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"I’m not a knight, little brother Ollie," Heila said with a light, musical laugh as she sipped on a watered down mug of warmed cider.

After spending months with Ashlynn discussing the future of their little coven, she understood what Ashlynn was hoping to see in Ollie better than anyone except, perhaps, Aunt Amahle.

In Heila’s estimation, Ollie had done even better at growing into the kind of person who could endure the trial of a seed of witchcraft than she had. Of course, he had no idea that the mentoring he’d received to become a knight would help him so much with what was to come, but that hardly mattered.

In a way, she almost envied him. She was certain that he would have an easier time of his trial than she did with hers, but then, she hadn’t had the luxury of time to prepare for months before facing the trial of the Ancient Willow.

But, since it was not becoming increasingly certain that Ollie would become the second witch of Ashlynn’s coven, it was her job as the ’big sister’ to make sure he was ready to become part of their intimate little family.

"I’m the Willow Witch now," she said, puffing her chest up with pride. "And Mother Ashlynn’s lady-in-waiting," she added, placing extra emphasis on the word ’mother.’ "But just because I’m not a knight doesn’t mean that little Emmie can’t be my squire," she said, giving her young squire an affectionate tap on the shoulder.

"Oh," Ollie said with a puzzled look on his face. Since when was he ’little brother Ollie?’ But, hearing her refer to Ashlynn as ’mother’ he assumed it must have something to do with the traditions of witches, so he quickly put it out of his mind.

After all, even though Lady Ashlynn was a witch herself, the traditions of witches didn’t have very much to do with him.

"I see. So, you didn’t have to choose virtues for yourself.

Or did you? Do ladies-in-waiting have virtues the way knights do? "

"They don’t," Ashlynn said, setting down her cup of wine before she drank too much of it. As much as she enjoyed the flavor, it was a heady vintage and she couldn’t afford to loose herself to wine when there were still important things to discuss.

Besides, if she was going to loose herself to strong drink, she’d prefer to do it when Nyrielle was here to carry her away to somewhere private afterward. ..

"But we’re wandering off the topic," Ashlynn said, bringing the focus back to Ollie. "Humility, Courage, Strength," she said, counting on three fingers and giving him an evaluating look. "What else have you chosen to form the core of your oath as a knight?"

"Justice," Ollie said, without even a hint of hesitation. "I, I don’t know how I feel about vengeance," he continued with slightly less confidence, giving Milo an apologetic look before he returned his gaze to Ashlynn’s emerald eyes.

"I know people who have lost a great deal," he explained. "And I understand their motivations for revenge. I cant’ give them what they want from vengeance. But, I can hold the people who wronged them accountable," he explained.

"Whether it’s the Lothians or the Dunns or the Church, it doesn’t matter.

People with power have hurt people who just wanted to live their lives and care for their families.

That’s not right," the young man said firmly.

"So, I intend to stand up for what is right. For the people who don’t have the strength to stand up for themselves. "

"Thats’ very noble, Ollie," Ashlynn said, accepting his views without challenging them. There would come a time, someday in the future, when she would need to see if he could hold on to these virtues when he was tested in battles of life and death or faced even harder choices, but that day wasn’t today.

For now, she just wanted to understand how he’d aligned his moral compass and what kind of person he’d chosen to become.

Everything she’d heard so far already put her mind at ease.

She hadn’t been wrong in the seed she’d chosen for him and she hadn’t been wrong to think that he would grow into the kind of man who would be worthy of it.

Now, she just needed to see if he was ready to take the hardest step of his life in order to become something even greater than the knight he dreamed of being.

"And your last one?" Ashlynn asked, raising a brow at the young would-be knight. "What is your final virtue?" she asked.

"Hope," Ollie said, looking around the room at everyone gathered together, enjoying each other’s company after a meal that had been cooked by both Human and Eldritch hands. "I know it might sound silly, maybe even childish. I know that the real world isn’t a fairytale, even when some things seem like one," he said, thinking of how he felt like he’d been pulled into a minstrel’s tale when Ashlynn scooped him out of the kitchens and took him on a grand adventure to escape to the Vale of Mists.

"But I hope that one day, the fighting can stop," Ollie said, his pale eyes flashing with determination.

"For people like Milo and Juni to raise their kit in peace," he added. "And for everyone else who’s just trying to live a good life... I want them to have that. So, I’m taking Hope as one of my virtues. I’m no one special," he added quietly.

"But if I can help give people a bit of hope for a better life tomorrow... I think that’s worth fighting for. "

"I think you’re right," Ashlynn said with a firm nod of agreement.

"Humility, Courage, Strength, Justice and Hope. They’re fine choices and they suit you, Sir Ollie," she said, joining the others from the Vale in addressing him as the knight he clearly conducted himself like.

To be honest, compared to some of the knights who surrounded Owain, Ollie was even more of a knight than they were!

"But there’s more to life than becoming a knight," she said, giving Heila a knowing look. "Heila, help me up," she said, holding out a hand. "Ollie, come with us for a stroll in the forest outside the walls," she added once she was standing.

"I have something to talk to you about, but it demands more privacy than the longhouse can really offer us," she explained gesturing at the curtains that provided the only room dividers within the guest house.

"Ofcourse," Ollie said, quickly scrambling to his feet. If Ashlynn wanted to talk to him in private, he would hardly refuse her. It was just... what could she want to talk to him about that was so important that she’d go out into the forest at night, just so no one else could overhear their conversation?

Just what was this about?