‘Wend westward wayward wanderer,’ the words were written on the slip of paper, the script cursive and slanted. Rollo had spat the paper at my face three nights ago, a message from High Chief Ran, and I still wasn’t sure what to do with it.

Did the message mean I was supposed to go to Washerton instead of Susserton? Why couldn’t there be more? Better instructions with a clear and defined path?

I let out a long breath before I stood and stretched, wincing as pain sprouted in my arm; Ji-ho had re-bandaged it after reapplying a salve – the binding was tight and the injury throbbed. I wasn’t the only one nursing an injury after the run-in with Jaslynn, Anthony and Latimer. Luther was still slow to move which made our trek to Susserton sedate — not that I minded, it was more time spent seeing the sights; Surya had been caught by a knife while in the air, and after getting sutures he was keeping his movements at a minimum; and the others had a few cuts and scrapes that were nuisances at best.

A low thrum of activity permeated our clearing. Hatim had started working on breakfast after his morning prayers; Ji-ho was out on a ‘wild-flower hunt’ — likely a euphemism for going to the bathroom because she used the excuse too often and rarely ever came back with flowers; Luther was reading a book while reclined on a dozing Rollo — he was the only one the goat let close enough to do that; while Marcus and Surya slept after keeping watch all night.

We’d passed through a farm yesterday and I’d taken a lot of apples. After giving the horses their treats, my path took me to Rollo. The goat heard me approach and brought up his head, when he saw that I carried an apple and excited gleam appeared in his eyes — that or I was imagining the hint of emotion.

“Can’t explain this to me, can you bud?” I whispered, running a hand through his fur. Rollo said nothing, looking at me intently. I frowned, when had his eyes become anything other than blank?

“Explain what?” Luther asked, his book closing. He kept his voice quiet even though Surya and Marcus were on the other side of the clearing, and the cacophony of the morning was becoming oppressive.

Everyone knew I was the Champion — my lies hadn’t been all that convincing and being hunted by Allyceus’ ladies-in-waiting had certainly given things away. A part of me had been worried that they might choose to give me away to the nearest lord — there was a price on my head and who would say no to money? But that hadn’t happened yet, and we were still going to Susserton just like before.

But I still hadn’t told them about the note.

Luther got hurt because he tried to protect me, and he isn’t even a warrior, I thought. I think he — indeed everyone here — has earned a bit of trust.

“A note I got from someone who might be open to helping me. This guy,” I gave Rollo a good pet, “apparently has magic like a gulping toad, he can store stuff inside of his throat and regurgitate it to eat it again.” I snorted. “It’s incredible that the dots didn’t connect.”

“Who is this ally?” Hatim asked, closing the lid of the cauldron and joining us. He’d let his hair down, it was long enough that it reached his neck; it was slightly curly, with a few strands braided. “Is he why you’re going to Susserton?”

“Sort of?” Another snort left me. “You guys will think I’m stupid, but…I wasn’t sure they were even an ally before I escaped. There were signs, but…” I shrugged.

“Was life so hard at the castle that you felt you had to escape?” Luther asked as if he couldn’t quite understand my dilemma. He noticed as I bit my lips, eyes setting into something of a scowl and his eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Champion,” he started, flustered. “I spoke out of turn—”

“No,” I cut in, “It’s okay. I didn’t want to be a Champion; it was something that was decided for me after I appeared in this world.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “To answer your question. The castle was complicated. It was luxury the likes I’d never seen before — one I’d never imagined I’d be able to reach back home — but it came with a very heavy price. I didn’t have any friends and the one person who might be a friend I had to walk on eggshells around; the princes had ideas of what they wanted for me — all the nobles did — and they strong armed me into doing what they wanted under the guise that it was for my own good.”

“There was a rumour that the Champion was to duel Baron Owain of Harrengrove,” Hatim said curiously. “Was that them?”

