Indenuel was up the next morning, changing into his new weekday clothes. He tried to pack his Sabbath day outfit as nicely as he could, but in the process, he discovered he didn’t know how to keep it nice. Indenuel saw his old, ragged outfit and considered throwing out but paused. The threadbare shirt was chilly in his hands. The pants were always a size too big, though they never reached past his calves, and there were large holes in the knees. His fingers brushed against the thin rope he had used to keep the pants up. They were his life not that long ago. Despite his better judgment, Indenuel folded them up and placed them in his bag before heading to the door and opened it.

Alvero was there, looking as though he was about to knock. Indenuel leapt back in surprise. “Warrior Indenuel!” Alvero dropped to a ridiculous low bow. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Ah, yes. Well…” Indenuel winced, staring at the man’s back. “Please don’t bow. You… you don’t have to do that.”

“No, please, Warrior Indenuel. You have come to bring peace.” Alvero’s voice trembled before he broke down and cried. Indenuel stared in alarm. “This war. It will finally be over. Men will return. It has been so hard watching them leave, some never returning. They can come work in my inn again. The days can be like they used to.”

Indenuel swallowed as he tried to smile. He realized more than anything how much it meant for people to know he was the Warrior. “Please, just call me Indenuel.” Did Martin hate the titles because they made him uncomfortable too?

“I cannot,” Alvero said, tears running down his cheeks. “Thank you, sir.” He squeezed Indenuel’s arms. “Thank you for being here.” Indenuel gave a tiny nod. Alvero took a steadying breath. “Breakfast is below. I wanted to know if you needed help packing.”

Indenuel paused before showing Alvero the small pack of his belongings. “It’s all here, thank you though.”

“I shall have one of the workers take it to the carriage.”

Indenuel said nothing, allowing Alvero to take it. Indenuel walked down the hall and ate a hasty breakfast before leaving the inn and breathing in the morning air. He hadn’t seen Martin and the others, which probably meant they were still asleep. He wasn’t sure how long they had stayed up last night, but since no one had come to ask about him, he had fallen asleep not long after he got into bed. It had been an exhausting day.

The morning mist dissipated as the sun rose higher. Indenuel watched workers getting the carriages ready. He tried to imagine what it would be like to simply ride in such a fine carriage the entire way to Santollia City. Usually travelers simply walked the road, leaving early in the morning and arrived in the next town well into nightfall. Now they’d just ride, arriving to the next town with plenty of time.

He almost wanted to go help the workers get things ready when Nathaniel appeared by Indenuel’s side. “Good morning, Indenuel.” Indenuel practically leapt out of his skin before Nathaniel placed a hand on his shoulder. “Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you.”

“Please, don’t apologize,” Indenuel said. “It’s… it’s far too easy to startle me. I’m sorry.”

Nathaniel smiled before shaking his head. “My father mentioned you can read?”

“Yes,” Indenuel said, willing his heart rate to calm. “I can.”

Nathaniel offered Indenuel a book. Indenuel took it, opening it to see a lot of diagrams of men with swords with words underneath. “There is a road just out of the town of Guali that I will need to take to meet with my new troop in the eastern part of Santollia. It is still a few weeks away. Until then, we will be training with the sword at lunches. The more of the basics you have, the better prepared you will be for the King’s Militia.”

Indenuel nodded, trying to muscle down his nerves. He was most worried about this aspect. There weren’t many weapons in Mountain Pass, let alone any the villagers let him use. He needed all the help he could get.

Nathaniel smiled, patting his back before entering the inn. Indenuel flipped through the pages, seeing the different stances, and felt overwhelmed. He had so much to learn. Was there possibly too much he needed to learn? Could he do this in time?

“Good morning, Indenuel.”

Indenuel gasped before taking a few steps back. Adosina’s eyes widened a little. “Forgive me, I-”

“No, no. Don’t. It’s my fault. Sorry,” Indenuel said. Three people had snuck up on him this morning, and all three startled him. It was embarrassing. He needed to work on this.

Adosina gave him a gentle smile. “The carriages are almost ready, but would you like to walk with me to the edge of town while they finish? They can pick us up there.”

