Blaike, Kayle and I were awake for most of the journey; we made small talk to pass the time or just sat in companionable silence. Blaike stroked patterns onto the backs of my hands and it soothed me into a half sleep. However, as soon as the carriage jostled I was wide awake again, Blaike said nothing, he just held me closer. Some of the soldiers left us when we reached their villages and at one point we were joined by a group of wounded, including Alacor.
Healthy soldiers went to help them onto the carriages but Alacor was adamant they take him to check on Emy. I could hear their protests but he wasn't giving up and they finally agreed, I smiled at Alacor as he was helped over and nudged Emy awake. She was bleary-eyed at first but they quickly cleared up when she noticed her dad.
She crawled to the end of the carriage and hugged him tightly, I could see how much pain he was in but he didn't let on to Emy and just hugged her back. Alacor made sure Emy was alright before he let himself be ushered onto the carriages, the soldiers had had a short break but we had to get going. When Emy settled back down into her seat, she was grinning from ear to ear.
"We didn't lose anyone, Cass, I was so sure we would but we didn't and now we can go home."
She drifted back off to sleep with the smile still in place but she had left me with more on my mind. Would she still want to go back to our world or would she want to stay here in this one? I wracked my brain as I lay against Blaike, my conversation with Nenny was repeating over and over in my head.
"What is it?" Blaike asked and he took both of my hands in his.
"Nothing, I'll tell you later," my reply made his eyebrow arch but he didn't question me further.
Instead we stared up at the sky as it darkened, we would be back in Dumair by the next afternoon. We would have to tell the tale all over again to the parents, and anyone else who needed to hear it. I just wanted to sleep but my body wouldn't comply, my brain kept going over every little thing. Blaike knew something was wrong but he didn't press me, he began to hum a tune and I felt it reverberating through his chest.
It was a soft melody that I didn't recognise at first, then it came to me in a flash. He was humming the tune to one of my favorite songs, I didn't know how he knew it but in that moment I didn't care. I listened and my eyes drooped, his thumbs stroked the side of my hands and he didn't stop humming. I felt myself drifting to sleep where I couldn't just moments before, he had the ability to calm the storm in my mind.
I awoke with a start when the carriage stopped with a bit too much force.
"Oops, sorry," said a man's voice from the front but it wasn't Kayle.
He was now curled up on the bed of the carriage, fast asleep. Emy and Kaleb were still asleep and I looked up to see that Blaike had fallen asleep too.
I smiled and called up to the man sitting where Kayle had been. "Don't worry about it, we're fine."
He was familiar but I didn't know his name, he hopped down from the carriage and seemed to be waiting for something. The snow had melted away to small drifts, the house looked just as it always had but I felt like I was seeing it for the first time again. It really was a beautiful house, I could believe now that a noble family lived here and strangely, that I was one of them.
The little sleep I'd had did me some good, I felt a bit stronger but not enough to walk. I managed to shift myself to the end of the carriage and watched as another came riding into the garden behind us. The soldiers that accompanied us were standing waiting, as though for orders and then I heard my dad telling them to help with the wounded.
There were only a handful left but they were being taken into the house for medical treatment. The soldiers did as they were told and soon, the others were being woken up so we could also be helped into the house. Kaleb and Emy were able to stand but not alone, they held onto soldiers and headed inside. Kayle helped Blaike, who wouldn't go anywhere without me. I was helped by two soldiers and I recognised them from our journey to the Eastern Sector.
A man and woman who both had magic, they had some cuts and bruises but otherwise they seemed perfectly okay. They were in high spirits as they helped me into the house and on to one of the living rooms, it had been set up as a temporary hospital ward. They were cracking jokes and laughing loudly, I noticed a lot of people smiled as we passed. The mood was infectious, despite so many wounded.
"We just want to thank you." The man said as they placed me down on one of the sofas.
"If not for you and your friends, we would not be here today. You saved this land, these people, we can do magic openly again without being scared."
The woman looked overjoyed and I glanced at Emy and the others who were sat nearby.
"We just did what we had to," I didn't really know what to say to them.
"You did more than that, thank you."
They both beamed and walked out of the room.
"Well, that was different," Emy chuckled as she rested back against her sofa.
"We should try to get used to it, that will most likely not be the last time it happens." Kayle was sprawled in an armchair that had been pushed against one wall, Emy and I rolled our eyes at him.
