Here you go! I almost forgot that it was Thursday, lol.

-owl

Lucette found Rollan just as he was beginning to think about trying to sneak into the kitchens in search of food. She looked tired, stressed, and annoyed. Bryer was weaving around her legs, as though trying to offer comfort.

"How did the meeting go?" Rollan asked.

Lucette sighed. "It could have gone better. Then again, there was plenty of opportunity for it to have gone worse. Tarik and Nicolai have been released from the dungeons, with the stipulation that they stay in their rooms, save the banquet that will be held once we get the original matter of Nicolai and Tarik's trip sorted out."

Rollan nodded. "That's good. Have you checked in with them since they've been let out?"

"Not yet," Lucette shook her head. "I wanted to meet up with you like I said that I would. Besides, we all know that Nicolai is just going to get an earful from me, so he probably isn't too unhappy that I'm taking longer to reach his room. What did you get up to while I was meeting with General Teng?"

Rollan waited to answer as they had just entered Tarik's room, where the man was sitting at a table in the middle of the room, a vast selection of food on it. Only once they were seated and had all begun to eat did Rollan respond.

"I wandered through the house, then ended up in the garden. After almost an hour, I realized I was lost. All the paths end up leading to the center of the garden."

Tarik frowned. "How did you get out of the garden then?"

"There was a girl in one of the clearings, I followed her when she returned to the house."

Before either Lucette or Tarik could respond to Rollan, a bell tolled in the distance, startling Lucette.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, scrambling to get up, "General Teng was going to have me join him for a meeting at the first bell of the afternoon. I need to go."

Tarik nodded and Rollan waved as Lucette practically ran from the room. Once the door had shut, Tarik turned to Rollan.

"Feel free to find something else to do this afternoon. I wouldn't want you to think you had to stay with me all afternoon."

Rollan grinned, rushing to the door. "Thank you, Tarik!" he yelled behind him as he left the room.

Rollan ended up lost again. Not in the garden this time, though. He had been exploring the lower floors, underground. Not the dungeons, though, of course. There were countless storage rooms and wine cellars, the kitchens were on this level, too. He also found something that looked like it could be somewhere to shelter in the event of an attack. The most interesting thing he found, though, was a training room.

The door was open, and Rollan let himself in. along the walls were racks of weapons of all kinds. Quarterstaffs, swords, daggers, and more. The floor was covered with a slightly spongy mat, and the walls were unadorned. Rollan was in the center of the room when there was, all of a sudden, a quarterstaff being held against his throat.

"Who are you?" a melodic voice hissed into his ear. "Why are you here?"

Rollan turned around slowly, his hands up in the air at his sides. To his surprise, the person that was holding the quarterstaff was the girl he had seen in the garden earlier. She was maybe a year or so younger than him, and shorter. Her black hair was in a tight braid and her angular eyes were narrowed in distrust.

"I'm… er… Rollan," he finally said. "Who are you?" Yes, he did know her name because of the garden earlier, but it would be the polite thing for her to do, to introduce herself.

The girl's glare deepened and she didn't answer his question. "Why are you here?" she raised the quarterstaff threateningly.

Rollan swallowed thickly. Of course it would be him of all people getting ambushed by a girl smaller than himself. "I'm here with Lucette of the Greencloaks. She's in a meeting with General Teng and I was told I could do as I pleased."

"I'm not supposed to let people know I can fight," she muttered under her breath. "You aren't going to tell anyone, are you?"

Rollan shook his head frantically. "No! Who would I tell anyway? And why does it matter so much?"

She held out her hand for Rollan to shake, which he did. "I'm Meilin, daughter of General Teng. And it matters because Zhong is against women knowing how to fight or anything like that. If someone found out, my father would be ruined for letting his daughter learn how to fight."

That made sense. Before Rollan could say anything else to stop the rapidly growing awkward silence, there was a gust of air and Essix came swooping into the training room and perched on Rollan's shoulder.

Rollan looked at her in surprise, gently stroking her back with his thumb. "What are you doing down here, girl?" he asked. "I thought you didn't like being inside."

Unsurprisingly, Essix gave no response other than a shrill shriek. Rollan then let Meilin lead them from the room and through the halls until they emerged into the garden. Once they were outside, Essix took off once again, spirling through the air above him.

"Is she your spirit animal?" Meilin asked, the smallest hint of awe in her voice.

Rollan nodded. "Yes. Essix and I have been together for almost a year now, just a few more months."

Meilin's eyes widened. "Essix? Like the Great Beast?"

Rollan nodded. "Yeah."

"But how?"

"I don't—" Rollan was cut off.

"There you are!" The same harsh voice from earlier in the garden was back. Both of the kids, startled, spun around to look at the man. "You need to be getting ready! Your father is hosting a banquet tonight in honor of smoothing things over with the Greencloaks."

Meilin sighed, but without another word, she left Rollan alone in the garden.