief.
"When I woke up this morning, I did not recognize the room and I do not remember anything from yesterday. I know I'm in a village called Oak-tree but nothing else."
Saul had talked with his grandfather Godric about something like this happening the night before, but he did not expect Fredrik to not remember anything. He decided to follow Godric's request when he dropped him off at the monastery.
"You were sent here as part of a training mission to get to know about life outside of Trojeim. They've decided it's best to start opening back up to the outside world and you hit your head yesterday. If you don't remember much about it, then you must have really rattled the brain pretty good."
"I see...thank you Saul."
He gave the young mongoose a smile and turned back to Madeline to see that she was still thinking.
"Hello! Come in Madeline! Anything yet?"
Madeline shook her head returning from her train of thought and put her hands behind her back. She pressed her foot into the dirt and twisted it around while a light blush heated up her cheeks.
"Oh! No, I don't believe there was anything else, Saul. Sorry about drifting off like that."
"Not to worry. Then I trust you'll be taking part in the festivities tonight?"
"Of course!" she responded, "With it being the first one Fredrik's attended, I think, it will be a good opportunity for him to experience it. I better get back to the monastery, but I'll see you later, Saul!"
As she dragged Fredrik back towards the hill, Saul waved goodbye to her and picked up the object he was busy dusting before they arrived. He let out a sigh and looked up to the sky thinking about what he had been told about Fredrik the night before.
"The poor lad will never be able to live a normal life thanks to what happened. I only hope Godric knows what he's doing."
A graying otter approached the stall and leaned against the counter. "Talking to yourself again, Saul?"
"Oh leave an old soul to his daydreams, Willow. I suspect that you're here to cheat me again in Pitch because you rarely look to buy anything."
****
Later that day, when the sun had already begun to set behind the mountains, the monastery's doors had been propped open to let in the cool night breeze and to welcome in those coming to the festival. A small group of musicians had gathered in the dining hall in the basement and started a group for dancing. Meanwhile, others had gathered at the long oak tables to visit with friends or play some of the games they brought or to eat the prepared food.
During the day, after completing her chores, Madeline scavenged around the large building to find some clothes Fredrik could wear to the festival. It wasn't easy finding some that fit without being too roomy or too snug but she managed to find a chest full of used clothes from past inhabitants.
While waiting outside for Fredrik to change, she thought about how anxious he was throughout the day. Even though he wasn't from Oak-tree, and didn't speak fluent Veronian, he was a lot more nervous than she expected him to be.
The door clicked and she looked to her side to see Fredrik poke his head out into the hallway.
"Let's see how you look, Fredrik. I'm sure you're no worse than my friend Douglass when he has to get dressed up."
Fredrik passed over the threshold and patted out some of the small wrinkles that formed in the light tan vest that had been paired with a white shirt, black pants, and black shoes. He did a short turn-a-round for inspection to make sure everything was where it should be.
"Does it look good?" His voice still held a waver to it.
Madeline walked around him before adjusting the collar of the shirt that hadn't been folded down. She patted his back and did a few generic brushes on his shoulder to get rid of any dust that may have settled.
"I think you look fine, Fredrik. You really do clean up better than Douglass."
His mouth parted in a short smile before he closed the door to his room. Madeline offered her hand out to him and she took him downstairs to where the festival had already begun.
As they made it to the ground level, Fredrik caught his first glimpse of the harvest festival. There was laughter and lights all around and faint music beneath the din of the voices. His heart skipped a beat seeing so many strangers but he kept a firm hold on Madeline's hand to make sure didn't get swept away in the crowd.
Despite not being comfortable around people he didn't know, he felt safer knowing at least three of the people who were in attendance. He saw the merchant Saul sitting at a table with an otter that had pale eyes of green and a badger with faded fur with their back to him. The raccoon noticed the two of them and flashed them a quick smile, and wave, before resuming his conversation.
Madeline took Fredrik around and introduced him to some of the other people she knew well in the monastery. He did his best to greet them in a friendly manner with what courage he could muster. With the night progressing smoothly, and Fredrik finally being able to sit down for a minute to recover, Madeline went off on her own.
