Go find Cassia now.

You press your lips together as you give Arn a look of iron determination. “You’re right.” You nod, “It would be a bigger mistake for me not to try. I have nothing to lose from this.” You give Arn a hug. “Thank you, Arn. You’re the best friend a girl like me could ask for.

He reciprocates the hug, merely giving you a light squeeze for a couple of seconds before he lets go. “Good luck.” he says.

“Thank you.” you say as you run off in the direction Cassia and your father went.

…

You may have lived in this castle for the last fifteen years and have frequently played tag or hide and seek with your father and the castle staff throughout its entirety, but you can still get lost sometimes. This is especially true when you don’t quite know where you are going and there’s an astonishing lack of staff throughout the castle.

After about five minutes of running and wandering, you finally find a maid carrying a load of laundry. You approach her, and she jumps with a start. “Oh! My Lady Allinia, you startled me. I was almost afraid you were one of those unruly orcs your father employs.”

You chuckle nervously. “No, no, Maria, it’s just me. Have you seen father recently? There’s a woman with him that I would like to talk to.”

Maria purses her lips and hummed in a low tone, almost a growl. She worked her jaw as though she were chewing on something, debating whether she should tell you or not. She clicks her tongue and pauses for a half-second before she says, “Yes, they’re in the empty guest quarters just behind me.”

“Thank you, Maria.” You say as you give her a side hug, pressing your cheek against hers, before darting off down the hall.

…

You may have been trained for battle by your war veteran of a father, but you were still winded by the time the door was in sight, damn these long hallways and winding staircases. Once you learn magic, you might be able to just teleport where you want to be. However, that entirely depends on you being able to ask Cassia to teach you and her saying yes. That’s what makes you nervous. You may have faced boys twice your size at half your current age, staring them down without flinching and beating them to a pulp half of the time, but this has your heart hammering and your knees weak. Or the run over here did all of that, but you’ve run longer distances before.

Panting heavily, mouth dry, you look up and see the door you’re looking for, not twenty feet ahead of you, and slightly ajar. “Okay,” you think to yourself. “If I want her to take me in as an apprentice, I’ll need to look respectable. Remember your training with the other noble ladies.” You get control over your breathing, stand straight up, and fix your hair as best you can without a mirror.

You quietly approach the door and peer through the opening to make sure you aren’t interrupting them while they’re discussing something important.

“You had me at free room and board,” Cassia says as she walks around to the front of the desk where Vidar is sitting.

Your father sighs, “You do realize,” he says, “That simply means you’re being paid less directly and only covers meals provided by the castle chef?”

“Ah, potato potato.” She didn’t even pronounce it differently as she waved her hand dismissively. “A free lunch is a free lunch.”

You can hear your father roll his eyes. “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

“Yes there is.” Cassia retorts as she sits on top of the desk. “You’re giving some to me.”

“No.” Vidar responds tiredly, agitation rising in his voice. “I’m paying for it by giving you less money per payment.”

Cassia then leans over the desk, slightly backward and to the side. “You know you’re cute when you’re frustrated.

You see Vidar glare at her, even as her face is inches from his own, and she’s slowly closing the distance.