Children of Rima

partner, would you marry or risk breaking a sacred promise?”
“I would never make that vow in the first place, and if I did, no 
one should dictate my choices.”
“You’re still not putting yourself in their shoes.”
“Well, maybe I’m not as imaginative as you.” 
Elene seemed empowered because she propped herself from the 
chair. “What if you had no choice and had to marry someone like 
me?”
Lucan leaned back into his chair to the point of teetering it. 
Elene, noticing his shift, glanced at the table. A gloomy look 
soaked through her curious eyes. “That hard to imagine, huh?” 
“It’s not that.” He knew she meant no wrong in asking. “You 
know the reason I don’t want to marry.”
“And you didn’t have to take it so seriously, but it looks like I 
offended you,” 
“I took no offense. I just can’t imagine a ridiculous point of 
view.” 
“Ridiculous?” Her eyes began to water. “Of course. It’s hard to 
imagine with someone who’s five years your senior.”
“Will you stop making it so personal?” Lucan reached for her 
hand, but she drew back. “What I said about calling you a senior… 
I should have apologized for that except…” 

---

“You chose not to, and now I’m seeing why.” Elene wobbled, 
but she stood from her chair and held her chin high. “I’ll go get that 
rest.”
Lucan got up after and haunted her steps. That Little Heathen 
was quick, moving through and under the moving bodies of drunks 
and laughing women. He moved the slender hands that brushed his 
shoulder off and focused only on her turban.
Skiar. Why did she have to ask him something like that?
Just as she made it out, he took her hand.
She jumped and pulled away. Seeing it was him, she relaxed but 
didn’t look relieved.
“Let me walk you to the inn,” he said while she rubbed her hand. 
“You’ve had a bit too much to drink.” 
“I know the way back, and this place is well-lit.”
“Elene, my response was hornshit—you were trying to find some 
reasoning for my poor excuse, and I just left you there. You should 
have known your question would have thrown me off.” 
“And I apologized for that, didn’t I?” 
“Then why are you trying to leave me?” 
“Because you couldn’t put yourself in anyone else’s shoes. 
Instead, you called my—other people’s sacrifices ridiculous. That’s 
why that woman didn’t bother with you. She knew you wouldn’t 
understand her struggles.” 
“So, this had to do more with you, then?” 
Elene raised her hands to stop him. “Because I now realize how 
foolish I’ve been in allowing myself to get close to you and Caydon.” 
In stepping back, she bumped into a passing man. Her legs wobbled, 
but she balanced herself. “But it won’t happen again. I have to be 
careful from here on, I’m promised to another, and he’s waiting for 
my return.” 
His eyebrows elevated. “Since we left Melodia, that wasn’t 
something you seemed to care about, or are you desperate for 
affection because Caydon isn’t here to give it?”
Elene’s shoulders pinched in. “See? This is why I can’t tell you 
anything about my past. It took a lot for me to tell you the 
impression Caydon left me, and now you’re using it against me. How 
coldblooded can you be?” 
“Elene.”

---

“No, maybe I made a mistake.” Her nose flared as her eyes 
thickened with tears. “I never should have warmed up to you. I 
shouldn’t have shown you this side of me, not when you always 
hated the person you met on that river, the person I really am.” 
Lucan watched her press her wrist to her eyes. Tears rolled down 
her cheeks while all he could do was blow air through his nostrils. 
Even through her frustrations, she was showing a tender side. Maybe 
he did like that she was finally kind to him enough to let him watch 
her cry. 
“I’m sorry for overreacting.” She chuckled and wiped the last 
tear. “I want to blame it on the beer, but really, I can’t. After 
tomorrow, I think we should keep our distance.” She looked away 
so fast her tassel spun. Elene followed the lamp posts back to the 
inn at a fast pace, giving her cloak little time to catch up.
Lucan stepped aside from the crowd. If anyone touched him, he 
was going to blow up. Her little cries echoed in his mind. That 
moment at the Glass Crane, she was the first to apologize. Maybe all 
this time, he didn’t like the Elene he first met, but rather than trying 
to understand that side of her, he moved on with the side that he 
liked. He hadn’t even apologized when it mattered, like when the 
mug she cherished shattered into pieces.
“We should follow her at least.” Pete’s voice alarmed him. He 
had been outside The Dustbowl the entire time.
“What are you doing here?” 
“Didn’t want to admit this, but I wanted to enjoy the scenery of 
this place. It’s beautiful.” 
Seeing how far she went, he picked up his feet. Elene was going 
in the right direction, blending well with Vinolean citizens. Still, 
anything could happen, and he wanted to be prepared.
“Thought Wein was with you two,” Pete said.
“He was tired, and now Elene wants nothing to do with me.” 
“I heard. Thought you two were going to go for the throat like 
you used to.” 
“We did.” 
Pete snorted. “Far from it. You two argued like neither of you 
wanted to jab the other.” 

