Stolen Time: The Bells of Prison

Dawn peeked through the windows and Edelgard rolled over, rubbing her eyes. Juliane laid next to her, but stirred as soon as Edelgard did. “Good morning, El.” Juliane smiled at her. “Do you want to go down to the city still?” She nodded. “I think it’d be fun. Plus, I wanna get to know Annika more” “Well, did you still want to do your combat lessons?” “No; I’d rather go down to the city early.” “All right then.” Juliane smiled. “I’m sure Hubert already has everything worked out.” “Oh, probably.” “Granted, most places won’t be open right away… The dayjuststarted.” “I know; I’ll just go down to Helen and Ueli’s house and wait.” “All right then. Go ahead and get ready.” Edelgard nodded and climbed out of bed, getting ready for the day as quickly as she could. She would hopefully be able to handle the bread well today. She was really excited to learn to make it and continue to work with Helen as best she could until she mastered the art. It was really fun to make bread and cook, though she wasn’t sure if she’d get the chance today or not. She slipped out of the room and, as expected, Hubert stood there. “Good morning, my lady. Are you still expecting to go down to the city?” Edelgard smiled and nodded. “Yep, I sure am! Mother Juliane said I could. I’m assuming you already have things set up with the shadow guards?” It was Hubert. Ofcoursehe already had everything figured out. It was a stupid question to ask, really, but she wanted to anyway. She liked talking to him even if it was about mundane stuff. He really was her best friend in the end. The only friend she had anymore. Tobias was still alive technically, but he wasn’tTobyanymore. He was just a shell of a person that laid in bed, waiting for death to come. She still didn’t feel great about any of that, but she wanted to keep Tobias alive in her memory as best she could. She would, unfortunately, probably forget him within a few years after he died, if not sooner. Few things lingered in her memory beyond facts at this point. She just…didn’t really make personal memories anymore. She could remember some things as facts, but she didn’t retain the accompanying memories. “Yes, of course. What did you want to do today until we go down to the city?” “I just wanted to wait at Helen and Ueli’s. Mother Juliane already said that I can skip my combat lessons so I can have the most amount of time with Annika.” “Very well. Let’s go then.” He led the way down to the falconer’s home and she knocked on the door. Helen answered with a warm smile. “Well, hello there, Edelgard. Here for some bread making?” She nodded and smiled. “Yep! Sure am! Also ready to hang out with Annika down in the city. Is it okay if I wait here until things open more?” She doubted that Helen would mind. She and Ueli were good people with good hearts. She really was glad they were so willing to let her spend time around here and teach her about falconry. The leatherworking was hard on her hands, but she was also in combat training, so she was at least used to working with her hands to some degree. “Come on in then.” Helen smiled and let Edelgard in, closing the door behind them. They headed into the kitchen where she could see the bread rising already. “Come help me knead the bread.” “All right!” Edelgard beamed and walked over to the counter, hopping on a stool to start kneading the bread. It was definitely hard work for the muscles in her arms in a way combat wasn’t, but she didn’t want to give up. She really wanted to learn to make bread. Though, with it already at this stage… “Helen, do you already have the bread made before I get here? It seems like it’s pretty complete…” She was just curious. If Helen wanted to make the bread before Edelgard came, that was completely her choice. Still… Edelgarddidwant to learn how to make it start to finish, not just how to knead. “Well, the thing is, I get up several hours before dawn. We need to let the bread rest so the yeast can rise. Plus, sometimes I need to get yeast from the beer maker. I don’t always realise I’m low the night before, so I have to get up to go into town and get it from the beer maker.” “Yeast? Beer maker?” She wasn’t entirely certain what these things had to do with bread. Helen nodded. “Yeast is what helps the bread to rise. Beer makers scrape it off the top of their brews and then sell that to people who make bread. A lot of it goes to bakeries, but due to my status being so close to the Emperor, they allow me to buy it myself. It would just be easier to buy the bread premade, but I prefer to make it myself each morning from scratch. It just feels better to me to make it by hand.” She