15 Loss

Classes continued but the atmosphere of the women's school had changed, especially in the classes that centered around their future duties as wives. Things had become unsettled and troubled. The young women now all found themselves worried if they would ever be wives at all.

It was not long before they received the first news from the King about the battle. Their school was in a city closest to the city where the King resided and therefore the first to receive the news of the men and their assault on the dragon colony.

The first word that came had been surprisingly positive after hearing Miles recounting of what he had seen. The King had sent messengers to say the dragon problem was being contained but they would still appreciate any men willing to join the cause. He said there was no need to worry overly much and he planned to have the men home by the end of spring.

There had been a collective sigh of relief from everyone, glad to hear the King and his men had things in hand.

No word came for weeks until another messenger arrived as the snow was melting away. The King said there was no need to worry but it did look like the dragon problem might be a bit more difficult than they had originally thought and he required any able-bodied men to report to the fort to assist. He said as long as there were enough volunteers he was sure everyone would still be home by the end of spring.

Headmistress Warren gave the men from the stables and the doorman and any other men under the employment of the school permission to leave to join the forces and assured them their positions would be waiting for them in a month or so when they returned. The men that were well enough went leaving only the older men of the city around to pick up the slack.

Delaney and the others were excited as the end of the spring grew closer, signaling that their schooling would be complete and the men would be coming home. They all began to make plans for their weddings they would scatter throughout the summer and fall as they each turned eighteen. Since Delaney was the oldest and turned eighteen at the beginning of summer, they focused mostly on hers.

Feeling excited and relieved, Delaney planned a grand wedding for her and Vincent. She would have to wait for him to return to finalize everything but she planned to have an enormous wedding at Edgewood Manor and even invite the royal family themselves. The other girls envied her and Delaney was secretly pleased to see it. The wait was making her crazy.

With the last day of spring only days away, another messenger appeared in the town. He said things were not good, and they were not able to kill enough of the females and young to impact the population of the dragon colony as new dragons were hatching daily. The men would not be able to return home now or anytime soon.

The messenger also brought with him a list. On it, were the names of all those who had been lost to the dragons so far. On the list, was Cora's younger brother.

Delaney held her friend in her arms as the young girl sobbed. Classes were canceled as some of their other schoolmates learned they had also lost brothers or future husbands or even fathers. Cora refused to eat more than a few bites for days and the other girls made her bathe and washed her hair for her. They dressed her and begged her to come out to walk around the lawn but the pale and almost lifeless girl only returned to her place in her bed.

It wasn't until a few days later when Miles arrived, arm still bandaged, that Cora actually stirred and went downstairs to see him. No sooner did she step into the parlor where he was waiting, than she fell against him in tears. To the other women's surprise, Miles held her and whispered to her how sorry he was and how he wished he could fix it for her.

The next day, Cora had packed her things and Miles brought his carriage to the school to collect her and take her home to be with her family. The women all hugged their friend goodbye and sent her on her way.

They all went back to classes but no one's heart was in it. Cora had always been the toughest and bravest of them all. Seeing her so broken had rattled the others. Delaney found herself thankful she didn't have any brothers to lose and that her father was already gone. All she had to worry about was Vincent making it home safely and them having their wedding.

But Olive also wanted Bernard to come home and Selina wanted Duncan to come home. Even Constance worried for the man she had been seeing before he left to join the other men at the fort. They all found themselves anxiously waiting for the next messenger and just hoping when he came, one of their loved ones would not have his name on the list.

They knew though the odds were against them. So when the next messenger arrived the day before they were to leave school, time stood still as they crowded around to read the list.

And one of them began to weep.