The wheels of the carriage rattled over the cobblestones as Valentina pulled herself up from her exhausted lethargy. After days of traveling, she finally saw Bridgewater's city gate in front of her. A tingle of excitement and nervousness ran through her body.

"Ah, we're back," Vyxara whispered in her head, the demon's voice sounding amused. "Where it all began. Where we met. Where we 'tied the knot' so to speak. Isn't it nice to be back?"

"Yes, it is." Valentina murmured as her eyes involuntarily wandered to the Burning Tower, its spire towering over the rooftops of the city. The chiseled flames glowed reddish in the light of the setting sun, as if they were actually burning, and its beautiful Essence patterns and the streams of Essence wafting around it made it an even more majestic sight for anyone who could see Essence. A year ago, this sight had filled her with awe and childlike wonder. Now she felt a more complex mixture of nostalgia, wariness and the unsettling feeling of being home and a stranger at the same time.

The carriage slowed as they turned across the main road to the university. All around them were new students and their families, laden with chests and boxes, nervous and excited as parents gave final advice and exchanged goodbye hugs. A young woman with braided brown hair and an old-fashioned traveling coat stood open-mouthed, staring up at the Burning Tower like a bumpkin – a mirror image of herself just a year ago. Valentina had to smile.

"We've reached our destination, my lady," the driver announced, helping her out. He had treated her with respectful courtesy throughout the journey from Dusktown.

Valentina got out of the carriage, her neck and back aching from the long journey. She stretched and took a deep breath. The air in Bridgewater was different from Dusktown – less influenced by the sea, fresher, with the smell of books, old stone and... yes, the slightly sweet scent of Distilled Essence that never quite disappeared from the immediate vicinity of the university.

The streets were fuller than she remembered. New signs hung outside some of the stores, and the old bakery building near the market square seemed to have been refurbished, with a freshly painted facade and an ornately carved sign.

"The world keeps turning, even without you," Vyxara remarked with amusement. "Although I must say that I prefer your company. Much more interesting than what happens in this city."

As Valentina made her way to the university grounds, she stepped up to the side gate, which was guarded by a sleeping sentry. He was new, she had never seen him before – an older man with a grey mustache, dozing in a chair next to the gate.

"Excuse me," she said softly. The man startled, blinked in confusion and then looked at Valentina's elegant appearance – her tailor-made lavender grey travel dress, the silver brooch with the Greystone coat of arms on her chest, her carefully braided hair.

"Yes, my lady? What can I do for you?" He straightened up, suddenly alarmed, as if she was an unexpectedly important visitor.

"I am Valentina of Palewood. A student. I'm returning for the new academic year and I could use some help with my luggage."

The guard frowned in disbelief. "Of Palewood, you say?" His gaze wandered over her expensive dress, the jewelry, the brooch. "Are you... sure?"

"Oh, how amusing," Vyxara giggled. "He doesn't believe you're a commoner. How times change."

Valentina suppressed a smile and pulled out a parchment with her certificate of enrollment. "Second year student, Valentina of Palewood."

The guard looked at the parchment, then at her, then at the parchment again. "Oh! Of course." He stepped aside and opened the gate. "Welcome back to the university."

The guard called a servant over to help with her astonishing mountain of luggage, which the driver unloaded from the roof and the luggage compartment. The six traveling trunks and three chests were already attracting attention.

"By all the flames of the Martyr, is this all your luggage?" the servant asked, his eyes wide.

"Unfortunately, yes," Valentina replied with an embarrassed smile. "I'm really grateful for your help."

As she and the servant began to lug the first pieces of luggage from the carriage to the residential building, she could feel the curious glances of the other students.

"That was to be expected," thought Valentina, not really surprised. The contrast between the shy, poorly dressed farmer's daughter who had entered the university a year ago and the confident young woman in expensive clothes who was now returning could hardly have been greater.

As she climbed the steps to the residential building, she saw a familiar figure waiting in the doorway – Innogen, more elegant than ever in a light blue dress, her golden hair perfectly coiffed. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Valentina and a radiant smile spread across her face.

"Val!" she called and hurried down the steps.

Despite her physical exhaustion, Valentina felt her heart lighten. In the midst of all the changes and uncertainties, Innogen's smile felt like a piece of home that she had sorely missed.

"Well, well," Vyxara mocked, but the demon's voice sounded gentle. "Your noble friend really seems beside herself with joy."

Valentina set down her luggage and spread her arms, ready to embrace her best friend and return to a part of her life that felt both foreign and familiar at the same time.

"I've missed you terribly," Innogen whispered as they embraced.

The embrace lasted a long time while Valentina breathed in the familiar scent of Innogen's hair. When they finally broke away from each other, Innogen looked at her with astonished eyes.

"By all the flames of the Martyr!" Innogen took a step back, her hands still on Valentina's shoulders, and scrutinized her from head to toe. "Look at yourself! You look… stunning!"

