"No! You're not understanding," Jamie tried to protest. Meanwhile, two ugly-looking soldiers swung the carriage door closed. "I can't abandon the Golden Fiddle!"

After Maria had posed her unexpected proposal, Jamie had stood frozen in disbelief. Time slipped by unnoticed to him, yet to Maria, it looked like minutes or hours. When reality finally sank in, it was too late to argue further. Maria had already made the decision for him.

Now, soldiers ushered him, leaving him no choice but to comply. He had only enough time to dash back to the tavern and grab a few supplies before getting back to the carriage.

"While I'm away, Thomas will be in charge," Jamie announced to his companions outside the Golden Fiddle. "Thomas, be wise and make good use of Eliza's help."

"Yes, sir," Thomas replied, standing tall. He kept an upright posture, and his head held high as if he were accepting the responsibility onto his shoulders.

"Take care of yourself," Eliza said softly. Her worry etched lines across her face as she clutched her apron.

"Don't forget you still owe me that promise," Camille chimed in.

"Return safely, chief," Bertram added, his large hand giving Jamie's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll handle everything here," Aldwin said confidently. The half-elf's usual playful demeanor was replaced with earnest seriousness. "And... thank you." His eyes reflected a complexity of emotions he struggled to express.

The rest of the group offered their goodbyes. Their voices overlapped as they voiced concern and support.

While no one was noticing, Jay took the chance to slip away unseen. With a flick of his tail, he darted into the carriage, hiding himself among the supplies.

"You're not going without me," the cat meowed as he tucked himself.

With little time left, Jamie climbed into the carriage beside Maria. He leaned out the window, casting a final glance at his companions gathered at the tavern's entrance.

"Take care, all of you," he called out.

The carriage swayed forward, the horses' hooves clattering against the cobblestones as they set off.

Two extra carriages filled with armored soldiers fell into formation behind them. The small convoy was riding its way through Hafenstadt's narrow streets toward the northern gate.

"It's been a while since we've departed through this gate," Jamie remembered aloud. His heart ached with the sudden separation from the life he'd built here.

A soft, familiar voice startled him from his reverie. "It's about time we had a change of scenery," Jay quipped, his whiskers twitching as he emerged.

Jamie jumped slightly, a hand moving instinctively toward his daggers. "I almost killed you," he whispered.

To Maria, who sat across from him, Jay's words were merely a series of meows.

She raised an eyebrow, observing the conversation. "Are you sure you want to bring your cat?" she asked, her tone a blend of concern and disapproval. "The journey might not be the safest."

"Hey! Missy, I'm not an animal," Jay protested between irritated meows.

Jamie glanced at Maria, a hint of amusement flickering across his face. "He's not a cat," he explained. "He's my guardian. Don't you have one?"

Maria's gaze softened as she considered his question. "I do," she admitted after a pause. "But she can't take physical form."

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"Well, this lunatic here can't return to his spectral form," Jamie remarked, lifting Jay by the neck.

"Hey! Hey! I'm not a lunatic! Watch where you're grabbing me!" Jay squirmed, his golden fur bristling as he dangled.

With a chuckle, Jamie set Jay down beside him. The cat settled with a huff, curling his tail around his paws. Outside the carriage window, the world passed by in a blur, the green and orange hues from the south fading and giving way to the brown tones of the center.

Jamie gazed out at the landscape, a mix of nostalgia and unease knotting in his stomach.

"The last time I traveled this way was with the bishop's entourage," he mentioned aloud.

Maria glanced at him but remained silent, her expression unreadable.

He sighed inwardly. 'To make matters worse, I'll have to face everything Jay messed up,' he thought, a hint of bitterness creeping in.

"Hey! That's true, but give me a break," Jay meowed beside him, his ears twitching.

Jamie rolled his eyes. 'You could at least pretend to be remorseful.'

The first hours of the journey were in an uncomfortable silence. Jamie sat with arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery. Being compelled into this situation left a sour taste; he resented the lack of agency, the feeling of being a pawn in a larger game.

Maria sat opposite him, her posture elegant yet tense. She, too, stared out the window, though her focus seemed distant. Something weighed on her mind, a burden Jamie couldn't understand.

Unbeknownst to him, Maria wrestled with her own inner turmoil. Her pride had been wounded. She had proposed the idea of marriage, and his response was to become frozen in confusion.

--

With such a small space inside the carriage, the two of them couldn't remain silent for very long.

"Stop sulking. I need you; it's part of our agreement," Maria remarked, her gaze fixed on Jamie.

He crossed his arms, a deep frown etching lines across his forehead. "Easy for you to say. You won't be the one suffering through this," Jamie retorted, his tone edged with bitterness.

Maria arched an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing. "I'm embarking on days of travel to an unfamiliar land to clean up the mess of someone who isn't even my uncle. Tell me more about your problems," she countered, staring at the bard.

Jamie met her gaze, frustration simmering beneath the surface. "At least your guardian wasn't a fool who got expelled from his own family and agreed to swap bodies to have someone else clean up his mess," he shot back.

From his perch on the carriage seat, Jay let out an indignant meow, not bothering to lift his head. "It wasn't exactly like that! You're degrading my name!" the cat protested, his tail flicking in annoyance.

"Didn't you say you wanted to find your sister?" Maria interjected, attempting to steer the conversation.

"Of course," Jamie conceded, his expression softening.

"Then this is your best chance. Who knows, she might have ended up in the body of one of his sisters," Maria explained, her tone pragmatic.

Jamie considered this, then sighed. "But your sister ended up in another family," he pointed out.

"Well," Maria hesitated, clearing her throat delicately. "I'm adopted into her family, so perhaps the magic didn't take that into account."

Feeling the sensitivity of the topic, Jamie fell silent. He glanced at her, noting the subtle tension in her posture. "I see," he said.

"It seems that the magic seeks out people who are similar or identical to your counterpart in this world," Maria continued. "So, there must be someone here who resembles your sister."

"Someone who resembles," Jay mused aloud. "I have two sisters. Do either of them remind you of yours?"

Jamie took another look into Jay's fragmented memories, yet the images were hazy and unclear. They were only shadows of faces from a childhood long forgotten. "The memories aren't helpful," he admitted with a sigh.

He turned his gaze to the window, watching as the scenery passed by.

"We've been traveling for days," Jamie remarked. "We're approaching the north."

In the corner of his eye, he noticed something delicate drifting from the sky. Snowflakes.

"How beautiful," Maria murmured, her breath fogging the glass as she leaned closer. The first snow danced in the air, blanketing the terrain ahead in a thin veil of white.

As they admired at the wintry landscape, a faint tremor ran through the ground. The horses neighed nervously, and the carriage shook.

"What was that?" Jamie asked, sitting up straighter.

Before they could react, the snow ahead of the convoy erupted. Bursting forth from beneath the icy crust, a monstrous creature emerged. A winged centipede, its segmented body glistening with frost, hundreds of legs churning the snow into a frenzy.

The creature lunged at the lead carriage, its mandibles snapping as it tore through wood and metal. Soldiers scrambled to defend themselves, unsheathing swords and raising shields against the onslaught.

Jay groaned, his ears flattening against his skull. "This is why I hate the North," he grumbled.

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