October 28th, 513 CE

The ship creaked and groaned beneath my feet as I walked unsteadily to the back of it, my feet still unfamiliar with the swaying of the waves even after two days at sea. I found Osa knelt over the bodies of the two men from Coronium, fresh bandages around their injuries, and fresh blood staining her clothes.

“Osa?” I asked hesitantly. For a second her head lowered, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as her shoulders fell, then she was pushing to her feet.

“They’re gone,” she said simply. “We should have the sailors take care of them before the crows come.”

I nodded. To anyone else Osa might have come off as uncaring or emotionless, but this was just the way things were in her world. To be a wise-woman, a healer, was to face harsh truths about the world and the nature of life. Honestly, I’d always found her way with such things inspiring.

“There’s someone I want you to meet afterwards,” I said as we began walking to where a sailor sat slumped against the mast.

Osa raised an eyebrow at me, frowning slightly. “You’ve met a boy already? I thought your last experience would have warned you off for some time to come. I suppose I was wrong.”

“No!” I said, flinching and blushing at the remark at the same time. “No, it's definitely not like that.”

Osa’s frown deepened. “Then what is it like?”

“He’s a teacher,” I said. “A bard. He heard me playing and wants to teach me.”

That did little to affect the frown on her face. “You’re certain?” She asked, to which I nodded with a bit more force than necessary.

“Alright,” Osa said slowly. “But, don’t you think this bard would be better off speaking with Llew rather than with me?”

I shrugged, avoiding her gaze. “I wanted to talk to you about him too.”

“What about Llew?” Osa said, a glint of suspicion lighting in her eyes.

“Just,” I began, then trailed off, uncertain of what I wanted to say. He’s a gods damned fairy pretending to be a mortal? Sure, that would make me sound like the most rational person to ever live.

“I’ll tell you later,” I finished lamely. Osa narrowed her eyes at me, but let it drop as we approached the sailor on duty. It took a bit to get the bodies over the side, but eventually the three of us managed it. I said a small prayer as the corpses sank beneath the shallow waves. As we left the ship, Master Mapon gave us a slight wave and a subdued smile.

“Grim work,” he said as we stepped onto the dock. “But it’s work worth doing all the same. And it seems you do it well”

“Thank you,” Osa said, eyeing the man up. “I do my best, but sometimes even that is not enough.”

“And yet it must be,” Mapon said, his smile warming slightly. To my surprise Osa’s expression warmed in kind.

“Are you this mysterious friend of Bast’s then?” She asked, and the master bard fell into an elegant bow.

“You would be correct in such an assumption. Forgive me, but are you the boy’s guardian? You seem too young, more like a sister than a mother.”

“I am not,” Osa said, and a slight twinge of pain illuminated my heart for a moment. “But, for a time I was the one who cared for him.”

“Might I say you have done quite well in that too,” Mapon said, grinning. “And, In my opinion, it is labor more than blood that shows true love.”

“Bast said you were a bard,” Osa said, her smile warm as she took a step closer to the man. “It seems to me you are more a poet than a bard.”

Mapon chuckled at that. “Well, if you are not the boy's guardian then who must I speak with next?”

“Llew,” I said, taking the opportunity and cutting into their uncomfortable conversation. “He and Gwyn are back at the Inn.”

“And which inn might that be?”

I opened my mouth, then shut it with an audible click and looked away sheepishly. “I, uh, don’t remember,” I said, to which the master bard just shook his head.

“I do hope we can correct that in you. It’d be a shame to train a bard with your potential only for him to get himself lost.”

“I’m not that bad,” I protested, feeling a slight blush creep into my cheeks. “I’m just not used to this city. It's been a long time since I’ve been back.”

“A lot has changed in the last eight years,” Mapon conceded.

I stopped in the middle of the street and frowned at the man. The bard, in turn, replied with a broad grin.

“You know?” I asked, and he snorted.

“Of course I know. I remember seeing you working the kitchens of Caer LlysBran last time I visited king Bronwydd’s court.”

“How can you be certain it was me you saw and not some other boy. Eight years is a long time.”

“Indeed,” he said, still smiling. “But you see, boy, there are only so many people in this part of the world who bare your complexion, and I've never seen another persian lad with pale gold hair lighter than my own. Whether you like it or not, lad, you stand out.”

“My complexion is hardly any darker than your own,” I said defensively, but the old man shrugged.

“You forget I am a bard, lad. Few things make it past my eyes, and I certainly never forget.”

I shook my head. “Fine, fine. Let's just get to the inn, you’ll learn more there.”

“Pray that be a certainty,” Mapon said, and so we continued on through the streets. I only made a few wrong turns along the way. Four at most.

As we entered Ms. Cothi let out a happy chirp of a laugh.