Indenuel nodded. “That would be nice, thank you.”

They started off down the road. The town was starting to wake up. Some giving Indenuel curious looks, others gave looks of awe. Some paid them no more mind than a gracious bow to upper classmen. All attention Indenuel tried to ease himself into.

“Did we need to tell them we’ll be at the edge of town?” Indenuel asked.

“My father’s head servant and carriage driver, Derio, is also a tree talker. I let him know the moment we decided. He will sense where we are, for safety reasons,” Adosina said.

“Oh. That is nice,” Indenuel said.

Adosina was wearing a tan traveling dress. It wasn’t nearly as fancy as her Sabbath dress, but it was still lovely. There were hardly any layers to it, and though there were a few flower designs, the fabric wasn’t as delicate. It was a dress of more practicality than for anything else.

They passed houses, ones Indenuel thought were still too close together, but maybe the neighbors were nicer to each other.

“Tell me about your village, Indenuel,” Adosina said.

Indenuel glanced at her before looking away again. He didn’t dare keep eye contact with an upperclassman for too long, though he realized she would consider him in her same class.

“It is small. I forget how small until I come to this town every summer.”

Adosina gave a playful smile. “It must be small indeed, then.”

Indenuel was confused, until he realized Adosina was from Santollia City. “And the city? Is it as vibrant as people say?”

“Very,” Adosina said, nodding. “Carlos and Nathaniel used to tell me about what it was like before the war. Granted, twenty-five years ago they were only fourteen, fifteen years old, but they still remember. Parties, balls, operas, concerts. There are still those, but not as many as before. Oh, and the Cathedral of the Savior’s Coming is breathtaking.”

Indenuel smiled. “I’ve only heard stories of its beauty.”

“The stories don’t do it justice. Yes, the King and Queen have their palace, but the Cathedral is the true heart of Santollia City,” Adosina said.

It was the first building to be commissioned since the Great Flood over three hundred years ago, and it took one hundred years to build, expected to house the Savior when he came. Indenuel didn’t know what to expect, but according to Adosina, he should expect to be amazed. As Adosina said, the King and Queen had their palace, and the High Elders had the Cathedral of the Savior’s Coming.

The trees lining the road looked beautifully taken care of. Tavi, though poor, was still a town on the main road and got a lot of funds to keep their trees well cultivated.

“Is it difficult being the daughter of a High Elder?” Indenuel asked.

Adosina gave him a surprised look. “Difficult?”

Indenuel chewed on his lip, trying to find another way to phrase it. “Is it difficult to live up to the expectations of others who know your birth and class?”

Adosina’s face softened. “Sometimes. To be honest, it is not from the lower class that I see the overwhelming expectations. It is from those in my same class. Other noblemen and women who think I spend too much time doing anything else besides searching for a husband.” Adosina paused, then couldn’t help herself and laughed. “Oh, never tell my old nurse we talked about this, or she would throw a fit.”

Indenuel was confused. “About marriage?”

“Yes. God has given me twenty-three years, and I know I am a source of more than one line of tree gossip that bemoans how I am not yet wed. And if I was a speaker to those who had passed on, my nurse maid would haunt my dreams for bringing this up with a man.”

“You would think there are worse states to bemoan than being twenty-three and unwed,” Indenuel said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Indeed, but come, we mustn’t talk about it anymore. My nurse will be happy to know some of the etiquette lessons stuck,” Adosina said.

Indenuel was again confused, until he realized that Adosina and he were in the same social class. For whatever reason, apparently this was wrong to talk about. Indenuel gave a shrug, choosing a different topic. “Your nurse must have passed on.”

“Yes, a few years now. I tease, but I do miss her sometimes,” Adosina said.

Indenuel’s thoughts immediately drifted to Lucia, which he did not want. He was enjoying this chat with Adosina, and he didn’t want the mood to spoil. He switched the book Nathaniel gave him to his other hand to keep the spine from getting too sweaty as he saw the edge of town approaching. Adosina glanced at Indenuel. “To tell you the truth, Indenuel, there are times when I feel like I am constantly failing at the expectations of others. I cannot please everyone. I’ve had to learn that there are times to take criticism, and times I need to give myself the kindness I expect from others. You have a kind soul, and that’s all I expect out of the Warrior.”

