Gina forced herself to sit up in bed. She looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was afternoon, but her body argued that point. She looked at her arms like she always did first thing in the morning. They were bare. The quick shower she’d taken before falling asleep had washed away the sun symbols she’d redrawn on her inner arms in Denver. She expected the same blankness on her ankle but there was the faintest outline left of a lemon.
Fleur had since left the doggie bed and was curled up next to Gina in bed. “I don’t know if Sana is going to appreciate the fur on the duvet,” she told her girl. Fleur huffed and rolled onto her back for a tummy rub.
“Yes, your highness.” As she rubbed Fleur’s tummy she looked around and thought Fleur might enjoy staying here. She liked Sana, and Sana would take good care of her and keep her safe. The thought was the first of its kind—leaving Fleur behind.
She reached for her backpack beside the bed. She unzipped a pocket and took out a vape pen. It was a tiny one, easily concealable in her hand.
Wouldn’t Soup be pissed if he saw?
She chuckled as she checked the pen over to make sure it made it through all the traveling intact. After that, Gina got up and picked out an outfit from a freestanding wardrobe. Sana had bought all sorts of clothes and had done a good job of guessing Gina’s size. Dressed, she went to find Sana. Her friend was sitting at a table beside a window and enjoying the view of the river. It made Gina smile to see her relaxed and happy. Serene. So different from the broken, despairing woman from years ago.
“Ah, you’re up,” Sana said as she stood. She pointed to a bowl on the floor with chopped-up chicken but Fleur was already making a beeline for her breakfast. “You’ll be happy to know that Walker and Kyla are well on their way to Fiji. They’ve had remarkable weather and are making good time.”
Gina gripped the back of a chair. She felt almost dizzy with relief. They were safe. Free, and already living out the life they’d wanted, together. She bowed her head in gratitude.
“Thanks to the Swiss Navy.”
Sana laughed. “My pleasure. But they couldn’t have done it without you.” She picked up a tablet and showed the screen to Gina. “See? Different by-line, but I’d know her writing anywhere. Kyla’s already sending articles back to her newspaper about Loki, Houston Robotics, and Bennett’s part in exposing them all. It should help his bid for the presidency. Not that he needs it with his popularity already soaring. He seems like a good man.”
Gina nodded. “He is. He’s political like all of them, but he wants to do the right thing.”
Sana touched her cheek. “You look pale. There’s a farmer’s market today. I thought we’d take a walk.”
Is she crazy?
“I don’t think I should be out there in the open, do you?”
Sana waved her off. “I’ll have guards following us. And you and I both know how it is.”
Gina nodded. She did. Either they knew where she was and there was no sense in hiding, or they didn’t have a clue. Considering that no one had attacked Sana’s home so far, she was safe. For now. And if there was any sign of trouble, Gina would do what Gina did best and disappear.
“Yeah. Might be my last chance at getting some fresh air for a while.”
“Come on.” Sana grabbed Fleur’s leash and handed it to Gina. “She’ll appreciate the walk as well.”
Gina smiled. “True.” Fleur was already turning excited circles by the front door. “Let me grab my bag, hat, and sunglasses.” A flimsy disguise but she worked with what she had.
Lucerne was an incredibly beautiful medieval town. The way the old buildings lined the Reuss reminded Gina of Venice, only the canals were never this shade of aqua. White swans swam in the waters without a care in the world. Tourists and locals both ambled along the streets looking for shops and restaurants. The sound of church bells filled the air at the top of the hour.
“There must be comfort in hearing those bells if you’re a local,” Gina said. “In knowing that your ancestors heard those same bells at the same time of day every day that you do. One continuous line stretching all the way back to the first time they ever rang.”
“Neither of us has that, do we?” Sana said.
“No, we don’t. You’re so far from where you were born, both in miles and lifestyle. And me? I grew up everywhere. No roots. Just one post after another. I’d learn the local customs just in time to leave and learn the next ones.”
They listened to the bells until they finished chiming, then took the steps up to one of the covered wooden bridges—Chapel Bridge, Gina thought—dodging past tourists taking selfies. Under the roof, there were paintings from the seventeenth century decorating the triangular supports every few feet. Sana pointed to one, a scene showing Adam and Eve being chased out of the Garden of Eden.
“This is a place of deeply ingrained tradition,” Sana said. “Living here, I’ve adapted to it and come to love everything about Switzerland, even as I complain about the little things. It’s my home now. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
“So you’d never go back even if you could?”
“No. I’ve been invited by my uncle but I refuse him, even as he fills my bank accounts. I don’t want to go back and be a part of his politics or be some sort of a symbol of his reforms. I support my own charities.”
“Is it the memories too?”
“Yes, of course that has something to do with it. But, I was a little more than a girl when I escaped, barely nineteen. I’ve lived here almost as long as I lived as a princess in my birth country. I’m even a citizen now.Thisis my home.”
Gina sighed.
