"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Mm...Kayla, stop it," Iris muttered, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow.

"You're - going - to - miss - lunch!" Kayla continued, bouncing on the mattress with each word, her feet thudding against the floor below. Iris made a mental note to remind Fred about re-stuffing the mattresses.

"Lunch?" Iris rolled onto her back and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Noon!" Kayla said, landing on her hands and knees to peer into Iris' face. "Come on, wake up!"

"Noon?" Iris sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Why didn't anybody wake me up for church?"

"Father John said to let you sleep," Kayla said, hopping off the mattress to land on the floor. "Come on," she said insistently, grabbing Iris' hand and pulling.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Iris muttered, standing up but not letting Kayla drag her along. "I have to get dressed first."

Kayla released Iris' hand and crossed her little arms over her chest, huffing impatiently. Iris turned away to hide her smile as she pulled her nightgown off and reached for her dress.

"What's that?" Kayla asked, coming up to Iris and touching her right wrist.

"Oh...that." Iris pulled her dress on quickly, tugging the sleeve down over the purple bruises. "It's nothing. Where's my hairbrush?"

"Can I do it?" Kayla asked excitedly.

Iris didn't hide her smile this time. "Yes, you can do it." She sat down on the mattress, and Kayla climbed up behind her, happily yanking the brush through Iris' tangled hair. It hurt, but Iris didn't say anything. The events of last night were replaying through her mind, over and over. She had hoped it was all a nightmare. The bruises proved otherwise. And the wooden ladle beside the bed...

"We'll have to stop by the inn before we go to the river," Iris said to Kayla.

"Yay!" Kayla exclaimed, dropping the hairbrush and bouncing back to the floor, clapping her hands. Iris picked up the brush and finished the job of brushing her hair, forgotten by Kayla in her excitement. Mr. and Mrs. Tumes spoiled Kayla. Everybody spoiled her. It was hard not to. She was just so adorable.

"Okay, let's eat," Iris said, setting the hairbrush down and tying her brown hair back with a tattered ribbon.

Kayla skipped ahead of her to the stairs. Iris followed with less exuberance. She'd have to talk to Father John after lunch, and the stranger's weird questions last night were ringing in her head.

You're going to the river tomorrow, right? What time? Good.

Why did he want to know that?

"Happy birthday!"

Iris almost lost her balance and fell back down the stairs. Father John, Fred, Ginger, and Kayla were all waiting at the top of the stairs, shouting the words in unison.

"It's not my birthday," Iris said, blushing. "Not until tomorrow."

"You'll be working tomorrow," Ginger said, her wide smile squishing her freckled cheeks and making her green eyes twinkle. "So we're celebrating today."

"Besides, who says it's not your birthday?" Fred asked, his twinkling green eyes matching his twin sister's. "Your found day is tomorrow, but maybe your birthday really is today."

"Come on, let's eat while the food's hot," Father John interjected.

Kayla took Iris' hand, and this time Iris allowed the little girl to drag her into the kitchen. Eggs, pancakes, and bacon were all steaming hot and ready to eat.

"My favorites!" Iris exclaimed. "You really shouldn't have. Thank you, everyone."

"Thank Mr. and Mrs. Tumes," Father John said, his sparkling blue eyes showing only pleasure. "They brought the food this morning to make up for last night."

"Oh," Iris said, dropping her gaze to her plate. They already overpaid her; the food was unnecessary. And they talked to Father John. So why was he in such a good mood?

He didn't drop any hints throughout lunch, which Kayla dominated with her lively chatter, as usual, but he did pull her aside when Fred and Ginger started clearing the table. She followed him into the sanctuary, unsure of what to expect. He sat in the front pew and patted the seat beside him. She sat down, looking up at the organ behind the altar, its brass pipes extending all the way to the top of the vaulted ceiling. Ginger played the organ for services. Iris tried to learn, back when she was the youngest orphan, but she never could get a knack for it. Nobody taught Ginger. It was like she was one with the instrument, right from the first time she touched the keys.

