Blaze of Bravery

Wild flames flickered atop the corner of the castle closest to us, they brilliantly danced around all the while spreading its destruction in all directions. All we could do was watch as the stone slowly charred and cracked from the blaze, weakening the structure, causing parts of the roof collapsing inwards. Lady Alice’s hand began to glow a bright golden-brown.

As if drunk on confidence Chris stepped forward, he faced the burning tower with his gaze focused on the window Lady Alice had singled out as being Liam’s room.

His arms, no, his whole body shape-shifted as all of his tan skin turned into grey stone. His face was no longer recognizable, instead there was a stone carving, the bust of a beast’s head attached to his neck with two brown suns for eyes. He had become, what could only be described as, a human gargoyle.

Chris roared, charging towards one of the castle’s entrances, slamming into it with his shoulder. He splintered the wooden door into pieces, he crawled inside like a wild animal as he ran deep inside the castle.

Mira, Luke and I were left speechless, the sight of one of our best friends turning into a stone beast wasn’t something we were going to get used to anytime soon.

“Blast it, you other heroes stay here. I will go after Sir Chris and secure my nephew.” Sir Nathan glanced at Lady Alice, his brows tensing. He marched over to me, placing his rather heavy hand on my shoulder as he turned his attention towards the rest of us. “Please, watch out for my niece.”

“Understood, sir,” I responded.

He gave us a quick nod before turning and running after Chris.

Mira wrapped her arms around the crying Lady Alice. Soothing the girl’s back with her hand while holding Lady Alice’s head close to her chest. Our moment of shock didn’t last long as I spotted hooded figures approaching us from atop the castle roof from where the tower had started collapsing

Between Lady Alice’s crying and the cackling of the fire above I hadn’t been able to hear them approach earlier. There were three individuals in total, of the three, the one in the center unsheathed a small thin blade as they jumped down onto the grassy courtyard.

“Anlura.” A warm breeze blew below their feet just as they were about to land, it served as a balloon of air resistance, a popping bubble of air to slow and soften their landing.

The hooded figure raised their blade, pointing the tip towards Lady Alice’s head.

“Step aside otherworlders.” The voice that spoke was very soft, it was that of a young woman’s. She readied her stance, turning her body to the side as she raised her blade above her head while aiming it diagonally, like a serpent baring its fangs moments before they unleash their venom.

Luke stepped forward, placing himself in harm’s way. “Afraid I can’t do that.” Luke raised his dukes in front of his face, shifting his legs so that he leaned forward with his dominant right side.

“I would rather not have divine blood on my hands,” the assailant said. “But orders are orders. I’ll try to make it quick.” She charged forward, sliding herself into range, just close enough for her sword strike to land. Whether it was all of his skill from training or just some good old fashion luck, Luke stepped to the side as the sword brushed past his neck, leaving him unscathed.

His opponent quickly pulled back, she readied herself for a follow-up but was far too slow. Luke had followed her retreat, he raised his leg and struck her in the back of the leg with his shin with all of his might.

As cool as he looked landing his kick, Luke immediately pulled his leg to his chest in pain. He was a boxer which meant fists were his only real forte. Though his kick was strong and managed to send the girl crashing down, he wasn’t conditioned to deal blows with his legs, let alone opponents with armored legs.

The girl gasped for air as she groaned from having the wind knocked out of her. Gritting her teeth from the shock, she yelled at her companions still on top of the roof.

“Burn him.”

The two still on the roof took out their blades, a pair of two-handed swords with giant crossguards. “Flador,” they chanted in unison. The blue shine that the swords had when brandished turned into a shade of bloody orange as spirals of flames grew from their swords. 

These spirals of molten death lashed out in the air around them before shooting out towards Luke. Luke, having been focused on the first assailant, had been too distracted to notice the attack of the other two assailants, leaving his back perfectly exposed as the flames rushed towards him.

Seeing how Luke had been so quick to face the assailants made me realize how pathetic I had been in this situation by comparison. He was just a regular human like me, no powers or weapons to speak of, yet he hadn’t hesitated to put himself in harm's way. It was suicide, he must of known that there was no way he could win. It must have been the fiery courage that burned and fueled his fighting spirit that had made still fight in the end.

Though Sir Nathan had left Lady Alice in the care of all of us, it had been me he had truly entrusted the task to, and I had looked him in the eye when I had agreed to it. Where was my confidence from earlier? Was praying for Chris, Sir Nathan, or the other knights to appear soon all that I was good for? Watching Luke burn to death, was that truly all I could do?