paused. “You want to be more involved in the process, huh?” Edelgard nodded shyly. “I would… I know it’s not the most practical skill for me to have, but it would be nice to know how to do more than knead.” “Well, you’ll have to get up earlier than you already do to come down here. It takes a few hours for the bread to rise.” She looked at Hubert. “Would you be willing to come get me in the mornings so I can help Helen?” Hubert nodded. “Of course, my lady.” “Do youeversleep?” Helen observed glibly. “That is none of your concern,” Hubert said, his expression and tone cool. “Don’t worry about him, Helen.” Edelgard smiled. “I’ll be more than happy to wake up earlier.” “All right then, dear.” Helen smiled. “As long as you aren’t sacrificing sleep to come here.” “I mean I would be a bit, but it’s not like it’d be the whole night. Shouldn’t you worry about the same for yourself if you’re worried about me?” “Well, dear, it’s just that you’re a lot younger and you need your sleep so you can grow. I’m already a full-grown adult. You still have a lot more growing to do.I don’t want to interfere with that too much. And I don’t want you to be overly tired for your combat lessons. You could getseriouslyhurt if you don’t sleep enough.” “I’m only using wooden practice weapons right now. It does hurt to get hit, but it doesn’t really matter too much. It’s a lesson when I get hit on to keep my guard up and observe more.” She definitely had more than a few bruises from her combat lessons. The instructor she preferred was pretty ruthless and straight to the point. She appreciated the honesty. She wasn’t like Annika where she needed everything to be completely soft, sweet, and gentle. Shereallyneeded honesty to be able to improve. Annika’s teacher was a lot softer and could handle things better for her. Annika was really sensitive to criticism, so yeah… Being beaten and hit like Edelgard was definitely didn’t do Annika any good. But, for right now, she was more focused on the bread than the idea of lessons. “Well, if that’s how you see it…” “I do. In combat lessons, a hit equals an injury, often fatal. Youneedto get hit in order to learn to avoid it. Combat is going to be ugly if you ever have to engage in it. Your opponentwantsto kill you quite often. You need to get used to that murderous intent and learn how to make split-second decisions that will either let you live or not. It’snotfun and games.” She wasn’t sure how Annika viewed the combat lessons, but for her, that was the reality of it. Hubert hadreallydrilled into her head that combat wasn’t something to take lightly or be lackadaisical about. Shehadto treat it with the utmost seriousness because shewouldexperience real combat at the Officer’s Academy when she went… Annika wouldn’t be going to the Academy by any means as it was no doubt far,fartoo expensive despite the fact Ueli was the royal falconer… It was still averyexpensive place to go. Helen nodded. “That’s all quite true. I know a little bit of self-defense and knife fighting thanks to Ueli, but we’d never really had to use it because Enbarr is relatively safe as far as cities go. I don’t feel any need to learn anything more than that. Common muggers aren’t really trained in combat either. Plus, in the case someone like that comes up to you, it’s far better to just give them what they ask for instead of attempting to stand up against them.” Hubert let out a noise. “I willnevergive into a common mugger’s demands.” “You’reyou,Hubert. A highly trained mage with no doubt a lot of experience in combat as well. I’m just a humble housewife that also knows how to take care of birds of prey. For me, giving a mugger money is far more reasonable than risking my life to try to fight them. Money can always be regained; a life cannot.” “I suppose that is true,” he said. “I would do anything for my lady even if it meant giving my life for her. As long as she’s safe, that’s the thing that’s most important to me.” Edelgard squirmed a little bit under his declaration. She knew it was true, but that didn’t make it any easier or more palatable to accept… She didn’t want him to die, but she knew he absolutely would if it was required of him. She didn’t know what she’d do without him at this point. She was so used to him being her shadow and handling tasks for her as well as Mother Juliane that needed to be taken care of. She didn’t want to live life without him… He was too important. The look on Helen’s face said she had a few thoughts about that, but she didn’t say anything. “Well, do you have any major plans for today?” she asked instead. “Where in Enbarr do you all plan to go?” Hubert shrugged. “There is no itinerary for