They arrived in Bellharbour mid-afternoon and went to the Wayman's house, where they were greeted by an overjoyed Martha. The housewife hugged them both, Niala's lasting a little bit longer, and ushered them in.

  It was when they both sat on the couch, next to each other, with Niala leaning on David, that they realized they hadn't told anyone outside of Riverwall about their relationship.

  They looked to Martha as one, only to find the woman grinning knowingly.

  “Oh, my dears! Don't make those faces! Everybody knows!”

  Niala's ears drooped. “Everybody?”

  Martha nodded. “Everybody! And I must tell you, I was pleasantly surprised, too! I was certain David would fail to see what a gem had landed on his lap!” She added with a smile.

  “But... who?”

  Martha sat down on the armchair facing them. “From Yrlemagne! Mimzy's daughter, as much as she whines and denounces her mother, just can't stop herself from telling her mom everything in her weekly letters.” The woman leaned forward, with a smile that pushed up her cheeks. “Everything.”

  Niala swallowed and, seeing Martha's winking eyebrows, began reddening as David coughed in his fist. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I'm sure she's kept some details out of her-”

  “Oh, I doubt it! But fret not! It's very normal for young people in love to have that much energy.” Martha said, whispering the last word, before leaning back into her chair, eyes looking up and into her memories. “Why, Luke and I, before I was pregnant with Annette, we practically only had three activities: Work, eat, and f-”

  “I see!” David interrupted, making Martha flinch as she returned to the present, her cheeks flushing, her smile having turned intimate.

  “I see...” He repeated, resettling himself, while Niala kept probing at how red she could turn. “Apart from our... intimacy, is there anything else Linzy has blabbered about?”

  Martha put a finger to her mouth, thinking. “She mentioned the shop was doing really well, and that you two had been hired by the town hall a few times. Oh! She also talked about that Liondo! And, oh, my saints, I got distracted, but, Niala dear! You look amazing! You were already very beautiful, but... has your bust enlarged?”

  Niala meeped and choked at the same time. “Pa-pardons?!”

  Martha cupped her own generous bosom, eyeing Niala's with an analytical eye. “You were already very ample, but I think all that training has pushed your assets up and out!”

  The catkin turned her head toward David, her eyes searching for something to latch on to, finding nothing but his stupid face nodding in agreement. She scowled and punched him in the flank. “David!”

  “What!?”

  “Help!”

  He tilted his head, looked between Martha and Niala's chests, before nodding resolutely. “You're bigger.”

  She slapped his shoulder. “Not that!”

  “With what then?!” He asked.

  “With... with...” She stammered, drawing a blank and curling up while crossing her arms over her breasts. “Forget it...”

  Her act would have been a lot more convincing if their link hadn't been spewing out a sense of pride and guilty happiness.

  Instead, he put an arm around his beautifully red girlfriend and pulled her in. He could just about see the corner of her lips tugging upward.

  Martha, observing the scene, was staring intently, a smile splitting her face, as she imagined what their children would look like.

  Luke was just as happy, and informed, as Martha when he got back home, and so were their kids, Samuel and Annette, though they hadn't been told the adult-only parts of Linzy's letters. Niala counted her blessings.

  They ended up staying in Bellharbour for a week, waiting to find a merchant ship that Luke approved of before they could depart for Longwater. There were a few faster options, but at least one of them had clearly been privateers, and the other two put them off through a combination of dispirited crew and dinghy decks.

  They used that time to visit Yrlemagne and Batty, later going on a shopping adventure, after David reminded Niala that she had hundreds of princes available.

  Niala still ended up spending sparingly, ending up with a few gifts, some exotic and rare herbs, and a few alchemical tools. They spent the rest of their free time helping the Waymans with their daily lives, and David even completed a few local Free Courier postings.

  Embarkation day eventually arrived, and after a farewell from their friends in town, the merchant galleon, named the Paid-of Debt, was tugged out of the harbour and out to sea.

  Niala watched with gleeful curiosity as the crew got to their stations and began waking up their ship.

  The three large sails, woven with mana-conductive wire, unfurled and were set. The thick mana-cables at their base were connected to the ship's network, and, unseen from the deck, the ship-sized mana hearth began glowing as it processed and compressed the ambient mana to a usable density and purity.

  The ship's screws began churning through the water, slowly, and then speeding up as their magitech turbines spun up.

  Within half a bell, the Paid-of Debt was up to its coastal cruising speed, a fresh, salty breeze blowing across its deck.

  And, when the captain called stand-down, with half the crew now off-duty, the reins on Niala were removed, and she was off to the race.

  Within a few bells, even the gruffest of sea dogs had succumbed to the hyper-excited catkin throwing more questions at them than a port official doing an audit.

  David guessed that what had really won them over was the mutual exchange of new curse words.

