Please let me know what you think! - Allie.
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Hemera, the capital of the kingdom of Theros, was one of the largest and richest cities in the world, as the inhabitants were mostly merchants. It was assessed through gates, enclosed by a protective wall, and punctuated with towers and arrow slits, therefore, was the safest and most dangerous place to be in a war.
If the enemies had taken over the castle, these were the first people whose blood would spill. The thought made Reyna shiver as she entered through the gate. Was it concerning that it was the first thing to cross her mind?
Shaking her head, she rode Thunder faster to catch up with Harry. Not a single person knew who she was as they passed her like she was one of them. Harry glanced over at her with a look of confusion on his face. If only she could explain to him why she couldn't stop smiling, but all she could do was ask him to slow down. They weren't being chased anymore, at this moment at least.
The city was crowded with buildings. Situated at the centre the tall spire of a church. People on the streets wore colourful clothes, and there were indistinct conversations and laughter everywhere.
Reyna hadn't been allowed to look outside her carriage when she'd come here with her family, so this almost felt like the first time she was here. As they travelled past some dancers on the main street watched by admiring ladies, one of the men handed her a rose and kissed her hand. Fascinated, she asked Harry if they could stay and watch. But he only gave the stranger a spiteful look and urged her to go faster.
They took a turn onto a less crowded street, and he inquired, "So where does your uncle live?"
"Uh...near the castle," she mumbled.
"Where specifically?" He slowed down for her to catch up, his voice cautious, "I mean, what's the street name?"
"I don't remember the name but I remember the route from the castle. Just take me there and I'll figure it out."
"It takes a day to go from here."
As he said nothing more and stared reluctantly at her, she asked, "so...what are we going to do?"
"We can...spend a night at my house. It's only fifteen minutes away and--"
"That's great! Let's go to your house then!"
Her excitement surprised him but couldn't stop the childlike smile from spreading across his face. He gave her a signal to follow, kicked his horse and rode ahead. It was silly how she'd gone through all that trouble to see her uncle, and now she was wishing tomorrow wouldn't come too fast. What would she do when she finally made it to the castle? Would she tell Harry the truth then, or before? How would he react? Would she ever get to see him again?
Besides, she still owed him an answer. She wished she'd said no when he'd asked that night. A conman courting a princess would be so absurd. Her uncle would never allow that. The people would never allow that. How was she going to choose between betraying her title and betraying him?
Just one more night, she told herself, pretend to be Rain for one more night, and whatever happens, will happen.
"Welcome to my village," Harry said in the least enthusiastic tone she had ever heard. But as she scanned her eyes around, his tone finally made sense. This must be the poorest area in the capital. It looked like a tiny version of what was happening in Isolde during the wintertime, except there was no other excuse for these people to look angry and tired other than being poor.
She tried to keep the smile on her face so she wouldn't hurt his feelings, but it'd be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed.
"Harry!" A young woman dropped her buckets full of water the second she saw their horses from afar. Harry jumped off Lightning to catch her in his arms and lifted her feet off the ground with his strong bear hug, while she was sobbing into his neck.
"Gemma," he breathed harshly, his eyes pressed shut. That was his sister. She'd thought he was dead like all the other Southerners who'd entered Isolde. Reyna gracefully got off her horse and led Thunder toward them.
"Thank Heaven, you're still alive!" Gemma said as Harry wiped away her tears and kissed her forehead. "They told me that you were captured. How did you escape?"
"I got some help," he said, turning back to Reyna.
Gemma's eyes went wide as Reyna said hello. But before Reyna could properly introduce herself, the woman wrapped both arms around her and trapped her in a suffocating hug. "I don't know who you are, but thank you for saving his life."
Reyna looked at Harry, a smile stretching her lips. To his sister, she said, "it was your brother who saved my life."
Gemma let her go but kept both hands tight on Reyna's shoulders. "I'm so glad he met you. You're so kind and beautiful."
"Thank you," Reyna said shyly. The word 'beautiful' fitted Princess Reyna better than it did Rain. Rain -- the princess' maid, dirty hands, messy hair, wearing rags for clothes -- was far from beautiful. Still, it made her happy whether Gemma had meant it or just being nice.