today. It’s wherever my lady and your daughter wish to go. I do have shadow guards stationed at the stables that will follow us once we start heading out. We won’t go in a carriage because that would draw too much attention. We’ll just be riding out in the city as if we were normal people. Only a small handful of people will be able to recognise my lady and even fewer will recognise me as her vassal. But therewillbe people around to protect all of us.” Helen nodded a bit, though she still looked worried. “I know I should trust you, Hubert; the von Vestra family has been serving House Hresvelg for time immemorial pretty much. But it’s just so hard to let Annika go…” “My lady, I promise you there is nobody safer in all of Fódlan to have her be with, aside from maybe House Fraldarius in the Kingdom. They are the shield of the Blayidd family and have been for a long time, though not as long as House Vestra has been in service of House Hresvelg.” His amber eyes glinted and Edelgard knew he wasn’t fond of houses like Fraldarius. He saw them as beneath him and wanted them to reunite all of Fódlan under one banner again. She wasn’t so keen on that herself… The Slitherers had given her awful information about the Church, but she wasn’t sure what to do with it… She really wasn’t. She was preparing to go to Garreg Mach but she had no idea how she’d handle Rhea. Thankfully, that was still some years off and she didn’t have to worry about it right now. “I’ll be fine, Ma!” Annika looked at Hubert, giving an uncertain, uneasy smile. “It’s just hard to let my girl go, but I will. Have fun you two.” Helen kissed Annika’s head, and then to Edelgard’s surprise, hers. She looked up at the woman, eyes wide and round. Helen smiled at her then backed up. “Go on and have some fun.” “Okay. Thank you, Helen.” Edelgard smiled shyly at the woman before they all headed down to the barn. Edelgard could already see some shadow guards. She recognised them by the darker clothing they wore. It didn’t stand out too much, but if one knew what to look for, they would easily recognise the shadow guards. It wasn’t hard to see them as far as Edelgard was concerned… But she was also familiar with their methods and dealings. She felt perfectly safe, especially with Hubert right next to her. She really didn’t have any sort of a concern that she’d be hurt or anything like that. Hubert processed things at an almost inhuman rate and level, so shereallywasn’t concerned. She did feel bad for abandoning her lessons for one day, but it wasn’t like she was doing that a lot… She was really just trying to make do with what she had. Anni was brought out to Edelgard, her little haflinger palomino mare. She got up on the mounting block and mounted, then reined Anni around. Hubert started off on his big, black gelding, while Annika rode a liver chestnut. There weren’t any immediate shadow guards visible, but Edelgard knew they would be following in short order. She really didn’t feel like there was any danger down in the city… If anything, that was probably safer than the castle, what with the Slitherers all running around along with the Seven having taken control of the throne. She wished she could do something about it, but there really wasn’t a whole lot shecoulddo. She was just a young teenage girl and heir apparent… She really wished she could do more, but her power was incredibly limited. All she could do right now was bide her time and wait until she graduated from Garreg Mach so she could ascend the throne. Maybe she would have allies outside of the Empress and her other mothers by that time… She had Hubert, of course, but one ally was hardly enough to overthrow the Seven. Edelgard clucked and they started trotting. Annika pulled close to Edelgard and looked at her. Hubert rode a few feet away, his eyes scanning. “How do you deal with big, tall, and creepy?” she asked, words hushed. “Why aren’t you scared of him?” “Because I’ve known him my whole life, pretty much.” Edelgard shrugged. “When you know someone as intimately as I know Hubert, it’s hard to be afraid of him. I mean, yes, he isabsolutelyas terrifying as he appears. I know he’s definitely made people disappear without me knowing.” There was no denying it. He had no doubt stopped assassins even when they’d been children. He had been trained for this role since he’d been an infant, essentially. She knew there was no real way around him being able to ignore any of his instincts especially atthispoint. She’d been away from him for so long and he no doubt felt guilty about not being able to protect her or keep her safe while she’d been in the Kingdom, or from his own father handing her over