PARTINGS
Ria smiled to see Lavinia arrive hand in hand with Darag. Drufforth was just waking, the mist not having burned off the harbor yet. Ria had been working to load the boat the last two days, ever since the Kith had returned it to the water and double checked their work when the hull was submerged. It sat loosely tied to the wharf and ready for the journey south.
It hadn’t been the packing that had kept Ria from seeing her best friend. She had barely seen Lavinia since the night of the dance, except for when Darag came to help work on the boat. Then Lavinia had come along too, sitting on the beach next to Ria and glowing with overflowing happiness. It had sharpened her eyes to the twinkling blue of a summer’s day as well as honed her wit. It made Ria miss Lavinia all the more when she walked back to Lus na Sithchaine, but Ria could not begrudge Lavinia her time there. Ria would have Lavinia with her for weeks, maybe months, surely not a year. Darag was to stay behind.
The first time Lavinia had arrived in Drufforth after the dance, Ty had looked from Lavinia’s hand held in Darag’s to his sister. Lavinia rocked onto her tiptoes and kissed Darag lightly before letting him go. Her gaze stayed on his back as he walked down the wharf with Nuin. Ty’s eyes narrowed further.
“So, you are dating him now?” Ty asked, angrily.
“Yes, something like that.”
Ty had stalked off, anger radiating from him. Lavinia was completely unaffected. She smiled and took Ria’s hand, pulling her along to the beach. The story of the dance and after tumbled from Lavinia’s lips. Ria could not say everything sat well with her. The idea of what Lavinia had chosen twisted in her stomach. But Lavinia was happier than Ria had ever seen her. Even when she was serious, her face glowed.
“I’m still going to come with you. You are my best friend. When you are safe from the Church and the Curse, then I’ll come back. Darag understands. It will be hard,” Lavinia’s voice faltered briefly. “But I want to see this through.”
“Darag could come with us.”
“Can you imagine Ty and Darag on the same boat? We thought the run to Drufforth was bad!” Ria giggled. Lavinia sighed. “No, he agrees. The Kith have to understand that even though we chose each other, we will still be who we are. I love him, but we will have plenty of time together.”
Ria’s heart throbbed at that thought. Darag and Lavinia would have centuries together. Both teary eyed over the same idea, Ria and Lavinia clung to each other until happier inspiration flooded in.
Now, it was time to go. Ty paced on deck, his restless steps only stopping when he saw his sister emerge from the woods. He scowled when he saw her at Darag’s side. Lavinia held Darag’s hand so tightly Ria could see her knuckles were white. If the grip was painful, Darag didn’t show it.
Niri greeted Darag, giving him a gentle hug before reaching for the small bundle containing the last of Lavinia’s things from Lus na Sithchaine.
“Laith Lus sent a book for you as well,” Darag told her.
“Thank him for me. I hope to come back with Lavinia and stay awhile longer.”
“Then I hope to see you very soon,” Darag said with a smile.
Ria opted for a handshake, her feet never leaving the boat. Ria knew Lavinia loved Darag, but she felt awkward around him. Tall and with broad shoulders, Darag was lithely built and moved with the self-assured grace of hunters Ria had seen passing through her parents’ estate. With Lavinia by his side, the thrumming power he shed was more rounded and encompassing. But strong nonetheless. Not even Laith Lus unnerved Ria as much.
Darag flicked one cool glance toward Ty and then returned his attention firmly to Lavinia.
Though this morning, Ria felt uncertain around her best friend as well. Lavinia wore a sword. The sailing dagger she'd grown up with was tucked on her left side. Lavinia radiated a strength that Ria had never seen in her friend before. But Lavinia's attention remained on Darag. Lavinia hadn't said anything to her, Niri, or even Ty. Ria glanced away to see Ty glaring with hostile impatience. Ria had no doubt Ty would cast off the lines as soon as his sister’s feet touched the boat’s deck.
Lavinia threw her arms around Darag’s neck, her calm resolve cracking now that it was time to leave. Tears raced down her cheeks as Darag held her, his muscles strung tight across his body. He brushed her hair back from her face with both hands, cupping her face. Their final kiss was slow and oblivious to any eyes on them. Ria looked away, her heart pounding warmth to her face while her stomach flipped to her feet.
Lavinia had told her what the acknowledgement of the relationship meant to the Kith. Ria had only heard words. Now she was beginning to understand and it left her feeling a bit emptier for never having felt something close despite a lifetime of admirers.
“My thoughts will always be with you,” Lavinia whispered to Darag as he loosened his arms.
