We got up early in the morning. I waved goodbye to Brom, and we were about to leave. Before we got out the door, Meg came out with a satchel. "Wait, Zihark…" she said.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"I can't let you and your lady friend go to Melior without taking some of momma's famous buns," she said.

"Well, thank you, Meg," I said. I said goodbye to her as well.

Desdemona turned to me and said, "I know why it must have been hard for you to resist her."

"She's a sweetheart, isn't she?" I asked.

"Yeah," Desdemona said. "I suppose it's a testament to your love for me that you didn't fall for her. Unless you're really shallow or something."

"Shallow?" I asked, "Me?" I started laughing. "You can't be Desdemona. Who are you?"

"I… I… don't know!" she said, pretending to panic. "Help!"

Nephenee gave us a weird look from her stoop. "Don't worry about it," I said, "It's all in good fun."

"Whatever you say," she said. It was clear she wasn't convinced. I was a little bit embarrassed. But no more so than by our stint in Gallia. Even the most progressive members of the community would be a little bit confused by our relationship, because the non-sexual things we did together were a little… unusual.

We were walking to Melior, and it was taking quite a while to get there. Luckily, I was able to run into Mist—my former commander's sister. "Zihark!" she said. "We haven't seen you in a while."

"No, of course not," I said. "This is Desdemona, my girlfriend."

"We'd all be happy to meet you," Mist said, "Except maybe Shinon, but he's an ass so he doesn't count."

"I'm sorry, but we're kind of on a mission right now," Desdemona responded. "I don't think we could really stand to be entrapped in another large group for the night."

"Where are you headed, anyway?" Mist asked.

"Melior," I answered.

"On foot?" she asked. "Well, I suppose that the laguz can run easily, but how are you faring, Zihark?"

"I'm doing fine," I said.

"Are you sure? We'd be happy to lend you Crème… or Topaz…" Mist said.

"What about Coconut?" I asked.

"I'm surprised you remembered that," Mist laughed, "But then again, why would someone like you forget? Oscar… is no longer with us."

"Oh, that's terrible!" I said.

"No, it's only a little sad. The Crimean knights needed him, after all. My husband says that it was rude to abandon him, but that it was worth it to keep Kieran from getting promoted," she said.

"Oh," I said, "See, when you said, 'no longer with us,' I thought you meant…"

"Oh, yeah," Mist responded, "I suppose that does make sense. So, what do you say? Want to borrow a horse?"

"I couldn't take one of the horses you're so attached to," I said.

"Well, then take one of the reserve horses. We have a really sturdy one that Rhys used to use. But he discovered that mercenary work was too dangerous," Mist said.

"Oh, my…" I said.

"So he started teaching in Melior!" Mist responded. I began to think she was misleading me on purpose. "If you go there, you might even be able to reunite them."

"Alright, Mist," I said, "Set me up." I asked Desdemona if she wanted to transform.

"I can't," she said.

"Oh, that's right," I said. "Will you let Desdemona have one of the reserve horses as well?"

"We might let her have this one," Mist said, "It's Gatrie's reserve horse. It should support her weight."

"Thank you," she said. "I know I'm a huge burden."

"No," I said, "You're not."

But soon enough, we were headed for Melior, and it didn't take very long at all. We ended up in the tourism district. "Now," I said, "Let's go look for an inn."

Of course, finding a specific inn in a tourism district was only slightly easier than finding a specific blade of grass in a haystack—like the needle, it's extremely hard to find, but it's not even something you're likely to know when you see.

I asked Desdemona if she was willing to split up with me. She seemed nervous at first. "Are you afraid that people will persecute you if you're not escorted?"

"A little…" she said.

"Well, I'll find a trustworthy escort for you, then," I responded. I looked around, for someone that I knew. I saw Makalov wandering the street—far too irresponsible. I noticed Devdan (who for some reason, known only to himself, and maybe Largo, has been calling himself Danved recently) purchasing some flowers—too weird; he'd probably make things worse without trying to.

"Sugarplum," I heard a familiar voice say, "You shouldn't be making a scene like this. You'll only get in trouble."

"Trouble? Who wants tr-trouble…? I only want wine," he said.

"That's enough wine for you," she said, "Come, let's go home." She might have been the most responsible person I knew.

"Astrid," I said, "Would you be willing to escort my girlfriend?"

"Um… well, I would, but why can't you do it?" she asked.

"We're looking for a specific inn, and I decided it would go faster if we split up," I said.

"Well, I think I can help you," she said. "Which inn are you looking for? Calill's?"

"How did you know that?" Desdemona asked.

"Well, you know, none of the other inns are owned by veterans we know personally," Astrid said. "Here, I'll lead you to it."

Why didn't I think of that?

Desdemona turned to me and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," I said, "I was just not thinking this through very well."

"Hey, stupid people do that way more often than smart people. But smart people notice," Desdemona said.

"You still think I'm smart?" I asked.

"Of course," she said, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Will you two come?" Astrid said. We followed her to the door of the inn. "Shall I hold open the door for the lady, or would you prefer to do that yourself?"

"Um… we don't need any more help, thank you," I said.

"Alright then," Astrid said, walking away.

"So, if this is all accurate, our daughter is behind this door," I said.

"Yes," Desdemona said. We hesitated a few moments before finally opening the door.