ㅤ
“Because you died, Daddy.”
ㅤ
She had said it quietly. I might have convinced myself I'd misheard if she hadn't begun crying immediately afterward.
ㅤ
I held her while she tried to wipe her face on Sir Flopsy's remaining ear. The handkerchief I'd given her was still on the desk, but she wouldn't let go of me or the rabbit.
ㅤ
“You don't have to explain everything tonight.”
ㅤ
“Mommy said I had to tell you.”
ㅤ
“You did. I heard you.”
ㅤ
“Are you going to go away again?”
ㅤ
I didn't know how I'd died, when it had happened, or whether the future she'd come from could still happen. I couldn't promise her an answer to any of those questions.
ㅤ
“I'm here tonight,” I said. “And I'm going to do what I can to stay here.”
ㅤ
She pulled back to study my face. “Really?”
ㅤ
“Really.”
ㅤ
Eventually her grip loosened. By then, the water on the stove had cooled, and my shoulder ached from holding her. She fell asleep before I could ask anything else.
ㅤ
Getting her onto the bed took several attempts. Each time I lowered her, her arms tightened around my neck. I waited until her breathing settled, slid a pillow beneath her head, and retrieved Sir Flopsy when he fell to the floor.
ㅤ
I ate the remaining stew cold at my desk and opened the notebook where I'd recorded what I remembered of The Crown Beneath the Ashes.
ㅤ
Most entries concerned events I wanted to avoid: the imperial reception, the succession dispute, the protagonist's arrival, and disasters that would make ordinary employment difficult for anyone nearby. Evelyn von Rosenfeld's name appeared in several places. A duke's daughter and gifted fire mage, she'd eventually opposed the original protagonist. I remembered her battles and her family's political decisions. My notes on her academy years occupied less than a page.
ㅤ
Until tonight, that had seemed sufficient.
ㅤ
I turned to a clean page and recorded what the girl had told me, leaving spaces where her answers were unclear. I added the date stamped on the coins and copied the letter's surviving lines.
ㅤ
Find Adrian.
Academy.
Do not leave her alone.
Trust him.
ㅤ
I paused over the last instruction. Was Evelyn telling her daughter to trust me, or had she expected me to read it? The surrounding ink was too damaged to tell. I set the letter aside to dry.
ㅤ
Someone knocked.
ㅤ
“Adrian? It's Marcus.”
ㅤ
The girl stirred but didn't wake. “Keep your voice down,” I said through the door.
ㅤ
“Why?”
ㅤ
“Please.”
ㅤ
I opened it partway. Marcus stood in the corridor with a book under one arm and a paper bag in his hand.
ㅤ
“Found Veyr. Oren put it under my training gear. Don't ask.”
ㅤ
He handed me the book. At least one of my problems had a straightforward solution.
ㅤ
“Thanks. I'll return it after Halden's test.”
ㅤ
“You missed dinner, so I brought you something.”
ㅤ
“I ate.”
ㅤ
His gaze moved past my shoulder. “With someone?”
ㅤ
I shifted in the doorway. He lowered his voice.
ㅤ
“Adrian. Is there a person in your room?”
ㅤ
The mattress creaked behind me.
ㅤ
“Daddy?”
ㅤ
Marcus stopped looking around me. “Was that a child?”
ㅤ
“Yes.”
ㅤ
“Why did she call you Daddy?”
ㅤ
“Come inside. Quietly.”
ㅤ
He entered, still holding the food bag. The girl sat on my bed rubbing one eye, her hair loose and Sir Flopsy caught beneath the blanket. When she saw him, she brightened.
ㅤ
“Uncle Marcus!”
ㅤ
He glanced behind himself. “Me?”
ㅤ
She nodded.
ㅤ
“I've never seen her before,” he told me.
ㅤ
“I know.”
ㅤ
“Then how does she know my name?”
ㅤ
I shut the door. “She says she's from the future.”
ㅤ
He waited for the explanation I didn't have.
ㅤ
“You're serious.”
ㅤ
“I've had a long evening.”
ㅤ
Marcus sat in the desk chair. The girl climbed down and presented her rabbit.
ㅤ
“This is Sir Flopsy. He had an operation.”
ㅤ
Marcus examined the repaired ear. “Looks like he recovered.”
ㅤ
“Daddy fixed him.”
ㅤ
Marcus looked at the stitching, then at me.
ㅤ
“Don't start,” I said.
ㅤ
“I was going to ask for water.”
ㅤ
I found him a cup.
ㅤ
Explaining everything took several minutes. Marcus listened, inspected the coins under the lamp, and compared their dates.
ㅤ
“Seven years?”
ㅤ
“According to the minting.”
ㅤ
“Could be counterfeit.”
ㅤ
“I thought so too.”
ㅤ
He read the letter carefully before laying it flat on the desk. “Does she have somewhere to go?”
ㅤ
“That's what I'm trying to work out.”
ㅤ
“Have you asked the dormitory supervisor?”
ㅤ
“Not yet.”
ㅤ
“Adrian.”
ㅤ
“I know the rules.”
ㅤ
Children couldn't stay overnight in student residences without authorization. I risked a fine or losing my room, neither of which I could afford. She also had no identification I could present without inviting questions I wasn't ready to answer.
