SOPHIA

We said our goodbyes to Mrs. Roberts, and headed outside. The air was crisp and cool. The smells of the bakery wafted in the slight breeze. Nathan held the bakery box by the twine Mrs. Roberts had wrapped around it like gift string.

"Chapter House is what, about two miles from the border of Velvetleaf?" asked Nathan.

"Probably two and half miles if we were starting the walk here."

"It took a good hour for us to get to your house, especially with those short little legs of yours," said Nathan, laughing.

"Hey! I was like six years old, right?"

"You would ask me for piggy-back rides," he said. "And I would carry my little princess while she ate a tea cake and got crumbs in my hair."

"And then you would walk home by yourself?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Why would you do that, Nathan? Walk a little girl home and spend another hour walking back."

"I wanted to protect you. Besides, you said you would marry me, so I was obligated as your future husband to make sure you got home every day."

"My parents didn’t care, did they?"

Nathan paused on the roadway. "They were always cold to you, weren’t they?"

"Always. My brothers mattered more to them than I did."

"They weren’t really your parents, Sophia."

"You mean like in the dream I had? Where I was a little girl being given to them?"

"For some reason, Scanderoon knows that whole story. He said the Willowmarch grandfather brought you to the Pagemoores after your parents disappeared. They agreed to raise you."

I felt my chest constrict, which didn’t feel all that great considering it was still raw from breathing in smoke. "So they never loved me."

"I’m sorry," said Nathan. He reached out and grasped my shoulder. "You deserved a bright, loving home with parents who adored you."

"What happened to my parents?"

"That’s a long story. One that I’ll tell you soon. But all we really know is that the Rosebrights disappeared. And it’s likely that the Willowmarches, maybe even the Pagemoores, were involved."

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Then I sucked in a shuddering breath.

"Are you okay?"

"I feel overwhelmed," I said. "There’s too much ... and my brain wants to shut down."

Nathan brought me in for a hug and squeezed me tight. "No worries, butterfly. Let’s not talk about this stuff right now. I’ll take you home, so you can rest."

"Okay."

I pulled away from Nathan, only to see that he was gazing up, to the east, his expression soured with worry.

Harsh black threads rose into the clear blue sky and ballooned into smoke in the near distance.

Chapter House.

"Is that Chapter House? Nathan, my grandfather still lives there. And the servants, too."

"We’ll go to the livery and get a horse," said Nathan. "C’mon."

***|***|***

SOPHIA

I sat in the front of the saddle and Nathan behind. One of Nathan’s hands wrapped around my waist while the other held the reins.

By the time we arrived, Chapter House was fully aflame, the roof crashing down as fire ate through the wood.

Nathan swung off the horse and helped me down, and then I was running toward the house, Nathan behind, yelling my name.

I choked on the heat, blinded by the white ash as I searched the windows, desperate. Nathan seized me, pulling me back just as a gust of fire burst the eaves and swept over the top steps.

"Do not get near that house, Sophia Marie," he shouted above the roar of the flames. "If anyone was in that house, they are gone. Do you understand?"

"My grandfather..."

I pressed my face against Nathan’s chest, and wet his shirt with my tears. I was shaking as he scooped me into his arms and walked further away from the burning house.

I wanted to scream. My home. The memories, good and bad.

Gone.

The walls caved in, portraits swallowed in one massive exhale. Painted histories, silly trinkets. Books. Antiques. So many people born and died in Chapter House and now it was gone, and so were the memories. The ghosts of the past burning, burning.

Nathan kept me close, one arm wrapped across my back. Through spots in my vision, I caught a few familiar faces. Servants. None of them wept, but watched as Chapter House was devoured.

Nathan’s shirt stuck to my fingers, moist with cinder and sweat. He gently pried me away.

"Come on," he said quietly, and the composure in his voice steadied me.

"I can’t," I breathed. "It’s all gone."

"I’m sorry," he murmured, rubbing my shoulder. "I’m sorry, sweetheart."

I stumbled away with him, numb and broken, until at last we slumped at the gate, which was dusted with soot.

"I shouldn’t have brought you," said Nathan. "You still recovering from the inn fire."

I watched Chapter House collapse. This fire had ravaged it fully, leaving nothing but ash and what was left of the house’s bones.

I don’t know when Hune arrived, but suddenly he was there.

"Are you all right, Miss Sophia?" he asked. He extracted a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me. "We brought the carriage, Your Grace."

"Help her inside. I’ll see if I can find her grandfather."

Hune helped me into the carriage and I sat there, grieving. It wasn’t like I needed to visit Chapter House, or that I had a place there. My room was in the attic. I didn’t have toys. But my books were gone. My few childhood momentos gone, too,

A couple minutes later, Nathan returned. "The servants said your grandfather was picked up by someone from the Capital. He’s with your parents there. Everyone else made it out alive."

"What happened? How did Chapter House get set on fire?"

"Nobody knows, but we’ll figure it out," said Nathan. He sat beside me and took my hand.

"There’s something else, Your Grace," said Hune from the other side of the carriage. "Amaranth Manor was set on fire, too."