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Change had swept across the fortress city in the Vale of Mists, and countless streets and buildings were in the early stages of construction.

On any other day, the sounds of stonemasons’ chisels, carts groaning under the weight of materials, and workmen shouting instructions to each other would fill the air, but today, the city outside the fortress walls felt all but deserted.

Instead, it was the ancient fortress itself that bustled with energy as the courtyards and baileys of the fortress quickly filled with revelers from nearly every farm and village within the Vale, along with thousands more from lands across the mountains.

Bright colorful tents lined the fields between the inner and outer walls of the fortress, and the air was filled with the sounds of children’s laughter and bright, celebratory music.

"Don’t get distracted, Emmie," Kurtz told his daughter as her feet slowed to a near stop while her eyes followed the colorful balls and streamers flying through the air between two talented jugglers. It wasn’t the first time the former gladiator found himself prodding his daughter along but he had a hard time blaming her for getting caught up in the excitement of the festivities.

"You can come back and watch all you want when you’ve finished your task," he said, prodding her toward the gates leading into the fortress town that was in the process of reinventing itself. "You don’t want to disappoint Lady Heila, now do you?"

"What? No, no, never," the young squire said, instantly turning a brilliant shade of crimson as she checked the pouch at her waist for at least the seventh time to ensure that the formally printed and sealed invitation was still there.

"Let’s go, Father," she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him along as if she hadn’t been the one dawdling just moments earlier.

Ever since their arrival at the ancient fortress, Lady Heila had been completely occupied with the activities of Ashlynn’s coven and had given her young squire only a handful of tasks to take care of while the Willow Witch watched over Sir Ollie’s trial and tended to Lady Ashlynn’s needs.

Since that was the case, Emmie had spent countless hours exploring both the ancient fortress and the city around it.

To the young squire who had only known the High Fen for most of her life, everything in the Vale of Mists was strange, new and exciting, especially when the constant fog that clung to the fortress town made it feel like an adventure just to explore the next block over.

Now, she skipped happily over the cobblestones of familiar streets in search of a sprawling two-story cottage that was home to her lady’s family.

"This is it," a breathless Emmie announced when her cloven hooves finally came to a stop outside the ramshackle building in one of the oldest parts of town.

Over the past hundred years, what had once been a simple cottage had been expanded several times, growing along with the family that dwelled there.

Neat rows of a vegetable garden to one side of the house stood in sharp contrast to the more haphazard structure of the home, but combined with the well-maintained fence around the yard and the freshly swept walkway to the front door, the home looked more comfortably lived in and cared for than slovenly or disorganized.

When Heila knocked on the door, a few minutes passed before it opened to reveal a gray-haired and gray-bearded man with horns grown so long with age that they looped completely back on themselves to point toward the sky.

"Mister Kaisan?" Emmie said, blinking in surprise at how worn Heila’s father appeared. He even walked with a cane!

"Haha! Kaisan, rascal, you hear that?" the old man shouted into the house. "Your old man is still handsome enough for people to confuse the two of us!"

"Stop preening, dear," an aged woman’s voice called from within the home. "You’ll embarrass your poor son with people thinking he’s grown as old as you. Who’s visiting on the festival day? Invite them in, invite them in!"

"No, really, I don’t need to visit," Emmie said, glancing briefly back toward the ancient fortress before returning her gaze to the old man in the doorway.

"I, um, I have an invitation for Mister Kaisen and his family," she said, fumbling in the pouch at her waist to produce the thick, folded sheet of parchment bearing an impressive-looking wax seal.

"Move aside old man," a deep, hearty voice said as a younger man clapped his gray-bearded father on the shoulder and pulled him back from the doorway.

Unlike the old man who answered the door, this gentleman bore a striking resemblance to Lady Heila with the same grass-green eyes and brown hair that spilled from his head in loose curls.

His face bore a number of creases and laugh lines around his eyes, but he still stood straight and proud when he came to the door to greet their unexpected guest.

"You said you had an invitation for me, young lass?

" Kaisen said, frowning when he saw the seal of the Castle Master on the folded piece of parchment.