She returned about fifteen minutes later and pulled on Fredrik's arm.
"Let's dance, Fredrik! You probably know some moves that you learned in Trojeim that you can show me!"
"I actually don't," he objected, "I never learn how to dance."
Madeline kept pulling on his arm. "Oh don't worry about it then. All you have to do is follow my lead and you'll be fine."
Reluctantly, he gave up his chair and followed her to where many of the others were dancing to the music. She stopped and turned to face him before taking his right hand in her left.
"Okay, now you put your right hand on my waist like so, and then I put my left hand on your shoulder. With your other hand, you hold mine and then we move in time with the beat of song. Watch me and then you follow, sound good?"
Fredrik managed a quick nod before Madeline started to slowly guide him around the small space. He carefully watched as her feet moved back and then forward landing with each new note that was played. Slowly but surely he began to emulate her steps until he could look up from the floor with confidence in following her pace.
She beamed from ear to ear as he began to catch up. "There you go! See, dancing isn't that hard to learn."
"You were right," he responded with the same smile, "it is similar to stances from Trojeim."
The two of them danced around the room with Fredrik still glancing down to make sure he was following her steps without stepping on one of her feet. He didn't remember any festivals like this back in Trojeim but most of his free time centered around training. His father didn't force him into it but he thought he was going to be a rare case and become one of the greatest warriors in Trojeim's history.
After the song ended, Fredrik excused himself for a moment to try and locate Saul. Finding him at one of the tables, he dodged around people, still hesitant, but had something in mind.
"Innub iírios, Saul."
He glanced around a bit in search of the foreign language before spotting Fredrik behind him.
"Ah, good evening to you too, Fredrik. Did you need something?"
"I have a request," he started, "would you be able to ask the musicians if they knew any songs from up north? I want to show Madeline something since she showed me how to dance."
Saul smiled and shifted himself out from the table's bench. "I think I can manage that. Just give me a second and go find Madeline before she thinks you ran off."
Fredrik nodded and worked his way back through the crowd of festivalgoers. Willow noticed him leaving, after having the small conversation in a different language.
"Where do you think you're going, old man? I need to beat you at Pitch!" she called after him.
"I'll be back in a moment! I'm doing a friend a favor."
Back in the crowd, Fredrik rejoined Madeline where she waited for him. As he emerged from the crowd of people, looking a little pale, she raised her eyebrow and moved her head a little.
"Where did you run off to and what do you have in mind?" she asked, suspicious of what happened.
Fredrik regulated his breathing, after being amongst so many people, and cleared his throat. It had been almost an entire day but he still didn't feel comfortable around the people here.
"I asked Saul for a favor. To thank you for dance."
Madeline was still skeptical of his plan but was intrigued in what he was planning. She knew he didn't know how to dance but to ask Saul for a favor meant something was being schemed up between the two.
Saul approached the violinist and tapped the black bear on his shoulder. He turned around with a mug of ale in hand.
He took a swig before smacking his lips, "Yes, can I help you?"
"Actually, you might be able to. My friend asked if I could request a song from the north but if you don't know any, then may I borrow your violin?"
The bear took a slow sip of his ale while looking Saul over. He couldn't tell if he was just trying to get his instrument, run away, and pawn it for booze money or if he was a trustworthy person.
"I suppose I can you let you play Arielle. She's old and valuable to me, so don't drop her."
Saul nodded and placed a hand over his heart. "On my honor as a decent, ex-travelling merchant, I will not let any harm come to your violin."
The bear set down his mug and gently lifted the instrument from the table and made sure Saul had a firm grip on the neck before letting go. He checked the bow and swiped it across a rosin block before handing it over.
"Thank you very much, sir."
He looked out amongst the crowd and saw where Fredrik was standing with Madeline. Taking the time to acquaint his hands with the size of fingering positions, Saul gave the violin a few test plucks to make sure everything sounded in tune.
