Lyra finished reading through the letter and then snorted. "At least he attempted to be subtle. Here, take this." She handed Vai the last page of the letter.

It was a concise summary of the rest and with sick satisfaction Lyra pictured Eirik struggling over it. The fact that he'd even made the last page, giving a censored version of his letter was amusing enough for her to allow it to be delivered. "But burn it after she reads it, tell her it's for her safety."

Vai nodded and took the wine decanter as cover for his going. Lyra watched him leave. He was dragging a bit and it annoyed her. She took it out on the letter, watching with satisfaction as the pages curled and burnt over her candle flame.

Fiona cried when she read the paper and she cried when Vai took it away. The next morning, she cried out of boredom and then after wiping her tears she decided she wanted to see her mother, one way or another.

Carefully, she crawled on her hands and knees across the wagon. The journey was bumpy and she'd learned early on that trying to walk while the wagon was in motion was a sure way to a bruised elbow or knee. She knew exactly which crate had the knife in it, after all she'd counted everything in the wagon at least twice by now.

Vai would be cross if he saw her playing with a knife, but right now she was angry at him too so she gripped the handle and crawled back to the other corner. She pressed the tip into the wood and twisted.

The knife flew out of her grasp and she sucked in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut but there wasn't any pain, the knife bouncing harmlessly off her pants. She retrieved it and tried again. Whittling away at the wood, Fiona pretended she was a hero from a storybook, breaking out of a scary dungeon to go fight the villain.

It was taking longer than she thought and she propped her jacket up over the divet and the knife when Vai came to check on her during the day. Dutifully she struggled to read the book he'd assigned her as the pages bounced with each turn of the wagon wheel. Once finished, she resumed her project.

She froze when the knife point broke through and listened. She doubted anyone could hear anything over the ruckus the wagon and horses were making but still her heart pounded. Vai would be so cross. Mother would be cross.

After some hesitation, Fiona chiseled further, widening the hole. Once satisfied with its size, she carefully replaced the knife and laid down to peer through her makeshift window.

While the thin canvas covering the wagon let in enough light when the sun was up, it afforded no view and so, for the first time, Fiona got a good glance at her mother's army on the move.

She'd never seen the army horses up close! They were tall and stately with armored saddles and armored riders. She kept glancing around her limited view trying to spot the queen but no luck. Perhaps if she tried the other side...

Fiona's woodworking endeavors over the next two days meant that she knew when her wagon broke off from the main army. Although even without her now dozen 'windows' she probably would have realized from the decrease of hoofbeats. She waited in anticipation until, at last, the canvas was thrown off and her mother smiled down at her.

"Alright, time to ride. Hurry up!"

Scrambling to her feet, Fiona blinked in the bright sun and took Lyra's offered hand, jumping out of the wagon. Her mother pulled Fiona over to the queen's horse, a magnificent creature with a dark coat and white socks. Fiona reached up a hand and stroked the horse's side.

"You two, take the wagon away and we'll meet back up at the rendezvous."

The queen's orders made Fiona tear her attention away from the horse and she realized with a bit of apprehension that there was only Vai and her mother remaining.

Vai sat ramrod straight on a jet black horse. When Fiona realized whose horse she was closer to, her heart raced.

Her mother's boot nearly hit her face as the queen mounted. Fiona's hopes were realized as the queen lowered a hand for her daughter. Determined not to fall, Fiona took the hand, squeezed her foot in the stirrup next to her mother's, and pulled herself up behind the queen. Once there, Lyra grabbed her arms and wrapped them tightly around her waist.

"Don't fall off," she said before snapping the reins.