She tied up the last of her packs and put it outside the door of the suite for a servant to take down. Take down to what? She didn’t know. No one had bothered to tell her exactly how this expedition had been organized. Was there a wagon? Several? Were they riding wagons or horses? She hadn’t ever ridden anything but a gentle pony, or Rolan. What if they gave her a horse that was determined to scrape her off its back?

The suite was empty; presumably everyone was waiting at the stable where she’d been told the group was to gather so that they could say goodbye. She collected herself and put on a brave face. No use in allowing her parents to think she was having second thoughts. And third thoughts. Especially not ones as ignoble as fussing over sleeping on a dirty inn floor.

With fleas.

She lingered as long as she could, making one last pass over her belongings, trying to intuit if she would regret not having this or that with her on this trek. But eventually there was no point in delaying further. It was time to go.

The first thing she saw as she left the Palace was the whole family, and Kat, waiting at the roadway halfway between the Royal Stable and the Palace. When they spotted her, they all started moving toward her as a group; she ran toward them, and they all met in a jumbled embrace.

“Have a great adventure, and come back safe,” Amily said; Mags just reinforced that with a tighter hug.

“I’ll keep an eye on your bridge for you,” Kat told her. “So you can keep your whole mind on your job.”

“Thanks.” Abi found herself with a lump in her throat. “I’ll do that.”

Like his father, Perry said nothing, just squeezed her tight.

“Bring me back a story,” Tory said. “One Kee will like.”

“I can certainly do that,” she promised. “Lots of stories.”

She understood instinctively why they were saying goodbye here and not at the stables. They didn’t want to embarrass her in front of people who were now her peers by making it look like she was a child being sent off by her parents. The other three Masters certainly would not have a knot of family hugging and kissing and asking for stories. So this way she got her goodbye and still retained her dignity.

Eventually, there was nothing more to say. One more hug, one more kiss, and Kat headed for the Companion Stables and her daily trip down into Haven, Tory followed his mother back into the Palace, and Perry, Larral, and Mags headed for one of the lesser gates into the complex, going—somewhere. She stood quite still as they turned back a last time before moving out of sight, and waved.

Then, with both anticipation and more than a little anxiety, she made her way to the Royal Stables.