Alinash’s Notes

We’ve finally returned to Stormwind. Harrier seemed worried that I would want to go back to Silvermoon or something because he said it was different going back home. I don’t think it was that different. People in the city are still two-faced liars and all the guards want take me in to make me pay for my crimes or some shit. Nothing’s changed. The only thing that has changed is that I’ve decided not to attempt to write to Syrina anymore. She’s not even my real mother. She’s just a whore who took pity on me at first, then took advantage of me when I was older. I hate her. Harrier thought it was because I didn’t want to get her in trouble. I suppose it’s fine if he thinks that. I’d rather not have to talk about the real reasons. For a long time, I forgave her, and I accepted it as the way things were. I don’t forgive her now.

It was the time I spent at the school in the Ghostlands that made me make that decision. The headmaster there never asked me for anything. I explained, with a lie, that I couldn’t pay the tuition, and he let me stay anyway. I figured there would be some strings attached, but all I needed to do was pass my tests. I was never asked for more than that. I didn’t have to do work, or sleep with him, or anything. Just study, and pass the tests. It was odd, but nice. I felt bad about lying to him in the end. I never really felt bad about lying before either. There’s no need to when everyone else does it, but he had never lied to me. He’d never done anything to hurt me.

I guess I learned a lot at the school, and not all of it was for my studies there. I learned that not everyone is out for themselves. Even that whore, Firewind, was looking out for the others, and I can’t blame him. They are good people, and I’m not, and he knows that. He knows what I used to do.

It was also during the time that we were gone that Harrier and I started sharing a bed. He had a room at the school because he got a job there making clocks, but he always snuck into mine at night. Things weren’t supposed to be complicated. I knew going into this that things had happened between him and the boss, and that things could happen between him and the boss again. And really, it’s not complicated. It’s just sex, but then last night, after getting back, we were talking to Josie, and she mentioned that the boss had missed him. He questioned her on it, and Josie said that the boss said she loved him. At that point, I was thinking to myself that it was done. There would be no way he wanted to see me anymore, but then Josie went to the kitchen to make cookies for us. Then we started talking about sleeping arrangements. At first he said I’d have to sleep on a cot, but then he said I could sleep in his bed. I don’t think he’d offer to let me sleep there if the boss and him are going to be sharing a bed, so I nodded, but now I’m confused. It’s not supposed to be complicated. She loves him, but I think he still wants me, which is odd. No one’s ever really wanted me before, not like that. So it might be more complicated than I thought it would be, but it feels kind of nice to be wanted. We did share his bed last night, and today he’s going out to find some clothes for me. I hope he can find things that fit right. In human sizes, I’m about average height, but I’m still kind of scrawny, even after eating amazing food at the school for the past months. I think I did gain a little, but it doesn’t show much. Humans tend to be a bit thicker than elves. I suppose I can make adjustments on anything that doesn’t fit quite right.

Winter Ball Notes

The winter ball was great! I was a little worried… Actually no, I was a LOT worried. I was worried the ring wouldn’t fit, or that she wouldn’t like it, or that she’d say no for some reason, even if we did kind of talk about it beforehand. I don’t think I needed to worry as much as I did because she said yes! I think she’s really excited too. I hope she can still concentrate on her studies!

She’s going to go for her testing a couple of weeks after the holidays are over. I’m so excited for her! I’ll be going with her, so I really hope we can go to eat after to celebrate!  Magister Fairsong has already offered her work after she graduates, and this spring, as soon as it’s warm enough, he’s having more of the houses on his estate rebuilt. One of them will be for her! We’re already discussing what we want. She’ll need a nice work room and office. We want a nice bedroom too! I’m sure I want a small stable built onto the side for my dragonhawk. I want it enclosed so that it doesn’t get cold, and I can get to it from a door in the house.

Oh, that’s the other thing! I went to pick up my egg from the breeder just before the winter ball. I was told it would hatch in a couple of days, but it hatched the next day! I’m so glad I was there because I got to be the first person the hatchling saw. Now there’s a lot of work feeding it. Luckily, it eats like a bird, literally. That means for twelve hours a day, I need to feed it every fifteen minutes, but the other 12 hours, it sleeps. It’s only for a couple of weeks before it’s older and can eat different food that’ll take longer to digest. It’ll grow a lot during that time too. Its eyes barely open, and it’s only about the size of my hand right now. I carry it around a lot inside my shirt. That way I know it stays warm, and I can still go on patrol and see Des. I take its food with me and feed it every few minutes.

