Toymaker

Chapter 10

Idana woke in the early hours of the morning, turned onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of her small dormitory room. Her entire body was buzzing with nervous energy and a mix of excitement.

Today was going to be the day!

She'd already calculated what needed to be done and triple-checked the formulas. She'd tested her changes to the spell and knew it would go off without a hitch.

There was naught else to do except go ahead with the plan: she and Laina would meet at The Thirsty Hog. They would don dark gear which would make it hard for them to be seen. Then she and Laina would sneak inside the guardhouse during the shift change through the use of the invisibility spell. Laina would be reunited with her son, they'd talk for a few minutes and then the two of them would creep out with no-one the wiser.

Honestly, it was the perfect plan.

Of course, that didn't mean Idana didn't have a backup or two. Every great idea came with a contingency or two. And when she had heard Anais would be leaving for Everrun with the Crown Prince, Idana had scrambled to accommodate for the change in her perfectly laid plans. In the end, Idana had decided to use illusionary glamours to disguise both her and Laina as guards if she couldn't maintain the invisibility spell.

The plan wasn't perfect. Not by a long shot. But it needn't be. All that mattered was it was open to improvisation. And that would have to be good enough. Especially considering security had been tightened after Idana's stunt during the summer.

Closing her eyes, Idana tried to go back to sleep and calm her racing thoughts. But as she tossed and turned for the next thirty minutes, Idana realised it was impossible. There were too many things that were on her mind as she considered one scenario after another.

The much-needed rest she sought was out of reach.

Begrudgingly Idana got out of bed. If she couldn't sleep, she would simply have to work on something else.

Maybe she ought to pen a response to Lacet? See how he was faring? It had been two weeks since she had received word from him via his owl familiar and had yet to send a reply.

Stifling a yawn, Idana padded over to her desk and sat down. She pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and after giving her first words considerable thought, finally set pen to paper.

Her first letter proved to be far too long, peppered with far too many questions on how Lacet was enjoying his time away from Wyndhaven. It was filled with too much nostalgia and a yearning for what had been before.

Sappy. That was it. And she didn't want Lacet to know she was feeling too homesick.

The second letter was too formal and matter-of-fact. Beyond that, she had made a passing mention on her intentions to visit Emeret. Though it was doubtful Min would be captured, there were a few things that would be better left unsaid. What she was doing carried risk, Idana knew that now. And she couldn't afford a slip of the tongue to sabotage her carefully curated plans. Nor serve as a distraction from Lacet's secret mission.

So, after burning her second letter with magic, Idana started afresh on the third. Through sheer force of will, she kept her sentences short instead of their usual rambling length. The questions she inserted were polite: not too prying but adequate enough to show her interest.

Once she was finished, Idana read over the letter. Frowning, she scrunched it up and tossed it onto the ground behind her. Goddess, that had to be the worst letter she had ever written. It didn't even sound like her. Rather, the lines felt stilted, without their usual warmth.

The sun was creeping up past the horizon when Idana finally leaned back into her chair and stretched. Her fourth letter sat complete on the desk. Though it was smudged in a few places with certain words crossed out, the words contained within were satisfactorily her own.