Page 117 of Storm to Victory
Almost as soon as the war ended, King Weylind offered her dacha the job of the government official in charge of dwarven affairs, which included his prior role as ambassador to the dwarves that he had given up when he married Muka and moved here. The king of Dalorbor had requested that Muka act as the dwarven ambassador to Tarenhiel, at least temporarily. On this coming trip to the dwarven mountains, her muka would consult with the king to see if she was going to be the permanent ambassador or if she would instead be aiding the actual ambassador.
Either way, both of her parents were needed in Estyra, although they would continue to travel to the dwarven mountains and to Aldon in Escarland as needed.
They’d spent the past few months training their replacements. But now it was time to pack up their things and clear out this house for new occupants.
“And we were not going to remain here when neither of you would be here.” Muka glanced over her shoulder as Mak joined their huddle.
Mak, too, had decided to move to Estyra now that the army had downsized the Ordnance Corps and he’d been discharged. With the new airstrip, the resumption of the tourist airships, and the trains, there were plenty of opportunities for a mechanic with his skills and magic. Muka, too, would find a place to tinker if she grew bored with being an ambassador.
“We are so proud of the both of you.” Dacha rested a hand on Muka’s shoulder as he faced Mak and Pip. “It is time for all four of us to stop hiding and start pursuing our talents and abilities more fully.”
Pip stepped into her family’s group hug, her throat tight again. Perhaps her whole family had outgrown this place. It was time for all of them to move on and establish new lives elsewhere.
Once her family released her, Mak gave Pip a nudge toward where Fieran was loitering at the base of the stairs. “Go on.”
With one last glance at her family, Pip smiled and hurried to Fieran’s side, taking his hand again. The two of them climbed the stairs and reached the small circular landing at the top. Doors led into rooms around the landing.
“That’s the guest room where you’ll be staying.” Pip pointed to a room on the far side of the stairs. Then she headed for the room directly ahead of them. “And this is my room.”
She pushed the door open and stepped inside for the first time since she’d left for training at Fort Linder.
Everything remained as she’d left it. Her quilted bedspread lay pristinely over the mattress on her metal-framed bed, the headboard against the wall by the door. Curving shelves held a few knickknacks, mostly consisting of various wooden items Mak had made for her throughout the years. A cupboard next to that held the items of clothing she hadn’t taken along when she joined the mechanics auxiliary while broad windows looked out into the forest, a glint of the river just visible through the trees.
One wall was mostly open and decorated with various posters and artwork she’d collected over the years.
The poster…
Tossing her bag onto her bed without even looking, Pip flung herself across the room and pressed her back to the wall, trying to hide the poster plastered there. Not that she could block it fully. The poster was too large and stuck to the wall too high up.
Fieran laughed and crossed the room at a slow, almost stalking pace. He nudged her gently aside before he regarded the poster with another chuckle. “I had forgotten just how academic Dacha looks in this poster.”
With a sigh, Pip turned to face the poster, standing shoulder to shoulder with Fieran.
The poster was nearly three feet and by two feet. The black-and-white sketch showed Prince Farrendel with a set of goggles on his forehead and a book in his hands, his long hair flowing around him.
Pip groaned and dropped her face in her hands. “This is so embarrassing. I should have gotten rid of this poster years ago. But I guess it’s beyond time to throw it away.” She reached for the poster.
“No, don’t!” Fieran halted her with a hand between her and the poster. “Don’t just rip it up and toss it. This poster meant too much to you. Let’s take it down carefully. At the very least, you can store it rolled in a box so we can take it out to laugh about it and our first meeting.”
Pip released a breath, something easing in her chest. Perhaps she hadn’t been as ready to just pitch it as she’d thought. “Yeah, let’s do that. Linshi.”
Fieran started working at the top corners while she eased the bottom corners from the wall. The tree sap was still rather sticky, given that her dacha had helped her stick this poster here. He’d also laced the paper with his magic to preserve it.
Her younger self, who’d spent so many years staring at that poster and dreaming, would never have believed where she was now. That elf prince who inspired her so much was going to be her dacha someday, and she no longer froze up around him. Most of the time, anyway.
In her bag rested a copy of her hiring contract for her new job at the AMPC. As Fieran had predicted, the moment the army had downgraded her to the reserves with only the demand of a few weekends and weeks of duty here and there, Lance Marion had presented her with that hiring contract. Once she and Fieran returned from this trip, she would start the new position, working directly with Lance Marion, Bennett, Louise, and PrinceFarrendel. Until she and Fieran married, she’d room with Louise in the apartment at the AMPC.
Fieran, too, had new orders. The Alliance had, indeed, sent each Flight of the Half-Breed Squadron to its own kingdom, stationing Flight A in Estyra under Rothilion’s command and Flight B in Aldon under Merrik. Yet the squadron hadn’t been fully disbanded, even if it was stationed in two different places. Fieran would travel between Estyra and Aldon as needed to oversee the squadron, and he planned for the whole squadron to meet up several times a year to train together. Rothilion and Merrik, too, would travel back and forth frequently to become familiar with both Flights and consult with Fieran. The hope of the higher-ups was that the Half-Breed Squadron would continue to train elven pilots and human pilots to work together.
Living in Aldon, Pip would be separated from the rest of her family. But Estyra was a much shorter train ride than the western rail terminal, and the trip would be even shorter if Fieran could requisition a two-seater and fly them. Besides, Fieran’s job would demand travel back and forth, as would her parents’ jobs. And when they were pressed for time, they could always meet up halfway in Bridgetown and Calafaren. While she might live away from her family, she wouldn’t be cut off from them.
After the two of them eased the poster from the wall, Fieran carefully rolled it for her while she found a ribbon to tie around it.
As they finished, there came a knock on the open door. A worker stood there, holding a crate. “Where do you want it?”
“Just set it there by the door.” Pip pointed to the open space on the floor.
Once the worker left, Fieran helped her pack the crate with the things she wanted shipped to Aldon. As they did, Pipfound herself talking about the miscellaneous items, reliving her childhood even as she dismantled it.
