Griffa slowly opened her eyes as she laid in her bed. The room was very dim with just the early morning light coming in through the windows. She stretched slightly and shivered. Even with the large magical fire burning in the fireplace, the room was chilly. She looked over and saw Ansel sleeping next to her, on his side. She nuzzled up into him and waved her hand casting a warming charm over her, hoping it would help her to sleep a bit more before she had to get up.

She had not slept much the night before, worrying about the trip to the Valley. Griffa had been leading the Ring for just a few months. She tried to do what she thought was best and appear confident, but she couldn’t fool herself. She had been sure she needed to take her place as leader of the Ring, and she didn’t regret the decision. Yet, she still second guessed herself constantly, worried that she wasn’t worthy of her title. She was worried she would fall short again and again.

Now she laid next to Ansel and worried about the upcoming trip. Would she be able to convince the council in the Valley to join them in the coming war? She should be confident Talon would be on her side, but she couldn’t be sure. He would do what he thought was best for his village no matter how good of a friend he was to Griffa. She also had to convince the rest of the council as well. Would she just make a fool of herself and her family name? Griffa sighed and turned over on her stomach, placing her head in her pillow.

“What’s wrong, Griffa,” said Ansel sleepily. Griffa’s movements must have disturbed him.

“I’m sorry I woke you. It’s nothing,” said Griffa muffled by her pillow.

Ansel propped himself up on his elbow and gently pushed her over on her back.

“What are you worried about?” he asked again. This time a little more awake.

“Do you think I did the right thing taking over the Ring?” asked Griffa looking up at Ansel.

Ansel smiled. “It’s a little early in the day to be second guessing yourself isn’t, or have you been up all night?”

“No, I slept some, but answer me. Do you think I made the right choice?”

“Griffa, you were meant to be the leader of the Ring. You are doing what you were meant to do. Is someone on the Ring giving you a hard time? You shouldn’t listen to Helmer you know.”

“It’s not about what anyone has said on the Ring. I just want to do the right thing. I want to help Max and the kingdom and keep everyone safe. What if I just make everything worse?”

“You are smart and brave. You are also kind. I don’t know who would be more capable of leading the Ring than you. You want what’s best for everyone, and you listen to others for advice. Stop second guessing yourself. Definitely stop doing it this early in the morning,” said Ansel laying back down.

“I’m sorry to have disturbed you,” said Griffa. “It’s just this trip to the Valley has me all worked up. I always dreaded going there as a child. Father would be in meetings, and I would have to socialize with the other leader’s children. I felt so out of place. If it wasn’t for Talon, I wouldn’t have had any friends. I would go and act like I was confident, but I knew what the other children would say about me. Now, I have to go in there and convince those people to follow me? Can I do this, Ansel?”

“Come here, Griffa,” said Ansel holding out his arms. She looked at Ansel and then scooted closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her. “You can do this. What we are doing is right. We must unite everyone we can to get Max on the throne. Talon and the council will listen to you. You aren’t a frizzy hair, little girl who runs around with dirt on her face anymore. You are a wise leader and very charming when you want to be. You will be spectacular.”

“I will be spectacular as a frizzy hair woman with dirt on her nose,” said Griffa sarcastically

“Yes, but you are wiser now so that will help,” said Ansel kissing the top of her head. “Seriously, you can do this, and you won’t be alone. I’ll be there.”

“I hope you are right, Ansel,” said Griffa closing her eyes and snuggling further into Ansel’s embrace.

Breakfast was a hectic, noisy event. Everyone grabbed bites of food as they walked back and forth putting their bags and packages out on the back lawn. Maybell forced a cup of tea into Griffa’s hand after Griffa had walked in and out of the house three times.

“Griffa, you have to eat something. Take some toast. Everything is going to be fine,” said Maybell, making Griffa sit down for a moment.

Griffa quickly ate a piece of dry toast and drained her hot tea. She stood up and embraced Maybell. “Thank you, I hope you have a peaceful holiday with no work. I will miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, my dear. You will do wonderful in the Valley. Your father would be very proud of you. I know I am,” said Maybell giving Griffa a quick kiss on the cheek.

Griffa smiled and thanked Maybell. She looked at the clock on the wall and turned to the others who were shuffling around the room or sitting at the table.

“We need to be outside in two minutes. Is everyone ready?”

Everyone nodded and started making their way outside, all giving Maybelle a quick hug. Griffa saw Maybell grab Ansel’s hand and say, “Take care of her. Make sure she sleeps and eats.” Griffa smiled to herself and walked outside.

They arranged themselves into two groups. Ansel stood with Nora and most of the bags. Griffa stood with Max, Issa, and what was left of the luggage.