His eyes never left hers, although he said nothing in reply. Instead he lightly touched a necklace Lavinia wore. Ria had not noticed it before, a simple chain with a smooth wooden pendent. It was unadorned except for the glint of a green stone set to one side.
Lavinia kept hold of the necklace as she stepped to the deck of the boat, her eyes on Darag. Niri untied the last of the ropes while Ty raised the sail. Lavinia did not move, her blue eyes bright with tears as she watched the lone figure on the dock until the boat rounded the edge of the small harbor of Drufforth. She swallowed hard as the forest closed off her view. With a quick swipe of her eyes, Lavinia bent to pick up the bundle Niri had placed on deck.
“I see you have a new necklace from your boyfriend.” Ty said, voice caustic.
Lavinia stiffened, glancing toward her brother from the corner of a narrowed eye.
“He isn’t my boyfriend. He is my husband.”
Lavinia walked down into the cabin without looking back. Ty stood dumbly, rooted to the deck like a misplaced figurehead. Ria watched him warily, as the tiller pole pivoted freely. Niri barely hid a smile, her eyes flaring to lavender as she summoned her power. The boat turned true, no longer floundering in the confused water and wind.
Ty sat slowly onto a bench, unseeing of the world around them. Niri stood with one foot on the ship’s rail, her gaze south as if she was trying to see all the way to the Temple of Dust. Ria shivered and followed Lavinia below, remembering the Curse and the journey north.
Lavinia stood in the center of the main cabin staring around in confusion. Her bundle of clothes dangled from her limp arm, nearly scraping the floor. Ria giggled.
“Darag didn’t tell you? It was his idea. The Kith grew the ship bigger. Darag didn’t think such a small boat would be safe for the southern crossing. Look, we each have our own cabin now!”
Ria gave Lavinia the tour. Four doors opened off the main cabin instead of two as well as larger windows, a skylight where the mast and listlessly swinging sail were framed, and a more organized galley. Ty no longer had to sleep on the Captain’s bench in the main cabin, but had a small room next to Niri’s in the bow. Two identical cabins with small beds, wider portholes, and a skylight to the boat’s deck filled the new cabins in the rear. A door connected them, so that Ria and Lavinia could access each other’s rooms without going into the main one.
Lavinia sat on her bed, shaking her head. A bemused smile lingered on her lips. “I can’t believe Darag didn’t tell me.”
Ria bit her lip as Lavinia finally unbelted her sword, placing it on a shelf. Lavinia glanced at her and then up through the skylight. The boom swung erratically across the view of the sky.
“I suppose I’ve overwhelmed my brother enough for one day. Why don’t we sail?”
When they climbed the steps to the deck, Ria and Lavinia found Ty still sitting numbly on the rear bench. The boom creaked as the wind caught the sail and then spilled with a sputter of fabric.
Lavinia stepped in front of her brother, hands on hips. “Ria and I will sail today. You and Niri can take over tonight. That seemed to work before.”
Ty’s expression was unreadable. His eyes slowly
focused on his sister without any recognition.
“Go rest or something,” Lavinia nudged his shoulder, not unkindly.
He stood but stopped after a pace. Without turning to face her, Ty said to Lavinia, “You didn’t need to come then, as you so obviously prefer him to us. I can take care of Ria on my own.”
Lavinia pursed her lips to respond. Ria’s anger outpaced Lavinia’s annoyance.
“I don’t need you to take care of me, Ty. You make me sound like a pet, a chore! Stop using me as an excuse if you don’t want to be here. You just make everyone miserable.”
Ty rounded on Ria, his fists clenched but held stiffly at his side. His gaze slid across his sister’s face and something there arrested his boiling anger. He never fully faced Ria. He simply froze. A look full of pain washed across him. Without a word, Ty walked below.
Ria took a breath, pointing her chin airily in the direction of Ty’s departure. She sat on the port bench, across from where Niri sat, gaze lost to a point above the deck. Niri focused on Ria. Niri looked away quickly, expression suddenly troubled. Ria sighed, thinking Niri should know not to mind Ty’s anger by this point. It no longer embarrassed her.
Lavinia jumped as a gust pushed the boom across the boat. The boat heeled onto its side before Lavinia could grab the rope and spill some wind. For a few minutes Lavinia fixed the lines to the sail, changing the setting on the tiller pole. She eyed the horizon as the boat began to slice through the rolling waves, the bow pointed firmly south.
Niri stood as the boat settled down, sailing along smoothly. She put one hand gently on Lavinia’s upper arm and spoke quietly into her ear. Lavinia shook her head, answering in a hushed tone. Niri nodded. She turned, gaze encompassing both Ria and Lavinia.