“No, that was all me. It was supposed to be a hunt,” I said and smiled, it seemed so long ago since the plan had been set in motion. “It was never going to happen, at least not directly. I saw that as my way to get out of the castle. This was supposed to be a training exercise, Allyceus and his ladies-in-waiting were antsy being cooped up in the castle and I knew they’d jump at the chance to get out. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure how I would get out, just that I had to.”

“You succeeded,” said Hatim. Dramatically he looked around, trees stretched up around us, keeping the worst of the morning rays from reaching us. “You’re free.”

“Through luck,” I muttered. “I was making it up as I went along, things just happened to line up just right to get us here.”

Hatim let out a long breath, something that might have guilt flickering past his eyes – it disappeared so quickly that I might have read it wrong.

“Just now you reminded me a lot of my brother,” he said wistfully. “He was a smart man but did not believe it.” Hatim smiled but it came with a sad expression. “He and I were thieves, stealing treasures from the homes of nobles who did nothing but horde them. Rakin, my brother, was our planner and I was the muscle, and even with how brash I was, he always managed to ensure our success.” Hatim sighed. “Almost always,” he amended, so low I almost missed the words.

For a moment there was silence, Luther and I unsure what to say. I thought about giving my condolences but I had never been good at that. Death was always one of those things that made me uncomfortable and forget how to do stuff.

Hatim shook his head and gave us a false smile. “Forgive me, both of you,” he said. “It’s not the way to share my burdens with you. We were talking about your letter, Khaya, what does it say?”

“Wend westward wayward wanderer,” I said as I reached for the note in my pocket, but I could do so Luther swore because Rollo had disappeared from behind him.

At once I was at my feet with my heart beginning to thump hard. I leaned on the temporal ring to slow things down as my mind felt out our surroundings, seeing if there might be any threats. My gun wasn’t at my side because I hadn’t thought I would need it, and even if it was, what good would it do when there wasn’t anything to shoot?

Luther, I thought, it must be him.

But he seemed surprised as he pushed himself up, and that didn’t make sense, why would Luther even do something like that? He was here, what use was making Rollo disappear?

Then someone else? A card the royal family had kept up their sleeves?

“Rollo, come!” I shouted as it hit me that if this was them, they might take off his spatial necklace which would lose me my goat. The sound was enough to wake Surya and Marcus who jumped to their feet; wings spread wide for the former, while the latter’s hand found his hammer.

The air rippled and a sigh filled our clearing. Rollo appeared.

“What is it?” Surya said, his body primed for a fight.

“The goat disappeared,” said Hatim with caution in his voice and his body angled towards motion. He wasn’t carrying any weapons on him and for a moment I reflected on the fact I hadn’t seen him with one, even when he and the others had escaped from a veritable battleground. “I don’t think we’re under attack, but who knows?”

“Where’s Ji-ho?” Marcus asked.

“She’s safe and alone,” said Luther. “There aren’t any people around her. There aren’t any people around us. I don’t think this is an unknown spatial mage, I think it might be an advanced piece of magic. Wend westward wayward wanderer,” he said. Nothing happened. “Champion, without presumption, do you mind repeating the phrase?”

I swallowed, my heart still thumping and my throat dry. It took a bit of work to push calm into my body. “Wend westward wayward wanderer,” I said and again, Rollo disappeared.

“What is this?” Marcus asked. “What is that phrase?”

“A message from an ally, hopefully,” I said, eyes still on the spot where Rollo had disappeared. “A gift that would have been really useful when I was still in the castle, but they made getting the message so hard.”

“This is incredible magic,” Luther muttered. “A phrase, not a spell, used to send something away. Susserton is not known for its strong magical knowledge, though their largest city lies close to the celestial convergence point in Washerton — the home of Washerton’s spatial mages and that of Rowan. This must be him, I’ve heard that he’s very knowledgeable in the magical arts and he’s supposedly built a device that can detect celestial waters.”

“You were in contact with Rowan while in the castle?” Marcus asked, rubbing at his eyes. The earlier alertness was gone and he stretched languidly. “Was he the reason you were able to escape?”