The makeshift beds took up most of the room and they were being filled up quickly. I watched as more and more came in, waiting to see one in particular. My dad finally appeared with the help of the same two soldiers, his eyes searched the room until he found me, smiling brightly when he did so. The soldiers brought him over and he perched on the sofa I was on.
"I have sent a Trokarra to your mum to let them know that it is safe to come back, everyone in Dumair will know the outcome of the battle soon. The soldiers from the West will stay here until Varian arrives, so we will have extra security while we tend to the wounded."
Someone came bustling in at that point and my eyes widened, Mal was busying herself with handing out water and towels. Carla and a few other servants, including Drevin, were helping her.
I raised my brow in surprise, "Weren't they supposed to leave with mum?"
My dad nodded and chuckled, "They were, but Malaya is very stubborn and would not leave this house to fall. The rest chose to stay by her side to help, she was just trying to order me to my room while she was telling me what they had done." He chuckled more and it caused Mal to come over, she was glaring between us all.
"All of you should go to bed, I will have your rooms ready right away. And before you argue, I need the space you are taking up,' she smiled at her own sneaky tactics and clapped for us to be taken upstairs.
I laughed at the look my dad gave her, he looked like a scolded child.
"I don't think you're in charge right now, Dad," I laughed more and he smiled sheepishly, letting the soldiers pick him up and take him to his room.
A moment later we were all being taken upstairs to our suites, all except Emy. She refused to leave her dad downstairs, she was laid on the sofa next to his little bed. I smiled at her as I was helped up, we could catch up when we were all rested and recovered.
My suite was exactly how I had left it, though the fire was blazing now. The man and woman were still grinning and joking around, they thanked me again before leaving. I smiled at their happy attitude and sighed in relief when I crawled into bed. I had to strip off my clothes one piece at a time, there were holes all over the material and they smelled pretty bad, even my mage's outfit needed throwing away.
My body ached everywhere, a nice hot bath would have been perfect but I didn't have the energy to get back up. I pulled the covers up and relaxed into my pillow, now that I was safe and warm, the exhaustion was overpowering. Sleep swallowed me and I was swept up in dreams that were senseless and blurred, my brain was still trying to come to terms with what it had witnessed.
When I finally woke up again, I had no concept of time and my body ached worse than ever. My mouth was dry and I had a splitting headache. I realised that someone was knocking at the archway to my room.
"Who is it?" I called, my voice was raspy.
"It is Blaike, I am sorry for entering without permission but I worried when you did not answer the door." He sounded concerned and I smiled at his apology.
"It's okay and I'm fine, come in."
He pulled back the curtains and walked through the archway, he looked refreshed and he'd shaved some of the stubble away that had grown over the last few days. He walked to the end of my bed before looking at me, his eyes widened and he blushed scarlet red, he hurriedly turned away.
I frowned in confusion, until I looked down and remembered I hadn't put any pyjamas on before I fell asleep. The covers had fallen to reveal part of my bra, it made me blush too but internally I was smiling. I wondered if Blaike had ever seen one before.
I pulled up the covers and scrunched my face up, "Sorry, my head is a bit fuzzy. You can turn around now."
He turned slowly and the blush was still bright in his cheeks, he half smiled at me.
"I came to see how you were doing and if you needed anything," he spoke slowly and I noticed his breathing was faster.
Seeing me without clothes had affected him greatly and it amused me to no end.
"I am feeling hungry and my body hurts, how are you?" It seemed like a silly question but I had to distract myself.
"I am... fine. Would you like something to be brought up or do you think you would like to come downstairs?"
"I want to get out of this room. How long have I been asleep?"
"We all slept for at least a day, you may have slept a few hours more."
"I feel like it too, I need to get dressed before I come down though," I bit my lip as I tried to hint to him and he blushed a darker shade of red.
"Yes, I will wait outside for you," he stumbled from the room and I giggled, it was fun to see him flustered.
I managed to wash and dress myself, I was glad to know that I could walk without help now. I met Blaike outside and he smiled warmly at me, he seemed to have recovered from the incident. He held out a hand for mine and we walked down to the dining room. The door to the main living room was wide open, servants and soldiers were coming in and out. There were less wounded in the room now, and Emy and her dad weren't in there anymore either.
