The journey to their new home began the following morning. Sabina never anticipated leaving her home, but she said goodbye to her mother, who would go into hiding, which was not thoroughly explained to Sabina. She collected all of her most personal items and left with her brother and Rikard. She never even got to say goodbye to Milos.
The trip to the unknown destination took several hours, even on horse. They traveled far into the mountains, and Sabina did not know when or where they would eventually, hopefully, soon arrive.
The sun was beginning its descent when the trio passed the end of several small mountains, they turned the corner and saw a small castle perched uptown a tall hill. Sabina's jaw dropped. Despite its size, it was a sight, and Sabina hoped sorely to live in it.
"We are here", said Volkard with a smile. "We are finally home."
Despite her skeptical mood, she was excited, but remained calm.
As they neared the castle, Sabina noticed archers perched at the top, thoroughly examining the guests. They seemed to recognize Sabina's friends, because they did not pelt them with a cloud of arrows.
They dismounted the horses and entered the building. The archway through which they crossed under was so high, that not even Volkard would be able to reach the peak of the entranceway if he stood on a horse. Or if he stood on a horse that was standing on another horse.
The castle was even more elegant on the inside than it was on the outside, and it seemed impossibly large, considering how short it was before they entered. However, the environment seemed a little strange.
Everyone inside the castle was dressed in a cloak, a hood, shawls draped around their necks, or anything that seemed to give them a more secretive look. It was like they all had a reason to hide something. They all reacted in a similar way to seeing Sabina, however.
They stopped walking and looked at her. All eyes followed her every first step into the fortress. She was looked over, as if being analyzed, judging her. Some of them smiled. Some stood in shock. Many seemed pleased, which made Sabina incredibly suspicious. Even more so when she noticed a few of these mysterious people shaking their heads.
One woman ran up to her and grabbed her hand and shook it violently.
"Ja," she said with excitement. "We knew, you are finally here! We have been waiting. I cannot wait for-"
"Bitte" Volkard jumped in, guiding the woman away from Sabina. "She needs her rest. Please, leave her be. We shall all meet her later." Volkard forced a very awkward grin.
"What is this about?" Sabina uttered, still started by the sudden greeting.
"Oh, nothing. Father was just... Popular, and we have been waiting for the whole family to be here."
Sabina thought that Volkard's words made no sense, but went along with it.
"We will have a dinner to celebrate", Rikard said. "You must prepare. And you must change, you will become one of us, you cannot dress like this" as he gestured to Sabina's young girl's attire.
"How dare-"
"Ooookay!" Volkard raised his voice. "Only a few hours till dinner, and then, you shall meet everyone."
Rikard scurried out of the room that they had eventually reached, and Volkard turned to a chest at the foot of a bed.
"Okay", he said. "You will soon be one of us. You will dress as one of us, to confirm your identity with, well, us."
Sabina chewed at her nails.
"What if this was a bad decision?" She felt anxious about the entire situation. Everything about the new place was very... Strange.
"I know it seems weird, but everything will make sense with time", said Volkard. "Please, just trust me. Trust father. "
He handed her the pile of folded clothes. Sabina looked to the hammock above her bed, determined that no one was occupying it, and took the clothes from her brothers arms.
"If you're wrong about this", she took her hair out of the long, blonde pigtails. "I will be so angry with you. I will never forgive you to love you again. And I mean it this time. Ja."
Volkard smiled. "I'll be back in a while."
Sabina unfolded the clothes on what she assumed to be her new bed, and examined the rugged, hooded coat that she was about to put on.