I still don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl because when they’re this young, it’s hard to tell. It’s a beautiful blue shade which is good cause that’s what I paid for! I was lucky to have enough left over after the ring, but I had been saving for months so I guess that worked out in my favor. I got her a really nice ring with gems woven in vines. They aren’t large gems, but I think it looks really nice the way it is. I guess there was another proposal at the winter ball and the other girl had a huge diamond ring. It must have cost a fortune! I really hope Des likes hers. I picked it, not because it was cheaper, but because I thought it was the best one for her. I guess if she doesn’t like it, we could always go back and get a different one.

 

***

 

She said yes! I couldn’t wait to tell my father, which worked out well since I invited my family to the Winter Ball at the school. Now he can contact her parents, and get everything arranged! I’m so happy! I’m hoping it’ll be fine for her to move in with me in the house I’ll have in the spring. I asked Magister Fairsong, and he said if we’re engaged it’s okay as long as her parents approve of it. I think if they approve of the engagement, they’ll be fine with it. I hope they are anyway! I guess they could be jerks, and say they won’t allow it until we’re married, which will be after her studies are done. I really love her so I hope they’ll understand that!

I’ve been trying to spend as much time with her as possible, but I also have to dedicate a lot of time to review right now. I’ll be taking my test in just a couple of weeks now. I’m really nervous about it! Everyone keeps telling me that I’ll be fine, but what if they ask something I don’t know? Or what if I just forget? I can’t count the number of times I’ve forgotten something temporarily, but then it comes back to me later and I feel dumb because I forgot! I guess it’ll probably happen, but hopefully it won’t happen too much!

 

***

 

I’ve done it. I’ve finished copying and translating the book. It took a long time because I’m not really good at writing, and I’m sure the translation is riddled with spelling errors. I’m also sure the mage paying us will be able to figure out what I mean. I’m much better with speaking common than I am with writing it.

Harrier is finished with the clocks, but we decided to stay for the winter ball for the free food. There’s bound to be a ton of leftovers that we’ll be able to take when we leave.

This morning, I spoke to the headmaster and told him how much I appreciated everything. I was being mostly honest, though he doesn’t know about the book. He allowed me to stay here free of charge as a student. I think a poor student, but he said that I might have some slight magic ability. I never knew it. I just kept insisting that I wanted to learn theory even if I wound up never able to cast, and he let me stay. I thought I’d be able to find the book, and leave quickly, but it didn’t work out that way. Then the whore had to be a little bitch about it. He found the book. Somehow, he became a fire mage and is the instructor here for that. I guess he’s not a whore anymore, but he recognized me. Being a teacher, he has greater access to rooms that students can’t get into. He managed to find the book, steal it, and let me copy it. He never left me alone with it, which I suppose he knew I’d take it and run if he had. At last, I’m finally done.

Anyways, after I told the headmaster that I appreciated everything, I went back to my lie about my mother. My real mother is long dead. I don’t even remember what she looked like, but my fake rich mother wants me to go back to Silvermoon and go to a very prestigious school there. I told him I’d try to get her to send money here for my tuition expenses for the time that he allowed me to study for free. I don’t know why, but I felt a little guilty saying that. It’s never bothered me to lie before. It shouldn’t now.

Anyway, he knows I’ll be leaving soon. I think he also knows that Harrier is done, so hopefully it doesn’t seem suspicious when we leave on the same day.

Hethurin’s Notes

I’m so glad to be back home. I thought I was going to be stuck with that crazy high elf woman forever! Renner finally showed up and took me back home, but everyone thinks I shouldn’t cast anything just yet. I haven’t tried, not even to start the fire in the fireplace. Terellion does a good job of making sure I don’t freeze, so I haven’t had to worry about that.

I still don’t remember some things, and my father says I might not ever remember some parts because I hit my head pretty hard. I do know that I decided to jump, but I don’t remember why. I remember falling, so I didn’t hit my head before jumping. The worst part was landing in the crystallized bushes, which I don’t remember, but I remember waking up in them once or twice. I don’t remember much of what happened when I woke up except that I was looking for Ter. I don’t think I realized he wasn’t there. I have a lot of small scratches and cuts on my back, down the back of my legs and arms, and on my butt. They’re healing fast, but then there’s the wounds on my right leg that my father had to take care of. The long one on my thigh is healing faster than the one on my lower leg. That one was deep and sliced almost to the bone. My father was going to stitch it and put a cast on it, but he came back to me the next day with a splint instead. He said I needed something I could remove so that I could exercise the muscle in my leg. He said it was important because I could have more problems if I don’t. He cancelled his appointments for another week, and he’s been here every day. The first day after he put the splint on, he showed Terellion and me the exercises I have to do. It’s boring stuff like writing the alphabet with my toe in the air. It hurts too. He said I could make tinier letters in the air, but I should try to make them bigger everyday. Then there’s another where I have to move the end of my foot up and down but keep my heel in place, and another where he put the bottom of my foot on his shoulder and told me to try to push him off the edge of the bed with my foot. He was instructing Terellion at the same time to show him how to help, so he’s supposed to give enough resistance that he doesn’t get pushed off the bed. I can’t do much anyway. It hurts too much. That’s the other part about the exercises. I need to move the muscle around and make it work a little, but not too much or I’ll hurt it more. I wish it was just one thing or the other. That would be so much clearer!

