“Ouch,” Vanya whispered tiredly as she stumbled on the rocky path sunken into the soft sand. Looking up she found herself surrounded by brick houses, twenty or so, laid out in a crooked line. The dull brick color and the thatched roofs looked uninteresting to Vanya as they blended in so easily with the rest of the spare vegetation and the calm sea. It was a completely different world compared to where Vanya was from.

The castle she grew up in at the East end of the Northern Kingdom was of such exquisite and glorious architecture that she was used to regular tours bringing in visitors from all over the world to bask in its beauty. Her castle, gifted to her by her father the day she was born, was such a delight to reside in despite its massive structure, that she cried for a week when she left the East and moved to the capital when she was thirteen. And even at the capital, Esmeth, there was thought put into the buildings from the main castle to the city streets, and those were the good parts of the city. She had also briefly seen the bad parts of the city, especially on the mini escapades she took last year, scaring her guards who lost sight of her, in an effort to add excitement to their lives. And even with that, she felt as if Esmeth was quite well put together compared to the abomination she thought was lying in front of her eyes.

“Looks…interesting, doesn’t it?” she whispered to Joan making sure not to be heard by Roza and her grandmother leading the way.

Joan looked to her confused sensing Vanya’s dislike in her tone. With a gentle smile, Joan replied softly, “I think it looks charming.”

“Charming?” Vanya desperately held her voice from going higher listening to Joan.

Joan chuckled softly, “This might be inadequate for a princess, but for us normal folk, this is actually quite satisfying. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live near the sea and fall asleep to the waves. I guess I’ll find out tonight.”

Vanya saw Joan’s calm excitement. She couldn’t really understand her, however. They were both so used to the hustle and bustle of Esmeth, the tall sharp edges of the city, and the lively atmosphere. She wondered why Joan thought so different to her, why Joan was finding the little village charming for all she could smell walking down the crooked path was the miserable cow dung engulfing the air. She let out a deep sigh realizing she could not be picky and that she should be thankful.

It was in fact my decision to want to stay back…

She glanced behind to see the infirmary on a hill closer to the sandy beach below, and the council hall, they just left, sitting on the opposite end. She was unconsciously drawing up a map of the village in her head. She was scared. In fact, despite Roza’s grandmother’s convincing words, she was terrified that they might get kidnapped in their sleep and be dumped somewhere far away. She had more enemies than friends in Shalom right now.

They reached what seemed to be the grandmother’s little house. The house was identical to the others, made of brick, dirty orange in color, with a thatched roof and a small walkway leading to the porch.

“Ah! What a lovely house you have,” Vanya announced forcing herself to sound cheerful, making Joan hold in her laugh.

The grandmother shot a confused glance at Vanya.

“Oh don’t be ridiculous! You have not seen the world if you think this is a lovely house, child…,” her rough voice echoed making Vanya embarrassed. She was simply trying to be overly nice.

“...Besides, this isn't my house. It’s around the back. Come along!”

Roza held the little flimsy fence gate open so her grandmother could direct their guests around the side yard and into the back yard of the brick house.

“This was my son’s, Roza’s father’s, house. After my son’s passing, it’s just Rhohaz and Roza that live in here now…” the old lady pointed her cane at the brick house and then moved it to the side revealing a much smaller house at the edge, made of smoky stone surrounded by evergreen clover covering the yard, “...Now that, that is my house. Beautiful, is she not?”

Vanya watched as Joan’s jaw dropped at the sight. The little stone house looked quite opposite to the brick houses, sturdy, and laying perfectly next to the beach with its porch facing the sea. The wind chime, made of sea shells hung so perfectly at the edge. Vanya’s ears perked at its music. She wondered how sea shells could make such a wonderful sound.

Joan joined the grandmother and went ahead. She had never seen her maidservant so delighted, chirpy with questions, and excited to go forth and explore.

Maybe it is because she feels safe…

Vanya tried justifying Joan’s excitement for she did not feel the same by just simply looking at the house. She wondered for a split second if she even knew how to appreciate what was in front of her eyes. If she was lacking some sort of skill her maidservant so easily possessed.

The four women stepped on the little steps leading to the back door of the house and entered a dimly lit cozy space. A kitchen with brass pots and pans hanging on walls, a pot of something still warm sitting on the hearth, and a little round dining table made of heavy wood accompanied by a small flower pot with dried flowers in it. The kitchen shared its space with a small living room equally cozy and inviting. Two bulky chairs made of thick cloth with their bright colors paled from wear, sat facing the porch. The doors to the porch were open displaying a clear view of the gloomy sea just beyond the soft sand with the little seashell wind chime humming away on its own.

