"… again, We must stress that this is a state secret, and that you are not to speak of it to anyone but those present here," the king said as he finished explaining about Dark Magic, of Maria having it, of the existence of her Dark Familiar, and that as far as they could confirm she wasn't a spy from another country or the paledrake reborn, although that last was always tentative until the paledrake was actually reborn again. "Do you all understand?"

"Yes, your majesty," the knights chorused, Maria among them. They were composed of the four she'd journeyed with, however briefly, and five of the Abyss Watchers.

"Good," the king nodded. "If you have further questions on the matter, you may inquire of them to Our knight. We will be expecting your full reports within the week." There was a beat. "Good job, all of you. And We am pleased to hear more of the Abyss Watchers were able to return."

"It was thanks to Dame Campbell, your majesty," one of the Abyss Watchers, wielding a reproduction of the sword the king's mythical namesake the Abyss Walker, said. "She offered to heal the damage of their bodies, which assisted in their revival."

"Old Light Magic trick," another Abyss Watcher, a much older man nine feet tall with a mace and a comically small (for him) buckler, said. "Usually we can't do it because Light Magic wielders stay away from battlefields. Praise the sun she was there."

Maria merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"Er… about those things she used…" Sir Cett said.

"You may discuss those with her too," the king said. "As I understand it, she had plans to sell them to the covenants and the aristocracy…?"

"Yes, my liege," Maria confirmed. "Establishing the production for the Royal Guard took priority, but we believe that in a few months we will be able to begin introduction and production of the lesser product for the use of others, short of your majesty ordering that we may not."

"I'm not going to help you or favor you, you realize that, right?" the king said.

Maria blinked at him in confusion. "Of course, your highness…? Why would you?"

For some reason, the king smiled. "Right… so long as we're clear. You are all dismissed."

All the knights bowed, stepping back before turning to leave the room.

Outside, of the room, everyone rounded on Maria. "We're just supposed to trust you?" Sir Elstrom said suspiciously.

"No, that's what getting to know each other is for," Maria said simply. "I'm at my estate most days of the month, barring appointments and visits to suppliers of alchemical components. Please notify me at least an hour in advance of your visit, if possible."

"I'll pass," Sir Elstrom said warily, keeping his distance. "It's still too convenient. You just happened to have the exact weapon that could bring that thing down?"

"I suspect my presence was called because his highness suspected that would be the case," Maria said. "It's the obvious thing to conclude, if you are aware of the relevant details, which his highness does."

"Hey, don't be like that," Sir Olvar said. "She had our backs, she was right there with us, and I didn't see you being willing to risk falling to your death to stop that thing."

"I still don't trust it," one of the Abyss Watchers who'd introduced herself as Dame Mercury said, as she glared up at Maria, fingering her enormous halberd. "That thing reeks of the abyss!"

"I would not know, I have never been," Maria said patiently. "Regardless, those who have examined it in the ministry have not declared me an abyss risk. Granted, it is the Ministry and full of the mad…"

There was a surprising round of chuckles at that.

"Those things…" Sir Cett began.

"Please visit my estate, we will commission the order for you after you have been given a more detailed demonstration," Maria said. "And for the sake of reference, they are known as 'gehrmans'. Good day to you all."

Bowing to them, Maria turned and left the castle to return home. Her estate had already been told to send the carriage.

She slept on the carriage back. Most of the night had been full of recovering the bodies of those fallen to the Dark Familiar and trying to find its source. That last had only been partly successful. The man at the cave they had found beneath the dragon had died in the ensuing battle against it, but on examining his body, Maria had found it smoking with Dark Magic, lean and emaciated. People at the nearby village had identified him as a local farmer, a man in his prime, and had been shocked at his state. On evidence, he was likely another unwilling victim and experiment of the Dark Magic wielder who called herself Sarah.

It was night by the time she got back to her estate, and the windows of the manor glowed with light. She winced slightly at that, wondering what this week's candle bill looked like. Maybe she should inquire about candles from Morpork, see if Keith would be willing to cut her some sort of deal with their chandlers…? No, bad lady, no undercutting your own chandlers like that. Keep the souls in the economy. She and the other knights had been rewarded by the crown with purses of souls– well, metaphorical purses, it would be sent to their banks– but given expenses, Maria could never have enough souls. There were the needs of her wards, both young and old, the materials for Nightflowers– technically that came from Workshop funds, but still– paying for the staff, maintenance of the infrastructure such as roads in her lands– another reason to hate the Dieke woman, who had left the roads in a terrible state– funding for setting up saltpeter farms…

Maria frowned as she heard the buzz of a crowd as she got closer to the manor. What in the world…?

