It was not like Vanya had a choice. She had to smile ear to ear, her cheeks hurting by the minute, and her tongue singing the words ‘thank you’ each time a resident of Shalom gave her a little of whatever they were serving for lunch.

She gulped nervously looking into each one of the villagers' dull faces. They did not seem like they particularly wanted Vanya in their presence. Some of them would flash an obviously fake smile and the others quite confidently avoided her gaze altogether.

They all sat on the straw mats neatly laid on the school grounds. Vanya found herself in a quiet corner although everyone was seated in a very apparent circle. The women, as they walked around making sure all of the dozen gathered today had enough on their lunch plates, gave slightly more judgmental looks towards Vanya than she expected them to. She thought being a woman she felt one step closer to being welcomed by them. But she thought wrong.

The cool breeze dancing with Vanya’s hair should have made her feel colder. But seeing the quite obvious treatment toward her, her ears turned red and her body sweat in embarrassment. Never in her entire life did she think she would receive such cold treatment. In fact, she did not even know it was possible until today.

Loneliness, despite her loving to be by herself, felt insulting with so many gathered around her and not one truly acknowledging her presence.

Foot steps drew closer catching Vanya’s attention. She felt everyone’s gaze on her before she saw Rhohaz take a seat right beside her, inches away.

Oh great!

She thought not wanting unwanted attention towards her. She wanted to dig a hole, jump in, and hide in it.

I should have just left when I had the chance to…

“How’s lunch?” Rhohaz startled Vanya, who did not expect him to speak to her.

She smiled wide with bread in her mouth seeing the villagers' eyes still locked on them, from the corner of her eye.

“Greaaat,” she sounded out trying not to get bread stuck in her windpipe. The last thing she wanted was to choke herself to death with so many eyes judging her.

Rhohaz looked as if he was about to burst out laughing but managed to control himself with only a silent squeak escaping his lips.

He stayed silent for a moment or two observing the crowd go back into focusing on chowing down the food on their plates.

Then he cleared his throat and straightened his back turning to Vanya, as if he was continuing a conversation they were both actively engaging in, “Sally over there is the best cook in Shalom…”

The crowd froze seeing Rhohaz point a hefty woman opposite them serving soup from a large vessel. She gave a slight nod at Rhohaz and a quick smile to Vanya. The first genuine smile Vanya had seen today.

“...Creed right there is her husband. He’s been a fisherman for thirty years now, isn’t that right, Creed?”

A lanky frail man with a head full of silver hair jumped up in joy to reply, “Thirty-two!”

Laughter followed leaving a trail of easiness to break into the cracks of awkwardness.

“You can call me Greta…,” a woman appeared with a plate of thick biscuits and balanced two on Vanya’s plate, “...I make the best dresses in town.” She winked at Vanya with a smile and carried on serving more biscuits to everyone.

Vanya felt her shoulders relax a little.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Rhohaz?” a group of slightly older men, the ones that helped haul Betsy down to the ground, chuckled from the end.

Rhohaz let out a laugh and continued, “That’s Ronal, Kev, and Stu. They pretty much handle everything from building houses to rounding cattle to selling fish at the big markets outside of Shalom.”

Vanya watched them wave at her and even one of them bowed, mouthing “Welcome, young lady.”

Rhohaz went on to introduce the rest of the crowd gathered at the school building. Vanya felt them relax as each face was introduced to her. She too was soon smiling with no effort listening to them go back to a sense of normalcy, not holding back or whispering amongst themselves.

With the food on her plate wiped clean, she felt herself breathe much better, her belly full. From the corner of her eye, she watched Rhohaz eating peacefully now that the awkwardness had been lifted.

She wanted to say thank you yet she only bit her cheek. She wondered why he went out of his way to sit next to her and introduce everyone to her. She wondered for she saw no benefit for him to do such a thing.

“My love, you have not introduced yourself to us,” Greta, the woman who served her biscuits spoke. It was not as if the entire village did not know her name, her fake name, by now, just as Timmie had mentioned previously.

Vanya gulped looking to Rhohaz who nodded. He watched her fidget trying to stand but her legs did not move making her remain seated anyway.

“It’s…Jade. I’m from Esmeth,” her voice trembled, surprising her. She had never really heard her voice sound that way before. It was always confident and clear even when she stood among hundreds, if not thousands, gathered at royal gatherings.

“I’ve been to Esmeth, when I was a baby, of course. Must be a big change of scenery then. Shalom isn’t like Esmeth,” Kev spoke with a hand on Stu’s head as support for him to stand.

They all looked at Vanya in silence waiting for her response, eager to know her thoughts. She had to think fast, not let them think she was a snob from a better town, which she partly felt like she was given the way she felt about their odd little houses and the gloomy sea.

“It’s charming. I’ve always wondered what it was like to live near the sea,” she replied stealing Joan’s comment.

She watched them give her bright smiles and approving nods.

