North Drake
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Book 2: Chapter 34: Vacation Starts Now
🕑 Added 2025-10-09 00:55:53 +0000 UTCWell, I actually wrote this chapter twice, because yesterday my PC froze and Word didn’t save it to the cloud. But honestly, I feel like the second version turned out better anyway… It’s also quite a struggle, since I’m currently using two writing programs. I use Scrivener for my other story and Word for this one, but before I switch this over as well, I want to finish the second book first. Anyway, enough of my ranting, enjoy the chapter! (:
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Chapter 34:
Vacation Starts Now
Grace stepped out of the room and the air outside felt a little cooler. Aldaric and Selwin were waiting close by, straightening as soon as they saw her. They both looked tense, like men who were unsure if they should bow or run. Her three knights stood behind them, silent and watchful, their armor catching the dull light.
“The boy was useful,” she said, brushing a strand of hair back. “He had some viable information. I intend to find the bandits myself.”
Aldaric blinked once, Selwin frowned slightly. Neither spoke. Of course, they did not. She was the princess and that closed most mouths. But both of them looked concerned.
“I already have a plan,” she added.
Aldaric cleared his throat. “As you wish, Princess.”
Selwin’s eyes did not leave her face. “If you—if you go, take care. The marks are not ordinary.”
“I know,” she said, though she did not bother to continue. The runes were not simple, and she had recognized more of them than Selwin apparently did. She had learned them back when she was forming her core, with Corax lecturing her just to appease her boredom. Back then she had thought it was pointless trivia. Funny how the useless things stick.
Seeing those symbols again had been strange. Familiar, but not in a good way. That Selwin, a war-mage, had failed to notice them at all was almost disappointing. Maybe I even miss the crib sometimes. At least there was no one who wanted to mess with my psyche. Or at least I didn’t know. Maybe sometimes ignorance really is a blessing. But you always want what you can’t have.
She turned to Ser Calen. “Bring the boy to the carriage. He will ride with me and Rin.”
Grace did not wait for Selwin to add more. If the old war-mage cannot tell what he is looking at, then he can stay confused. I have better things to do than explain his own craft back to him.
She started walking. The knights followed, boots echoing over the stone, and Aldaric and Selwin trailed behind, whispering something she chose to ignore.
So much fuss over a plan they do not even know yet. It is almost cute how nervous they get when I decide to do something useful myself.
Her thoughts slid back to Nils. Not what he had told her, but what he had said about his sister.
“She was around our age… ten years old.”
That line stuck. She was around our age… ten years old. Nils had said he was eleven. Eleven on Nyras meant roughly fourteen on Earth. She was six, which would make her about eight there. But he had looked at her and seen someone his own age.
So, what is wrong with this place again?
It bothered her more than it should. A Nyras year stretched too long, four hundred eighty days instead of three sixty-five, and that twisted everything. At six she should look eight by Earth standards, but Nils had seen her like a ten-year-old in Nyras years, which would be around thirteen on Earth. That was a gap of almost five years in looks alone. And at that age, five years mattered. Children changed faster than sense. Great. Either I am growing wrong, or everyone else here is. Probably both.
Grace frowned a little as she walked. Since she had come to Gatewick, people had started taking her more seriously. At first, she had not noticed, since it had only been about a week, but looking back now, it was clear. Everyone here listened when she spoke. Even Elyne had let her do what she wanted, more or less.
Back at the Ashford estate, they had treated her like a child—small, clever maybe, but still a child. Here it was different. She was taller than Clara now, and maybe a bit sharper in the face. She had just thought it was because of her core transformation on her birthday. Nothing worth thinking too deeply about.
Girls develop earlier, right? That is normal.
But what Nils had said still lingered. That kind of gap in how she looked was not normal. Seriously, why did no one tell me? Is this something I should worry about? Or is it inherited?
She sighed quietly. Whatever. I did just get Gatewick as a present for my sixth birthday. Maybe Mother thought it was normal after all. “Congratulations, you’re developing oddly fast, here’s a county. Completely normal in our family. At your age I was already a full-grown adult.”
The thought made her smirk. Would not even surprise me if she actually said that once. Perfectly reasonable parenting, really.
But then again, she didn’t particularly remember growing that fast. It was more like she had simply woken up one day and things had shifted a little. Then the thought struck her. The first time she noticed was on her birthday evening, when Clara had come to visit her. Clara had been older, yet Grace had stood taller. She had barely paid attention then, there had been too much else.
