Here.

Jon picked his head up and looked ahead.

He saw what looked to be a small building further into the horizon. He figured it was due to his perspective since they were so far away.

When they got closer, Jon realized that it was, in fact, a small building.

It was almost the same size as Dan’s house. Likewise, Jon had trouble telling if there was one story or two. The building was more wide than tall, with rounded walls, and what looked like a wide triangular roof that was smashed on top of it and held by glue.

Tallow and Genevieve were standing outside, staring up at the building.

“This dump?” Tallow asked. “This is the King’s Guard?”

“Welcome to our humble abode,” Mallory said as he climbed out.

“It’s shit,” Hector said as his own feet hit the ground. “It’s always been shit.”

“There’s only a few of us,” Gevenevie said. “Any more space, Hect, and we wouldn’t know what to do with it!”

Hector grumbled some more words as he went to the door and pushed it open.

He waited.

“Come on,” he said.

Right.

Jon climbed out of the wagon and stepped inside.

Past the door was a hallway that ran sideways to the entrance. In the room right up ahead, Jon saw Lana, sitting behind a table towards the back. The table was stacked with papers and books, and Lana’s head was bowed over as she slowly traced her words with a large feather pen.

“One moment…” Lana said. “I’m just… trying… to…”

“Lana!” Hector called as he entered the room.

“What!” Lana sucked air through her teeth quickly as she pulled away from the document. Now that she was sitting up, Jon saw that she was wearing gray armor, the same armor that Jon had seen her wear in the projections.

She seemed both larger and smaller than what Jon had seen of her before. She had wide shoulders, which Jon still couldn't tell if it was due to the armor or just her body. Her red hair was darker than usual since she wasn’t transparent anymore, but in person, Jon saw that it was darker than Hector’s. He could also tell by her face that she was the older sister since there was a sense of sharpness in her face that Hector’s still lacked.

“Hector…” she opened her eyes to recover from her wince. “What have I told you about-”

“Jon’s here,’ Hector said, gesturing to Jon.

“Oh! Jon!” Lana stood up suddenly. “It’s great to meet you! I’m sorry. I’m just a little indisposed and-”

“Mallory and Genevieve are outside as well,” Hector said. “We’re all waiting for-”

“One thing at a time, Hector,” Lana said, her expression becoming serious. “I have to-”

“The whole initiation ceremony is gonna take too long,” Hector said. “Come on, let me get to my next mission already.”

Lana took a deep breath.

“Are you sure… you don’t want to talk about anything. I have a lot to take care of, and you-”

“Don’t worry about me,” Hector said. “Just hurry up and give me my next mission.”

Lana made a sad grimace.

“Hector…”

Lana looked at Jon.

“It's great to see you in person, finally,” Lana said. She sat up and gave a warm, but weary smile before continuing. “But before we can talk about your initiation-”

“Hurry it up,” Hector said sharply.

“Hector, if you do not have the respect to keep your mouth shut while I’m talking,” Lana said, her voice becoming sharp as well, “then you can wait outside.”

Hector crossed his arms. “I don’t trust you.”

Lana threw her arms up in the air. “What am I supposed to do with you?”

She dropped back into the seat in disbelief, sinking her head into her hand.

“Jon…” When she was ready, she began shifting her posture properly into her chair again. “Are you seriously considering becoming a part of the King’s Guard?”

Jon nodded.

“Great,” she said, “I would go through the whole spiel, but like Hector said, you’ve proven yourself tenfold already. And you even have some recommendations come your way.”

Recommendations? That made Jon feel excited. It wasn’t only that Jon had never gotten a recommendation before. People were talking about him but in a good way. He also felt anxious thinking about what people had to say. He also didn't think he did anything worthy of one, so he tempered his own heart to see what Lana had for him.

Lana reached underneath the table and searched around blind until she pulled out some papers.

“I haven’t been able to look through them fully, but we can go through them together…”

She placed them on the table, holding on to one.

“I have one from Lester… it says…”

She squinted in confusion as she read it. “‘He made me lots of money… and beat a guy in a wheelchair?”

“Jon was in a wheelchair,” Hector muttered.

“Oh! You were injured, Jon?" Her eyebrow raised in concern. "I’m sorry. I supposed that’s impressive, but I told Lester that he should be careful in his wording…”

She put down Lester’s letter and picked up the next one.

“Jon is a true comrade and tactician. He stayed behind my shoulder the entire time and made the hard calls when I wasn’t able to do so. This is from Lizbeth, by the way.”

Jon beamed. Liz had also given him a recommendation. Liz was definitely someone Jon looked up to.

“Liz says that you guys don’t talk anymore,” Hector said.

“Of course, I talked to her,” Lana said. “I asked her to-”

“Outside of the mission.” Hector retorted.

“Hector, that’s personal,” Lana said with an insulted look on her face. “I don’t have the time to-”

“But you still asked her to help you out on a mission,” Hector continued.

“Because I was desperate, Hector,” Lana explained. “Please.”

Jon shivered. He remembered Lana’s pleading to Macy in a similar situation. Jon didn’t like to see someone like Lana put in that position again. He felt uncomfortably anxious.

“What’s next?” Jon asked, hoping to avoid another meltdown from either sibling.

“Oh, well…” Lana went through the papers. “You have… you have one from Resden… from the armed guards…”

“Why does Jon have a-”

Lana ignored Hector’s inquiry. “One from Hestatham… Genevieve… wait, this is Dad…”

“A recommendation?” Hector lost his anger to share a moment of disbelief with his sister.

“No…” Lana scanned the document. “He’s saying to keep a close eye on Jon, and not let him cause too much trouble, but…”

She nodded. “That’s as good of a recommendation as anyone can get from Dad.”

She then gestured to her brother. “And seeing as you have both my brother’s and Mallory’s respect, l… and your recent actions both at your home and abroad, well, Jon, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to join the King’s Guard right now. This has been a long time-”

“That’s what I was saying,” Hector remarked.

“Hector, there’s still protocol,” Lana exclaimed. “If you hope to lead the King’s Guard someday-”

“I thought you were desperate,” Hector responded.

Lana turned purple in the face. She pointed to the door.

“Get out!” she yelled. The shout frightened Jon more than anything else he had encountered on his journeys.

Sure, it was concerning when Luther yelled, but Luther seemed like he would yell at anybody or anything. There was a slight sense of disappointment in Lana’s yell that made Jon feel bad, even if it wasn’t directed towards him.

Hector huffed, then turned and walked out.