Thank you, Joan, truly!

She thought. If it was not for Joan’s enthusiastic remarks she would not have managed to end it on a high note.

“Charming, you say?” Rhohaz whispered to her ear on his way standing up. Without another word, he was on his way with his clean plate. She watched him with rounded eyes unable to point out why he even said such a comment. She wondered if it was that apparent on her face, that she did not think she quite fit in or was interested in Shalom.

Soon, lunch was over and the crowd dispersed to their pre-determined jobs for the day. Most of them were engaged in cleaning out the schoolyard, taking out the weeds, and tidying the outdoors. Vanya got assigned to clean the indoors. The little hall had sand swept in by the strong winds covering it, cobb webs, and dust filling the crevices.

She was joined by Timmie, who was as silent as a mouse during lunch for he was stuffing himself with so many leftovers, and a girl named Cecil, who looked only a little older than Vanya herself.

Vanya reunited with her little broom, watched Cecil with hawk eyes from a corner. It did not take much for Cecil to notice. Having such rounded dark eyes following one's every move was hard to miss.

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“Are you alright?...” Cecil with her ginger hair up in a neat sleek bun and her light green dress knotted slightly up so that it wouldn’t be sweeping the floor instead, made her way to Vanya.

“...Rhohaz told me to keep an eye on you. He said you weren’t feeling that well in the morning.”

Vanya frowned hearing that Rhohaz went out of his way to ask Cecil to watch her. Yet she quickly grinned at Cecil and nodded confidently.

“I can’t believe the council almost kicked you and your sister out of Shalom yesterday. Hope you are doing okay,” Cecil spoke almost in a whisper and gave a quick glance at Timmie, who was falling asleep at the corner of the hall, far away from them.

“Yes, yes we are. I…I did not expect that. Are they always like that? The council?” Vanya asked hoping to lead Cecil into opening up.

To which Cecil did, in fact, she ate up the opportunity whole.

“Oh yes, they are. They are much worse usually. Heck, they made me wait for months before approving anything…”

Vanya looked at Cecil confused, not following her.

“...I’m sorry. Let me start over. I’m actually from Elioth. It’s a little over half a day's journey on foot from Shalom. An actual town. I still miss Elioth and my family. It was fun growing up there. I met my husband Ronal a few years ago at the Elioth market. We were a couple in secret. He even planned to move to Elioth after we would elope. But his mother fell ill leaving him no choice but to stay back.”

“So you decided to move to Shalom?”

Cecil nodded. “I wanted to become family with Ronal so I said ‘Let me come to you instead’. I should have known by his hesitation. It took us weeks to convince his family and months to convince the council. I heard, not so long ago, that some of the council wished we would eventually break off and wither away if they had pushed hard enough.”

Vanya huffed in anger. “Why would they do that?”

“I guess they didn’t particularly like that my father was a blacksmith. He retired well before. The only reason they agreed was apparently because Roza’s grandmother, Tilly, said she had a convincing dream that I was the only one for Ronal, to which I must agree with her on that…”

Cecil laughed thinking about her husband then went back to say,

“...They don’t let anyone in without checking on them for months. Most of the men and women of age move away once they’ve found love. It’s very rare for anyone to settle down in Shalom. The only exception is if they’ve already arranged a marriage with council approval. Heck, they don’t even let my family members visit me sometimes. I have to get permission well before. I’m saying all of this to let you know, you are very lucky they decided you could stay back.”

Vanya gulped.

“It was actually Grandma Tilly and Roza who helped us too. If it wasn’t for them we would have been kicked out,” Vanya said looking to her feet knowing things would have been bad if Grandma Tilly had not blasted through the council doors.

“I’m glad you are here. Regardless of your reasons,” Cecil said hoping to divert the conversation to Vanya and how she ended up in Shalom.

Not wanting to go there, Vanya spoke, “Me too. I hope they don’t kick us out so soon.”

“Now that, I do not know. They are so fickle but creative in coming up with excellent excuses. I would say I’ve never seen such strictness towards outsiders by anyone before.”

“Do you know why they do so?” Vanya pressed on.

Cecil shrugged, “Oh, I think it’s mostly superstition. Ronal tried explaining to me once and I think I dozed off.”

“Superstition?”

“Apparently there’s a prophecy that the ghosts of the past would come to haunt the village riding on the back of a dark stallion…or was it a white stallion? Regardless, a stallion... piercing right through the heart of Shalom.”

Vanya furrowed her brows in confusion.

Cecil shook her head in disbelief, “I could be saying it all wrong. I was half asleep and frankly, I find it bogus. But you know who finds it beyond fascinating?...”

Vanya’s eyes lit up and leaning forward.

