24. The letter

The next morning, way before dawn Claudia’s ladyknight, Lidia, knocked on Waldina’s and Kiandra’s door at the inn. Their aim was to leave early in the morning so they would avoid attracting attention.

After hearing the knock, Waldina got dressed in her black ninja dress and shorts quickly. Claudia had gone with her knights yesterday shopping for the trip, and they’d also bought something for today’s breakfast. This meant Waldina wasn’t exactly in a hurry as she only needed to clean herself up for a bit and get dressed up. She had never been particularly interested in her appearance which greatly sped up her morning routines compared to others.

Besides, her ninja dress was super easy to get dressed into which meant it never took much time to get it back on. The black dress fit her perfectly. After the dress and shorts she donned her thigh belts, swiftly checking her daggers and shurikens. Finally, she tied her hair into a tight ponytail before she was satisfied. Her purple hair was so smooth it was easy to tie it up beautifully and it didn’t take much effort.

When she finished dressing up she went back to the side of the bed. Kiandra was still laying on it. She was quite sure the fairy had woken up when Lidia knocked on their door, but it seemed the little one was fast-asleep again.

“Moooornings,” Waldina called with a tender voice, trying to wake up the fairy laying in the middle of the soft pillow. But the fairy just turned on her other side, lazily. The movement forced her dress to climb up a little bit higher and Waldina was glad there weren’t others in the room. Kiandra wasn’t exactly the most careful person when it came to not showing everything to everyone. Perhaps the fairy was so small in size that she never really understood the interest others may have in her - other than pure curiosity. Because the fairy really was good-looking and had a great figure.

“Mhmm five more minutes,” Kiandra replied as she stretched her drowsy body. Waldina sighed though her lips were curved into a tender smile.

*knock knock*

Another knock sounded from the door and it was the sign from Lidia that it was time to leave. Waldina gently placed her palms under Kiandra’s drowsily glowing body and lifted her from the bed. Kiandra awoke as she noticed the sudden change in her environment, but as she noticed she was laying on Waldina’s palms, she just stretched before curling up into a tiny ball.

Waldina walked out of the inn still carrying Kiandra on her palms. In front of the inn was the same carriage with which they had come to Twande a few days ago. Claudia was already seated in the carriage, her blonde hair neatly combed.

“Mornings,” Waldina voiced as she stepped into the carriage, careful not to shake the sleeping fairy in her hands.

“Morning,” Claudia replied, seeming slightly stiff. Waldina frowned at the sight yet decided to not say anything of the matter. Instead she just sat on the bench, facing Claudia. Simon, the leader of Claudia’s knights, closed the door after her. As the carriage began moving steadily Waldina moved Kiandra from her palms onto her lap. The fairy continued sleeping peacefully, though she pulled Waldina’s short ninjadress’s hem for a blanket from time to time.

After they reached the edge of the town, the town guards stopped them on their tracks. Simon showed them Claudia’s traveling permit and they were about to continue their trip when a messenger ran towards them. The messenger caught everyone’s attention and Waldina observed their surroundings readying herself for action.

“I-I have a letter for Lady Claudia Aminoff,” the messenger announced, slightly shy for the sudden attention on him. His timing was so perfect it was suspicious. Waldina slid her hand to her thigh belt and reached for a dagger.

“Understood. We’ll take it to her,” Simon replied with a strong voice and received the letter. He checked it for a minute, looking for any possible traps, before he gave it to Lidia, who was standing right next to him. Lidia checked the letter as well before giving it to Claudia, still seated in the carriage. The messenger nodded in approval before heading to his next task. It gave enough information for the knights: whoever sent the message, didn’t expect a reply.

The carriage began moving again and Claudia held the letter in her hands with a contemplating look on her face. Waldina turned to face outside, thus giving the lady some space and privacy to read the letter. Though in reality Waldina kept secretly glancing at Claudia to read her reactions and observing the situation. Her hand was still laying on her dagger belt, just in case.

