The sun peaked in the sky and the hot humid air filled the infirmary room. Jade continued to hold the slightly damp cloth to her lip but in time started chewing into it in nervousness. Joan was taking far too long. Rhohaz had left to go question Joan a while back.

Maybe she said something different...Oh Joan, please!

Jade held on to the side of the bed watching the nurse bring her a plate of food.

"You must eat," she insisted for she saw Jade's hesitation to even hold the plate.

"Is there anyone I can talk to? Besides the man who questioned me?" Jade asked, her breath shaking.

"He's the best one to talk to out of the lot of them here in Shalom. He's the leader of Shalom."

"Shalom..." Jade repeated thinking, "...I don't think I've heard of Shalom before."

The nurse smiled, "Many have not, my love. Now eat up before he storms back in here again."

Jade was only able to nibble on her food. She was too nervous, yet was trying to come to terms with the possibility of getting found out and being handed over to the authorities in a matter of hours.

We are not safe here...but we are in more danger out there...

She tried thinking it through again. Her sudden decision to request to stay in Shalom to the leader of Shalom, whom she got off on the wrong foot with, came even as a surprise to herself. By the time she realized what she had blurted it was far too late to eat the words back, for Rhohaz heard her clearly and instantly denied her with a sharp "No" and an immediate walk away from the room.

She wanted to bury herself in shame and not see his arrogant face again but she knew she had to do it sooner or later anyway.

She wanted to stay in Shalom, at least till she figured out where she should be heading. But with Joan taking too long, she feared that her time in hiding was coming to an end before it had even begun.

Wanting to calm herself she tried getting back into bed. Her body still sore and aching. She only laid on the bed for a moment before her eyes gave in and soon she was dreaming of her life before Shalom. Her most comfortable, most desirable life that seemed to have no intention of putting her in such a tremulous situation.

She dreamt of her last day in Esmeth. She rode her horse quite freely in the hunting grounds with no care in the world. She ate the most luxurious meals. And she bathed in rose-scented water with a thousand bubbles covering every inch of the magnificent tub lined in gold.

She dreamt of her going to parties held by the aristocrats. Her latest one, held by her father's most beloved aristocrat's snobby daughter, was supposed to be the event of the year. But she felt quite ignored even dressed in her gorgeous blue velvet dress with a plunging neckline made from the finest fabric in all of the Northern Kingdom. Even while she dazzled as her diamond necklace sparkled the entire night with many stunned by her beauty, she ate cake all evening without any meaningful conversation to keep her occupied, and returned to her chambers two hours into the event bored to death.

She opened the door to her chamber only to be surprised to find Joan setting her bed.

"Joan!" she announced herself for Joan seemed to be too invested in getting wrinkles out of the bed sheets.

"Your Highness," Joan bowed slightly watching the other set her gloves aside along with the heavy cloak that sat on her shoulders.

"What are you doing here, dear? Aren't you supposed to be at your mother's memorial?" she said making her way to Joan.

"Oh well, it ended early," Joan said sadly but continued, "But I was able to take my sister Jade to my mother's favorite flower shop, the best one in all of Esmeth."

"The best one, you say?"

"Well," Joan retracted, "I would say best for everyday people like us but quite average for the princess of the Northern Kingdom."

The princess smirked turning her back to Joan to help her get out of the uncomfortably tight dress and continued, "Nonsense! You have better taste in flowers than me, Joan. So I take it that that's the best flower shop in all of Esmeth?"

Joan chuckled nodding away while trying not to hurt her mistress trying to untie the viciously wrapped gown.

"Then we must go there again tomorrow. Oh! And with your sister too, of course!"

"That'll be lovely, Lady Vanya," Joan said finally releasing Vanya from her dress. Vanya exhaled in happiness from being released from the painfully beautiful dress. She loved the dress regardless. She understood from a young age that the tight-fitted ethereal gowns she wore often fell short to the pressure put on her as the only legitimate child to the King of the Northern Kingdom. The painful gowns never bothered her, she took them as a challenge, another measly comment not thrown her way by someone advising her how she would shine more as a lady if her waist was a tad bit smaller. She was often baffled as to how her waist being tiny would help prepare her to run the Kingdom one day. Vanya was stubborn but it was only so far her stubbornness would take her when she was the heir to her father's throne. One might say she was selectively stubborn.

