THRIVE: Book One

Chapter 88- Your Highness

The fire burns brightly through the night, causing my vision to blur as we are congratulated and offered condolences by our people. Eventually, I become overwhelmed and go to sit by myself in the dark, staring out at the sea as the insects in the jungle sing their tunes into my ears.

"Are you okay?" Serene asks as she begins to approach me, seeing that I had been leaning against a tree with my knees tucked into my chest.

"I don't know." I sigh.

"Me too," Serene says as she carefully sits beside me.

"I liked your speech, I know Ruthus would be proud of you." I give her a slight smile before turning back to the ocean.

"I suppose," she states, sounding unsure of herself. We sit in silence for a moment as I watch the fire burn. Zade and Blaze are speaking to a group of people who seemed to be completely falling all over themselves being in their presence.

"Hey Serene?" I ask.

"Yea?" she answers as she glances at me.

"You knew what Isobel was announcing tonight, didn't you?" I ask calmly. Serene sighs as she curls up into a more comfortable position.

"She asked us all what we thought and we all agreed." she explains, watching her brothers "I'm too busy with my research and Blaze doesn't want to rule without Alamea. You have both proven yourselves well since my father got sick."

"I don't know a thing about leadership anymore." I sigh as I run my fingers across the sand.

"You don't need to, Zade has been training his entire life for this, and you... you're the fresh start that we all need." she explains as she takes my hand "Umbree, you're a brilliant girl, you're a strong fighter, and you genuinely care about people. After all of the shit that my father and I have done, we need you to help us bring back what this family set out to do a few hundred years ago." she sighs as she leans on my shoulder "I know what people think of me, and in some ways, I am a monster. Zade is too. But I've seen the way our people look at you. You came from nothing, arrived as a prisoner, and hell, if Zade hadn't shown up when he did, I probably would have hurt you just because I was in a bad mood that day. But Zade managed to find you, even under the worst circumstances. You brought out the best in him that I haven't seen since Finn." Her words begin to sink deeper and deeper as I try to sense some inkling of the future. Everything feels so unclear, as independent as I always have been, I was only taking care of myself. Now, all of the people I would pass on the streets on a daily basis have become my people.

"I think you're giving me too much credit." I try to laugh, "What if we fail and make things worse?" I ask.

"Just do your best. If there's one real truth in this world, it's that there is no such thing as perfection. Strive to do what you're capable of, and if you don't succeed, you have all of us to lift you back up." she smiles as she wraps her arm around me "Even if it wasn't originally by blood, we are sisters. And that means that we look out for each other."

"Serene," I say as I start to cry "Thank you for everything that you've done for me since we met this time around. I can't thank you enough for helping me come out of my shell after what happened to my daughter."

"Anytime, and no matter what you need, I'll do what I can." she smiles "So, when are we shaving the side of your head for your lily tattoo?" she laughs. I lean away and stare at her skeptically before bursting out laughing.

"Whenever you want to invite me out again." I laugh.

"Ask and you shall receive your highness." she laughs as she playfully pushes me to the side.

"Cut that out, I'm just the same old me." I laugh as I catch myself before falling on the sand.

"Yes, and the same old you is a goddess and a badass, now take the compliment and shut up," she says as she throws sand at me. Suddenly Rain and Isobel come over, seeming confused.

"What the hell are you two doing over here?" Isobel asks as she watches us playfully tossing sand at each other.

"I can honestly say, I have absolutely no idea." I laugh as I fall over.

"Well, in that case, do you mind if we join you?" Rain asks, sitting down before waiting for an answer.

"Can you two do me a favor and tell the new queen that she's a badass?" Serene laughs as she swipes the sand off of her legs.

"Not gonna let that go, huh?" I say as I brush out my hair with my fingers.

"One of the best fighters I've ever seen." Rain states.

"Not to mention clever." Isobel states, "She knew who I was before anyone else caught on."

"Well, for the record, it wasn't that difficult to recognize my best friend." I laugh.

"Seriously though, remember how brave you were just waltzing into Niko's stronghold back in the day?" Serene asks "Even as a diversion, that was incredibly risky and you pulled it off beautifully." she explains.

"You're the one who took down the entire group of followers in one go," I add as I watch Rain and Isobel's reactions.

"Well, she is a much better fighter when she's pissed off," Isobel mentions as she lays back on the sand.

"I'm not going to disagree with that." Serene laughs.

"Let's not forget, we all learned from the best." I state, staring back at the fire "It's been so many lifetimes now, but he was the one who wanted us to always be able to defend ourselves." I explain.

"He has always been one hell of a warrior." Rain says as she stares at the flames.

"He thought of you all as his children after you lost your parents, Eloy, too," Serene states, her voice once again growing somber.

"I wish I had known Col better before I got sick." Rain sighs.

"Luckily, for us, death isn't the end." I state confidently as I look at Zade "We will always find our way back to each other."