I was lucky that he was already in the area. Nessna had her baby while I was gone. It’s another boy. I bet he’s super cute and I can’t wait to see him. I have to wait to see him because I spend most of my day in the bedroom now. I need time to recover, both physically and magically so I’m stuck here. The rope for the bell that goes to the kitchen is next to the bed, but most of my days are spent in the pillow fort that Terellion built for Narise and me. She’s learning to sit up, but she’s not very steady yet. Sometimes she falls over, but we’re on the big pillow and there’s pillows all around. Terellion even draped a blanket over one end of the pillow fort, so Narise and I go for naps in that end because it’s a little darker. Luckily, since we’re far from the rope, Terellion and Tik check on us often. Malwen likes to come visit as soon as her classes are done, and I make sure she does her homework.

Desdeyliri is also by often for her lessons. I try to stay on topic, but without the sling, Narise is very distracting. We do get some review in, but some days it’s more than others. Maybe I should ask Terellion to take Narise during that hour so that we can focus more on what she’ll need for the test.

Aeramin has stopped by a few times too. The first time was because I asked for him so I could find out if he would be willing to teach the arcane class for a bit. He laughed at me, then I told him I was serious, and he stopped laughing. I told him where my lesson notes were in my office and gave him the key to the office door. I’m pretty sure he got them okay because he’s been teaching the arcane class for the past week now, and from what Des has told me, he seems mostly on track with what I was teaching. He has also stopped by and asked questions. This is easy stuff! He should know it! No wonder his portals suck! I’ll be glad when Des can call herself a magistrix, and fill in for me when I have to miss teaching a class.

Xyliah also came by and she had a lot of questions, mostly about her dragonhawk and what he was doing in my work room. I told her I cast a spell and pulled him out of the time just before he died, and teleported him to our present. She didn’t believe me. I can’t help that. I told the truth. She did seem grateful though, and thanked me for finding him no matter how it happened.

I haven’t seen Zayel since Renner brought me back, though she did tell Renner that she wanted to come and check on me. I’m scared that she will. Now everyone thinks she wasn’t a high elf after all, but a dragon! I guess Renner would know these things. He invited her to the winter ball. I hope she doesn’t show up. It’s not that I don’t like dragons, but I don’t like crazy women who put arcane shackles on me and won’t let me leave. Maybe she’ll forget about it because it’ll be a couple years in her time. I guess if she does come, it’s okay.

Most of the students will be going on break after this week, except Keyalenn and Des, who both have their testing scheduled a couple weeks after break ends. They’ll both want to stay so they can concentrate on studying for their tests! I’m sure they’re ready and they will both do well.

We did go to Silvermoon a few days ago. Des made our portal. I had to do some shopping for the holiday before the winter ball, and Terellion pushed me around the market in the chair because I can’t walk yet. I got a bunch of things for Malwen and Narise. I think they’ll like them. Narise might be a little young yet to know what’s going on, but I know Malwen is going to love it!

The winter ball starts in just a few hours, and I’m sad I can’t help out this year. I’m hoping Ter will be okay with carrying me downstairs, and pushing me around in the chair for a bit so I can see it all!

Nessna’s Log

Rylad has a little brother. He was born early this morning and is perfect. I think he looks a lot like Sath. I was at the clinic in town since the night before. Lani has a room for overnight patients which is good as the baby was born overnight. Esladra said I could have had him at home, but I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with growing up with my father’s clinic being just in the front of the house. I felt a lot safer knowing that if anything went wrong, everything was right there.

Lani and Esladra both attended the birth. Lani had sent Vaildor to the school to ask Hethurin to get father from Silvermoon. A portal would be fastest, but Vaildor returned and said Hethurin was on errands. Tik didn’t know when he’d be back! Vaildor went again this morning, after the baby was already here, and Hethurin is still gone. Luckily, one of the students helped him get to Silvermoon and back so father is finally here. He’s staying in Lani’s guestroom, and wants to hold the baby all the time.

Sath passed out at one point during the birth. I think he was just that excited. It was really cute. He likes to hold the baby while he’s sleeping.

