Vestra POV

Flashback...

14th of January 136 R.A.

“The knight’s hand slid under my dress and up my leg as he brushed my lips with a kiss…”

“Whoa! Sam, let me see that.” I tried to keep my voice even as I quickly pulled the book from the young boy’s hands. I examined the book to see the spice scene unfolding on the page and closed the book.

Sam complained beside me. “Hey, I was reading that!”

A smut book… of all the things Sam could find to read. “Where did you get this?”

“It was on momma’s table in her room.” The kitchen chair rocked underneath him as he wiggled in his chair. “Can’t I read it?”

How was I going to explain this to him? “No. This story isn’t right for you.”

“But, it’s about a knight who slays a dragon though!” Sam argued. “Look at the cover. It’s called The Dragon’s Pleasure Hoard.”

He wasn’t wrong. The worn, damaged cover of the book showed a knight facing off with a dragon.“I think we’re all finished for today, Sam.” I smiled pushing the smut book away that Sam had read to me. This was going to be an awkward conversation with his parents.

Sam Colts was one of eight kids that I was currently tutoring in the neighborhood. He was only six years old, but he was reading chapter books that my ten-year-old sister struggled with. Normally, Sam reads one of the few books that I bring from home. Books are priceless treasures in my district of White Sands because education was low on the priority list of our district officials. I tried to collect what books I could for my students. Sam was one of my favorite kids to tutor in my neighborhood, so I brought him a new book as often as possible.

“Come on, teach,” he pleaded. His big brown eyes blinked at me with such hope. “One more chapter.”

Just then, Riley Colts, Sam’s dad, walked into the room with his newspaper crumpled. He must have been reading it in another room because his expression was one of exasperation. “Don’t hassle Ms. Vestra, Sam. You’ve been studying for hours. Go outside and play for a while.”

Sam pouted. “Yes, sir.” I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. We finished cleaning up our study materials off the kitchen table while Mr. Colts grumbled while reading more of his crumbled newspaper.

When we finished, Sam bid me good evening and ran out the back door of the kitchen. Mr. Colts didn’t waste a moment as he called me over to the den. The house was small, but it was newer than my family’s little shack. Our neighborhood was an old one, and most of the nobles called this area the slums. No one around here earned much, and our small school wasn’t too small and too full for new students, which is how I got my gig as a tutor. I had seven other students who were turned away from the school because they didn’t have the resources to teach them. The funny part of all this is I lived in White Sands, the tourist destination of Ashland. The main town was full of rich vacationers who played on the beach and spent their money on fancy little shops.

“Ms. Vestra,” Mr. Colts' voice was laced with guilt. His eyes were filled with shame, and I knew just then what he was going to say.

“Mr. Colts, please don’t worry about it. I understand. The reason I started tutoring the kids around here wasn’t for money,” I looked out the dirty window to see Sam chasing a dragonfly around the yard. “Kids, like Sam, deserve a chance to better themselves. If they can learn to read and write, then they can get jobs in those fancy companies downtown. If they excel at math, they could manage one of those fancy shops downtown.” I turned back to Mr. Colts who seemed to be digesting my words. Mr. Colts relaxed his shoulders as he leaned forward on his sofa. “The school can’t give them that chance, but I can.”

“Ms. Vestra, you’re quite the dreamer, but I appreciate everything you do for Sam.” His words made me smile. “I’ll give you what I can next week, I swear.”

I shook my head. “Don’t force yourself, Mr. Colts. Everyone in this neighborhood knows what it’s like to struggle.”

Mr. Colts’ hand tightened on his crumbled newspaper. “Yeah, but none of those town officials seem to care. Hell, Ashlanders are dying in poverty every day, and our ‘so-called’ queen is holding a popularity contest to distract everyone.”

“Popularity contest?” This was the first I have heard of Queen Reia doing anything. “I thought she was still in mourning.”

“No, our dear queen has finally surfaced after two years, and the first thing she does is launch a popularity contest to find an heir.” Mr. Colts grumbled. His graying hair made him look older than he was. Maybe, even angrier than he was. “She’s been touring for two weeks to oversee the sign-ups in each district. They say she’ll be in White Sands tomorrow.”