to the Slitherers. Annika frowned. “And you’re okay with that?” “It’s what he was trained to do… I’ve known my whole life that’s what he was training for. There’s not much I can do about it… Plus, it’s nice to have a loyal protector that you know won’t stray.” She didn’t blame Annika for being so afraid, but it was a little bit frustrating to have someone that could be a friend so vocal about it. There really wasn’t a whole lot Edelgard to do about Hubert. She really did need him. And considering how he’d beaten himself up for not being able to protect her, she really was glad to have him. She wished she could ease his guilt, but there wasn’t much she could do about it… It was something he’d probably hold in his heart for a long time to come, if not their entire lives. She could understand Annika’s view, but at the same time… Yeah. “Well, uh, anyway, where all are we goin’ today?” “I’m not sure. It’s just a day where we can do whatever we want. Maybe we could hit up a chocolate shop or something…” Anselma had beenquitestrict with Edelgard when it came to things like sweets and such, but Tobias had always snuck her some. Anslema was gone and she was old enough that she could choose to go down into the city…but the Empress didn’t like that. Edelgard couldn’t blame her; the Slitherers had kidnapped all of the children from under their noses, then turned the corpses out for people to find as if they were just broken dolls. “Would you like to go to a teahouse? There are a lot of them down in the city and there are some good blends.” She’d only been to a couple teahouses when Tobias had overruled Anselma and taken her down to the city against her mother’s wishes. She was glad to finally get to come down to the city again… It had takenmonthsto get the Empress to get her to a point she wanted to leave their room again… “That sounds nice, but I don’t have a lot of money…” “Oh, that’s no problem.” Edelgard smiled. It wasn’t like she carried gold on her at all times, but she had coppers and silvers on her. She was pretty sure Hubert had at least a few golds on her, but he wouldn’t use them unless it was absolutely necessary. Sheknewhe’d have money on him even if she didn’t knowhow much.But it was definitely enough that hewould notlet them run out while they were shopping. She didn’t reallyneedanything since she had all of her clothes tailor made and such, but she could get things she wanted like going to teahouses and getting chocolates or other dainties. Though she needed some more pocketbooks… “Hubert, I do need some more pocketbooks.” Hubert nodded. “All right.” It was strange to hear him not call her ‘my lady’ but considering they were supposed to be incognito right now, it made sense. It would be obvious he was her vassal simply from how he held himself and such, but it wouldn’t be readily apparentwhoshe was. It wasn’t like the average person in Enbarr knew what Edelgard looked like since she so rarely came down to the city even as a younger child. Then she’d been whisked away to the Empire and held captive for a couple years… Nobody would know who she was unless she started regularly going down here. She’d rather keep her identity secret for the time being so she could move around without too much issue. “Is there anything in particular you’d like?” Edelgard tapped her chin. “Do you like tea, Annika?” “I’ve not had a lot of it, so I wouldn’t know what I like.” “I guess we can do some sort of tasting then.” Edelgard smiled. “I’m sure you know the best teahouses, Hubert.” “I do know a good number of them indeed.” He reined his horse around a little and took them off toward the west side of the city. It was a more upscale part of the city, but not so upscale that it was apparent she was the only remaining child of the Imperial family. It’d be safer here than anywhere else. She didn’t doubt there were some good teahouses in other parts of the city, but her safety was Hubert’s primary concern. Staying somewhere they were less likely to be jumped or mugged was important. She wished she could have more freedom, but her safety was the primary concern… If she died, then a civil war could very much break out in Adrestia which shedid notwant to happen… There were plenty of branches of House Hresvelg that would all have some sort of claim to the throne… She didn’t want to do that to the Empress as well as make her lose the last living child she knew. They arrived at a nondescript little building that was a couple stories tall. They hitched their horses, then went inside. “Please be seated!” a woman said. “We’ll come and bring a menu to you soon!” Edelgard nodded and found a quiet little corner table where