"Are you comfortable leaving your daughter alone in the presence of strangers?" Li Hua asked as she steered the horses, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.
"Aside from fear of incompetence," I replied quietly, watching the plants blur past the carriage, "you are what worries me the most."
"So your answer is no?" she asked.
I didn't respond.
The wheels creaked softly. The forest had thinned into open land, the air lighter, but the silence felt heavier.
"How did you change so much?" I asked after a while.
"I grew up," she replied simply.
Then, after a pause, she added, "And what are those butterflies around her?"
I hesitated. She had clearly avoided my question.
"Is Victoria going to be alright?" I asked, watching a bird crash clumsily into a tree.
She was quiet for a moment.
"She should be."
"A guard," I said finally. A vague answer. I didn't intend to elaborate.
"Hm. A demon, then. I wonder if I know them," she murmured.
I turned sharply to look at her.
Before I could say anything, I felt it.
"We have someone approaching from behind," I said.
A moment later, a horse drew up beside us. The rider signalled for us to stop.
Soon we were standing by the roadside, surrounded by men in uniform.
"We detected a disturbance in the forest earlier," one of the officers said. "Did you happen to witness anything unusual?" His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, eyes scanning our faces.
"There was a cult attack," Heiwa replied calmly, stepping forward and identifying herself. "We managed to escape, but part of the forest was damaged."
Li Hua remained silent.
"Madam," one of the officers said, turning to me after our eyes met. "Do you have anything to add?" he asked, clearing his throat, his hand returning to his sword.
I felt my throat tighten.
"I— It's as Miss Heiwa reported," I said, forcing myself to breathe steadily.
He studied me for a moment, clearly unconvinced, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Victoria.
Throughout all of this, Li Hua was ignored.
"Mama, you're holding too tight," Zinnia whispered, squirming in my arms.
"Sorry, dear," I said, loosening my grip and rubbing her head.
Victoria stood beside Heiwa, her expression unreadable.
"Very well," the officer said at last. "Take care, Miss Liúlóng."
They mounted their horses and rode off. He turned to his colleague and seemed to say something, causing him to glance back at us as they rode.
The breeze passed through the space they left behind.
"We should continue," Li Hua said, already climbing back onto the carriage.
No one objected.
"Are you alright?" she asked again once we were moving.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I replied, not meeting her eyes.
"Hm," she murmured, and let the matter drop.
"It's Buné," I said quietly, unsure how else to express my thanks. "Their family handled it."
"Buné? I don't think I know that one," she said, shifting slightly to get comfortable.
Then she glanced at Zinnia.
"By the way… where did her butterflies go when we stepped down?"
"They stayed," I replied. "The rest of us just didn't move."
She hummed, adjusting her dress as the carriage jolted over uneven ground. Then she looked up at the sky and sighed.
"I'm a little hungry," she complained.
No one answered.
The road stretched forward.
And everything felt familiar.
But wrong.