My heart and body answered these questions before my brain had the chance to wallow in further doubt, I began moving before I could even process what I was doing.

I jumped towards Luke, tackling him to the ground and rolling away from the flames, only some embers managed to singe us as we tumbled to the ground.

“Get away from us,” I heard Mira cry out as Luke and I finally came to a stop.

I raised my head to see that the two on the roof, with their swords ablaze, were now rushing towards the others on the ground. Mira was shielding Lady Alice with her body as the attackers closed in on them.

That was when I saw it, Lady Alice’s gemstone shifted color again, but it did not return to its neutral grey. Instead it began matching the color of the flames that now surrounded her. The light glowing from the crystal was a bright crimson red.

“Let me go Noel," Luke said.

I felt an unbearable amount of heat from my arm, as if I had a bag of burning coals wrapped around it. I released Luke immediately from my grasp as I watched his eyes turn a dark red. Luke took a single step forward before his body combusted and he became a fiery blur, leaving behind a smoky red trail as he went after the two remaining assailants.

As the pair were bringing their weapons down on Mira and Lady Alice, their blades were pulled back and warped by the flames that engulfed their swords. All of the fire was being funneled into Luke’s palms, the moment the flames were fully absorbed and extinguished from the swords, he lobbed a ball of fire between the two attackers.

 A giant blast knocked them far apart from the other. One of them landed on a flowerbed while the other slammed into the castle’s wall.

Luke had done the impossible, he had defeated all of the assailants by himself. 

We quickly ran to be by Mira’s and Lady Alice’s side. Lady Alice turned to Luke, gazing at his ash covered palms, she then turned her attention to the burning castle.

“Sir Luke, can you absorb the fire? Please save my brother,” Lady Alice pleaded while tears overflowed from her face.

Luke nodded, he stumbled slightly as he walked towards the burning corner of the castle.

He stretched his arms out, slowly pulling the flames towards him. Luke began to scream, getting down on one knee as he continued to bend the fire to his will. His body no longer had any of the characteristics of the flames from earlier to serve as a buffer, yet he did not relent.

It wasn’t until all of the fire disappeared, leaving only smoke, that Luke finally allowed himself to rest, falling to the ground face-down. I ran over to him, flipping him over. His breathing was labored but what I saw put me at ease, Luke had the dumbest grin on his face. He opened his eyes which had returned to their regular brown color.

“I was pretty badass right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, and it seems Chris isn’t the only one with powers.”

Luke weakly raised his hand up, curling it into a small fist. My friend was expecting a fistbump and I wasn’t going to make him wait for it. I bumped it, after all, got to show your bros that you appreciate them.

The sound of running metal boots caught our attention, ending our little victory. A group of knights dressed similarly to Sir Nathan appeared alongside Father Albert. They tried surrounding the three downed assailants, but that was when their leader jumped to her feet, quickly throwing up a wall of flame in between all of us and the reinforcements. 

Her companion, the one who landed on the flowerbed, rushed over to their other downed companion, lifting them and carrying them on their back as they ran away towards the exterior walls of the castle’s grounds.

The Holy Knights began chanting in unison as they summoned a small wave of water in hopes of quenching the flames. “Don’t let them get away,” one of the knights shouted.

Before turning to follow her companions, the leader turned towards Luke. “That was a pretty interesting move near the end, though, I think I’ll make some adjustments.” She raised the palm of her hand towards us. "Flador." She conjured a similar ball of flame just as Luke had done, except the colors of flame soon disappeared and were replaced with a cloudy grey. “Catch.” The assailant threw it like a baseball towards the Holy Knights.

The Holy Knights raised their shields, ready to intercept the magic being thrown at them. They were met with a thick cloud of smoke. The coughing and gagging of the Holy Knights gave the assailants enough time to run and jump over the wall.

“Damn, I should have trademarked that move,” Luke chuckled before closing his eyes and falling unconscious. 

After the smoke cleared, the Holy Knights approached us, a couple of them picked Luke up and carried him towards the opposite end of the castle. 

Father Albert, after checking to make sure Lady Alice and the rest of us were all right, asked for most of the knights to spread out and begin searching for the assailants. He sent most toward the wall where we had last seen them and then he sent another handful to look for Sir Nathan and Chris who were still inside the castle.

After the men and women currently under his command received their orders, they sped off in different directions, leaving only a couple of knights for our protection. Father Albert pulled me to the side to ask me what happened. Seeing as how Luke and Lady Alice were in no condition to talk, and Mira was busy consoling Lady Alice, the burden fell on me.

