“Here is the Messenger, Petsha.” Dimitri stopped them in front of a smartly painted wooden shop on a wide cobbled street. This was the nice part of town it seemed. “I think you would like some privacy no? I will come back for you soon,” he bent and his lips gently grazed her knuckles. His lips were warm and soft and he smiled when looked up and caught the surprise in her eye. “Until then Petsha.” he squeezed her hand and released it. He turned and Petra watched him walk away.

The messager shop fit neatly into Petra's expectations when she walked in. The walls were lined with tiny drawers and gleaming little brass labels on them. The proprietor was of course a wizard, a halfling. He looked up when Petra entered.

“Greetings miss.” his voice was almost comically small and nasally like he was playing to his own stereotype. “How may I help you today.” he asked.

“I need to check if there is a message for me.” Petra informed him.

“Of course dearie, name please?” he asked.

“Petrianna Yekaterina Alexandra Androvna” She answered.

“Oh a Northerner, you're far from home.” he remarked.

“Yes” Petra replied flatly

“Well lets just look and see.” he brought out a reading glass and flicked it with his finger. It levitated in the air in front of him and then began to scan over the little brass plates on the manny drawers lining the walls. The shelves on the wall shifted and shuffled themselves to reveal more behind them. Until the reading glass stopped at one drawer whose brass plate began to glow gently in the dim shop. The little wizard walked over to it. And reached out as his magical hand retrieved the box and handed it to him.

“Here you are Miss, oh I mean--”

“Just Miss is fine” Petra said taking the box from him. And extracting the letter “thank you.”

“of course Miss.” he said taking the box back and magically returning it to its place.

Petra stepped into the light streaming in through the window, unfolded the letter and read it.

My dearest daughter and most treasured child Petroyshka

I hope this letter finds you well on your travels my child. I know not where you will read it but I am writing it to you sitting next to the fire in your babushka Androvna's house. I can see out the window the pond with that rock you like to watch the frogs on. I'm afraid it is already too cold for them. But I think it was nearly too cold when you left.

Petroyshka, daughter please. Please come home. The engagement was canceled well before you left, it was never even finalized in the first place. He was a bad match for you and I should have seen that. Please forgive me and come home.

Everything you want you can have here. You can practice your magic, you can learn new spells. You can help people, you can heal people. There are always exotic visitors at court you can still see all those marvelous things you crave while staying at home.

You told me you wanted to leave because you wanted adventure but darling you have always loved home. You have always loved to do things the same way each day. You used to love going to visit court for all its rules. But I never taught you enough of the unspoken rules so I do suppose its my own fault you did not want to stay there.

My dearest. I know it must be so overwhelming. You don't have to prove anything. We all know how brilliant and talented you are. Petroyshka come home.

At the very least my darling reply to my letter. We all miss you terribly and pray for your safe and speedy return.

My dearest, my the great she bear keep you safe through this winter and see your eyes open on the spring.

You are always in my heart Petroyshka love, your mama.

"Mamushka" Petra whispered as she finished the letter. Her mother tried but she didn't understand. How could she understand when I can never explain well enough? Petra thought to herself.

Yes the disastrous betrothal had been part of why she left. But Viktor really was now the least of her concerns when it came to returning home. She wanted something new and different. She wanted people that didn't already know her as the weird fire girl obsessed with magic who never talked to anyone. She wanted to be somewhere without the gossip of whether or not she was a changeling. She thought of Jimothy, that last bit might be harder to escape. Deep down she knew or feared that this reaction people had to her would be everywhere and that if she had to deal with it she may as well deal with it at home. But she hoped. She hoped that she could find a place that would be different, where the people were different. Maybe she had found that on the ship. Maybe she had found that with her new friends. The captain had offered her a place on the crew even if she still had some resentment towards her at the moment; Sezjeck too was even and unfazed by her; Tor had said they were friends, that he liked talking to her; Lark was an annoyance to be sure but a distinctly benign one; and then there was Dimitri. “Dimitri likes me.” she thought “he knows I am strange and he likes me for it.” Maybe she could return home with him. It would certainly make her mother happy.

Petra looked up to the shop wizard.

“I would like to make a reply, may I have paper and pen?” she asked.

“That will be five gold a piece.” The little wizard said plainly .

“Ten gold for paper and pen?” Petra asked shocked at the price.

“Ten gold for paper, and the use of a pen.” the little wizard corrected “you may not keep the pen.”

“Ten gold to send a message is twice what it costs back home.” Petra retorted.

“Oh ten is just the materials price, it will an additional ten for the actual sending.” The little wizard corrected.

“This is robbery.” Petra remarked.

“Miss, has it escaped your notice the port you are in?” the halfling chided.

“Alright” Petra sighed, “Give me paper and pen please.”

