It was Ildri's twenty-second day in the capital when Lord Wildwood finally returned. She was more than glad to see him and very glad at the possibility she would be back to Wildwood soon.

She could see the beloved towers in her mind and she could not wait to be on her way.

The latter part of her stay at the capital had not been as terrible as the first few days. Having Charles for companionship made the time go by mercifully more quickly. It was only when she was secluded in her room with only her own thoughts for company that she felt really awful.

Ildri was sitting in just such a state on the day that Lord Wildwood had arrived. Charles was off working and she had nothing to do. She had been told that Lord Wildwood had come but she had not had the opportunity to see him yet.

As if by thinking about him, not a minute later there was a knock at the door.

Ildri went to the door and opened it. A snotty servant stood there. "You have been summoned to Sir Geoffrey's office."

"Thank you," Ildri agreed, thinking it was odd that Charles had not been the one to come and get her. She supposed that they thought she could find her way around the castle by now. "I'll go now."

The snotty servant nodded and left. Ildri guessed that they saw her as some sort of backwards backwoods person who was completely undeserving of the king's graces. She supposed that they might be right. But she had not asked to be thrust into the difficult situation.

Ildri made her way to Sir Geoffrey's office and knocked on the door. "Enter."

Ildri pushed the door open. "Lord Wildwood!" she cried, more than happy to see him.

"Ildri, how are you?" he asked.

"I'm great, now," she said happily.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

"I'm ready the moment you are," she said fervently.

Lord Wildwood chuckled. "Can you wait two days? I do have some business."

"Of course," she said feeling a bit embarrassed. She belatedly noticed that not only was Sir Geoffrey in the room but Charles was also sitting behind a smaller desk writing. He smiled at her when she looked at him but his expression seemed a bit strained.

Lord Wildwood smiled kindly at Ildri. "I thought you would be interested to know that the force near Wildwood has been routed and several of the men have been taken prisoner."

"Really?"

Sir Geoffrey nodded. "They are being interrogated as we speak. The information that you brought was invaluable to the king. The king wishes to reward you for your loyalty and perseverance." Sir Geoffrey said and he handed her a leather bag.

"Me?" She was shocked.

"Yes. It was invaluable."

"But what about Ty? Did they find him? It was his information, really."

Sir Geoffrey's face looked bleak. "I'm afraid we did not find him, Miss Ildri."

Ildri's heart sunk. Of course not. She grasped the bag. She did not really want it, but she could not refuse something given by the king. "Thank you."

"No, Miss Ildri, thank you. While the schemes and wars continue, this is a setback for Scelus. We will get to the bottom of everything."

Ildri summoned a smile. She was glad about that. But... What about Ty? It had been him who had done everything. Ignoring the whole disastrous beginning to her journey, he had saved her and brought her almost the whole way. She had only slowed him down and caused his capture.

"You can go now," Lord Wildwood said kindly.

Ildri nodded and escaped the room.

She walked back down the long hallways.

"Ildri!" she heard a familiar voice cry. She turned around to see Charles.

"Yes, Charles?" she asked.

Charles was huffing slightly when he caught up with her. He put one hand on the wall. "There was one more order of business that keeps getting overlooked. That horse you came upon—"

"Sarabella?"

"Yes, that one. Where did you get her?"

Ildri felt bad that she had not thought to deal with Sarabella before now. "Ty borrowed her from his brother. I don't know who or where, but it was near Viersen."

Charles nodded. "I'll let Sir Geoffrey know."

Ildri knew he needed to get back to work so she smiled a bit and started walking again.

"Wait, Ildri. I was wondering if you would like to go out again tonight," Charles said.

Ildri pictured spending the evening in her room alone. "That sounds wonderful."

Charles smiled. "I'll meet you at seven."

"That sounds nice," she said, and they both went their separate directions.

* * * * *

That night at seven, Ildri went with Charles as planned. "I thought I'd show you a new restaurant," he told her.

"That sounds nice," she said, allowing him to help her into a hired carriage.

The driver wound them through the streets. Ildri had made enough excursions into the city that she had an idea where she was and probably could have found her way back to the castle on her own if she had a reason to.

