"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Keeping my children safe!"

Claudia scoots farther into the wagon, holding her brother and his toy dragon closely as their parents bickering escalates, their mother throwing things into the wagon (and making sure to avoid hitting the two children still seated in it) while shouting at their father.

"If you take one step towards that wagon and leave with the children, I'll make you regret it!" She hears her father yell. She hears what sounds like a blade being drawn and peeks out from the wagon to see her mother pointing her sword at her father, the sharp end pointed dangerously close to his throat and an enraged expression she'd never seen her wear before.

"If you even take one step closer to that wagon and touch the children I will make you regret it." She snarls, pushing the sword closer and causing her husband to step back a few steps to avoid getting stabbed. Claudia watched as her mother edged back towards the wagon, her blade still out in front of her as she climbs into the front seat of the wagon. "Claudia, Soren, come sit closer to the front."

Claudia feels her brother grab her hand and tug her towards the front of the wagon where their mother sat and hugged her to his chest. She's watching her father, wondering what he'll do. Harrow is out in the courtyard as well, watching from the side with a worried expression before he steps forward to put a hand on her father's shoulder, murmuring something to him that causes his shoulders to sag and for him to step back a few feet. She hears the flick of the reins and feels the wagon jerk forward before they start moving.

"Mama, where are we going?" Soren asks his mother as they are making their way to the gates.

"Del Bar, we can't stay in Katolis." She responds curtly before letting out a tired sigh. "Its best if your father and I are far apart, very far apart right now."

"Why can't daddy come with us?" Claudia asks and hugs the dragon toy tightly.

"Because he and I need some time to be away from each other, and I don't want you two to be near him during that time."

"But daddy promised to teach me magic!"

Claudia was very sure she saw her mother stiffen at the words before relaxing. Was she upset?

"You don't need to love, it's nothing but trouble." Her mother responds. "Are you excited to see your cousins again? Your uncle Raul sent me a letter a while back telling me that his wife was going to have a baby soon, so maybe by the time we get there you can get to meet your new cousin. And your grandparents will be so happy to see you two again!"

Claudia tried to think back to her mother's family. She was very little when they last visited, and didn't remember anything. Soren probably remembered, he loved mentioning how the last time they ever went to Del Bar he went sledding with someone and got a tooth knocked out when he crashed into a small tree. And Del Bar was apparently quite cold, was there going to be snow when they got there?

"Bjorn is gonna scare me again with his spooky stories!" Soren states with a frown, pulling the dragon from Claudia to hug to his chest. "And I don't want him stealing Mister Flameo and throwing him onto the roof!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure Sigrid will make sure of that herself and give him a good beating." Their mother assures him, releasing the reins with one hand to turn around and ruffle Soren's hair. "You know, she's working on getting into the crownguard. If you still want to be a crownguard member, you can ask her and some of your uncles to help you train so you can get in."

Claudia almost laughs at the sight of her brother's face lighting up, as if someone had just given him a platter of hot jelly tarts and told him he could have them all.

"What about me mama? What can I do in Del Bar if I can't learn magic?" She asks and her mother looks back at her with a wide smile.

"Well there's lots of things you can do. Maybe you can learn to train horses for the army, like your grandmother. Or you can train with your brother and cousin to be part of the crownguard, or maybe if you don't feel like doing something with weapons you can take up learning to be a doctor to heal people and save lives. We have a pretty big family who have various kinds of jobs, I'm sure they'll be happy to try and teach you two so you could have it as a job or a skill to use later in life."

"How long until we get to Del Bar? Cuz I wanna see Sigrid so I can start my training!" Soren asks excitedly.

"Soon enough my little ones, soon enough."