ㅤ
“Could you say she's your younger sister?” Marcus asked.
ㅤ
“She calls me Daddy whenever she wakes up.”
ㅤ
“Right.” He glanced toward her. “What's her name?”
ㅤ
She hugged Sir Flopsy. “Mommy said not to tell everything at once.”
ㅤ
“Fair enough,” Marcus said.
ㅤ
He offered her the paper bag. “There's bread in here. Want some?”
ㅤ
“I already ate.”
ㅤ
“Good. Your father hasn't been eating properly.”
ㅤ
“I had stew,” I said.
ㅤ
“You had a bowl of stew. There's a difference.”
ㅤ
He left the bag on my desk. The girl watched him with interest.
ㅤ
“You always bring Daddy food. And you say he needs to go outside.”
ㅤ
Marcus turned to me. “I like this child.”
ㅤ
“She knows where I hide my savings too. Don't encourage her.”
ㅤ
He laughed, then asked what else she'd known. I told him about the winter coat and the blue book. He knew neither hiding place. He asked when I'd first seen her, whether anyone could have entered my room, and how long she'd been alone before knocking. I answered as best I could.
ㅤ
He didn't claim to believe in time travel. He didn't suggest taking her to an instructor for testing, either.
ㅤ
“What do you want to do tonight?”
ㅤ
“Let her sleep. Find somewhere legal for her tomorrow.”
ㅤ
“The guesthouse near the western gate might take you. My cousin stayed there with her parents.”
ㅤ
“Is it academy property?”
ㅤ
“Partly. They rent rooms to visiting researchers and families. Ask the manager.”
ㅤ
I wrote down the location.
ㅤ
“I'll go in the morning.”
ㅤ
“Want me to come?”
ㅤ
“You have training.”
ㅤ
“I can miss one session.”
ㅤ
“If they won't give us a room, I'll ask you to help find somewhere else.”
ㅤ
He nodded, though he didn't look satisfied.
ㅤ
When he stood, the girl hurried after him. “Uncle Marcus? Are you coming back?”
ㅤ
“Probably tomorrow. Your dad still has my book.”
ㅤ
She studied Veyr's volume. “It's boring.”
ㅤ
Marcus glanced at me. “You've been reading Veyr to your daughter?”
ㅤ
“I haven't read anything to her.”
ㅤ
“Oh. She's right, though.”
ㅤ
She held out Sir Flopsy for a pat. Marcus obliged, then lowered his voice at the door.
ㅤ
“If she needs anything tonight, knock on my room. Don't decide you're bothering me.”
ㅤ
“I will.”
ㅤ
“And eat the bread.”
ㅤ
After he left, I locked the door and put his book beside my notebook.
ㅤ
“Is Uncle Marcus mad?” the girl asked.
ㅤ
“No. He's trying to understand what's happening. So am I.”
ㅤ
She reached for my hand. “Can I sleep now?”
ㅤ
I helped her wash her face, found a clean towel for her hands, and cleared my notes off the bed. Sir Flopsy went beneath the blanket with her. I pulled my chair close enough for her to see me.
ㅤ
“Daddy? Are you going to meet Mommy tomorrow?”
ㅤ
“I don't know.” Evelyn's residence was on the other side of the academy, far from my usual routes.
ㅤ
“She needs you.”
ㅤ
“Did she tell you to find her too?”
ㅤ
The girl shook her head.
ㅤ
“Why not?”
ㅤ
“Mommy said she wouldn't believe me.”
ㅤ
I looked at the letter. I'd needed coins from the future and knowledge of my private savings before considering the girl's story. Evelyn had even less reason to trust me.
ㅤ
“Did she tell you what I should say? Give you anything for her?”
ㅤ
“No. She said you'd know what to do.”
ㅤ
“That was generous of her.”
ㅤ
“Mommy says you're good at fixing things.”
ㅤ
“Your rabbit, apparently.”
ㅤ
“And the kitchen shelf.”
ㅤ
“Was that difficult?”
ㅤ
“You said a bad word.”
ㅤ
I covered my mouth before I laughed loudly enough to disturb the neighboring rooms.
ㅤ
When her breathing slowed, I returned to Veyr. Marcus had marked several passages in the fourth chapter. His diagrams were untidy but useful. I compared them with my library notes, then closed the book.
ㅤ
The examination was next week. The reception was in four days. Tomorrow I needed to ask a guesthouse manager whether I could rent a room for a child whose name I couldn't provide.
ㅤ
I opened my expense notebook. I could afford a few nights somewhere modest if I stopped pretending I'd replace my boots before winter. The future coins were worth more, but spending them meant handing somebody an impossible date. I wrapped them in the dry handkerchief and put them away.
ㅤ
On a new page, I wrote:
ㅤ
Guesthouse. Food. Clothes. Find out what happened.
ㅤ
I left room beneath the last item.
ㅤ
The girl rustled in bed. She'd kicked off part of the blanket, and Sir Flopsy was on the floor again. I tucked her in and placed him between her and the wall.
ㅤ
She reached for his repaired ear without opening her eyes.
ㅤ
“Daddy?”
ㅤ
“I'm here.”
ㅤ
I stayed until she was quiet, then returned to the desk and added one more line.
ㅤ
Keep her safe.