  Who knew that squids had anuses, or that Saint Miremor had really shiny genitals?

  David didn't. Not until now.

  Four days later, they were tugged into Longwater's civilian port, with Niala at the ship's bow, taking in the sight.

  Where Bellharbour served as a sort of nexus for the northernmost region of the Kingdom, a point from which goods and people passed through to get anywhere, Longwater served as a giant supply depot and source of entertainment.

  It was a town split in two, with the civilian part along the south bank of the Long River, and the military port and installations to the north. The fleets, which patrolled the upper half of the Inner Sea, were anchored here and provided the town with an unending trade in shore leaves and military supplies.

  Accordingly, the number of bars, gambling dens and “nightclubs” available bordered on the absurd, with a few roads hosting nothing but these types of businesses.

  Niala told David that she had passed through, a few years ago, during her self-imposed exile, but had gone by land and hadn't stayed more than a night. She recalled with a shiver that drunk sailors had accosted her half a dozen times, one even getting a bit violent, before the town watch took notice and hauled him to a probably overpopulated holding cell to sober up.

  The way he'd gotten a step closer to her after she'd told her story made the back of her neck warm up.

  They didn't stick around long this time either, buying tickets for the Norso rail line to carry them all the way south, through the Carve, that man-made valley wrenched from the Spireridges that granted a quick and safe route into the larger southern part of the kingdom. Although they could have gone by sea once more, the detour boats had to take around the Spireridge cape would have taken longer than a railcar through the Carve.

  They went for a bit of luxury and rented a private cabin with full service. Since the ride would take a full week, with two stops along the way, neither of them wanted to be cooped up in the passenger cars for that long.

  Two days later, the Norso railcar's engine was roused to life, its specialized mana-heart being fed the unprocessed mana from the rails, put there by large mana-gathering towers, installed at regular intervals along the route.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The mana, refined and condensed, just as it had been by the ship's heart, pooled within the railcar's mana-banks. The operators watched the gauge slowly rise until it reached the minimum amount required, and the circuits were engaged.

  With a whine, the metres-long turbine installed at the front of the engine began spinning. The air whistled as it got sucked in, compressed, and fed into rows of pneumatic pistons. Once the pressure built up enough, the engine brakes were released, and the car lurched forward, its metal wheels spinning once, twice, before finding traction. Small sparks arced where the mana-conducting wheels touched the charged rails.

  Slowly, and then picking up speed, the railcar pulled out of the Longwater terminus station and began its trek south to Majestic.

  Niala was in her usual spot, next to David and doing her best to imprint the shape of her body onto him.

  David was, as usual, thoroughly enjoying his current life. He was beginning to realize that everybody should have a Niala in their life. Not this one, though. This one was his Niala.

  A burst of love and desire to protect came through their link, making her bend her head backward so she could meet his eyes. He hunched forward, giving her a light kiss on her smiling lips, which she accepted while closing her eyes.

  The scenery outside passed by. They were quite a ways south, and the weather this close to the Spireridge was much milder; so much so that snow was all but gone, and some daring trees were already budding.

  And south of the Spireridges, the hot, humid climate of the sub-tropical southern reaches of the kingdom would welcome them within its sweaty embrace.

  At least, this early in the season, it wouldn't be that hot.

  “Kitten?” David asked.

  “Hmmm?”

  “Can you tell me about Majestic?”

  Niala's ears wiggled. “Did you never visit? I thought you'd gone all over the kingdom as a courier?”

  He stroked her hair. “I went a few times, but I never stayed more than a few days, and only on postings. It's the biggest city in the realm; my time there barely counts as a visit.”

  She untangled from him and straightened up, resting against the bench, but still leaning on him.

  “I wish I could tell you all about the hidden secrets of the town, but, to be honest, I only ever really stuck to a few areas.”

  “Which ones?”

  “Hmm, the High district, where all the rich and nobles live, was one. Mostly because that's where my father dragged me to attend the balls and receptions, and to meet the important people.” She shivered as she spoke those words.

  “Then, the main market square. I loved going there with my sister, always looking for new herbs and tools, obscure books, things that came from across the sea.” She reminisced. “Always with some of my father's house guards accompanying us, of course. Couldn't set a foot outside the house without a guard.”

  “Your father just wanted you safe.”

  She sighed. “I know, but try telling that to twelve-year-old Niala, who just wants to go explore. But no, too dangerous to go into the common district, or, Saints forbid, the labourer's town.”

  David hummed. “I'm guessing that's the poor people's district?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, but calling it poor wasn't Majestic-y, so it was the Labourer's town. Made it sound grander than it was.”

  “Is it really bad? I've seen some hovels in my travels...”

