Ildri grinned to herself over her brilliant escape as she walked towards her room, but with each step she could feel her manic glee slipping away, leaving only the terrible things that she had heard from Charles.

More deaths, more battles.  It was terrible, she thought as she slammed her door shut and threw herself down on her bed.

Of course, there had always been rumours of discontent and war coming to Wildwood from the outside.  There were more now, but even two months ago the tales seemed more like tales told to scare little children, frightening on the surface but without real sustenance, but they were different now.  Ildri had been plunged headfirst into the rumours of war, and they no longer seemed like simple scary stories.

It was a terrible reminder that all the danger had not stopped in the outside world simply because Ildri had returned to her place of comfort.  Forces were at work outside of Wildwood and even could threaten the safety of her precious home.

They had Lord Wildwood to lead them, of course, but he was just one man.  He was as trustworthy, wise and honourable as his father had been, but he was still just one person.  Just like Ildri.  Ildri was one person and she had spent her life being dependent and helpless, like a child.  But Ildri was a child no more.

War had come and as much as she did not want to think about it, it was too late.  Pretending that it was not would not change the reality, that she and everyone she loved were in danger from forces beyond her control.  War was like fire, it would ravage and consume the land until there was nothing left to consume.  Like fire, war was indiscriminate.  It would destroy any that got in its path, old or young.

Ildri hated being at Wildwood, feeling useless and discontent.  It was worse than being somewhere else, because it was the place she loved.

But it was not entirely Wildwood that had changed.  It was Ildri.

She hated all the changes, the new people, the new walls, but if she had never left, she knew she would not have felt that way.  The old Ildri would have been excited at the increased activity and thankful for any additional protection.

Ildri was not the same as she had been.  For better or worse, her encounter with Ty had changed Ildri forever.

* * * * *

Ildri's general malaise grew into a slow sense of frustration over the next couple of days.  Everything moved so slow and it felt as if all of Wildwood were holding their breaths and waiting for something.

Or perhaps it was all Ildri's imagination.

She continued to follow her usual pattern and time continued on.  Ildri worked in the kitchen, took her short walks and tried to seem as normal as possible so that no one would worry about her.

Ildri's day was going just like any other day.  She was in the kitchen peeling potatoes for lunch.  Chef was making meat pies and Kallie was helping Matt wipe down counters.

The door opened and Damani rushed in.  "Did we get a letter from Anya?" he demanded his sister.

Kallie glared at Damani.  "That's no way to talk to a lady, Damani."

"Fine, fine.  Did we get a letter?" he asked in a slightly nicer tone.

"Yes," Kallie said primly.

"Go on, then.  Read it," Damani ordered.

Kallie sniffed.  "Read it yourself."  She threw a letter onto the clean counter.

"I already read all day," he complained.  "Read it to me, Kallie."

"No," she repeated.

"Matt, you can then," Damani ordered.

Matt looked at Damani in horror.

"Oh, fine then," Kallie snapped.  "Leave Matt alone, you beast."  She picked up the letter and began to read.

Dear Kallie and Damani

"I don't know why you're always first," grumbled Damani.

"Perhaps because I'm not a villain and a ruffian.  If you want me to read this you need to shut your mouth and listen," Kallie told her brother.

I hope that this finds you well and that the two of you are behaving and not fighting too much.

"Always assumes the worst," Damani complained.

"Damani!"

"Well, she does."

"If you want me to read this..."

Things are going well here.  Jim and I have settled outside a small village and I've  begun making and selling potions.  It's a good business and I've been teaching Jim to help me.  He's most curious about my side of magic and is a fast learner, too.  I still miss my old assistants, though.  Strontholm is a beautiful country and are a bit more open minded about alternative methods of magic.

Sabin and I have perfected our flying potion.  It lasts far longer than it originally did and I've developed a counter potion if one wishes to remove the effects earlier.  It seems to wear off more quickly on Jim than it does when I use it, so I suspect that height and weight are a factor, or perhaps my connection with Sabin helps.  As ever, more testing is needed.  Hopefully soon I'll have saved enough money so that you can join me.

Even here in Strontholm, we hear rumours of the possibility of war in Edelland.  I worry about you two since I am not there to protect you, although I know that you both are becoming increasingly capable in your own right.  Stick together and take care of yourselves and stay at Wildwood.  Lord Wildwood and Lady Theresa are good people and you can trust them and I judged the king a fair and compassionate man in spite of rumours otherwise.  Stay strong, stay together and I will do whatever I can to take care of you no matter how great the distance is between us.