The carriage stopped, and without the horses' hoofbeats and the wheels, she definitely heard a crowd. Confused, she opened the door.

There were cheers and cries of 'Mama' (even though she was no one's mother) as the children crowded near the front of the carriage burst into applause. Behind them stood her older wards, wearing the dark, simple wraparound Ashina garments, roomy pleated trousers that looked almost like skirts, or sparse chest wrappings and loose baggy shorts of thin material the contrasted sharply with dark Gerudo skin, either applauding with the children, bowing or both. Behind them stood the manor's servants, the maids and cooks and the caretakers of the children and Ghirardeli, who all bowed and curtsied to her. Standing near the door, waiting for her, were Rafael, her mother, and Miss Shelley, the former of whom had the waning patience look of a man waiting for children to get something out of their system. Her mother looked relieved, and Maria hoped she hadn't strained her Endurance.

The children waited for her to step down before she was swarmed, her coat being pressed on her from all sides as the children crowded close, hugging her waist before quickly moving aside to let someone behind them get at her. Maria tried not to fall, trying to hear what they were saying, nearly stumbling when something– Shio's tail– briefly wrapped around her leg as the girl hugged her. Fortunately, most only did it twice, and her older wards didn't seem inclined to such a physical show of emotion. Instead, they all bowed and said phrases in Ashinago and Gerudosa she recognized as meaning 'welcome home'.

"I'm home," she reciprocated in the same languages, or at least tried. From the indulgent smiles of the dark-skinned women, she suspected she called herself either a verb or an inanimate object in Gerudosa.

Then the children were making way, and her mother was there hugging her, Rafael close behind. Maria let herself sink into her mother's embrace with a tired sigh. Suddenly she felt like a child again, unburdened by the power of magic, her mother telling her she did well…

Not that she needed to hear her mother say that, of course. Maria was a grown woman, not a child. Mother didn't even know what she'd done, and the details would only worry her.

"Are you hurt?" her mother asked worriedly.

Maria shook her head. The wounds she's sustained had been patched up the previous day. "I am well, mother," she said.

Her mother sighed. "I'm glad, then," her mother said. "Whatever you did… did it go well?"

Maria considered her answer. "I did my duty as a knight and people are safer than they were before," she said ambiguously. No need to trouble her mother about the dead Abyss Watchers, or those who'd been injured when the Dark Familiar had exited the cave to seek the skies, who'd been attacked by the wild animals driven out of the forest by the sensation of Dark Magic.

Her mother looked intently at her, as if she didn't really understand. "And are you proud of what you've done?" her mother said.

Unconsciously, Maria straightened her back. "Yes, mother," she said. Despite those she couldn't save, despite the deaths… she had saved, not slain.

Her mother nodded. "Then I'm proud of you, Maria," her mother said.

Maria didn't know what she was doing hugging her mother so tightly and abruptly, but it was very embarrassing once she realized. She wsn't a child, after all…

Despite the late hour, the kitchen rushed to make dinner for her. Maria wasn't all that hungry, even if she'd missed lunch, but she sat down to dinner anyway, her mother, Rafael and Miss Shelley sitting with her to keep her company. For some reason, even though they'd all already eaten, everyone else seemed to be lingering in and around the dining hall. The children had rushed upstairs, but rather than get ready to go to sleep, as it was already past their bed time, they had come back with sheets of schoolwork, showing her what they'd done the past few days.

Maria really should have chided them for staying up so late, but… well, the next day was Sar and they had no school. They could afford to sleep in and do their chores a little later, since it was the middle of the planting season and only maintenance was required of their fields. And her older wards were grown women. If they wanted to stay up late (and most did so anyway, doing grown women things with other grown women), they could. So she quickly finished the food and enjoyed the warm cup of tea Rafael made, stifling her moan of earthly pleasure at its taste after three days of going without, and then patiently sat and listened and nodded as the children showed her the results of their studies, finding something to sincerely praise in what they showed her (which wasn't hard, as they were clearly putting great effort into their studies) and telling them that they had no need to prove themselves to her.