“Oh god,” she said, one hand going to her chest. “I was starting to get a bit worried for you boy. I imagine this young lady is Osa, yes? And your other friend is…” She trailed off as her gaze moved from Osa to Mapon who was just turning back from closing the door.

“Master Mapon!” The middle aged woman exclaimed. “To what do we owe the honor?” She was suddenly very flustered, as if she’d taken a cold and was suddenly in the midst of a fever.

Master Mapon bowed to the woman and smiled, an expression he made a lot, I realized.

“My lady Cothi,” he began in a silky tenor, and it was as if the room had suddenly warmed slightly. “Please, forgive my intrusion. I am here on official bard’s business. Please, pay me no mind.”

Cothi returned the man's bow and replied, “Of course, master, of course. God help me if I stand in your way.”

“Thank you, Ms. Cothi,” Mapons said as we moved towards the stairs. “Your service is as wondrous as usual.”

A sigh broke from Cothi’s lips as I guided them up the stairs and towards Llew’s rented room.

“Is she always like that?” Osa asked as we rounded the corner.

“Usually,” The bard replied. “But get enough drink in her and you wouldn’t recognize the woman.” He said that last with a wry smirk that made me uncomfortable.

Osa opened her mouth to implore further, but I knocked on Llew’s door before she could get a single word out. There was the shuffling of feet on the other side seconds before it swung open, Llew standing imperiously in the doorframe, ready to glare down whoever was at his door. Then his eyes met mine and he relaxed.

“It took you quite some time to find your way to the ship and back. Did you get-” Llew began, but cut off abruptly as he spotted Mapon.

“Llew!” Mapon said, brushing past me with arms held wide open. He wrapped Llew in a broad bearhug, partially lifting the younger man off his feet, his laughter like a lion’s roar. “It's been too long my boy!”

“Uncle,” Llew said, a forced cheerfulness to his voice. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. What brings you to my door this evening?”

“Actually, it was the boy!” Mapon said, still beaming. “I’d like to take him off your hands, at least for a while.”

Llew’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and Mapon raised both hands. “No, fool, no, I mean this boy, not that royal brat you’re retraining in there.” The master bard gestured back to me, Llew’s eyes following the gesture and locking with mine for the barest of moments, then waved his hand in the air.

“If the boy wishes to learn under you then I have nothing to say against the idea,” Llew said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to help Lady Osa here get comfortable before returning to my king’s lessons. If you’d care to join us I suppose I could ask Cothi to bring us something to drink but I-”

“No, no need to trouble the kind woman. I’ll just take the boy with me now and get out of your hair,” Mapon said.

Llew gave the other man a searching glance, then shrugged. “Very well then. Osa, if you’d care to come with me I can show you to your bed. You look ready to sleep for a fortnight.”

“I think I just might,” Osa said, stepping into the doorway. She paused, then turned back to me. “Bast…,” she tried, but trailed away before trying again. “Bast, I’m not sure where either of us will be tomorrow, or even who we might be, not with all this nonsense going on, but if you need me, well, perhaps you could come by here. It would be a shame to never see you again.”

I opened my mouth to reply, then shut it. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. She’d taken me in, practically raised me for half my life, and I’d broken her rules, broken her heart. I wasn’t sure if I was willing to risk doing that again.

Mapon gave Osa a solem bow in my stead. “Worry not, my lady,” he said, his previous tenor rolling smoothly into a soothing baritone. “The boy will be well cared for. And should you stay in the servious of young Llew’s boy king, your paths shall certainly cross once again.”

Osa gave us both a sad smile. “Thank you,” she said, and began to turn away.

A sudden urge, a panic really, gripped my heart and in a heated moment of emotion I blurted out, “Thank you, Osa, and, also, I’m sorry.” I was clutching at the copper coin slung across my neck as I said the word, head bowed, eyes squinting against sudden tears. “I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me and Gwyn. Please, keep yourself safe.”

Osa’s smile warmed as I spoke, and before I knew it she was giving me a hug, standing on her toes and resting her chin on my shoulder as she wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you,” she said again, and I hugged her back.

It was a few moments before she pulled away from me, the loss of her warmth almost unbearable in the sudden slight chill of the hallway. We gave each other another farewell, then Gwyn was at the door as Llew led Osa away.

“So you’re leaving then?” Gwyn said, a bitter edge to his voice.

“Looks like it,” I said with a shrug. “Don’t worry though, I’ll be fine. And you, you’ve got Osa and Llew. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Yet, somehow, worry I do,” said Gwyn, the boy still frowning.

I smiled. “I’ll see you soon, alright?”

“Alright,” he said, then pushed off the doorframe and went to close the door. “Take care of yourself, brother,” he said just before the door shut with an audible click.

I let out a long sigh and turned to look at Mapon. “So,” I asked, still caught up in the sudden whirlwind of events. “What now then?”

Master Mapon grinned. “Now, boy, now the real fun begins.”