In the time it took to answer all of his questions, the knights that entered the previously burning section of the castle returned with some familiar faces in tow.

A knight helped a limping Chris walk out of the castle’s broken entrance, he had blood caked all over the cracks in his body where the stone had started to regress into his regular skin.

He glanced up at me and then at Lady Alice and Mira. His face was went grim as he turned his gaze away from us and averted his eyes to the ground. I knew what that reaction meant all too well, it was the same reaction as whenever he didn’t get back the test results he hoped for. His usually cheerful self was nowhere to be seen in his current state.

Lady Alice, having finally seen the return of the person she had sent into the burning building with the power of her crystal, composed herself in order to ask the question that was in all of our minds.

 “Chris, where is Liam?”

Chris remained silent, biting his lip with all of his might. The Holy Knights had similar crestfallen faces, they opted instead to show Lady Alice the answer to her question rather than explain with their words. Slowly, they all stepped aside as Sir Nathan somberly appeared at the entrance. In his arms was a young man with fiery red hair, his face covered in ash and burns. His breathing, extremely labored, almost to the point you could mistake any of his breaths as being his last.

Lady Alice erupted into a deafening cry, she clung tightly to Mira as she sobbed into her shoulder. Sir Nathan handed the boy over into the arms of one of his knights, waving Father Albert over. In a low tone he gave the priest a set of orders. “Go with them to the infirmary, make sure my sister doesn’t see him in this state.” Father Albert nodded, leading the knight carrying Liam towards the other side of the castle.

Lady Alice reached out to them. “Liam…”

Seeing his niece cry out her brother's name, Sir Nathan walked over to her. He got on one knee and wrapped his arms around Lady Alice.

“Everything is going to be alright, I promise.”

“Uncle…” Lady Alice returned the gesture. As quick as she was to embrace her uncle she just as quickly pulled away, staring intently at her now blood soaked hands.

It was then when we all noticed that Sir Nathan had a nasty gash on the back of his head. It wasn’t bleeding profusely, but it must have been at some point for most of his back had trails of blood staining his blue cloak.

“Apologies, as I was escaping with Liam, parts of the building had begun to collapse on us.” He turned to glance at Chris. “If it weren’t for Sir Chris taking most of the blow, I fear I wouldn’t be here.”

Chris chuckled, clutching his sides as he began to wheeze. “Maybe now you’ll start considering dropping the sir.”

Sir Nathan smiled. “As it's my savior who is requesting this of me, I shall truly consider it.” With his explanation done, Lady Alice once again hugged her uncle with all of her might. Sir Nathan sighed as he brought her under his chin.

Chris pulled away from the knight holding him up, choosing instead to lean on the castle wall as he slumped to the ground. “That’ll have to do for now, I suppose.”

Sir Nathan held his niece for a while longer until his knights persuaded him to go get patched up. While reluctant, he did eventually let go, choosing to bring Chris and I along with him. We carried Chris together as we were accompanied by two of his knights. He asked me for my first hand account of what occurred while he and Chris had been inside.

Our little exchange wrapped up as we reached the infirmary wing of the castle.

Greeting us as we entered was a chaotic scene on display, various nobles yelling their heads off as they were being treated for minor wounds and injuries. Most were just playing up their pain for their own self-satisfactory narratives.

“I tell you, it all happened in a flash, it was five giant balls of fire that came flying at me.”

“No, no. It was a dozen figures in cloaks wielding maces engulfed in flames, they were out for my blood.”

“You are all wrong I tell you, it was just a single man wielding a flame sword, I swear that he was after my life.”

It was pretty clear that most of these boasting nobles must have heard some details from the knights that had brought in Liam and Luke earlier, concocting their own rumors with their sparse knowledge of what had occurred.

I didn't find any of their chattering very interesting, I was more intrigued by the people who were treating their wounds. Men and women wearing white robes were going around using magic on the injured. An endless chanting of a certain spell echoed throughout the infirmary.

“Remeura.”

It was when one of the healers finished healing the loudest of the boasting nobles that they spotted Sir Nathan and rushed over to his side, pulling himself close to Sir Nathan's ear as they reported to him.

Sadly I wasn’t able to make out what he was saying. If I had to guess, he was giving him an update on Liam.