The carriage stopped in front of a building and Charles helped Ildri out. She walked in beside him. The interior was not overly fancy but it held a charm of its own. Ildri liked it immediately.

A server took them to a table. It was set in the corner and there was lit by a simple candelabra in the centre. Ildri took a seat. There was a window that looked onto the Edelwynd, the large river that ran through the capital and the country. The lights on the opposite side and the darkening sky reflected off the water.

"It's beautiful," Ildri told Charles.

"I thought you'd like it," Charles said. Ildri realized that he was watching her.

The server came back and Ildri asked for the same thing that Charles ordered. She realized that he had been spending a lot of money on her and felt a bit guilty.

If Ildri had known she would be in the capital she could have brought her own money. She had saved most of her wages for years. She had never left Wildwood and there had never been much there to spend it on.

Of course, if she had thought she would be forced to leave Wildwood she never would have left the castle that night.

She felt so removed from the girl she had been, she thought as she picked at her food.

"You're unusually quiet tonight," Charles commented.

"I guess it's just because I'll be going home soon. So much has happened."

"I feel the same way."

"You do?"

Charles looked a bit abashed and lowered his eyes.

They finished their supper in relative silence. When he had finished, Charles asked, "Would you like to go somewhere else? I know a place you would probably like to see."

Ildri nodded. "I would love to."

* * * * *

"Do you mind walking?" Charles asked. "It's just a short distance."

"Is it safe?" Ildri wondered. She had heard tales of thieves and murderers that haunted the great cities. She felt a strong longing to be back at Wildwood where everything was safe and familiar.

Charles smiled indulgently. "It is as safe as the king can make it. His guards make regular rounds and crime has fallen greatly."

"I suppose we can walk then," Ildri agreed.

"It's not far."

Charles spoke to the restaurant matron. Ildri noted that the woman seemed to know Charles. She brought him a lantern and lit it with a candle before handing it to him.

"Where are we going?" Ildri wondered aloud. The road was leading them gently higher but the incline was not so steep as to make walking unpleasant.

"You'll see soon," Charles said with a mysterious smile that was illuminated in the lantern light.

Ildri was curious but decided to be patient. "The restaurant matron seemed to know you," she commented, mostly to end the silence.

Charles nodded. "I stayed in the upper room when I first came to the capital."

"Where are you from?" she wondered. Charles already knew everything about her but she realized that she knew almost nothing about him.

"I'm from Morswynd," he said.

"Where is that?"

"On the northern coast. My grandfather is Baron Morswynd."

"Baron?" Ildri asked, surprised. Charles was so nice, so approachable, but if he was of the nobility it was hardly seemly for her to be friends with him. She was nothing but a common servant.

"Yes. I'll eventually be Baron, but it won't be for a long time. My grandfather is in excellent health and barely shows signs of slowing down. People in my family usually reach a great old age," he said with cheerful good humour.

Ildri felt horribly awkward. She had no business being about with anyone who was in line to inherit a barony. It was one thing to work in the kitchen for a marquis and another entirely to be friendly with a peer, no matter that he was low in the ranks. However, Charles seemed not to be bothered at all. She cast around for something to say to hide her sudden discomfort. "You're the oldest in your family, then?"

Charles laughed. "I'm the baby. I've got four older sisters."

Ildri glanced at him. She wished again that she had had brothers or sisters. It would be nice to have someone else who she could have taken care of and could have taken care of her.

"Right here," Charles said. Ildri looked to see a small path which wound down closer to the river through some low growing shrubs and a few trees.

"It's a bit of nature in the middle of the city," he explained. "Morswynd is fairly isolated and I sometimes long for the solitude of nature in the middle of all these buildings."

Ildri smiled slightly. "It seems nice," she said lamely. She had no interest in solitude of nature. She did not mind the buildings and the chaos of the capital but she missed Wildwood and the people that she loved. She wanted to go home to them. Her heart would feel better, she was certain that it would mend itself once she returned to where she belonged. She doubted that she would ever leave it again once she got back and the thought was comforting.