When she tugged on my hand, I followed her without question. I didn’t ever want to let go of her again. She stepped straight into the muddy edge of the river, laughing as the water soaked her trouser legs, and laughing all the more as I stepped after her, making my long skirts billow around my knees.
We slogged through the cold water, giggling and slipping, only stepping out when it was time to ride my elevator up the hill to the house.
‘Are those yours?’ Matilda asked me, pointing up at the top of the fort.
Hundreds of my soldiers lined the roof and filled the towers at each end, standing with military posture. They were so still they could have been metal themselves.
‘They are,’ I admitted, although I could hardly believe it myself.
We were met by a small company of my people at the