Her mother had declared an empire. Her brother had married Selira. She had received Gatewick as a gift. And of course, the part she still couldn’t think about without her stomach twisting, the moment she had awakened her light mana.
The memory hit her all at once. The symbols, the light, the pain that had crawled through her skull like molten gold. The voice that had whispered through it all, bright and wrong and soft, warped like a half-broken song:
"H̵̡̯͔̬̰͓̜͒̏̍̓̊̀̈̕ͅạ̵̧̛̬͕̻̯͒̈́̀̅̃̍̋͜p̸̻̺̦̞̬͉̦͙̈̓̋̏ͅp̵̧̯̪̥̟̗̦̰̓ŷ̷̢̝͖̇̏͐ ̴̪̞̺̬͓͈͙͆̏̉̋̃B̴̥̘̲͉̳̘͈̃̑̿̿̑͛͘͜͝i̴͍͇̰̝͙̹̹͍̕ͅr̷͕̋̔̄̊͆̕͠t̸̰̹̣̫͓̍͌͊͋̄͂ẖ̸̢̝͖̯̩̜͌̅d̴̨̗̫̞͛̾̉͛́̂̐ă̵̬͖̆̀̍ÿ̴̬́̎͝ ̵̛͎̗̬̥̪̼̙̣̰̒́̈́̑̀͝m̵̦̥̙̯͚̃͐̋̋̔̄̐͆̚ÿ̶̛̪̥͈̳̪́̾̋̇̿̊̕ ̴̨̛̻͚͙̔̄͠͝l̸̲̽͊͛̑̚͠į̷͖̖͇̳̻̩̱͚̌͑̋̂͋͠͝ţ̶͉̻͇̻̙̼̃̃̒̓͋͗͛͝͝t̸̢̪̥̲͓̖̥̙̉́͠l̴͕̰͈͇̖̻̪̱̱̉̆͠e̸̯̙̲̖̺͈̻͌ ̵̗̳̻̺̹̲͖͖̀̒̎͒ͅĢ̵̛͍̝͓͈̟̅͆͌r̷͕͆̄̔a̵̧̫̖̝̟̍͜͝ç̸̩͈̒́ę̸͕̥̆̍̉̆̽…"
Grace rubbed her temples lightly. And now I’m here, taller than I should be, older than I should look, and no one even blinks. Elyne was even excited, like she already knew something about this. And that voice… I heard it before, in the dungeon. At first, I thought it was the void talking, but it wasn’t, was it? Oh, perfect… Why do I have a world-shattering realization right now, just because of a dumb boy comparing me to his damn sister? I’m glad she is dead or I would kill her right now for this…
Grace took a deep breath and forced it out slowly. Ok. Calm down, Grace.
Her steps echoed through the long hall. The light from the open door ahead was bright, showing the dust hanging in the air. Shouldn’t hunting bandits be my vacation from all this?
She exhaled again and pushed the thoughts aside. Enough. Bandits first, existential crisis later.
Outside, the carriage waited. The driver straightened the moment he saw her. Seven knights stood nearby, forming a neat half-circle, and a few villagers lingered at a safe distance, curious but pretending not to be.
Grace climbed into the carriage without another word. Rin, still sitting inside, was by the window with her legs crossed, eyes half on the scenery and half on something only she seemed to see. When she noticed Grace, she blinked, surprised, as if she hadn’t expected her back so soon.
“What?” Grace asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rin turned back to the window. “Nothing.”
Grace tilted her head slightly. Right. Nothing. My favorite kind of conversation. For a moment she felt the mask she wore in public slip, just a little, the irritation peeking through. Then she caught herself and smiled instead. “Charming as on the way here,” she said lightly, settling into her seat across from Rin.
Rin didn’t respond, just sighed softly and tapped a finger against the glass.
A few minutes later, the carriage door opened again. Ser Calen stood there, holding it wide as the boy stepped up. Nils hesitated at the threshold, glancing between the two girls, his face caught somewhere between awe and confusion.
Grace gestured for him to come in. “Ah, there you are. Rin, this is Lord Nils of Wintergarden,” she said, her tone light. “I found him in some storage room and decided to bring him with us today.”
