Freya sat inside Kuiper’s carriage, inspecting Celeste.

The blade looked fine at first glance, but upon closer look, it was clear that Celeste had been through hard times and was on its brink. Celeste had blocked a swipe from Cerberus and a blow from Vath. The blade was slightly bent sideways, not obvious; but it was bent. That imperfection was like a crack that would shatter when given the right push.

‘Where are your friends?’ Kuiper asked from outside the carriage.

Freya sheathed Celeste and answered: ‘Perhaps they’re not coming. What time is it now?’

‘Almost 8, the bell shoul—‘Ding-ding—‘it’s 8 now.’

‘… Then we should go.’

‘You’re not waiting for your friends?’

‘It’s 8 and they aren’t here; that means they’re going to stay here and attend the audience with the ruler.’

‘Aren’t you lonely without them?’

‘Well… I might miss their arguments, but I have to go.’

‘I’ll get the horses going then. You’re always welcome to sit beside me if you’re lonely.’

‘Thank you for the offer, but I would like to enjoy some silence to myself; and watch Arkef fade from view as we gain distance.’

‘Very well.’ Kuiper walked with both hands behind his back and went front to man the horses. They neighed and made rapid tapping on the ground, pulling the carriage frontward.

As the carriage went onward, Freya had a look at the empty seats in front and beside her. Vacant seats that could be occupied by three. When she blinked, she could see glimpse of Elaine, Ray, and Dunnford sitting there. When she closed her eyes, she could hear Ray and Elaine’s faint arguments. But when she opened it back, the only sound she could hear were the blowing winds and silence.

She wondered if she was truly alone.

Ori might just be with her in her journey, but Freya couldn’t tell for sure. Mayhap her encounter with Ori during the battle with Vath was just a figment of her imagination. Ever since that night, Ori never showed herself again in front of her. Mayhap due to exhaustion, her mind was playing tricks on her by showing Ori. Freya couldn’t tell for sure.

Perhaps she was alone, perhaps she wasn’t.

The carriage then made a stop. Freya could still see the buildings of Arkef; she wasn’t even out of Arkef yet. To her surprise, Lance showed up, his back was straight and he held his chest high. Other guards, who had fought alongside her during the library battle had also appeared, each one of them making a formation to surround the carriage. Out of instinct, Freya’s hand went onto Celeste’s hilt.

‘I apologize Freya, for having persuaded Sir Kuiper to make a detour, but please do not blame him,’ Lance explained. ‘You have helped us greatly in defending the library and it is a shame that we can not pay you back. At the very least, allow us to wish you good luck in your journey and may fortune be on your side.’

Each guards clapped their feet and saluted at her.

Freya breathed relieve and took her hand away from Celeste’s hilt. She smiled and said: ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re always welcomed to return.’ He still held his salute. ‘Fare you well.’

‘All of you too.’

The horses then trotted onward, pulling the carriage and bringing it to motion. The guards kept on holding their salute before the carriage turned and Freya lost sight of them.

‘Do you like the surprise?’ Kuiper asked from the front.

‘I don’t hate it,’ Freya answered.

‘We know you want to leave Arkef soon, but we thought: What wrong could there be in having a minute detour to do that?’ He explained with a laugh.

‘I see. It wasn’t bad, thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

After a few minutes had passed, Freya could see the border of Arkef. She was about to leave Arkef, alone. The thought of continuing her journey alone didn’t scare her, but she could tell that she would miss company. As the carriage left Arkef, Freya expected some peace by enjoying the scenery, but that didn’t happen. Not when 3 human figures showed up from Arkef, running desperately to chase the carriage.

‘Sir Kuiper,’ Freya called. ‘Slow down a little please.’

‘But I thought you’re in a hurry?’

‘Just for a while until they catch up.’

‘Ah,’ Kuiper got the gist of it without having to look back, ‘that’s great.’

On second thought, Freya should have asked Kuiper to stop instead of slowing down; it took them a good 2 minutes to chase the carriage.

‘You—left me—behind!’ Elaine protested with ragged breathing after being seated inside the carriage beside Freya.

‘I left exactly at 8,’ Freya said. ‘What were you all doing in the morning anyway?’

Elaine’s breathing was too rough to answer, and so was Ray’s. Elaine’s stamina wasn’t trained to begin with, meanwhile Ray was still worn out from the battle he had. And by process of elimination, Dunnford gave Freya an explanation after offering water to both Ray and Elaine.

‘We decided to skip the audience, but Master Ray and Miss Elaine wanted to make their demands. Master Ray wants Arkef to forge good relationship with Versen, while Miss Elaine wants Vienna, her previous enemy, to be pardoned. If I must explain why we were late however, it was because Master Ray and Miss Elaine were both making hidden schemes to leave each other behind.’

‘It—would have worked—if she wasn’t lucky,’ Ray said.

‘As if…’ Elaine followed. ‘You’re the one—who got lucky.’

Freya rolled her eyes. Even when they were both short on breath, they still wanted to argue with each other. Although she found their fighting bothersome, a smile surfaced on her lips.

As the carriage got farther and farther away from Arkef, Freya—still looking back at Arkef—saw colors floating above Arkef. Lots of colors floating in the sky, each and every one of them waving her goodbyes. Subtly, without alerting her allies of their presence, Freya waved back at the fairies. She could tell that the fairies at the center of the colors were without a doubt Jerry and his friends.

As Arkef disappeared with the distance, Freya enjoyed the breeze and looked up at the peaceful blue sky.

An end is a new beginning, she thought.