Rufan’s small lamp spilled light across a wooden table in a modest kitchen, where the lone window had curtains drawn against the night. I was grateful for the imposed darkness of the kitchen; it would be harder to see any lights here in the back of the house.

“Are you hungry, Prin … Allayne?” Rufan asked me.

I hadn’t eaten much at dinner, which felt like a lifetime ago. I was also parched after the adrenaline-filled flight from the castle. I was suddenly acutely aware of just how empty my stomach was.

“If it’s no trouble,” I told my host.

“Not at all,” he said, carefully opening a cupboard. He reached in and grabbed something, quietly closed the cupboard, and then placed the items on the table in front of me. A sliver of cheese and a slice of bread.

“I’m sorry it’s not much,” Rufan said apologetically.

I was already tearing into the cheese. “No, this is wonderful,” I said, trying not to talk with my mouth full.

Rufan poured some water from a pitcher into two glasses and handed one each to Taryn and me. For a few moments the little kitchen was filled with a small pool of light and the sounds of two people drinking and munching.

“How are Patrice and the girls?” Taryn asked Rufan after she had put her glass down.

“They’re well,” Rufan said. “Now that the girls are both school-age and gone for most of the day, Patrice has a lot more energy. Until the girls come home, of course.”

Taryn smiled at that. To me, she said, “My nieces are sweet, but a handful. The youngest just started school this year and loves it. Feels like she’s a big girl ‘just like her older sister.’ And the older one is level—what? Three? Four?”

“Level Four,” Rufan confirmed.

“Oh, that’s lovely,” I said politely. “I look forward to meeting them.”

Rufan and Taryn exchanged a look with each other. “Not to be rude, Your … Miss … Allayne. It’s probably best if you don’t. My girls are very excitable. If they met someone new, they’d be liable to gossip about it with their friends.”

Instantly, I understood his hesitation. I was increasingly becoming aware of the danger I was in. As Taryn had mentioned, people—no matter their age or station—liked to talk. I would have to take extra care not to give myself away by accident, or my true identity would easily get back to King Hendon.

Rufan looked apprehensive. Lack of titles or not, I was still the princess and could enforce my will upon him.

“I understand,” I told him. He visibly relaxed.

“My wife takes the girls to school early in the morning,” he said. “After they leave, then it would be safe for you to leave your room.”

“Look on the bright side, Allayne,” Taryn said, winking at me as she emphasized my new name. “At least we get to sleep in tomorrow.”

***

Even without Rufan’s warning to avoid running into his family, I was exhausted enough from the flight from the castle that I slept in quite easily the next day. When I opened my eyes, Taryn was already up and moving about.

“My sister-in-law and nieces have already left,” she told me. “I’ll head downstairs to find Rufan. Join us when you’ve gotten dressed.”

“Dressed?” I repeated in dismay.

Taryn pointed at the bag. “There’s an extra change of clothes in there, if you like, or you can just wear what you wore yesterday.”

Those clothes were piled in a heap on a side table.

“But Taryn, I …” It seemed embarrassing to say that at nineteen, I required aid to dress myself. But it was the unfortunate truth.

She smiled at me sympathetically. “I know, Princess.” She picked up my dress from the table and turned it front and back, showing off the simple pullover design. “When I packed your bag I took that into account. I actually gave you some of my clothes. It will be easier for you to put them on, and they won’t attract as much attention as yours would have.”

I laughed. It was my first real laugh in what felt like forever, and it felt good. “Taryn, I can’t wear your clothes! I’m the wrong size!” Taryn was several inches taller than me.

She laughed with me. “You already did,” she said, indicating last night’s outfit. “Just belt up the dress if it’s too long. When you have some extra time, you can hem up the dresses properly. I’ve included some needles and thread in the pack for you.”

“Sew?” I said it with such incredulity it caused Taryn to laugh again, this time a bit sympathetically.

“I’m afraid so,” Taryn said. “At least all those embroidery projects will finally come in handy.”

