Vanya did not expect to find herself aching everywhere when she woke up the next day with the porch wind chime caught within a terrible gust of wind making it unbearable to sleep through its constant ringing whilst crammed in the lofty chair she managed to fall asleep in.

She found Joan limping her way to ask if she was alright. Joan could already see it. The bloodshot eyes, half-shut eyelids, and the slight groan Vanya made before sitting up had her maidservant know instantly that Vanya had fallen ill.

Moments later, Grandma Tilly sat facing Vanya, her fingertips opening Vanya’s almost shut eyes as if observing something curiously. Tilly’s eyes were paler than the gloomy skies today. Her hands carried a bit of a quiver but her eyes were sharp and steady.

“You didn’t sleep well last night,” Tilly spoke. Vanya was confused as to whether she asked a question or made a statement.

She remembered Timmie’s words that carried no weight at the time when she first heard them, “Grandma probably already helped them heal…”

She wondered if Tilly could actually do so, not with herbs or practices of ancient methods to heal an ill body, but with actual magic, powers gifted from one's bloodline.

“You must sleep on your bed, child. Why did I let you have one if it was the case that you would decide to sleep in a chair?” Tilly sounded annoyed.

Vanya watched as Tilly wobbled her way to the kitchen, starting to brew something in the scent of strong herbs, mint, and something that smelled like bark.

Joan helped Vanya out of the chair and into their room. She tucked Vanya into Vanya’s bed, carefully with a concern taking over her face.

“Just as I thought my leg was healing much quicker,” Joan spoke caressing Vanya’s head. Vanya barely heard her. The last time Joan mentioned her leg was some time ago. Vanya knew Joan was hiding details intentionally. Her leg, which she said merely had a few wounds, seemed to have bulky bandages covering it for a few days now. Vanya never saw the wound. Joan always avoided talking about it.

Shortly after, Vanya was sitting up with Tilly carefully making her sip the concoction at her lips. It tasted bitter at first making Vanya spit it out immediately.

“Drink, dear. It is for your health…and your nightmares.”

Vanya did not know if Tilly actually said those words or if she just made them up in her mind, too drowsy from the lack of sleep and too terrified to close her eyes.

Soon, she was fast asleep. Her body in deep sleep while in a comfortable posture, her mind in peace.

Her dreams took her on a pleasant walk by the woods, the path where she usually rode one of her beloved horses named Dirt. Dirt was named by his keeper before he made his way to the royal stables. Dirt was a mischievous being, his mane thick and healthy, his body at times a shade of black and at times dark brown. He was her favorite horse to ride with in the mornings when the morning mist had graced the earth below and the sprinkle of sunshine peaking through the leaves made it look as if she was in the midst of a cloud that had a forest growing inside of it.

Dirt was right beside her, matching her pace, occasionally snorting and bumping into her arm as if to play with her. She had not felt such calmness in her mind in so long. She was endlessly walking, the smell of the water mixed with bark in every breath she took. She was at peace, her mind and her body relaxed. She felt safe with Dirt by her side.

She remembered the distinct moment she woke up, disturbed by the salty breeze and humid air. She felt the room heating up, the mid-afternoon sun was not pleasant especially trying to nap your way ignoring the rising temperatures.

Vanya woke up to find no one in the house. She drank some water and fed on some leftover lunch Tilly and Joan had carefully kept on the kitchen table. With her belly full, she felt her body go back to normal again.

The wind chime made her walk up to the porch to observe it tangled on itself. It wasn’t as loud as it was in the morning but the wind was still pretty gusty making it a bit easier to digest the humid hot temperature. It was odd for such a warm day to exist among the days going into winter. The leaves on trees, the ones that barely graced the seaside, were already turning yellow soon to be shed on earth.

She stepped onto the shore, barefoot, not a soul in sight. Just the sea and her. Her feet sunk into the silky sand below. Vanya audibly let out a satisfying sigh. She was getting used to it, she was getting used to the sand on the beach, the calming sound of the sea, the unpredictable breeze, and everything in between.

She paused for a moment catching herself getting too comfortable. She immediately pushed it out of her mind, not letting her indulge in a bit of peace.

There was not much she could do with Joan still injured but she still needed to figure out if it was possible to even alert her father without being ousted as a member of the royal family. She needed to step it up and being comfortable was not going to help.

I need to do this…Figure out this odd village, play their game, be safe, and get help…

She reminded herself with her eyes closed, letting the breeze take over as she stood there with her arms crossed, listening to the waves crashing onto the shore.

It may have been a few minutes or a couple of hours, but when Vanya opened her eyes she was met with Joan limping on the shore from a distance. Joan’s happy arms waved delightedly at Vanya trying to grab her attention. Vanya waved back, slowly realizing Joan was not alone.

Behind Joan appeared a couple of boats nearing the shore, men jumping off them and hauling them in. A few were already on the shore hauling baskets full of fish out of the boats and separating them out.

