Vanya was shaking on the way back from Rhohaz’s room. She spotted Garin talking animatedly with Rhohaz at the gate. This was her chance, her chance to escape fast.
She ran down the hallway and into the kitchen. She was about to reach the back door when suddenly it swung open and she found Roza standing there, her disheveled brown hair in a frizzy bush and the hem of her dress along with her boots muddied. She carried a satchel herself and a few dried flowers tucked in her ear as if she had forgotten they were there in the first place.
Roza was equally surprised to see Vanya in her home, but not as terrified as Vanya was.
“A–” Roza got cut off as Vanya got to her before she said anything and shushed her with a finger to her lips.
She grabbed Roza’s hand and led her back outside, closing the back door carefully hoping to not alert Rhohaz and Garin outside.
“I’m sorry,” Vanya spoke fast, she had to be honest with Roza quickly, “You brother caught me sneaking into your home.”
Roza tilted her head in confusion but let Vanya lead her away from her home and onto the beach.
“Sneaking in? Why were you sneaking in? You could have just knocked,” Roza said, following Vanya down the shoreline trying to keep up with her incredibly fast pace.
They were finally a good distance away from both Roza’s and Tilly’s homes when Vanya stopped and turned around. It was time, she had to establish trust with Roza. She should not make Roza feel any doubt.
“I wanted to speak with you…” Vanya started, wondering what to say, and began to word vomit whatever came into her mind, “...We were worried. It has been a couple of days since we saw you.”
Roza let out a confident laugh, “Sure,” she titled her head and continued, “But why were you wanting to speak with me? And why were you sneaking in just now? You haven’t answered that question, have you?”
Vanya felt the pressure. It was as if she was speaking with her history tutor, Master Aren, whose questions often made her feel as if she had only one chance to get it right.
Vanya gulped watching Roza peering into her soul with her eager eyes lighting up by the minute as if she was getting closer to Vanya’s true reply the more she stared into her dark eyes.
Vanya sighed and decided to come clean despite only just now finding out that Roza’s late father was wanted by her own father’s court, dead or alive. She did not want to think about it right now. She wanted to focus on what was at hand.
“I want you to be my ally. Be on our side. Speak on behalf of us in front of the council.”
The corners of Roza’s lips curved into a sarcastic smile, “Am I not on your side already? I am the reason you're still here. Why go out of your way to confirm my loyalty to you?”
“Because I want you to know I am your ally as well. I’ve heard from Cecil that you are not the council’s most favorite resident and that you’ve got ambitions of your own.”
“By ambitions? You mean the part where I run away from home for days on end and have my dear brother look for me?”
Vanya fell silent. Roza laughed seeing Vanya’s uncomfortable face and continued, “Oh Cecil! She never knows when to keep things to herself. You say I am not the council’s most favorite resident and you still want me to be your ally? You might as well charm Timmie or better yet, Garin. They each have a parent in the council. Why not go that route?”
Roza’s questions made sense. But Vanya was determined to stick to her point.
“Because I trust you...”
Roza's sarcastic smile faded into a genuine one. She had not expected such a reply.
“...I trust that you have my best interests at heart. And you will not doubt that I have yours. I may not be able to help you as much as I would like to but I will do everything I can. In return, I ask that you help us, help us stay here longer, help us be safe, and protect us.”
Roza stayed silent for a moment looking deeply into Vanya’s eyes. She took a step back as if to brace herself before asking, “Then I must ask you, what truly happened to you and your sister? I doubt that you don’t remember how you two ended up in that awful chest. You may have fooled my brother for now but I know that’s not true.”
Vanya had not expected Roza to be so stern. She seemed like a free spirit fantasizing of the next day she could run down a mountain and bathe in the sparkling waterfalls. She seemed only interested in keeping peace and helping anyone in need. She hadn’t expected Roza to question her back.
She needed Roza on her side. But Roza could not know the full truth just yet.
“We were chased by men the night before we ended up on your shores. We ran for hours, through the city streets and into the woods. It’s all a blur but one of them did almost catch us. He almost strangled me alive if not for Joan dropping a heavy rock on his head…” Vanya moved her hair away to show the faint purple fingerprints on her neck, “...I don’t know how but we found ourselves on a dock by a lake, I think it was a lake, there was a boat there. We found an empty chest and hid in it. It must have been the exhaustion but I don’t remember when we fell unconscious or floated away.”
Vanya had not spoken of that night to anyone. Even with Joan they barely spoke of that night’s happenings. It was gruesome for they both thought it was the last night they would ever be alive.
“Do you know who they were? The men chasing you?” Roza asked.
“I’m not sure,” Vanya spoke the truth for she did not know who they were.
“What did they want from you?”
“Probably my life,” Vanya sighed knowing that that was also the truth and that was also the only probable reason she was chased that night.
“Is there any reason they are still looking for you? And is that why you need protection?”
“Yes, it’s most likely that they are still looking for us. And that is why I did not tell my story to the council. I believed the council would have kicked us out faster if I did. They certainly don’t seem like they would want strange men crawling around Shalom looking for two girls. And that is why I need your help,” Vanya felt a strange sense of relief having said everything she had been holding in for days.
