They couldn’t put Kian in the bag anymore, as Verna had run away with it. So, Missandra tightly wrapped the little dragon in her shawl, covering its head as much as she could so it would look like it was just an oddly shaped package. Thankfully, it was dusk now and with the sky getting darker, it would hopefully decrease their chances of being spotted. Both sisters carefully stepped out of the hideout.
Missandra walked a bit ahead to check each street first. They were being extremely careful, and luckily didn’t run into any soldiers. Following Missandra’s instincts, they took the most crowded streets, hiding among the people and acting as if they were just passing through. Cassandra was the most afraid of being spotted. Holding Kassian against her chest, she desperately tried not to look up at the sky. If only the Black Dragon could appear now.
After waiting in a narrow street for a bunch of soldiers doing their patrol to leave, they finally arrived at the street of Cassandra’s residence. She was nervous. What if Vrehan knew about this place? What if something had happened while she was away? What if they were locked out, without any help and with only the little bit of money they had left?
Cassandra took a deep breath and knocked on the door while her younger sister kept a lookout, but thankfully, the street was deserted. At first, no one answered. Desperate, she tried again. She hadn’t been here in ages.
“This is a private residence!” yelled a voice from behind the door. “State your name and your business!”
Despite the rude answer, Cassandra immediately smiled.
“Yasora! It’s me, Cassandra. Open the door please!”
“Don’t yell that!” Missandra said, looking worried.
“Oh, by the Gods! Finally!”
The woman opened the door and grabbed Cassandra’s wrist, yanking her in. Yasora was wearing a green dress with her hair braided down her back and some streaks of white showing through. She seemed to have aged a bit, but she still looked much healthier than the last time Cassandra had seen her.
As Missandra and Cassandra walked in, they were surprised to see several lights on in the residence. Yasora wouldn’t let go of Cassandra’s hand, almost shaking.
“We’ve been waiting for you two!” the older woman exclaimed, her eyes looking as if she was about to cry. “I was starting to fear something had happened! Now, come on!”
After one last glance around to make sure they hadn’t been followed, both sisters were pulled inside, the door closing tightly behind them. Kian, who apparently had enough of being carried by Missandra, let out a little high-pitched chirp as it jumped out of the shawl she had been trying to keep him wrapped in. The Baby Dragon landed on the ground, more of a little tumble than gracefully, but quickly got back on its feet to start sniffing and looking around.
Meanwhile, the exhausted sisters finally let out a long sigh of relief. Cassandra turned to Yasora, confused.
“You were expecting us? Why?”
Next to her, she knew Missandra already had her hand on her little dagger, just in case this turned out to be a trap of some sort. However, it was very unlikely. Officially, there was nothing tying Cassandra to this residence. Kairen had just gotten rid of its owner and freed all the slaves. More than likely, no one had stopped to take care of the paperwork.
With the exception of her tired eyes, the middle-aged servant lady looked the best that Cassandra had ever seen. Yasora took her hand, nodding.
“We’ve been so worried! Two days ago, out of the blue, a man showed up at the door saying he had come under the orders of Imperial Concubine Kareen! He told us you would likely arrive here soon, with your younger sister and a newborn. He told us to be ready to help you! He said we had to do anything we could to assist you as soon as you arrived, and make sure no one found you. He gave us plenty of money and food to fill our storage cupboard too! Oh, and we also have a letter that came for you, carried by a messenger bird, from an Imperial Servant named Evin.”
“Evin!” exclaimed Cassandra, surprised to hear about him.
“Someone you know,Hinue?” asked Missandra, confused.
“Prince Kairen appointed him as my... attendant back when we stayed in the North Camp. He accompanied me everywhere all day, he’s a good man.”
Just then, Kassian started getting agitated in his mother’s arms. A bit unhappy, the baby started moving his closed fists and cried, visibly upset.
“Oh, come in! Let’s take care of you first, you must be exhausted! Don’t worry, we have everything ready!”
Yasora guided them inside the residence. Cassandra had lived several years in this place, and she could see the changes since the last time she had come here. First, the roof that Krai had torn apart had been repaired, though the place seemed to have been renovated as some storage place. Furthermore, leaving all the servants in charge without a direct Master had made the house appear livelier than ever before. Plants were happily growing in the gardens, with some cats playing around. Also, a lot of doors were left open, allowing the young servants to rush from one place to another without worry.
However, as Yasora had promised, everyone had been waiting for them. As soon as they walked in, Cassandra was surrounded by many familiar faces. The young servants and former slaves she had worked with years prior circled around her, greeting her and vocalizing amazement and awe for her baby. However, Kassian wasn’t in the mood for the introductions. The young little Prince continued his crying and fussing until Yasora yelled for the young ones to clear the area and get to work. She was apparently appointed the natural head of the house until Cassandra returned.
First, both girls got to take a bath in one of the large indoor bathtubs of the residence. As if they were some valued guests, the two sisters and Kassian were given complete attention by the servants. After almost a week of surviving in the wilderness, Cassandra and Missandra enjoyed being able to properly relax in some hot water with fancy soaps. They let Kassian play in the water a bit. Just like Kian, they had already noticed that the baby enjoyed water a lot. As soon as he was laid in, he naturally tried to paddle and splash with his feet, wiggling around. Kian was swimming around them in the bathtub too. The dragon’s wings were still not fully developed, but it could make short little flights and jump out of the water before diving again.
Once they were done bathing, the sisters were given some large bathrobes. They noticed someone had even gone to purchase new diapers for the baby. The dragon was a bit harder to persuade out of the bath, though. Cassandra attempted to call Kian out many times, her pleas falling uselessly on deaf ears. Eventually, Missandra had to wrestle the mischievous Baby Dragon out, it was having too much fun making her chase it around, until she was finally able to grab the silver tail.
“Come, while you were bathing we got some dinner ready for you,” said Yasora. “I imagine you have much to tell us!”
Indeed, a large table had been prepared with food, making them immediately hungry despite their current fatigue. Missandra almost jumped to get a steamed bun. Meanwhile, Cassandra carefully laid Kassian down in a little basket containing a blanket that the young servant girl Mira had prepared for him. As soon as he was on his back, the baby yawned, and Kian jumped next to him to curl up for a nap, too.
“So?” said Yasora. “I’m very confused, Cassandra. Last time we saw you was at the slave market, and after that we barely heard anything.”
