Thankfully, Jane sprinted through the gates just before they closed. She continued her frantic run down the road filled with other refugees, ignoring the looks she got. In fact, she only stopped when she came to a crossroads. She paused, breathing heavily, as she weighed in her mind the options before her. As she thought, a memory came to the surface. Anya had once mentioned she had relatives that ran a dairy farm just outside the town of Fairfield. Jane should be able to reach Fairfield on foot, as it was close by. Surely Anya’s relatives would help her.
Her decision made, Jane selected the road that led to Fairfield. Unfortunately, the road went through the woods, which were eerie and threatening at night. Jane was the lone person on the road, making her unease rise. There could be rebels hiding in the bushes and trees. They would grab her before she even saw them. Jane touched the amulet.
“Protect me,” she whispered. There was a soft flare of white light. Jane inspected herself. Nothing seemed to have changed. Hopefully, it was just something she couldn’t see at the moment, rather than the amulet failing to work.
The sun was beginning to rise by the time Jane reached the dairy farm. Every inch of her bone-weary, she slogged her way to the front door of the farmhouse and knocked. After a few moments, a middle-aged blond-haired man opened the door.
“What?” he growled. Jane swallowed.
“I seek shelter,” she said in a quavering voice. The man’s gaze landed on the amulet around her neck. His eyes widened.
“That is the crest of my wife’s family. And the magic from it is that of my niece.”
“Anya gave me the amulet to protect me,” Jane explained. The man opened the door fully and stood to the side, allowing Jane to come in.
“You may step inside,” he told her. Jane walked in. The man closed the door behind her. “Come with me.” Jane silently followed the man through the house and into a kitchen, where a middle-aged blonde woman was cooking something. The woman looked over. She was beautiful, though not quite as comely as Anya. The familial resemblance still shone, however. “Delilah, this girl has come with an amulet spelled with protective magic by Anya and bearing your family crest.” The woman, Delilah, looked over.
“Yes. She has.” Delilah put out the fire and sat at the kitchen table. The man gestured for Jane to sit. She did so. The man sat as well. “I am going to place a compulsion upon you to only speak the truth. You will be unable to say any lies, even lies of omission. Is that all right?”
“Yes,” Jane said. Delilah waved her hand.
“Explain yourself,” she said. Jane began to tell her story, starting with when Anya gave Prince Jasper the amulet. The words spilled from her mouth in a torrent. Finally, she finished and waited for Delilah and her husband to comment on what she had said.
“It is not safe to travel yet. Once it is, we shall accompany you to Wind’s Grove, where Anya has fled to,” Delilah’s husband said after a moment. “Until then, we shall feed, house, and clothe you. In exchange, you will work on the farm as a milkmaid.”
“Thank you,” Jane murmured. “May- may I ask why? Are you Royalists?”
“Like most witch folk, we care not who sits on the throne. We care only for our people. Anya has determined you are worthy of our protection. As such, the protection we would give to a fellow witch stock extends to you.”
“O-oh.”
“Carlisle, I think her cover should be that she is our daughter,” Delilah suggested. Her husband, Carlisle, nodded.
“I agree.”
“Will your neighbors not question the sudden appearance of a teenaged daughter?” Jane asked.
“Most will not. The folk in Fairfield mind their own business. The few that do ask will be told that you were living at the ancestral home to learn to control your magic,” Carlisle replied. “It is helpful that the amulet gave you yellow hair. You look like a witch girl.”
Jane tried to hide her surprise. The second time the amulet transformed her must have been to make her blonde. After all, even the rampaging rebels would shy away from targeting a visible witch.
“From now until you are returned to your true form, you are Jane Hearthstone,” Carlisle decreed. “You will be addressed as such and respond as such. You will call me father and Delilah mother. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Jane said. Carlisle raised an eyebrow at her. “…Father,” she added timidly. Carlisle nodded, satisfied.
“Delilah, get our daughter ready for the day.”
“Of course.” Delilah got up from the table. She gestured for Jane to follow. Jane followed Delilah up to the second floor of the farmhouse, into what seemed to be a guest room. “This will be your room,” Delilah said. Jane nodded. “You may wash yourself while I find you some new clothes and make a potion to chase your tiredness away. After all, to keep up appearances, you will have to be working like normal today, not sleeping off your escape from the palace.”
“Yes, mother,” Jane said. Delilah beamed at her, then left, closing the door behind her. Jane used the washbasin in the room to clean herself as best she could. Delilah came soon after with a clean, but simple gown. She helped Jane get dressed and brush and braid her hair.
“You are newly a girl, so I will assist you in getting ready for now. By the end of the week, I expect you to be self-sufficient.”
“Yes, mother,” Jane said. Delilah sighed. She kissed Jane’s cheek.
“I am happy to have a daughter, even under these circumstances. Carlisle and I have struggled to bear children. It is common in witch stock. Since we have no children of our own, this gown I magicked to fit you. We will have to go into town today to get you more clothes.” Delilah handed Jane a glass of brown liquid. “Drink.” Jane did as she was told. Immediately, she felt as though she’d had a full night of sleep. “You are awake now?”
“Yes, mother.”
“Good. We will go downstairs and fetch your father. With what happened, I feel we will be safer if he comes into town with us.”
“I agree,” Jane said. Delilah finished braiding her hair. The woman and girl then left the guest room and went downstairs. Jane came to a stop, however, when she saw Carlisle speaking with a man. The man was...