I shook my head. “That was me and a lot of—”

“Skill on Khaya’s part,” Hatim put in. My expression twisted but he gave me a pat on the shoulder, making me grunt as he disturbed my arm. “Don’t do yourself the disservice of undervaluing your achievements.”

A well of pride started to fill me up. I couldn’t keep myself from smiling.

“Is that where you are going, then?” Surya asked. “To Rowan’s company?”

“Hopefully,” I said with a shrug. “Rowan’s from my world. Maybe he can help me get back.”

“I have known no Champion to ever return to their realm,” said Marcus, beside me Luther nodded.

“Rowan’s supposed to be a genius, right?” I said. “Look at what he did with Rollo. You said it was a genius piece of magic. I have to hope that he knows something.”

“It is an incredible bit of magic,” Luther admitted. “Especially for something so compact. You have a spatial stone, Champion, are you sure you’re not using magic to shape energy to complete the spell?”

“You have a spatial stone?” Marcus asked.

“A marble,” I said. “I mostly taught myself how to sense things with it, but nothing above that.”

“That explains a great deal,” said Surya. At my raised brow he said, “You are quite protective of your goat and yet you let it wander. Now I know it was because you kept a metaphorical eye on it so it would not be in danger.”

“Speaking of which, you should call it back,” said Marcus, his tone soft and his expression hard to read.

“Rollo, come,” I said. He appeared and only stared at us. “We’re going nowhere fast, we’ve reached the climax.”

The goat’s throat moved like he was going to throw up and then he spat at my face. It might have been my imagination, but I was certain I saw a hint of humour in the goat’s eyes.

“Ha-ha,” I said as I removed the gunk and took the letter. Marcus and the others got closer as I unrolled it. The script was like before, small and tight, but this time there were questions:

WWW — What do I mean? Name 3 models of cars. How old is the King of Pop?

“What are cars?” Luther asked as he peered from my left.

“I think that’s the point,” I said excitedly, going over to my stuff to pick up my writing supplies. Maybe there was too much energy because I bumped into the messenger box, which fell out of my satchel and opened as it hit the ground, revealing a neatly folded piece of paper.

I froze.

The others had followed but kept a bit of distance.

“Is that from them?” Marcus asked, something off in the way he asked. “The princes?”

I swallowed and nodded, the excitement muted as hints of guilt took its place. The last time I’d gotten a message it had been heated, and I could only guess what would be said after the whole thing with Jaslynn.

“Should I read it for you?” Surya asked. “It cannot be easy to speak to your former captors.”

“No,” I said and I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. “Maybe me reading all their hate is penance for how I left things. They’re going to be in a lot of shit because of me.”

I picked up the letter, opened it and frowned. There were only six words but they were hard to parse because they didn’t make sense: Is it him? Is it Matthaeus?

My eyes moved up and went over to the big guy. I hadn’t noticed before, but there was a tension in his shoulders that seemed to ease as our eyes met and he knew I knew.

“You’re…him?” I asked, voice trembling.

“Yes,” said Marcus and he paused, turning to face the others. “I am Matthaeus Mandaron, once crowned prince of Althor.”

“What?” Ji-ho’s voice reached us as, much closer, Luther fell to his knees in a bow.

***

“Ancestors below will you ever allow me to escape the nobility,” I muttered under my breath, irritated even as the thought of being taken back to Malnor castle flashed through my mind. I’d have to escape all over again, but this time it would be harder because they knew to expect it from me.

Which meant the best way to get out was to keep from going back. I took a step back, leaning on the temporal ring as I tried to scope a way out. There were none, at least not if they all worked against me, and even if it was just Matthaeus as soon as grabbed his hammer any fight would be over.

“Calm, friends,” said Matthaeus and he sounded a lot like Odysseus who could sometimes have an easy confidence. There was so much of his family in how he looked: his eyes were his mothers with hints of Odysseus — keen and piercing; his form was of his father and Allyceus — broad and with hints of strengths in how he moved; and then there was the brown hair of the Mandarons.

Why do the pieces only connect in hindsight? I wondered as the familial resemblance became pronounced.

