Caenum never told her anything specific, but Oria began to guess the details. Whatever had led him here, he had done it with others.
And, as far as either of them knew, he was the only one who did not reside with Vriuh.
She gave him space, for a little while—allowed him to process whatever it was he had yet to tell her. Any mentions of their visit to the beach, or yet again questioning if she’d heard anything, were made by him and never seemed to make him feel better. While he lingered inside, moving from the couch or bedroom only out of necessity, she had to go on with her life. She made up excuses on why this stranger couldn’t join her for service. She carefully denied any offers to help, or politely declined any attempts to visit her in general. And she prayed, hoping that Orestis might show her a way to help him.
After a week of this, she felt that subtly was no longer an option. They needed to address this issue directly.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” she prompted, gently, as she brought his dinner. Caenum barely moved from his spot. “It’s getting hard to continue to explain why you’re not going anywhere.”
“Do I have to?” he mumbled. “Doesn’t it just make me stand out more? Make them realize I’m different?”
“Not any more or less than not being present for anything is. It makes it seem like something more serious is going on—something that I’m ignoring.”
“Then just stop helping me. That way you’re not gonna get in trouble…”
“I think we both acknowledge you don’t really want that to happen.”
“Who’s to say I don’t? Maybe it’s better if they find out who I am. I can join the others that way.”
“You will die a painful death—one that could end in minutes or last days. You will be shunned from any fragment of society here. Not even the church would open its doors to an outsider. In their eyes, you are a sign of the mainland’s problems reaching our shores—of their infectious ideologies of genocides and infighting plaguing us.”
“I still almost wish you were including yourself in that ‘us…’”
She sighed. “I… understand that this must be hard for you. I admit I can’t offer much reassurances as someone without even a fragment of experience in the matter. But I know what I was called to do. Orestis has asked me to take care of you, I’m sure of it. And I will do all that I can in order to bring you back home.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be worth the trouble…”
“Don’t you have family back home, at least? I’m sure there’s someone who’s worried about you in Fleyw Bresh—your parents, or some other friends. Imagine how they feel right now. They have no idea where you are, if you’re even alive. If they somehow happen to guess that you’re here, they’ll be even more concerned. Don’t you want to ease their worries? Go back to them so you can tell them in person that you’re alright?”
“I doubt they’d want me back…”
“Whatever happened couldn’t have been by your fault alone. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s Daphni’s influence and the sirens that lurk between our islands and Fleyw Bresh. They’ll certainly understand that you had no part in it.”
That, thankfully, seemed to be enough for him to will himself up. He still didn’t look completely resolved in the thought, but it had definitely done something. He slowly took his plate, though still only looked at it. “Do… you happen to have a plan, then? How are we going to get me back home?”
“Well, I know we don’t have a lot of options. It’ll need to be by boat—and someone that we can trust to keep the secret.”
“Don’t suppose you know someone who does that?”
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“Unfortunately not. But I have connections elsewhere—with the right questions, we should be able to get the answers we need without drawing too much attention to ourselves.”
“And what kind of connections are these?”
“You’re just going to have to see for yourself. Do you think you’re up for going to service tomorrow? It’s the best time to have them all in one place. As long as you remember what I told you before, no one should suspect anything too drastic.”
…
She was uncertain, honestly, when they walked in together. The part of her conscience that understood what she was doing was certain that it was bad; she tried to ignore it, to find Sachiel’s guidance in something a bit more optimistic. And while she may not have gotten an immediate distraction from her thoughts, she did ultimately find peace.
In a church so often dedicated to stories from overseas and the dangers they brought, today’s was an unlikely service. The pastor spoke of introspection, of setting good examples for all of Orestis’s children that will come after them. In the sermon was a tale about helping others, despite the risk to oneself. It gave Oria a more defined resolve, taking it all to be a divine “pass” of sorts—that what she was doing was truly the right thing.
Though that was, honestly, only half of the battle. The other half came when she had to introduce everyone to Caenum.
Or, rather, everyone realized he wasn’t familiar.
“Oh, so this is the person you’ve been helping!” the acquaintance from a week ago said. She smiled, circling around Caenum. “What kept you cooped up inside all week, hmm? You look perfectly fine. Barely a scratch on you!”
“I don’t think the madam has mentioned anything about the kind of ailment,” a practical-stranger pointed out. “I think it speaks to her abilities, to see him here without any sign of the past week’s undoubtable trials.”
Oria let out a bit of nervous laughter. “We all know I’m not that good…” She shook her head. “Everyone, this is Caenum. He’s a minor lord hailing from one of the smaller islands. His father frequently speaks with the messengers from Fleyw Bresh, and he doesn’t often have the chance to leave. I hope you’ll pardon his lack of, ah… social understanding.”
Caenum glared at her, but she chose to ignore it in favor of the illusion. And, thankfully, so did everyone else.
“We should show him around sometime, then!” the acquaintance remarked. “I’m guessing you haven’t done that already, anyway. I definitely would’ve seen him around if you had.”
Oria offered a weak smile. “I believe I’m capable of showing him around myself.”
“You said that earlier, too, about taking care of him! Did his father specifically request you? Is he that unaware of the world that he needs a special guide? Or dare I ask if you—”
Luckily the practical-stranger cut her off. “Don’t even suggest it! I’m sure the madam would never get herself involved in that. I always see her here, every week, as surely as the sun will set at the end of the day. If either of you two possess a fault, it is you, as the one spreading false accusations.”
Her eyes grew wide at the thought. “I—I would never! Oria understands it was only in jest, of course.”
“Even jests can be taken for fact…” Oria pointed out.
They were all distracted, however, by a messenger coming up to them. He gave them all a low bow. “I’m looking for Madam Oria, descended from Lord Vivus, is she among you?”
Oria beat down the mild panic that rose and nodded. “That’s me.”
With a quick nod, he casually handed her a letter. “This is for you. Lord Scuris would like to see you tomorrow night.” He gave a side glance at some of the others in attendance. “It looks like some of you might eventually receive an invite as well. Lord Scuris will be waiting.” He bowed again, then left.
The acquaintance not-so-subtly leaned over to see what the invitation said. “Lord Scuris invited you to a party? Oh, and it looks like you’ll be able to bring a friend! Aren’t you the lucky one!”
“Perhaps, but I’m not sure if I’ll go…” Oria admitted quietly.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Caenum remarked. “I should be fine on my own for the afternoon.” She understood what he really meant, though; that it might be able to get them some information, and on her own maybe no one would suspect her.
“This isn’t the kind of opportunity you should pass up,” the acquaintance pointed out. “Not a lot of people can even consider it a possibility!”
Oria managed a weak smile, if not just to try to assure them of something. “I suppose I’ll have to think about it. Tomorrow night isn’t exactly a lot of time, but… it should be enough.” Half-acknowledging the request that was about to be asked, she glanced at Caenum and said, “I think if I do go, however, I’ll bring Caenum with me.”