The other people watched him while passing whispers and glances as to why Terrance would allow a stranger to use his most prized possession. Others were more interested in what he planned on playing in front of so many people.
"Excuse me everyone," Saul yelled out over the crowd, "If I may have your attention please! We have a special visitor with us tonight, who is a bit shy so don't go pestering him later, but he came here from a great distance—all the way from the north."
Madeline bumped Fredrik's shoulder before pointing to where Saul was making his announcement. He had turned around and noticed that he was using the tip of the bow to point right at him.
"Fredrik's doesn't know many of you, so don't worry if he glances away because I'm more of a bandit than he ever will be. Moving on to why I, the great Saul McCloud, am up here, Fredrik has requested that a song from up north be played to share some of his culture with us. Luckily enough, I've been up that way before I settled and I know one of the special ones."
Fredrik felt his hear begin to pound in his chest when all of the festivalgoers turned their attention to him. He tried to back up but Madeline prevented his escape.
"Without further ado, I present to you Nusnehc ad Tniv."
Madeline leaned to Fredrik's side and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry. Just ignore the crowd and do what you had in mind."
He took a couple steps forward and listened to the low notes begin to resonate within the violin before entering the beginning measures. One of the other musicians, playing a cello, knew the tune and picked up her bow to join in. Fredrik waited a few more measures before looking back to Madeline.
"Follow what I do. I show you what I learn."
Curious as to what he meant, Madeline took a step forward to watch as Fredrik spread his legs and entered a low squat in an L-shape. He nodded to Saul and the black cat on the cello telling them he was ready. With a quick up-bow, Saul paused for a moment before exiting the prelude and moving into the main portion of the song followed by the cellist.
The crowd watched in wonder as Fredrik began to move through the steps in one of the stances he learned in Trojeim. Remembering the times at Trojeim and he used to perform these routines in front of a small group, he didn't notice the gaze of the festivalgoers as much. Madeline watched him carefully and wondered where he learned something so elegant being a boy and not appearing to be a performer.
Returning to the low stance, Fredrik motioned for Madeline to join him. She hesitated but remembered that she pushed him to dance and that this could be his form of payback.
"Stand across and watch before follow. I won't go fast."
He brought his hands up and started from the beginning of the routine watching as Madeline kept her eyes on his hands. The two of them slowly became mirrored images moving gracefully with the song they accompanied.
Before Madeline knew it, the song had reached a crescendo and finished with her and Fredrik pointing both arms forward. The silence hung momentarily before everyone began to applaud the performance and the musicians for the song. Surprised by the speed, at which it finished, Madeline didn't have time to notice how heavily she was breathing.
She glanced over at Fredrik and saw how composed he was and how he looked to be unfazed by the dance. If anything he looked to be calmer and more like himself than he did before they first danced. He gave her a beaming smile and the two of them rejoined the crowd while Saul went back to his Pitch group.
The two of them found an available table, outside of the main group, and where Madeline was able to locate a pitcher of water. She grabbed an overturned mug on the platter before pulling the jug behind it.
"How are you not out of breath, Fredrik? I had no idea that something like that would work a body up like that."
He reached over for a mug and pondered her question. "I am not sure but I believe it is because it is not dance. It is routine."
"A routine?" she questioned.
"Yes, a routine. That was 'Fire Blossom' from Trojeimian Arts. Meant to bring forth fire."
"Bring forth fire?"
He nodded and poured a drink others were calling "strawberry-apple cider". Small bubbles rose up from the bottom to the top of the semi-dark drink.
"I can explain later. I would prefer not to amongst many people."
Madeline wasn't sure what he meant but a thought came to mind about the elementalists of old. Perhaps he was thinking about them and that it was a game of some sort that he playing in Trojeim.
****
As the night progressed, many of the older patrons had returned to their homes and bid farewell to the night-owls of their group. The musicians had also called it a night and some of the inhabitants that played as a hobby kept the atmosphere filled with light song.
