“Yes please,” I whispered, “just a little time. I’ll make up my mind by tonight.”
The whaler squeezed my arm. “Thank you, Malia.”
Alaric stayed around the cottage,fixing things up. We didn’t talk for the rest of the day, and I was grateful for it.
Because I truly did need time to think.
With him, I felt hope.
What if… what if things truly could get resolved between Sereth and I? What if I was free of the burdened past I carried with me?
The sound of the hammer pounding nails, metal sawing through wood, and paper sanding planks filled the air. All of the cottage windows were open, and I did laundry outside, trying to scrub out my thoughts.
Go?
Stay?
His words on freedom resonated with me.
I want freedom so bad.Just the freedom to walk without people calling me names. Without my past haunting me.
As I washed clothes in the front of the house by the well, my mind deep in thoughts, I looked up.
A figure approached from the woods.
Alaric was in the back of the cottage, and I stood, ready to run to him for fear of who the person might be. Did Sereth send someone after me? Was it the assassin? The person seemed rather tall.
But as they got closer, the chestnut hair and shining crown on the head of the prince appeared. His guards were not far behind him, and I stood to greet him.
“Good afternoon Malia,” he said and did a little bow while I curtsied.
“Good afternoon Prince Elias.” Then my expression fell and my heart began to beat faster. Why was he here? Did he decide I needed to leave, after all? He had always been kind to me, but even he knew what I was capable of…
“I apologize for visiting so unexpectedly,” he said, then glanced at the cottage, noticing the pounding noise in the back.
A blush crept up my cheeks. Had Elias heard aboutAlaric? Was that why he was here? To talk with the whaler that he and his father hated, because he killed so many whales? Alaric was the reason they banned whaling off the Corallure shores. Alaric’s power-hungry business killed hundreds, if not thousands, of whales around here. It was unsustainable.
“It’s alright,” I assured him. “You are most welcome. Can I get you something to drink or eat?”
He shook his head. “No thank you. This visit will be brief. I’ve just come to warn you Malia.”
“Warn me?”
“Sereth showed up at the port.”
I froze. Sereth? Here? Already? Every part of my frame trembled and I tensed to keep from shaking in front of the prince.
“It was unexpected, but she said she is looking for Alaric Galebourne. You know, the whaler–”
“Yes I know…” I bit my lower lip, knowing that Alaric might show up at any moment. He was busy working though.
“She said his ship was ambushed.” Elias shook his head. “I mean. She’s blaming it on us, but that’s all political. I’m here to tell you that she’s also looking for you. You are a citizen here and I will do what I legally can to protect you, but I fear she is going to use one thing against you, and I cannot protect you against that act of treason. It can only be resolved in Moanalei, with a fair trial and, hopefully, a fair pardoning.”
My heart sank.
“I understand, thank you for letting me know Prince Elias.”
He tilted his head. “You can just call me Elias.”