She looked to Roza, who was thinking deeply with her arms crossed and her fingers on her chin.
Vanya waited patiently. She saw the similarities then, Roza was the same if not the exact copy of Rhohaz. The thick brown hair and the pale gray eyes complimented her fair skin in the soft sunlight. Her face held the same features as Rhohaz. Especially the slight nose scrunch Vanya noticed seemed to form whenever Rhohaz thought before he spoke. As similar as they were by appearance, the stark difference in their personalities showed why they would often butt heads.
“Fine…” Roza finally spoke making Vanya take a deep breath in, “...I will help you.”
Vanya sighed louder and smiled with relief flooding her face, “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“In turn,…” Roza’s eyes light up with a hint of mischief taking over, “...you must help me with some of my…experiments? Yes, let’s call them experiments. You must help me with my experiments.”
Vanya’s eyebrows rose in question. Roza let out a smirk, “I promise you, it’s not as dangerous as I made it sound. And I will make sure you stay protected.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Done!” Vanya pulled out her hand which Roza grabbed on excitedly.
“I will come find you when I need you,” Roza added holding on to Vanya’s hand bubbling with eagerness, “I assure you, you are going to have your eyes opened to a whole new world.”
***
Vanya was left puzzled after Roza’s last comment. She was walking back to Tilly’s home by herself after Roza took off promising to keep everything from her brother and asking Vanya to do the same when she heard Joan shouting her other name.
“Ja..Jade? Where are you?”
She heard the panic in Joan’s tone and sped up. Joan was in Tilly’s garden by the tiny bushes that had turned dark yellow, her bare feet clutching the clover beneath her in distress.
“Joan!” Vanya exclaimed grabbing Jona’s attention. Joan’s worried brows relaxed immediately as she pushed herself to Vanya and grabbed her hands.
“Rhohaz was looking for you,” Joan whispered leading Vanya to Tilly’s back door.
“What did he want? Is he inside the house?” Vanya panicked holding back from taking any further steps.
Joan stopped with her realizing there was more to Vanya’s questions.
“What did you do? Why was he looking for you?” Joan whispered back, harsher.
“What did he want? What did he say?” Vanya only kept questioning making Joan frustrated.
But Vanya being her mistress Joan only held her frustration in and answered, “He just wanted to know if you were in the house. He looked annoyed, almost angry but not to the point he would shout at you or kick us out of the village. What did you do? Please, tell me you did not cross him.”
Vanya looked to Joan unable to bring it up that she may have indeed crossed the line. “Where is he?” Vanya only kept asking more questions.
Joan sighed. “He left. He’s not in his house. He said he will be back to take us to Cecil’s place, for her and her husband's anniversary?”
Vanya remembered promising Cecil she would attend with Joan. “Oh yes, that’s right.”
“He said we should be ready by the time he’s back. He’ll be walking us and Grandma Tilly over to Cecil’s. We should hurry though, we won’t have much time to get dressed although we don’t really have anything much to dress up with. At least not how you are used to, your Highness,” Joan whispered the last parts.
Vanya only smiled. She wanted to tell everything that she saw in Rhohaz’s room to Joan. She wanted to tell about Rhohaz’s father and a few others in Shalom whom she did not recognize as having committed a heavy crime large enough to have a hefty bounty on their heads. But she did not want to alert Joan. She did not want to disturb her peace. She also did not want to face Rhohaz. Absent-mindedly, she dug into her pocket, took the seashell she stole from Rhohaz’s room, and hid it tight in her palm. She was too worried about what was to come. She wished she had just left with Roza instead, not having to deal with the consequences of her actions to come.
Vanya did not particularly pay attention to anything after. Joan made her sit in a corner and dressed her up in the plain white dresses Tilly had found the both of them. They looked much the same in those airy dresses. Joan braided Vanya’s hair and wrapped it in a simple bun. She was braiding her own when Vanya reached out and helped her wrap her own. It was perhaps the first time Vanya ever helped Joan dress up. Strangely, it felt quite sisterly despite them having a different relationship to begin with.
Seeing Joan be silent and to herself, Vanya naturally pinched Joan’s cheeks to get a laugh out of her. Vanya never had any siblings. Even though she had a stepbrother from her father’s second wife, she never really spent time with him. She was always alone, by herself. And then Joan came into her life. Someone around the same age as she was. And even though Joan worked for her, she never really felt Joan to be her maidservant. She felt her to be much like a friend, a very close friend. But it wasn’t until today did she feel that it may have been different for Joan. Joan may have felt like she had to hold back before speaking her mind because Vanya was her mistress and the heir to the throne.
“Joan, I don’t think I ever told you, that I consider you to be my friend, my only friend, my best friend. I hope you know I will do my everything to get you home safe and sound,” Vanya let her feelings speak for her.
Joan smiled wide with her eyes twinkling in the sunlight. Vanya held onto Joan’s shoulders and squeezed them.
But before Joan could answer a loud knock on their door made them jump. It was Tilly and she shouted at them for taking far too long.