Tilly joined Joan shortly after, her cane waving back at Vanya happily. It seemed that the entire village somehow went fishing together. There were at least three dozen men and women gathered on the shore in a blink of an eye. The lonely shore was no longer empty and calm. It was bustling and exciting.

Vanya watched as the chaos unfolded. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen such a crowd before, she had seen much larger gathered to just observe her. However, seeing it in Shalom, where everything was usually so quiet and boring, was quite refreshing.

She was so engrossed in everything, her eyes scanning everyone and taking in all the details, that she did not notice Joan and Tilly reach her in no time at all.

Joan crashed into a hug, “Oh! My la— Jade, you should have been there…”

Joan bit her lip catching herself but quickly continued, “...We went on a fishing trip! It was so wonderful!”

Vanya looked to Joan puzzled to see she actually enjoyed it. “A fishing trip?”

“Oh yes! Rhohaz asked us if we wanted to join and I said ‘Absolutely!’”

“A fishing trip? To catch fish?” Vanya was still baffled. Joan, who showed no signs of liking fishing, who even made faces when she would occasionally serve Vanya dishes with fish in them, seemed so elated by being on a boat with possibly hundreds of fish surrounding her.

“Yes yes, of course. What else could it be?” Joan was getting annoyed.

Vanya let out a laugh, “You caught fish? In the sea?”

“Well…I observed everyone catching the fish.”

Vanya laughed harder, “And you sat on a boat all day with fish next to you?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Joan nudged Vanya almost as if to get her to shut up and not oust her so openly. Thankfully, Tilly was still catching up to them.

“Well, I was bored out of my mind all day so would you blame me?” Joan quickly whispered in Vanya’s ear then turned to give Tilly a hand. Just then, Joan’s eyes spotted someone making his way toward them, and a sly smile formed on her lips. She turned to Vanya and gave a quick wink.

Vanya, puzzled by Joan, looked to see Rhohaz with a slight jog on his way to them. Unknowingly, she felt herself panic for a moment. Then, she started forcing herself to calm down, which did not really help for by the time Rhohaz reached them, she could only see his damp hair, his crinkled old shirt that was fluttering with the wind, and his eyes, still so pale, so lifeless and full of life at the same time.

She had to force herself to look away. She could already feel Joan’s teasing even though Joan would never dare to tease her so openly. The last time Joan teased her was when Joan thought Vanya fancied one of the royal adviser’s sons. Vanya did fancy the boy, however, they got to know the boy never really fancied girls. That was the last time Vanya was ever even remotely interested in anyone. Yet she had never really panicked without any rhyme or reason upon seeing someone. Now, that was a first.

“Ah Rhohaz, next time we should bring her with us,” Tilly spoke caressing Vanya’s arm.

Vanya watched as Rhohaz’s gaze held for longer than normal. She thought she even saw him scan her before he nodded to his grandmother.

“As long as everyone’s in good health,” he said looking back at Vanya with a questioning smile, “I suppose you are feeling much better now?”

Vanya had forgotten the whole ordeal with her waking up ill this morning already. Suppose Joan or Tilly had already mentioned she was ill to Rhohaz.

“Um yes, I’m fine,” she kept it short.

There wasn’t much discussion after that. Rhohaz just seemed like he had more to ask, almost as if he had been holding the questions in all day. And Vanya did her best to avoid his inquisitive looks as much as possible while listening to Tilly talk about dinner.

“I haven’t seen Roza in a while. Do you know where she is, Rhohaz?” Tilly asked making Rhohaz break his gaze.

“She…she must be with Timmie. Don’t wait up for her or anything,” he spoke once again looking to Vanya, who was so insistent on spying on Roza for him just yesterday. He emphasized once more, “We don’t want anyone losing sleep over it. She said she’ll be home early today.”

Tilly nodded and waved her hand, “Then, you should get back to your people.”

And just like that he was running back to the boats, the sun beginning to set behind him.

The rest of the evening Vanya spent with Joan in their room watching the sun setting so peacefully. They could see from the little window in their room, that the fisherman and their boats were no more. The shores were empty once more.

Vanya cuddled up next to Joan watching the sunset while listening to Joan animatedly explain her fishing trip.

“And…and they said there were whales nearby. Creed, you know Creed, don’t you? Most of them had met you already and I was shocked to see how excited they were talking about you. I thought they would be very reluctant and positively hostile towards me but as soon as I mentioned you, they were as happy as clams!”

“Oh that, well…” Vanya didn’t want to go there. She knew that the situation with her being considered Rhohaz’s love interest was the reason why they seemed overly enthusiastic, but telling Joan this would make her life a little more embarrassing. Yet, it was too late.

“And I figured out why! You have been hiding things from me, haven’t you, my lady? I know why they all seem to love you because they think you and Rhohaz are–”

Vanya stood up cutting Joan off, “Let’s not get carried away. Let them think that. It’s better for us that way. I need to have them on our side especially since the council would most likely start pressuring us to leave soon. This is for the better.”

Joan was surprised by the sudden shift in Vanya’s tone. She was serious. Her voice was stern and clear.

“Well, I was going to say it was a bit strange that they warmed up so quickly as compared to the council,” Joan said looking to her feet.

