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The sound of metal biting into metal felt like a blade being dragged against her skull, but Juliet stayed in the workshop despite it. She knew she had to leave soon, but she wasn’t sure when she would return. This was the closest thing to home she knew, despite the noise. And the heat, fumes and occasional lugging of fuel. But it did have the only person she considered her friend.

The rasping ceased when the smith turned to Juliet.

“Leaving again, huh.” She took the tool back to the metal before there was a chance to reply. Juliet watched the shavings fall to the ground while she waited for her turn to talk. They both already knew the answer, but hearing it vocalized gave it the weight it needed.

“It’d be nice to have some time to rest,” Juliet said when Katrika stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow. She always did her work near the flames of the forge, where she felt most comfortable, even though sometimes her body disagreed. Juliet rose from her spot on the floor on the other side of the smithy; her own muscles still ached from morning’s calisthenics. Sitting in the saddle for so long had left her without time to practice her swordsmanship and she had no one to practice with on the road.

“This will end within a cycle or too,” Katrika said. “You’re the only one Lady Rhee has been sending out lately, so the work must be winding down.”

“Lucky me.” She stretched her legs to get blood flow moving again. “She hasn’t been making you make anything weird lately?”

Katrika crossed her arms. “Just because it’s not a sword doesn’t make it ‘weird,’ you know.”

“You made a ring once for a rock.” Juliet absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair; she noticed the braids were starting to come undone. Maybe she could finagle when she had to leave so Katrika could redo her hair first.

“She needed something for her magic to hold onto. And besides, the stone was mostly decorative, anyways.” Katrika put down her file and loosened the clamp, catching the piece of metal as it fell.

Juliet scoffed. “Is that not supposed to be weird?” The metal was a flat sheet with lines of various depths going through the sides.

“I’m testing a new alloy from the Ironworks,” Katrika explained. “Tools are a little more precise than teeth and claws.” She walked over to a corner of the smithy and placed the sample on a workbench. “I’ll make a drink for us, so you can have a proper send-off.” She moved over to the collection of wooden boxes and ceramics clustered together. “It should be ready before you have to leave. I’ll make some for Finn, too.” Katrika turned to smile at the wolf napping by the fire, unperturbed by the earlier noise.

And there was the ping, like the ringing in your ears from being struck in the head, but without the pain. It was sudden and impossible to ignore. Juliet groaned. “She wants to see me now, of course.” A quick brush of her hands removed the dirt and metal shavings from her breeches. “I’ll be back for the tea. Make me something so I won’t be sore, okay?” She walked over to her wolf and gave him a few pats. “I’ll be back, boy.” Finn rolled over to his side and stretched, but he made no effort to stand.

Juliet walked over to the open doorframe in the back corner of the room. She made her way up the narrow staircase that wound its way behind the castle, taking the steps two at a time and trying not to think about how claustrophobic the space was. Arrowslits, long since used, gave the only light in the chamber. The ancient forest just outside left the field of view as a sea of green, stark contrast to the undecorated and rarely cleaned hall; just because it was Juliet’s job to didn’t mean she was going to do it if she was the only one who ever used the stairs.

She made sure not to bump the wooden walls to her right, as they served as the backs of various chambers. Once she had tripped after a long night, banging into a wall; the students still said that there must be ghosts in Tabaria that cause the mysterious noises. There were always rumors about dark rituals that caused unruly people to disappear throughout the history of the academy, though recently they seemed to focus around the headmistress, which always made Juliet smile. If only they knew.

The top of the stairs unceremoniously ended into a hall. The uppermost levels of the castle were reserved for staff, many who could fly and didn’t give a second thought about how it was “decorated.” Dusty crates and rolled-up tapestries limited Juliet’s movement space. Juliet took the familiar path, walking sideways when needed, to the headmistress’s door. She knocked twice.

The wooden door swung in, stopping just before it went all the way around and hit the wall. Lady Rhee stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed over her dark dress. Her face was creased in annoyance, like it tended to be when Juliet saw her.

“I’ll need you to take care of Cameron until he recovers,” she said. “You’ll have to find someone else to deliver the message; I need you here.” Her tone made it clear that there was no room to argue.

Juliet glared at her new charge, curled up on the floor in front of a fresh puddle of vomit; Lady Rhee had stepped far enough away as to not get her dress dirty. She was going to have to clean that up, too, and there wasn’t going to be a way to get out of it. And it was quite a large rug, on the top-most floor of the castle, that would have to be dragged outside...

I should have left earlier so I didn’t have to deal with this, she berated herself.

Rhee walked around her desk and returned to her seat. “And someone reliable this time, please,” she stressed. She turned back to her work, maps and scrolls neatly laid out around her writing surface. She plucked her quill from the inkwell, black fading to an orangey-red towards the base; the thought of using one’s own feathers like that unnerved her. Would it be like making vellum from your own skin?

She shook the thoughts from her head. “Come on, let’s go,” she told Cameron. He tried to push himself up with his arms, but she was impatient. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet. He wobbled and reached out to her for balance.

She sighed. This’ll take forever.

“Hold on, I got it.” She scooped him up and repositioned him in her arms. He was much smaller than her, obviously still a child.

