**I seem to be in a nasty habit of posting late. Oh well...**

Chapter 10

Today was the day.
More specifically, today was the morning— it was about four thirty, and Lyla was exhausted.

She'd had spent the week packing and re-packing her entire wardrobe, transferring most of her belongings back onto Ari's ship, and just generally worrying about the whole endeavor.

Aveline, who sat beside her at a too-early breakfast, didn't seem to share any of Lyla's anxieties. In fact, she hadn't even packed until the last possible minute (she was still trying to get the last of her gowns out the door). Lyla wished she could have such a carefree attitude.

"You need to eat something," the other girl fussed, pressing a warm roll into Lyla's hands.

Lyla pushed the bread back onto her plate. "Truly, I'm not hungry." Lyla never had much of an appetite when she was anxious. Her stomach was already buzzing with apprehension, and part of her just wanted to get on the ship and leave her mixed feelings behind her. Plus, she was only half-awake. The sky outside the windows was dark, still— Lyla never woke up this early. Her plan as soon as she boarded the ship was to crawl into her familiarly soft bed in her old bedroom and let the waves lull her back to sleep.

Ari, who Aveline had said was running an errand (Lyla didn't want to ask what errands could possibly be run at this hour), was eager to leave as soon as possible. It was his fault, Lyla thought resentfully, that she was awake before five in the morning. It would take about two days to reach Verignes, and he wanted to be there as soon as the monarchy was ready for them. What difference a few hours would make, Lyla had no idea.

Jamie, across from them, rose from the table. "I wanted to speak with Ben before I leave, but I'll see you two soon?"

"Yes!" Aveline exclaimed warmly. "We'll meet you in the front with the carriage in half an hour. Give Ben my best."

Lyla exchanged polite nods with Jamie as she briskly left the room. While at first Jamie had seemed a bit reserved, Aveline's diligent attempts at pulling Jamie back into their circle seemed to have finally softened her somewhat. She'd sat with them at breakfast, at least, and was happy to tell them about her travels; timid but amicable nonetheless. It was glaringly obvious that Jamie became more friendly when Ari wasn't around, but it wasn't as if anyone was going to bring that up.

Lyla's subsequent smile was borne of exasperation. Ari and Jamie's alternating hot and cold attitudes with each other were so reminiscent of last spring— some things never changed, she supposed.

As soon as Jamie left, Aveline focused her attention on Lyla.

"So, is this just nerves, or does it have to do with what we spoke about on tournament day?"

Lyla found herself staring at her hands. "A little bit of both, I suppose."

"Do you feel guilty about leaving?"

Lyla said nothing.

"Because you shouldn't."

Lyla picked up the roll Aveline had given her- it was cold now- and began to tear it into tiny pieces.
"I suppose I'm worried that I'll enjoy myself too much, and..." she let her words taper off.

Aveline's tone was gentle as she finished. "You won't want to come back?"

Lyla looked up at her friend, trying not to sound defensive. "Apreuna is where I belong."

"Of course."

"I just need a little time off, is all."

"Right."

Aveline's patience wore her guard down. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Thank you for understanding."

"It's alright."

Lyla ruefully lifted her shoulder. "And... I know we're here on assignment, but I'm looking forward to seeing Verignes."

Aveline's grin bloomed, dimpling her cheeks. "Oh, Lyla, it's absolutely breathtaking; exactly how it's described. The people are so lovely and cultured- oh, and they have this magnificent church on the road to the main village; the ceiling is entirely mosaic-'

Lyla let herself relax into Aveline's comforting chatter as she regaled her with whimsical stories of the kingdom. Lyla's mother, her suitors, the glaring worry that she wasn't going to be enough- that was all behind her. There were beautiful places and exciting adventures to come. Only looking ahead, from now on, Lyla thought to herself.

Eventually Aveline wandered over to the diamond-paned windows and pulled back the curtain. Lyla stabbed her fork into her egg and forced herself to take a bite.

"Did Ari finish his errand?" She teased around her contemplation of her breakfast, but Aveline seemed distracted as she gazed outside of the castle.

"Um, yes."

Lyla, mid-bite, swiveled around to see what she was looking at. A dusty brown carriage was leisurely pulling up to the castle.

"There's Inez." Aveline grabbed her shawl from where it hung on the back of her chair. "I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you." Lyla swallowed the last gulp of water in glass. "I wasn't going to eat this, anyway."

The sun was still nowhere to be seen as Lyla trotted down the front steps of the palace, trying not to trip over herself as she followed after Aveline. They reached the gates just as Inez climbed out of the carriage, slapping away the hand of a guard who tried to help her down.

"Did everything run smoothly?" Aveline demanded, without so much as even a hello.

Inez's eyes slid quickly to Lyla, and then back. "Yes."

Lyla looked behind Inez to the empty carriage. "Where's Ari?"

Inez and Aveline exchanged glances, and Lyla wondered why they thought she wouldn't notice.

"He's meeting us at the docks," said Aveline. "We'll have to leave soon. Wouldn't you like to say goodbye to your mother?"

Lyla scrunched her hand in the folds of her skirt. Was it bad, if the answer was no?

All the Grand Duchess had told her at dinner the night before was to socialize with the Verignes monarchy, and not to forget to pinch her cheeks every morning to add color. "I don't want to see you return wild and vulgar like those vagabonds you hang around," she'd said, staring at Aveline and Ari across the room who, at the time, had busied themselves with throwing shelled almonds at each other. "And be careful," she'd added. That last bit was so sweet that Lyla didn't want to talk to her now and risk ruining it.

