Love in a tarven

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be immensely blessed with generational riches, so much so that you go through your day without a worry in the world?

Well, I wonder about that a lot, and I’d learnt early enough that that's a life that'll remain a fantasy if I can't make the hard decisions.

That should explain why I was writing down my very illegal potion ledger in the Aethelgard royal library—the biggest library in the entire kingdom, with the most innocent smile on my face.

Then the door slammed open. I didn't flinch. Instead, I kept writing. Making a mistake now might be dreadful.

“Elowen Riverleaf!” The library Head and my boss, Master Vane, practically growled as he stomped into the hall with a fine silk robe draped around his shoulders and his stern facial expression.

Behind him, four heavy, iron-clad Royal Guards fanned out.

I turned and slipped the ledger into my bag.

“If it isn't my favorite master,” I smiled. “What brings you here on a Tuesday?”

“Oh, save the theatrics, girl! I know what you've been up to!” he said sharply, his face turning a furious shade of purple.

“If this is about the misplaced star-charts in the East Wing, I’ve already sorted them by lunar phase,” I responded immediately, offering a sad, innocent look.

“Have you gone mad?!” He yelled loud enough for other attendants to gather around, and my pulse spiked. “The crown has received an anonymous tip! Unregistered potion-brewing! Theft of sacred botanical texts!” He took a sharp, exhausted breath. “All this under my so-called watchful eye!”

“Don't beat yourself up. You are too old to see everything,” I smiled.

“Guards!!” he yelled, gesturing wildly. “Seize her!”

No. This can't be happening. I endured this old man's sniggering and yelling for five years so I could save up enough to get a place to start over with my brother. A little accusation wasn't going to change that, but if they dragged me to the dungeons Kaelen would starve.

“Under what authority do you propose to seize me?” I asked firmly.

“The King's!” he sneered. "You're fired, Riverleaf. Effective immediately. The guards will escort you out, assuming they don't drag you straight to the royal dungeons first.”

Oh, shit.

As the guards took two steps forward, closing the distance, I knew a simple trick wouldn't buy me enough time. Instead of targeting them, I tapped my heel against the hearth and channeled a raw acceleration spell directly into my own limbs.

In one fluid motion, I vaulted the desk, snatched Master Vane’s heavy bag of monthly gold coins straight off his counter, and sprinted for the exit. I didn't have time to loot the rest of his desk—the guards recovered too fast, armor clanking violently behind me.

“Get her!!” Vane shrieked, his voice cracking as I slammed through the heavy rear oak doors. “She's stealing!”

“Consider it my severance package!” I yelled on my way out.

I ran as fast as I could, breath burning in my lungs, and only slowed down when I reached a dark, hollow alley—the one place these soldiers never searched.

I stood in the shadow of the damp stone wall, my hands shaking violently as I counted the coins. It wasn't the fortune I’d spent five years dreaming of, but with the gold from Vane’s bag and my stolen spellbook, it was enough to leave this wretched city behind.

I stormed into my quarters in the slums and saw my little brother, Kaelen, hiding under the wooden table, scrubbing a stubborn stain on the floor.

His face lit up immediately when he spotted me.

“Elowen!” He practically jumped out from under the table to hug me. “You're back early.”

“About that.” I crouched down so our eyes could meet. “Remember that place I told you about? The abandoned building in Oakhaven Town?”

“Yeah,” his eyes narrowed instantly.

“We're finally going to live there,” I smiled, waiting for his reaction.

“You've said that like a thousand times since the moment you spotted it last month,” he said.

“Well, that was cold,” I replied, standing up fully.

“Regardless, pack your things. We're leaving.”

“What?”

“Quickly, before Madame Heather comes to ask for her rent,” I ordered, packing our stuff.

“You don't have the rent money?”

“I don't have any money to spare, Kaelen. Now, quickly.”

After less than ten minutes we were done packing, not like we owned much stuff anyway.

Kaelen and I snuck out through the backyard of the building, but before we got too far, Madame Heather spotted us from her upper window. We did what we knew best: we ran.

It's a good thing I taught Kaelen how to run at a very young age, otherwise we'd both be locked in a cold cell for thievery.

“You come back here, Elowen! You owe me rent for five months!” she yelled, trailing behind us down the cobbled lane.

I looked at Kaelen and gestured for him to run faster, ignoring her bickering.

“I promise you, Heather, I will pay my debts one day!” I responded. “One day!”

“Five months, Elowen,” Kaelen finally spoke in that disappointed, heavy tone of his as we caught our breath by the riverbank right before the Oakhaven border.

“Sometimes you win some, and other times you lose. That's life,” I responded, splashing cold water on my face from the river.

“That's thievery, Elowen, not life.”

“I didn't steal from her,” I countered defensively.

“But you robbed her of her literal life's work!” he shot back, standing up and glaring at me.

“Trust me, Kaelen, one lousy keep isn't going to stop her from making more money, and besides, we needed it! We had to get out!”

“That isn't an excuse!”

“I'm not going to have this conversation with a twelve-year-old who clearly knows nothing about how brutal the real world is!” I yelled.

He lowered his eyes, hurt, and silently drank from the river.

The familiar twist of guilt tightened in my chest.

“One day you'll understand why I do these things, Kaelen,” I murmured softly. “But that's definitely not today.”

The rest of the journey was quiet, which was exactly what I needed at the moment. When we finally reached the edge of town, the building wasn't quite like I’d remembered. It was better.

Of course, it looked abandoned, dusty, and probably housed an army of vicious rodents, but I didn't see all that. I saw security. A place of my own.

“This could be the tavern space for all travelers crossing Oakhaven,” I said excitedly.

I walked inside and counted ten guest rooms upstairs.

“It has enough rooms to accommodate people spending the night for a handsome sum,” I practically squeaked.

Kaelen scanned the massive, dusty main floor, analyzing whether it was safe to get comfortable before uttering a word.

We walked around together trying to strategize the best place to start cleaning. As I approached a small, padlocked pantry near the back cellar entrance, a sudden, tiny sneeze echoed from inside the cabinet.

Kaelen and I shared a look. I grabbed a heavy iron poker from the cold fireplace.

"Kaelen, get behind me,” I whispered.