Mallow and I did not spend much time together in the following week, even though we knew we might not ever see one another again. Perhaps it was because we had spent so much time together since she was a kid, and reflecting on that with the new found insight of how much we loved each other was enough. Maybe it was because, with such an enormous event awaiting us, if we spent too long together we'd feel pressured to say something inspiring that neither of us could think of. It was only at dinners and over breakfast that we would chat. Usually she told me about the mundane lives of the locals, or speculated about how I'd do at the Mediceum if I were accepted. She always had the brightest smile on, as if being Contracted for the Proving didn't hold her down at all.

Either because he felt that a dad and daughter should spend their last week before a Proving together, or because he was inexplicably jealous, Bernard tried to encourage her to sit with Osoro and I during the days. Osoro was helping me brush up on my reading skills, but Mallow dismissed it as something she'd never use. She preferred to run off to mingle with the locals her age, or drag Bernard out on an adventure she'd conceived while exploring the small village. Being locked away for that week had somehow fed her already inordinate amount of wanderlust.

I was shocked by how large the language was that Osoro was attempting to teach me. He was trying to give me a technique to read words I'd never seen before. I hadn't read much since I was a child, and so knew most words for their rough appearance, seeing them hundreds and hundreds of times before. When I had to stop and sound it out, it was difficult. Still, he stuck with me. He said my vocabulary was already excellent from so many years in sales. I just needed the technique to read what I already knew.

On the sixth night, Osoro was wiping off the piece of slate in the backyard we had been using to draw on when I had the courage to ask. His powers had still not returned. He hadn't spoken of that once.

"Do you ever regret not telling someone sooner?"

"Hmmm?" Osoro asked, his hands still methodically swiping away the mess. He kept busy as he spoke, like when I met him handing out food to the poor.

"I mean, you know, guilty. About the sacrifices."

"Are you crushed by guilt about what you did, shilling those fake potions?" The words were biting, but he was more weary than battle ready.

I would not be deflected. "If I didn't, I'd not be training to be a healer. I've got to make amends."

Osoro handed the slate to me.

"My magic is gone. I question my path; there must have been a better way I could have done the right thing. However, I am happy to not have to keep those secrets anymore. "

A young man on horseback rode up to the cottage. I tensed, thinking perhaps this was it, the arrival of the BROS or Arcana Enforcement to drag us into the investigation finally. Then I noticed the color of the rider's vest, the neutral black and white checkered pattern. He was a messenger.

He stumbled off the horse, and as his hat tumbled off, I recognized that he was indeed the local message boy who delivered the scant few letters that arrived in this spread out village.

"Sir." He held out the scroll to me. I took it. The outside was sealed with the wax of the Mediceum's seal. I held my breath and then opened it. Osoro moved and looked over my shoulder down at the letter.

"The transfer of coin went through. Bernard's not a wanted man, and you're all set up to start classes next week." Osoro patted my shoulder in congratulations. His voice sounded genuinely happy, though I'm sure it was more because of Bernard's clean record than my acceptance... and yet... I glanced at the handprint of chalk dust left on my shoulder. He had been working just as hard for this, hadn't he?

"They... they really accepted a nobody like me?" I whispered.

"You know how to read... sort of. You're sponsored by a sorcerer and an Avalon. That's all of the requirements," Osoro said. I moved and took a seat on the wooden fence that lined the yard. My breath came heavy as I stared at the letter. Yes. I was accepted. I would learn real medicine.

"I better..." I stood up, then folded the letter, and sat down again. "I'll have to leave tomorrow to get there in time."

"That's fine. We should be assigned here soon anyway, so it's not like you'll miss too much time with Mallow," Osoro said. "I'll go find her. And tell Lena we're not wanted criminals, so she can drop the disguises now," he sounded slightly less excited about that part.

I didn't sleep at all that night. I stared at the fire in the hearth from the bedroll on the floor. I watched the flame lick the curving stone top at least a thousand times, each iteration slightly different. As strands of gray sunlight began to spill in through the narrow slits of the shutters, I knew I had only a few more hours until I had to set out and find my way to Ekonaor again. I hadn't been there in years. I wondered how different I'd be from the other students. Some people were groomed their entire lives to become healers. I at least would have good bedside manner from my years as a salesmen. Maybe that'd be enough...

"Dad, you're not doing that really annoying wheeze snore that you usually do." Mallow's voice made me jump. I sat up in the faint light of the dawn. Osoro and Bernard were fast asleep.

The disguise spell that she'd been wearing constantly was gone. It was her: my Mallow, excessively tall and moon colored. She blinked her orange eyes. Her eyes had been terrifying when I met her, and now, I couldn't help but to be so glad that I could see them again.

"Dad?"

"Sorry, I was..." I whispered. "Nervous. That probably sounds ridiculous. I'm going to study. You're going to slay a dragon."

"It's not really ridiculous. All that reading is really scary. Remember, I wanted a job where I fought things," Mallow said. She kicked the blankets off her and stood up, bumping her head into the ceiling. "Ah! Right. Full sized again." She rubbed the spot on her head and opened the door to the main room of the cottage. She lumbered through and I followed her, giving up on the attempt at sleep.

"How so?" I asked. She snagged a small, tied napkin from the table and opened it. Cookies spilled out across the cloth, little bits of fruit in them.

"I'll probably make a better Dragon slayer than you will a healer," Mallow said, plucking the fruit out with her fingers.

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Definitely," she said. "No offense. I mean, you're probably going to be all right, but I'm going to be legendary."

"You're pretty confident," I joked, before taking a bite of the buttery morsel.