After hearing the short version of what Harry and Reyna had gone through, Gemma got emotional and insisted that Reyna stayed with them for a few days. But Reyna kindly refused because she had to leave tomorrow morning.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Harry's smile fading.
"Come inside!" Gemma tugged at Reyna's arm, pushing Harry's shoulder. "Ma will be so happy to see you."
Reyna almost forgot that he had a mother, who was sick. He'd never mentioned what illness it was, but ever since he left, Gemma had been staying at this house instead of her husband's because their mother couldn't be left alone.
Following them, Reyna slipped through the curtains into a room dimly lit by sunlight from a square window above the bed, where lay Harry's mother.
"Ma, look who's home," Gemma said.
Reyna stood by the entrance, hand wrapped around Harry's forearm. Flashbacks ran through her mind, and she saw herself rushing into her mother's chamber the night her mother had passed away. The memory sent a cold shiver down her spine as she leaned closer to Harry.
His mother weakly propped herself up and sat upright with Gemma's support. The second she saw Harry's face, however, she gasped and jumped right out of the bed. Reyna let him go as a reflex, and his mother threw her arms around his neck, tears running down her face.
"Ed! My dear Ed, you're home!" she wailed and turned to Gemma. "Go get your brother, Gemma! Your father is home!"
Reyna was frozen to the spot, her mouth formed a silent 'o' as Gemma gave her a sad smile and quietly left the room. Harry kissed his mother's forehead and whispered, "I'm here, my love," in her ear, his eyes locked with Reyna's. "It's me, your dear Ed. I'm home."
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Reyna had known that Harry's childhood had been unpleasant, but this was far from what she'd expected. She should be upset that he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her about his mother's sickness, but she knew this wasn't easy to talk about. His mother was mentally ill, which was why all the good doctors in the land could not cure her. She'd lost her mind since her husband had sacrificed himself to protect their family in a war between the South and the North.
She'd been right to worry. The people in the capital were always the first to suffer the consequences of war.
"Sometimes she remembers who I am. But most of the time, I'm her dear Ed," Harry chuckled, leaning a shoulder against the door while toying with the gold ring on her finger. They were outside the house, while Gemma stayed in the bedroom to keep an eye on her mother. The poor woman was finally getting some sleep without waking up every five minutes calling out her late husband's name.
"She's been sick since I was born, but it only got worse after he'd died. The kids around here used to call her the crazy lady, and I was so ashamed of her that I even joined them and made fun of her when we ran into her on the street. Those kids didn't know I was her son because she didn't remember me, but I always felt so shitty afterwards."
Reyna stepped closer, putting a hand to Harry's cheek as his hand rested on her lower back. "When we first met, you joked that I talked like the crazy lady in your village," she recalled, making him laugh as he wiped away a tear.
"Yeah. You still remind me of my mum." He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, his lips arched. "You're so gentle yet headstrong. In a good way, of course."
"Oh, Harry." She tiptoed, pulled his face down and kissed him with a tenderness that made her chest throb. It was a terrible idea to be affectionate towards him when she had to turn him down eventually, but she couldn't help it. She loved him.
The thought of saying goodbye and never seeing him again formed the tears that stung her eyes. When she heard his warm laughter, she glanced back up, and he cupped her face between his palms, their lips meeting again. She kissed him back. But she wasn't allowed to. She had to stop. Now.
"Harry." She jerked away, both of them breathless. "Can you show me around?"
He rolled his eyes, bringing her hand to his chest. "There's nothing to see here, Peach. This village is like a big funeral. Because we all die a little bit every day."
Reyna swatted his chest for that joke as both of them guffawed. "Well, I'm already dressed in black." She lifted her skirt. "So would you like to be my escort to this funeral?"
"That'd be my pleasure, Lady Peach." He intertwined their fingers together and kissed the back of her hand, a smile touching his pink lips.
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The market was probably the most crowded place in this village. It was not very different from the ones she'd been to before, only less full, so she didn't have to worry about slipping into a sea of strangers. Most sellers were cold and distant, but there were a few nice old ladies who recognised Harry and pinched his cheeks as he stopped by.
One lady asked if Reyna was his wife. He neither confirmed nor denied it, but he did steal a glimpse at her to see her reaction. She blushed and smiled back. In the fictional world inside her head, however, she wasn't a princess, they were married, and lived happily ever after.