Hethurin’s Notes

• Things have been going well. We had a day at the school where prospective students could come visit with their parents and that went really well. So far, we have four new students since the fall session started, and another should be in contact in a few days, hopefully. The parents wanted time to decide in the last student’s case, and so I’m giving them until the end of the month. Honestly, I’d accept them after, but I won’t hold the spot for them after that so it’ll be first come first serve.
• There’s still a lot of space left anyway. Vyn and Sal moved to the new building so the attic rooms are empty, and I would like to get students in those again. Keyalenn, Xarola, and Loralinde all went to the new buildings too, so that cleared out a few rooms on the second floor, which means I have guest rooms again. Desdeyliri, Zalindri and Lhoris all stayed here in the rooms they’ve had since first coming here.
• With the new students, there’s two rooms left in the women’s new building, one in the men’s and then just the attic rooms here which I would like to be filled by either two girls or two boys. It will probably wind up being boys because the boy’s building is almost full already.
• One of the new boys, Kindroth, knows Keyalenn. They used to go to school together in Silvermoon. I guess Keyalenn recommended the school to him. Maybe the other students will recommend it to their friends too.
• The classes are going well. The new students are settling in nicely, and a couple of them are interested in specializing in arcane. The students who were here before are all doing well too. Raleth tells me that Keyalenn is doing very well and should be ready for his testing soon, which is great! We’ll have our second graduate! Des is doing very well also, and she doesn’t have much left to learn either. Some of the newer students aren’t sure what they want to specialize in yet, and that’s okay too. Sometimes even those that do know wind up changing their minds later on. I think Lhoris has finally found his specialty too, as Aeramin has asked to schedule extra private lessons with him.
• The builders will have a small break for winter. I think Sath’alor wants them in the spring to build more cabins. They did a wonderful job with Malwen’s room. They added a private bathroom for her, and over it, she has a doll loft. When Narise is old enough, we’ll move her into the room next to Malwen’s and have it renovated to be similar to her sister’s room with her own bathroom and loft area. That will be a few years though. She’s still so tiny, but Esladra said she could start eating some pureed food. She has grown a lot since we adopted her. I still carry her around a lot during the day. She likes going to the lessons with me, and I give her milk while I’m working in my office. Ter says I hog her, but he hogs Malwen. He says that while laughing though, so I don’t think he’s mad about it. Malwen’s always following him around when she’s not working on her lessons. Lali gives her homework, and Ter will sit with her and help. She doesn’t need much help. She’s very smart! She likes to help him with the baking and the gardening too.
• I signed her up for a class in Silvermoon. It’s a class for sewing for girls. I made sure to ask if there would be other girls her age there, and I was assured that there would be. There’s no one out here at her age, so I thought she might like to have some friends. Maybe she’ll be able to make some in the sewing class. It’s every weekend in the morning. Terellion has been going with her, though he waits outside or does some shopping and things while she’s in the class.
• Speaking of classes in Silvermoon, Vaildor is still going to the art school, and I have to make portals for him twice a week so he can get there. I found out that he’s been seeing father at lunch while he’s there. He hasn’t even written to ask how I’m doing since the wedding! Well, okay, he wrote once, but that’s nothing like seeing someone twice a week. I invited him to the mask party. I hope he can make it.
• The mask party is going to be so great this year! Malwen is really excited, and Ter is making spooky cake. I don’t think Narise cares much yet, but she’s going to be a pea pod. Malwen won’t tell me what she and Terellion are going to be. Ter won’t tell me either. I’m just going to wear a regular fancy mask with feathers on it, which is probably boring, but it’s enough for me. Besides, I want something that’s easy to take off so that Narise will recognize me.
• Xyliah was by the other day and she mentioned that she and Berwick are going to leave after the holiday. I have an idea to get them something, though Renner probably won’t approve. I don’t see how it would change anything though, so I’ll just do it without asking him.

Zalindri’s Diary

Dear Diary,

I passed the summer term. Summer classes here aren’t that hard. You can easily pass even if you skip half the classes, which not a lot of students do, but sometimes it was just too warm. I’d rather spend a day on the beach here than in a classroom! I went to most of my classes though. I was actually a little worried about the fire exam, but I heard that Magister Firewind curves the grades a lot, even though the tests are usually difficult. I did wind up passing, and didn’t do too bad after all. I think he should just make the tests easier.

Luckily, my chosen specialty is not fire. I’m doing great in my arcane classes, and Magister Fairsong has started teaching me some of the chronomancy basics, which is where my real interest lies. He doesn’t cover much about it in regular classes, but he’s given me a couple of books to read, and we go over it in the private lesson. It still all seems fairly easy, but I’m just beginning. I expect it’ll get more difficult as I advance.

A lot of the students are moving to the new buildings. They’re not far from the main building, and a lot of the rooms are bigger. While I think it would be fun to be in a building with just the other girls, but I like my room here in the main building. Not to mention it rains a lot in the spring and fall, and I don’t know how to teleport yet. Mostly, I guess I don’t really fit in with the others. They’ll spend all evening at supper talking about guys. I suppose I still could, but it feels weird now that I’m engaged.

