Chapter Six

Serafina

The soft rumbling of waves sounded through an open window as a zephyr floating the saltiness of the sea danced in my hair. Lavender flooded my senses as my fingertips registered the silky fabric of my comforter underneath them.

Before I even opened my eyes I knew I had made it home. Fluttering through the brightness streaming from the tall windows, the blue of my canopy came into view. Soft rustling came from various spots around me, signaling multiple bodies in the room.

My body was as heavy as iron as I attempted to move in an upright position, only to be met with an unpleasant tug in my side.

“Dad, she’s waking up!” a smooth voice cried from the foot of my bed.

Within seconds Zander was hovering over me, his steel eyes widening and then turning glassy. His large hand came up to rest on the top of my head, which I noticed was clean, and he bowed his head low until his forehead was on my shoulder. He shuddered harshly as sobs escaped his lips.

“Thank the gods.” Zander whispered and then pulled away to gaze down at me, the hand on my head moving towards my cheek, where it snagged on a scab before he pulled away completely to sit by my side.

Hurried footsteps hammered towards my bed. My father came to sit opposite of Zander and lifted my hand to his chest, gripping tightly as he took in the sight of me. Inclining my head carefully to the side, so as to not aggravate the hole in my abdomen, I was able to see the four of them, my faithful companions, falling apart at the seams. Their faces were each a mess with fallen tears and snot. My heart clenched at the sight of them, at the thought of me being the cause for their distress.

“Don’t do that.” I managed to say through the desert of my mouth. But my words only made them sob harder.

“Let me through.” Barked an order from behind the crowd.

Cicero hobbled closer, a goblet of water in his arthritic hands. My father moved away to allow for the doctor to come closer as Zander helped lift my head to meet the lip of the goblet.

“Slowly now. Slowly. If you drink too fast it’ll come up just as fast as it went down.” Cicero’s raspy voice warned as he tipped the contents into my mouth.

Once every last drop was swallowed Cicero gave me an approving nod and peered over towards my brother.

“Your Highness, I would like for you to help her sit upright. I will send for some broth.”

I nearly cried as my skin wanted to tear where my wound was healing. Zander took great care to prop me against my pillows. He paused when he saw me wince as he helped reposition me so that I was straight, whispering an apology before setting me down.

From my new vantage point I took in my room. It was in a state of disarray with gauze and elixir bottles littering various areas.

It was split into two sections, one for sleep and the other for leisure. Both crowded in their own way.

The section that held my large canopied bed also held two others that were smaller, facing each other in an opposite corner on the right side of my bed, where they pressed up against a beige wall that held the door to the washroom and closet. The left side, extending across the entire wall of both sections, held many tall windows that overlooked the harbor, rolling in that divine sea breeze.

Facing my bed was the section for leisure. A lapis lazuli stained marble fireplace faced the room, cold cinders rested in small heaps on the stone floor. Before it lay a cobalt sofa with a low coffee table and two matching plush armchairs facing one another. Built-in shelves surround the fireplace with manuscripts used for my academic use as well as enjoyment. On the right side the shelves met the other wall, however, on the left side they ended at a door leading to Leena’s private quarters.

Above the mantle rested my family portrait, minus Leena. I stood in the middle, layered before my father and brother, who stood on either side of me with a hand on my shoulder. All of us with eyes that held joy and contentment.

My simple cherry wood writing desk that sat in a corner before the shelves, flooded with forgotten assignments. Plush lapis lazuli rugs lay center in both sections, giving my small home a rather cozy ambiance.

Ding! Dong! Ding!

I peered over at my old grandfather’s clock that sat between two windows. It was a handcrafted antique. The dark cherry wood had engravings of Cato swimming with merfolk up each side. The face of it was unlike most in the castle, at least as far as I had seen. While it told the time it also had other hands pointing towards outer rings to distinguish the days and seasons of the year with the date. Each season had ninety days and was marked in seven day increments - Bel, Min, Ori, Than, Hyp, Saf, and Cat. The days of the week named after our deities. It read eleven in the morning on the tenth day of Spring on Ori.