Indenuel nodded, feeling a lump in his throat as the burden pressing on his soul seemed to lighten. Adosina looked just past Indenuel’s shoulder. “Ah! The carriages are approaching. They must have gotten done early.” She walked toward the edge of the road and waved. “Hello father!”

Martin waved from inside a carriage, smiling brightly. “We are ready! Let’s see how far these carriages take us today!”

Adosina gave a small curtsey in Indenuel’s direction. “Thank you for spending some of your time with me this morning, Indenuel. I shall cherish this friendship we have started to create.”

Indenuel returned with a small bow of his head. “I agree, Adosina. Thank you.”

Adosina went off to her own carriage, and Martin ushered him inside the carriage he was in. As soon as Indenuel sat down, Martin knocked on the roof and it started moving. Indenuel settled himself into his seat, looking at the book Nathaniel had given him.

“Adosina is a sweet girl,” Martin said.

“She is,” Indenuel said. “I guess when you first talked about your family, I didn’t expect your daughter to be so young.” Indenuel realized what he said and froze. He didn’t want to sound like he was criticizing Martin, and he certainly didn’t want to broach any subject dealing with the intimacy between him and his wife. That would have gotten him beaten in Mountain Pass for certain. He gave Martin a worried glance, but Martin didn’t look angry.

“Yes, yes. She is ten years younger than Rita, her sister above her. We did not expect her to join our family, but she was a surprise. And, to be honest, continues to be so,” Martin said.

Indenuel nodded as he moved around on the comfortable seat. He flipped through the pages of Nathaniel’s book, trying to focus on it when he noticed Martin was beaming at him. Indenuel glanced around, but there was no one else in the carriage.

“Is everything all right?” Indenuel couldn’t help but ask.

“Should you like to ask me to court Adosina, I would heartily agree.”

Horror hit Indenuel’s face before he stifled it. He hadn’t even considered something like that. He still believed Adosina was in a class way above his own. That she was a noblewoman who was gracious to one of a beggar class. But… he was now in the same class as her. Even with this realization, courtship and marriage was such a foreign idea to him. Had Adosina been thinking about it? He tried to wrack his brain about the conversation, but he truly believed she was simply talking to him as a friend about the expectations of others, even if those expectations were of marriage. But he was so abysmal at picking up any sort of clue from women that he might have completely missed some sort of flirtatious gesture. This complicated things far more than he wanted.

Martin was still smiling at him. Indenuel needed to talk but was afraid of the barrage of words that would tumble out of his mouth if he tried.

“She is a great woman. Twenty-three years is far too old for a woman of her status to remain unwed,” Martin said.

“I…” Yes, opening his mouth was a bad idea, but he wasn’t about to let Martin continue. “She and I… we weren’t discussing… those things would be entirely inappropriate…”

“Ah, my dear boy, it’s all right. You have my word she is a wonderful, pure woman, and you have my blessing, should you choose to court her,” Martin said.

There was a noise, one that hinted of the horror he felt, that made itself known in the back of his throat. Indenuel said nothing, simply stared at Martin with wide eyes. He didn’t know how to react. In Mountain Pass, unwed women literally went out of their way to avoid him. Indenuel was the bastard son of an orphan keeper. No father of any daughter would ever give him a blessing of courtship. Now it had been thrust on him after one conversation with a girl of such high social status that Andres would have laughed at the absurdity of it.

“I’m not… she and I… I… we’re friends. We’re just friends,” Indenuel sputtered.

Martin still smiled. “Well, should anything change after our travels, you just let me know.”

The horror noise in the back of his throat made itself known again. Courtship, let alone marriage, was something he wasn’t ready to consider. He was trying to train to be the Warrior. He couldn’t deal with something like courtship. The only course of action now was to avoid Adosina at all costs. All month. While they traveled together. Somehow.

Indenuel cracked open his book to a random page and lifted it to cover his face, high enough that Martin wouldn’t notice his eyes weren’t moving.