Selene entered my office with a grim look on her face. “Frost. Come with me.”

  I dropped the stack of papers I was reading and walked to the door. “Do I need my sword?”

  She shook her head. “No. Leave it here.” As she said that, she took me by the hand and dragged me towards the clinic. My heart sank in my chest, and I prayed that it was merely another training accident and not something more serious.

  Rosa was waiting outside the clinic door as we approached.

  “Lady Rosa. What are you doing here?”

  She looked down at her feet and replied quietly. “I… decided it would be best to wait outside. She’s talking to your mother right now.”

  It was wise to leave my sword behind. “What happened?”

  Rosa took my hands in hers; I realized then that they were shaking. “I was… indelicate in our conversation, and she fainted. She didn’t get injured though; I was right there. Like I promised.”

  “Have the healers seen her yet?”

  Selene gripped me by the shoulder. “Yes. They didn’t find anything wrong. It’s probably just nerves. She has a lot to think about, what with the Hunt coming up. I’m sure she just needs rest.”

  I realized I was holding my breath and exhaled. I felt light-headed. I freed my hands from Rosa’s firm grip and turned to the door. “I’m going to go talk to her. Thank you for bringing me, Selene.”

  The dame nodded. “Of course.”

  ------

  To my relief, Helian was sitting up in bed talking quietly with my mother and looked healthy. I had feared she might be hooked up to life support machines. A question occurred to me, but I pushed it aside. They both turned to face me as I walked over.

  Mother got up and left, patting me on the back as she went. “See you two later.”

  Helian looked embarrassed. “Hi.”

  I sat down on the now-unoccupied stool and took her hand. “Hi, Helian. I’m sorry about earlier.”

  She shook her head. “No, that was my fault… I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with you.”

  “You were right to be upset. I should have discussed things with you before committing to go. If you want, I can talk with Selene and Mother, and we’ll come up with a new plan.”

  “No, it’s okay. You don’t need to change your plans just because this happened. I’ve been tired and stressed lately, that’s all. The healers said there’s nothing wrong, so I’ll be fine if I get some rest.”

  “There’s something I didn’t get to tell you earlier. When Rosa came to tell me to join you for lunch, I asked her to protect you while I’m gone. That was why she knew… it wasn’t right of me to handle it that way. I should have discussed it with you first. I’m really sorry.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  I could tell she was troubled by the idea that I would ask her lady-in-waiting to guard her. I guess Rosa still hadn’t come clean about everything, but she probably knew by now that the girl was strong enough to handle pretty much any threat below the level of Atropa or Coroban, so I hoped she would understand my thinking.

  She frowned. “I’m still not sure how to feel about Rosa… it’s as if everyone has been playing a joke on me this whole time.”

  I squeezed her hand tight. “I promise you can trust her. She’s a good person. But if it would make you more comfortable, I can find a couple trustworthy guards to assign to you.”

  “That’s not necessary. If you trust her, I’ll trust her as well.” She pulled me in for a hug, then freed her hand from my grip. “You should get back to work, I know you’re busy. I’ll see you again before you leave, right?”

  I nodded and stood up. “Of course. I should have a couple days before it’s time to leave. Take your time to rest here, and we’ll have a meal together once you’re feeling better.”

  ------

  It had been two days since we left the estate, and the sun hung high in the sky. Given the environment we were headed to, I decided to leave Rime back at the estate in Helian’s care, so I was riding a borrowed warhorse. While I had gotten the hang of handling it by now, it was still a rather irritable beast and seemed to dislike me in particular. I suppose it’s true that horses take after their owners’ personalities.

  Small groups of the squires took turns escorting the carriages on foot while the rest rode inside. I was escorted at the front of the group by a couple of the eldest veteran knights. They had grown tired of teasing me after the first day, and we now rode in silence. I supposed it was only natural for the mood to be somber on the way to a Hunt since the wrong attitude could lead to disaster. We would have plenty of time to relax and celebrate after the work was done.

  Normally these parts of the kingdom would be on the cool side at this time of year, but it was warm enough to make us sweat in our uniforms. I was grateful that we could opt to leave the armor in the wagons until we reached our destination, as the threat of monster attacks in this area was near-zero.

  Unlike the still-parched south, the farmlands here were green thanks to the steady flow of all the nearby rivers and streams – largely runoff from the mountain snowpack, which had begun to melt early in spring thanks to the warm weather. Some speculated that by the time autumn arrived, the snow would be completely gone. There had been some discussion of loading the excess water into tanks and carting it to the south so it could be used for irrigation, but the costs involved were extreme enough that the ministers pushing for it were overruled.

  Despite my expectations, we rarely passed adults or children on the roads, and those we passed tended to stare at us with a mixture of fear and resignation.

  I turned to the eldest knight in the order, who was riding to my right. “Is it usually like this, Sir?”

  The man – Sir Cerris, to be precise – paused for a moment before replying. “No, not usually. I haven’t seen expressions like that since the war. I suppose rumors from the border have taken root in the area and ruined people’s moods.”

  The veteran on my left responded. “That’s true. I’ve heard that many women and children have headed inland to shelter in the cities. They’re afraid monsters will cross the border. Based on how empty the roads and fields are, it seems there was truth to that rumor.”

  I frowned. “We’ll need to do a better job of managing public opinion in the future, I think. Rumors like that can get out of hand quickly, and we wouldn’t want people to start hoarding resources or abandoning their land.”

  Dame Viren – the knight to my left – nodded in agreement. “If the people get too used to rumors, they may not react promptly when a real need to evacuate arises.”

  Cerris coughed. “Assuming such a thing were to happen, you mean. I’m more concerned that the lack of hands on these farms may lead to a smaller harvest this year. The outlying territories are short enough on food due to the drought, we don’t need that getting worse.”

  The practice of measuring and recording temperatures on a regular basis had only become widespread in the last few decades, so our historical records didn’t go far, but the past two years were the warmest on record. Mother’s joke about riots emerged from my memory and I promptly banished it from my thoughts.