Meanwhile, Saul was still sitting at the table with his merchant friends with a hand full of cards. His eyes darted back and forth between the three others trying to tell what cards they had. Willow had a sly grin as she watched him enjoying the tension that was between them.
"I'm bidding six points," he said.
Willow chuckled and looked to her partner. "I'll bid eight."
The turn progressed resulting in Saul throwing his cards on the table in frustration. Willow could only laugh at how poor his luck was when it came to playing cards.
"One more! This time I'm sure I can beat your mind games, Willow!"
She pulled in the cards to the deck and passed it to her left for Saul's partner to shuffle.
"If you think you can beat me," she paused to take a drink, "then I suppose I can give you one more game. We have jobs to worry about tomorrow too."
Madeline let out a light laugh listening to Saul mumble out curses and schemes on how they could win. She glanced over to see that Fredrik was resting his head and arms on the table.
"Hey sleepyhead," she prodded his arm, "if you're feeling tired, then let me show you one thing before you decide to make that table your bed."
He mumbled out a few words in Trojeimian before pushing himself up. The two of them slid out from the bench and waved goodbye to some of the people that were staying for a little longer.
"Where are we going?" Fredrik rubbed his eyes and stretched his back out.
"I'm showing you a secret only me and two others know about. It's not so much a secret but a bending of rules."
They continued through the darkened monastery lit only by a few lanterns hanging from iron hooks. The low flames licked their container casting shadows across the stonework. There were a couple others wandering the halls but many were on their way to their beds. Fredrik glanced around and felt that this was similar to somewhere he had been before.
Madeline led Fredrik up the stairs to the second floor and through one of the bedroom doors. She waited for him to walk in before shutting the door and heading towards the window. Fredrik noticed how the curtains fluttered slightly carried by the night breeze. Another peculiar thing was the rope of what looked to be older sheets tied to the bedpost that led out and up.
"Follow me and hang on tight! I'm guessing Douglass and Kyle are already there."
She gave the makeshift rope a quick tug before stepping up onto the window frame. With short intervals between each climb, Madeline made her way out of the room and out of sight allowing Fredrik to get ready for the ascent.
"Don't worry," she called from above, "I've got a good hold on the rope just in case it slips."
Fredrik leaned out to peer upwards only to see the lip of the monastery's roof. He gave the rope a tug before beginning the climb. Madeline waited a couple feet away from the edge to help him get over the overhang.
He glanced around still curious as to the purpose behind being there. "What are we doing up here?"
Madeline took ahold of his chin gently pushing it upwards until he was looking at the night sky. His shoulders relaxed as he took in the countless stars spread across the midnight canvas. In the time that they arrived, he had not noticed the other two figures sitting a couple feet away from them.
The bigger of the two waved to Madeline followed by the smaller form on his shoulder turning around.
"Good evenin' to ye, Mad'line. I see ye found yer way up here and that ye brought a friend too."
"Hi Mad'lie!"
She waved to the two of them. "Good evening, Douglass. Hello there, Kyle! I did manage to make my way up here, and I don't know if I'd call Fredrik a friend quite yet. He did try to smother me with a pillow this morning."
Fredrik's attention to the sky was broken and he looked over at the other two on the roof. With his eyes adjusted he could make out the forms of a burly otter and a young fox but the more striking of the features was the otter's bright eyes.
"Who are you?"
Douglass stood up causing Kyle to wobble a little with the sudden movement. "My name is Douglass Harrow, young sir. I'm a resident of Oak-tree despite my strange accent. It's goin' away as I become more cultured but it adds to my charm. This young'un here is Kyle Gaffen."
Fredrik returned the wave that Kyle gave him and noticed that otter's eyes were closer to the sky flecked and ringed with gold. It was odd to see an otter with such dark fur and hair with contrasting eyes. Compared to Kyle, with natural reddish-brown and pale yellow eyes, he stood out more than just with his size.
"I would love to stay and chat, but I suppose it'd be best for Kyle and I here to head back down." Douglass stretched his back and made sure that Kyle wouldn't fall from his perch. "He's startin' to fade and we wouldn't want to be witnesses to a person bein' pushed from a roof."