“...Roza. That girl has her mind occupied day and night trying to solve riddles of Shalom, little bits and pieces of stories she had heard…” Cecil suddenly gasped covering her mouth, “...Oh heavens! Do not talk to anyone about it, I beg you. I am telling you out of trust that you will keep it a secret…,” Vanya was ready to swear it on her life but Cecil continued on anyway as if she merely gasped out of obligation that she was supposed to keep her lips sealed.

“...Roza tells me everything, most of the time. Recently she’s been going around on her own trying out different experiments. She once disappeared for ten days worrying everyone. Rhohaz keeps a close eye on her because of that. She was about to take off again right before you and your sister showed up. Lucky you, she found you in time.”

Vanya lost Cecil halfway through her dump, losing herself in the weeds of it all. She shook he head and quickly asked before Cecil jumped to another topic of conversation.

“What…what is she doing? Disappearing for days?”

Cecil’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. It seemed her little head had not really cared enough to ask questions from Roza herself.

“You would have to ask her that. I doubt she would say anything, though. But you never know, it’s Roza, she’s the opposite of Rhohaz. Unpredictable, spontaneous. But know that you can trust her. She’s got secrets of her own, but I promise you, she’s on your side. She is as equally loyal to being absolutely disloyal to the council of Shalom.”

Timmie jolted awake from his own snore that ripped out in a crescendo, loud and clear. Cecil shuffled around pretending to be sweeping the same spot and Vanya mirrored her. Curious seeing Cecil’s attitude change, Vanya risked it and whispered, “I heard Timmie is one of Roza’s best friends. Why are we whispering around him? Surely, he knows what she’s up to.”

Cecil cracked a smile, “He was one of her best friends. Bless his heart but his father is a part of the council and is usually heavily opposed to anything Roza suggests. Naturally, Timmie and Roza drifted apart. They may seem fine on the outside but she speaks to me more than she does him. He’s probably instructed by his father to watch over Roza, which is what you should absolutely do if you want to drive her away.”

Vanya glanced over at Timmie sweeping lethargically as if his will to live had flown away. His disheveled hair may precisely describe his state of mind, caught between granting his father’s wishes or letting go of an old friend.

A few hours flew by with the trio sweeping and dusting away the hall. Cecil was engaged in a lively conversation with Vanya about the types of fish her husband sold at the market at Elioth. She even invited Vanya and Joan to attend her small ceremony in two days' time to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Vanya kindly accepted not knowing if she would even be in Shalom by that time. Her doubts in her mind had grown with every word Cecil said, which was far too many, sinking in with time. She began to question the smiling faces she saw at lunch. If their smiles were truly genuine or if there was a hidden agenda where they hoped to have her quickly removed from the village.

A deep sigh took over Vanya and her mind floated away to little Jac. She had been avoiding thinking about it all day, yet she could not help but wonder if her hunch on him was correct. And if Roza, who according to Cecil might entertain the idea of sharing something with a curious mind, would ever answer honestly if Vanya were to ask her of Jac, and of magic.

“You must bring her with you. Her sister as well.”

Vanya’s train of thought broke hearing Cecil speak. Her eyes caught the gaze of a tall figure next to Cecil. His eyes did that thing again, only barely. It shone gold and instantly returned to pale grey.

Vanya gulped, she thought all this time it was perhaps a trick of the light, a sun ray catching his eyes at a sensitive angle making a beautiful display of shine for a crack of a moment, just enough to miss it with a mere blink of an eye.

A chill ran down her spine. Her mind was already back to speculating. Her heartbeat quickened. There was far too much going on. With Jac and his wooden carving that turned to sand, with Cecil and the prophecy she thought was bogus, and Roza and her special attention to what seemed like mere folktales of Shalom, Vanya felt her head throb in confusion. The last thing she wanted was to add to that.

No, focus. There is no time for games. I just need to keep Joan and me safe…Just need to be safe until I figure out how to alert the authorities. Heck, they are probably looking for me already, my father’s trusted knights. Once I get to them we will return to Esmeth safe and sound. I just need to stay put till then…

“You alright?”

Vanya shot her eyes open not realizing she was bent over holding onto her broom huffing loudly. She looked up to see Rhohaz, Cecil, and Timmie looking concerned.

“She’s probably exhausted and still sick. You shouldn’t have made her come all the way here, Rhohaz,” Cecil nudged the leader and proceeded to help Vanya up.

Rhohaz scratched the back of his head.

“Grandma probably already helped them heal–” Timmie got cut off as Rhohaz crossed over and took Vanya’s broom to set it aside.

“That’s enough for today. Let me take you home,” Rhohaz spoke softly.

His eyes landed on her again. This time she stared longer, eyes wide forcing herself to not blink, half hoping she’d catch it and half begging it was just a trick of the light. His pale gray eyes remained as gray as the gloomy skies. The more she stared at them the more they remained dull silver, no shine, bland and pale. Her eyes caught a hint of blush forming on Rhohaz’s cheeks and her ears perked as Timmie let out a cheeky laugh.

“Alright, that’s enough staring. It's time to go home.”