Tori Transmigrated

“Are you all right?”

Tori brought the wooden brush down against Layla’s mane in gentle, rhythmic motions as she zoned out. The wooden brush with the boar bristles was strapped to her hand with a piece of leather. Her godfather had prepared all sorts of things related to caring for her horse for her.

“This is an unexpected series of events,” she said in a dazed voice. “I never expected Montan Alvere to become my godbrother.”

“He has yet to accept,” Piers said.

“Only because Mama told him to think about it and then went inside,” Tori replied as she continued to brush her horse. If the Duchess had asked her mother to be Montan’s godmother years ago, then it must’ve happened in the original game. Did that mean her prospective godbrother had a hand in Victoria’s death?

She paused and gave her head a little shake. It was unfair to put guilt on Montan who hadn’t done such a thing in this world. His worst case against her was threatening her with a charm, which was laughable in retrospect. He’d been rude, but considering what was going on in his personal life, Tori could brush it off a bit.

“Do you think he will accept?” Piers asked.

She turned her head to look at him. “This is something the woman he loved like a mother arranged for him before her death. Don’t you think he will?”

“It is not certain. He seems afraid of your mother.”

“Many people are afraid of Mama,” Tori said with a wave of her hand. She stepped back to look over Layla’s mane. She should move on with the dense goat hairbrush to brush her body.

“Axton is speaking to him about this. My mother is trying to explain to your mother why she should be gentler to the boy.”

Tori took a deep breath and tilted her head back. “What’s the Marquis General doing?”

“He’s sitting in the mausoleum, telling the Duchess that he’s about to become a father.”

It was a bit strange to think that a man who was going to become a father had secretly abandoned his post for a few days to entomb the woman he loved, but considering the situation, the Marquis General and his subordinate had come to an arrangement to try for an heir. It wasn’t as if there was deep romantic love between them, though they clearly cared for and trusted each other if they agreed to have a child.

If Tori were the Duchess, she would’ve felt relieved that he was finally going to have an heir. Though he didn’t look it, the Marquis General was old. He really didn’t love another woman like he loved the Duchess, even after she passed.

“How old is the Marquis General?”

Piers frowned. “He is too old for you.” Tori gave him an annoyed look. “In his fifties.” Tori let out a low whistle and Piers narrowed his eyes. “You are thinking that he is still attractive at that age.”

Tori choked and tried to push down her flush. “No, I’m not.” Yes, she was. Piers didn’t look convinced. She put the boar bristle brush into a leather kit hanging on the wall and walked to the door of the pen. She stood on the other side and met his gaze confidently to console him. “Piers, no matter how attractive the Marquis General is, you are better looking than your uncle.”

“Well...that hurts.” Tori snapped her head towards the owner of the voice and clenched her jaw. Her face heated up as she saw the fifty-something year old man approaching the pen where Layla was being groomed and rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish expression.

Goddamn swordsmen and their silent footsteps! Tori wondered if she could use terracrystal to get the earth to swallow her.

The Marquis General laughed as Tori grimaced and ran a hand down her face. “I came here to ask the Countess if she’ll speak to Young Master Alvere, but I didn’t expect to get such a blow to my ego.”

“Uncle, even if you are graying and have wrinkles, you are still very handsome for your age,” Piers said with a straight face. The Marquis General laughed once more.

“An insult disguised as a compliment. You get that from your father,” he said with a playful look. He looked back at Tori. “My lady, if you could go inside and speak to Young Master Alvere. It seems he has some concerns, and you have something to do with them.”

Tori drew her head back and frowned. She gave him a nod and turned back to her horse. “I’ll be back later. I will have them bring you some treats. You are a good horse and I love you.” Tori gently rubbed Layla’s neck and slipped out of the gate. She made sure it was locked before she walked past the Marquis General and Piers to go back inside. She heard Piers asking his uncle to have a match with him, but the Marquis General snorted that he was ‘old’ and tired.