“Welcome to my humble dwelling, girls. I wish you got to meet my husband. Snarky fellow, if I say so myself. But he passed long before you two were even alive. Now, what are your names? I hear you two are sisters.”

Vanya and Joan immediately straightened their backs. Their minds blanked for a moment before Joan cleared her throat and spoke, “I’m Joan and this is Jade. We are absolutely honored to be here. You have such a beautiful home. It's always been a dream of mine, living next to the sea…”

It has? Since when?

Vanya only thought to herself, surprised to find out about Joan’s dreams. She always thought Joan preferred to be in Esmeth, working as her maidservant. Joan always looked as if she was thrilled to be working there. This was news to Vanya.

“...And I must thank you for saving our lives. We are eternally grateful to you.”

The grandma gave a slight smirk. “Call me Tilly. And you are free to use my home as your own. It has been a while since these four walls had guests in them. Now if you don’t mind sharing a room, for I’m sure you two did growing up as sisters, let me show you to yours.”

Vanya smiled nervously. She had never shared a room with anyone before. She was struggling to comprehend the situation.

Tilly escorted them. “My room is down the hall at the very end. And this is yours. It is quite small but it’ll do, for now.”

She opened the door to a quaint space. A window in the middle, facing the ocean, the little amount of sun rays streaming in through the thin curtain barely drawn in. There were two straw beds at opposite ends of the walls, a small table in the middle right under the window with a flower pot, and two tulips bloomed in it.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Roza brought in two pairs of sheets and helped prepare the beds for the two girls. She also brought in some clothes. Some for Joan and some for Vanya. She set them neatly on their beds.

“There’s a basin with fresh water around the back of the house. Take a wash whenever you are ready. I should say, try not to make yourself feel too cold just yet,” Roza instructed observing Vanya’s and Joan’s wounds and a quick touch of the back of her palm to each of their foreheads.

Soon both Roza and Grandma Tilly were out of the room leaving Vanya and Joan seated on their beds facing each other. They sat in silence, their hearts calm.

“Do you think we are safe here, your Highness?” Joan asked in a whisper.

Vanya’s heart tugged but she forced a smile and nodded. “I believe so. I believe we are, Joan. Much safer than out there.”

“What if…what if they find us here? Track us down?”

It was the first time Joan mentioned them. Even without directly addressing them, the shadows that chased them through the woods that night, Vanya felt a chill run down her spine. She wondered if the figure she spotted outside the infirmary two nights in a row was one of them. Her heart quickened. Her lips were about to say her thought out loud. But she silenced herself not knowing the answer and not wanting to alert Joan.

And for Joan’s sake, she said softly, “They won’t. And if they do, we have protection. There are people on our side here, like Roza and grandma.”

“But that’s it. Nobody else seems to want us here.”

Vanya walked to Joan seeing her maidservant’s eyes begin to brim with tears. She sat beside her and hugged her shoulder.

“We’ve at least got Roza and Grandma Tilly. I’m sure everyone will warm up to us soon.”

Joan let out a silent sob. Vanya felt her terror. She felt Joan miss her family, and her life back in Esmeth, that was where she felt safe. Vanya felt terrible for putting Joan through this. If it wasn’t for Joan, she could have been killed lying on her bed that night. And if it wasn’t for her, Joan could still be with her family, in Esmeth, and not stranded in some isolated village nobody knew of.

In an attempt to distract themselves, they went ahead and helped each other take a very short and quick wash. Their hair finally cleaned of brine and their bodies barely scrubbed of all the dirt they had been carrying ever since that night.

Once they were back in the room with a fresh set of clothes, Joan was back to shivering in fear.

She fell asleep crying and so did Vanya next to her. By the time they woke, the sun was beginning to set. A loud bang on their door followed by a louder voice announced that supper was ready.

Both Joan and Vanya were greeted to a candle-lit dinner. A roasted chicken, warm garden potatoes, and some bread with butter.

They dug in like they had not seen food for days. The food at the infirmary was fairly bland.

Grandma Tilly watched them eat heartily while she made some dark tea and sipped on it the whole time.

The wind playing with the seashells made for delightful music. By the time they were done with supper, Joan was back to normal and curiously asking about the house from Tilly while Vanya watched them converse. Vanya had nothing to add or ask but she enjoyed listening to them. It filled her heart more than she thought it would. Their conversation felt real with depth as opposed to all her conversations back at the castle with the daughters of aristocrats and distinguished guests. Only for a fleeting moment, she felt as if there might have been something missing in her life before.

