Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 20)

"A strategic board game a bit like chess."

“Oh… I’m not very good at chess. I’m not good at anticipating next moves.”

"Well, there's a game for everybody. What do you like to play?"

“Mostly ones left to chance. I really like card games and the sort, but I play strategy games sometimes too because Rana says I need to get better at thinking ahead.”

"Well, she's not wrong. It's good to be able to anticipate political moves, isn't it? You're going to be very powerful one day." He paused. "A lot of people get hurt because of weak leaders." He shouldn't put that on her, but it was true. She ought to know.

Lia shrugged. "Maybe. I dunno."

Something prickled in Ricard, deep inside him, in a way that he'd not allowed in a long, long time. "You don't know?"

"Yeah." Lia shrugged, unbothered. "Father keeps saying he's gonna make me the next Reputation but I think we all know it's going to be Rana. She's way smarter than me and would do better at it."

"But you'll still have some responsibility. That's how it works."

"I mean, yeah. But that's once I'm a grown up."

"It's never too soon to start," he said with a barely suppressed sigh.

"Why?" She looked at him innocently. "I'm going to have so much responsibility when I'm an adult. Why not enjoy childhood while I can?"

Ricard's lips thinned, and he looked at her with an expression half of pity and half of disdain. "Child, how will you know how to react to the responsibilities you're given if you spend your entire childhood living a sheltered life?"

[Time skip]

Rana was outside wandering around, as had become her mid-morning habit. She spent most of her days in the library, envisioning herself as a ghoul haunting the stacks. She was like a sponge, soaking up pages upon pages of knowledge each day. And, more importantly, staying out of the way. After the babysitting had ended, people in this Keep seemed perfectly happy to ignore her and that was perfect for her. She didn't want to have to prance and preen and make a good impression. Much better to just park herself in a corner with a book.

Only, after a few days of that, she had discovered that her body ached with the lack of movement. So she spent as long as her Eastern body could tolerate out in the cold wandering around, trying to stretch the stiffness out of her body.

Rana squinted as she noticed a small squirrel over in some bushes. It looked... weird. What was that? It didn't look like any squirrel she'd seen before. It was long and fluffy but not a squirrel. A fox? No, it was too small for that. A cat? That also didn't seem right.

Before she realized what she was doing, she found herself compelled to move towards it slowly, trying to figure out what it was. It reared back on two legs and tilted its head as it looked at her with curious eyes. She tilted her head back towards it. "Hello? And what are you, small friend?"

It tilted its head back the other way.

She slowly walked closer to it.

It went back to four legs and hopped three steps away, turning its head to look back over its shoulder at her. She knew it was in her mind, but she almost felt like it was playfully asking her to come along with it.

"Where are you going?" She smiled slightly, following along behind.

It chittered at her and hopped a few more times.

She felt compelled to follow.

The cycle repeated itself again and again, Rana nearing the small creature, it chittering at her and hopping away. She didn't notice as it gradually led her out the Keep gates and, somehow, no one noticed her, either. Or, if they did, she didn't notice them and they didn't interfere with her quest.

Rana was blind to the passing of time as she gradually followed the creature further and further away from the Keep, entirely fixated on her new small friend.

The woods were dead silent as she walked, muffled by snow. The trees creaked occasionally, but otherwise the place was soundless. The sun was hidden behind clouds, making everything a little bit darker in the deep forest.

A small tent had popped up a mile or so from Serpent Keep. There were three people sitting around a fire nearby, all clothed in warm furs and hats and talking amongst themselves. One carried a two-stringed instrument, which she was tuning while one of her companions turned an animal leg on a spit.