Little Shana stepped forward and reported that she had been teaching Katarina still, and that she and her student were 'ready to present the fruits of their labors at her convenience'. Maria had nodded seriously and told her they would merely resume the sequence of tests from where they left off, so that Katarina would not need to demonstrate her abilities from three different lessons. Shana had nodded back, but Maria got the feeling she would be met with an impressive display of manners soon. The younger Light Magic wielder took her duties as Katarina's etiquette instructor very seriously, and Katarina for her part took the instruction with equal seriousness.

Really, imagine what the duke's daughter could have accomplished if she'd been instructed instead of enabled and indulged. Maria had yet to find any fault in her squire's work ethic, only in her comprehension, and as she'd found, those could be accounted for.

Then, as the round of presentations finished, with occasional congratulatory interjections from mother, Rafael and, strangely, Miss Shelley, she was finally able to chivy the children to go up and get ready for sleep, promising them a story. They… well, not rushed, since they were tired now, but there was a definite upward movement, and as she rose to go upstairs herself to quickly wash from her journey and get changed, her older wards finally decided to retire as well, each bowing to her and wishing her good night as Sadako stood at her side. Very dutiful, her maid. Maria was glad for the familiarity.

She accepted her older wards greetings, trying to note their state of mind. Many of the women and young women, who were likely former nobles in their homelands, wore serene masks as if at court, and so Maria had to take note of minor details. None seemed to have sunken or bloodshot eyes, none where hidings their hands and wrists, none swayed with the tiredness of those haunted by nightmare and barred from the domains of Quella… The more expressive of them, who from their skills and callused hands had been villagers, had been learning to meet her gaze, even as they bashfully looked down after meeting her eyes, glancing at her indirectly from then on. There were those who spoke quietly, and some still spoke awkwardly, but none looked on the verge of tears or in distress… some were brushing fingers in a way that filled Maria with a sense of nostalgia and a desire to ravish Rafael. She could not approve, not being privy to details, but… well, she could hope it was a sign of improvement. She would have to speak to Chiharu about it.

After a quick bath– Sadako's firm, helpful hands were much appreciated– she had chosen to wear the sleepwear that Katarina had gifted her that made her appear a vegetable. Appearing naked to the children would be improper, after all, and possibly traumatizing. She had never seen an indication of it, but… well, they wouldn't speak of it, would they. Better to leave lost Pthumeria buried deep, and its horrors with it. This was one labyrinth that should be forgotten.

To her surprise, Rafael joined her in the children's room, as did one of the few men among her older wards, a pretty young man– practically still a boy– with bright pink hair, wide girlish eyes and nigh-androgynously slim form named Stolfo. Maria didn't know for sure what had been done to the young man, only that it had left him slightly addled, with a childishness and manic energy that surpassed even Katarina's. She had dark suspicions about what had been done, but while she had healed him with her light magic, as had other in the Medicinal Magic department, there were some scar even Light Magic couldn't heal. Nowadays, he was full of enthusiasm and cheer, and no one would have guessed he held a fear of other men if they didn't note how he made sure to keep Maria between himself and Rafael. Didn't even seem to be something he thought about, he just did it as if by instinct. Still, he seemed to have no fears and reservations of the boys among the children as he sat there and let the girls braid his hair, while Maria waited for the children to get comfortable and Rafael and the caretakers turned down the lights to induce sleepiness.

And so, on her first night back to her home, Maria Campbell, a Knight of Sorcier, sat in vegetable sleepwear and told the story of Rampion the Sun-child. She told it all the way through to the end, and then she helped pick up the sleeping children and tuck them into bed, those who could be disturbed. She'd long since made sure to put good, fluffy carpets in the children's dormitory for just this sort of occasion. Several children where using Shio's tail as a pillow.

Finally, tired herself, she grabbed an unattended pillow and curled up on the floor, letting herself fall into the dark behind her eyes…

She was home.

A/N: So, my Pat-reon is up now at P.A.T.R.E.O.N.C.O.M -/-SCM2814. If you want to support this fic, that would be great, but no pressure. But if you do, you'll also get advanced access to my new original fiction series about a wizard on the frontier, her dungeon, and the idiots around her...