As it turned out, there was enough room for a few days. They had no money to speak of, had left anything Serana might have of value at the castle but the brooch on her dress, but the humans who lived there were old friends of Elayn and were happy to offer some food and somewhere to rest in exchange for some chores. Slowly the group that had followed them out dwindled day by day, until Tess and Leta were the only ones who remained. The first had endeared herself by sharing the chore of cooking, the second by being too sweet to be anything but charming.

“Take care of yourself, miss,” Tess said to Serana the day they left. “And watch out for that wolf of yours. I can tell she’s trouble.”

“She’s good at getting herself into things,” Serana said, smiling at Elayn’s noise of outrage. “But she’s good at getting herself out too. I think we’ll be alright.”

After so long being stuck in the castle, Elayn quickly felt her old wanderlust starting to set in, and she found Serana out by the chicken-house one morning before dawn. “So,” she said. “Where do we go now?”

“I’ve always wanted to visit France,” Serana said, watching the chickens peck at the dirt. Then she turned to face Elayn. “But what about you?”

“France sounds good,” she said, instead of “I’ll follow you anywhere.”

But maybe some of it bled into her words, because Serana smiled warmly at her, and drew her close for a kiss that lasted until the sun’s first rays peaked over the horizon.