Inside the chateau, Mr. Merced told her that Axton was with Montan out in the garden where the chapel was. Tori traced her steps back and found the two seated on a bench quietly talking.

She approached them and gave them a small nod. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Axton and Montan stopped talking. They looked taken aback and Montan appeared confused. Axton furrowed his brows. “I didn’t need to talk to you.”

Tori drew her lips into a tight line. It seemed they didn’t ask for her, but the Marquis General sent her. Tori took a deep breath.

“The Marquis General told me to come and discuss, as it seems there is some hesitation about the trifecta godparent,” she said. She fixed her eyes on Montan as she stood above him. “Do you have a problem with my mother?”

If she thought about it, even knowing how intimidating and cold her mother could be to others, Tori was a bit insulted that Montan would take so long to consider it.

Montan sucked in a sharp breath, and he shook his head. Axton stood up and tried to explain. “He has nothing against the Marquess. It’s just that-”

“Does he find my mother lacking in any way?”

“No-”

“Is he afraid of my mother?”

Axton looked as if he were about to say ‘no’, but instead grimaced and turned to Montan. Montan’s face paled and he looked away. Tori shouldn’t have been surprised. To others, her mother was assertive and cold, very direct, dominating, and at first glance, did not compromise. Most people assumed she was only soft and gentle to those she loved, but she loved the Empress and argued with her all the time.

Antonia de Guevera was, if Tori could describe her in her terms, a softie. Her father once told her that if Antonia didn’t appear cold and aloof to others, she would likely be taken advantage of because her mother did not like seeing others suffer. It also explained why Antonia had given up on her friendship with Genevieve for some time; she couldn’t stand watching a trainwreck.

Montan lowered his eyes. His skinny hands dug into his lap.

“I don’t believe that your mother wants me to be her godson,” he told her.

“No, she wouldn’t have brought it up-”

“Yeah, she probably didn’t at first.” Tori cut off Axton, who whirled to look at her with a horrified expression. Tori didn’t move from her spot or look as if she regretted her words. Her eyes were fixed on Montan. “She hated your birth parents. So much that if we weren’t trying to get here in time, we would’ve gone to the village to make sure they were really dead. One would think that she has no reason to like you, their progeny, so she wouldn’t even consider you as her godchild.”

“Tori!” Axton grabbed her arm to try to stop her, but she tore her arm away and sent him a silencing look.

“I know you want to coddle him. I know you want to protect him and keep him safe from anything that would harm him. Axton, you are like your mother,” Tori told him. Her face softened just a bit. “And that’s not a bad thing. But my mother is Antonia de Guevera, and we are not saints.” She looked back at Montan. “We have a sense of responsibility, but we carefully consider our choices before we commit. If my mother really didn’t want to have you as her godson, do you think that she, a woman from a scholarly family who became a ruler of a march, would even speak of the prospect?”

“She only wants to fulfill a promise to her friend.”

“So what?” Tori said, raising a brow. “What is so terrible about fulfilling a promise? Is it because she agreed so late? That it’s too late now?”

“Isn’t it?” Montan looked at her with dismay and pain. “If she was my godmother when I was a child, it would’ve made a difference. I needed a godmother when I was small, and Mama died. My father dragged me out of the room; I still remember. He locked me in another wing; I didn’t know she died until Mr. Merced snuck into the room to bring me food. Why didn’t she become my godmother then?”

“Because she couldn’t,” Axton said in a quiet voice. He sat down beside Montan as Montan wiped his eyes. “Only parents...or your legal guardians can assign you a godparent. My godmother was able to take me because my mother had passed, and she gave guardianship to her. My father also had guardianship, but how could he go against the Empress? Both your birth parents were alive...the Marquess couldn’t take you. She wouldn’t even have been recognized as your godmother.”

Tori nodded. “It would’ve been kidnapping.”