My mother wrote to tell me that they finalized the agreement. I have, at least, met him before. I guess he’s kind of cute, but I don’t really know him very well. Plus, he’s finishing his training as a battle medic. He’ll probably be gone a lot of the time, so I won’t get to know him very quickly either. The good part is that I’m allowed to finish my studies before the wedding, so it’ll be a while yet. Maybe as long as things remain quiet, I’ll get to know him a bit better before I finish school! I have a feeling he’ll ask me to something for the mask holiday coming up. I’m a bit sad because I’ll miss the mask party here at the school, and I’m sure it’s going to be nice! I guess something in Silvermoon would be nice too. I’d suggest that he visits here, but I don’t know. That might be a little weird. What if I wind up not liking him, and everyone notices? I guess I should just wait and see if he wants to do something in Silvermoon.

Speaking of boys, one of them, Lhoris, was being annoying the other evening. He knocked on my bedroom door, and despite the fact that there’s a rule here that boys can’t go into the girl’s rooms, he kept asking if he could come in. He was complimenting me and just being really weird. At one point he asked if he could just come in to see the view from my window. I guess it’s a good view, but you can see it just as well from the garden! Luckily, my room is on the same side of the building as Magister Fairsong’s room. His is at the other end of the hall. He came out of his room with the baby, and saw us. He wanted to know what was going on. I told him the truth, that Lhoris was trying to get me to let him in my room even after I said no. Lhoris lied and said he was just trying to ask some questions about the class. Magister Fairsong believed me, thankfully, and asked Lhoris to go with him. I don’t know what he said to him, but he hasn’t been back to my room.

Hethurin’s Notes

• It’s been a couple of weeks, but I still wanted to write about it. Terellion and I had our wedding and it was great, except I fainted. I don’t really know what happened. I just started feeling a little dizzy. I tried to fight it, but I woke up on the ground. I wanted to continue, but Lani made me lie down longer and then my father made me sit in a chair for the rest of the ceremony. Everything else was perfect. I think everyone had a good time.
• I don’t feel a lot different, but I do know that Terellion will always be by my side, not literally, but I know he’ll always watch out for me, and I’ll always watch out for him. It’s relaxing to know that he’ll never betray me, and I’m free to love him as much as I want! It’s a lot!
• We were technically married before the wedding, but everyone knows we’re married now. It was really embarrassing to know I passed out in front of everyone, but now I can call him my husband.
• Malwen was adorable in her dress and with her flowers, and Narise was dressed up too, and quiet, which is good because I wasn’t sure she would be. I think she might be getting a tooth because she has times when she isn’t happy at all, and there’s nothing anyone can do to fix it. Maybe she knew her ann’das were getting married and it was time to be quiet! Probably not. It’s more likely that she tired herself out the night before, but if she did, Terellion didn’t tell me. He didn’t seem tired either.
• I didn’t sleep very well the night before. I stayed at my sister’s place so that Terellion and I wouldn’t see each other before the wedding. Malwen was with me. Lani’s guest room has two small beds so she got one and I got the other. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the bed or anything. I just had a hard time sleeping.
• Then the next morning was really busy with everything going on. Aeramin helped a lot by teleporting to the school and back to coordinate things, and I know teleporting isn’t easy for him. I just think of how much concentration I need to cast a fire spell, and I know it’s like that for him with arcane based spells. I’m grateful to have him as a friend.
• The food was amazing. I’m really grateful for Tik too. I don’t know what I would do without him at the school. Terellion made the best cake ever. I might have taken a couple of pieces to save for later. I’ve learned how to make small time bubbles. Renner said they were perfect for keeping cake. I have to keep some for him too.
• Our trip lasted a week, but it was only one night in real time. Chronomancy helped us have our trip alone without worrying that we were leaving the girls for too long. Well, we still worried a little, and it was a week long for us, but only one night to them. Everything was fine.