“Okay, I think it is time,” said Griffa looking at Ansel. “I’ll see you at the Keene Valley house in a second.”

Ansel nodded, and Griffa looked at Max and Issa. “You both remember exactly what I told you about the house correct? You have total trust in me?” She placed her hands on Max and Issa’s shoulders as they held the bags.

Both Issa and Max nodded. “Okay, concentrate.”

Griffa closed her eyes and envisioned the small back yard of her house in the Valley. She then felt the familiar sensation of traveling, making sure to keep a hold of both Max and Issa. She opened her eyes as her feet hit the ground seeing the back of the small house. She looked to her right and Ansel and Nora appeared.

“Good, everyone’s here. Welcome to the Valley,” Griffa said smiling at everyone.

She grabbed a couple of bags and led everyone to the back door. Griffa put down one bag for a second and waved her hand, releasing the charm on the door. She opened it, picked up her bag and stepped into the entry way, heading to the parlor. Everyone followed her inside.

The parlor was a decent sized room with a sofa, chairs, a few tables, and a large fireplace. It had a set of stairs in the left corner that led to the second story that overlooked the parlor.

“Max, you can stay in the room upstairs to the far right. Nora there is a small bedroom down here through that hall behind the stairway I think you would like. Issa, you can stay in the room just off the stairs to the left,” said Griffa directing everyone where they should go.”

She turned to Ansel. “I’m out of rooms. You can sleep with Max, or do you want to follow me?” asked Griffa once everyone else had gone to their assigned rooms.

Ansel rolled his eyes at her as she smiled at him. She led him to the largest bedroom in the house. The one her father had stayed in when she was younger. She had stayed there a couple of times since then, but it was always a little strange to call it her own room. After depositing all of their belongings, everyone met together in the parlor.

Griffa showed everyone around the home. Besides the parlor and bedroom there was a kitchen with dining area, a small study, and small space set up to do potions. They all settled in and sat in the parlor together discussing the schedule for the next two weeks.

“I’m not sure when I will be called to meet with the town council,” said Griffa standing by the fire. “I expect Talon will contact me today or tomorrow.”

“What else will we be doing in town?” asked Max.

“There will be a mid-winter celebration in the town center in a week that we will be expected to attend. We will be invited to dine with some of the prominent families. I will probably have to go meet with various people every day, but there is no reason you all have to go to those,” said Griffa sitting down on the sofa next to Ansel.

“Can we look around the town this afternoon?” asked Issa.

“Of course. We will all go if everyone would like. I can give you a tour,” said Griffa.

Nora got up to go make tea. Issa and Max offered to put together lunch from the food Maybell had sent. Ansel turned to Griffa to say something when there was a knock at the front door form the small entry way. Griffa and Ansel both stood.

Griffa waved him away and went to answer the door. She opened it to find a well-dressed man about her age with black hair and brown eyes. He had a thin face with smooth skin. He was smiling widely which showed off his deep dimples.

“Talon!” said Griffa. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” Griffa moved out of the way to let Talon in.

“Griffa!” said Talon excitedly. He stood in front of her and looked her over. He then took her hands and pulled her into an embrace. “I have missed you.” Talon let her go. He smiled at her. “I was very happy to hear you had taken your place as the leader of the Ring. I do believe leadership agrees with you. I didn’t think it was possible for you to grow in beauty, but here we are.”

“Thank you, Talon,” said Griffa slightly rolling her eyes. “You look was handsome as always. Come in, please.” Griffa led Talon to the parlor where he greeted Ansel at the fireplace.

“Ah, Ansel I was happy to hear you were coming with your young king. How are you?” asked Talon shaking Ansel’s hand.

“I am well. It is good of you to come see us so soon,” said Ansel.

“Of course, I wanted to greet all you as soon as I could. Griffa is the leader of the Ring now. She must be shown respect, not that I wouldn’t want to greet an old friend as soon as I could.”

“Sit down, Talon, please. I can get you some tea or do you want to join us for lunch?” asked Griffa pointing to a chair by the fireplace.

“I won’t bother you long, no need for refreshment. Where is the rest of your party? I’d like to say hello to Max, if possible,” said Talon sitting down in the chair.

“I’ll go let them know you are here,” said Ansel. He walked out of the room leaving Griffa and Talon alone.

“Griffa, I hope you don’t mind me dropping by so soon. I was very anxious to see you,” said Talon smiling at Griffa. “I know it’s only been a few months, but you have changed so much, in a good way of course.”

“You look and seem the same, Talon, in a good way of course,” said Griffa with a smirk. “Why are you really here this quickly?”