"There are headbands over there and you decided to buy a bloody dagger," he joked when she gave the coins to the merchant and turned back to him, swinging the pointy blade in a silly manner that made him snort.
"Be careful with that, sexy. You might hurt yourself," said the middle-aged man who owned the shop.
Before she could respond, Harry snatched the weapon from her hand and stabbed it into the desk. The wooden surface cracked down to the centre. He yanked the dagger out of the wood and tossed it to her. She caught it effortlessly. All had happened in two seconds.
"That's my wife you were talking to." Harry scowled at the man whose face was colourless. "The last person who'd messed with her got his balls cut off and fed to our dog Whiskers. Right, darling?"
Whiskers. What a funny name for a dog. "Right, my dear," she said, smiling at the man's crotch, and he recoiled behind his counter like a scared little mouse.
Harry smoothed his palm over the crack on the table, and with a smirk, took her hand and escorted her away. When they had left the market, she turned to him and pointed the tip of her blade to the opening of his shirt, batting her lashes seductively. "Was that a proposal I heard?"
That joke stopped him in his tracks. He took her hand that was holding the dagger, put the dagger back into its sheath at her waist and held her hips, drawing her closer. Their eyes locked, her heart pounding. "You still owed me an answer, Peach. One question at a time."
A thousand voices in Reyna's head were screaming no, but the butterflies in her stomach were cheering her on. Fuck it! she thought and pulled his mouth down to hers, arms tightened around his necks as his encircled her waist. A cool breeze blew through their clothes and they pulled back just a bit to catch their breath. He smelt so nice, like pine trees, wildflowers, and home.
"I kept thinking about us...at the waterfall," he whispered, his voice so husky it sent a shiver down her spine. She felt as if his fingertips were burning through the thin fabric of her shirt and trembled as she brought both hands to his face. If this was wrong, she never wanted to be right again.
"Harry, I--"
"Are we fucking on the street now?"
The voice made them spring apart. Harry kept his fingers around her wrist, staring dagger at the man in front of them.
"Gideon," he spat out the name with disgust. She'd never heard about this guy before, but from Harry's previous reaction, she assumed they weren't exactly friends.
With a contemptuous smile, Gideon made his way toward them. He was more muscular than Harry, just not as good looking. And the fabric he was wearing was expensive. He surely wasn't from here. He put his hands on his hips, looking Harry up and down. "I haven't seen you in a while. Didn't they say you were dead?"
"Let's go, Peach."
"Oooh, is this your new girl?" Gideon reached for her arm when they sidestepped him. As a reflex, Harry grabbed her dagger. She caught his wrist as Gideon bounced back, hands shot in the air.
"Don't fucking touch her or I'll cut your damn fingers off."
The threat startled her, but Gideon was unfazed; he relished Harry's anger. The bastard rubbed his chin, eyeing her up, a smirk tugging at his thin lips. "Does she feel as good as Kennedy?" His question turned her stiff. "Or should I also fuck her to find out myself?"
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"Harry!" She tightened her grip around Harry's waist as Gideon started walking backwards with the assholest smirk. Harry was giving him exactly what he wanted.
"You don't deserve Kenny, you piece of shit! Don't let me see you again!"
She held Harry tightly until Gideon was gone. A few villagers gave them judgemental stares as they passed by, but she didn't give a damn about them. She had never seen her Harry so enraged and violent. His face was red, the veins popped out on his neck, and his jaw and fists were clenched tight.
That must be Kenny's husband -- the rich man she'd agreed to marry because she thought Harry was dead. Was that why Harry hated him so much? Or had there been a long history between them? She hoped it was the latter. Because she wouldn't know what to do if deep down Harry still longed for the first love that had gotten away.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice was much gentler as he stared down at her with concerned eyes. There was her Harry.
"Yes. Are you?" She held his wrists while he was cupping her face.
He seemed indisposed to speak. "That bastard doesn't live in this village anymore. But you should stay away from him."
"Was that Kenny's husband?" To her disappointment, he gave her nothing but a "yes" to confirm what she already knew.
It must be difficult for him to mention Kenny in front of her. Though they weren't exactly lovers, they had been acting like it for the last couple of weeks. But if he couldn't say the name of his first love unless he was angry with whom she'd married, then she might still mean something to him. Unsettling thoughts crept back into Reyna's head. Too many fucking thoughts. Too many fucking feelings.