“Luther, do not bow to me. I am no longer a prince, my titles have been passed on to my younger brother, seemingly,” he said and smiled. “Now stand,” he said, an order but a gentle one.

Luther looked up and hesitated, but slowly rose to his feet.

“First a Champion and now a prince of the Mandaron line,” said Ji-ho, coming at an angle so she stopped in front of Matthaeus; her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. “The gods must have a great destiny for all of us. Is there anyone else who is of greatness in our party?”

“Surya is a Falconer,” said Hatim, his voice low and his eyes filled with suspicion. Matthaeus noticed and his expression turned to sadness.

Surya, on the other hand, laughed, spreading his wings wide and flapping them a little. “You honour me, friend, by putting me against the likes of a once future king and a Champion,” he said. “But by Ris’ favour I am not so important, else I might not be in your company today.”

“Is this a trap?” I asked, my tone hard as I took another step back. Rollo wasn’t saddled and my stuff wasn’t packed. If I ran, I’d be abandoning most of my supplies.

“Does it seem like a trap?” Matthaeus asked, his tone as gentle as when he’d given the order, lulling me into security — I couldn’t tell yet if it was false or not.

Did it seem like a trap? I tried to think of what the trap might entail and couldn’t get a clear grasp of its dimensions. Maybe they could be using me to find out where Rowan was — an easy thing to believe because my escape still felt too easy; but then…why this path? Why would it be the long-lost prince who would be the plant instead of a rando? And why would Odysseus ask if it was really Matthaeus?

Maybe because it’s a plan so dumb it doubles on itself and becomes smart again.

The thought was so embarrassing I was glad mind-reading wasn’t a thing, at least without the magic of an Urayemi.

“I think what Khaya is wondering,” said Hatim, so much suspicion in his voice it was hard to believe it might be an act. “What I’m wondering too, is why a prince is travelling with us?”

“Yeah,” I said, leaning on the ring once more to get a better sense of where everyone stood. If it wasn’t an act and they hadn’t known who Matthaeus really was, then there was the possibility I might be able to talk them to my side. “Why? Why did you leave the castle? Your family?”

A hint of pain lanced across Matthaeus’ face. “Why did you?”

“Is that what you do?” I asked with a bit of force. “Disarm people by asking them questions?”

It was something I had leaned into a lot while in the castle, getting a sense of what people were interested in and then asking them questions so I could get them to expand. If Surya and Ji-ho were like Hatim, then painting Matthaeus as a manipulator put more people on my side.

“Because I notice you haven’t answered much,” I said before he could get in. “You’re letting me come up with the answers and with the past few days I’m liable to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

The shifts in the eyes and the body language were slight, but it was better than nothing.

“To many,” Matthaeus began, “to be a prince is a dream. If I were to say it is a prison of the worst sort, they would think me ridiculous. Even now I can see it on you — all except you, Champion.”

“You did not want to be king?” Surya asked.

“I saw the trap,” he said sadly. “There is a promise of freedom, but it is a prison of a different sort — perhaps far worse than that which I had lived in since I was born. Not a prison of chains, but of atmosphere, a weight that presses onto your chest and does not ever come off, one that takes a bit of light from your life until you are left only a hollowed-out husk.”

“You start not to care about anything,” I muttered. “Just going on because you know you have to.”

There was sympathy in Matthaeus’ eyes as he said, “You’ve felt it too, then?” I nodded, uncomfortable. “I was raised to be king, to be careful how I presented myself for it would have great implications, I was told who to be for so long I did not ever think I could ever know who I really was.”

“Is that why you convinced Odysseus to become a historian?”

The words might have been a dagger with how Matthaeus reacted, more pain cutting across his expression, before shame settled around his eyes.

“I sought to protect them for so long,” he said. “Allyceus would never have to marry — I would take that burden; Odysseus would have power to structure his domain however he pleased; and Eleus and Elea…” Here he sighed. “They are our siblings in name only, for since they were children they have been with the church. I do not know them, not truly. When I became king I would repeal the laws that forced them into such a scenario.”

