The evening was as boring as an evening could be. No one stopped by to get some flowers or to try and sell things to the workers of the mansion. Not even the local farmers dared to visit and ask of there was help needed on the fields. It was strange, as Morvran had been at the mansion, everyone had come to see him.

They had asked for work almost every day and they had done it with pleasure. Probably because he was a generous man and had payed them better than they could have dreamed of.

But still. It was getting lonely, you figured.

Even the other servants were getting tired of the silence. The two remaining maids that had worked with you had quit and returned to their families. One wanted to get married and the other had to take care of her children, after her mother had died. Now, only you, Bernard and Herman were left to fill the mansion with a little bit of life.

But to be honest, Herman's well-being was conceding. His presence filled the air with death, even Bernard had said so. He refused to get close to the old man and was spending almost all of his time with fixing things.

It didn't bother you, since the horses had always kept you good company. But it was sad to know that sooner or later, you would be all by yourself again.

With a deep, heartbreaking sigh, you let yourself fall into the stack of hay that was pulled up next to the meres empty box and let your eyes wander through the stable. It seemed so empty. Morvran had given one horse to the lady that had accompanied him. He had called it a gift but you knew that it had been to keep her calm since he had rejected her clearly. Two stallions had followed him to the frontline, beside the mere.

Now, only two horses were left, one of wich was a very old stallion, almost too old to be alive. The other was a young mere, too young to be trained just yet. Either way, the horses wouldn't have been of great use.

"You're bored too, huh?", you asked the old stallion with a grin on your face.

The animal raised its head, as if it was understanding the words you were saying and looked at you to make a sound. Greedily, its eyes wandered over to the pile of food that was meant for the horses and stayed there until a small laugh escaped you.

"Smart girl.", you said and jumped up to get a bucket to fill. "You know exactly when it's time for lunch. But that's probably the only thing you know, huh?"

With a grin, you emptied the bucket in her feeder and filled a second one to give to the old stallion. While they began to chug down the apples and carrots, mixed with greens, you stroked through their fur to comfort them.

For a moment, your eyes wandered out of the window, into the distance. The night was rising already, the sky was shimmering in a soft purple. Stars were already awakening and the moon was hiding behind a curtain of pink clouds.

Right now, everything seemed at piece.

But this piece was disturbed, as all of a sudden a bright light emerged out of nowhere. Warmth began to fill your pocket. Equally surprised and frightened, you reached into your pocket to pull out Herman's stone plate. It was shimmering and vibration with magic.

Not knowing what to do, you threw it away. With a soft thud, it landed in the stack of hay. But the glowing did not stop. Instead, it began to grow with each second. The light changed from a bright white into a soft violet as little balls of magic began to flow out of the surface.

"What in all of the hells?!", you said out loud.

But even though there was fear beating inside your chest, you couldn't help but carefully pick the glowing thing up and look at it from all sides. The light blinded your eyes and for a moment you had to shield them with a hand.
Then, suddenly, the light git smaller and changed into a soft, comforting shimmer.

"Hello?", a voice asked out of nowhere. "(Y/N), are you there?"

Eyes wide open, you held the stone as far away from you as possible.

Was that... Morvran's voice?

"(Y/N), if you can hear me, answer.", the voice demanded.

No. This couldn't be. But the more you thought about the possibility, the more it grew on you.

"Morvran..? Is that you, Morvran?", you asked with a shaking voice.

For a moment, it got silent again. Then somebody laughed in relief. It was exactly that laugh that made you belief that it was truly the generals voice that was sparking to you.

"Yes, it's me. I'm glad that Herman kept his word. It's good to hear from you again."

Confused, you blinked.

"How is this possible?", you asked, mesmerised by the thing in your hand.

"Magic. It's a communicator, enchanted with a special spell. No matter where we are, as long as one has the black stone and the other has the white one, we can talk. Being oceans apart couldn't keep us from talking right now."

"But... that seems dangerous. You could get in trouble for communicating with the outside world without writing letters. I've heard that the emperor let's every letter be checked before delivery."

"That's true. And that's the reason why I wanted you to have this thing. No one will be able to know that we are talking. And one one will know what we talk about."

"That sounds like a punishable crime."

He fell silent for a moment. Then he sighed.

"It is. But I am willing to take the risk. Don't worry, I am not using it inside the camp. I am hiding in the forest nearby. I just-!"

"Morvran, you could loose your life because of a silly thing like this!", you said, your eyes were already filling with tears of worry.

"Don't tell me that! I know what I'm doing and I decided to take the risk. Listen, don't lecture me, I am an adult man. But I can't go another day without hearing your voice. I can't go another day without hearing about the events at the mansion. Not knowing how you are makes me sick and fills me with worry.", he hesitated, his breath was heavy. "So please. Let me have this moment a day and tell me how you are. Let me know your still alive and safe. That's all I want to know."