Suzy was woken by the sound of movement in the hall. She reached for the knife under her pillow and clutched the handle as she listened carefully, spinning up magicka for a shock of lightning. There hadn’t been any attempts since the first one when she’d arrived to join the Hymar militia as a mage. When she’d left the man with burns and cuts all across his body the word had spread quickly that she should be left alone. Still, she never let her guard down. With the king dead maybe the men were feeling ungrounded enough to risk it.Her door opened and she clutched the knife more tightly.“Suzy, wake up.”It was Captain Ida. Suzy relaxed her grip on the knife and sat up.“What’s going on?”“Get dressed and gather your things. You’re leaving.”“Leaving, ma’am? Was I reassigned?”“No. Your service to Stent has ended. You’re free. Gather your things, you’re going to be escorted to the square.”“My service?” She had only been there for two years. Her contract was for fifteen years, not including the time they stole from her with that cursed water. “Just get your things together quickly. I’ll wait outside the door.”She hesitated for a moment, but got up and started to get everything together, putting on her copper-colored uniform first then gathering the meagre possessions she’d managed to obtain since she’d arrived. Her two other sets of clothes, her boar hair hairbrush, and the small coral necklace Mei had given her. Back home it would’ve been impossible to fit her entire life in a bag like this, but considering that life was over it wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on. That had already hurt her too much when she’d arrived.Once she was dressed and ready she went to check herself in the mirror. She still startled sometimes when she saw her new face in the mirror. Her dark tan and hazel eyes were now pale blotchy skin and gray eyes. Her training had made her lithe and strong, but she missed (...)