"Eighteen years since you came here," Father John said with a sigh.

Iris nodded. She'd heard the story before, many times. It wasn't an unusual story. Father John opened the front doors of the church and found her in a basket on the steps, a note pinned to her blanket with her name and an apology.

"Which means you're nineteen or so," he added. "It's high time you got married, young lady."

She smiled and turned to look at him. "As if it's that easy."

He chuckled. "Just do me a favor and don't marry that Darius boy. He may be nice, but he doesn't have a lick of sense."

She blushed and dropped her gaze to her lap. "There's not much point in thinking about marriage right now, anyway, if war really is coming."

Father John sighed. "God help us all if it does. But," he said, his tone ticking up, "we're celebrating your birthday today, and I think it's time to give you this."

She looked over at him curiously as he reached into his cassock for an inner pocket. He muttered something under his breath, rummaging around, and switched hands to check the other pocket. His eyes lit up, and he withdrew a necklace, dangling it in front of her.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," she gasped, taking it carefully. It wasn't really much to look at, with its plain brass chain and small, circular glass stone, but she'd never had any jewelry before.

"I probably shouldn't have kept it from you for so long," he said slowly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at him. There was something complicated about his expression, the lines around his blue eyes indicating tension, though his smile still seemed genuine.

"It was left with you in the basket. The day I found you," he said.

She looked down at the necklace again, letting the chain fall over one hand as she fingered the simple glass stone with the other. "Oh."

"And it's magical."

She dropped it like it burned, the chain pooling around the stone on her lap. "Magical?" she whispered, looking up at him nervously.

"Now, Iris, you know magic isn't intrinsically bad," Father John said, picking up the chain and studying the glass stone. "It's a powerful tool, one that can be used for good or for evil. And you," he continued, undoing the clasp and draping the necklace around her neck, "will use it appropriately."

Her heart was pounding frantically as he clasped it behind her. She looked down at the glass stone resting on the faded blue cloth of her dress, and she didn't want it there.

"But - I don't know anything about magic, or how to use it, or - or anything," she stammered.

"Then it will just be a pretty necklace for a pretty young lady," Father John said. "Now, about last night."

Her heart sank. She reached up behind her to pull her hair out from under the chain, allowing the metal to relax and drop the glass stone further down her dress. "I'm sorry about that," she said softly, plucking at the collar of her dress and dropping the stone inside.

"Tumes told me all about it, and it wasn't your fault," Father John said, dropping a gentle, reassuring hand on her shoulder as she rearranged her collar to cover the chain.

"But you won't let me work there anymore," she summarized, unable to meet his eyes. She didn't know why she was hiding the necklace. It just felt like she should.

"I haven't decided yet," he said, squeezing her shoulder lightly and releasing it. "But that isn't for you to worry about today. If Kayla is to be believed, you're supposed to spend the rest of the day with her."

Iris smiled at the mention of Kayla. "Yes, I am."

"Well, go on, then," Father John said, patting her on the back.

She leaned over and gave him a hug. "Thanks for everything."

He returned the hug. "Thank you, Iris. Now, go enjoy your day off."

"I will." She released him and stood up, glancing back at the silent organ. Hurried little footsteps echoed through the quiet sanctuary.

"Iris!" Kayla said, running up and grabbing her hand. "Let's go!"

"Okay, I'm coming," Iris said, laughing. "Be back later," she called over her shoulder to Father John.

She followed Kayla out the front door and stopped. The sky was heavy with dark clouds. "Kayla, we can't go to the river today. It's going to rain anytime."

"But you promised," Kayla pouted.

Iris sighed. "Okay, let's grab our coats. But the minute it starts raining, we have to come back."

"Okay," Kayla said, brightening up again. She dragged Iris back inside and down the stairs to the basement, where Iris grabbed their coats and the wooden ladle.