Valentina felt her cheeks redden. She plucked sheepishly at her lavender-grey traveling dress. "It's just a dress, Innogen."

"Just a dress?" Innogen laughed in disbelief. "It's from Master Silkhand, if I'm not mistaken, it looks wonderful. I didn't know he made everyday clothes. And that ring..." Her eyes widened when she saw the expensive gold ring with the grey gemstone that the duke had given her for her birthday. "You have to tell me everything. Every single detail."

"She has no idea how many details there really are," Vyxara commented with amusement.

"Later," Valentina promised with a meaningful glance at the curious students watching her. "When we're alone."

Innogen nodded in understanding, suddenly the discreet noblewoman again. "Of course. Let me help you with your luggage."

She beckoned another servant who, together with the first, began to carry Valentina's luggage up the stairs. Innogen looked at the seemingly endless number of boxes and chests with both amusement and astonishment.

"I had no idea that you could accumulate so much stuff in one summer," she said, curiously lifting the lid of a small box that Valentina was holding.

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"The duke was... generous," Valentina replied quietly.

Innogen raised an eyebrow. "Obviously."

As they climbed the stairs to her room, Valentina was amazed by how familiar and yet strange everything felt. The worn wooden floor, the warm Essence lamps, the smell of old wood and books – it was all exactly as she remembered it. And yet it seemed to her as if everything had become a tiny bit smaller, as if seen through a strangely distorted glass lens.

"I let Crispin know you were arriving today," Innogen said as they climbed the stairs. "He was... well, let's say enthusiastic would be an understatement. He's hardly talked about anything else since he found out about your arrival."

Valentina felt a stab of tenderness for her shy friend, mixed with a hint of unease. Crispin's silent and hopeless love for her was a complicated issue that hung between them.

"Is he...?" She left the question unfinished.

"He's in the library, where else?" Innogen smiled. "But he promised to join us for dinner. I insist on that. We must celebrate our first night back in Bridgewater properly."

When they reached Valentina's bedroom door, Innogen paused and reached for her hand. "Val, I'm... I'm glad you're back. Life was... different without you. So many times during the summer I experienced things and my first reflex was 'Oh, I have to tell Val right away', but you weren't there."

Valentina squeezed her hand. "I'm glad to be back here too. More than I can express. You'll just have to remember everything you wanted to tell me, I want to know everything."

~

An hour later, after a short rest and a hasty unpacking of the essentials, Valentina made her way to the library to pick up Crispin. The evening air was already cool and carried the smell of burning wood as she wandered across the campus. The Essence lamps were already glowing, casting their warm light on the cobblestones.

The library was, as always, a haven for busy students and scholars, and as one of the most important libraries for Essence Weaving in the realm and on the whole continent, was open year-round, regardless of the academic year. She crept through the entrance hall, past students poring over their books or whispering in small groups, smiled at the librarian, Matilda Ravencroft, who nodded kindly to her, and set off in search of Crispin.

She found him in a secluded corner, surrounded by stacks of books on Advanced Essence Theory. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice her coming until she was standing right in front of his table.

"Hello, great scholar," she said quietly.

Crispin raised his head and his eyes widened as he recognized her. A soft pink crept over his cheeks and he stood up so hastily that he almost knocked over his chair.

"V-Val!" He swallowed visibly. "You're... you're back."

His eyes wandered over her dress, her carefully braided hair, the silver brooch – and for a moment she saw uncertainty in his eyes, a sudden fear that the person standing in front of him was no longer the Valentina he knew.

"How cute he is," Vyxara mocked gently. "And how lost."

Valentina smiled gently, bridged the distance between them and hugged him tightly. After a moment of surprise, he returned the embrace, his arms carefully wrapped around her as if he feared she might break.

"I've missed you, Crispin," she said softly.

She felt the tension leave his body. "Me too."

When they broke away from each other, he smiled shyly. "You look... different. Good different, I mean."

"And you look exactly the same," she replied with a relieved laugh. "That's wonderful."

She looked at him more closely. Crispin had hardly changed at all – still the slim, pale young man with the golden curls and soft eyes. Perhaps he looked a little more confident, his posture a little straighter. On the table next to his books, she noticed a parchment with Professor Veilford's seal on it.

"I see you've been busy," she said, pointing to the document.

Crispin's face lit up. "Oh, yes! Professor Veilford has really kept me on my toes. I've been working non-stop on his research project over the summer – it's about previously unexplored interactions between planar geometry and Essence Resonance Theory and..." He interrupted himself, blushing. "Sorry, I'm talking too much."

"No, please!" Valentina linked arms with him. "Tell me about it on the way. I want to know everything."

~

The Burning Quill was well attended that evening. Valentina, Innogen and Crispin had snagged a table in a cozy corner, surrounded by the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread and roasted meat.