Sir Nathan nodded, his face lacking emotions as he pulled away from the healer. He asked the healer to cast Remeura on him, which the healer did, before he gestured at Chris to the healer, explaining how he was handing him over to be placed in the healer’s care.

After Chris was led away to a bed for rest and treatment, Sir Nathan pulled me out to the main hall with him. We walked far enough from the guards stationed outside so that we wouldn't be overheard.

“We’re going to report everything to the Duke, I’ll handle explaining all of the events that happened inside and prior to the explosion. I’ll have you explain everything that happened while I was away.”

“Why me?” It was a stupid question, I know that no one else would be able to retell the events in full detail. Even Sir Nathan and Father Albert, who I had given an explanation to, had only a rough gist of everything that happened with the three assailants.

 Despite understanding these circumstances, I was still dreading having to speak with the Duke.

Sir Nathan placed his arm on my shoulder, offering a warm smile. “It’ll be fine, you’ll be just fine.”

It wasn’t like I had a real choice in the matter, someone had to do it, and it was only by this terrible luck of mine that I had to be the one to do so.

Sir Nathan led me to the castle’s main reception hall, where Duke Uriel sat upon his throne with guards and a handful of servants standing close behind him. Next to him was his wife, who sat on what appeared to be an ottoman, as well as a young man in a red suit standing off to his left. Though the young man had a smile on his face, his eyes were anything but happy. He gave me an icy gaze from his blue eyes from the moment I stepped inside the hall.

“Duke Uriel, I have come to give you a report, alongside Sir Noel.”

“Out with it, I have a domain to run.”

Sir Nathan glanced at the young man and at the Duchess before clearing his throat. “I believe it would be prudent to speak in private.”

The young man cackled. “Nonesense, we are all family here.” He brought his hand to his chin, as if something had just popped into his mind. “Well... almost family.” His stare grew even colder towards me.

Sir Nathan coveted the right side of his chest with his arm, his gaze still focused on the Duke. “Sir Kenneth, with all due respect, this is a serious matter.”

“Of course it's a serious matter, the union between House Thornewell and House Wallace was almost thwarted, by that man and his compatriots,” Kenneth said as he pointed at me. The creepy dude then glanced at the Duchess with an evil smile. “And now even Sir Liam has fallen.”

The Duchess turned to Kenneth and then to her brother. “Liam? What does he mean brother?”

A pained look flashed across Sir Nathan’s face. “Liam is alive, however,” his voice strained. It was as if he was trying to keep the terrible bile known as the truth swallowed in his throat. But his duty to the kingdom, and by extension, to the Duke and Duchess had to be met. “Liam was heavily injured in the attack, he’s breathing but… we don’t know when he’ll wake.”

The Duchess began to cry, enough tears to rival the strongest of rivers overflowed from her eyes. The Duke raised his hand, a signal for the servants. A pair of older looking maids rushed over to the Duchess’ side, walking her out of the hall.

“Thats quite cruel of you Sir Nathan.” Kenneth’s provocation was met with Sir Nathan's silent resistance. Instead, Sir Nathan waited for the cruel young man to continue. “You said when, but you really should have said if. Don't want to give the poor Duchess any false expectations."

“That’s enough, I wish to speak with the Duke, alone.” Sir Nathan cast his gaze to all those currently in attendance. Some of the guards flinched, others took a step back, and most nodded, they knew to heed his words. The Duke sighed, waving everyone away.

All of the guards and remaining servants exited the hall. One guest however, stayed right where he was.

“Well go on then,” Kenneth said with a grin.

“You fall under the category of everyone, Kenneth.”

“Ouch, no more formalities? Such a shame.” Kenneth walked over to me, sizing me up. “What about this… otherworlder?”

“Sir Noel will give his account and then exit as well.”

Kenneth turned to the Duke, an undeniable smugness on his face. “What do you say, Duke Wallace?” The Duke gave a low growl but did not shoo him away.

“You may stay for this individual’s testimony, only his testimony. Understood?” Kenneth nodded. “Well, let us hear what you have to say, boy.”

I gave a quick explanation of what happened, giving as detailed descriptions of the assailants as I could give. The assailants kept themselves cloaked which made it difficult to give much information on them. I felt the key aspects such as the magic they used, the nature of the weapons they brandished, and the physical aspects of their leader was sufficient enough for a report worthy of the Duke's ears.

It was when I mentioned that Luke had single-handedly defeated the three assailants that I noticed Kenneth’s annoying smile waiver as I gave my account on the matter.

“I see,” the Duke said as he stroked his chin. “You and Sir Kenneth may see yourselves out now.”