The queen was coming to White Sands for the first time in two years. It should be a cause for celebration, but not many people were happy with her. I had given up on the idea of her visiting White Sands after the king died since she hid herself from the country for so long. Part of me thought Mr. Colts was right to be angry. The governor and ministers have ignored the citizens of our district for far too long, and the queen has done nothing. Other districts in Ashland were having their troubles like White Sands. Things shouldn’t have gotten this bad in just two years, but I am not sure it was the queen’s fault this happened.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“What’s the contest about?” I asked curiously.

Mr. Colts sneered. “She’s trying to find some girl to play puppet princess to win back the people of Ashland.”

That shocked me. Did she not have any family left to serve as heir to the throne? The idea of a contest deciding the next ruler of our fragile little country felt irresponsible. What was a young going to know about leading a country? With the limits of our country’s education system, I am concerned about what kind of heir this contest might produce. I know someone my age isn’t fit to rule the kingdom. “She’s going to name her heir through a contest?” It sounded ridiculous when I said it out loud.

“Seems like it.” He answered. “The queen can do whatever she wants.”

“I guess.” I looked down at the smut book in my hands. Right… I still needed to deal with this. “Umm. Mr. Colts,” I handed him the book as my cheeks burned from embarrassment. “Sam found it in your wife’s room and started reading it to me. I stopped him when he started reading a… spicy bit. Please return this to your wife.”

I didn’t think a black man could turn such a shade of red. He immediately began apologizing. I shook my head and told him not to worry about it. He promised to lock the book away to avoid Sam finding it again. I nodded and left. This was the most awkward day of my life as a tutor. Leaving the Colts' home, I walked the few blocks home. The sun was going down over the crashing waves in the distance. Kids were running about chasing each other through the streets. It was simple out here in the sandy slums. No one could afford cars around here, so the streets belonged to the few who could afford a bike or the kids playing in the neighborhood. Most could barely afford to eat every day, but the camaraderie between us made the place safe for kids.

It made me sick to think of the kids being stuck in this neighborhood forever. There was a serious lack of opportunities for the kids from the slums in White Sands. The only way to change your class around here was to leave or join the Navy. My mind drifted to the contest the queen was having. It would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the winner even if it was all for show. Being a princess could change an entire family’s status overnight. Was it wise for the queen to have such a contest when her citizens were suffering? I wasn’t sure. It was the queen’s problem, not mine.

Swirls of pink and orange decorated the sky as the sun faded over the horizon. The sea salt water scent was calming after that awkward interaction with Mr. Colts. I took a deep, heavy breath. A pack of golden sparrows flew overhead toward the sunset. Their flock calls sounded like the melody of a flute in the air. A calming feeling fell over me, which was a side effect of the golden sparrow’s magical song. I stopped at the street corner, looking out over the water to let myself feel this moment as the sparrow’s spell settled over me. It would be the only calm moment I would have all evening.

“VES!”

Was that Chase? Did I just hear my brother’s voice? The calming wave rippled through as I tried to break the calming spell the golden sparrows cast over me. I heard the voice getting louder in the distance. It was Chase calling to me, but it would be a few minutes before the spell would break. A golden sparrow’s song was a brief and harmless spell that only affected those who welcomed the magic or small kids who hadn't learned to block the magic out. I felt a strong hand on my shoulder as a warm wave rushed through me and shattered the sparrow’s spell over me.

“Ves,” Chase, my younger brother, huffed next to me.

Blinking the rest of the spell away, I felt my body come back to life. I took in his panicked expression and sweaty face. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Katherine.”

My heart sank, and I took off running. Chase called after me as he followed me down the road. Everything around me fell away as I charged back to our run-down, little, yellow house. Sand kicked up behind me as I rushed to my little sister’s side. She was only ten years old, but she suffered from weak lungs. I had spent so many nights at her bedside trying to help her through her next coughing fit. Kathrine was my pride and joy. My responsibility and source of worry. I was only nineteen, but I took on the motherly role for Katherine when our mom passed six years ago. My family was everything to me. Hurrying through the front door, I found Katherine coughing hard in our sister, Charlotte’s, arms. I took Katherine in my arms to get her cleaned up and asked Chase and Charlotte to make some dinner.

