Rakia's POV "Sit, sit," the elderly woman urged. "You must be absolutely famished from your long journey." Mother Arielle eagerly went round the table, dishing hearty laddels of thick gumbo into everyone's bowls. The hungry children cheered after receiving their share. "You're going to love Mother Arielle's gumbo," Hammond piped up, all traces of sorrow gone from her eyes. "She makes the best gumbo in the entire Midlands." "Oh stop, Hammond," the elderly nun chuckled, finally dishing my bowl with soup. I sat next to Clifford at the table, whilst Richard and Hammond sat across from us. The rest of the seats were occupied by the many children. Mother Arielle settled down at the head of the table and requested that we say the grace. Once we all rattled out the prayer, spoons found their wa

Rakia's POV "Mmm! This, without a single shred of doubt, is one of the best swiss rolls I've ever had in my life!" Richard stuffed two more of the puffy pastry in his mouth, prompting Lula to bring out a second tray of baked treats. The boys and I occupied the sofa in Granark's small but cozy living room. I picked up a pastry from the tray in front of us and took a hearty bite. The vanilla cream filling gently oozed onto my tongue. "Wow, this is really good, Lula." Her pointy ears perked up at the compliment. "I told you you'd love them," she beamed. Taking a bite of my second roll, my eyes suddenly flickered up to meet Granark's intense stare. I swallowed the pastry in my mouth. "Is something wrong?" He hesitated a bit. "No. It's just... you loo

A week laterClifford's POV Water splashed ferociously against the rock I sat on, watching one of Rakia's intense training sessions. It was all she and Granark have doing these past days. At her command, water swarmed past Rakia, slashing down five of Granark's magical wooden puppets in one swing. "She's getting pretty good at this," I said to the wizard who sat a few feet away from me. "Eeh," Granark scoffed, setting his scrolls aside to fold his arms. "She's still not fast enough." "You're joking right?" I gaped at the old man. "She has destroyed half of your entire fleet." I pointed at the numerous wooden contraptions floating on the water. "An

Rakia's POV Two days later. The evening sky was set ablaze with a variety of stars. Some big, some small, each one sparkling in their own special way. It reminded me of how small I was on this planet. I sat alone on the thatched roof of the cottage, replaying today's training sessions over and over in my head. Earlier this afternoon.   A group of puppets launched at me with axes and hatchets. Before they could thrust their weapons, I slashed them down with a water tentacle and headed straight for the gong beater they were to protect. Once I hit that thing, I would complete the task for today's training session.   Granark stood on the othe

Rakia's POV Luca's hooves hit the ground with a rhythmic tempo, that I happily distracted myself with, in order to prevent an emotional breakdown.   Granark and I had been riding for almost two hours now, but it felt like an eternity to me.   "Let's take a break here!" The old man yelled over his shoulder, slowing down his horse. "We have little ground left to cover. If all goes well, we'll arrive at the boundary before noon." Tugging on my horse's reins, Luca came to a smooth stop at a small creek. He put his lips in the running water as I jumped off him.   "Oh, my back hurts like hell!" Granark groaned, taking a seat on a nearby boulder. "Lesson one for aging: Never ride a horse."