Petra handed over ten gold, was given her paper and pen, and began to write a response to her mother.

Mamushka

I am writing to you now from Turtle Harbor. I boarded a vessel named the Bonnie Bounty in Goldhaven and we are sailing for the great Southern continent. The voyage there and back is expected to be over a year. I am well and I am putting my skills to good use taking care of the crew members. There is one who was plagued with nightmares and now I make him babushka's sleeping tea and he is not bothered by them anymore. There is also a boy, I think he is barely sixteen, he gets hurt an alarming amount for one person and I heal him often. Also I put out a fire onboard the ship. It was exciting. I am helping people Mama and I am seeing new things. And I have met someone who is very interested in me. He says that he likes me and I think we may be more than friends.

I am doing well Mamushka. I send to you all my love to give to our family. I will write again when I am able. I love you Mama, your daughter Petrianna.

The letter was much shorter than her mother's but it was what she could write. Petra was careful not to dwell on thoughts of her mother and her home for too long. She did not need to start spiraling now. She neatly folded the letter and handed it to the wizard at the counter along with ten more gold pieces.

“and who is this addressed to miss?” he asked

“The Ambassador, Princess Alexandra Natalia Sophia Androvna, of Torivda.”

“Very good. We will see that it reaches its destination and recipient.” he placed the letter in to one of the small boxes. Tapped it three times with his reading glass and opened it again for her to show that it had sent.

Petra nodded and walked from the shop.

“Good day miss”, the wizard called after her.

Petra exited the shop and paused for a moment outside in the air to catch her breath. She needed something to take her mind off of that immediately or she would be trapped thinking of it all day. Dimitri had said he would meet her back here but she needed to move away from here now. She continued to walk up the street away from the water hoping she might find him, or at the very least something to distract her.

“Petra” a chirpy voice called out from behind her. Lark came jogging up the street towards her. “its so great to run into you again, I think I must have lost you and Dimitri coming off the ship but here you are again.”

Petra stared at him for a moment than nodded her head at him one and continued walking up the street.

“Guess that means I'm with you.” Lark said jogging up beside her. “So what was your business?” he asked

“I letter from my mother, and I wrote her one in return.” Petra responded truthfully and simply.

“So how is your mom, what did you write to her?” He continued.

“She asked me to come home and I told her we are going to the Southern Continent and I may not be back home for over a year.” Petra replied.

“You were that harsh with your mom?” Lark asked aghast. “Did you also tell her that you got flogged for starting a fight with that prick Jimothy?”

“No and I do not intend to.” Petra answered “I do not really want to talk about that with anyone.”

“right..err, sorry Petra. I just thought it would be funny because it would be rough news and I thought the whole 'no mom I'm not coming home for at least a year' thing was also pretty rough.” Lark said.

“Thank you for explaining,” Petra said stiffly “but still do not think it is funny and I do not want to talk about what happened.” She finished.

“I'm sorry. So where are we headed?” Lark asked as they continued up the road.

“I am hoping to find Dimitri, he left me to my business at the messenger and he said he would meet me there but I think it is better if I find him.” Petra said.

“Well, maybe he went this way.” Lark said and skipped a step ahead to take the lead. He continued quickly up the road, craned his neck around a corner lead her through a side street and out into a market square crowded with booths .

“There he is” Lark pointed to a booth on the other side of the square where Dimitri was indeed concluding his business with a seller.

Petra and Lark walked over to him.

“Ah Petra I was just coming to find you,” he looked past her to Lark “and I see you've brought the boy.”

“Yes he found me, but he also helped me find you.” Petra answered.

“He did, did he?” he asked Petra “Maybe you are not completely useless after all little boy” he said ruffling Lark's hair.

“I'm not a little boy,” Lark emphasized “I'm grown.”

“Of course you are.” Dimitri responded then turning to Petra “We should get back to the ship I have a surprise for you.” he said holding up a parcel.

“I do not often like surprises.” Petra said skeptically

“Well this one is more of a gift. I promise.” Dimitri smiled conspiratorially at Petra who managed a flustered and anxious one in return. He linked her arm in his.

“Well we are going back to the ship, we may see you there and if we don't, enjoy turtle harbor Lark.” Dimitri and Petra walked past Lark and Lark turned to continue into the market.

“Wait.” Dimitri said knife in hand at the end of an extended arm. “Give it back little boy, you don't want to play with the big kids I assure you.”

Lark paused a moment before holding out a folded piece of paper. Dimitri quickly sheathed his knife and pocketed the paper.

“Good boy,” he cooed and strolled out of the square and back to the ship with Petra on his arm.

Lark watched them go then ducked into an alley to explore the city and see if there were anymore crew mates in the port, or at the very least anyone who's pockets he could make lighter.