she, Annika, and Hubert all settled down. It was out of the way, but not so much that they’d be ignored. It was just private enough to give them some ability to speak privately without being overheard. A woman brought them a menu after a few minutes. “Please look over it and see what you’d like. I’ll be back in a bit to take your orders.” She smiled at them, bowed, and then hurried off. The teahouse was bustling despite it only being the morning. She could only imagine how busy the poor servers had to be. She hoped they weren’t adding to the burden too much. There were dainties, teas, and a few coffees listed. She wasn’t really sure what to get… A lot of the blends soundedreallygood. She could get multiple cups, of course, but narrowing it down to just one to start with was hard. “Anything look good to you, Annika?” Edelgard asked. “Um… The selection is overwhelming.” “If you want, I can make a suggestion—cloak and candle is pretty good. It’s definitely on the more expensive side due to the star anise and cinnamon bark, but it’s quite good. It’s one of the few blends I like,” Hubert offered. Edelgard looked at him and blinked. He shrugged. “I prefer coffee, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good blend of tea, my lady.” Edelgard nodded. “I suppose that is true.” One could enjoy both…even if she didn’t. She had tried coffee once and had horrified Hubert with as much cream and sugar as she’d put into it. It was one of the few times she’d ever seen him drop his guard and look hurt. Coffee was simplymuchtoo bitter for her personally. She hated how bitter it was even if Hubert had described that particular blend as fruity with a hint of chocolate. All she could taste was pure bitterness. There was nothing fruity or chocolatey about what he’d had her try. “It can be a good starting point,” he said. “I’ll get some coffee instead.” Edelgard nodded. “All right.” They put their menus down and the woman came back over a bit later. They placed their order and sat back in their chairs. “I mean I’ve never had this blend before, Annika, but it sounds pretty good. It’s pretty simple, too.” She smiled. “I also like lavender tea. You should try it sometime, Annika.” Lavender was supposed to help with anxiety and Edelgard often drank it to try to help reduce hers. She hadn’t had it in a while, but it did sometimes calm her down a little. Whether it was actually the tea or just the ritual of drinking it that helped, she had no idea. But it was nice regardless. Tea was wonderful even though Adrestia was fairly hot. She almost wondered if there was a such thing as an iced drink, but Adrestia wasn’t the place where they’d be able to test it. And somewhere like Faerghus wouldn’t want iced drinks because the environment was so cold. She wished she could know because an iced drink would probably feelwonderfulon a hot day, but all they had in Adrestia were hot drinks. “Like…the flower lavender?” Annika asked. Edelgard nodded. “Yep! Honestly, it tastes pretty nice. I also drink passionflower sometimes, though I prefer lavender by far.” “Maybe we could try some lavender tea at some point… You could bring some down and we could brew it while you’re here.” “That sounds like a good idea. I didn’t see any plain lavender tea here on the menu…” Considering it was a teahouse, it made more sense to have blends rather than single-ingredient ones. She saw a blend that was lavender, lemon balm, passionflower, and chamomile that was for anxiety. She should probably try it to see if she liked it… That might not be a bad idea. If she could do anything to help her anxiety, it’d definitely be good. She was a nervous wreck a lot of the time, though being around Helen, Ueli, and Hubert were helping her quite a bit… The birds definitely helped not trigger her. “I have plenty in the castle; I can bring some down sometimes and we can try it.” Edelgard smiled at Annika. “You could also try rose tea,” Hubert offered. “There are many flower tears.” “Oh, that sounds nice,” Edelgard said. “I assume you know where to get some?” Hubert nodded. Of course he did. He knew practically everything as far as she was aware. Well, realistically, he couldn’t knoweverything,but it sure did feel like he knew it all. He was so good at what he did and she really needed him to know so much. He could and would kill people, but underneath it all was a good man that was loyal to a fault and very kind to her. He wasn’t soft with most people, but with her, he could be incredibly soft, gentle, and understanding. Again, almost to a fault… She really did treasure him and his abilities. “There are different varieties of rose as well… They may all have different