Wisteria listened as the sounds of fighting started up again, eyeing the way back as she toyed with strands of her black hair nervously, “...She-she did… Miss Alliana… Teach me essence, that is… it um… you-you saw she’s really good at it.”

“I did, sweetheart,” Alliana said, offering her a sly smile, “Calm down dear, you aren’t in trouble. I’m just so impressed! You did such a wonderful job, dear.”

“O-oh. Um. Thank you, ma’am…”

“You’re always so respectful. We’re alone, you can relax around me. Alliana is just fine. You’re thirteen. You’re a grown woman or growing at the least. You’ve clearly been raised by a strong woman. Myrtle is so independent - she has no need for a man to aid her, even in such a small town. You’re my son’s dearest, and currently only, friend. I do hope he makes an effort to make more down the line, but you are so patient and kind with him. And you do not fear his position. You are more than we could ask for, for him,” Alliana continued, showering her with praises as Wisteria blushed, “I am blessed that your mother trusts us so. No matter our station, it does not make trust any easier. To allow us to take you along… it is not so simple for her, is it?”

Wisteria nodded, eyes going to the ground. “It’s not, ma’a- er… Alliana. I was really surprised she let me come with you. It’s the first time I’ve been out of her presence for longer than a school day since we got here with the rest of the refugees...“ she said, still hesitant to talk about it even though she knew that she could trust them and that they were aware of their status as refugees, “I’m really proud of momma, too. She works really hard to keep me safe and fed, even during the winter when the local plants good for alchemy are pretty scarce…” she muttered. “And it’s easy to trust Alister because he’s a good person. I don’t know much about his past life or whathaveyou, and I don’t know how he was before waking up to it… but he is so smart, and nice… when he’s not too excited… and I just feel drawn to him, like our fates are connected. It’s kinda weird, but I just feel like… I don’t know. Like he’s going to be in my life forever, you know? It might just be because we’re kids, but it’s like I’ve known him a long time,” she explained with a sigh.

This got an attentive nod from the duchess. “I can’t say I totally understand what you mean… but I grew up in a very… ah, professional household. My role was made clear to me early on, and I was discouraged from bonding with other males than Blas. But I am happy that you feel that way, even if I don’t truly get it myself. How lovely it would be, having a lifelong friend that way,” she said with a sigh. “Such a sweet thought.”

The woman seemed to contemplate something for a moment, before letting out an audible hmm. “You know, I think I might be able to help your mother even more than just hiring her. This should help both of you, really…”

Wisteria immediately became curious, head cocked to the side a bit. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, well… I haven’t spoken to Blas in-depth yet about it, but given your talent at a mere thirteen, I was considering possibly hiring you on as an assistant to your mother, or perhaps as an apprentice… that would of course mean two salaries instead of one. But there’s much to be done there before ought could be finalized in that regard,” she said, dismissing the thought with a wave of the hand.

This lit up a light of excitement in the child’s eyes so genuine that Alliana almost felt bad about being so blatantly manipulative. She wasn’t lying, of course, it really was something up in the air, but still. “Wisteria sweetheart, before you jump to the moons with joy, I’d like to know a bit more,” she continued, tempering her excitement a little, “You’re clearly so capable. What all can you do? What sort of jobs could you be placed in?”

Wisteria chomped on her lip nervously as she watched Alliana delicately sit herself on a stump. She nodded, hesitant, but she agreed with her reasoning and sat on the stump beside her, “Of course, of course… you can’t really offer me a job or anything without knowing what I can do, right?” Alliana’s smile was sweet as she nodded, “Well… I mean… I um… I, my mom and I, we kind of… have a special connection to the divine. We… is this really ok? Sorry. I just…”

Alliana got off the stump and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in hers, “Wisteria. I promise you, you’re safe with us. Yes, I want to know what you’re hiding. I do. But I don’t enjoy seeing you so scared and conflicted. I know your mother must’ve had an important position. Nothing else makes sense. But I don’t care what you two did in Typer Qoar. You live here in Mare now, and Blas and I are high nobles. We will keep you two safe.”

She stared at the duchess for a long, silent moment. When she did speak again, her voice was barely a whisper, “I… want to trust you all… I really do. It’s hard. My… my mom and I nearly died multiple times when we were escaping the coup. We got hurt by people we trusted more than once. We had to hide, because the… the new king would try to drag us back… and especially drag me back since I’m a child. My mom taught me that we need to hide. Even if we’re more than a nation away… it’s just… safer that way. General… erm… King Kavan has a wide reach. She was the high priestess, the saintess of the nation that Kavan overthrew.” Alliana raised a brow but allowed her to continue.

“We’re both blessed by the gods,” Wisteria said with a dry laugh, tearing up as she stared at her hands, “Saintesses. Voices of the divine. We’re preferential to Vera because she aided us so much, but we don’t devote ourselves to any one god or goddess. It’s… against our creed, I guess. If we devote ourselves to one then we are biased towards the others.”

Alliana was about to speak, but Wisteria held up a finger. She took her rings out of her eyes, the jewel-like shine shimmering down her hair, coating her eyes with beautiful onyx. The charm settled itself on her finger, and she rolled it around, looking down at it.

“Gem hair…,” Alliana whispered, and Wisteria nodded, looking up, “and gem eyes… Oh, dear…” Wisteria was shaking, and Alliana hugged her, holding her head delicately, “It’s okay. Shh. None of us will think of you any differently. It’s alright, my dear. You’re safe.”