Claudia grabbed the letter’s upper corner, her hands shaking a little. She recognized the handwriting with which her name had been engraved on top of the letter. It made her heart speed faster and faster. The letter was from her mother. The mother who never intervened in her problems nor the decisions father made. That same mother who kept following the rules and orders her husband set. Then why would that same mother send her letter, now of all times?

Claudia’s parents were a good, somewhat loving couple, yet they had a clear hierarchy between them. Claudia’s mother had grown up like every noblelady: in the belief that before marriage father or brother was the master, and after marriage the husband. Thus she never asked for anything, and just respected the decisions her husband made, both in economical and parenting decisions. Claudia loved her kind and obedient mother, although she couldn’t imagine herself assuming a similar role. She didn’t want to be ordered around and blindly follow someone else. She wanted something more. She wanted to use her own head and make her decisions, whether it led to mistakes or success.

Yet now her obedient mother had sent her a letter. Now, when she had just ran away from home. Claudia was beyond scared as to what the letter may hold inside. What if her mother asked her to return, to save their honor and status? Claudia didn’t want to disappoint her mother, nor did she want to face the complaints from her father. Yet she didn’t want to return to her arranged marriage with Cliffertown’s earl. The earl was mean and way older than Claudia who’d just turned sixteen.

The atmosphere in the carriage was so heavy and oppressive, that Waldina couldn’t lower her guard. She kept glancing at Claudia’s direction. The lady was buried deep in her thought, still holding the half-opened letter in her hands. Waldina played with her hair to calm down her nerves. What on earth had the letter contained? Whatever it was, it had to be game-changing, not just for Claudia but for their whole trip. She was sure of it yet she didn’t want to pressure the lady to read the letter if she wasn’t ready; nor did she want to pressure her to talk about it. The journey to Drittio was long and Claudia could surely finish reading the letter many times before that.

A sigh filled the carriage. Then Claudia turned to look at Waldina and asked to borrow a dagger. Hesitantly the ninja gave her a dagger, though keeping her eyes at the lady to make sure no accidents happened. With swift movement Claudia teared open the letter, thanked Waldina and returned the dagger. Then Claudia began reading the letter.

Waldina kept her eyes carefully on Claudia, reading her reactions towards the letters' contents. First the lady was frowning deeply, with a grim expression. Then all of a sudden a glint of hope lit up in her eyes, before it was burning bright inside her. Claudia jumped up from her seat in the carriage and smiled so widely and happily. Her insides were bubbling with excitement.

But as you may guess, standing up in a moving carriage isn’t exactly recommended and at the next bump, Claudia lost her balance. She was about to fall head first to Waldina’s side of the carriage but the ninja managed to catch her before any harm happened. Carefully she helped the lady back to her seat.

“Thanks,” Claudia muttered flustered and grabbed the letter again. She was so full of happiness and excitement that it was difficult to put into words.

“If I may ask, what’s gotten you so bubbly happy?” Waldina asked curiously after a moment’s silence. Claudia kept smiling as she thought through fitting words.

“I received a letter from my mother. I don’t know how she got to know about Diaz, but she’s gotten me a place to study at the ‘Knights and mages academy’ in Xunte Sintra,” Claudia explained in such a rush she forgot to breathe.

“What?” Waldina couldn't quite keep up with the lady’s story and excited chattering.

“My new life is about to start!” Claudia stared at her like it was the most obvious conclusion.

“So from a run-away into a student? Wow. I thought you were running away from your parents,” Waldina considered the words and their meaning thoroughly.

“Yes, I sort of am. It’s all because of that idiot Cliffertown,” Claudia snapped indignantly and then paused to wonder about their conversation. “Wait, how’d you know? I told you I was on my way to get to know the world.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Waldina laughed, amused, “but I think anyone could have seen through your lie. It doesn’t take a detective to figure that out.”