flavors.” “Oh, that sounds like it could be good.” “I’ll have to pick up some for you then, my lady.” She nodded and smiled. “All right.” She turned her attention back to Annika. “Sounds like we might have our own private tea tasting then! How does that sound?” “It sounds good. I’ve never really had much tea before.” Annika smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t know there was such an array.” Their first brew arrived, the lady sitting the tray down on the table with three mugs. Hubert poured her and Annika a mug, though he picked up his coffee. “Tea has its place, but I do prefer coffee.” “I know you do. I don’t know how you can drink it black.” Edelgard made a face. She really didn’t understand that. It was so nasty. It was so awfully bitter and tasted like burnt wood. She really detested it. “And I don’t know how you can defile it with milk and sugar,” he chided playfully. “Most tea isn’t as bad as coffee. I mean it can be bitter and astringent, but that’s only if it’s over steeped. Coffee just naturally tastes nasty!” Edelgard made another face. “I’ve never had coffee either before,” Annika said. “Maybe you could bring some when we do our tea tasting?” She looked at Hubert. He nodded. “Of course. I’d be happy to prepare some for you. I will bring milk and sugar, though, just in case you need to…alter it.” Edelgard could tell he wouldn’t be happy about it if she did that, but he also didn’t want to be aggressive toward her. Honestly, Annika seemed a bit more relaxed around Hubert now. He could very well still make Annika disappear, but it wasn’t likely to happen unless he had very,verygood reason to do so. Hubert could be terrifying—and was—but he didn’t make people disappear unless there was reason. She didn’t exactly keep him on a leash, but she did try to keep him reined in as far as she knew to do so. He didn’t need to go around killing every single noble…though she would have preferred if he could, especially when it came to the Seven. “All right then.” Annika gave a hesitant, uncertain smile. “Honestly, you don’t seem so bad now…” “I mean, I can still make you disappear if needed. But there’s no real need. I am highly skilled in what I do, but I’m not inhuman,” he said. “I’ve just been trained in…very specific ways for specific purposes. My duty is to my lady and nothing else.” She knew it had to be hard to be a bit more discrete with what he said and how he said it. He was used to just being up front with who she was and who he served, but considering they were incognito right now, it only made sense for him to be careful with what he said since they had no idea who could overhear them. She knew there were discontents with the crown, but that was always true. Annika flinched and looked down at her mug. Edelgard held her hands out to Annika. “Like he said, there’s no need to make you disappear.” She knew Hubert and he wouldn’t make somebody disappear without a major reason to do so. Annika was far from a threat to Edelgard or Juliane, so yeah, there was no way he was going to make her disappear. Edelgard was trying tobefriendAnnika as well as her parents. Plus, her and her parents were important to the royal family as a whole. Getting rid of the royal falconer mysteriously and having to hire somebody else that didn’t have the generations of knowledge behind them would only harm the crown. “You and your family are too important to the crown. You guys know how to breed the Imperial eagles as well as how to train passage ones. Not many would know how to breed an eagle in captivity.” Hubert nodded. “She’s correct on that. Your father has done a lot of good work for the family, and I expect you to follow in his footsteps as it seems you’re going to do. We do need the Imperial eagles to be bred, and only the royal falconer knows how to correctly identify and choose for the traits that make for the Imperial eagles.” Annika gave a small nod. “I haven’t entirely learned all of that yet, but he’s teaching me. It’s…more complicated than I thought.” “Even I don’t know all of the secrets of the Imperial eagles, simply because it’s not something that’s been important to me. Perhaps I should learn more, though… Your father could no doubt help me with that. Falconry is something I never had much interest in, so my knowledge is…lacking.” Edelgard stared at Hubert. To hear himadmithe didn’t know about something… How insane. She could understand it this time, as falconry wasn’t really important to her until now. But now that she was learning, he no doubt wanted to know all the ins and outs. She had a lot to learn still, but she was learning. She really did want to be the best falconer she could