The August 5 by Jenna Helland

“Oh, wait, I forgot something. We don’t want the Zunft to know you’re in the city. So Mr. Leahy asked me to get you this.”
    â€œWhat is it?” Tamsin asked, as he handed her a brown envelope.
    â€œFake identification card,” Gavin explained. “Now you can get work anywhere and walk around Sevenna without being detained. According to the falsified records, you have a bond family here in Sevenna.”
    â€œAre they fake, too?”
    â€œNo, the Bradfords are an actual Zunft family that has sympathy for our cause.”
    â€œI didn’t know there were people like that,” Tamsin said, sliding the envelope open. She read the name on the card and peered up at Gavin. “Emilie Johns. That’s my new name?”
    â€œNot as lovely as Tamsin Henry,” Gavin said. “But it will do in a pinch.”
    â€œThank you,” Tamsin said. “What do I owe you?”
    â€œWrite an article for the JFA Bulletin ,” Gavin said. “If you’re interested.”
    â€œSure, but I think I should do more than that,” Tamsin said.
    â€œI’ll let you know if I think of something,” Gavin said, but Tamsin knew he wouldn’t.
    She smiled at him, and he made his way to the door. As he was about to leave, she called out: “What does ‘JFA’ stand for in JFA Bulletin ?”
    â€œJustice for all,” he said, grinning at her. She felt her heart leap. “Goodbye, Emilie. No, that doesn’t quite fit you. Emmy? Emmy-lee? I know, Em!”
    â€œYou can call me Tamsin,” she said, pretending to be cross.
    â€œAngry Em!” Gavin joked. “It’s the perfect byline for such a docile thing as yourself.”
    She hurled the wet dishrag at him, but he ducked through the doorway just in time. She could hear him chuckling as he went out the gate.
    â€œWho can jest in times like these?” Tamsin asked the huge stack of dishes. She remembered her mother saying the very same thing on several occasions. Once, shortly after their father had left to work in Aeren, she and her sisters had been tickling one another, giggling and rolling on the hardwood floor. Her mother’s comment had immediately ended the fun. After Michael left for Sevenna, Anna’s personality changed. She began to work all the time and expected the same from her daughters. Tamsin missed her mother’s smile from the days before their family came apart.
    â€œI sound like her,” Tamsin told the dishes. “And we can’t have that.”
    Tamsin rolled up her sleeves and began to work. But as she did, she sang an Aeren tune and thought about what she would write for Gavin.

10
    HYWEL KIDNAPPED BY COTTAGER EXTREMISTS!
    In shocking news, it was revealed that Toulson Hywel has been kidnapped by cottager extremists on Norde. Chief Administrator Shore announced that an investigation was in progress and there was every reason to believe that Hywel was still alive.
    Chief Administrator Shore had this to say: “We received demands from the kidnappers last night. They are asking for substantial funds and a shipment of weapons. We will not be threatened by extremists, but every effort is underway to bring Hywel safely home.”
    Zunft Officer John Sanneral, who is in charge of the investigation, said there is evidence that Hywel was snatched on his way to Norde the night before the August Rising and has been in the clutches of the cottagers ever since.
    â€” Zunft Chronicle, Morning Edition, September 4
    â€œHow did the Zunft overcome superstition?”
    Professor Eugene Rannigan’s question rang through the lecture hall and was met with resounding silence. The professor scanned the lecture hall from the stage and gave his new students a patient smile.
    â€œWhat talkative lads,” Rannigan said. “Well, we’ll see about that.”
    Rannigan was an energetic junior professor who was a favorite among the students. He taught the