“Enough with the questions. You must save some for later. Hush now, you are tiring my ears,” Grandma Tilly gave out a little shout trying to shut Joan up.

“Oh Grandma Tilly, please. It has been my dream to live in such a lovely home by the sea,” Joan begged, drunk with food filling her belly. Happy at heart.

“Well, I suppose it should remain a dream then, for the sake of my poor ears.”

Vanya chuckled at their antics. Grandma Tilly gave up, throwing her hands in the air, and pretended to walk away. But it was obvious she loved their company.

They spoke till the sun had far set in the distant horizon and Joan finally yawned way too many times before heading off to bed.

Grandma Tilly made another batch of tea and gave one cup to Vanya who found herself sitting on one of the cozy chairs.

“Take, dear. Join me,” Tilly pushed the teacup into Vanya’s palms, seeing her ready to refuse it.

“Thank you,” Vanya replied letting her palms hug the cup.

They stayed silent for a moment watching the dark sea, the sky lit with stars, and the chilly sea breeze dancing in between their fingers.

“How are you doing, dear?” Tilly asked taking a sip.

Vanya paused. She did not really know. She was not really feeling anything. Her mind was only occupied with staying safe. Keeping Joan safe for she felt guilty.

“I feel much better,” Vanya spoke softly trying to hide her own doubt.

Grandma Tilly stayed silent almost as if she was weaving through the million thoughts running through Vanya’s head. And then she whispered.

“Pause for a moment, dear. Give yourself a chance to breathe…” Grandma Tilly closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, “...You don’t have to shoulder everything all at once.”

Vanya paused, this time longer. For a reason beyond her understanding, she felt her body relax. Her eyes let out a tear she did not even know she was holding.

“I see you trying to keep everything together. I see you think twice before saying anything. You do not need to do that here, dear. Relax.”

It was almost as if she was released from a spell. Vanya’s chest felt lighter hearing those words from Tilly. It was as if she finally got permission to relax her clenched fists that were ready to fight, her stiff shoulders from worrying about their safety, her aching heart from feeling guilty, and even her sore neck from carrying the heavy crown named the heir to the Northern Kingdom. She felt herself breathe fresh air.

They barely spoke after. Grandma Tilly was in between falling asleep and finally waddled her way to her bedroom.

Vanya was so engrossed in staring at the crescent moon that she missed saying the words ‘Thank you’ to Tilly. Those words were at the tip of her tongue the entire night while she gathered her courage to sound them out. But Tilly was gone by the time her courage peaked.

Soon she was alone, standing by the wind chime on the porch, letting the night breeze cool her while she held her empty tea cup in her hands.

She thought and thought the entire night but never felt her eyes get sleepy. She thought so much her worries started creeping in as if there was a ticking timer on how much she could relax and it was nearing its end.

Her shoulders stiffened back up and her neck pain returned.

The fever she had in the morning seemed to have disappeared, however. She felt her usual self. She wondered if it was the tonic back in the infirmary that Clara kept having her drink that had helped her progress so quickly in her recovery.

She felt a sudden chill run down her spine like something ominous was around. She unconsciously looked ahead at the shore. A shadow stood there in complete silence.

Her eyes widened and her heart quickened. It was the same shadow from the last two nights.

Without much thought, she quickly placed her cup on the floor beneath her, lifted her thin dress, tipped toed down the porch stairs and into the soft sand. Her bare feet sank into the sand while she observed the figure for one last moment before she decided to do the unthinkable.

I’m not afraid of you. I’ll show you, you just wait!

With that thought, she pulled her dress higher, locked her eyes on the figure, and stepped on the sand harder launching herself forward with so much force she was soon sprinting down the shore and towards the sea.

She ran with so much conviction, that soon she was shouting her way down the shore. Her fist clenched into a ball and her vision blurred.

She watched the figure turn around to face her as she reached them yet she whipped her fist around and punched them in the nose.

The force tipped her and she fell on the sand with a thud.

“Ouch! What are you doing?!”

She heard the shadow speak. With her head still in the sand, she clenched her fist again before forcing her body upright and turning to throw the second punch.

She was so sure her fist would land on the figure’s nose again but her aim fell short. The very next moment, the figure grabbed both her hands and shook her to reality.

Her vision formed to see the leader of Shalom, Rhohaz, the face she wished not to see tonight, with a bloodied nose and angry eyes staring at her.