Joan helped Vanya get ready for bed ignoring Vanya's constant requests for her to head back home for Joan was supposed to be out today and not working.

"Helps me take my mind off of things, Your Highness," Joan said simply making Vanya silent. She saw the sadness in Joan's eyes. Joan was usually like this around the time of her mother's death anniversary. And Vanya seemed to never get used to it.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me how the party was?" Vanya said trying to immediately change the subject.

"How was it, my lady? You did come back earlier than I expected. Was the party not fun?" Joan asked leading Vanya to her cloud-like bed with soft pink curtains laying on the frame opened from the sides.

"Well, hardly anybody spoke to me. I suppose you do get alienated when you are the least personable one among the young aristocrats. Which is apparently the rumor that was spread by Lady Olin because of what happened at her ball last year."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"You mean the ball where you punched her brother in the face with a spoon for asking you to dance with him?" Joan reminded her.

"Only accidentally!" Vanya added.

They both laughed in joy. They both found it hilarious. But that was the last time they laughed so heartily. Within the next few hours, they were fleeing to protect their lives through the dark night not knowing if they would ever see dawn.

Vanya's eyes shot open. Her lips quivered and she found herself still whimpering. She waited tucked into the bed staring at the infirmary ceiling for a moment listening to the deep sea waves right outside the window.

It was getting dark outside. The pink sun rays colored the white walls of the infirmary right before the dark crept in.

She walked to the window and watched the last bit of sunlight leave. Soon the sea sparkled in the soft light from the moon. The salty breeze danced with her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment. Her heart was still restless. Her entire world had fallen apart. Everything she knew, everyone she knew, was no longer relevant. She did not know what to do. She was no longer Vanya. She could not be. She had to be Jade.

She opened her eyes to see something move closer to the shore. She focused for a moment to realize it was a dark figure in the shape of a man by the shoreline. She watched him, wondering if he was looking at the sea like she was, waiting for the sea to calm him. But the longer she looked the more she felt as if she had been in this very position before, looking at a shadow by the shore, and slowly realizing the shadow was looking at her. And then, without a warning, the figure vanished.

A trick of the light?

She thought trying to come up with a reason but as her blurry memories from the night before of a figure by the shore looking towards her bubbled up in her mind, her heart started beating faster making fear take over.

Someone's watching us...

She pushed herself off the window and into the safety of the shadows of the infirmary walls. She waited struck in fear, unable to move.

The door swung open with a bang startling Vanya. She looked to see Roza entering with a gentle smile on her face holding a candle illuminating the room.

And there she was, right beside Roza, in matching plain white garments the nurse let them borrow for the night.

Joan limped her way to Vanya. They both hugged deeply as if they were truly two sisters separated for far too long. Joan looked to Vanya with sweet eyes and gently combed through the tangled jet-black curls.

"Your hair is awful," Joan whispered making both the girls whisper a giggle. There was relief on Joan's face which made Vanya hopeful, more hopeful than she'd ever felt.

Roza came closer to them and patted the two lightly saying, "Forgive my brother, he tends to be a bit on his nerves when it comes to asking questions from visitors. We will leave you two sisters on your own for a little. I'm sure you want to be alone by yourself after all you have been through."

Both Vanya and Joan smiled in response.

Vanya watched as Roza thought for a moment, turned around to leave, yet hesitated and turned back around to continue anyway, "The questioning is probably not over yet, at least not until you decide when to leave here. I suggest you try to remember what happened and how you ended up here. That would help convince Rhohaz and especially the elders of the council to let you have some time to recover well."

Vanya looked at Roza and nodded in agreement.