---

Your plan is expensive.” This was the fourth time 
Wein shared his doubts, and for Lucan to reassure him, 
reminding him it was he who disagreed about them 
joining Lorenza.
“Do you want to travel down Vinol and risk getting hit by King 
Pann’s cavalry? Do you want to put Fior and Ivory up Lotter’s 
Mountain again with Pete’s broken arm?” 
“Well, no…” 
“Don’t forget Elene nearly fell.” 
Wein rubbed his face. He was just as nervous as she, yet they 
followed him to the docks. Not that he wasn’t trying to accept 
Lucan’s help. Clearly, Lucan had more than enough coins and 
gemstones they were unaware of.
The inn she spent the night in was beautiful. Ceramic vases 
decorated her room with flowers that only bloomed in the summer, 
giving the walls a vibrant color. When Wein told her she overslept, 
she didn’t want to leave the silk sheets, nor get out of bed, of that 
matter. 
Lucan was yawning for the fourth time. His freckles crinkled as 
he caught his breath with his hand. He must have woken up early, 
or perhaps he didn’t sleep last night. His silver look shifted to her, 
and immediately she turned the other way.
“What happens if the ship goes down?” Rüfus said. “I’m not a 
superb swimmer.” None of them had ever traveled by ship. Beaven 
River and the lake surrounding their Oak tree was the only place any 
ever dared to float. 

---

Lucan gave him a tired look. The ocean’s breeze shuffled his 
wavy hair. “If you want, we could take a cog ship, smaller, more 
inclined to a pirate’s taste.” 
“Now you’re some sea expert?” said Pete. 
“No, just some work me and the guys did for the royal fleet. We 
landed nowhere.” 
“You really lived a full life here, working and whoring around.” 
Lucan squeezed his eyebrows together. He took the jab and 
continued.
At the dock, the salt of the Olden Ocean breezed through with 
an icy bite. Seeing the grand ship close, she felt even more uncertain, 
as did the others. 
Lucan slapped his hands against his hips. “It’s going to be fine. 
We’ll be in Appleton before you know it.” His gaze shifted to her. It 
seemed like he wanted support, but she drew her focus back to her 
boots.
“Let’s just do it,” said Pete. “I just want to go home.” 
A clatter of hooves striking the surface came near. The hostler 
from the inn was back. Ivory and Fior’s mane looked as polished as 
the newly equipped wagon. The body was painted red, with yellow 
painted wheels. The driver seats had leather cushions, and the sides 
had spacious compartments to store their tools.
“A good morning to you all,” the hostler said. “Delivery as 
promised.” 
Elene hurried to their side. Fior and Ivory looked relaxed, better 
than she had ever seen since they left Melodia.
“We appreciate you taking care of them.” When Lucan got close, 
Fior nudged his shoulder, a sign that he wanted his attention. In 
response, he patted his shoulder.
As people started to board, Lucan went to register them, leaving 
a detailed list of their belongings just in case someone robbed their 
new items, food, pots, tents, pillows, and blankets.
The low mist swept over the floor as she squeezed between the 
men. The vessel was enormous, families and children boarded 
without care, and animals and cargo were led with rope. 
To move the horses to the lower deck, they needed to be led by 
the sailors. Fior nearly kicked one sailor when they brought him 

---

inside. Normally, this was something Ivory would do when he was 
introduced to something new, but he wasn’t alone. 
After Lucan, Wein was the first to board the ship. Rüfus took a 
shaky step on the bridge, glancing from land and the waves 
underneath. Pete cursed under his breath and climbed next.
Elene was left staring at the bridge. The bells from the ship 
suddenly rang, compelling her to jump.
“You going in, Miss?” a sailor asked.
“Elene!” Wein called. 
She held her breath and stepped up. Her foot tapped the end of 
the bridge, and she came tumbling down. Heat flushed to her face 
from the laughing spectators, but she got up and boarded the ship. 
Lucan, who witnessed her fall, quickly looked away, brushing his 
wavy locks back. 
“You alright?” Her brother asked. 
“Y-yeah.” Elene squeezed between Wein.
The clanking lever raised the bridge, sealing them in. On the ship, 
the waves shifted the vessel near the port and back.
“Anything that has turrets means we have enemies to worry 
about.” Rüfus was just as jittery, tapping his fingers against the rail. 
“You know, just a lil’ fire, and we all go down.”
“Give me a break.” When Lucan passed her, she felt his eyes on 
her, but she didn’t turn around. She would not think of what she 
asked, what his answer was. 
The swaying of the ship against the seawater was not without the 
vessel’s sailors. Their quick thinking and movements looked like a 
performance. They worked with the ropes and climbed what Lucan 
called the main mast.
Elene shut her eyes and took in the strong breeze. “Wait until 
Father finds out we boarded a ship!” 
“Yeah.” Wein sounded dull. “He’s going to be in for a big 
surprise when we return.” 
Elene took his arm. “Hey, he’ll understand.” 
“No, Elene, you don’t know how much they depended on me to 
return. It’s fall now, and we don’t know how open he’ll be to Lucan’s 
help. Things have already been hard on us with the fewer hired hands 
we got in the summer.”