On a happier note, the wild plants available around here are different than the ones in Edelland.  I've had to do some experimenting to figure out what will work, but I don't truly mind.  I discovered a potion which renders the victim mute for a few hours.  It was an accident and Jim was quite worried as I could not explain what had happened until the effects faded.

While nothing is certain as of yet, Jim has been in contact with Lord Wildwood.  It bothers him greatly that he is not there to support his friend as everything becomes more troublesome for Lord Wildwood and the country.  Jim is very loyal, that is what I love about him.

"Love?  Sheesh, Anya."

"Shut up, Damani."

"You shut up, Kallie."

"P-please don't f-fight," Matt pleaded.

Kallie shot another dirty look at her brother, and continued reading.

It is good to hear that you are keeping busy and being productive.  It's good that you are learning magic, Damani, but be sure not to bully your sister with it.  Lots of love, and I look forward to the next time that I see you.

Love, Anya

"See?  She always blames me, and I haven't even done anything wrong, yet," Damani pointed out.

"But you will," Kallie said smugly.  "Anya always knows."

"She didn't put anything in about not being a bossy cow, did she?" Damani said, peering at the letter over Kallie's shoulder.

"Damani!" Kallie said, clearly full of outrage.

"Well, it's true," Damani said.

"Don't fight in my kitchen," chef told them.

"Yes, chef," the twins said in unison.

Ildri smiled at how obedient the twins became when chef spoke.  Ildri knew the feeling.  She supposed that they were good kids.  It probably had not been easy for Anya to raise them by herself after her parents died.

"I think Anya is in love with Jim," Kallie said with a little smile.

Damani stared at Kallie in horror.  "What?"

"She talks about him a lot.  And he went with her, didn't he?  I bet he loves her, too.  I think that they are going to get married soon."  Kallie seemed simply delighted.

Damani wrinkled his nose and looked uncomfortable.  Matt's face seemed a bit flushed as he looked towards the wall.

"Don't you think I'm right?" Kallie prodded.  "Matt?"

"Uh," Matt said.  "I-I d-don't know."

"I guess Jim's an all right bloke," Damani allowed grudgingly.

Kallie smiled sweetly.  "It's so romantic.  I hope someone rescues me someday."

"Hey, check this out," Damani said, clearly trying to change the subject.  Kallie snickered, and Ildri wondered if she was embarrassing the boys for her own amusement.  Damani picked up the broom and changed the wooden handle to a cool blue colour.

"Ooh, turn it pink," Kallie asked.

Damani did.  Both Kallie and Matt seemed enthralled with Damani's new power.  Chef wore an indulgent smile on her face as she mixed the pie filling.

Damani was enjoying the attention.  "Not only can I do that, but Lady Theresa told me that Lord Wildwood will teach me how to do a shield spell.  Then if the war does come to Wildwood, I'll be able to protect people.  And someday I'll learn how to fight.  If I could have done that when that bloody lord came to bother our sister..."

"Damani," chef chided gently.

"Sorry, chef.  If someone like that evil Thorne comes and bothers Anya once I know how to fight, I'll blast him good," Damani declared loudly.  "I'll defend the innocent and seek justice for all!"

"That's actually really neat," Kallie allowed.  "Maybe I should learn how to use my magic, too."

"It's not so easy.  It takes power and concentration," Damani informed her loftily.

The children continued to talk, but Ildri was no longer listening.  She remembered trying to learn magic herself.  Chef had said that she had more than enough power, but she lacked concentration.  She had managed small spells, but she had not been able to maintain them for any considerable length of time.  She either overdid it or lost the spell completely.

Ildri sighed.  It would have been wonderful to have been able to do magic when she had been dragged away from Wildwood.  When she had been captured, she could have freed herself instead of Ty needing to put himself in danger.  She could have helped Ty instead of running the day after they had left Maxine's.

She had been so helpless and she hated it.

Maxine.

Maxine knew magic.  Maybe, if Ildri asked her...  Yet, Maxine was a witch.

And witches stole magic.  Anya had committed the inexcusable wrong of attempting to wrench Lord Wildwood's magic from his being.  Ildri could not forgive Anya for that deed.

But, Maxine had been Ty's teacher.  Ty did the same sort of magic as Anya, but he had not misused as Anya had as far as she knew.  He was capable and independent and Ildri wanted that for herself.  She did not want to need to depend on everyone anymore.  She wanted to support the people she cared about.

Thoughts that Ildri could barely admit to herself whirled around in her head.  Was it possible?