Blaike and I walked into the dining room together, Kayle and Kaleb were sat down with the parents. My mum came rushing over to hug me, she was crying and talking incoherently. It looked like they had just arrived back, her leggings were dirty and her hair was messy but she didn't care. I was so happy to see her, I hugged her tightly and muttered my own incoherent words back to her.
We broke apart after a bit and she gave me back to Blaike as she went to my dad's side. He was beaming while he spoke with Alacor, who was sitting next to him nursing a bandaged torso. Emy and Colensa sat either side of him, Emy had her arm linked with one of his and she smiled over at me.
Blaike and I sat down next to each other, opposite Kayle and Kaleb, who were talking about Kayle's date.
"... She will be even more impressed by you now, you are a war hero." Kaleb joked, a glass of juice in one hand and a piece of meat in the other.
I served myself some food and listened to them with a smile, my hunger increased after the first bite and I had to get seconds. Merkell walked through the door soon after and everyone turned to greet him. I had no idea when he had arrived but he walked over to sit down near the parents.
"Now that you are all here and rested, we need to know everything that happened in the battle, leave nothing out." My dad stated after a few minutes and I sighed at having to recount it all again.
We went through the story exactly as we had for the leaders, only the reactions from the audience were very different this time. There were lots of gasps and wincing, some head shaking and finally a look of awe as they stared at us. It must have sounded even worse to parents and Merkell had heard it twice, he was still smiling with pride.
"You did your people and your instructor proud, from now on you will not need a magical instructor. I will not be staying here much longer but I just want to say that you are welcome to visit me and my home any time you wish."
His words triggered something in me and I put down my drink, frowning as I looked up the table. Merkell met my gaze and of course, he sensed that something was wrong.
"Now that we've got that story out of the way and all the war talk is over with, we need to talk about something very important."
"What is it, Cassandra?" Merkell asked.
I peered around the table at everyone sitting there, stealing myself an extra moment before I spoke again.
"We need to discuss what happens next, we've done what we came here to do but we haven't talked about what we do now. Emy made it very clear during the fighting that she wanted to go home. And Nenny came to me when I was unconscious in that clearing, we talked and she offered to send us back to our old lives. She asked me if I wanted to..." I trailed off as I looked at each of them, they were mostly shocked or confused.
"Do you want to go back?" Blaike asked and he sat forward, looking only at me.
I glanced at Emy but her expression was unreadable for once, she wasn't making this easy for me and neither was Blaike. I looked back to see the pained expression on his face. I reached for his hand and squeezed it, glancing between him and everyone else at the table. My newfound confidence helped me speak the words that I had given to Nenny.
"I told her that home is where you all are."
"Nenny came to me in that clearing, too," Blaike's expression was cracking.
I could see a smile on his lips when he spoke and I smiled despite my worry over Emy's reaction.
"And me, while I was asleep earlier..." Kayle admitted.
It was an odd kind of relief to learn that everyone had had a chat with Nenny about our new situation.
"I, too had a conversation with Nenny while I was unconconscious. It would appear she offered us all the same option." Kaleb emphasised the word option and took another bite of his sandwich.
"What did you all say?" I asked.
I still couldn't bring myself to look at Emy yet. I wanted to believe we were all staying here together, even just for a few more minutes.
"I told her I would go wherever you went," Blaike said and my pulse raced. I squeezed his hand, my heart was soaring while I listened to Kaleb and Kayle.
"I told her we wished to stay together."
"And I told her you would all be lost without me," Kayle grinned widely.
We all collectively turned to Emy and she was looking down at the table, tracing the pattern with her fingers. Her expression was still unreadable, she didn't look up though she knew we were watching her.
"Looks like the choice was yours, Emily. We are going to stick together so we go where you go." Kaleb offered but she still didn't look up.
"I chose... I told her, that I wanted to go to my real home. I wanted to go back to our world, back to my job and my old life."
She didn't look up and I felt my heart drop, I had thought she might have changed her mind but her tone was apologetic and sad. The table went quiet as we realised what that meant for us, the parents would follow us wherever we went and that meant we were all leaving Nentarli.
Emy slowly looked up and met the gaze of everyone at the table, as though she was apologising, until she burst into laughter.
"I'm just messing with you, we just killed the big bad guy. Why would I wanna go back to my boring old life? I have magic I can use here! I can't believe you all actually believed me."