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They arrived back at Harry's house before sunset to help Gemma with dinner. Gemma was talking to her husband outside the house. The second he saw Reyna, he ran to hug her like they were old friends.
One lesson Reyna had learned since she'd left the North was that normal people loved hugs, whereas royalty hated body contact for some reason she still couldn't figure out. It used to be so odd and uncomfortable for her, but she liked it now, very much.
Gemma's husband was a hunter. His name was Caleb. He looked older than Gemma, and borderline scary, with his big beard and many scars on his arms. But from the way he interacted with his wife, Reyna could tell he was a nice family man. Caleb and Gemma reminded Reyna of her parents somehow. The bittersweet comparison made her heart tingle.
Once the introductions were through, they came into the house and sat around the table to chat. Meanwhile, Gemma was preparing the meal in the kitchen. Reyna had volunteered to help though she had never cooked before. However, she'd learned how to use a sword, shoot arrows, and ride a horse, so cooking should be easy.
Gemma insisted that she worked alone, though. She said the men were useless and Reyna was a guest. Besides, Caleb didn't leave Reyna alone with his endless questions about her kingdom and life in her father's castle.
He said he'd never left this village and was curious to know what was beyond Wind Valley. How Harry and Reyna had crossed it was still beyond his imagination. Caleb's life must be so easy. For her, the less you knew about the world, the easier your life was.
She didn't participate much in the conversation and let Harry do most of the talking, and he seemed fine with it. He was talking happily again as if their earlier encounter with Gideon hadn't almost triggered him to kill a man. He didn't seem like himself. That was not her Harry.
The footsteps at the entrance of the house made all three of them turn their heads. In the doorway stood a young girl, a beautiful one, with long brown hair and a gentle-looking face.
Kenny. The name sprung up in Reyna's head when Harry jumped to his feet and took the girl in his arms. Her arms were locked around his neck, her eyes shut, a crease appeared between her brows as she held him closer. They stayed attached as if they were the only people in the room, and everyone else, including Reyna, had faded into dust.
Reyna's chest throbbed unpleasantly at the sight, while her fingers clawed at the wooden surface of the table.
Harry finally let go, and Kenny began to inspect his face. "I thought...I thought you were--" She slapped a hand over her mouth, too emotional to finish that sentence. Reyna's heart was rattling inside her chest when Kenny traced her fingertips across his features. Suddenly, she burst into tears and hugged him again.
He rubbed her back, laughing softly, "It's okay. I'm safe now. I'm home." That was the same tone he'd used earlier when he was talking to his mother and pretending to be his deceased dad. Almost the same words too.
Why was he talking to Kenny like that? Why did he sound like a husband reuniting with his wife? That's somebody else's wife, cried the voice inside her head. But she knew her subconscious mind didn't really care. She was only jealous of the bond they had, too embarrassed to even admit it to herself.
When Harry and Kenny finally joined them at the table, Harry's eyes met Reyna's and his beam vanished. She didn't know what it meant -- Guilt? Disappointment? Or regret? Was this the moment he finally realised he'd been living a false fantasy this whole time? Now that he finally felt something real again? The lump in Reyna's throat grew almost too big, suffocating her.
Caleb switched his eyes from Reyna, to Harry, and to Kenny, quickly catching on to what was happening, so he turned around in his seat and told Gemma, who was at the back of the house, "Kenny's here!"
"Oh, Kenny! When did you get here?"
Kenny let out a soft laugh as she arched her neck and shouted back, "Just this morning! I came to visit my mum!"
Reyna shifted her gaze from the girl to her hands on the table. Kenny didn't live in this village anymore. Harry had said that. She hoped Kenny wouldn't stay for long.
"I'm spending the night at my mother's house," Kenny said to Harry and Caleb, making Reyna's heart sink. "My hus--Gideon...has already gone back home."
Why didn't she say her husband? What was she afraid of? Harry wasn't in love with her anymore. Did she know that? The questions were pounding in Reyna's head as she thinned her lips, breathing in again.
"This is Rain," Harry finally said. Her eyes bounced from her hands up to his face to catch his smile.
Suddenly, she was angry at him. He didn't get to smile and act like he hadn't just snuggled up to another woman. Still, she turned to Kenny and introduced herself, once again saying the fake name she'd gotten tired of.