I didn’t know if I had to bow, let alone if I could even stomach it. Luckily I didn’t have to as Sir Nathan gave a nod of dismissal. Kenneth followed close behind me as we exited the hall. As I passed the guards on the other side I saw Mira approaching from the direction of the infirmary. She had quite the tense face, her gaze sticking to the floor.

“Everything okay Mira?” My words managed to snap her out of her trance, she lifted her head as she gave me a slight nod.

“Yeah, I just finished escorting Lady Alice to the infirmary.” Her face said she wanted to say more, but she held off on speaking her mind. “I was allowed to see Chris and Luke there. Chris cracked some jokes, meanwhile Luke was sleeping like a log.”

“So, they’re gonna be alright?”

“Yup, they’ll be okay-”

I felt a certain someone brush right past me, Kenneth reached out for Mira’s hand. He brought the back of her hand mere inches away from his lips when Mira reflexively pulled her hand away, hard.

“Please don’t.”

Kenneth gave her a slight bow. “I’m sorry if I startled you, my Lady. It's just, I haven’t had the pleasure to introduce myself.”

Mira gave me a questioning look, as if she was asking me how she should react. It wouldn’t be a good idea to antagonize the guy, but I needed to set some boundaries. I marched over to Mira’s side, staring Kenneth down.

“Mirasol, this here is Sir Kenneth, Lady Alice’s fiance.”

I could have sworn I heard Kenneth click his teeth at me, but he didn’t let my little introduction phase him.

“So, your name is Mirasol? What a beautiful name you have, my Lady.”

I felt a soft tug of my shirt, Mira bent down slightly to whisper into my ear. “So, this guy is bad news or something?”

I didn’t whisper back, just gave her a slight nod.

“Well, Sir Kenneth, you’ll have to excuse us now, we have to go check on our friends.” As I turned to leave with Mira, Kenneth reached out, his hand gripped around my wrist, a monstrous amount of strength behind his rather small hand.

“I suppose I should go with you, afterall, I need to thank the man who saved my future brother-in-law.”

“No,” Mira chimed in. “Christian is still resting.”

A mischievous grin formed on Kenneth’s face. “Oh, so you have already checked in on them? In that case, why not join me for dinner?” I felt him trying to pull me away from Mira, his grip ever so slightly increasing over my wrist. “You must be famished after all.”

He was squeezing my hand to the point I thought a blood vessel might burst from the pressure. That was when the hall’s doors opened, Sir Nathan marched out and headed towards us.

“Sir Kenneth, the Duke wishes to speak with you.”

That was the second time Kenneth clicked his tongue, reluctantly, he released me from his grasp. “Another time perhaps, Lady Marisol.”

It wasn’t until Kenneth was on the other side of the set of doors that we managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Lady Mira, Sir Noel, be wary of that young man, he and his family are nothing but trouble.” Mira and I nodded at Sir Nathan's warning, he certainly didn’t need to tell us twice.

After catching Sir Nathan up on the status of the others, he proposed for Mira and I to rest in Lady Alice's waiting room, believing that leaving her by her brother’s side was the best for the moment.

He led the both of us to the room, from outside the hall we could hear voices chatting away in the room. Inside was Zoe, one of Lady Alice’s maids and the girl who visited us in the dungeon, as well as a young girl who looked like a smaller version of Lady Alice.

“Zoe, we have guests," the young girl squeaked.

“Hmm? Oh, it's those guys,” Zoe pouted, while Sir Nathan became visibly exasperated at the young maid’s words. “Lady Zoe, please mind your manners in front of the heroes.”

“Why? They don’t seem to mind,” she said as she tilted her head and brought her palm to her cheek.

“Zoe. I do not wish to report your rudeness to Alice.”

Zoe straightened herself up, placing her hand over her heart and bowed deeply. “Apologies.”

The young girl hopped off her rather fancy chair, choosing to hide behind Zoe’s skirt.

“Uncle, Zoe, who are they?”

Sir Nathan approached the small girl, getting down on one knee and removing his gauntlet, giving her a gentle headpat. “These two are friends of Alice, they are here because they wish to play with you. Is that okay?”

The young girl beamed happily at her uncle, a dazzling smile on her face. She peeked around her uncle’s head, her bubbly eyes on Mira and me. “You really want to play with me?”

Her adorableness was almost too much to bear. Mira was the first to crack, she rushed over, squatting down so that she was at the same height as the young girl.

