Isobelle nodded. “She and her troupe are performing in Direcrest, a few hours’ ride north of here. People have been vanishing from the woods near the town, and others are telling tales of a large, shadowy creature lurking at the edges of the forest. No one in power there believes them.”

Gwen’s heart began to beat a little faster. “Another dragon?” she breathed.

Isobelle’s eyes searched hers. “Or something else entirely. We thought dragons had been extinct for a hundred years. Who’s to say there aren’t more impossible things out there . . . people only you can help, battles only you can fight?”

Gwen’s mouth had gone dry with a potent mix of anticipation and fear, and she didn’t realize that her grip on Isobelle’s hand had tightened until the other girl gave a squeak of protest. Gwen let her go with a startled oath and an apology, but Isobelle just laughed.

“I’ve always wanted to hit the road and travel, like a hero of old,” she murmured. Instead of taking Gwen’s hand again, Isobelle leaned up against her and slid her arms around Gwen’s neck. “Setting up camp, managing provisions, going town to town questing for glory . . .”

Gwen could not resist Isobelle when she leaned in like that, and Isobelle knew it—she was watching Gwen with a smug smile, eyes sparking with amusement and no small amount of eager desire. So Gwen kissed her, and for a moment—quite a long moment, actually—she completely forgot what they had been talking about.

When Isobelle pulled away, fingertips toying with a lock of Gwen’s hair, she asked, “What do you think?”

Gwen fought valiantly to recover her breath, and managed to say quite evenly indeed, “I don’t know. Do you think they have cheesecake on a stick in Direcrest?”

Isobelle laughed, glanced out of the mouth of the makeshift market alley, and took Gwen’s hand again. “We ought to eat our fill now, just in case. Better safe than sorry.”

Gwen could not help but give a sharp huff of laughter. “And better free than safe,” she added. Isobelle squeezed her hand, raised it to her lips, and then pulled her back out into the colorful chaos of the Darkhaven market.

Acknowledgments

And so we meet one more time, dear reader. Yes, I am still here after The End—I am your narrator, after all. My talents are many, and not all have been disclosed just yet.

Alas, our tale ends here for now—but not forever. Sir Gwen and Lady Isobelle have many adventures ahead, and this storyteller hopes you will join her for their next installment soon.

As this adventure concludes, however, thanks are due to sundry parties. The relation of any tale, particularly a true one such as this, is never a solitary endeavor.