So it had been ten days since the attack. In that void it was as though no time at all had passed.

I took in my companions’ faces. Such messes, each one. .

“I’m sorry.” It was all I had to say.

My father returned to my side and stroked my head.

“Don’t be, sweetheart.” His voice was so soft, as if he thought the vibrations of it would shatter me like glass.

“I worried you.” I caught each gaze.

Zander gave a small laugh through his glassy eyes.

“We worry about you everyday regardless. You’re as unpredictable and reckless as the seas. Keeping up with your antics is impossible.”

A grimace formed on my lips. Was I always that much trouble for them?

I began to inspect all of my phalanges. In, out, squeeze. I felt all of it. From my fingers to my toes. That night played in my mind. The dagger had been coated in something. Something that had no cure. I shouldn’t be here.

“How did you get an antidote?” My eyes fixated on Zander’s. He had heard it the same as I had from his mother.

His features faltered slightly, as if hoping to avoid the conversation entirely. But I remembered what I heard that night. There was no cure.

“A venom was used from a snake in Durant.”

I blinked. That was Regina’s homeland. Zander continued.

“The only way to cure it is with the blood of someone who is already immune. I offered my own, even if it was just to replenish what you lost. But I apparently do not have the immunity that some others may have from there.”

His eyes remained soft as he squeezed my hand. Then, where did the antidote come from? I didn’t have to wait long for the answer.

“By the fifth day we were certain that the fever was going to take you. I was sitting right here and holding your hand just like this when she came in.”

Zander’s gaze moved towards the door, as if expecting to see a body in the doorway. He turned back to me.

“My mother’s grandmother was a naga. They have a natural immunity to most venom and toxins. Unfortunately, I’m all human but my mother… Well, she had just enough in her to spare on you. She offered Cicero to use her blood to create the antidote. Your fever broke shortly after receiving it. After that it was just a matter of your wound closing and waiting for you to wake up.”

When he finished I sat there agape. That’s not what I was expecting. My evil and tyrannical stepmother offered to save my life.

“What was the exchange?” I found myself asking, sitting in disbelief that it was out of the goodness of her heart.

My father’s jaw tightened, causing my heart to clench. My brother squeezed my hand again to pull my attention.

“A price that I can learn to live with.” His tight tone made it clear that pushing the matter would be in vain.

I looked over at my father, his jaw still tight.

“I’m sorry, Dad.” For all of the implications I may have caused him for his wife to freely give her blood to me.

He brought up a hand to pat my head as he attempted to loosen his muscles, unsuccessfully.

“Don’t worry about it. I only want you to concentrate on healing properly.” He rose to his feet and started towards the exit before turning to address me one more time.

“We have a lot of things to discuss and work through, starting with putting on a strong front. Something like this won’t happen again.” He said before walking out the door.

Once the door clicked closed the women at the foot of my bed pounced. Leena took my father’s place and held me tight by my shoulders as the other three sprawled across my bed, grasping any part of me they could to be certain that I was truly there.

Leena firmly grasped my chin and stared intently into my eyes, her own dark forest contrasting with my own, a mix of relief and anguish.

“You are to never sneak out again. Ever.” A breath escaped her slowly. She wasn’t angry at me at least. I simply nodded my head, knowing it was pointless to tell her not to worry.

It was pointless to tell any of them not to worry. Not when I had been so close to the abyss and felt the chill of Death. So I allowed them to crowd me and touch me. Anything that gave them a sense of peace.

Regaining my strength was taking longer than I anticipated. Even with the healing waters of Regnum’s northern springs and Regina’s blood donation, the poison had wreaked havoc on my body. Nerves in my spine had been damaged, making walking difficult.

A few days after I had awakened, my aunt approached me one afternoon as I lifted myself to lay in my bed. My calves were swollen and ached as I lifted them up with my hands. Maybe tomorrow will be better, I thought.

Her marred face cast me a pitiful glance. Leena didn’t like seeing me in this state as much as I did. She turned towards my companions in the other room.

“Laney, I want you three to go and search for those books. I’ll remain here with Serafina.” Leena’s voice was without tone. Orders didn’t normally have tones.

