It took us a few more days to make our way to Rocky Cliffs even after finding Lachlan's horse which had not wandered too far away at all. Cedric still had a pronounced limp and Lachlan a headache, but we set a leisurely pace, each of us taking a turn to ride, as both men thought there was probably not another sorcerer looking for me. A few times, we did leave the road as men marched past. Many were tied together, but it was the first time that stuck with me.

"Why is that?" We peered through tree branches.

"They were conscripted. Not all men want to fight."

"Is that what happened to you?" I was frightened for Cedric and Lachlan.

Cedric shrugged. "Similar." He must have heard me take a deep breath because I felt his arm around me. "I'm here now." That was little comfort. The men looked like nothing more than slaves. I could understand some of Roland's hatred for the king in that moment, and that made me think of Roland, and wonder what he would have done.

Rocky Cliffs, from what I could see, was about the same size as the city outside the palace. The smells were different and the air felt heavy, but Lachlan said that was the sea. Asking if we would see the sea was answered in a shake of the head and a "not today." We wound through streets full of people and animals and Cedric pulled me close to his side, as if he was afraid I would disappear. This city was different somehow. The clothing, the slight accents, the birds flying overhead, I could not help but gawk at everything.

It was when we stood in front of a large building with many windows that Lachlan finally told us his friend's name, though I later found it to not be her real name, as she had a hard time answering to it. After stabling his horse and grabbing our packs, Lachlan led us inside, where a hall with many doors led to the back of the building. Then we ascended several flights of stairs, every other flight leading to another hall with many doors. Finally, Lachlan ushered us to a door near the back of the building.

An old woman answered, and Lachlan said, "Delana." At first, she was surprised, but then I saw her recognize Lachlan. "It's you," she half-smiled.

"I've come to call on that favor."

Her eyebrows raised in question.

"May we come in to talk?"

She nodded, opened the door farther, and waved for us to enter, but once inside, she did not invite us to sit. "What is the favor?" Delana asked cautiously.

"This is my brother and his fiancée. I need for them to be able to stay with you until they find their own place or passage to somewhere else."

"I told you I wouldn't help do anything illegal," she regarded Cedric and I carefully.

"There's nothing illegal here," Lachlan assured her.

"Trying to not be conscripted?" Delana's eyes narrowed.

"That too," Lachlan nodded. "Look, I know you don't have a lot of room, Delana," he emphasized her name, "but hopefully it won't be for more than a month or two."

"Will you be staying?"

"Perhaps not as long as them."

"You can't leave, Lachlan," I said. "If you go, we will go with you."

"Sofia," Cedric murmured squeezing my arm.

Lachlan ignored me and continued to speak with Delana, who finally agreed. "I don't have enough beds. You'll have to make do with the floor. And I can't feed everyone. I have a small pension."

"We have bed rolls," Cedric nodded. "The floor will be fine, and meals won't be a problem." I looked up at him. He seemed so confident while my stomach churned.

"I don't want any problems…" the old woman said, wringing her hands.

"We'll do our best to avoid them," Lachlan replied calmly.

She looked at Cedric and me. "What are your names?"

I almost answered but Cedric squeezed my arm again. Lachlan nodded at Cedric and said, "This is Cedric and Sofia. My younger brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law."

"There is a resemblance." The old woman eyed Cedric. Then she turned to me. "Are you in trouble girl?"

"Trouble?" I felt faint.

"She's not pregnant," Cedric stated. "That's not why we are affianced."

I looked between Cedric and Delana. "Do I look pregnant?"

This made Delana laugh, turned and walked away. "I will make us some tea. It seems Lachlan and I must catch up." He followed her to a small room just off the main one we were in, and I took that to be the kitchen.

"Do I?" I asked Cedric more emphatically.

He smiled and kissed me. "Would it matter if you did?"

"Cedric!"

Laughing, he took my pack from me and set our things in the corner of the room. "No, Sofia. You do not look pregnant."

"Then why did she ask?"

"Because, sometimes that's why people run away to be married."

"But I could be. Would that make this bad?"

"No. Because we will be married soon and no one will know the difference." He must have seen me frowning because he came back over. "A baby isn't such a bad thing, you know."

"But, I don't even know who my father was. And I always swore I'd never be like Mother, and here I am, doing what she did. Living with strangers, not being married and possibly having a baby."

Cedric pulled me into his arms. "I'm here and I'm not leaving you, baby or not. And we'll find our own place soon." We kissed. "You are not your mother."

A tear leaked from my eye as I realized how much I was like her. "What if I'm not a good mother?"

"Sofia," Cedric was stern now. "I saw you care for James, and Michael, and even Amber though you did not like her much. None of them were your children but you took care of them all. You will be the best mother." His lips found mine again and then he whispered, "and right now, I want to practice making you a mother."

We heard a throat clear and pulled away from each other like we had been caught stealing. Lachlan laughed quietly while holding a tray, and Delana followed him into the room.