Hours flew by, but Katherine’s condition didn’t improve. The night air seemed to make Kathrine worse as she coughed hard. I asked Chase to close the window. Her struggles for breath made me tense. Every night, my poor little sister would begin coughing without her medicine. Tonight her temperature had started to rise the harder she coughed, and I felt tears prick at my eyes. Her small hands gripped my arms as I held her steady near the waste basket. Her cough would bring up bile from her stomach some nights, and there was little I could do to help her. I kept her clean and fought her symptoms the best way I could.

“Where is Jareth?” Chase, my younger brother, paced around our small home. “He should be back by now.”

Charlotte, my younger sister, groaned at Chase. In her defense, Chase has been repeating the same question over and over while Charlotte is trying to finish her homework. She sat at the kitchen table while I held Katherine in my arms on the small sofa. Chase trailed the same ten-foot trail from the stove to the sofa. If I wasn’t used to this nightly routine, I might have yelled at both of them, but I couldn’t be angry at them now. Kathrine was our sweet, little sister. She dreamed of collecting shells along the seashore and making jewelry from the shells and sea glass. It was a simple dream for a child, but we hadn’t gone shell hunting on the shoreline in years. Katherine’s body was clammy in her cream-colored night dress. Her head felt hot against my wrist.

“Chase, get me a pot of cool water and a clean cloth,” I instructed my nervous brother.

He hustled to the sink to get a pot going. “Is her fever spiking again?” He asked.

“Not on my watch,” I tried to sound encouraging.

“Chase, get two pots. We can put her feet in one like an ice bath to combat her fever,” Charlotte commanded as she joined next to Katherine.

Katherine couldn’t speak because the coughing took her breath away, but I saw her thankful gaze. Kathrine preferred to have us all together instead of arguing like Chase and Charlotte usually did. I held back Kathrine’s hair as her cough became violent, leading to her vomiting. Chase rushed the first pot over just as Katherine vomited into the wastebasket again. Charlotte didn’t miss a beat and grabbed a clean cloth that Chase gave her to wash off Katherine’s face. Katherine’s frail body rested in my lap as she continued to cough. Chase brought over the second pot, and Charlotte lifted Katherine’s pale feet into the pot. All the dirt from the floor that caked her feet dispersed into the water.

“Ves,” Kathrine cried out between her coughs. “I need water.”

Chase had a cup ready with a single straw, allowing Katherine to sip on it. “Easy Kat,” He cooed.

I stroked her raven hair to help her relax. Her hazel eyes looked exhausted. She probably won't make it to school tomorrow. She only went twice a week because of her poor health. It would be up to me to bathe her tomorrow after she sweats out this fever. I think I will braid her hair into a crown like Mom did for me. For Kathrine, I was the closest thing to a mom she had since our mom died. I would say Charlotte looks the most like Mom. Charlotte was more of a honey tan color whereas I was a light chocolate brown. Kathrine was the fairest with an olive tan tint to her skin. We all shared mom’s raven hair, but I had dad’s blue eyes.

Jareth walked through the door with a grimace. He had failed to get an advance from his boss for Kathrine’s medicine. We had taken out every kind of loan we could think of to keep Kathrine on her medicine. We had already lost our mother, and our father worked two jobs. I take care of the house and tutor younger kids like Katherine to earn money. It was all I could do to help pay back the debts. The four of us shared a knowing look. We were out of options. Charlotte explained Katherine’s worsening state as Chase began to pace the floor again.

“She might not make it a week without her medicine, Jareth,” Chase summed up.

Jareth took a closer look at Katherine. Small beads of sweat fell from her forehead as she coughed. Her breath was ragged as she tried to smile at Jareth. “Jareth,” She panted. “You’re home.”

Jareth kissed her cheek and told her to rest. He looked up at me with determination. “There’s one more thing we could try,” he said. “But, you’ll have to come with me, Ves.”

“Where are we going?” I asked my brother.

“To see Count Kindly,” he answered. “He’s said to be the kindest of the nobles. We are going to beg for his charity.”

Nobles can be charitable, but there’s always a catch, which is why he wanted me to go with him. One of us would have to pay a price for the noble’s charity while the other gets the medicine. Normally, I wouldn’t condone seeking out nobles for help, but we were desperate. I gently moved Katherine into Charlotte’s arms. Kathrine wished me a brief goodbye. I kissed her forehead and followed Jareth out the door.