• Our first night was in Dalaran, in the past. We got the best room at the best inn. We had to stay in because I didn’t want to run into my younger self in the city. That would really mess things up. Everything has to happen the way it did or things might not be the same. Though there were some parts I could have really done without, I like where I am now, and I wouldn’t want to change it for anything. Anyway, we stayed in, and that was a lot of fun, so it was completely fine that we didn’t leave the inn.
• The next few days we spent at the dragon shrines. We stayed in the Emerald Shrine first and I told him about the green fuzzies and everything. He thinks I should try to get the students to study them. Maybe I will! We also spent nights in the Bronze and the Ruby shrines. We stayed at the top of the big tree in the Ruby Shrine. It branches out and in the middle is a large flat area, big enough for at least 20 people to camp.
• We also went to Sholazar Basin, and I showed him some really good places to fish, and the fish were biting really well too, so I got to bring back a whole bunch. Tik looked at me funny and asked if I really went fishing on our trip after the wedding. I just smiled and shrugged. He probably knows that’s not all we did, but it was a lot of fish!
• Anyway, we’re back now and I’m teaching classes and Ter is back to work too. We’re both busy with the girls too when we’re not busy with our work. Narise has been crying a little more, so it’s rare that I get to carry her all day while teaching. There’s always some point where she starts crying. Ter is never very far away, and he comes to get her when he hears her so that I can keep teaching.
• Malwen is excited about her classes starting back up soon. She’ll have more classmates this year. Vaildor and Kiandris will be returning. Vaildor will be continuing his program with the art school in Silvermoon so he’ll only be here three days a week again. Terellion’s mother and sisters have moved out and have settled into their new house, and his sisters will be able to attend. In a few years, I might have to pay the builders to make Lali’s classroom bigger! There are a lot of babies in the area, and now Nessna is having another. That room will definitely be too small.
• The one student for general classes this summer will be taking tests this week and hopefully moving on to magic theory classes this autumn. Lhoris came to us last spring with only a home-tutored education. His tutors weren’t very good, but from what he’s said about his mother, I wonder if she didn’t plan it that way so he’d have to stay with her forever or something. Maybe she thought if he was uneducated, then he’d have to believe whatever she said. Well, he’s here now. Luckily, she hasn’t shown up to take him back, but I expect she will when he writes and asks for the tuition money. I intend to speak to him after his passes his general education tests to see what he thinks she might do. I might decide to waive his tuition fee. He studies hard and he’s a good student. I don’t detect much magic ability in him, but he’s just barely over 50. It might still be developing.
• The other exciting thing is I’ll be able to take more students this fall. I’ve put signs up already, and the new buildings are almost done. I’ve also put a couple signs up looking for a couple of people to work for me, one for each building. They’ll need to do all the things Tik does here, minus cooking, because everyone can eat here at the main building. They’ll just need to make sure things are kept tidy, call lights out to make sure the students aren’t up too late, and probably restock the practice rooms in the new buildings. Ter might want to do that, so I need to ask him first. There will also be some gardening to do around the new buildings, but I think it’s already too late this year.
• I’ll have to find out which students want to move to the new places, and who wants to stay in their current rooms.
• Kes and Ordinicus have moved into their new place too. They’re neighbors with Ter’s mother and sisters! Lilithel has moved to the house at the bottom of the hill next to the stable. She spends most of her time with the hawkstriders and dragonhawks in the stable, so it works out well to have her right there.
• That frees up Lilithel’s room. The student buildings are almost done. After they’re done, there’s going to be more work done to the house. We’re having a door put between our room and Lilithel’s old room and turning it into a nursery for Narise. Malwen’s bathroom needs to be built, and the tower needs to be modified to house a clock too. That’s going to be a lot of work. Hopefully it will be done before the rainy season starts again.

