Aria Fredericka entered the doorway to the office where Elenora did official business.

“Hope I wasn’t keeping you too long,” Aria said.

Elenora waved Aria in.

“Hardly. Have we done well with your son?” Elenora asked.

“Better than my men, as much as I’m annoyed to admit,”

“Ha! I don’t think they’re as bad as you think, more of just a few not up to par. Anyway, I suppose you want to hammer out relations now that you’re here, right?”

Aria found her way to the seat across Elenora’s desk while the conversation went on. She sat down, and continued:

“Well, maybe some preliminary things. I was thinking of leaving it to the captain who we owe this meeting to come spring. It’d be a good experience for him, don’t you think?”

Elenora paused to process Aria’s proposal. Her brow furrowed in thought.

“Besides, I’d like to have a better sense of what we can bring to and from here, anyway. Schism did change a lot of things.” Aria added.

Elenora unfurrowed her brow and relaxed her posture.

“Mm. Yes, that’s right. Sorry, I was a little surprised by that,” Elenora said.

Elenora leaned back in her chair. Aria relaxed a bit in hers. Elenora looked at Aria, and added after a pause:

“You can be a mean woman, you know that?” she asked.

“I’ve heard that before.” Aria chuckled.

“Might I ask. The captain of the caravan, Thomas Gillan, was it?” Elenora asked.

“Yes.”

Aria leaned forward in her chair slightly.

“Samuel and Hannick both seemed to have a disdain for him. What do you think happened?”

Aria leaned back in her seat, sighing.

“You want that story? Alright,” Aria said.

“His father was our primary guy for leading our men in the Schism. He was very good at it, and his son always looked up to him. Once that’s over, and my husband is gone, Thomas gets to be a captain of the caravan and…”

Aria sighed and shook her head.

“My guess is that he only really knew how his father did things during the Schism, which isn’t applicable to normal trading. Give the wrong idea to someone headstrong, and… you get this mess.”

A couple moment’s pause passed through the room.

“Well then. Will you be staying with us for the festival? What’s your plan moving forward?” Elenora asked.

“Surveyor Hannick will be returning to the convoy, I will remain for the festival, though.” Aria answered.

“Oh, good.”

“I want to be with my son, at least for a few days. Hannick can relay the official dealings.” Aria added.

The two leaned back in their respective seats. Elenora took the moment to pursue the topic of Aria’s son.

“When we first found him in the Wildwood - well, the spirits did - we weren’t sure what was going on. Poor kid was quiet and scared. We actually rescued him from a bear that wasn’t hibernating yet,”

“Was he hurt?” Aria asked.

“Outside of a sprained ankle, no. But in the forty or so days since then, he’s gotten more comfortable. He’s taken quite a liking to the cooking as well,”

“Really?”

Aria sat up slightly.

“Yeah, Freyja’s been teaching him recipes and stuff. Why, you want to try his cooking?” Elenora asked.

“No, just…”

Aria leaned back.

“He was always quiet. During the Schism, he couldn’t really do the things kids in the convoy would normally do - we were too focused on the Schism to allow for it. Once it ended, then there was his father dying. He never got that kind of time to be a kid,”

Aria’s eyes closed halfway through her statements. After finishing them, she added.

“Thanks… I guess, for that. As his mother.”

Elenora looked at Aria, clearly wistful of what could have been.

“Well, the Festival is about to happen. We’ll gladly host a wayward child’s mother for that.” Elenora said.

Aria got up, recognizing that the meetings were done. Elenora followed, only to suddenly add:

“By the way, have you met Mai?”

Aria stopped her progress to the door and turned to face Elenora. She thought for a moment, trying to remember where the name was from.

“Ah, yes. I did meet her.” she said. “She’s a spirit, yes?”

“Yes, she’s been following Samuel a lot. She’s not contracted with anyone, so,” Elenora explained.

“Really? Interesting,”

Aria turned around and walked to the door. She faced Elenora, walking behind her, and said:

“You don’t have to put me in the same spot as Samuel. I think you have something going, and I’m not going to disturb that,”

“What do you mean by ‘something’?” Elenora asked.

Aria paused to collect her thoughts.

“When someone turns fifteen in our convoy, they decide on something to do as an adult. Usually, they have some form of training for whatever that may be.”

Aria paused, and turned around to head in the direction of the eating hall.

“Samuel’s going to be fifteen soon. He’s going to have to choose soon, and I want it to be his choice.”

Elenora looked out the door as Aria walked off. After a moment of thought, she muttered in a quieter tone:

“Valea, I think I see why Maxwell was enamoured with her,”

Valea popped out and stood on Elenora’s shoulder.

“Hmm… yes, indeed. Samuel is lucky to have her as his mother,” she said.