“I admit, I didn’t want to at first, as Tori said,” a voice said from behind the bench. Tori looked over them and saw her mother and the Empress standing beneath the walkway a few paces away. She hadn’t noticed them standing there. “I didn’t think I could be a proper godmother to a child whose parents hurt my friend. Could I be sincere? Could I ignore my hatred? Could I love you? These are all important questions. I could not agree to take such a responsibility if I could not do it properly. It would be a betrayal to the one who asked. As for whether I would be allowed to or not...I didn’t consider that until later.”

Montan didn’t turn to look at her. He lowered his head and wrung his hands. “I don’t blame you if you hate me.”

Tori watched her mother silently walk out into the garden. She stepped to the side to let Antonia stand in front of Montan.

“Your hair reminds me of your mother. You look more like your father than your brother does.”

“Toni, be gentle....” the Empress whispered a few paces away.

“I won’t lie to you, Montan. There are parts of you that remind me of them, and when I think of them I am angered, but...the more you care about someone, the less you see parts of them that you don’t like. That is simply how it is. But to be clear, I do not hate you. You are the baby Genevieve saved and loved, and tried to raise until she died. How can I hate you?”

Tori thought for a moment. “He did threaten me one time, and he got kidnapped and almost got Sebby mauled by a tiger.”

“Tori!” Axton gave her a pained look, as if asking why of all the times to remind everyone of that incident, it had to be now.

“He did. The kidnapping isn’t his fault, so I’ll ignore that, but he did threaten me with a charm once. I pulled a dagger on him, so we’re even,” Tori said with a shrug. “I just want to make it clear that I also don’t hate him. I mean, I did hire him and invite him to my delta. If I really didn’t like him, do you think I’d do so even if he were your brother? Look at how long it took Prince Gideon to visit again.”

“You see, my daughter accepts you. I accept you. If this is not good enough for you and you truly do not feel comfortable being my godson, then this is likely the last we’ll see of each other. I tried to fulfill what Genevieve asked of me. This is all I can do,” Antonia said. She took a step back and turned around. She paused and looked to the side. “But, if you decide to accept, you have not only a godmother, but a godfamily. That is what Genevieve wanted for you. That is why she asked me.”

She gave a little nod, looped arms with the Empress, and began to walk away.

“Marquess, if you could have become my godmother when I was a baby; if my parents had no say in the matter, would you have?” Montan asked as he shot to his feet. He looked at the back of the woman with heated eyes as his hands clenched at his sides.

Antonia stopped. She turned around to face him. “After considering the circumstances of your birth thoroughly...yes.” The corner of her lip rose, a bit amused. “Otherwise, why would I mention it now that there is a chance?”

Montan dropped his head. He took a deep breath. “I accept.”

Antonia tilted her head and raised a brow. “I cannot hear you.”

Montan lifted his head and straightened up. “I accept. Godmother.”

Antonia stared at him a little longer. Her eyes narrowed. She suddenly began to chuckle. “You are unexpectedly stubborn,” she said as her eyes crinkled up. “You must have gotten that from your Mama.”

“How many more of them are you going to bring home?” Ilyana’s brown eyes bore into Tori as Tori shifted on the edge of her bed and tried to avoid eye contact. It wasn’t as if she were a child bringing home strays off the street. Though, Ilyana would probably accept that over expanding their friend group with the love interests.

“I didn’t pick this one up....” Tori defended herself in a quiet voice. “This was pre-arranged by the late Duchess and my mother.”

“The next thing you know, Guthry will show up!” Ilyana threw her arms in the air and Tori shrank back further. Ilyana stopped pacing and narrowed her eyes. “Victoria de Guevera....”

“He’s coming with his parents to recuperate here for a bit until school starts at my invitation before I left,” Tori said in one quick breath.

She could’ve sworn she saw a vein in Ilyana’s neck throb. Her friend crossed the room and snatched the pillow off the bed. She shoved her face into it and let out a long scream into the pillow.