Aeramin’s Notes

• I’m so glad the wedding is over. Almost everything went as Hethurin planned, which was quite a feat considering how much there was to coordinate. And guess who had to make sure everything went right. Yeah, me. I had to teleport to the school, and back to town a few times to make sure things were going well and everything was on time. Teleports aren’t easy on me. Luckily, everything was perfectly timed with our arrival at the school’s garden gate.
• There was one thing that went wrong. Hethurin passed out during the ceremony. It was a warm day and his robe had at least four or five layers. He was also very nervous, which probably contributed to his light-headedness more than anything else. I was standing next to him when he started to sway. I moved to catch him just as Terellion did on the other side. I wound up guiding him towards Terellion. I guess it was a bit symbolic, now that I think about it.
• Of course, he had three priests rushing to his side as well. His father was already up front as he was officiating. Two of his sisters joined. I stepped back and wound up having to calm Vaildor and Malwen down a bit. Vaildor thought Hethurin had died, and Malwen was worried about him being okay. I had to assure them both that Hethurin was still breathing and would be fine. He wasn’t out for long, but his father and sisters made him lie down for a while right where he was. Tik had a glass of water for him almost as soon as it happened. I have no idea how that man can be so fast.
• After about ten minutes, the wedding resumed, but Hethurin sat in a chair until the end when it was time for them to kiss.
• I’ve never been to a wedding so fancy, much less been in one. That’s including the wedding his parents planned when they arranged his marriage to Xyliah. I thought that was fancy at the time, but it was nothing like this. He must have spent a fortune on it. I know he did on the robes. He even paid the tailors to come out to the Ghostlands to his sister’s house to make last minute adjustments! He also had someone come out to do our hair. I wound up hating having my hair done by someone else. They pulled it back in a braid and that was it. Hethurin did tell them to make sure my hair wasn’t prettier than his. He said that! I thought it looked awful, but Imralion said he liked it. Sometimes I can’t tell if he’s just trying to be polite or not.
• Im and I have talked about most of the things that were bothering me. He said he’d be okay with Lyorri visiting when she’s older, which is good. However, I still feel guilty about mentioning her in any conversation with him. I feel like I can’t talk about her. I don’t know how having her visit when she’s older is going to work, but at the same time, I want to be part of her life. I don’t want to be ashamed of her. Maybe it took a while, but I think I’m finally bonding with her a bit. She has the sweetest little smile, even though she only has five teeth, and the cutest laugh. I’ve noticed she has different cries for things too. She has a hungry cry, and a wet diaper cry. She even has a Kes cry for when she want’s to be held by Kestrae. I don’t think she has one for me. She doesn’t cry a lot while I’m there. She tends to be very serious and observant, but prone to bouts of laughter. I love her.
• But I also love him, and I can’t talk to him about her because I feel guilty. Maybe I should talk to the confessor soon. I don’t know.
• Im has been investigating the murders on Murder Row. Well, not all of them, just the ones involving the male prostitutes there. I don’t know if he’s really doing it for them or not. He might just be doing it for me. I don’t know. If he cared about the people there who were affected by it, he would know their names, right? I found him at one of the restaurants in Silvermoon when I went to give him his portal home the other day. We sometimes eat there before coming home, so I knew to look there when he wasn’t at the building. He was there with two prostitutes. I didn’t know either of them, though the one does look familiar. He had bought them food. I ordered for myself, and asked for some extra bread with my order. I pushed it closer to them after it was brought to the table. I kept waiting for some sort of introduction to learn their names. I found out afterwards that he doesn’t even know their names. He doesn’t know them. He doesn’t know the names of the victims. Well, he did say he had those written down somewhere, but he doesn’t remember any without looking at his paper.
• It makes me angry. It’s just the way people in Murder Row have always been treated. We’re not people there. We’re not worthy of having names. If anyone is sent to investigate anything they’re not doing it because they actually think it matters. They’re doing it out of some obligation, whether they were told to by their supervisor or they think they owe it to their boyfriend, it’s all the same. The murderer is going to get away with it as long as they stick to the Row. I bet if this was happening anywhere outside the Row, they would have called in more than one to investigate. The crime scene would have been searched thoroughly for clues, witnesses would have come forward, the body would be examined for clues, they would have dusted for fingerprints, and I bet there’s a high chance they would have caught the guy before he went on to kill more. But this is in the Row so no one cares.
• I don’t know why it makes me so angry. That’s the way it’s always been.
• I’ll be hearing from the mage I sent to find information on Imralion’s parents soon. His mother showed up to see him soon after Hethurin’s wedding. He’s decided that he’s not very keen on a relationship with her. It makes me worry that my own daughter will reject me when she gets older. After all, I’ve given her away so she can have a better life. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if my own parents had given me away to make sure I didn’t have to grow up on Murder Row. My mother was good with me, but she was always a little absent-minded. My father wasn’t good with me at all. I can’t think things were very difficult growing up with the Matron at the orphanage, at least not as difficult as it was growing up on the Row with a drunk and abusive father, and a mother who trained herself to forget about it and constantly forgive him.
• Imralion’s father never wanted him. He paid Im’s mother to give them up and keep quiet. She placed them with the Matron. She didn’t abandon them to the streets. She didn’t just leave them to die out in the woods. She left them with someone she knew could care for them. I think if I were Im, I’d give her a chance now that she’s here. I guess I kind of understand how he doesn’t want to, kind of. I mean, not really, and the mage is going to come asking for his payment soon. I hope Lin appreciates that I helped find her mother, at least. With my luck, she’ll probably just wind up hating me more somehow.

Malwen’s Diary

Dear Diary,

Last night, Arcann’da and I stayed with my aunt and uncle, Lani and Morthorn, in Tranquillien. It was different staying in town because my bed was smaller, and I had to share a room with Arcann’da. There were two small beds in the room, but I don’t think one was bigger than the other. If it was, I would have let him have it because I don’t think he slept very well. I woke up once during the night and he was awake. He said everything was okay, and that I should go back to sleep, but when we visited his friends in the little house at the bottom of the hill before coming here, he kept saying he was nervous, so I think it’s that! This morning I told him not to worry and that Ann’da and Mr. Tik are going to take care of everything at home. I think he needed to hear it because he hugged me and said thanks.

I can’t wait to see the garden! It’s going to be beautiful! Ann’da has been working on it all summer, and Miss Lilithel has been helping when she isn’t at the stable. I’ve been helping too, but I know most of the decorations must be going up this morning. Ann’da has been working on things for the cake too. It’s going to be the most amazing cake anyone has ever seen! I’m really excited.