It had been years since he and his wife, Helga, had retired from service in the ancient fortress to care for their aging parents, but the glyph on the wax seal was one he would never mistake, even all these years later.

"There’s a feast being held tonight to announce Lady Nyrielle’s betrothal," Emmie said, bowing deeply as she presented the invitation. "Present this when you reach the gates so the staff can bring you and your family to the table for honored guests."

"Honored guests?" the gray-bearded man said, tugging on his beard in confusion. "Son, what nonsense have you been up to that you’d be invited as an honored guest?"

"Not me, da," Kaisen said, taking the parchment and prying it open with a neatly trimmed fingernail. "It looks like little Heila arranged a few seats for us. Poor thing is probably working herself to the bone during this celebration without even a minute to enjoy it," he said with a heavy sigh.

"She’s always been a good one about taking care of us, Kai honey," a mature woman’s voice said as a woman who greatly resembled her daughter reached out to take the invitation from Kaisen’s hands.

Her hair was much darker than Heila’s, and her figure held the softness that had come from giving birth to several children, but her eyes held the same gentleness that her daughters did whenever the Willow Witch called upon healing magic to mend wounds and ease suffering.

"It must have cost her quite a few favors to find a place for us at this feast," Helga said. "Why don’t we go, just the two of us, so we don’t look like we’re taking advantage.

We shouldn’t reject a gift like this, you know, dear," she said before her husband could make any sign of politely refusing.

"It’s fine even if you bring the entire family," Kurtz said, stepping up beside his daughter who was clearly at a loss for words in front of her hero’s parents. "I’m sure there won’t be any problem, even if there are twenty of you."

"Twenty! Merciful Lady, I could never," Helga said. "But, if you’re sure it won’t be too much trouble," she said, turning to look at the grey-bearded man. "Father-in-law, are you up to an evening out? It’s little Heila’s hard work that’s earned us a chance to see Lady Nyrielle’s betrothal announcement first hand. "

"Little lass," the old man said, looking past his son and daughter-in-law to the curiously dressed young girl who came with the invitation.

The man behind her wore a broad-bladed short sword at his waist, balanced by a buckler on the opposite hip, and he moved in a way that suggested the weapons were as comfortable to him as well-worn boots.

The young girl, on the other hand, was dressed in a fine dress with lace trim at her wrists that made her look more like the servant of one of the vampires than a common errand girl from the castle.

The impression the pair made was odd to say the least and the old man had learned years ago to pay attention to things that looked odd.

"Little lass," he repeated. "Do you have many of these invitations to deliver today?"

"Huh? No, just this one," she said, scratching her head in confusion.

"I’m sorry," she added, flushing in sudden embarrassment. "I’m also supposed to tell you that Lady Heila is very sorry that she couldn’t visit you when she returned to the Vale but she really does hope to see you all at the feast tonight. "

"All right, all right," the gray-bearded old man said, placing a hand on his son’s shoulders. "We’ll have Pitar watch over the little ones tonight, he won’t mind, and the rest of us will all come. That should be good, shouldn’t it?"

"You will?" Emmie said, perking up instantly. "That will be perfect! Then, since you’re coming to the feast, I’m sure Lady Heila will be very happy to see you all again," she said, dropping into a deep curtsey before saying her goodbyes and tugging on her father’s hand so they could rush back to the festival. There were hours still before it grew dark and she would need to leave the fun and games to join Lady Heila at the banquet but she didn’t want to waste any of them!

Meanwhile, on the porch, the grey-bearded old man frowned at the strange young messenger girl as she scampered away with her even stranger protector.

"Kaisen," he said after a minute. "You said that little Heila became the new Seneschal’s personal maidservant, didn’t you?"

"Yes," Kaisen said, puffing out his chest in pride. "Helga and I told her how proud we were when she visited before leaving the Vale for the summer. She was a bit nervous," he admitted. "But her mother and I both believe that she’ll do just fine."

"Odd," the old man said, turning back toward the crackling warmth of the hearth in the cottage’s great room. "Since when do they call maidservants ’Lady?’"