The maiden festival was tonight, Autumn would’ve rather faced down a warg again than be in a dress her parents rented and getting dolled up.

But it was important, if Baron Blackstone or Count Redwall wanted her for their second or even thirdborn she could get a very good dowry for her parents.

If she got picked for one of their Heirs? She could a minor noble and maybe even send her siblings to an Academy in the neutral learning zone, she couldn’t ignore how Harlan talked about the pretty air whenever she lit the fireplace or trained mana manipulation, a child born able to sense mana wasn’t unheard of, but rare enough she wanted to give him a chance to learn outside the farm.

And Amber was starting to move mana into basic spells already.

Ava didn’t have the mind for more than making her fingers glow, but she could want to learn more in a couple of years.

Aida even used some of the beautify in the gem from Redmond for her, she had to put her best foot forward.

“Honey, if you shake any more I’ll never get this blush on.” Aida was far calmer about the whole thing, she wasn’t thinking about counts and barons, just the other farmers who might want such a pretty girl for their own sons.

She calmed only a fraction, her mind still moving a mile a minute, trying to remember everything from the book on etiquette Redmond gave her last time he was here, she wished he was here now, but he was a ranger now, and rangers got leave in summer instead of the end of spring.

Finally she was ready, in an hours time she would be in the village square being looked at like livestock, she felt a lot better when her parents told her forced marriages weren’t legal and they wouldn’t send her off with anyone she didn’t like no matter the dowry.

“Alright children, remember, the stew on the stove will be ready once the sun is at the top of the trees, and you get to pick berries for dessert. We are going to be gone for a little while and we expect things cleaned up and you in bed by the time we get back.” Ava and Amber were happy to get to have as many berries as they wanted for dessert, but Harlan was silent still.

“Are you gonna go away biggest sister?” he was closet to Autumn, he loved seeing her practice magic as much as he loved naming all the animals he could see from the book Redmond gave him.

“I won’t be leaving for a long time even if I do get picked, how about I show you a trick before I go?”

He perked up a little.

“This one Uncle Redmond showed me.”

She moved her fingers almost faster than he could track and mouthed some words before a shining ring of light came into being.

“This is called ring of light, when it fades away I’ll be in the village.”

He grabbed it like it was the most perfect of gemstones and slowly placed it on his wrist, it shrunk to match his size and he held it closely, he hugged her without crying and then stepped back, mesmerized by the simple magic she gave him.

She and her parents got on the cart and cracked the reins, off to what was supposed to be a nice night with a feast paid for by the baron himself.

“Father, how much longer now…” the firstborn heir to Count Redwall was impatient, with his hands on a training sword whenever he was done with his tutors lessons, riding between small villages so his father could pick out a girl for him was far down his list of fun activities.

It didn’t help that Baroness Blackstone was dealing with Reinoan incursions and he didn’t even have her son to keep him company.

“15 minutes more, you should be more active and excited for this, you can choose at least, your mother was assigned to me by the crown, and I love her, but not every marriage between nobles is so kind.”

He stopped listening to his father after he heard 15 minutes, this was time he could be using to learn more spells and blasting clay targets apart then watching them reform.

He didn’t hear another word until the driver shouted something.

He heard wargs and rushed outside, spear summoned before his father could stop him.

Finally a chance to blow off steam.

But he only saw a couple of farmer and their daughter, the wargs already dead, a little surprising that the farmer managed to get both of them, and more surprising to see the daughter holding the spear, maybe he had heard of how his grandfather earned his noble title and thought a little show would endear her to the count.

But the most surprising part was when she pointed at him, mumbling under her breath, he saw the fire and light mana swirl as he realized it was lighting forming, he was too dumbfounded to think, why would she try to kill him? skinwalkers? assassins? He drew his sword and prepared to redirect it, only to hear a yelp beside him, a warg half in the shadows still without its head, fur singed off nearly to its shoulders, the girl fell and her father caught her.

The lightning hit exactly where she wanted it to… but the boy standing next to it was covered in the gore, she would’ve cursed her poor luck as she saw the crest on his chest, but she could hardly keep awake, too much mana formed too quickly, the backlash for trying a barely structured and overcharged lightning bolt.

She wanted to cry for ruining her chances with him.

And then she awoke at home, it was still dark out and she could hear words being spoken in the next room, voices she didn’t know, was her father being fined for having ruined the noble boys jacket? Did she doom him into debt slavery? She started listening as hard as she could.

Count Redwall was there she soon realized

“So we agree then, she will wed my son the coming spring, I will give a dowry of 70 gold coins and a 30% cut on your taxes for 5 years, as well as a non-criminal Ibexian slave to help with the farm after she leaves.”

“As I said, she will need to at least speak with him first,” Harlow wasn’t the bravest man, but he would never let his daughter go at any cost if she didn’t like the boy.

Once she realized what was happening she burst into the main room before realizing it was unladylike.

They all stared in silence as she tried to remember the correct greeting for a noble.

“What a fine evening this is to meet you, Count Harven Redwall.”

“Yes yes, now, this is my firstborn, Jaramis, chat with him and decide if you want to be wed.” Count Redwall would’ve completely discounted the girl as fit had Jaramis not been so insistent he wanted her, they tracked down the family after visiting the last village for the night and began bargaining.

Jaramis was already sat at the table, her parents had gotten out the nicest fabrics they had to cover the chairs as to not offend the guests.

“So, who taught you to fight? You did well but a contained fireball focused on heat would’ve cost less mana and wouldn’t have made such a mess, not that I mind”

“My uncle taught me, he is a ranger, he said to use light mana to banish shadows from wargs, stops them from fleeing.” she showed clear confidence when it came to fighting, Jaramis was head over heels at that point, when she explained the rest of the fight to him they talked back and forth about how they could’ve done things differently to have made it a cleaner fight overall.

Their parents had to cut the impromptu after action report short once it became clear they weren’t going to talk about anything else.

Redwall started “I have already explained the dowry to your father, do you accept to be wed to my son this coming spring?”

She suddenly realized where she was, she could talk about fighting and magic for hours, but a social butterfly she was not, she froze for a moment, beet red.

“Y-yes… I mean, I would be more grateful to accept your gracious offer Count Redwall.”

Jaramis just gave her a thumbs up and asked to spar before they left, the count glared at him until he lowed his hand, got up, nodded slightly, and went back to the carriage.

“I nearly forgot, a seal, proving she is to be wed to my son, I will stamp her, it will fade, and alert me if she should be… unfaithful to the agreement. In 2 months time we will send for her to be taken to my estate and taught how to be a proper lady, the seal shall be used to verify her identity.”

Autumn placed her hand out and the count stamped it, when it made contact she felt a shiver run through her soul, she didn’t know how a geas felt when it was placed, but she had heard her uncle explain them to her once, the seal was so weak even she could naturally defend against it, she let it settle on her soul after a moment, the terms of its deal were made clear in her mind an instant later.

The count raised an eyebrow when the geas didn’t take instantly but he considered it good she was at least cautious and capable of denying a geas, no matter how minor.

And then they all returned to their homes, Harlow and Aida couldn’t believe they got such a good dowry from the count.

“I can’t believe he folded to your silent treatment!”

“I was just too scared to talk at first!”

The three of them laughed at their luck, Autumn went to sleep, wondering if she should’ve asked about sending her siblings to an Academy, she thought about anything she could’ve changed that night, and slept soundly, not worrying too much about what can’t be changed.