The next morning was overcast, though the rain had stopped. Heavy gray clouds hung over the sky and a thick fog enveloped the valley. Kwen stared out her window at the distant mountains. She was not sure how far away the capital was, nor what it would be like when she was there.

Her trunks had already been taken down to the carriage that sat below her window. Perhaps she was supposed to be sad at the thought of leaving, but she was not.

Kwen made her way to the front of the manor, coming down the stairs just as one of the servants said, “We’ve finished packing the carriage, Lady Shaewynn.”

Her sister nodded. “Go tell Kwenthien it’s time to leave, if you would.”

“No need.” Kwen emerged from the house, a bag hanging from her hand and a cross look marring her face. “Father’s nowhere to be found.”

“I can fetch Lord Athun if-”

Shae shook her head. “I’m sure he has important matters to attend.”

Kwen followed her sister into the carriage, allowing a hand to help her. She sat down opposite her sister. A glance showed her that the servants were already going back inside. Shae sat looking at the front door. She was waiting for their father.

“Shae, we should go,” Kwen prodded.

Shae glanced at her and then nodded. “Whenever you’re ready, driver.”

“Hold on!” a voice called out.

The next moment a girl appeared out of the fog next to the carriage from the direction of the village. Her clothing was threadbare and she had a grimy pack slung over her shoulder. Green hair hung haphazardly about a tanned face.

“It’s you!” Kwen said, recognizing the face.

“Hello, Lady Kwenthian and Lady Shaewynn,” the girl said curtseying quickly.

“Kwen?” her sister asked.

“She’s Mer..Merai? We used to play together as children down by the orchard before…” Before Father locked us away. “It was a long time ago now.”

“What can I do for you, Merai?” Shae asked.

“You’re going to the capital.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Yes, we are.”

“I want to go.”

“Excuse me?”

Merai shifted the pack on her shoulder. “I want to take up the Queen on her offer, but I won’t make it on time if I don’t have a ride.”

“Well we really don’t-”

“I won’t take up any space. This is all of my stuff and I brought my own food.”

“Let her come, Shae. She wants to get out of this stupid valley as much as I do,” Kwen interjected.

“She can sit up here, if it pleases you, Lady Shaewynn,” the carriage driver said.

“You may come.” Shae nodded to the girl. “Let one of our guards help you into the seat.”

“No need, I got it.” Merai climbed up the side of carriage, rocking it for a few moments before settling into place.

“Drive on,” Shae called out.

The carriage lurched forward and the manor was almost instantly lost in the fog. Only vague shapes were visible outside the carriage. The guards plodded along on either side of the carriage, moving in and out of the fog like ghosts.

Shae pulled her needlepoint from her bag and set it in her lap. Kwen watched her stitch for a while before the sound of thread through fabric bored her. She hated such menial ‘hobbies’ as needlepoint and crochet, but it was not long before she wished she had something to do. She would have even resorted to reading a book if she had thought to bring one.

Her ears pricked as she caught the sound of her sister beginning to hum. It was an old song that their mother had loved to sing in the mornings. Kwen began to sing the lyrics along with her sister’s humming.

From the sun brightened clouds

over flowers we lay

The touch of the wind

caresses my face

Ocean’s steady rhythm

The earth’s warm embrace

To the Spirits who guide us

Be with me I pray.

The melody floated around Kwen and she let her thoughts drift away on the words.

“Where did you learn this song?” Kwen asked her mother.

“My mother used to sing it to me when I was young. It always made me feel happy and safe,” Mother said with a smile. “And now I’m passing it on to you.”

Around midmorning the fog burned off and they were far beyond the valley. Kwen shifted from one side of the carriage to the other, watching the mountains give way to hills and finally flat stretches of land. Her sister continued to push and pull the needle.

“Is there something you wanted to ask?” Shae said without taking her eyes off of her nearly completed needlepoint.

“How long is this trip going to be?”

“Only two days with clear weather,” Shae responded. “So we’ll be there before the cutoff.”

“What do you think it will be like, serving the Queen?”

“Well I know her handmaidens are treated well,” Shae replied. “You’re a servant, but you get your own quarters, good food, and nice clothing. Many ladies have become the Queen’s handmaidens in order to find husbands at court.”

“I don’t think Father is expecting us to get married,” Kwen sighed, looking back out the window. “I don’t want to get married.”

“But that’s why Queen Ayunn needs new handmaidens so often. Many serve her for a while and then get married. Of course with the King’s sickness, who knows how much longer she’ll be queen.”

“What do you think will happen then?”

“I’m not sure. I doubt she’ll need as many handmaidens when she’s no longer queen, but maybe some of us will become handmaidens for the new queen.”

“What about the prince?”

“I hardly think the prince needs handmaidens.”

“But I’m sure he’d love having a few maidens around.” Kwen’s eyes twinkled.

“Such crude thoughts.” Shae chuckled.

That night they stopped at an inn in a small village. Merai hopped down from the carriage as the inn’s servants took it and the ibex to the stable. Shae spoke with the innkeeper and finally exchanged some money for the keys to a set of rooms. She handed one key to the guards and carriage driver.

“Shae…where is Merai going to stay?” Kwen asked. “We can’t very well leave her to stay with the men.”

Shae sighed. “I didn’t think of that. You will have to join us in our room then.”

“It’s no problem, Lady Shaewynn. I am just a commoner.”

“Commoner or not, you are applying to be a handmaiden to the Queen. It would not do for rumors to circulate in your wake.”

“My Lady is most kind.”

The three young women went up to their room. It was small but clean.

“Oh, there are only two beds,” Kwen said.

“I am fine with the floor,” Merai was already arranging her bag in the corner.

Shae pulled a blanket off the bed and offered it to the girl.

“I’ll be fine without it, Lady Shaewynn.”

“I insist.” Shae set it down on the floor before turning back to the beds. Kwen changed into her nightgown behind the changing screen. Her looked at the bonnet her father had forced her to wear for all these years. She was gone from the manor now. There was no one to force her to wear it now. She pulled the bonnet on and tied it under her chin.

Merai had lay down and curled up in the blanket. Shae still had her bonnet on as well and was settling under the blankets. Kwen lay down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a long time. Sleep did not seem to want to come to her. Everything here was so strange, the sights, sounds, and smells. For a moment she missed her own familiar room. Then she remembered that this was a chance to start over without their father restricting them. Being sent away was a good thing.