"Sit," Delana instructed and each of us took a place in a chair or on the couch. At first there was not much to say but finally our hostess asked Cedric if he would be looking for work in the shipyard.

"I'm a physician."

Delana's face passive, she said, "Then the army will want you. You are too young and able to stay here long. The king needs physicians and fighters." She glanced at Lachlan. "The king will want you as well, if his men see you."

Lachlan nodded and I felt queasy. Perhaps I could have talked Roland out of starting this. I should have stayed. I could have stopped people from dying.

"And what about you?" Delana asked me. "Are you sure you want to marry? You do not look well."

This drew looks from both Cedric and Lachlan. "I'm fine," I kind of squeaked, and set my tea on the table in front of us.

Her eyes narrowed in my direction, as if she was trying to see what was in my head. Then she glanced at Cedric and back to me. I saw distrust in her face.

Lachlan must have also seen it. "Truly, Delana, we are not here to cause you any problems. Cedric and Sofia will marry and we will figure out where the three of us are going from here." Lachlan finished his tea. "And we'll do it as fast as possible."

"Be sure that you do." She sipped her tea.

"Well, Delana, thank you for the tea. I believe the three of us would like to refresh ourselves before we go out and take care of some business.

"The privy is through that door," she pointed to a shut door on the other side of the room. "There is fresh water in the kitchen, however, you will need to replace it by pumping some from the back and bringing it upstairs."

"I'll do that," Cedric rose. "Sofia, why don't you go first?"

"I'll help, brother."

Cedric and Lachlan walked to the kitchen where each of them grabbed a vessel to fill with water. I went to use the privy, nervous of being alone in this suite with Delana. When I emerged, she was not in the great room, so I went to the kitchen to wash. She came in before the men came back.

"I am in debt to Lachlan," she said sternly, "however I am not in debt to you, nor will I be. You would be wise to find yourself a new home quickly." Then she turned and promptly removed herself from the kitchen. It was only a few minutes before I heard the brothers come back in. I wanted to change clothing, so I took a reasonably clean dress from my pack and headed to the privy again, not making eye contact with either man.

After changing clothes, I waited for Lachlan and Cedric as they took care of themselves. I had no idea what to do with my laundry, and I hoped they did. In the meantime, I took in Delana's furnishings. The suite of rooms was sparse, the walls bare and off-white in color. She had rugs that were more thread than floor covering, but the furniture was of good quality, which seemed odd.

Lachlan was the first out, sitting in a chair and looking at me. "Where will we clean our clothing?"

He laughed. "There are washerwomen who do this. We'll can drop the clothes off today and get them tomorrow."

"Delana doesn't have something in this…house?"

"It's not really a house. All the suites in this building belong to different people."

"So, it's not like a family home."

"Not at all." Lachlan stretched out his legs and yawned. "I'd like to take a nap, but it would be good for us to find our evening meal."

"Will we go to the market?"

"Not tonight. Tonight, we will go to an inn." I nodded. "Tomorrow we'll go to the market and do some other things about town."

Cedric walked out of the privy then, carrying some of his clothing. "Are we ready?" Both Lachlan and I stood, though I had no idea where we were going. Lachlan stuffed all our soiled laundry in his pack, Cedric offered me his arm, and we left Dalana's home.

The mid-afternoon sun was quickly sinking so the shadows between buildings were growing. Cedric pulled me closer as the foot traffic became denser. It was Lachlan that found the washer-women he had spoken of, and he haggled a price with them. Then we back-tracked and went to an inn we had passed on our way that looked decent.

A few people were inside, drinking, a few more were tuning instruments, promising that there would be music in the near future, and the serving girls all wore smiles on their faces. More than one sent Lachlan a big smile and we did not wait long at all to be seated and served ale.

"You could find yourself a wife here," Cedric laughed. "Perhaps we could both be married tomorrow."

Lachlan choked and almost spit out his ale. "Not funny," he finally said when he had put himself in order.

Cedric laughed but I only smiled. I knew Lachlan would be a great husband to someone and when his eyes met mine and looked away quickly I wondered if he had already met that someone, but was fated not to be with her.

Our food was brought almost right away, and was delicious after being on the road so long. The meat was warm and juicy, the bread fresh, and the vegetables soft from boiling. A light melody played from the trio who had finished tuning and Cedric's hand rested on my knee under the table. As I ate, my memories drifted back to the inn where Roland and I had stayed, and how he had left me and what had happened after. I shivered.

"Are you cold?"

I shook my head and took another bite, not willing to look at Cedric's worried face. Thoughts of Roland being tortured, or worse, flooded through me, and suddenly the food did not taste so good anymore.

"Are you feeling well?" he said more quietly. I could feel Lachlan's eyes on me too.

Swallowing, I breathed out, "I'm fine. Just tired."

Cedric squeezed my leg. "Finish eating and we'll head back to rest. With or without Lachlan." He gave his brother a half-smile.

The older brother rolled his eyes and asked for another ale.