“Why didn’t you stop me?” a very hungover Alana says while perched on the end of her bed, head in her hands. The sun has barely risen but the rest of the house is bustling with activity. Today is the day, after all.

We’ll have to get moving ourselves very soon, but for now, I’m enjoying the rare sight of a miserable saint in disarray. Soon enough, the smirking elf sprawled on the bed beside her will lay a magical hand on her and cure her of all her ails but for now, I’m letting her bask in the moment until she remembers the master healer.

“Stop you from what? Drinking? Crawling on to my lap?”

“Yelling at my mother,” she groans.

Huh. That was the last thing I expected her to be upset about. “Should I have? The general feeling seemed to be against her. You seemed to be against her.”

She sighs. “It’s complicated.”

“What isn’t with your family?” I mutter. A bit too loud. Alana glares at me, her exhaustion and reddened eyes giving it extra power. “Sorry. Slipped out.”

She holds the glare for a moment longer before dropping her shoulders. “You’re not wrong. But this is more complicated than normal.” Her hand taps the bed beside her. I walk over but before sitting, I grab one of Kierra’s hands and place it on Alana’s shoulder. My wife obliges the silent request and the green glow of her magic covers her fingers. I watch as Alana visibly rejuvenates, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Should have thought of that.”

“None of us are at our best first thing in the morning.”

“Speak for yourself, dedia.”

I resist an urge to roll my eyes. “Except my lovely wife. She is always perfect.”

She lets out a satisfied hum.

Alana smiles at our silliness but it quickly deflates. “My mother…she isn’t a bad woman. She loves me. Would do anything for me. Has done…a lot. If it wasn’t for her faith in me, I don’t know if I could have endured.”

She looks away. “Every night, she told me I was meant for something more. If she hadn’t, I don’t know if I’d have ever tried to be a knight, let alone fought for a place at the James’ table. I would’ve been another girl who knows nothing but the north. I would never have gone to the Hall.” She turns to me. “I would have never met you.”

When she puts it like that, I understand why it’s hard to say she doesn’t like her mother. Being able to meet me is worth forgiving a lot, heh.

“You’re thinking something annoying, aren’t you?”

“No.” I refuse to believe I’m that easy to read.

Alana looks at me dubiously.

“I’m going to be a little blunt here but the duke’s wives’ biggest issue with your mother seems to be, her, uh.”

“I thought you were going to be blunt.”

I want to but that’s still your mother.

“They seem to think your mother uses her body for favors,” Kierra says bluntly. “This seems to be a negative thing for humans.”

“It’s not for elves?” I ask.

The elf chuckles. “Someone who is good with their bodies is art in motion and provides a good time. It is natural to pay for a good time. It is natural to pay for art. How is it any different?”

…she makes a good point.

“It…was a little more calculated than that. For the campaign, knights aren’t the only ones who go. For the larger armies, civilians also tag along. All armies take along people to maintain their gear and dismantle kills. I didn’t bother since I figured the hunters were skilled enough that it wasn’t necessary. The larger armies bring cooks, musicians, and servants. It’s one of the few ways non-combatants can achieve a measure of prestige in Victory.

“There are also…women who tag along. They are…” Alana sighs, deeply. “There’s no nice way to say it. They’re bed warmers. Whores on the road. Victory doesn’t…it doesn’t have the same negative reputation it has in other places. There’s honor for anyone who ventures beyond the walls. But it’s still…” She shrugs. “It’s not looked on well. Especially when it’s targeted.

“My mother definitely targeted my father. She managed to become his favorite for a few campaigns. Mother says she would have become his third wife if Eleanor didn’t intervene. And the reason she did is because of me. There are potions that can be taken to stop any unplanned heirs. It’s expected for the women to take them. If they don’t, the fathers aren’t obligated to accept the children into their house.”

Hm? If these potions exist, then why is Alana here?

“I already know what you’re going to ask. That’s the crux of the matter. My mother slept with the duke and didn’t take the potion. She claims that she took it and it didn’t work. Except it always work. And even if it didn’t, when she realized she was pregnant, she could have seen healers. No, she wanted me. And she wanted to be a duchess.”

Alana scoffs. “Unfortunately, while my father is nothing if not dutiful, she was fighting against generations of tradition. Worse, she had the wife of status working against her. You think Eleanor is intense now. Twenty years ago, she was lean, mean, and vicious. Forget being duchess. My mother didn’t dare come within sight of the James estate. Of course, the way she tells it, Eleanor came at her like a madwoman for no reason.

“My mother’s schemes amounted to nothing but she didn’t stop. If birth alone wasn’t enough to make my father acknowledge me, then talent would have to be. She pushed me toward becoming a knight. And when my affinity was tested, well, my father decided to acknowledge me after all. She still didn’t get what she wanted. By then, my father had married his third wife. There was no room for her. But again, my father is nothing if not dutiful. To acknowledge me is to acknowledge her. She got some funds, a better house. My mother is nothing if not adaptable. She’s done pretty well for herself.”

Huh. More than I expected. Less than I find intolerable. Nobles will do anything to raise the status of their house. Including using a beautiful daughter or two to ensnare a lustful young heir into marriage. Alana’s mother is certainly devious but so is the average noblewoman in Summer Spire.

“I see.”

Alana shrugs. “My mother wants Victory more than anything. No, she wants to be someone in Victory. And for a long time, I wanted it just as badly. Then I went to the Grand Hall and realized that Victory is just one fort in a big world. That there’s more than the James family. We…I’ve been struggling to tell her. That was not the way I wanted to start the conversation.”

“We’ve got time. You can go see her.”

Alana winces. Then she climbs to her feet and stretches. “No. Better to go before we exchange more harsh words. Once we come back with plenty of merit, Mother will forgive me anything.”