Fall Into Me

..XVIII..

The storm raged over the next day, finally calming in the evening. Emily was quick to check the yacht over and then move it, getting it well away from the area and any other storms nearby. Minerva hadn't slept at all during it, hadn't moved from the bed with Mona, who didn't mind one bit. They'd cuddled almost all the time, only stopping when Lorelei had come to them with food, which Minerva didn't eat much of.

When she was calm and relaxed enough to be able to leave the cabin, Mona had led her to the sun deck, where she'd prepared a table with the flowers she'd requested Emily get. Red and orange carnations sat in a fancy vase, and they brought tears to Minerva's eyes. Mona knew why without needing to ask, thankfully, the memory being added to her growing bank. They ate a small breakfast, talking mainly about the dogs. Mona could remember little snippets, but she wanted to know more and Minerva was happy to indulge her with funny stories about Cricket - their Irish Wolfhound - constantly trying to drown himself in the water bowl. Minerva was exceedingly patient with her, even though Mona knew it must be frustrating for her to have to explain things that she'd already explained.

Over the next week, Minerva was calmer than she had been, more willing to show Mona gentle affection, and when Emily took them to see a pod of dolphins, she was more animated than she'd been in days, even laughing a little when the dolphins splashed them from the water.

On an evening where they were moored off the coast of Australia, Diana encouraged Mona to listen to the songs she'd asked Emily to get them. Curled up on one of the sun beds with an old iPod nano in hand, earphones in, Mona listened to a waltz for the third time. Emily had refused to bring anything with a WiFi connection onto the yacht, because it could be tracked. They didn't have phones, they didn't have tablets or laptops, all they had was themselves for company and the various card and board games on the yacht.

Finally, Mona realised where she remembered it from. "The Sound of Music, right?" Mona asked Diana, who stared at her blankly for a few seconds, unsure how to reply.

"Uh... yes... but that ain't why I'm gettin' you to listen to it," she paused, and then said, "there was a ball at Christmas, you and Minerva danced to it." Mona started the song from the beginning, paying more attention to it.

"What was the ball like?"

"Okay so," Diana shifted to sit cross legged, "it was in the great hall of Minerva's castle, and you go through these huge carved wooden doors and along either side," she gestured with her hands, "were massive nutcracker statues, like, four times my height." Diana paused to let Mona take it in, and then she launched into the rest, "you and Minerva came in through those big carved doors, and you had on this really cool suit, and your waistcoat matched Minerva's dress which was this deep red."

"Who was there?"

"Everyone. Viv, Esme, Theo, Ada, me, Genevieve and her lot, Eros and his lot, and then you had all the villagers and the random rich people, and Fiona and Alcina were there-,"

"Okay woah," Mona held a hand out, "I don't know half of them."

"You do, I promise, but that's okay, we can move on. So, you both came in and walked down this red carpet, and Minerva said some really nice stuff about forgiving and forgetting, and meeting life partners and things and then you danced to that," she nodded towards the iPod nano in Mona's hand. "There's a couple others on there that you danced to as well."

"I don't remember," Mona said a little sadly, looking down. "I want to, it sounds amazing."

"That's okay. You'll remember eventually, and that's what matters," Diana's confidence was what gave Mona hope, and she nodded in determination. Vivienne appearing on the sun deck reminded Mona of the time and she got up quickly.