“You still don’t believe that I might actually like your company over everyone else’s? Griffa we’ve been friends for a long time. I’d say more than that if you want to reminisce,” said Talon looking at Griffa with a sly smile.

“We do not need to go into that right now,” said Griffa quickly looking over at the doorway from the kitchen. The last thing she wanted to do today, was discuss her history with Talon in earshot of Ansel.

Talon smiled. “I want to see how Max is doing. You have my full support, Griffa, you can always count on that, but it will take some convincing of my council. I need to have all the information I can get.”

Before Griffa could respond, the rest of the household came into the room. Talon stood up and smiled at everyone.

“Talon you remember Issa, Nora, and Max,” said Griffa pointing to each person who walked in. Talon bowed as Nora and Issa curtsied. Max bowed slightly.

“Max, it is good to see you again. I hope things are going well with your training?” asked Talon.

“Yes,” said Max. “Between Griffa and Ansel, I believe I have come a long way since I came to Abscon.”

“I’m sure you have, Max. I was not unimpressed with your abilities when I saw them this past year. I’m glad you have decided to join Griffa in the Valley.”

“I was excited I was able to come,” said Max. “I’m happy to be here. I’ve wanted to see The Valley for the while.”

“I hope we can show you a pleasant time. Our mid-winter festivities might even be more extravagant than Abscon, I believe. You will have to all come dine with me soon as well.”

“Why don’t we all sit down?” said Griffa, sitting down on the sofa. Talon sat next to Griffa, sitting very close to her so their shoulders touched. Everyone else found chairs in the area.

“So, Max, are you still happy living in Abscon at Keene Manor?” asked Talon.

“Yes, I’ve really enjoyed it. It feels like home now.”

“I heard about the forest at the end of last summer. Did you really send twenty Aurumist soldiers magically back to Aurumist against their will?”

“Uh, I don’t know if it was twenty and I only did it with Griffa’s help. Ansel helped too,” said Max looking at Griffa.

“Really? So. there is some truth to the story, fascinating. You will have to tell me the whole story sometime soon. Griffa told me a little bit of it in a message, but I hadn’t heard that she played a part,” said Talon patting Griffa’s knee with his hand. He let his hand linger on Griffa’s upper leg.

“I told you the basics of what happened. There was no reason for you to know more. We were ambushed, but we came out of it alive,” said Griffa.

“You seem to be getting in a lot of scuffles lately,” said Talon. He looked over at Ansel. “I hope you are taking precautions to keep everyone safe.”

“We are taking every precaution,” said Ansel. “Keeping Max and Griffa safe are my top priorities, as well as everyone else in the household.”

“I’m sure, Ansel,” said Talon with a slight smile. “I would just hate for anything to happen to Max or Griffa. We will need them both in the war to come with Aurumist.”

“So, Talon, I know you are very busy, and we need to finish unpacking before lunch. We appreciate you greeting us, but I am sure you have better places to be,” said Griffa standing up.

“I’m not sure I have better places to be, but I do have things I need to do. I will let you get on with your day,” said Talon standing. “Griffa, will you walk out with me?”

Griffa stood up and walked with Talon to the small entryway.

“Well, so the story in the forest is true?” asked Talon grabbing his cloak off the wall.

“Yes, it’s true. Max is very gifted with magic,” said Griffa.

“He said you helped, why didn’t you tell me?” asked Talon looking at Griffa.

“Yes, I did. I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t know how to explain it, but Max and I did it together,” said Griffa stepping back from Talon a bit and looking down.

“Interesting, I look forward to hearing more about it. You will come to our council meeting tomorrow morning, won’t you? You should come to lunch with me after. We need to catch up,” said Talon opening the door.

“I will come to the meeting. I will have to see about lunch, I might have plans.”

“Very good, well I need to be going. One more thing, can you tell me why Ansel looked like he was going to curse me at any moment? Did I offend him somehow?” asked Talon feigning innocence.

Griffa looked at Talon sternly, “Talon.”

“So, I guess that is still going on then. It’s pity for me, but I’m happy for you. I’m glad you are here, Griffa. I know this was inconvenient for you, but I think you coming here with Max will be very beneficial for all of us.”

“I am happy to be here. The Ring has ignored the Valley for too long. You are important to the kingdom and to Abscon. I will do everything I can to make sure the Valley is secure and included in all of our plans.”

Talon took Griffa’ s hand. “I believe you, Griffa. I will help you with the council as much as I can.” Talon kissed her hand and squeezed it. “I will see you tomorrow at the council meeting. Contact me if you need anything before then.”

Talon walked out. Griffa closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. She was glad Talon was on her side, but she knew she had a lot of work ahead of her.