"And we have to stop by the inn first," Iris reminded her.

"Yay!" Kayla exclaimed.

Iris was laughing again as they skipped down Main Street. Yes, skipped. Kayla wanted to skip, so skip they did, holding hands and trying to coordinate their movements so they didn't look quite so much like popcorn. It didn't work. Their cheeks were red, and they were both breathless when they walked into the inn.

"Iris! And is that Kayla?" Mr. Tumes called from behind the bar, a wide grin spreading across his round face. The tavern was mostly empty this time of day, with only a couple of regulars there. The seat beside the fireplace was empty.

"Yep!" Kayla responded, tugging Iris over to the bar. Iris lifted her up and set her onto a barstool.

"You look a bit too young for ale," Mr. Tumes said, his gray eyes twinkling as he scratched his chin. "What would you say to whiskey?"

"No," Kayla said, giggling.

Iris let herself in behind the bar, leaving Mr. Tumes to watch Kayla as she stepped into the kitchen. Mrs. Tumes was busy over the sink, finishing dishes from lunch.

"Hello, Mrs. Tumes," Iris said cheerfully. "Here's your ladle."

"Just drop it in the water there, that's a dear," Mrs. Tumes said, flashing her a smile.

"And I wanted to thank you for the food. You really didn't have to do that," Iris added.

"Oh, it was nothing," Mrs. Tumes said dismissively. "Tisn't as if anybody went without today. A couple of tenants checked out last night and this morning."

"Really?" Iris asked curiously. Saturday night and Sunday morning weren't typical check-out times.

Mrs. Tumes shrugged. "It's not my place to say, but good riddance. I don't care much for mages or people who won't tell me their name."

The mage and the stranger. Something cold and heavy settled in the pit of Iris' stomach.

You're going to the river tomorrow, right?

"Well, I'll be off. I promised Kayla we'd go to the river today."

"Today?" Mrs. Tumes exclaimed, looking over at Iris and frowning. "It's going to rain buckets anytime."

"I told Kayla that, but she wants to go anyway. Don't worry. We'll come back at the first drop of rain. Bye!" Iris slipped back out behind the bar, where Kayla was lying on the bar top, giggling as Mr. Tumes tickled her. "Come on, Kayla. If we don't want to get rained on, we need to go now."

They walked hand in hand back to the church, leaving Main Street to cut across the grass west of town toward the forest. A little further south, the soldiers' tents swayed in the rising wind. This wasn't a good idea. Iris knew this wasn't a good idea. The sky was darkening, the wind was picking up, moisture was in the air, and Kayla was oblivious to it all, chattering on excitedly about something Mr. Tumes told her. Iris led her onto the familiar path through the trees, only half listening. The weight in her stomach was getting heavier. Something was off. Something was wrong. They should go back. They shouldn't go to the river today.

You're going to the river tomorrow, right? Good.

The trees broke open after a while, revealing a wide clearing next to the slow-moving river. Kayla plopped down on the bank and patted the grass next to her. Iris sat down, forcing a smile to her face.

"I guess we can't name the clouds today, huh?" Kayla asked, tilting her head back to look up at the singular mass of gray above them.

"Not today," Iris agreed. One of Kayla's favorite games was naming individual white, fluffy clouds and saying what they looked like.

"Unless we came up with one big name," Kayla said, falling back on the grass.

Iris lay back next to her. "Like what?"

"Hm." Kayla fell silent, pondering the question deeply.

Iris stared up at the swirling shades of gray, lighter in some places, darker in others. The wind blew the grass flat around her, making the leaves rustle in the swaying trees. Her mind kept wandering to the stranger's words last night.

Don't. Don't tell anyone about me. Got it?

What was that supposed to mean? He wasn't invisible. Others around town saw him. He rented a room from Mr. and Mrs. Tumes.

He didn't give them his name, either.

Why was it so important for her to go to the river today? At this time?