“It’s almost time. Do you have everything?” The soldier was looming in the doorway to Saydry’s parents’ house. “Remember, the winters are much colder in the North. You’ll need warm clothes, mittens, boots.”

“He has everything.” Saydry’s mother stood watch over his valise and his trunk as if the soldier was going to steal them – which, in a sense, he was. “He has been well-prepared.”

“I doubt that.” The soldier had the typical Northern look: long nose, long black hair, sun-browned skin. He also had what Saydry was beginning to believe was a typically Northern disdain for everything Southern.

“Mother, what if…” Saydry swallowed.

His mother patted his shoulder. “Be brave, my son. I have faith in you.”

Edally Academy is coming soon!

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