“But you didn’t,” I said.

“But I didn’t,” he said. “It was as though the flame of my heart had been doused and I cared for nothing. I became a shambling puppet, driven only by duty and routine. Allyceus and I were known for our hunts, escaping the crush of responsibility for a time so I might regain some of that light. Allyceus thought us transgressive, but as duty demanded Father always knew. I told him that my brother and I would be leaving, and Father told me no, Rowan’s forces were at work and my presence was needed. Now more than ever there were more responsibilities and obligations. I was to marry and produce an heir so that the Mandaron succession could be secured. As if bewitched, my mouth moved of its own volition, I told him that I could not produce an heir into this life — the last conversation I had with my father before I left the castle.”

I let out a long breath and could only stare.

“Do you believe him, Khaya?” Hatim asked, a deep bitterness in his voice. “He is of the highest nobility, and I’ve found that the greater the power one has, the more their cruelty can be felt.”

If this was acting, they were doing a very good job at it.

I swallowed and nodded. Everything he said felt so real because I’d lived through it. The little pieces I had of Matthaeus made it all fit.

Why do they have to be people, all of them? I thought. Why can’t they be all evil so this is easier? Why does it have to be so I’m guilty that I escaped?

You know the answer, another part thought. You’ve always known the answer. Now think it - make it real.

The problem had always been the systems since the very start. They affected people differently, affected those lower on the social rung worse than those at the top, but everyone felt the effects all the same.

And because you care about them. Even though they benefit the most.

I let out a long sigh. “Allyceus and Odysseus don’t talk about you,” I said. “Your leaving hurt them.”

Just as me leaving them hurt them.

As different as it was, it was still the same thing at the core.

“I’m gonna have to read it, but…I think it would be a very good idea if you sent them a message. They need the closure.”

And I want to feel less guilty. I’m never going to go back to them — that’s out of the question — but this is within my power to give and I can at least do that.

“Champion,” Matthaeus said, hesitantly. “Allyceus…was that your doing?”

“That was all him,” I said, shrugging. “But I talked to Odysseus and I think that might have helped.”

He smiled and nodded. “Then thank the Fates they knew you,” he said, “however much the experience seems to have left a sour impression. You might have done more good for them than I ever have.”

“Maybe in some ways,” I muttered, “but not in others.”

Because I knew it was very likely that Allyceus would have to marry Owain Junior, and there was nothing he’d hate more than that.

I shuffled, suddenly uncomfortable as a realisation hit. “This is going to be where we part ways, isn’t it?”

“Does it have to be?” Surya asked, so quick to the draw it felt as if he’d been waiting for the comment. “I will admit I have quite like your company, and I long to hear stories of your realm now that we no longer have to lie to each other.”

“Here-here,” said Ji-ho, her voice low in emotion.

My mind went to the note from High Chief Ran and in essence from Rowan. The two were working together and seemingly it was against Matthaeus’ father.

“It’s a conflict of interests, thing, isn’t it?” I asked. “Rowan is working against your family and I’m going to him, that’s going to lose you your kingdom.”

“The Fates are storytellers,” said Matthaeus, “perhaps the greatest of them. Odysseus believed that if one could read the entirety of their stories — the past — they might be able to divine the future. I did not think this was the truth, but that concept of the Fates being storytellers is not a new one, and it is irrefutable if one looks at our company. You, Champion, travel to Rowan in search of a way home; the mage, Luther, seeks to study under Rowan so he might grow his magecraft; Hatim once travelled through the Blighted Lands and now seeks to join a company that will explore those lands — which too is rumoured to be connected to one of Rowan’s allies; and I seek an audience with the man himself.”

“What of Ji-ho and I, friend?” Surya asked.

“For the moment I do not know,” said Matthaeus, “but I would not be surprised if the Fates had created some paths for you too.”

I sighed and then nodded.

“I’ll stay,” I said, if for nothing else than the safety they provided if we ran across trouble. I really hoped that my trust wasn’t misplaced.