Laney’s cerulean eyes gazed towards us, then she nodded and locked eyes with Jelena’s bright honey eyes and then Elisa’s hazel ones. Without a word they filed out of the room.

This was most likely going to be the moment when Leena was finally going to scold me for sneaking out. She hadn’t yet, but she didn’t usually scold me in front of others. I glanced up at her, ready for the tongue lashing of a lifetime. I deserved it after all and I would take it with some dignity.

Instead of speaking, Leena reached into her pocket of her deep grape colored dress and pulled her hand back as a closed fist.

“After you were brought here that day, I took the liberty of investigating the gallery. I needed to know why you were there.”

“I got lost.” I couldn’t hide the meekness in my voice. She terrified me and my lying was going to be my undoing.

An open hand flew up to silence me as her eyes flared.

“Don’t you dare lie to me, Serafina Diana Gavriil.” Her body was rigid, her tone like ice. I flinched under her gaze.

“I know that somehow, some way, you managed to sneak out of the castle. Why?”

I cheated Death before and I wasn’t eager to do it again by lying to her and facing the consequences. A long exhale left my lungs as I calculated my words. It wasn’t that I couldn’t trust her, I didn’t want her to be more concerned than she ought to be.

“I thought that if I left I could make it on my own. No one would come looking for me and I can figure out where I may fit in. The news that morning made me anxious and I didn’t want any part of it” It wasn’t a lie, but the whirlpool of emotions from dawn till night that day were near unmanageable. The dream only made it all worse.

“There’s more. Spit it out.” Her fist remained tightly closed. I wondered what she was concealing.

“I managed to get outside but had a change of heart and came back in. That’s when I was attacked.” My head roared with the cacophony of my heart, thundering. She didn’t have to ask the next question.

“I climbed from the window.” I wasn’t going to betray the tunnel.

Leena raised an eyebrow towards me. She wasn’t convinced. But she didn’t push for my escape route, instead coming closer to my side and sitting on my bed.

“Why did you change your mind about leaving?” The frostiness of her tone melted, yet there was still some iron there.

“An idea that my destiny is more likely to come my way if I stay put.”

Let her fish, I thought. I wasn’t going to freely walk into the conversation and not know what she had already concluded. What she didn’t know could work in my favor. That is until she opened her fist and laid out her flat palm before me. My eyes widened and my stomach sank down to my bowels.

A thin silver band with an emerald embedded in it. The ring Cato had gifted me. I hadn’t put much thought into it since that night, being too preoccupied with my recovery.

One look into her eyes and I could tell that Leena was seeing right through me. She had found my satchel that held my spare clothes and the ring. I thought of feigning ignorance and pretending I had never seen it before, but she had already had me within her snare.

“Why did he give this to you?” Leena’s voice tightened again.

“How do you know who gave it to me?” I countered, wanting to push back, even just a little.

Leena’s eyes narrowed.

“That beast has had his hands all over our family. My mother…” she paused, closing her fingers around the ring.

“She prayed and prayed. That’s what she told me. Her husband, the father who raised Diana and myself, was kind and loving. But he was not able to give her children. So she begged for a miracle, to continue the line.”

“No…” I found myself whispering. The riddle became clear as day.

Leena nodded.

“My true father, the one who blessed Latonia Beckett with two miracles, is him.”

The world lay silent. Even my heart felt as though it were no longer beating.

Daughter of me, as well as daughter of the sea. The words of the goddess echoed from that void.

I released the dam and went into detail of the conversation with Cato. My grandfather. The thought bewildered me. He was my grandfather.

Once I finished retelling my conversation with him, I moved onto the maiden in the void. How she appeared, the mirrors, what I had seen, and what she had said. I spilled it all out. That ring damned me to her and after she revealed her hand I was obligated to tell her everything.

Through it all, Leena listened intently, with not a peep to interrupt. When I finished she cast me a glance of concern.

“The gifts of healing and Sight are known to trickle down through the Beckett line.” Her voice soft, the iron gone.

She opened her hand and motioned the ring towards me to take.

