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he had never thought to see again. He was himself, and not some stranger taken over by foreign memories, something that had seemed out of the question not that long ago. He was safe, everyone had missed him and welcomed him back, and absolutely no one was giving even a hint that they thought he didn’t belong here, among the Heraldic Trainees. Just because his team had—understandably!—replaced him in a game was no call for sulks.
    He must have been getting better at this sort of thing, because when he had finished the last bite, he had managed to persuade himself out of the gloom and into nothing more than a mild melancholy. “Right, then,” he said, meeting Bear’s concerned gaze again. “What’s the plan? I know you got one, you never do nothin’ without a plan.”
    Bear’s expression lightened. “We promised we’d collect Amily about now. She’s having breakfast with Lydia; Lydia wants some stuff particularly from the Fair if we can find it, but the Princess can’t actually be seen wandering about like you or me.”
    “So Amily’s gonna get it for her.” Mags nodded. “I don’ mind that, ’specially if you an’ me can find things t’look at in the same places.” He had no doubt that they would; didn’t they both have ladies to buy nice things for?
    Bear made a face. “Shopping,” he said in tones of resignation. Lena elbowed him.
    “I could say the same thing when you get into the herbs,” she teased.
    Mags was just happy to see them so settled and yet still like themselves. Somewhere in the back of his mind had been the fear that being married would change them. Instead, they were still themselves. Closer to each other than anyone else, but still themselves.
    He didn’t want to lose himself; he’d come far too close to that already. If Lena and Bear hadn’t, then why should he and Amily?
    “Plan,” he reminded Bear. “I’m the only one with a Companion.”
    “There’re wagons going down to the Fair and coming back, regular,” Bear told him. “So, the plan is to get Amily, get a ride on the wagon, and do the shopping first. Then we reckon a bite of lunch, then we go see the entertainers that aren’t like what we got up here. Like jugglers, rope dancers—”
    Mags nodded. :Sounds like you’re bein’ left behind today, horse,: he teased Dallen.
    :Fine. Leave me behind. See if I care,: Dallen teased back. :Actually I’d be dreadfully awkward down there in all that crush. A couple of the others said it got pretty hot and uncomfortable at times. I have a plan to eat to the bottom of a bucket of windfall apples, then have a long nap, then another bucket of apples, then, well, give me some privacy.:
    Mags chuckled. :I can do that,: he promised. “There might be contests,” he said out loud. “We might want to watch some of those.” If there was a Master Archery contest, for instance, that would be very exciting. Hewould like to see wrestling, but he didn’t think the girls would. Horse races—everyone would like those . . . foot races too. Spear throwing. He could think of a lot of things that would be fun to watch.
    “I forgot about the contests, but Amily is all sorts of organized. She says she’ll have a list of everything and where it is,” Lena said, tucking her hand into the crook of Bear’s arm.
    “Well, then, let’s collect her and see what’s what.” Knowing that his friends were perfectly capable of sitting there and discussing what they might want to do for another candlemark, rather than actually doing it, Mags got himself out from the table and bench, picked up all their dishes, and took them to the hatch into the kitchen. By the time he turned around, Lena and Bear were waiting for him at the door.
    Herald’s Collegium was actually stuck at the end of the Herald’s Wing of the Palace, so they didn’t even have to go outside. Amily was ready and waiting at the door to the Heralds’ Wing, where every Herald that hadn’t made some other arrangement had