Tori didn’t bother to hide her guilt. She knew that of all her friends, Ilyana held the biggest grudges, with the biggest one against Dimitri. Ilyana had every right to hold those grudges and dislike the love interests, so Tori wasn’t upset at that. She was upset that she was upsetting Ilyana.

When Ilyana was done, she threw the pillow back on the bed. “I reserve the right to punch him again if he says anything reprehensible.”

“That’s between you two and I warned him about it,” Tori said, nodding obediently. “I know you don’t like them, but you've come to accept the second prince and von Dorn. You weren’t angry when Alvere came during the Spring Festival.”

“They’re no longer being rude and disrespectful to you and Ewan, and they’re not defending Hart as if she’s faultless and always a victim of your existence. Also, Prince Piers and Duke Axton have been incredibly good to us, so I can at least try to be civil to their brothers,” Ilyana replied. She crossed her arms. “But I haven’t forgiven them for the first two years.”

“They’re slowly learning and becoming better people. They were ill-influenced in the beginning. Perhaps they just needed to know us better. To know me better since I was their target.”

Ilyana squinted at her. “Are you saying that they’re less terrible because you befriended them? Is this the power of friendship you were telling Fifi and Ava about?”

“The power of friendship is very powerful,” Tori said. “Anyway, Alvere’s going to be my godbrother. Mama is pleased with it. Alvere is happy. Axton is relieved.”

“And what do you think?”

Tori let her shoulders fall. She let out a tired breath. “Considering his past...his parents...it’s strange, but I don’t mind as much as I thought I would. He’s really not a bad person; he was just in a bad situation and didn’t know where else to go.” So, he latched onto Hart for a while.

Ilyana puffed out her cheeks. “I know.” She scoffed. “Well...better him than Guthry, at least.”

“I know you hate Guthry the most.”

“He knows why.”

“All right, all right.” Tori stood up and gently began to herd Ilyana to the front of her tent. “I know the others sent you here to find out what’s going on, but really, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

Ilyana slumped forward. “If you’re helping them because you want to distract them from Hart, you don’t have to work so hard. You are not responsible for them.”

Tori smiled a bit. “I have my own self-interest in mind, too.” Ilyana gave her a look of doubt, but still trudged towards the exit. She pushed the two flaps aside and paused.

“Lady Agafonova, is the Countess inside?” Montan asked after some hesitation.

Ilyana took a deep breath and seemed to look him up and down. “She’s inside.” She walked past him, and Tori shook her head and waited for Montan to enter.

“Did you get the clothes for your ceremony?” Tori asked as she rounded her desk and took a seat.

Montan nodded as he stepped inside. “I did. Everything fits.”

“Good,” Tori nodded. “The island, Nao, is consecrated and Brother Cassius will be overseeing the ceremony. He’s a brother from Temple Mountain that Constantine introduced us to. Now he’s the usual head of the church here.” Montan nodded once more. He stood in front of her desk and Tori looked up. “Is there something else?”

“I want to apologize for the time I threatened you for Alessa. And for how rude I was to you. I didn’t know you then and thought badly of you. I misunderstood you,” Montan said in a regretful voice. He lowered his head towards her. “I am sorry for how I saw and treated you.”

Tori stared at him for a moment. “We’re even,” she said. “I didn’t think well of you, either.”

Montan clenched his hands at his sides, but remained with his head low. “Thank you for protecting me during the Spring Festival.”

Tori picked up a pencil and nodded. “I wasn’t the only one.”

“But you still drew a weapon and shielded me,” Montan said. He lifted his head. “Axton said you knew about my parents...what they were doing to me.”

Tori slowed her doodling. She kept her eyes on the paper as she came to a stop. “There were things I noticed. I paid more attention. Confirmed it.”

“You told Axton.”

