The Girl from the Sea

Chapter 6: Lunch with the Queen

When Shale woke next, it was well and truly mid-morning. The sun was high and the unfamiliar sounds of bustle drifted up from the streets below.

Her bones were heavy, afflicted with the same strange weariness that had seized her ever since Eaxander's death. She wanted to lay here. She wanted to lay here forever.

We don't have time to waste in mourning. This- Like this, we honor them, say goodbye, and let them go. We all wake up together to a fresh day, and we keep moving.

We have to keep moving. That's what Jorah had said, right before he... well. Right before he kept moving and she kept moving and that had turned out all right, hadn't it?

Maybe. She didn't know how to quantify that yet

Either way, it was sound advice, and with a groan that felt like the size of a walnut in her throat, Shale rolled over, forcing her body from the bed, out of the room, and down the stairs.

Ettore and Abigail sat at the table with an unfamiliar, dark-haired boy, who turned with an easy smile as Shale entered.

"Colren," he introduced, standing and extending his hand. "You can call me Cole."

"Pleasure," Shale attempted a smile. "I'm Shale."

"Shale," the boy rolled it around in his mouth for a moment, testing the sound. "I like that. Why'd you pick it?"

"I-'' Shale blinked, floundering for an answer. She had expected-- something else; another complex weight added to the load of guilt that had begun with Jorah. But this boy was looking at her with the same lighthearted friendliness she suspected he showed any new acquaintance. Did he know?

He must know. He'd asked why she had picked the name.

"You don't have to answer, of course."

"Oh. No- I liked the rocks."

She hadn't expected his smile could get any wider, but there it went. The boy-- Cole --was positively beaming, and Shale could feel her own expression lifting slightly to match.

Ettore stood, clearing his throat. "Ready to go?"

"She hasn't even eaten," Abigail clucked.

"I'm not very hungry-"

"I already sent word to the palace. The king and queen offered us a light afternoon meal to get acquainted over."

The squirming nerves were back, but Shale nodded. Cole offered his arm to her, and she looped hers through, and he grinned again and started up a stream of light, inconsequential chatter of which she heard no more than 50% and retained no more than 5.

The walk to the palace itself was short. Cole explained in passing that Ettore had sustained a serious injury several years prior, and while he had made a nearly full recovery, he now taught instead of commanding his own ships. As a gift of gratitude for his service, Queen Mairead had given him a house built right up against the inner city wall.

The palace, when they reached it, was grand and magnificent and only served to make Shale's legs shake all the more. They passed through the training grounds, but Shale kept her eyes on the ground and her arm in Cole's.

The castle had been in a state of agitation all morning, according to Cole's chattering at least, and from the furtive looks and all-out stares being cast their way, it wasn't hard for Shale to guess why.

She thought she caught a glimpse of Mira's distinctive braid among the crowd, but the person had their back turned, and seemed to be heading quite quickly in the opposite direction.