Today has been going really well so far. The tailors from Silvermoon are here. My dress fits perfect. There was also a flower delivery and everyone has flowers now. The guy with the flowers had more that he had to deliver directly to the school. Oh, and there’s another guy here doing everyone’s hair! He put mine up, and gave me little curls along the side. I got to look in the mirror, and I really like it! Arcann’da said he didn’t want his hair too different, but he had a couple of braids put in, and on the end of his braids, he got a gold thing with a gem hanging off it. Then after his hair was done, he had to try on the robe. There weren’t many adjustments to do, but he insisted they fix the one sleeve. I didn’t see anything wrong with it. His robe is so pretty. He looks like a princess, or maybe a king because he’s a boy.

Vaildor and Aeramin are also going to be in the wedding and they get to ride in the carriage with us. Arcann’da is going to make a portal so that my aunt and uncle and little cousin can get there on time. They had to get changed too and have their hair done. Aeramin hates his because it’s pulled back in a braid. I don’t know why he hates braids, but he does! Vaildor had some curls done too, so his is more like mine. They have matching robes that kind of look like Arcann’da’s robe, but less fancy. Renner, one of the students, was here earlier to get his robe, but he had to go back to the school because there’s supposed to be guys with swords there. This is so exciting!

The carriage is here, and there’s six beautiful hawkstriders with it. I think they have extra feathers on their straps for the carriage because I’ve never seen hawkstriders with so many feathers before. We’re just waiting for the right time now. I already ate, but Lani is trying to get Arcann’da to eat a little more because he didn’t have much breakfast.

I can’t wait to arrive to the party!

Julan’s Log

I’ve done it. I’ve left Murder Row. Of course, I have more reason now than ever before. Not that I didn’t have good reasons before, it’s just more relevant to my continued survival now. There have been some murders there recently that seem to be targeted towards the male workers there. At least, that’s what the others and myself were able to put together. Unfortunately, there’s rarely any investigation into these things in the Row. They just send someone to pick up the body, then it’s over. A lot of times they’re slow about coming to get the body, so more than enough people see the evidence. This time, there was enough to put together that the murders are connected.

I was lucky because an old friend, Aeramin, hired me to dance for a party. He used to work the Row as well, so I knew he would understand, and with him not on the Row now, and a mage on top of that, I figured he might have some ideas about where I could work. I explained everything to him when he came to make the portal to the party location, and he said he would see what he could do.

He found a job for me with the rangers! I couldn’t believe it when he told me I had to meet the ranger captain. I’ve never held a bow before in my life! I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity, but there’s a lot of training to do. I met with the captain, and I was able to start staying there immediately.

There are two other guys staying in the men’s quarters. Well, three, but one doesn’t really count because he’s a death knight and doesn’t sleep. I’m doing my best to make friends here, but I guess they don’t like it when I flirt with them. I find it really difficult to not flirt with guys. It’s just what I’ve always done, and it worked out well for me before. But yet, here, it’s different. I didn’t even mean anything by it, but the one ranger instructor does have a nice butt. I guess he didn’t like me looking because now they have a woman training me.

She’s nice. Her name is Linarelle. All the girls are nice. I think I get along okay with them. It’s the guys who don’t like me. One of the guys who stays here is Aeramin’s father, and I accidentally flirted with him. Then he said something about catching me in bed with his son once. I don’t even want to talk to him again. I’m so embarrassed. I do kind of remember that, but I wish he didn’t! Then the other one who stays here has a girlfriend. He had to tell me a couple times before I decided it was a bad idea to try to talk to him again.

Then the death knight wanted to know why I didn’t flirt with him. Umm, because he’s dead and that’s just a little gross, maybe? That’s what I said to him because it’s the truth. He actually seemed to be mad that I wasn’t flirting with him. Maybe that’s just the way he is. Death knights must be mad a lot of the time.

I’ve accidentally flirted with Aeramin too. He doesn’t get mad at me. He just says it’s nice, but he has a boyfriend. I’ve met his boyfriend, and wow! No, I don’t expect Aeramin would be interested in anything with me right now. That guy has a really nice body. His boyfriend didn’t seem interested in me either. It’s almost like no one does anything out here!

Anyway, his boyfriend is actually trying to investigate the murders. I don’t know if anything will come from it, but I told him all I could remember about what I heard. While I may be safely away from the Row, I have many friends who are still there. They are still in danger.  I really hope he can find the guy.

I hope to visit my friends soon, but I have to ask Aeramin for a portal there. I don’t want it to be a portal where I go through and then I’m stuck there either. I need him to go with me so that I can get back! I’m not sure how keen he is on going there and seeing some of the other guys. Hopefully, he won’t mind. I’d like to see them to find out if there’s any new information.