“Careful,” he whined. Sometimes he made it too obvious his age.

She exhaled loudly. “I am being careful. Just make sure not to throw up on me.”

Juliet carried him out of the room; Lady Rhee didn’t make any acknowledgement of it and kept working, to Juliet’s annoyance. Cameron held onto her as she navigated the narrow halls and stairs back down to the forge. His bangs stuck to his face from sweat and he smelled like the acid from vomit. This wasn’t the first time that he had gotten this sick, but Katrika normally had to take care of him; she was much more of a “motherly” type and had infinitely more patience. Juliet felt lucky that her role normally required her to be away from Lady Rhee. Cameron, too. But for some reason she got to be stuck with him this time.

“So where’s your trip taking you again?” Katrika called as she heard them descend the stairs. Her back was turned to them as she made the finishing touches to the tea.

“Nowhere. I’m stuck on babysitting duty instead.” Cameron remained still in Juliet’s arms. Juliet didn’t care if he knew how much he frustrated her.

Katrika turned around and noticed what was going on. “Oh dear….” She started bustling around the table, grabbing various herbs from drawers scattered around the containers. Finn looked up from his spot at the sudden commotion.

Juliet lowered Cameron down on a bench by the hearth. “Stay here,” she ordered. The boy nodded as he shifted into a more comfortable position. She clucked her tongue and Finn scrambled to his feet. He fell in stride with her as they jogged outside.

Katrika turned to her. “Juliet, wait!”

“I have something to take care of first!” she called over her shoulder. Though she was too far to see, she knew Katrika was making some sort of disapproving face. She’ll be able to handle Cameron for a bit by herself. Besides, she was doing what Rhee wanted to; she never said in what order it had to be done.

The wolf’s ears perked up once they were out in the open air. He bounded ahead and ran back, shaking his tan coat. She kneeled down and ran her hands through his fur and he panted happily.

“We’re not going anywhere, boy. Not this time.” He loved to run alongside her horse, but forcing him to stay at the castle was rough for him. He was a creature of open sky and infinite grass, not confining stone walls. She rested a hand on his neck as they walked. The students, like always, kept their distance from him as they strolled around the grounds. Some had seen his kind stalking the great herds, but that was in the far north of the Kingdom. Here, he was just Juliet’s companion on her travels.

A running list of the other messengers based out of Tabaria went through Juliet’s head. If this was like the last few excursions, it was likely something boring. Go deliver this letter, pick up a package from that town, see if those families still existed. If it were something actually important, Lady Rhee wouldn’t have her hand it off to someone else. “Bonding” with Cameron was more important than this task, apparently. She could recall the speech now.

“Katrika welcomed you and took care of you when you were new, so you’re expected to show Cameron the same treatment. He’s like a brother to you, you’ll need to look out for each other.” Rhee made it clear that there wasn’t a choice in the matter.

“At least I do something around here,” she muttered. All she had seen Cameron do had been get sick and then have Katrika care for him. She and Juliet both performed specific duties, and you could see the results; Cameron had only been an annoyance since day one.

Finn started wagging his tail and barked. Juliet saw that the archery range was ahead. It was empty save for one person practicing by himself; he was so focused on the target that he hadn’t noticed them.

“You think he’ll do it?” she asked Finn. He shuffled impatiently, anticipating the next order.

She jabbed a finger forwards. “Release!” Finn ran towards the archer, jumping onto him. His arrow shot askew into the woods as he fell to the ground.

“Down, down.” The young man tried to push the wolf off, who was just as happy to play wrestle than obey. Finn’s paws kept smacking him in the face as he tried to free himself. “Isn’t he supposed to be trained?” he laughed as Juliet took her time walking over.

“He just wants to say hello.” She ruffled the fur of his face. “You like playing with William, don’t you?” she asked in a high pitched voice. Finn wiggled even more, excited at getting attention from all sides.

“Okay, enough,” William sputtered.

Juliet snapped her fingers for him to cease; Finn got off William and settled down on his haunches, but his tail still thumped against the ground. She shifted her weight to her back foot and watched as William got back on his feet. “You willing to head out soon?” she asked.

“If you keep passing your work onto me, she’s going to figure it out eventually.” He picked up his bow that was knocked out of his hands and looked it over to make sure nothing had broken.

“It wasn’t my idea this time.” He gave her a disbelieving look. “Really, I swear!” she exclaimed.

“I think Rhee’s missing the point of having a personal messenger if she’s telling you to hand out work for her.”

“What, do you think I wouldn’t make a good boss?” She grinned.

“You sure are good at claiming other people’s work, so probably.”

Juliet swatted at him. “Don’t be rude. And besides, if you head out, you don’t have to hear me complain.”

William unstrung his bow. “About what?”

“She’s having me watch over Cameron this time.”

“Sick again, huh.” He brushed the dirt off the bow and slipped it into his quiver. “But why you?”

Juliet shrugged. “Damn if I know. And I was looking forwards to getting away for awhile, too.”

“Fine, I’ll bite. So what’s it this time?”

“No idea. She didn’t have the chance to tell me, just to get Cameron.”

“Oh, of course,” he sighed. “You’re going to make me talk to her.”

Juliet smiled and slapped him on the back. “Thanks, I owe you big time.”