Before Jeb set out again on his explorations, he and DG held each other all night, as they always did on their last night together. DG invariably found these nights very hard. She wanted to whisper every last secret in his ear, some of which words had not yet been invented for. She wanted to touch his skin, his hair, his nails – breathe him in, taste him, commit the essence of his soul to memory in case he never came back. They'd talked about his travelling many, many times over the three years they had been married, and no more explanations or justifications were needed. She didn't begrudge him his wanderlust – he had spent nearly all his life moving between bases, hiding and fighting, and consequently it seemed he couldn't cope with the peace that currently reigned. Besides, DG knew what it was like to feel you didn't fit into what seemed to others to be an idyllic life. But none of that made the leaving any easier.

Jeb wanted DG to come with him, and she had done so on occasion – or some of the way at least, before returning back alone. She suffered from homesickness. It wasn't that she didn't like to travel. It was just that the voyages he went on – they could take years, and once begun there was no turning back. And there was fighting too, not that, theoretically, that would be a problem either. After all, DG was more than capable of taking care of herself, but she had fought so hard in order to get her homeland back, not because she enjoyed it but because she wanted it more than anything in the worlds. He just hoped, as he did every time, that God would grant him a fair wind to bring him back home safely. He always said he would write, or at least stay in touch some way, but after it became apparent that this was a chore, DG told him to stop. There was no point in exchanging loving messages and news if the news was of no interest and the loving messages were exchanged purely out of duty. Now he felt no guilt about this – both of them knew that if things were the other way around, DG would be the same.

By the time the suns had risen fully over the horizon, Jeb's luggage was loaded into the balloon. Blankets, gas, food and water for a month, money, clothes, repair kit, weapons and ammunition, just in case. Glitch, DG, Az, Cain, Ahamo and the Queen stood at the front of the palace to see him off. The wind would carry him West, and then what? Who knew? Despite the opulence of the country, not all the continents had been explored. DG shielded her eyes and scanned the land and sky for weather clues. There were a few clouds, but they were the fair weather kind – light and fluffy. The suns were warm, evaporating the mist that hung over Finaqua, its reeds, its lakes and its grassy banks. Jeb fired up the balloon and they waited as it filled.

"Take care, Son," Cain told him, before adding sternly, "You'd better come back or there'll be trouble." His eyes were dry but tender. DG recognised the expression– he was drinking in the sight of his only child before he left, and wondering how long the good luck of his safe returns could last.

"I will."

Jeb nodded at Glitch – look after her. Glitch touched his fingers to his temple – I will. Then Jeb turned to DG and took her hands. "Hold the fort," he told her - something he said every time he travelled. She pressed an index finger to her chest, and held it out vertically towards him - have a heart. He replied by repeating the action – I gave it to you. Then, without further ado he climbed into the basket and the balloon began to rise skywards.

Cain always preferred to be left alone immediately after his son had gone. He turned and made his way towards the peaceful solitude of the lake and its surroundings. Ahamo gave DG's hand a squeeze. "I've been flying most of my life," he reassured her. "These are perfect conditions."

"Try not to worry, my darling," the Queen told her, drawing her forward into a hug. With that they went inside.

DG and Glitch watched the balloon until they could see it no more. "I feel sick," DG muttered, swallowing it down. She stood, bereft, beside Glitch. "He'll be fine," he said. Then again, "He'll be fine. He'll be fine. He'll be fine."

It wasn't the first time DG was glad of the glitching.