Epilogue

Seven months later

A knock after another banged against Betta's head, plucking her out of her sleep.

It was happening again.

She buried her head under the pillow, trying to muffle the sounds. They stopped after a while. Then the door to her room swung open with a bang against the wall.

"Rise and shine! Time to do some training." Rasbora barged in her room like a landslide. She must've picked the lock. Again. "Are ya gonna waste such a beautiful day lazying in bed, miss Prime Paladin, twice the savior of the world?"

"Savior of my ass," she mumbled with her head sunk in bed.

"Come on. Ya promised, remember?" She began nudging Betta's shoulder.

When had she grown so daring as to prod Betta of all people?

Whatever. The buzzer wouldn't leave until she got through the stupid training session, so the only thing to do was throw the pillow away, open her eyes…

And realize that no light was coming in through the window—only from the lamp Rasbora had brought.

"It's still fucking night, you effort addict!"

"Aye. By the time we get to the training grounds the first rays will be arriving, so we ain't wasting a single minute of the day."

"Ugh. Why did I ever agree to your dumb routine?" She said while dragging her feet off the bed. Rasbora checked the drawers and handed her a change of clothes, not even asking before rummaging through her things.

Of course, if Betta really wanted to stop Rasbora from running amok and pushing her around, she'd just end the whole charade by imposing herself once.

Yet she didn't—something in the young girl's growing boldness just spoke to her the right way.

ᗢ᠃ ⚘ ˚ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠃⚜

Slick with sweat and sticky like she'd bathed in saltwater, Betta finally managed to tire Rasbora enough to drop on the ground and give a shaky thumbs up, the sign for "Ah'm done for today, thank ya lots."

"Don't forget to stretch," Betta said as she pulled one arm across her chest, holding it in place for a while. "Being able to heal your own muscle cramps isn't an excuse to develop shitty habits."

"Aye, just… give a minute… or five."

She didn't stay to ensure Rasbora did her stretches. Instead, Betta went straight to the public baths for a quick wash, then before her hair had even dried she was already checking on Amanita at the stables.

Some people might have argued that visiting a herd of animals right after a shower defeated the purpose; those wimps were also the type to think making your bed was pointless since you'd undo it that same night.

Betta needed to see Amanita every morning like she needed to breathe. The bulky hairball was rolling on the mud, surrounded by a few of her friends and relatives. When she stood, Amanita towered over all of them as the biggest of the group.

Not wanting to interrupt their interactions, Betta just watched from afar while resting her body against the fence, which reached all the way to her neck.

"Hi," Rasbora said, appearing from behind. "I knew I'd find ya here."

"Smart of you to look for fish in the water."

"Hehe, thanks."

"That wasn't a… whatever." She turned her head back to the buffalos.

"Have ya heard the news? The new Prudence and Justice have been found, and will arrive in a week or two."

"Yeah, a lot of people are talking about it on the streets. I suspect the Council will summon us later today."

"Ya know, it turns out they're both from the same village and got their powers the same day. Don't ya think that's quite the coincidence?"

"Sounds like a bad joke to me. Though it also saves the Order some work, which is good I suppose."

"That's all? Nothing else to say? Not gonna wonder about Corydorin? Maybe this has to do with the ritual he did with Oscar."

"Pointless speculation." She said as she straightened and walked away from the fence.

"Leaving already? Wouldn't ya wanna play with your buffalo friends?"

Betta mumbled a 'later' as she paced away from the stables and away from the city. A set of steps trailed behind her as Rasbora followed.

"Ya going to see Jackie? Can ah come?"

"You'd follow me anyway. Suit yourself."

A few Knights saluted as they crossed the bridge. The river shone a bright orange under the morning sun. It gave Betta a headache. Yet somehow Rasbora stared directly at it while they walked, her mouth hanging like a loose hinge.

At the end of the bridge, another group of Knights was doing typical border control, checking in with the merchants and travelers requesting entry into the capital. They looked busier than last year. People travelled more nowadays.

Leaving the bridge and civilization behind, they walked through the nearby forest for a few minutes, until they got to a more humble river than the one surrounding the Capital. A stream of flowing water that wouldn't reach past Betta's ankles.

They followed it for a short while until they found Jackie.

Or at least what would one day become Jackie.

"Aww, still not hatching."

"For the hundredth time, it's still far too soon." At least according to what they'd been told.

"But ah wanna see Jackie already. Ah'm sure he or she will be an adorable little pumpkin."

"That little pumpkin is bigger than your head and it hasn't even been born yet. It'll probably become taller than you in less than a month."

"So how long do ya think it'll take him or her to outgrow ya? A day? Maybe two?"

Betta answered by cracking her knuckles.

"Oh oh." Rasbora bolted away like a chased deer but Betta didn't feel like chasing her around this time, so she settled for just the startle and instead remained standing next to the egg.

You're going to cause quite an uproar once you hatch and I start showing you around.

Many will fear you. Some will try to hurt you.

But I won't allow anyone to succeed.

And I won't allow you to hurt anyone either.

I can promise you that much.