I made a face, even while laughing with her. Needlepoint was one of my least favorite activities, as several sad tapestries in the palace could attest. At least all of my fruitless hours would now serve some practical purpose.

Taryn went downstairs, leaving me with the task of getting ready. I pulled the blue dress over my head and belted it up. Instead of fashionably hanging over the belt like it had last night, I somehow got the fabric tangled in the belt and created a pillowy second stomach for myself. Dreadful. My hair was even worse. Rummaging through the pack, I found the comb Taryn had mentioned and ran it through my tangled hair. I attempted to braid it, but that was dreadful too. I settled for pulling it up in a ribbon and added to my mental list: Learn to hem a dress. Learn to braid my hair. Learn to belt my dress properly.

Stuffing the comb back in the bag, I grabbed it and tidied the room as best I could. Since I didn’t normally—make that, ever—tidy my room back home, I sort of arranged the pillows and pulled the blankets over the bed and hoped that looked good enough. I wanted to be a good guest and was very conscious of my failings.

I found Rufan and Taryn in the kitchen, looking over a map. There was a cheerful fire burning in the hearth, and in the middle of it was—

“My red dress! My shoes!” I cried, dropping the pack on the floor and rushing over to the fire. I reached out, as if to grab my clothing back from the fire, and then pulled back. My dress and shoes were beyond saving.

“It would be better if I didn’t bring them back to the palace,” Taryn said. Getting a good look at me, she smiled and shook her head. Standing, she came over to me where I was still staring in shock at my burning finery in Rufan’s hearth.

She deftly adjusted my outfit so I looked more presentable. “Hopefully that guard won’t remember us, but if he does, seeing me bring your dress back will just trigger his memory. And we don’t want to do that.”

Seeing the flames lick at the remnants of my beautiful dress really reminded me that I was leaving my old life behind. I saw the sense in what Taryn was saying, but it still made me sad.

“Prin … I mean, Allayne,” Rufan said gently. “Why don’t you eat breakfast and then take a look at this map with us? I think it will help you in your travels.”

Numbly, I padded over to the table and sat down, putting the fire with my former dress at my back. Rufan put a plate of food in front of me as Taryn took her place at the table again. I grabbed the bread and a liberal amount of butter, until I caught Taryn’s look of horror. Embarrassed, I tried to subtly scrape some of the butter off my knife so I was taking a smaller amount. Rufan was honoring me by putting butter on the table. I had forgotten that things like butter, which would have been considered a commonplace staple at the palace, would be expensive for non-nobility.

My gaffe went unnoticed by Rufan, who was studying the map intently.

“My sister has told me a bit about your search,” he said. “Here is the kingdom of Calia.” He pointed out our country in the northern part of the map. “Dragons typically live in the south, unless they’re ice dragons, but those are rare.”

“My mother told me to go south to find a dragon named Joichan,” I said. “But that’s rather vague, and a lot of ground to cover. She suggested I find Kye of Orchwell.”

“That makes sense,” Rufan said. “Orchwell is known as the Land of Seekers.”

“Seekers?”

“Yes. Everyone in Orchwell, from the poorest beggar on the street to the nobles in their fancy houses, possesses an innate ability to find things. They specialize, of course; and sometimes what an Orchwellian is able to find is dictated by bloodline. For example, one of the oldest families in Orchwell is famous for its ability to find missing relatives. It’s not always things or people either; sometimes they can detect the slightest flavor in a glass of wine, the imperfection in a weaving, or the faintest note in a piece of music. It all depends on their distinct talent.”

“They must be very expensive to hire, if they’re so specially inclined,” I said dubiously.

“They can be,” Rufan said. “Seekers usually get paid a small fee up front, with the rest of their payment given after the job is complete. If the queen recommended this Kye person, then perhaps they’d be willing to help you regardless of payment.”

“And perhaps knowing that a queen is paying them at the end, they’d be willing to forgo the initial advance fee.” I could only hope.