“Of course, I’d love to play with you Miss…”

The young girl giggled at Mira’s loss for words. “My name is Katherine, but Mom, Liam, and Alice call me Kat.”

I felt a ping of guilt at the mention of Liam, there wasn’t anything we could do besides wishing him a speedy recovery. I believe Mira was feeling the same way, yet, she didn’t let it show on her face.

“That’s a pretty name, can I also call you Kat?”

“Would you really? I would love that.” Kat shifted her gaze, giving her uncle a massive side-eye. “Uncle refuses to call me Kat.”

Her uncle chuckled. “Katherine, as long as I’m a knight, I must refer to you and the other nobles with respect."

Kat pouted even more. “But you don’t always call daddy the Duke or mommy the Duchess.”

Sir Nathan was starting to sweat, sweating heavier than when he had rushed into the burning castle. 

I didn’t have any younger sisters just older ones, though if I ever did, this made for an amazing example of how terrifying they would be to deal with, especially when it came to matters of logic and debate.

“Sweetie, it's different with them, your father is my brother-in-law and your mother is my dear sister.”

Kat reached a new level with her poutiness, her cheeks ready to burst from blush and air. “And I’m your dear niece.”

It appeared there was no way to win with words, so Sir Nathan chose to use force. “You are absolutely right, my dear Katherine. You are one of the most precious nieces I have.” He picked up the small Kat, swinging her playfully around in his arms before bringing her in for a hug.

Kat giggled happily, her little feet kicking and bouncing off her uncle’s armor. “Ha ha ha, uncle, ha ha, put me down, I still need to finish my introductions with Alice’s friends.”

“Okay, okay.” Sir Nathan spun her one last time before putting her down and giving her a small kiss on the top of her head. “I have to go now, but I’ll check in on you later. Would that be okay?”

Kat nodded enthusiastically, the widest of smiles on her face. Mira waved goodbye alongside Kat as Sir Nathan left the room. It was only after he left that Kat regressed into her shy self. She nervously tapped her shoes together, hiding her hands behind her back.

“Is something the matter, Kat?” Mira used a very soft tone of voice when she spoke to young girl, trying her best to have Kat warm up to her again.

“It's a bit embarrassing but…”

“Yes?”

“I forgot to ask you two for your names.” 

“Was that all? Hey Noel, get over here.” It seemed I was too slow for Mira’s liking for she soon came over, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me in front of Kat. “My name is Mira, and this here is Noel.”

“Mira, Noel.” Kat stopped her tapping and brought one of her hands to her chin. “Those are rather uncommon names.”

“What?” Kat’s response must have come as a shock to Mira. “Those are perfectly normal names, though mine is more of a nickname, but the point still stands.” I had to stifle my laughter. “What are you laughing at? You should be backing me up.”

I waved Mira’s complaints off, instead choosing to offer my hand to Kat. “Well, like my good friend Mira said, I’m Noel. Nice to meet you Kat.”

Kat turned toward Zoe who had been watching our whole conversation from the corner of the room. She just offered Kat a shrug. 

Taking a moment for herself to think, eventually Kat nodded and took my hand and shaked.

“No fair, I was supposed to become friends with Kat’s first,” Mira said.

Kat blushed. “If you want, you could be my best friend,” Kat squeaked out. Her cute request once again broke Mira.

“Can I really?”

Kat nodded. Mira sprang like a wild cat, pouncing towards Kat as she wrapped her up in a hug. “Aren’t you the cutest thing?”

“Hold on Mira, I’m still a lady even if we are friends.” Kat protested but it was hard to take her seriously since she was giggling even louder than when Sir Nathan picked her up.

Zoe bowed at me. “Please wait here with Lady Kat as I go prepare some tea and snacks.”

“Need any help?,” I offered.

“Thank you Sir Noel, but I’ll be fine. Please wait here.

“Understood.”

“Wait, you’re getting tea and snacks?” Kat stopped her giggling in order to confirm what she heard. Zoe nodded. Kat turned to both Mira and I. “So can we play pretend tea party?”

Zoe laughed under her breath. “Lady Kat, it isn’t playing pretend if you’re actually having tea.”

Kat pouted more, hiding herself in Mira’s shoulder.

“I- I know that. Just wanted to say it.”

“Of course my Lady, pardon me then.”

Zoe later arrived with the tea and snacks as we all had our real, pretend, tea party. Kat even managed to drag Zoe into playing with us. We eloquently drank and munched on tea and cookies until it was time to turn in for the night.