As he began climbing over the roof's lip, Douglass gave Madeline a sly wink while Kyle leaned against the otter's big head. Madeline smiled but Fredrik was more concerned if the otter was serious about someone being pushed from the roof.
"I'm not being pushed from roof, am I?"
She laughed and returned her attention to the flustered mongoose. "Of course not, Fredrik. I brought you here to look at the stars! I don't know what the sky looked like in Trojeim but I thought you'd like to see it."
Fredrik looked back up at the mesmerizing movement of the distant lights above them. He hadn't thought about the night sky back home but looking at the sky now he could see the sky populated with more stars than in Trojeim.
Without averting his gaze again, he voiced his thoughts, "There are more stars than Trojeim has. I didn't think about it but I see now."
Madeline looked up at the night sky and pointed towards a collection of stars. "If you can make out the arrangement over there, we call that one the Forgemaster—a person with a hammer raised with a sword in the other hand. Over there is the Sleeping Garbus too."
She continued guiding Fredrik through the night sky above Oak-tree spending well over an hour doing so. Noticing some of the familiar formations that were seen in Trojeim, Fredrik shared the names of what they called them.
As Fredrik was talking about the history behind a formation, Madeline jumped upon hearing a rustle in the bushes somewhere below them. She strained her ears trying to hear anything else and could only hear hushed arguments and comments.
"Hey Fredrik, would you mind if we head back down?" she asked trying to mask her unease.
He nodded and headed back to where the rope was secured.
****
Down in the forest's edge, two travelers struggled to beat back the bushes that impeded their progress. One of their packs had a stringed instrument swaying back and forth while the other one had the occasional clang from cutlery and pots.
"I told you we should have stayed on the path, Roger! I'm almost positive that Oak-tree's harvest festival would have ended by now."
"Oh shut it, Digory. I told you we'd get there and we're here! My friend wouldn't give us bad directions."
Digory shifted his pack creating a hollow bump from the instrument. "I'm not saying they were bad directions but they weren't the best."
****
As they reentered the bedroom, Madeline hurried to shut the window without making too much noise. It had been some time since her family was subjected to bandit raids before coming to Oak-tree, but any unseen voice still unsettled her.
"Is something wrong?"
She took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. "I think it's nothing but it's more personal. Before my family came to Oak-tree, our town was prone to bandit raids at night, so I get nervous when I hear strange voices and can't see them. We're safe here but I can't help but go back to those instances when I hear strange voices."
"I see," Fredrik nodded and parted the curtains to see if anyone could be discerned from the trees. "I don't see anyone. I'm sure someone will raise alarm if something happens."
Madeline turned around from her quickly building fort of pillows and blankets. One of the pillows collapsed inward with the abandoned focus.
"Do you think so?" She pressed wanting to hear confirmation again.
He nodded and drew the curtains together before walking towards the door. "I believe so. If we're going to sleep, I will leave. Nub Toan, Madeline."
Before Fredrik could reach the door, a blanket was thrown over his head and pulled him backwards. He stumbled and fell to the floor before hastily trying to uncover his head.
He turned to find Madeline with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "I feel that in order to repay me for this morning's attempt of pillow smothering, you will have to stay here for the night in case something does happen. As a further extension, you must assist me in building a decent pillow fort and tell me about your Trojeimian Arts."
She remained where she was with her head resting in her hands while Fredrik tried to come up with a response to her statement.
"I suppose it is fair. If we're building fort, then we'll need morepillows. Let's go grab mine and I'll tell you about Trojeimian Arts!"
<<Author's Note>>
Thank you for those that have reached this far! Revelation: Son of Trojeim is still being edited, and I am looking for all the feedback I can get on things that need adjusting, clarification, and editing. For now, I have the first two chapters and prologue up, so please tear them to shreds. We'll see if others want more before I start posting the other chapters just to see how people feel about it.
Thanks again! --JHK