Tori took a deep breath and lifted her gaze. “I didn’t know who else to tell. Even if I didn’t like you, I couldn’t watch them abuse you and do nothing. I’m not doing it to be kind to you specifically or because you’re Axton’s brother; I just could not accept it.” She looked back at her paper. “It was the right thing to do. I’m just frustrated that it took longer than expected to take you out of such a situation. Even as a countess, I can’t do whatever I want...at least not legally.”

“Thank you.”

Tori looked up at him once more and met his eyes. “You shouldn’t have to thank me for being a decent person.”

“Tori!” Axton burst through her door and waved around a stuffed chicken with a little knit gold crown, breaking the somber tone of the tent. “Have you seen Fifi? I got her another chicken.”

Tori gave him a tired look. “Why did you get her another one? She has so many plush toys.”

“I was moved that she tried to let me borrow Ewan the chicken,” Axton said as he hugged the toy. “So, I won a few more for her.”

“What do you mean a few more?”

“He got one chicken for each of her chickens at the Fortress,” Piers said. He walked in with two bulging canvas bags, one in each hand. Tori could see stuffed chickens peeking out.

“I was only going to win one, but this one has a crown and I thought, this could be Prince Piers, so I decided to complete the family!” Axton looked immensely proud of his accomplishment.

“The plushies from the arcade are made here. I could’ve just taken you directly to the plush workshop,” Tori said. “Or better yet, we could’ve taken Fifi there and let her build her own plush chickens.”

Axton’s broad smile fell. “That was an option?”

Tori sighed. “It’s more meaningful if you won them for her. I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic. Piers, put them in my room. Fifi can bury herself in them when she and the others return from the island.”

“They went to an island?” Axton asked as Piers passed and snatched the chicken with a crown from him.

“They’re all camping on my island in tents,” Tori said. “They’re fishing, setting up camp, and cooking outdoors. Kasen, Nanny Rey, and my cousins are with them, so they have adult supervision.”

Axton nodded and looked at Montan. “What are you doing here? Is there something missing from your trifecta clothing?”

“No, no, I just wanted to talk to the Countess and apologize for what I did and said in the past. I was going to leave. Lord Kasen gave me more books to review on charm policy.”

Axton smiled and put his arm around Montan’s shoulder. “You’re here on a break. Why spend your time indoors, studying?”

“He wants to improve upon his weaknesses. You should learn from him,” Piers said as he walked back into the main room.

Axton snorted and led Montan out of the tent. Piers approached Tori’s desk and stood beside her.

“Can I help you, Your Highness?” Tori asked as she worked out a cypher for the escape room.

“Everyone is busy.”

“Yes, as am I.”

Piers looked down. “Will you come riding with me?”

“Just you and me?” Tori asked. Piers nodded and she gave him a dull look. “With Ice Queen and Layla?”

He nodded and then stopped, his face becoming cold.

His horse and Tori’s horse had some animosity. No one knew why, either. Even Lady Bettencourt couldn’t explain why Layla snorted aggressively and lowered her ears when she was near Ice Queen and Ice Queen would retract her lips and swing her tail rapidly.

When they were further apart, it was as if they pretended the other didn’t exist and wouldn't even look in the other horse’s direction, but when they were too close, such as in pens next to each other, the tension in the air was palatable. The two were irritable and would kick things. The seasoned stable hands had quickly placed them further apart.

Layla didn’t have any issues with the other horses. She liked the pen next to Ciel Noir and Nuage. Tori had come in one morning and they were still sleeping against the wall that separated them. She’d even seen Ciel Noir and Nuage grooming Layla and Layla patiently standing there. Sonia had said that of course their horses and her horse would be friends.

Blue River had to be kept further away because he was a little too curious about Layla and Tori was worried that the bigger horse would hurt her. She was new to the horse ownership thing, so she was a bit more concerned than normal.