  She swayed her head, pursing her lips. “It wasn't that bad. The city lords would never let Majestic, the greatest city in the world, have deep stains. They had meal stations giving out food, so nobody starved, and public healing clinics funded by donations. The water came from the same aqueduct as the High district, so it was clean.”

  “The nobles pay for all that?”

  She smiled. “I told you. It's Majestic. The city has a reputation to uphold. They don't like it, Saints know I heard a lifetime's worth of lamenting about the charity taxes at all the receptions, but they'd rather pay up than have a third of the town stink up the rest of it.”

  “Self-serving selflessness,” David said.

  “Pretty much! My father used to say that was the only safe bet in any negotiations! He...” She stopped and looked at him.

  “What?”

  “You did it again. You quoted my father without knowing.” She said, narrowing her eyes, ears flat.

  “Oh? What were his words, exactly?”

  She kept staring, before giving up. “He said; In negotiations, everything is a lie, except for one thing: self-serving benefits. He'd often pair that with another of his tenets: When you think you know what someone wants, you don't know what they truly want. Stop talking, and let them tell you.”

  “Your father sounds more like a merchant than an alchemist,” David said.

  Niala spun on the bench, staring him in the eyes. “I know, right?! If he wasn't my father, I'd call him a sleazy purse-rubbing coin-licker.” She slumped back into the bench. “But he's my father, so I don't.”

  “Maybe you could take that as a lesson? Even the lickiest of merchants can be good people?” David proposed.

  She shook her head. “No. Merchants are all greedy, and you can't trust them! That's why I don't want to be one! I just want to help people with my potions!”

  David tilted his head. “So, when I caught you playing with that pile of princes the other day, after Linzy let you know that you were rich, that was...?”

  She frowned. “A passing insanity! I'm not greedy!”

  He gently poked her. “Just admit it. You enjoy having money, just like everyone else.”

  Her ear wiggled. “Well.. yeah, sure! Having money is nice! You can buy things with it. I just don't want to steal it from people! Fair trade, that's all.”

  “Nobody's stealing money. All your customers are giving it to you willingly, you know?”

  Niala looked at him before burying her face in her hands. “I feel like we're lying to them...”

  He gave her a kiss on her head. “Just to make sure. You've seen the potions that other alchemists sell, right?”

  She let her hands fall to her lap and looked at him. “Sure?”

  “No, I mean, have you seen their effect?” He precised.

  “I mean... I've seen my father's potions' effects, and... I've seen a few low-grade mundane potions, like energizers and pain relief. Why?” She asked, ears lopsided.

  He tilted his head. “I think you have a really skewed perception of how effective potions are.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Hmm, let's take an energizer. What kind of effect do yours have?”

  She looked to the ceiling, thinking back. “They make you alert, waking you up, as if you'd just taken a good nap and a small meal. Fights off a poor or too short night's sleep.”

  David nodded. “And what does a regular energizer from a regular alchemist do?”

  Her brows furrowed. “The same, I guess? Maybe tasting a little bit worse, or acting a bit slower...”

  “Oh, kitten,” he said, planting a kiss on her cute little oblivious forehead.

  “I've drunk many energizers before, and I bought from reputable, well-known alchemists, from their best stock. All they ever did for me was keep me from falling asleep. They give a sort of frantic energy, jitters that won't go away. None of them ever made me feel like I'd just slept. Not like yours do.”

  Niala scratched her head. “Doesn't that mean you were just drinking poor-quality potions?”

  David shook his head. “No. They were common or high grades.”

  “What? But my energizers are high grade!” She exclaimed.

  He dipped his head. “Exactly. I never understood why your potions were the same grade as those other ones.”

  Her ears wiggled. “That's... that's because the grade isn't entirely based upon a potion's effect. According to the Alchemist Guild chart, a potion's grade is determined by its effect, side effects, time to effect, taste, and purity.”

  David nodded, letting Teacher-Niala continue.

  “So, if your potion scores high in a few of them, but not in others, you can get grades that are a bit confusing. For example, a fast-acting, powerful potion that makes your skin turn red and itchy would never be higher than a common grade, but a weak, slow-acting potion without any side effects could be considered a high grade.”

  “That sounds a bit complicated and misleading.”

  Niala nodded. “It can be! But that's why alchemists are required by law to tell you the composition of their potion's grade if you ask them! But, of course, nobody asks. They all just look at a potion's overall grade. That's usually fine, because most alchemists follow the guild's guidelines, so high-grade potions will have similar characteristics.”

  “Right. And, according to the Guild's charts, your potions are high grade.”

  Niala nodded.

  He leaned back into the bench. “When we get to Majestic, we're going to go to the Alchemist Guild and have them appraise your potions.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  “You'll see.”

  She squinted, the tip of her tail swishing, but gave up and reassumed her role as a David Warmer, cuddling up with him.

  And David, again, greatly enjoyed his life.