---

“I know Mother has her spending habits, but Father always 
pulled through.” 
“Just promise me you’ll let me do the talking?” 
“Hey—we’re in this together—we’ve been in this together.” 
“Elene, I’m asking as your older brother, please don’t take the hit 
for me.” 
On the first night, everyone shared a room with two bunk beds. 
Lucan was in another across the corridor, sharing his space with a 
family. He probably outed himself to keep them together.
The following day, she felt the sway of the waves in her stomach. 
Her appetite was small, and seeing Rüfus and Pete’s vomit in the 
bucket in their room only made it tighten. Time had a different feel 
among the sea, and by how the vessel ebbed and flowed, it was as if 
they were pushing against the day.
After urging her brother to see their horses, Wein convinced a 
sailor to lead them to the cargo. The cramped place had little air and 
smelled like feces. Chickens were clucking around, leaving their 
droppings wherever they went.
To their dismay, they crammed Fior and Ivory between crates of 
boxes. Just when she was about to say something, Wein went ahead. 
“Are you trying to kill them? I recall Lucan paid for them to be in 
stalls where there was more ventilation.” 
The sailor shrugged. “Ya’ haf ta’ take it up to the captain.” 
“I will.” 
On the deck, Elene watched a group of children play. If Corie 
and Theo were here, they would be doing the same thing. Wein said 
High Maiden Trini would notify Gourd’s family about his death. He 
didn’t seem happy that everyone would already know. Maybe that’s 
why he’s been taking good care of the ashes he kept in his pocket.
The following night, Rüfus’s loud snoring woke her from her sleep. 
Pete and Wein were gone. Dizzy from the swaying room and feeling 
like the walls were inching in, Elene climbed down her bunk bed. 
She took the blanket with her and left the room.
She passed many rooms quietly, rubbing her eyes. At the mercy 
of the wind and the waves, the icy spray of the cold wind offered her 

---

some comfort as the tight space and the uneasy shifting and groaning 
were too much. The stars shone above like cobwebs of light. The 
wind tugged and pulled her tassel in every direction.
Across the deck, she saw two figures and their familiar voices. 
Wein moved aside to let her lean against the rail between them. He 
smelled like tea and honey.
The waters were black, and little bits of light sparkled from under 
the crescent moons, but the stars overhead burned bright, guiding 
them home. The life she put on pause would return, waking up in 
her bright room with only the tree swallow birds as company. She 
missed her family, and she wanted to see Corie, but was she ready to 
go back to the same routine? 
“Thought you were going to sleep through the night,” said Wein.
“Not with Rüfus snoring like that.” 
He chuckled and passed her a mug. There was little warmth left, 
but she could smell that grainy aroma. She gave it a sip and her right 
eye curled from the sourness before being swapped by a sweet taste.
Lemon and honey danced on her tongue as she took more in. 
“Like it?” Her brother asked. “Lucan said we needed it after he 
heard of our seasickness.” 
Elene gave the tea a hard look now. “You guys saw him?” 
“You missed him not half n’ hour ago,” Pete grinned, resting his 
elbows on the rail. “By that look in your eyes, I’m guessing you’re 
both still not on talking terms?” 
Her brother looked at her with one raised eyebrow. Elene 
returned the mug and said nothing had happened. 
“You two should leave whatever you guys started on Vine Road,” 
Wein said. “I kept my mouth shut because it looked mutual, but that 
can’t happen in Melodia.” 
“You’re worrying over nothing—things are going back to just 
how they were.” 
“If you had talked to him, you would have known what your 
brother meant by that,” Pete said. “Lucan is staying in Melodia for a 
while. Said that’s what that big, tall friend of his wanted.” 
“Yeah, I know.” She rested her elbows on the rail. Wein could 
read her face with just one look. “It was stupid, but I’m not angry at 
him.”

---