However, since Ice Queen and Layla didn’t get along for whatever reason, she couldn’t go on horseback rides with Piers like she did with JP and Sonia unless they were several paces away from each other. Sonia said Layla or Ice Queen could try to shove each other with their heads and necks, so to avoid potential injury to everyone involved, it was best to keep them separated.

“I’ll borrow another horse,” Piers said. He prepared to turn around and leave, but Tori stopped him.

“If you’re bored and have nothing to do, why don’t you just take a nap while I work? Or you can go to the island. Your brother went.” It was supposed to be an activity for the younger children, but as Aiden and Evzen were hoping to attend Lycée du Soleil and would go on a first-year excursion, they also wanted to go camping as ‘training’.

And how could they train without someone to train them? Ewan and Albert had joined them, and Gideon and Fabian tagged along. Sonia and JP had gone to Horizon and wouldn’t be back until the next day, so they couldn’t go. That evening, Tori and Ilyana planned to go to the island to help the children cook and explain planned meals that were suitable to bring with them for overnight camping.

Piers didn’t move from his spot and looked a bit disgusted. “I do not want to camp outdoors unnecessarily.”

“You don’t have to stay on the island overnight. Ilyana and I will come back,” Tori told him as she shook her head.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Then what do you want to do?” Tori looked up from her papers and raised a brow. He had been very clingy lately and Tori wondered if it was because he didn’t get the usual amount of attention with how busy they’d been, and was feeling ignored. “Do you want to help me with this escape room? I need to get at least two of them done so we can get started on construction.”

“Is it difficult?” Piers asked. He came a step closer.

“A little bit. It’s just tying all the clues together, planning the story to move them through the rooms, and then making sure the rooms are set up correctly.”

“I can do that.”

“You think it’s easy?” Tori sneered at his confidence and pushed the papers towards him.

When Ilyana came to pick her up to go to the island for dinner, Tori had a slight scowl on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Ilyana asked as she came to a stop inside the tent. She glanced at Piers, who was seated right next to Tori and hunched over some papers and writing.

“Nothing,” Tori said, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice. “Five escape rooms have been completed.”

Ilyana drew her head back. “Already? But you were still working on the first one this morning.”

Tori slowly turned her head towards Piers and narrowed her eyes. “I forgot that someone is very good at mystery games.”

“I think another set should be created so that they can be cycled through, and then mobile escape rooms sets should be made to be rented for use at other locations,” Piers said. Ilyana looked a bit surprised that he’d said so much.

“That’s...good.” Ilyana looked at Tori with some hesitation. “Are you sure they won’t be too complex?”

“There are three levels of difficulty,” Piers replied, somewhat impatient.

“We can evaluate them first,” Tori said. Although, she’d already run through them in her mind and there were clear levels of difficulty for each. Everything flowed smoothly to progress the story and there was a list of all the items needed for each room. Piers was good at too many things, and she was somewhat bitter. She pushed herself off her seat and stood up. “Are we going to the island?”

“Yes, the boat is ready.”

“Then, let’s go,” Tori said. “Piers, are you coming?”

“I will continue working.” He didn’t look up from the papers.

Ilyana looked at Tori, silently asking with her eyes if that was acceptable. Tori gave her a dull nod. “Don’t forget to eat.” She walked out of the tent and let out a heavy sigh. Ilyana chuckled.

“At least we can get started on them. We’ll be able to open up by the Harvest Festival,” she said with a bright smile.

“It is just somewhat frustrating that he’s so good at everything,” Tori said. “He can plan five escape rooms in one afternoon when I’ve been trying to finish one for days. Days, Ilyana....”

“I don’t know if you’re envious or bragging.” Ilyana giggled and looped her arm with Tori as they headed to the dock. “I think you’re annoyed because he was able to do what you were trying to do so quickly.”

Tori grumbled. “He pointed out a bunch of the flaws in my first draft of the game....”

“At least you can cook better than him.”

