Breno Hugo I will not give up

1

Affairs of the Court: Choice of Romance
by Heather Albano and Adam Strong-Morse
Part I: Choice of Romance

A high-pitched shriek splits the sweltering summer air: "Help! Oh, help, help!"

Your youngest sister Clara skids to a stop in front of you. "Francisco and I were playing in the barn!" she sobs. "He was showing me spells, and he set the hay on fire, and now–"

A breath of wind springs up, and the acrid scent of smoke reaches your nostrils.

The barn is some ways away from your parents' villa and the vineyards–there's that. But it is full of hay for feeding the horses, and hay catches fire so fast–it would be so easy for the wooden barn to burn to the ground–

The smell of smoke grows stronger the closer you get. By the time you reach the barnyard, your throat and eyes are stinging. You can't see flames from the yard, but as you approach the door, you can feel their heat. Out of the corner of your eye, you see the grooms running towards you. Then you reach the barn door and look inside. Your seven-year-old brother Francisco, face white with terror, is backed up against the barn's far wall, surrounded by leaping flames.

What are you going to do?

I don't know! There's nothing I can do!
I rush into the barn to grab Francisco.
I shout to the grooms to bring buckets of water. The best way to save Francisco is to put out the fire.
Like Francisco, I know some magic. Maybe there's a way to use magic to get him out.
Skip ahead to Part II: Choice of Intrigues instead.
Skip ahead to Part III: 'Til Death Do Us Part instead.
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The head groom stops in his tracks, and then turns to relay your orders to the others. There are only three of them in total–never have you so regretted your family's inability to afford a proper number of servants–but you help as well, and soon the four of you form a line, passing heavy water buckets from hand to hand between the well and the barn.

Next

You hear shouting. It seems that Clara succeeded in waking the household, and here they all are–your mother and father and siblings and most of the servants. Your father takes charge of the situation, and under his management, the fire is quickly put out. Your mother cries, alternately praising you for keeping calm and berating Francisco for stupidity.

When the excitement is over, the entire family returns to the house.

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