Her smile shifted just slightly. “Lord Nils of Wintergarden, this is Rin of…” She glanced at her companion. “Well, wherever she says she’s from this week.”
Nils bowed awkwardly, still intimidated by the sight of the knights waiting outside. “Lady Rin,” he said quietly, then took a seat on the same row but across from her, his eyes filled with silent question marks. Rin gave a small nod, shy and uncertain, before turning her gaze back to the window.
Before Nils could gather the courage to ask anything, Grace leaned toward the still-open door and called out, “Cousin, do you know how far the lands of Wintergarden are?”
Ser Calen turned slightly. “Yes, Lady Grace. It’s within the county, only a few hours from here.”
“Perfect,” Grace said, pleased. “We’ll head in that direction. Nils said he was taken not far from there, just before reaching the main road. We’ll stop at the crossing where the road to Wintergarden branches off. The carriage will continue toward the estate, and Rin will stay here and get kidnapped.”
Ser Calen gave a short, dutiful nod. “Understood.”
Inside the carriage, two voices spoke at once.
“What!?”
Grace looked between them, the corner of her mouth curving into a calm, satisfied smile. Finally, some enthusiasm.
Grace smiled at them with a radiant, almost too-bright smile. “What what?”
Both of them just stared at her, too stunned to form an answer. Outside, Ser Calen quietly shut the door, and the carriage began to roll forward with a soft jolt.
Rin’s face had gone a little pale. “We… just started our training yesterday. I don’t know if—”
“Don’t worry,” Grace interrupted, her tone smooth and reassuring in the way that wasn’t actually reassuring. “It has nothing to do with your core or your purpose for the future. I won’t lose track of you anyway. You’re perfect for this because I can follow your mana signature. While your core is still forming, you’re leaking.”
She looked idly toward Rin. Faint traces of shadow mana still floated around her, drifting like thin smoke. They circled for a moment before being drawn into her skin. Rin was still leaking and absorbing at the same time—sucking in the wild, ambient mana around her like a sponge, while the refined shadow mana from her own core slipped out again in faint threads.
Grace watched it with quiet satisfaction. The air around Rin shimmered faintly where the two flows met, and the result was a trail that she could sense. In a forest heavy with shadow mana, Rin would drink in what was wild and leave behind what was hers, like footprints made of breath. Grace could follow that easily.
“But…” Nils blurted, then froze, realizing what he had just heard. “You both are mages??” His voice cracked halfway through the question. “No, wait, that’s not even the point—are you insane? We should at least talk to some adults about this! Why are these knights even letting you go through with such a crazy plan? Grace, you should—”
Grace shook her head lightly, her expression calm. “It’s only crazy when it doesn’t work.”
Rin ignored Nils completely. “Fine… but then you let me see Leon when we’re back.”
Grace nodded. “When we find the bandits. Also, every bandit you kill there doesn’t count… you know.” She smirked.
Rin blinked, a little pale again. “I thought so.”
Nils rubbed his face with both hands. “Hello? Anyone here sane? Grace, I know you are some viscount’s or count’s daughter, but don’t you think this is going too far? Even with your knights, we’re not enough against fifty or more bandits. And even if you are mages, you’re not adults! I know you want an adventure, but I saw what those bandits did. They’ll catch you, and—”
He stopped when he noticed that Grace was still smiling at him, completely unbothered.
Rin glanced between them, confusion mixing with nerves. “A count’s daughter?”
Grace nodded lightly. “Everything right, you too. But we’ll do it anyway. I need some fun after the last weeks.”
The carriage rocked gently as it rolled out of the village, wheels crunching against the dirt road. Outside, the sound of hooves and armor faded into a steady rhythm. Inside, the three of them sat in uneasy silence—Rin pretending not to worry, while Nils kept trying to argue every now and then, always about numbers, plans, or sanity. Grace only met him with the same calm, final smile each time, until he finally ran out of words and sank back with a quiet sigh.
Finally, something simple. Bandits. No gods, no riddles, no strange voices. Just something I can hit until it stops moving.
The carriage turned onto the open road toward the breach, and Grace leaned back, watching the sky roll past the window. Vacation starts now. Period.
Comments
Night-Owl
fun interactions, most alive we seen Rin, that or it’s just been a while since I read xD (also it’s like they’re on a road trip lol, I mean are they but…)
Jake
Ty for the chapter! 🫡
