“Go, my daughter, without fear. I love you, and I’m sorry it must be this way.” The Duke of Stoll embraced his wife as the captain of the guard took the young Duchess Mina by the hand and paraded her through the city to the gates of Stoll. She was given a stuffed rabbit to hold and remember the city by. She watched the crowds watch her with tears in their eyes. She tried to keep a brave face.

At the gates, a short man with a big horse waited. He wiped a mud stain from his pants and bore no hateful expression. The captain knelt down to Mina and wished her well. He walked back into the city as Mina stood weeping. The gates of Stoll closed behind her, leaving only dry rolling hills of the wild kingdom and the short man with the big horse.

“Please, sir, please let me go back into the city. I do not want to leave.” Mina tugged on his quilted jacket. “I do not want to be from my parents, why are you taking me from them!”

“Sorry Mina, but I made a deal with your mom. Those gates aren’t opening until we are properly exiled, by hook or by crook.” The man had a thin black beard and he smelled like burnt biscuits. The man reached into the barding of his horse and took out a map case, contained within a map of all of the land, every city and river marked carefully with thick black ink. “My name’s Bagman.”

“What kind of name is Bagman?” She looked over his shoulder at the map and saw a world far larger than what she was taught. He handed it to her to inspect.

“My name, stop being nosy.” Bagman produced a stick of charcoal and handed it to Mina. “Choose a spot on that map, anywhere you wanna go.”

“Why must I go? Why must I go with you?” Mina took the charcoal and traced her finger along the roads on the map.

“When your mother was very young,” Bagman placed Mina on the horse’s back, “She and I had a deal. In exchange for freedom from a wicked sheriff, she offered me her firstborn. I was supposed to collect when you were born, but I was busy, so I just now got around to it.” Mina rubbed her palm against the horse’s fluffy mane. “I’m really sorry I forgot about you. To make it up to you, I’ll bring you wherever you want to go.” Bagman hopped onto the horse and began to trot down the dirt road while Mina held the map to his back. “Just pick a spot and we’ll get there. I did ride quite a ways, so I’ll couch a hogshead before too long.” Bagman clutched his coat.

Mina began circling towns and lakes with the charcoal. “What did you want with a child?” She brought her face very close to the map. “Seems like more hassle than it’s worth.”

“Beats me, but it was the thing to do back then. You give someone what they want, they promised you their first child. Seems unsustainable, but times were different back then.” Bagman pointed to the map at a lake surrounded by mountains, which Mina circled. “I didn’t have much of a plan of what to do with you, I’m not ready to be a father, and I don’t like the taste of kids. When you make a deal, you have to go through with it.” They came to a crossroads.

“I want to head south.” Mina lowered the map. “Bagman, are you evil?”

Bagman turned the horse towards the Heartland. “I’m supposed to be.”