"Yeah, there's a reason there's no dragons on the moon." The logic slayed me, and I laughed. Mallow tried to hush me while giggling too. Sure enough, the door the room opened, and Bernard peaked his head through.

"You're up early," He half spoke, half slurred. His usually immaculate hair was knocked all over the place.

"Dad's leaving to become a mediocre healer." Mallow pointed at me. "Wish him well!"

"I wish you well," Bernard whined nasally. "I already did though with all my coin. I'm going back to bed."

"It was nice knowing you too Bernard," I said, smirking as he closed the door behind him.

"Are you going to say goodbye to Sir Osoro?" Mallow asked.

"Eh, me and him already said goodbye. I think we're both kind of tired of each other," I said. I looked down at my cookie, and then up. "What's with that trouble making grin?"

"Hopefully you guys will learn to like each other someday."

"That's more a problem for you and him then for me and him. I mean, I'm never going to see him again."

"Until I get married to him," Mallow said.

I choked on the dry cookie crumbs in my throat. I heard Bernard kick the wall in irritation at my loudness. Mallow calmly watched me.

"Run that by me again? I thought you were all over being a bride?"

"Oh, to just anyone, sure." Mallow waved a hand. "But Sir Osoro rescued me from the clutches of an evil sorcerer; there's nothing more romantic than that."

"I rescued you. He only helped," I protested.

"Hmmm, not how he tells it, or I remember it. Either way, he's way more handsome in hero mode then you, Dad."

"What about Thomas from the mill?!" I stammered, grabbing at anything to protest with.

"Ah, yeah. Poor Thomas." Mallow clucked her tongue; she'd been picking up the habit from Bernard. "Poor, poor Thomas. I'll have to let him down easy."

"But..."

"Osoro and I will have months, maybe even years, to get to know each other. It's not like my love will be some superficial crush." She rested her chin in her hands. "Who knows, you may even have a grand kid that could be your healing apprentice in ten years or so."

"You're not even... He's... he's several feet shorter than you, at least! How is that even—"

"Magic," Mallow said. She covered her mouth, blushing. "I would assume would take care of that, but Dad, really, don't make me go into details."

"Ah!" I covered my ears. "I don't want to hear this."

"Stop asking," She guffawed. "Just be ready when I get back; I'm going to have a dragon skin cloak on my back and a wedding ring on my finger, you better believe it."

"Ugh..." I groaned. An Avalon for a son-in-law. "Does he even like you?"

"Come on Dad, I believe in you; believe in me," She grinned. The cookies finished, she plucked up the napkin and took it outside, shaking it off. I followed her. We stepped out into the gray colored yard, the horses eating quietly in their stalls.

"Eh, I might as well leave now, the horses like traveling early in the morning," I said, noticing the contented flicking of their tails.

"It sure was nice of Lena to bring Flatchert and Gourd all the way out here," Mallow said.

"Yeah." I replied. "Um, is there... anything I can do before I go?" I added as I went to get the horses to guide them toward the carriage.

"Hmm..." Mallow tapped her chin. "No. Promise me you'll be good. Don't worry too much about me. You've got to stay on the good side of the law so I can find you when I get back." I hadn't thought of that before.

"I'll do my best," I said. Then I recalled there was something I could do, maybe. I reached into one of the bags I'd packed and pulled, from between folds of clothes, a small piece of paper. I held it out to Mallow, who took it and studied it.

"It's... it's you!"

"Yes. I was famous for about five minutes. Going to have to shave and keep my hair short if I don't want to be recognized... or grow a massive beard and hide behind all that hair." I rubbed my chin as I debated the merits of each strategy.

"With everything that happened that day, I'd be surprised anyone would remember some silly posters. I mean, except for me." She hugged it to her chest. "I'll keep it with me and whenever the going gets tough, I'll complain at you. Since you're such a bad listener, it won't be much different than before."

"Ouch." I could tell she really liked the poster despite the teasing; she was holding it protectively, her strong muscled arms a shield against the wind.

"If we finish the Proving quickly, I'll come find you at the Mediceum. If I forget what you look like, I'll use this." More teasing. "You're living on the grounds right?"

"Yeah, Sir Osoro paid for me to let a room with meals for a few years while I study." I latched the horses up to the carriage.

"Wow, he's so perfect isn't he?" Mallow swooned a little. "So helpful, handsome..."

"Oh shut it," I grumbled, smiling in spite of myself. I rested my hand on the edge of the carriage. I stared up at it. The paint was dry from earlier. We'd painted it white to cover up the previous signage so that my old reputation wouldn't get in the way of my new goals. I wanted to help now.

"What... what if I fail?"

"What if you don't?" Mallow rested a hand on my back, the weight reassuring. "You'll still be a better healer then you are today, even if you fail after only a few months. Then you can learn on the job." She leaned down and hugged me.

I hugged her back.

We parted. I climbed onto the carriage.

"Good luck," I said.

"Don't need it, but you too." She waved. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, Mallow," I said.

Driving out of the village I saw the farmers and their hens were awake but quiet in consideration of the still sleeping. I couldn't believe I was riding away from Mallow, and from my new... friends? Bernard and Sir Osoro were certainly Mallow's friends. They were the ones who would keep her alive on her journey.

I passed the small wooden sign that designated the entrance to town. Last night I'd spent so long bent over my map that I knew the route to take for at least two days, and took the right when the fork in the road came. The trees began to get thicker, and the soft sounds of the village gradually faded to the forest creature chattering that I was so used to. This was the smell of traveling. I'd started this journey a thousand times, leaving one village or another for the wilderness. Without Mallow walking beside me, I wanted to go back and hug her again.

But she was ready.

She was brave.

I would have to be too.