The Vampire & Her Witch

Dawn brought a strange sight to the inner bailey of Lothian Manor as dozens of people gathered around a caravan of wagons and carriages.

Everyone who had come had their own reasons for being here. For Baroness Tosha, it was her last chance to see the Sacred Sapling, the shimmering tree that glittered in shades of red and blue and green as a cold winter breeze gently ruffled its leaves. Lady Ashlynn had promised that there would be other opportunities in the future, but for Tosha, the tree had come to represent something indescribably precious.

At first, she’d taken it as a true miracle, bestowed by the Holy Lord of Light to rescue them from the darkness of the Lothian Throne and the tyrannical rule of the Lothian family. That alone made the Sacred Sapling worthy of veneration. But when she’d learned that Lady Ashlynn was a Great Witch, the Mother of Trees, the sapling became something more in her heart.

This was living, breathing proof of how wrong they’d been about witches. It was something wonderful and beautiful that had rescued all of them from darkness. At the same time, it was tender and young, much like her children, and it needed to be protected, both for its own sake and as a symbol of what Lothian March, or rather, the Verdant Hills, would become.

Tosha wasn’t the only person who had come to see the tree one last time. Perhaps as many as a quarter of the people gathered in the inner bailey were the same, bowing their heads reverently to the tree that had been planted in a wagon filled with soil, or even kneeling in quiet prayer.

Others, however, had come to say farewells to the only group of people who would be allowed to leave the manor before the Eldritch delegations arrived.

”Are you sure that you and your men are up to this, Beathan?” Sir Elgon asked the Templar who had accompanied him and Lady Jocelynn all the way from Blackwell what felt like a lifetime ago. ”It’s not too late for me to take your place if you’d rather stay with High Priest Aubin and the rest from the Church. I know he could use your help.”

”I’m sure he could,” Beathan said, glancing in the direction of the luxurious carriage that would soon carry Lady Jocelynn into the heart of the Vale of Mists. ”But my place is at her side. Lord Rhys charged us with protecting her from the Eldritch.”

”I trust Lady Ashlynn,” he added quickly. ”But no ruler can speak for every person they rule. If there’s someone in the Vale with a grievance who thinks they can obtain a measure of vengeance by targeting Lady Jocelynn, she’ll need someone at her side who can wield more than just a sword.”

”This is our duty, Sir Elgon,” the young Templar concluded. ”I hope we won’t be needed, but if we are, we’ll make sure that she escapes the Vale, no matter what it costs.”

”Don’t sound so grim,” Eglon said, clapping Beathan firmly on the shoulder. ”We’ll expect you all back soon to tell us the truth of what it’s like in the Vale. If the beds are soft and warm, and the wine is good, we may even come to visit you before you leave,” he added, glancing at the group gathered around Lady Ashlynn’s carriage. ”We may even bring a few charges of our own...”

Among those saying their farewells, the group gathered around Jocelynn’s carriage drew the most attention by far, and not simply because it was the group that held Lady Ashlynn herself. In fact, many eyes were just as focused on Ladies Adala and Charlotte as they were on Ashlynn and her sister.

”I wish I could go with you,” Charlotte said, letting go of Adala’s hand for the first time since she’d left Adala’s chambers this morning so she could wrap her arms around Jocelynn. ”I hope my father doesn’t cause any trouble for you,” she said quietly. ”And I’m sorry that...”

”Shh, it’s fine,” Jocelynn said, allowing herself a moment of comfort in Charlotte’s warm embrace before she pulled back enough to invite Adala to join the hug. ”You two take care of each other,” Jocelynn said, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

”I know Elgon’s already adopted Adala,” Jocelynn added as she pulled back slightly from the hug. ”But I told him to watch over you as well, Charlotte. Elgon is a good man, and he risked his life to aid in my rescue from the Inquisition. He wouldn’t do any less for you.”

”Thank you, Jocelynn,” Adala said as her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. ”I don’t know what I would have done without Elgon’s help, but having him welcome me in... It’s meant more than I have words for. You’ll have to help me find a way to thank him,” she said as she reached out to capture Charlotte’s hand, interlacing her fingers with the woman she hoped to marry soon.

”He’s done more than just protect us,” Adala said. ”So, as much as I hate taking him away from you right now, I’m so glad you’re letting him stay behind.”

”I’ll be plenty safe in the Vale of Mists,” Jocelynn promised. ”I’ll have Sir Ollie to watch over me,” she said, glancing at the flame-haired knight who was helping his parents into the carriage that they would share on their way to the Vale of Mists.

Few people had ever made her feel as safe as her sister’s knight had, and if she was honest with herself, as much as she hated leaving Ashlynn behind when they’d only just reunited, she was looking forward to the opportunity to get to know Sir Ollie Heartwood on the journey to the Vale.

She’d already started compiling a mental list of topics to discuss in the carriage, mentally separating the things he might not be willing to discuss in front of his parents from the ones that she hoped would interest them as much as they’d interest her. Though, if she was honest with herself, she didn’t need to prepare for a conversation with Sir Ollie the way she prepared for a conversation with the ladies of the court. It was just that, in doing so, she was able to distract herself from the reason that she had to leave Lothian in the first place.

”Thank you, Ollie, for watching over her when you have your parents to get settled too,” Ashlynn said, giving Ollie a brief, tight hug. ”I’ll sleep better knowing that she can turn to you if she feels overwhelmed or isolated while she’s there.”

”Don’t worry,” Ollie said, smiling brightly in the early morning light. ”I know it won’t be long before you’ve solved the problem with her seed, and then, she’ll be a sister in the coven too. Helping her find her way in the Vale is the least I can do.”

”I hope it’s that easy,” Ashlynn said as she turned to face Jocelynn. ”Jocey, I’m sorry, but...”

”Don’t say another word,” Jocelynn interrupted. Seeing the look of worry on her sister’s face cut like a knife across her heart. But when she’d heard Ashlynn’s explanation about why she needed time apart, she’d resolved to do whatever she could to reduce the burden Ashlynn was carrying while she tried to nurture the greatest gift a witch could give for the least worthy sister the world had ever seen.

”I’m looking forward to seeing where you’ve been living,” Jocelynn said brightly, pushing down all of her own fears and worries to give Ashlynn the brightest smile she could. ”And I agree with Sir Ollie,” she added. ”I’m sure you’ll have it all sorted soon...”

”I don’t know about soon,” Ashlynn said, suppressing a wince of pain as she took Jocelynn’s hand to help her into the carriage. ”Growing things take time; I won’t rush it if it puts you at risk, but... I hope it won’t be too long.”

”I’ll let Nyri know that you’re coming,” Ashlynn added as she stepped back from the carriage. ”You won’t arrive until well into the night, so she’ll be waiting for you when you get there.”

”I can’t wait to meet her,” Jocelynn said. ”I love you, so I’m sure I’ll love her too,” she said as if she were just going to meet an ordinary sister-in-law for the first time.

But nothing about this trip was ordinary, and as Ollie entered the carriage, pulling the door shut behind him, Jocelynn had a sudden, sinking feeling, as if she had heard the door of a dungeon cell slamming shut.

The carriage was warm and inviting with soft seats and the company of not only Sir Ollie and his parents, but Samira as well... yet somehow, when she thought about what lay ahead of her and all the stories she’d heard told about the Lady of the Vale since coming to Lothian March... Jocelynn couldn’t help but worry that she might be headed for yet another cage...