Oath of Rings

Chapter 10

Back when she was on her family's farm—or, in later years, trying to avoid their land so she didn't ruin it further—Bayley had often dreamed of having a adventure. Now that she was in the midst of one, she wasn't quite so keen. She had also fantasized about seeing a castle, but after camping outside of one for two days and trying to avoid being detected by the knights and guards, that quickly lost its appeal as well. Charlotte had been visiting them as often as she could to give them food as well as information to help with their planning, but it felt like the bond that had been blossoming amongst them as they left England was starting to wilt.

"Maybe this is a bad idea," Bayley said as she, Sasha, and Bex were reassembling their boat. It would be too risky to leave it in the river, but there were some trees with canopies large enough to hide it—with a bit of assistance from the earth-etcher. Then if they had to make a quick getaway, they wouldn't have to waste time trying to get the boat back in once piece. "Charlotte still hasn't decided—"

"Or maybe she has and she just hasn't told us." Sasha ran a wet hand along a length of wood as if painting it, casting a small spell to help ease the boat's passage through the river. Then she handed it to Bayley. "She's got a good life here, Bayley. She never has to worry about food, clothing, money."

Bayley held two boat slats together while Bex joined them together with a nearly white flame. "But she can't pick who she marries—"

"Lots of people can't," Bex interjected, voice dull. She had spent more time with Charlotte than they had, and the air-archer's absence was hitting her the hardest. "Most women, anyway."

"I know," Bayley insisted, "but . . . it just seems like people see her as a way to get to her father. That must feel horrible. At least the three of us know that people are our friends or allies because they see something in us, not our family's legacy."

"Not if they know about our powers." Sasha ruffled the earth-etcher's hair. "I know what you mean, Bayley, but all in all, Charlotte has a fairly safe life. Even she doesn't like whoever she eventually marries, as long as she has a few kids, she can pretty much do as she likes. Almost all of those kings and queens are unfaithful. It's only a problem when they aren't discreet about it."

Bayley was quiet for a moment. So many people mistook her enthusiasm for naivete, and growing up in such a remote location hadn't helped, but she knew a lot more than people gave her credit for. "But it's still not safe. Or right." She just stopped herself from saying or fair.

The water-weaver dipped her hands in a bowl of water to prepare the next piece of wood. "How much about your life was safe or right, Bayley? Bex?" Then Sasha shook her head. "Charlotte is the only one who can make this decision. We all had to choose for ourselves. We could have chosen to stay in England or go back to our homes or almost anything else, and making that decision wasn't easy for any of us."

"That doesn't mean we have to make it harder for her," Bayley countered. When she felt the ground begin to shake beneath her, she took a moment to calm herself. "And we don't have to pretend that it's not hard for her either." Then she pointed at the castle, looming over them even at a distance. "I understand not wanting to leave that behind. But I don't think that choosing that means she wouldn't miss this—miss us."

Before either Bex or Sasha could reply, there was a gust of wind on what had been an otherwise still day and then Charlotte was standing just outside their camp. When she saw them reassembling the boat, her expression fell for a moment. "You're leaving?" She waved a scroll of paper in her hand. "But I brought. . . ."

Bex rose easily and shook her head. "No. Not yet, anyway. We just wanted to have the boat ready in case we had to leave in a rush. That last riding party came awfully close to our camp. I barely got the fire dampened, and we're lucky Sasha's hair didn't drip on them from the tree."