Once they had placed their order – Valentina insisted on paying for them all, despite Innogen's protests – they sat back and let the stress of the day slip away.

"So," Innogen began, clutching her ale mug, "now you have to tell us everything. Dusktown. The Greystone Hospital. The duke." At the mention of the duke, she lowered her voice and leaned forward conspiratorially.

Valentina took a long sip of wine. "It was... a very intense time," she finally said. "Dusktown is beautiful, but in a strange way. Its proximity to the Scorched Lands gives everything an air of danger. The duke's palace is impressive, with the Moon Tower and the gardens..."

"And the duchess?" Innogen asked curiously. "I've heard she's an impressive woman."

"She absolutely is," Valentina confirmed. "Smart, elegant, in control. She was... very kind to me." She thought of Rosalind's last words to her, of the unexpected offer to take her to parliament in Vandercourt as a second lady-in-waiting.

"And the hospital?" asked Crispin, obviously more interested in the academic aspects. "I've read about the Greystone Cascade there, it must be a unique marvel of Essence Weaving!"

Valentina nodded eagerly, grateful for the less awkward topic. "It really is remarkable. The Essence structures are complex, elegant and heavily based on the weirder patterns that emerged after the Scorching. Master Wilford – the director of the hospital – is a strict teacher, but I learned an incredible amount there."

She told them about the groundbreaking work she had done with Lorenzo on modifying the Greystone Cascade, careful to mention Lorenzo's name in passing without revealing her complicated relationship with him.

"We have developed a method to clean surfaces and the air of invisibly tiny little creatures that we believe are the cause of many diseases," she explained enthusiastically. "With this change to the Cascade, we will drastically reduce the infection rate in the hospital."

Crispin's eyes lit up with curiosity. "That's brilliant! Have you considered Dimanchi's Vibration Transmission Theory? I read about it in the summer and I think it would be excellent for...."

While the two were engrossed in a technical conversation, Innogen watched Valentina thoughtfully. When the food arrived – a delicious roast with vegetables and fresh bread – she lowered her voice.

"You've changed, Val," she said quietly. "Not just on the outside. You seem... much more relaxed and confident. More mature."

Valentina paused in her movement, the mug of ale halfway to her lips. "Is this good or bad?"

Innogen smiled. "Good, I think. It suits you." She hesitated. "I just hope you're still... the same Valentina I know."

"Are you?" Vyxara asked with feigned innocence. "All in all, of course you are still the same, she doesn't need to worry. Maybe a little bit worse for wear."

"You only talk so crudely about my sexual experiences to make me blush, don't you?" Valentina thought sternly to Vyxara.

"You caught me," she heard Vyxara's amused voice in her thoughts. "Experiencing your embarrassment is always a feast for me."

Valentina ignored the demon for the time being and instead put the jug down and took Innogen's hand. "I'm still me," she said firmly. "Just with... more experience."

Innogen squeezed her hand and then turned to Crispin. "And you, Crispin? Tell us about your adventures with Professor Veilford. I hear he hardly lets his assistants sleep."

Crispin blushed slightly. "It was exhausting, but fascinating. We worked on the vibration transfer between two resonating Essence patterns and it's hard to believe how much influence the planar geometry of the patterns has on it..."

Innogen later recounted the complex political maneuverings she had observed at the summer receptions on her family's estate, the rivalries between the various noble houses and the growing influence of the Marcher Lords.

"My father is concerned about the increasing independence of some of the Far Western Marchers," she explained. "Some are behaving as if they were sovereign principalities, not vassals of the king. He wants to bring a complaint about this to parliament next summer."

Valentina listened intently, fascinated by this insight into the higher political spheres. During her stay in Dusktown, she had gotten a taste for how major political decisions were formed, and Innogen's perspective broadened that understanding.

The hours flew by as they ate, drank and talked, the conversation switching back-and-forth between serious topics, the latest gossip, silly jokes and nostalgic memories. Despite the changes each of them had undergone, the basic dynamic of their friendship had remained intact – something Valentina was more relieved about than she would have thought.

When they finally set off, it was already quite dark. They walked arm in arm back to the university, laughing and swaying a little from the ale.

"It's good to be together again," Crispin said quietly as they entered the campus.

"Yes," Innogen agreed, leaning her head on Valentina's shoulder. "I've missed you guys in Timberpine."

In the darkness, Valentina could feel Vyxara lurking in her thoughts, a reminder that despite the warmth of friendship that surrounded her, she held a secret that she could never share with her friends.

As they said goodbye to each other in front of the apartment building, Innogen hugged her tightly once more. "More tomorrow," she whispered in Valentina's ear. "I'll come to you in the night and then I want to hear all the stuff you left out."

Valentina nodded and slowly climbed the stairs, ready to face her first setback – the reality of her tiny, dark attic room after a summer of ducal luxury.

"Welcome back to the simple pleasures of student life," she muttered to herself as she opened the door and stepped into the darkness.

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