“This may help get you over the hurdle you’ve been facing with your recovery. If you do have healing abilities, it will enhance them.” She said as I slid the band up the ring finger of my right hand.

Within a moment it was as if a cloud began to disperse around me and my stiff muscles started to relax. Leena noticed my shift and gave an approving nod. She turned towards my nightstand, opened the drawer and pulled out three books, one with a black thin cover, another with a thin red cover, and the other was a thicker, black, leather bound book.

“I put these here, knowing you will need them, when you finally took a turn for the better.”

My eyes widened at the sight of the books, taking hold of them.

The thin black book displayed no author, only a silver etching of Cato’s true form, the Sea Dragon. Behind it was the red book, with the title Beckett Genealogy. I had never asked Leena many questions about her family… our family, but this would be of use to understand. On the bottom was the heavier tome, with no title. I flipped through it to see that it was a journal, written in elegant script. Dates began every passage.

“When I saw the ring,” Leena began, pulling my attention away from the books in my hands.

“I knew who gave it to you. He once gave it to my mother to hold onto.” She sighed and leaned back, folding her arms. “She must have given it to him, knowing that you would need it.”

With a long finger, my aunt pointed towards the journal, giving it a tap.

“This is her journal. Every dream she had, she wrote down here. Some may have been only dreams, but others proved to be more than that.” Her eyes became sorrowful, face falling. My heart clenched at the sight.

I needed to change the subject, if only slightly.

“Do you know anything about a black dragon?” I asked, remembering the young man from the mirror. I needed to find him.

Leena shook her head.

“There may be something that my mother had seen in her visions, but I wouldn’t know. I don’t have any abilities.” She turned to stare out the window.

“Diana had the ability to heal. She could manipulate the energy around her to mend the broken. But when she became pregnant she found out that her ability diminished considerably. She wasn’t even able to use it to save herself that day.” A lone tear cascaded down her jagged scar.

I had to turn away. She never shed tears in front of me, having always been a pillar of steel. Seeing her in such a state would cause me to break too if I gazed for too long.

“I’m sorry, Leena. For…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. If she weren’t pregnant she may have been able to live.

Leena’s blazing eyes rounded on me and she pinched my cheek hard.

“There’s no reason for you to be sorry about that. Now if you want to apologize for sneaking out that would be a different story.”

Releasing an exhale, Leena rose from the bed.

“Read some before they return.” She paused, as if conflicted by her next words. She glanced at the door before returning my gaze.

“The Beckett family prefers privacy - we always have. As of now there are only three living members. Anything we discuss about our family will be between just you and I. Only you and I.” She emphasized towards the end before going to sit on the sofa with her own book.

Our family. As in she was not counting Zander or my father as part of that family. Hiding our conversations was going to wreck my stomach, but I nodded in understanding and pulling open the small black book.

The pages were handwritten with illustrations. On the first page was a colorful depiction of all Belinha’s deities with its namesake embracing them all with large feathered wings. Flaming red hair and bright green eyes peered back at me as I took in the image. The similarity was uncanny.

Above her head was the Sea Dragon, Cato, then going around clockwise were the others. Saffi, the naga who guarded Durant, Hypnos, the dragon of Ignatia, Thanatos, the twin dragon of Demarcus, Orion, the first fairy and guardian of Silvania, and lastly was Minerva, the queen of the merfolk and guardian to the island nation of Kai.

I turned the page to read the first passage.

From the doorway emerged a green eyed, flaming haired goddess and the world grew around her. With a book in one hand and a quill in the other, she first wrote Cato, a dragon of the sea, into creation.

“You will keep the balance of the seas and lead all others that now come after you.” The goddess said.

Then came an egg the size of four men, cracking with the sound of thunder. Two baby dragons sprang to life and stared at the world in wonder. The goddess smiled at them and rested a hand on each head.

“You will learn from Cato and will keep the balance of the skies and mountains, Thanatos and Hypnos. You will grow quickly and will be of equal power.”

Returning the quill to the paper at hand, Belinha brought forth Orion, the first Fairy, having his body emerge from an elm tree. A full grown man with wisdom in his eyes.