I stared at her in shock, I hadn't been able to see through her little ruse and genuinely thought we would have to leave everything and everyone else behind. I shook my head at her but she was still laughing and a smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I picked up a bread roll and threw it at her, the guys didn't hesitate to copy me and she was fending them off from all angles.
"That was not funny, Emy," but I couldn't tell her off properly with the smile on my face.
"It really was but now that we're not leaving, let's talk about our roles in this world from here on out." She said and bit into one of the bread rolls we'd thrown at her.
The parents and Merkell looked a little shell-shocked at the conversation that had just taken place. Talking with our little group was like a roller coaster most days, but they recovered quickly. We discussed our new roles in this world. Apparently we would be known as Overseers, a title the leaders and Merkell had come up with before he left the Eastern Sector.
We would be tasked with protecting this world from anything that might threaten it, and when we weren't doing that we could live however we wanted. I was thinking about the huge library that needed more exploring; reading under a tree while resting against Blaike sounded like bliss. Taking Valentia out on rides around Dumair, being free to explore without worrying that someone might try to kill us. It was final, we were staying in this world together and I could have sworn the wind outside cheered when we agreed on it.
I smiled to myself as the parents finished up and went to make arrangements for more of the wounded. They were so happy we were all staying in our 'rightful places' as my mum had put it, they didn't stop smiling on their way out. Merkell left too, to see if he could help with any of the injuries and then it was just us at the table.
"Do you think we can still visit the Sanctuary now that Nenny has gone to sleep?" Kaleb asked out of the blue.
"She said it was ours now, I do not see why not," Blaike responded with a quick look around.
We didn't need words to know what he was thinking, we reached for each other and a split second later we were blinded by that bright, white light. When things rematerialised, we were standing in the Sanctuary, it looked exactly as it always had. Everything was a different colour, it wasn't until I looked up at the sky that I noticed a difference in that too.
It was swirling with clouds like none I'd ever seen before, they were an assortment of colours and stars sparkled from everywhere. I peered at the others, who had also seen the new sky. We collectively felt the loss of Nenny, which was odd since she was never really there, and yet she was everywhere.
I wished her a pleasant sleep, hoping she would hear my message somehow. We took a few moments to embrace the place and then we exchanged a satisfied look and nodded, pulling ourselves back to the real world.
Nothing had changed in the dining room, we were the only ones in there and the food was still hot.
"The Overseers, together again and stronger than ever," Kayle chortled loudly.
"I like it, it's better than 'this group' or 'your group of friends'." Emy said with a look of mock disgust.
"I like it too, it gives us a purpose too because otherwise it looks like we would have a lot of free time on our hands."
I made the point to them and sighed dreamily when Blaike played with my fingers absentmindedly.
"I can't wait to finally get my hands on the fashion here, I could open up a boutique or something!" She got really excited about it and I chuckled at her.
"Kayle cannot wait to get his hands on Sab-" Kaleb started until Kayle kicked him under the table.
Everyone laughed and it felt so good to be able to make plans with them.
"I'd like to travel a bit, there are so many parts of Nentarli we haven't seen yet."
I thought about the other Sectors and what they would be like, maybe we would be needed to help clean up the Northern Sector.
"I would like that very much too, there are parts none of us have seen," Blaike seemed to have followed my thoughts and the others nodded in agreement.
The five of us travelling the world together definitely spelled mischief, for ourselves and the rest of Nentarli. But we weren't about to go without each other, it was a new adventure and we knew from experience that we did that best as a group. We kept making plans and lounged around the dining room, other people came in to eat but otherwise we just enjoyed each others company. We had been to hell and back, and we survived it, together.
I didn't know what the future held for us, if there would ever be a bigger need for the Overseers of Nentarli. What I did know was that my life was definitely not boring or predictable anymore. I woke up to something different everyday, and I never knew what was coming. Barely a week after returning, we were made the 'Official Overseers of Nentarli' and given a coat of arms. A shield with two circles, a bigger one intersected with a horizontal line covered by the smaller circle, which was intersected with a vertical line- I liked it.
Things felt different and I had no complaints. Valentia was happy to go on rides more often and as the other horses returned over the first few days, going for rides with or even without the others was a highlight I treasured. The other highlights were caused by the people I cared about, spending time with them or stealing private moments with Blaike as we talked about our future together.
It had the potential to be a very, very long and happy life. My feelings for him ran much deeper than I ever thought was actually possible. I guess surviving a life or death situation will do that for you.
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