Queen Rowena had told her to look after Ari and Aveline; to make sure they weren't breaking any laws, and such. Lyla had promised her she would try, though she wasn't sure she could make the two of them do anything.

Tristran and Ben came out with Jamie to see them off soon after, once they were finally sure that they hadn't forgotten any last-minute belongings. Tristan gave Lyla a tight hug, and she was so surprised she found herself fighting back tears.

"Good luck," he whispered, giving her shoulder a final pat before pulling away to fix her with a serious stare. "If you need anything, just write."

"As soon as we get back, you leave," Ben complained, pulling her into an embrace. "We'll come visit you soon."

Lyla giggled, self-consciously wiping at the moisture underneath her eyes. "I'd like that a lot."

Jamie began to tear up as she turned to say goodbye to her brother, and Lyla and Aveline backed away to give them some privacy.

Lyla swiveled around to watch them as the carriage pulled away from the castle. Tristran's hand was on Ben's shoulder as they waved, their figures growing gradually smaller into the distance.
The castle; pointed spires, marble-streaked stone that was soft to the touch, with the spot on the roof pediment that was Lyla's favorite- looked so familiar to her as she left it behind once again. There were so many things that she was saying goodbye to; some good, some bad. It felt like déjà vu, running away like she had so many months ago...

It was only a few moments before the village buildings came into view, crowding her view of the palace, and she could only see the pointed tips of it in the distance. She sat back into her cushion and glanced at Aveline and Jamie on the seats next to her.

She wasn't alone this time. She had her friends on either side, and she could not be sorry for that.

The ride was only about five minutes, but Lyla still found herself about to doze off on Aveline's shoulder by the time they reached the docks. The sun was just beginning to poke out of the horizon, barely visible over the ocean in the distance. And in front of it, sitting atop the calm waves, rested The Merchant in all its glory.

Lyla felt a grin spread across her cheeks as she hopped down from the carriage, her slippers sinking into the sand. The vessel had been newly glossed and polished, and looked just like new. Beautiful carvings of shells and curving, lacy swirls looped around the prow. Without mussels and salt to coat its wood, the dark cherry color shone against the water.

Lyla exhaled as she walked up the ramp, taking in the familiar sight of the deck. Sometimes in the evenings last year, when Eli was here, the crew would play soft melodies on their instruments and everyone would dance together on deck. Ari had tried (and failed) to teach Lyla a Nuellian folk step right there, by the wheel.

Inez certainly seemed happy to be back. She greeted the crew with laughter and hearty slaps on their backs. Lyla smiled uncertainly at them; most of them were foreign and did not know her language, but they were nice to have around all the same.

Ari was already hard at work, retying one of the sails when they found him on deck. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and grinned at them.

"It took you long enough." This was the Ari Lyla knew; leather belt, shirtsleeves rolled up past his forearms, a smudge of dirt on his cheek.

Aveline rolled her eyes at him, thus completing the familiar picture of the pirates in Lyla's memory. "Tristan and Ben give their best." She glanced behind her. "Jamie, you can have your old room if you'd like. Do you remember where it is?"

"Of course I do," Jamie managed a smile. "I'm going to freshen up, but I'll join you later."

Ari's eyes followed the willowy brunette as she scuttled below deck, and Lyla pretended not to notice.

Aveline pursed her lips as she faced Lyla. "I'm sure you're exhausted."

Lyla nodded, warmth settling in her stomach as she thought of her cozy little room downstairs. She started to edge towards the steps where Jamie had gone, sleep already crawling up her limbs. "Is everything good here, then? Do you need me for anything?"

"Wait, Lyla." Ari stopped her, straightening and wiping his hands with a damp rag. "Just a moment."

Lyla tried to keep her eyes open. "Hm?"

Aveline hesitated. "There's something we wanted to tell you ab-"

The creaking of wood from the other stairwell cut into her sentence, and everyone's heads automatically swiveled towards the top of the steps. A small boy Lyla had never seen before stood there in a linen chemise that was clearly too big for him, the sleeves drooping far past his wrists. His dark hair, uncut, flopped messily into large, saucer-like eyes that only seemed to stare.

There was a brief pause in which nobody said anything. Lyla blinked, suddenly awake.

"Uh, who is this?" Surprised, she faced Ari and Aveline who gaped at the youth as if they had never seen one before. "I thought Inez took the children to an orphanage."

Ari recovered first; he dropped his hand before he could tangle it in his hair. "She did. We're watching these boys as a favor to a friend."

"There's more than one?" Lyla didn't mind; she got along with children fairly well, if she did say so herself. "Well, that was very kind of you to take them in." She beamed at the unmoving boy. "What's your name, sweet?"

He didn't answer her, and after a few seconds he turned around and scampered back down the steps.

"Shy, isn't he?"

"Uh, yes." Aveline seemed to come back to herself. "Apologies, Lyla, we'll let you go back to sleep."

"Deal." Lyla covered her mouth with a yawn and headed towards the opposite stairwell as the ocean breeze ruffled the back of her hair. She'd long ago stopped trying to decipher the mystery that was Ari and Aveline; they did what they pleased and shared what they wanted to, when they wanted to.

That was just fine with her for the time being. Lyla found her bedroom; it still smelled nice, like candles and something fresh, and she was content to silently mull over the endless heap of mysteries that surrounded her as she fell asleep.

**This was kind of a transition chapter. Next stop- Verignes! Hope you liked, and don't forget to vote!**