“You will watch over the forests and keep the harmony between man and beast of the wood.”

From the sands rose a Naga with steel eyes that had any being’s blood to run cold should they meet her gaze.

“Saffi, you will protect those of the desert. With the wind and sand you will keep the peace for those who reside in your realm.”

Belinha glided to the ocean’s foam and called forth the wise Minerva, the mermaid queen of the southern seas.

“Minerva, you will assist Cato and protect our southern waters.”

Once the duties were underway, Belinha set forth on her journey, bringing to life the ground, the trees, and the rivers. Creatures of every variety sprung forth and made homes. Humans created governance and borders. Balance was created. With light came darkness. With wrong came right.

The sirens would sink the boats, yet Minerva’s underlings and descendants would save the drowning. The dragons fortified the borders, yet the people were snatched by kelpies and trolls. Balance would be maintained for a time, only to be faced with challenges.

Many years into her quest, Belinha performed her last act. A selfish act. Going into the mountains and down into the mines, where the dragons morphed into human skins, she pulled out her book for the last time. Before her, from the pool of magma, sprung forth a black dragon, larger than Thanatos and Hypnos, who had started their own lineages.

Alexius shifted down to the form of a man. Peering down at the goddess an understanding came about him. A chain that linked his heart to her. He was hers. Her protector. Her friend. Her lover. Belinha’s creation was complete.

Having descendants of her own, Belinha would return to that doorway, book still in hand. Having never aged, she looked back on her world with a twinkle in her green eyes.

“I take my leave. If there should ever come a time of disruption, my heir, the one intertwined with my very soul, will restore the balance. Farewell” Then with a light erupting from her figure she vanished.

Araceli is home to her tomb which holds the last of her essence. One day the essence will escape and return with the one descended from the Sea. Until that time, Alaceli will remain fortified.

As I finished the page my door opened, my three companions entered with fresh books in hand. With haste I stored my books back into my nightstand, although it didn’t escape me that Laney was eyeing me with interest. I wasn’t a good liar, so I was grateful that when she approached it wasn’t with questions of my behavior.

“Zander stopped us on the way back. He said that you will be going to dinner with the family tomorrow.”

Her cerulean eyes didn’t meet mine as I noticed her fingers fidgeting before her. I lifted an eyebrow.

“Is something wrong?”

It wasn’t odd for me to have dinner with my father and brother weekly, but the shifting of her gaze told me that there was more to just dinner with them.

“It’s dinner with the family.” She emphasized and met my gaze.

“Aunt Regina and Dea will be joining you in the Dining Hall.”

Oh… that’s what she meant. I anticipated that eventually I would be expected to be in the same room as my stepmother, but Dea was a person I would prefer to stay away from. My grandmother was known for her venomous words towards my existence. I had never met her, but if the rumors were true I would rather keep our interactions to a minimum.

“Any chance that Zander told you what would be discussed?” I asked. I needed to mentally prepare for whatever was on the agenda.

Laney bounced from one foot to the other, fidgeting. She clearly didn’t want to tell me but I rolled my hand in a wrap up motion, to convey to her to spit it out.

“He didn’t have to. There are rumors going around that it’s about Regina collecting on his and Uncle Jovan’s debt.” Laney’s eyes went towards the window.

“The payment for saving your life.” She added quietly, continuing to view out the window.

That made sense. Although Zander did say it was something he could live with, I was still curious as to what it was she was asking for. Elisa came to sit beside me.

“It’s being said by some of Regina’s guards that the payment is a marriage contract to the princess of Demarcus, as well as a potential match for you, although I’m not sure about the latter information. But Zander marrying was definitely a stipulation.” Elisa said as she rested her blond head onto one of my pillows.

My heart sank. Although it was something that Zander should have done years ago, at least had a potential bride picked out by the age of twenty, I didn’t like the idea that his hand was now being forced in the matter due to my own stupidity of leaving my room that night. Maybe there would be a way that I could make it up to him, if he would even allow me to. As for the second, potential, stipulation… it wasn’t something that I would have thought Regina to come up with on her own. I wasn’t her responsibility after all.

