When she thought about those couple of weeks, a single thing played in her mind: I’m going to wake up soon. This has to be some kind of cruel dream. But she never woke up. The false sense of stability she’d developed by living in Ryobel had been broken, faced with the reality of what would happen if they chose a different option.
She’d seen the other five since their decision to move, but she didn’t tell them anything. They were leaving, after all, because of what the other townspeople would think—of what she and Domenique would have to face. Some of the adults knew, of course, though as far as Fauna was aware, the whole town didn’t know the reason until after they were gone.
She listened to the adults’ conversations as she packed the rest of her things. They were leaving tomorrow with the rest of the Mikkel territory nobles.
“I… still can’t imagine how you can do this,” Kamila remarked, quietly. Perhaps she, too, awaited the moment when she’d wake up. “Minne’s adopted. No one from that side of the family was ever from Seothia…”
Casper laughed. “Well, if there’s one thing a king can do, it’s pull strings! Throw in some complicated political stuff, handwave it all off, and, just like that, you’re part of the nobility.”
“If you can’t think of it any other way, think of it like returning a favor,” Minne suggested. “We might not have made it without the help of your mother, and you might not make it without our help now. Sounds even, don’t you think?”
Kamila sighed. “I suppose we can call it that. But I’m still not sure—will this… really be better?”
“Of course it will! You won’t have to worry about anything.” Casper paused. “Ah, you mean in terms of the nobility? They won’t be a problem, either. You’ll be minor nobles. No one’s going to bother you as long as you don’t bother them. You’re not going to be expected to watch over anything. Just focus on your family.”
“They’re… leaving everything they know here, for something they’ve never gotten close to experiencing before. I can only imagine the kinds of things the others are going to say when they learn, but… I can’t quite convince myself that this is better.”
“Don’t worry. It was from my understanding that neither of them had many friends here, right? Well, Imre could use a few more friends his age.” Minne’s tone was comforting, her words giving Fauna something to look forward to.
“O-oh, I shouldn’t trouble you with that,” Kamila said quickly. “I know we’re related, but that doesn’t change things. I don’t want to overstep.”
“You’re not overstepping anything. I think he’d like to get to know them better and I’m sure they would, too. This isn’t a matter of the prince and ‘commoners.’ It’s simply a couple of kids.” There was the sound of a clap. “Samone’s coming with us tomorrow, so we can introduce them to her then, too. And I’m sure Lydia—and possibly her siblings—will stop by once we return, they can meet each other then.”
“Thank you. For all of this…”
Then Domenique came to help Fauna with the things she couldn’t get on her own. They didn’t say anything to each other, but they seemed to be doing the same thing—saying goodbye to a place they’d never see again. Neither knew whether they wanted to stay, honestly; it lost its meaning of “home” a while ago. But there were some good things here, too. Things they most certainly would never see again.
When it was happening, she didn’t know how she felt about it. That changed with time, as she saw and experienced the things she never could have otherwise. After a while, she knew it had been for the better that they left. All forms of Ryobel became a distant memory.
The next morning, Casper had pulled Kamila aside to introduce her to the other nobles they’d be traveling back with—in his words, “Everyone you can probably ignore after this.” In the meantime, Minne found Domenique and Fauna, leading them to where Imre and Samone were.
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Imre looked up from his book and gave them all a nod of acknowledgement. Samone didn’t seem to care until he nudged her, even then quickly going back to what she was doing.
“Are they coming back with us?” she asked without sounding like she thought it mattered.
Minne nodded. “You haven’t properly met them, have you, Samone? These two are Domenique and Fauna. They’re going to be moving somewhere a little closer to Lelishara.”
“They’ll eat you alive,” she mumbled. It was with Imre’s sigh that she turned to him and added, “What? You know I’m right. With nervous smiles like that, they aren’t going to last a day.”
He sat his book aside, stood up, and walked towards them. “Ignore her,” he said casually. “She’s always like this.”
“I am not!”
He ignored her and offered Fauna a small, but genuine, smile. “I’m glad that you’re coming back with us. I can show both of you around Lelishara when we’re back, if you want? Can’t say there’s really much to see, but…”
Minne smiled, too. “That sounds like a wonderful idea! What do you girls think?”
“We won’t know anything when we get there,” Domenique remarked. “It would be nice to see it.”
Fauna nodded to show she felt the same.
…
It was a bit awkward, honestly—spending that time with such important people, when she had yet to see them as just “family friends.” Casper kept them out of silence by listing off things they could do now; from the place they came from, it seemed like nothing was restricted. Whenever Kamila appeared to have a doubt, he’d point out that the girls would have a brighter future. Because of this, so many new paths were open to them. Domenique looked interested in the idea, but Fauna ended up finding the possibility incredibly overwhelming.
Amidst Casper’s talkative nature, then, she found something much calmer with Imre’s silence.
Though, perhaps silence wasn’t quite the right word—it was a kind of stillness, something that could make someone forget he was there. The two of them talked while the others were busy; she’d heard Minne remark once or twice that he’d only ever gotten that well along with Samone that quickly. It seemed, even then, they’d found something in each other she’d never found in anyone else.
The ability to talk, and be truly listened to; the ability to listen, and make a difference in something.
But, at that point, it was just casual conversation. He’d point out some of the animals they found along the way, listing a few details about them, since Samone had never been interested in it. Fauna, mostly, was just worried about what the future was like for them. He made sure to reassure her and, as they neared Lelishara, one of their first promises were made: “This is only the beginning of something better.”
He was right, of course. But she couldn’t help but think “better” wasn’t always the best word to describe it.
Kamila, Domenique, and Fauna left the others when they reached Lelishara. They were shown, by someone else Casper seemed close to, where they’d be staying. Simply put, the house was bigger than anything they’d seen in Ryobel. Domenique and Fauna were put in charge of unpacking—it had been their entire lives before, but now looked like so little, given the space left to fill—while Kamila was given a basic overview of what they owned now. It sounded like more than enough for the three of them to live rather well, if not luxuriously, without a need to do anything on their part.
A few days after they settled in, they went back to Lelishara by Minne’s request. Its reason became apparent when they were greeted by five unfamiliar nobles.
“Find the ride here pleasant?” Casper prompted as they all sat down.
Kamila nodded. “I assume these are the other nobles you’ve mentioned before?”
One of the nobles—the one around Casper’s age—answered that himself. “Yes, Casper requested us all to come over. We’re the Stones—I’m Andrew, this is my wife Diana, and these are our three children, Lydia, Lewis, and Elena.”
“Casper asked if Andrew and I could help you adjust to your new status,” Diana explained. Her focus was solely on Kamila. “We’re minor lords ourselves so, among the king’s inner circle, he assumed we’d have the most in common. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to contact us.”
Then the oldest of their children—Lydia—turned all of her attention to Domenique and Fauna. “And we’re here to be your friends! I’m already pretty close to Imre and I come by a lot. You should come with us, too!” She was already getting up. “The adults have to talk about boring stuff, right? Can all of us go to the garden?”
Minne smiled. “I don’t see why not. Imre, make sure they don’t get lost. All of you should be nice to each other. Perhaps we’ll join you out there when we’re done and we can all have lunch out there.”