“Hmm is that so,” Claudia pouted with dissatisfaction. But then her eyes wandered back to the letter and she was smiling again: “But do you get it? My mother is giving me a chance to study in Xunte Sintra and flee from my marriage with Cliffertown’s earl.”

“Heh, that’s cool. Would you like to retell your whole story?” Waldina suggested smiling gently. Claudia nodded and took a deep breath before she began her story:

“My family has been relatively successful these past few years. We have increased the livelihoods of those living in Inizio and close-by areas, thus our income has increased as well. It is quite rare for a viscount, not to mention the amount we currently earn is extraordinary. Then there’s Cliffertown’s earl who’s of higher status than us. I bet he’s bitter towards the whole world as he has been bullying anyone lower in status than him ever since his wife died abruptly. Our territory and family has experienced this quite a bit as well,” Claudia sighed, her face colored with anger and perhaps exhaustion.

“We have not given up. And then he figured out a new way to bully us: he asked for my hand in marriage. As someone lower in status we don’t really have the right to decline as it would damage our honor and the way others see Aminoffs,” Claudia continued getting angrier with every word. Waldina just listened silently.

“The earl of Cliffertown is approximately the same age as my father. There’s no way I’d be his wife. And thus I ran away from home. If I disappear, I can’t marry him nor damage our honor. It will surely burden my parents but there’s simply no way I’d agree to marry that idiot,” Claudia raised her chin with pride. “And that’s why I’m here.”

“Wow. Your journey’s really something,” Waldina nodded as she was trying to find better words to say.

“So now you get to live your dreams?” Kiandra asked, surprising both Waldina and Claudia who still thought the fairy was asleep and thus wouldn’t take part in the conversation. “Did you seriously think I could sleep during your not-so-silent conversation?” Kiandra muttered, rolling her blue eyes. She stretched again and sat up, though she was still on Waldina’s lap.

“Ah right,” Claudia cleared her throat - and head - and smiled at Kiandra, “I get to go and improve myself, see the world and be someone else. I’m so looking forward to this.”

“And you don’t mind being Diaz?” Kiandra tilted her head in wonder. She brushed through her long hair with her fingers and was upset that her hair was so tangled. Sleeping and keeping her hair in tip top condition really didn’t go well together.

“No, on the contrary! Finally I get to be someone other than a sheltered fragile lady,” Claudia exclaimed full of enthusiasm and pride. How wonderful it was to think she could be someone else. At least during her academy years she’d have the chance to dream.

“Though, why didn’t your mother offer you this chance earlier? This whole running away from home wouldn’t have to happen and you’d be happily traveling to Xunte Sintra right now,” Waldina didn’t exactly want to be so serious in such a happy moment, yet she felt like someone had to say it out loud. Wasn’t everything a bit too good to be true?

“Yes,” Claudia grimaced, “After I left, father was out of it and mother finally braved to make her own decisions. Father seems to think I’ve been kidnapped and doesn’t know what to do.”

“Mother on the other hand… She’s got mother’s instinct it seems. She has a friend in Xunte Sintra, in the academy where she enrolled me. They made a couple of decisions, forged documents and here we are,” Claudia shrugged as she didn’t know what else to do. Waldina frowned.

“You’re not telling the whole truth,” the ninja in black dress stated her observations and kept her eyes on Claudia. The lady’s face grimaced yet again and her cheeks reddened.

“Do tell,” Waldina pressed as she tapped her foot impatiently.

“Cliffertown’s knights are after us. He’s looking for his kidnapped ‘bride’,” Claudia winced very unladylike but she didn’t care about manners right now.

“You’ve gotta be kidding with me,” Waldina sighed and slightly opened the carriage’s window. “You should tell such things first.”

“Haha and I have to get to Xunte Sintra before the semester starts. Which is in a month,” Claudia added and tried to smile as cutely as possibly. But Waldina just shook her head in disbelief and turned to look outside.

When she spotted the knight leader, Simon, she used her short distance teleportation, leap, in hopes of succeeding in the use of her new, unstable skill.