“Well if I am to sail all night, I had best get some sleep,” Niri said before disappearing below.
“Hold the tiller for a moment, would you Ria? I want to raise the jib.”
Ria was startled into helping, finding the large boat much different from Skree’s skiff and her lesson with Beite in Drufforth’s harbor. With the jib raised and set, the boat flew through the waves. Ria could feel the pull of the sail through the whole boat.
For the time it took the sun to move a finger’s span, the only sound on the ship was the waves against the hull, the creak of the boom, and the thrumming of the rigging lines. Lavinia’s face was troubled. She bit absently at her lower lip. Ria sat and watched the waves without thought.
There was silence in Ria, an emptiness like the vast ocean around them. Something troubled her, but it was a speck over the horizon. She could forget about it if she didn’t look for it. So she didn’t look or think, avoiding the parts of her mind that caused her chest to constrict and her breath to feel short. She sat instead, wishing Lavinia didn’t worry so much about her brother. She tried to think of a way to distract Lavinia or ease her mind, but nothing nice to say about Ty surfaced.
“You know,” Lavinia said her gaze still focused at the sea ahead of them. “Ty risked just as much as Niri to come and help you.”
Ria’s mouth dropped open. Frigid water slid down her back. “I ... I don’t know what you mean.”
Lavinia stared at her with the same expression she held when she looked at the horizon: distant and thoughtful. Lavinia had never looked at her that way before. Tears stung Ria’s eyes. She stared at the boards below her feet.
“I heard about the fights you and Ty had in Drufforth.”
“I didn’t fight with him! He was impossible. He would yell about every little thing. Nothing made him happy. He kept storming off every time I tried to talk to him. You saw him.”
Ria flung her arm to emphasize Ty’s abrupt disappearance. Her chest hurt as if she was suffocating. “I didn’t do anything to him.”
Lavinia looked away and frowned. She ran a hand through her hair just as Ty did when he was frustrated. Only Ria could not imagine why Lavinia was frustrated with her.
“It takes two to fight, Ria. I’m not saying he isn’t impossible,” Lavinia said with slight humor. “But if you talked to him the same way you just did on the boat, well I’m guessing he didn’t take to it too well.”
Ria opened her mouth to defend herself, but choked. No words came. She leapt to her feet, ready to walk away, but stopped. There was nowhere to go on the ship. This wasn’t Drufforth where she could walk to the young grapevines or along the shore. All she could do was pace the deck or go to her small cabin. Ria began to cry.
The sobs dropped her to her knees. Instantly, Lavinia’s arms were around her. Lavinia held her until the well of emotions Ria had done all she could to ignore flooded out of her in spasms of tears.
“We are all here for you Ria. It is going to be okay. You aren’t alone,” Lavinia said, brushing Ria’s hair from her face.
“I don’t want this. I just want to be normal. I want to have a future I can decide on. I’m so tired of being afraid, so tired.” Ria rested her head on Lavinia’s shoulder.
Lavinia kept an arm around Ria, holding her snug.
“I know, but it isn’t Ty’s fault, or Niri’s, or even yours. No one is to blame. Either you are going to have to be mad at everyone, even your parents, or you are going to have to let it go and trust us to help you.”
Ria snorted. “I’ll be mad at everyone then. Take after Ty.”
Lavinia chuckled. Ria gave a shaky smile, taking what felt like the first breath in days. Without the ignored ball of emotions lurking inside of her, she felt lighter.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do. I have nothing I know how to do. This is all beyond me. The whole focus of my life was just that one stupid solstice ceremony.”
Ria sat on the deck and stared unseeing at the distant shoreline. Lavinia stood and pulled Ria to her feet. The wind that had been blocked by the cabin, engulfed her, drying her face.
“Well the good news is that I don’t think it can get much worse.”
“Don’t be so sure. Maybe my best skill is messing everything up.”
Surprisingly, Lavinia hugged her tightly. Laughter bubbled out of Lavinia so that she couldn’t speak, but her eyes danced with joy. Ria thought Lavinia had lost her senses.
Lavinia shook her head, finally finding her voice. “Don’t you see? This has been the best thing that ever happened to me, coming to Drufforth. I never would have dreamed ...” Lavinia sighed. “Actually all of my old dreams seem so shallow now, so much less than this. I know we don’t know what is going to happen, but I’m so glad you have magic and we had to leave Mirocyne.”
Ria stared at her. “You are absolutely crazy.”
Lavinia grinned at her. A breath of laughter escaped Ria. She smiled back at her best friend.