“For now.” Tori narrowed her eyes. They got on to a small boat to take them to NE12, Tori’s private island she wanted to build her residence on. The sun had yet to set, so she could make out the tents around the center of the island. Tori had continuously put off building on the island in favor of putting her money elsewhere, so it was relatively untouched.

There were still trees and one of them had the swing Piers put up for her. A little figure was on the swing and after about ten counts, she hopped off and switched with another little figure who was trying to push her.

The toddler with Fiona was Sebastian’s godson, Istvan. They were close in age and Kasen had invited him to come with them so Armando and his wife could have time to themselves after the trip to Sur. The plump little boy was excited to play, and Tori was relieved that Fiona would play with him since she had been following Ava since Ava defended her.

Ava wouldn’t want a little kid to follow her around when she played with Ilyana’s little brother, Riri.

Tori and Ilyana climbed onto the island on a modest dock and greeted those they passed. Fiona saw her and her face lit up. Before she could speak, Istvan called out for Tori.

“Auntie!”

“Cute babies!” Tori smiled wide and rushed to catch him before he tripped and fell. Fiona also ran to hug her. Nanny Rey was patiently watching them a few paces away. “I’m here to help you cook. Did you catch anything today?”

Istvan wrinkled his nose. “Fishing is hard.”

“It’s boring,” Fiona said with a pout. “We just sit there and wait.”

Ilyana chuckled. “Then what are you going to cook if you don’t have any fish?”

“We have fish!” Istvan insisted. Fiona nodded vigorously. She pointed to the gray cat who was approaching.

“Alexander caught fish!”

“Alexander can fish?” Ilyana’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know how he does it.” Gideon arrived with the others. Fabian was holding a small metal bucket and two fishing poles. Gideon stared at the large cat with his upturned tail as if Alexander were a mutant. “He just...he just reached in and grabbed one with his paw, and hurled it on to the shore.”

“He caught more than us.” Fabian didn’t seem to know how to feel with that knowledge.

“Even if there aren’t a lot of fish, there are still ingredients prepared, so don’t worry too much about it,” Tori said. “Let’s get the fire started.”

Ewan and Albert nodded and called the children over to show them how to first set up the campfire and then how to dig out a fire hole to cook on. Even though there were now carnelian cooking plates available that were small enough to be portable, Lycée likely wouldn’t let students bring them.

Tori gathered the fish and Nanny Rey went to clean them while the children were distracted with fire.

“Istvan, you have to listen,” Fiona said as she tugged on her new friend’s hand when he seemed distracted. “If we go on the first-year ex...excur...trip, then we will have to be prepared.”

Tori and Ilyana giggled. The two had plenty of time to master all things related to the first-year excursion.

“What if we are in different groups?” Istvan asked. “Uncle Ewan said we go in groups.”

“We’ll be in the same group,” Fiona assured him. “Because you’re my sidekick!” Fiona said with pride. Istvan seemed honored by her words and nodded. Tori stared at her niece, wondering where she learned that term.

“Fifi...why do you think Istvan is your sidekick?”

“He’s my friend and he helps me and does what I say, like a magician who casts spells on a hero’s weapon for them.” Fiona answered confidently. “Cousin Ava says that sidekicks are dependable and loyal. Every good hero has one. Istvan is my sidekick. It's the power of friendship.” Istvan nodded with large eyes, as if trying to convince Tori.

Tori crinkled her eyes. “And...does Ava have a sidekick?”

“Uh-huh,” Fiona said, nodding. “Riri!”

I’m sorry, Ilyana. Your brother is a sidekick.... Tori pursed her lips and couldn’t bring herself to meet Ilyana’s confused face. “Fifi, Riri is Ava’s friend.”

“Yes, but also her sidekick.”

“Am I Tori’s sidekick?” Ilyana asked, pointing to herself. Fiona shook her head.

“No, you’re her best friend.”

“I like that better.”

“Auntie’s sidekick is Uncle Piers.”