They were out of their rooms in no time and Tilly handed them each a heavy basket to carry.
What is in them? Rocks?
Vanya thought.
“It’s pie, apple pie,” Tilly commented.
Another knock on Tilly’s back door made both Vanya and Joan jump in surprise.
Vanya’s fingers dug into the basket handle hoping it wasn’t who she thought it was. She looked away seeing Tilly waddle her way to the door and open it.
“Hello, Rhohaz. Back so quick?” Joan squeaked eyeing Vanya, who refused to look at him. She was scared of what he was going to say. She hoped it was not going to be words of accusation, and perhaps shackles for her before dragging her away to lock her up.
“Yes, yes, of course. Everyone’s on their way to Cecil and Ronal’s. We should head out now,” he spoke, his voice radiating confidence mixed with a bit of sass. Vanya felt him turn to her despite her eyes interestedly observing Tilly’s plain wall to her side.
“I can take one of those,” he spoke once more, his hand held out at Vanya.
She did not know what to do. She did not want to dare look him in the eye to simply hand her basket over to him. She could already feel his gaze burning through her skin.
“Umm uh here you go, then,” Joan squeaked once more awkwardly pushing her basket to Rhohaz and shielding Vanya.
He held on to the basket and turned to let Tilly, who was too busy wrapping a scarf around her neck, take the lead.
The four of them left the house. The path to Cecil and Ronal’s was the same as the one to the school building. Tilly led the way humming a simple tune. Vanya and Joan followed with Rhohaz right behind them. Joan did not dare leave Vanya’s side seeing Rhohaz wearing a frown so openly.
They could already see a crowd forming at a house in the distance. By the time they arrived, it was almost double the amount of people that Vanya met at the school the other day. Happy smiles and questionable looks greeted her. Timmie found his way, as per usual.
“Hello again, Joan,” he greeted Joan with a cheery tone. She only nodded politely.
“Rhohaz! I see you are with your lov–” Rhohaz immediately cut Timmie off grabbing Timmie by the back of his neck, only slightly, diverting him away from the girls.
Vanya was partly thankful Rhohaz stepped up before Timmie announced his latest speculations about their relationship to the crowd gathered. She hoped with this Rhohaz would disappear once and for all and she would not have to deal with him anymore, at least for the rest of the night.
“You made it!” Cecil, who was dressed in a beautiful pale green dress with a ribbon tied around her waist and her ginger hair in pretty curls bouncing on her shoulders, reached out to both Vanya and Joan.
“This must be your sister,” she squeezed Joan’s hands warmly, “I’m so glad you both made it to our little ceremony. Please come join us.”
She led them around the garden and to the backyard overlooking the sea. There was a very long table taking center stage. Long benches accompanied the table. There was already food neatly placed on wooden plates with a smoked pig in the middle. It was a feast indeed. Vanya had not seen a smoked pig in a while. Her mouth watered at the sight of so much food as if Tilly had been starving her all this time.
They were soon asked to help set the apple pie in the kitchen and distribute slices to each serving lying on the table. Joan assumed the position naturally, mingling with the rest of the ladies who were busy with serving food. Vanya, however, stood there puzzled, unable to blend in as well as Joan did. She finally decided to mirror Joan. She followed Joan’s lead to help serve the sliced pie. She felt as if she was missing some sort of qualification, some prior training to do this as if she needed someone of enough experience to teach her how to serve pie.
She bumped into Greta, the lovely lady who served her biscuits at the school grounds. Vanya immediately started apologizing for getting a bit of pie on Greta’s dress. Vanya was panicking thinking she had ruined it all.
“Calm down, dear. I am wearing an apron. That’s what aprons are for,” Greta’s gentle words helped Vanya gather herself. She never thought she’d be so flustered trying to figure out something so basic.
Soon, everyone was asked to take a seat at the never-ending table.
Vanya almost fell off the bench seeing Rhohaz, with his frown growing even more fierce, take a seat right opposite her. She promptly avoided looking at him.
The chatter died down as Cecil and Ronal stood at the end of the table bringing out a chalice, a golden one with an intricate design of a vine circling it. They poured wine in there to raise it with their hands entangled together.
“To our beloved, who witnessed us vow to be each other’s light, without your support and kindness we would never be standing here after two years of fruitful life together,” Ronal spoke earnestly. He together with Cecil raised the chalice, with everyone joining them in raising their cups, “To family,” Ronal ended with everyone repeating after him and taking a sip from their cups.
Vanya followed, taking a large gulp from her cup not realizing she too had wine in hers. She was going to stop and place hers back on the table when she froze catching Rhohaz glaring at her. And for the first time since he caught her in his closet, she locked eyes with him.
She could see the scorching anger building inside of him. He looked as if he would explode any moment now. She wasn’t sure what he would do. Would he lash out at her in front of all these people? Would he gather his council, have her surrounded, and have her punished for her wrongdoings?
The more Vanya looked at Rhohaz the more he grew in anger. It was like a suffocating toothache that nagged you till you willingly pulled it out altogether.