She watched Roza walk to the door with the nurse. This was the first time Vanya ever noticed Roza properly. Her long brown hair moved so effortlessly with her as she walked. Her calming gentle smile and her pale grey eyes were not very common from where Vanya was from. But she remembered those features. They were the exact same features of the rude man who had been keeping her on her toes all day.

Why help us? Aren't you his sister? Sister to the leader of Shalom?

Vanya thought to herself unable to place Roza's loyalty. She watched Roza and the nurse disappear through the door. And for a moment both Vanya and Joan stared at each other in awe; Awe that they were still alive.

They hugged once more making Joan start the waterworks and cry her eyes out till there were no more tears left.

"It was that bad?" Vanya asked caressing Joan on her back while they sat next to each other on one of the beds.

"Bad? Huh! It was terrible. I don't know what he said to you but he even questioned my sanity to the point I thought I was hallucinating all of this! Awful, awful man!"

Vanya watched Joan burst into tears again. Joan was a gentle human. The first time Vanya met Joan was the first day Joan started working as Vanya's maidservant. She walked into seeing Joan, gently setting her bed with new sheets, with a soft smile plastered across her face. She had even brought a bouquet of bright yellow flowers for the lady she would be serving on her first day of work.

"I hope you like daffodils, my lady," Joan spoke so softly Vanya had to ask her to repeat herself a few times before reluctantly accepting the flowers simply because she had never had anyone give her any flowers before. And it was Joan, her maidservant, who was the first to give her any.

They had come a long way since then. Vanya grew to listen more carefully to Joan, and Joan learned to put her foot down whenever the princess lazed in the mornings under her sheets and begged Joan to let her skip her studies with the tutors.

Vanya kept caressing Joan's back until she had finished balling her eyes out and sat up straight ready to have a proper conversation.

"I cannot believe you remembered," Joan sniffled.

"Remembered what?"

"The flowers...The flower shop, my mother's memorial, and...my sister Jade," Joan said wiping her tears.

"Of course, I remembered. For you to think I would not remember that, is such an insult to me, Joan," Vanya said seeing Joan blow her nose on the edge of her gown.

"When the leader, Rho...Rho...Rho-something, asked me what your name was my mind froze. I couldn't think of anything, and I wouldn't dare reveal your actual name so I took a chance hoping you heard the sweet young lady, Roza, mention me asking for my sister earlier. I didn't even think you'd remember my sister's name but I told it anyway. And you should have seen his face when I said it! He looked so crushed," Joan spoke so deliciously savoring the moment she cracked the code, "And then he asked me what I did last with my sister and I thought that was it! He's got me now! But I mentioned getting flowers with my sister for our mother's memorial. And that was it, my lady. He withered away like a boy who lost a silly bet."

Vanya smirked, "I can't believe we pulled it off. You were very brave."

Joan smiled brightly seeing her lady praise her but her face turned serious immediately.

"But my lady, I'm afraid we will have to answer to a higher authority here in Shalom sometime soon."

Vanya's gentle smile melted into a furrow, "The elders of the council?"

"Yes, it sounds to be the court here in Shalom. Even the leader did not seem confident speaking about them. They seem very harsh and will only let an outsider stay for a very specific reason. The leader kept asking me about my father, where I live, what I did, and everything in between just because the council wants all that information. The last thing they got to was the chest. They will not let it slide, Your Highness. I am afraid we will be on our way to a new place soon."

Vanya sighed, partly curious as to why Shalom was so protective, "We shall see. We must stay here for the time being. It is the safest option we have right now. We must see the council first ourselves, and try to convince them. If everything fails, then we will think about what to do next."

Vanya looked to Joan, who was already looking miserable from all the crying, with an unmistakable dread written across her face as if she was passing in and out of a state of fear that she may never return to her old life, never see her remaining family again. Vanya sat Joan down and calmed her.

"Joan, have faith. We will be alright. I will get you out of this mess. I will convince the leader and the council, and buy us more time. I give you my word, Joan. I will get you out of this safe and sound."