be… She doubted she’d really need the skills to make anything beyond jesses, but still. She wanted to know just because it was fun to learn. “I mean…he might be willin’ to teach ya. I dunno, though… Itisa family secret.” Annika sunk down in her seat a little bit. “You wouldn’t disappear him after he teaches it to you?” Hubert shook his head. “No. Your father has been breeding the Imperial eagles for years now. It’s just something that’s important to House Hresvelg and—” “Hubert, weren’t you the one that said that we shouldn’t be talking about this sort of stuff in public?” Edelgard asked quietly. He blinked and his pale face lit up red. “I— You are correct, my lady. I cannot believe I allowed myself to slip so badly.” She felt bad for pointing it out to him like that, but she didn’t want something bad to happen to her because someone had overheard them admitting to the fact that she was heir apparent. It really wasn’t a good thing to be talking out so openly. Hubert was usually way more on guard, but the fact he was getting along with Annika… It did mean a lot to her. Annika had some confidence problems, but she was a sweet girl… Edelgard was happy they were having this day down in the city to just relax, talk, and get to know each other. She was so thankful for Hubert relaxing a little bit as well. “It’s okay, Hubert… Like you said, you’restillhuman.” She smiled at him bashfully. She didn’t hold it against him. It was just a gentle reminder that they were supposed to be incognito. “I should still be better than this.” His tone was bitter. She put her hand on his arm. Annika hadn’t taken it, so she’d redirect to him. “It’sokay,Hubert. I don’t know if anybody was even listening in. I mean…that is the danger, of course. But hopefully, nobody was paying any attention…” She hoped so. She really needed to be able to not be kidnapped and killed. She was the only remaining line of House Hresvelg directly from the Emperor himself. If something befell her, then civil war would likely break out across Adrestia for the next line of succession. She knew she had cousins that were still alive, but she had no idea who any of them were or anything like that… Her aunts and uncles married off to other noble houses. He didn’t seem too convinced unfortunately. She frowned, wishing she knew what to do to make him feel better. He fell silent, staring into his coffee. Edelgard turned her attention back to Annika. “So do you like flying birds?” she asked. Annika nodded. “I know not everyone likes what their parents do, but I find it real nice to be able to do what they do… Granted, Ma married into the family, but you wouldn’t know it with how she handles all the birds and makes furniture.” Edelgard smiled a bit. Yeah, that was true. She wouldn’t have known that Helen had married into the family with how well she handled things. She was really glad that Helen was so good at what she did. The cooking lessons and furniture lessons were really nice. Granted, the leatherworking was a little tough on Edelgard’s hands, but it was what it was. She would probably never fully use the skills Helen was teaching her, but that was fine. “That’s really great to hear. I’m glad you enjoy it. I’m having fun learning everything.” It was a bit much to take in really, but she wasn’t upset about it. It kept her mind active and helped her do something other than just ruminate on what had happened a few months ago… She didn’t need to sit there and constantly mull over what had happened to her and her siblings. Plus, seeing Tobias like she had… That made her frown for a moment but she pushed it away as best she could. She couldn’t remember it well, but she really didn’t need to remember it. She finished up with her tea and let out a breath. “Well, do you want to get on with seeing more of the city?” Edelgard asked. “Might as well,” Annika said. They placed all their spent mugs and teacups on a tray and Hubert paid for what they’d gotten. Annika’s eyes widened at the price, but Hubert didn’t even flinch. A couple silvers for some tea was no doubt steep for a commoner, but for the ruling family, it was just pocket change. Edelgard even hadgoldson her should it come to needing that. Plus…Hubert needed to be taken away so that way he could stop ruminating over his simple mistake. With all of that done, they headed out of the teahouse and mounted up onto their hoses. “Where to next, Hubert?” Edelgard asked. “You’ll see, milady.” He gave a soft, mysterious smile and Edelgard rolled her eyes. Leave it to Hubert to be mysterious and annoying. Oh well. It was just his way. She clucked Ani into a jog and followed Hubert to wherever their next goal was.