“What makes you think that I’ll have to go and seek out a marriage contract?” I looked down at Elisa, her eyelids laying softly closed. It wasn’t uncommon for any of them to nap in my bed. It was more comfortable than the other two provided ones.

Without opening her eyes, Elisa let out a low hum before replying.

“That part wasn’t from Regina’s guards, but Dea’s. That woman took your misfortune as an opportunity to ship you off somewhere. Supposedly she is using the excuse of not only having it benefit Regnum but as well as provide you with some safety by sending you away.”

Laney gave a snort from the foot of my bed, her hand brushing her tied, long, sandy hair behind her shoulder.

“I can promise you that it’s definitely the first reason. She is an opportunist and always has been. Even her marriage into the family and negotiating Auntie’s and Uncle’s marriage can all be seen as her manipulating the game she plays.”

On the bed in the opposite corner, Jelena laid sprawled face down, as if exhausted. She picked up her head.

“You know an awful lot about the subject.” She said lazily before putting her head back down on the pillow.

Laney walked over to her and pushed her aside to sit. Jelena rolled over to lay an arm across Laney’s lap. A forbidden love, I thought to myself. Not so much for Princess Jelena, who hails from the matriarchal island nation of Kai, but for Lady Laney who was still on a probation period to lose her title. If she proved herself capable of living off her own wages her brother may surrender to her and allow her to drop the title. Until she was free, however, bringing up their relationship in a public setting was taboo.

“I grew up a ward of the king and queen, so I know many things that most in the castle wouldn’t.” Laney said, lazily and lightly gliding her fingers up and down Jelena’s arm.

“So continue on. What’s Dea’s deal?” Jelena lifted her head up once more to speak before positioning herself to face Laney.

“Mind you, this is only what I gathered over the years as a listener and not one in any real conversation.” Laney cautioned.

“Dea was King Brazyli’s childhood friend. She grew up right here in the capital as the daughter to a fish merchant. They, supposedly, fell in love with one another but Brazyli, still just a prince at the time, was already contracted to marry a princess from a foreign land. A much older princess who was unlikely to bear any children for him.”

“That seems like a waste of an opportunity.” I said, leaning towards Elisa, our crowns grazing.

Laney gave a shrug.

“It was a turbulent time and past monarchs were more war-happy than they are now. But because the princess was so much older there was the issue of the Gavriil line.”

“Wait!” Jelena sat up straight, honey eyes wide.

“Is the king a love child?”

Laney began waving her hands in front of her.

“No, he was born legitimate. But barely.” She lowered her hands, expression turning serious.

“It is said that Dea was pregnant when the foreign princess tragically had a bad reaction to some shellfish and died. Scandal erupted when the prince married Dea and Uncle was born as a legitimate heir to the throne.”

My jaw clenched. It would be speculation and that may be seen as a crime by some, but anyone would have to admit that it was too convenient. Laney seemed to read my mind because she cleared her throat to continue.

“It was quite suspicious. The homeland of the princess wanted an investigation but Dea managed to negotiate a new contract with Uncle Jovan and even managed to expand the borders. That’s how we got the springs up north.”

The springs were a controversial topic to some. Regina’s father gave up the land freely, believing that they were nothing more than barren lands. That was until a new city was being built and the springs were dug up. With unique properties it was turned into a tourist destination, allowing for Regnum’s economy to flourish. But that was a sore subject for those of Durant.

“So she is probably one of the greatest negotiators of our country.” Elisa’s light voice rang and I couldn’t help but silently agree.

“Most would say the same. But others have speculated that she has other means of persuasion. Mystical means.” Laney alluded.

My ears perked. What were the odds to hit that sort of genetic lottery? A snap of a book pulled our attention. Leena peered over at us, giving a small huff of annoyance.

“You ladies have far too much time on your hands. Do yourselves all a favor and learn something practical rather than adding to the rumor mill.”

I fought back the snort of laughter bubbling up from my chest as I witnessed Laney give the most exaggerated eye roll I have ever seen. Rather than argue, I stood to resume some physical therapy, my companions watching me with fixed eyes to monitor if I would need their assistance.