“Yes, it’s probably because it is a small village and regardless of whether they are overly cautious or not in the beginning, they seemed to still want a bit of excitement in their lives or at least that was what I was told..,” Vanya replied almost quoting Rhohaz, who apologized for his villagers jumping into assumptions and spreading harmless rumors around.

“...The council, however, doesn’t seem to get involved in those. They seem…indifferent to most things except for anything threatening their safety. I can understand that, in a way. And that’s why we should mingle with the villagers, and have their favor. Do you understand me, Joan?”

Joan whose face was filled with joy earlier had withered away into a sad plop by the window. She nodded half-heartedly almost as if the weight of the situation was crushing her.

“I understand. Sometimes…just sometimes I wish things were easier. I wish I had my father and my sister here with me, and I could enjoy looking out at the sea with no clouds full of fear hovering over me. Will we ever go home, your Highness? Will I ever get to come back here with them? My sister’s never been to the sea. She’s never seen a beach before. I’d like to show her, just once.”

Vanya felt bad for pulling Joan out of comfort, out of the bubble that seemed so comfortable to be in, but it was necessary. And when Joan mentioned her family, Vanya felt it deeply. She blamed herself for dragging Joan into this. She felt guilty for putting perhaps her most beloved human in the world through all of this.

***

Dinner was quiet with Tilly occasionally complaining about her back aches. Joan, who was usually so talkative and bubbly, barely engaged in any conversation at all.

With Tilly retiring to her bedroom early and Joan following right after her, Vanya was left alone in the living room watching the sea from a distance. The sun had already set. The chilly breeze had begun to wrap around her toes and ears. She was no longer feeling the warmth of the afternoon anymore. She was being cradled to a cozy night minute by minute.

Vanya gulped down the concoction Tilly made sure to leave in her palms before she called it a night. It was the same potion she swallowed in the morning. Vanya remembered spitting it out then but she did not expect it to smell so terrible, almost watering her eyes with its fumes.

She held in the horrid taste for a moment before she gulped down some water to make it quickly disappear. It didn’t help much. It made her tongue tingle and her heart beat a tad faster than she was used to.

Wrapped in a chunky blanket, she stepped out onto the porch, hoping the sound of the waves would help her forget the horrible taste lingering in her mouth.

The sound of a door creaking open made Vanya jump unexpectedly. She whipped her head around to see Rhohaz, at his back door, frozen spotting her on Tilly’s porch. She gave an awkward smile and looked away, hoping he would do the same and carry on with whatever he was planning on doing. Yet, she bit the insides of her cheeks hearing his footsteps get closer and closer.

“Shouldn't you be inside? It’s going to be getting much colder. You will fall sick again–” he started but Vanya cut him off.

“I just got here. And I was planning on going to my room soon.”

Rhohaz rolled his eyes in response, “Well, you should. Because it wasn’t much fun when everyone was blaming me today.”

“Everyone was blaming you? For me being sick?”

“Yes, because I am the one who brought you over to the school grounds. And then you fall ill right after.”

Vanya huffed and made a face. She wanted to fire back but she held it to herself hoping he would go away for her heart was beating a little faster than normal. She attributed it to being a side effect of Tilly’s concoction she just downed but having him standing there was not helping as much either.

But Rhohaz stayed there looking at her, his mouth half opened stuck between thoughts.

“What is it?” Vanya finally asked looking his way.

He scratched his head and scrunched his nose at the same time, “I hope you were not serious about the…spying. And I hope you weren’t waiting for Roza last night and that was the reason you fell ill this morning.”

He sounded genuine with his voice so soft and crisp. His eyes were rounded and waiting eagerly for a reply from Vanya. She unknowingly paused for way too long, making his brows furrow, breaking her gaze.

She let out a silent laugh and looked to the sea hoping it would calm her heart that was on a roll, “You don’t have to worry about me. I don’t intend to be another name on your list of people to worry about.”

“Well, I’m not worried about you…” Rhohaz was too quick with his answer making Vanya cock her brow, “...I’m just simply…”

“Not wanting to take the blame?”

“Yes…no no!” he realized that his tongue was faster than his mind. Something he did not mean was already out of his mouth.

Vanya scoffed, “Lucky you, you won’t have to take the blame at all from now on. I’ll make sure of that.”

“That’s not what I meant–” Rhohaz stepped up trying to defend himself.

Vanya wrapped her blanket tighter and lifted her dress to take a step back into the house, “Well, I must bid you a good night now, he-who-does-not-want-to-be-blamed.”

“No, wait. I must–”

Vanya held her head high and turned around eyeing Rhohaz who had stepped onto the porch and walked up next to her. His fingers reached out for her arm but they never held on to her. She waited a second wondering if he would actually stop her from going away. Seeing him hesitant she quickly stepped on and scurried off to her room.

Rhohaz stayed there in silence, ashamed of his own actions. The very reason why he even decided to come speak to Vanya in the first place was to make sure she was alright. And now, he had somehow managed to make it worse.