"I'm Kennedy, but everyone calls me Kenny. I'm Harry's...best friend." That little pause made such a big difference, which annoyed Reyna. Still, she kept that remark to herself.
The rest of the conversation was just Caleb asking Kenny about her family, and her answering reluctantly whenever she had to bring up her husband. Her freaking husband -- the one she was married to and would spend the rest of her life with.
Reyna was fuming inside. But once she had calmed down, it occurred to her that she and Kenny were not much different. When she reunited with her uncle, she would be royalty again, which meant she would never see Harry again, and one day have to marry a prince or a king. She would love her husband, because why would she settle for an unhappy marriage? But would she ever forget Harry, her first real love?
He was also Kenny's first real love, and maybe still Kenny's only one. She shouldn't be angry at Kenny; she should feel sorry for her, sympathise with her. Because neither of them could end up with him.
Caleb stopped his story midway as he remembered he hadn't gotten the horses back from his brother's stable. He asked Harry to go with him, promising that it wouldn't take long, and Harry was happy to help. But from the look he gave Reyna before walking through the door, she knew he worried about leaving her and Kenny alone.
Did he think she was going to hurt his precious little Kenny?
Reyna felt her stomach churn as the men departed. Silence hung over the room for what seemed like forever. Her ugly nails suddenly became so fascinating that she could continue staring at them for the rest of the night, just so she wouldn't have to chat with Kenny. They really had nothing in common but Harry. It wasn't like they would start talking about him.
"What do you think of Harry?"
But Reyna guessed she was wrong. She glanced back up, meeting Kenny's chocolate eyes, and her lips twitched slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Do you...have feelings for him?"
She appreciated Kenny's straightforwardness though it made her uncomfortable. Was this the kind of topic people who shared the same love interest normally discussed? She had never experienced anything like this before, so she hoped she wasn't making a fool out of herself.
"No," she said when she couldn't find any reason to tell the truth. She thought it was only fair that it was Kenny's turn to answer her own question. But Kenny said nothing. Instead, she complimented Reyna's delicate features and called her beautiful.
Kenny was more beautiful than her. If this girl put on an expensive gown and a crown, she could be a real princess. Princes and gentlemen would be lining up to ask for her hand. She wouldn't have to settle for that rude Gideon. Maybe then, when she had so many great options, she would leave Harry alone.
Reyna couldn't believe it. Did she really consider playing matchmaker just to get rid of Kenny? That was low for a princess. She almost didn't recognise herself.
The silence, once again, began to stretch. She was waiting for Kenny to ask about her adventure with Harry. At least Stefan, Caleb, and Gemma had. People were usually curious about the story. But Kenny didn't raise a single question. She was fine with knowing that Rain, who used to be a maid in King Willem's castle, had helped Harry out of prison, somehow they had made it back to Theros alive, and most importantly, Rain allegedly didn't have feelings for Harry. That seemed to be enough for Kenny.
The flame in the fireplace was dancing in Kenny's eyes as she spoke again, "can I tell you a secret?"
Reyna grew stiff. "A secret?"
"Yes. But you cannot tell anyone."
"But...Why me?"
"Because we just met. I'd rather be judged by someone I just met than someone I know," Kenny said, her smile fading.
Reyna straightened her back and took a deep breath. That sounded like a justified answer. But she hoped the secret wasn't something as serious as Kenny having committed murder. Reyna already had a hard time dealing with her own crimes; she couldn't take on someone else's guilt.
"I'm not here to see my mum," Kenny said, and Reyna stopped picking at her own arm. "I lied to Gideon that my mother was sick so he would let me go. He didn't care about my mother to even check on her to see if I was lying. I came because...because my sister's husband saw Harry at the gate. I had to see for myself if that was true."
Reyna didn't know what to say. A part of her had always known Kenny had come back to this village because Harry was home. To hear it from the girl only made it worse.
"My father was poor, so my mother wanted me and my sisters to marry rich. She didn't approve of Harry. She said, 'as long as I'm still your mother, you will not marry the blacksmith's son.'" Kenny raised her eyebrows as she simpered, "She was so happy to hear that he was dead. She didn't care that it nearly killed me."
Reyna knew exactly how it felt. She thinned her lips and scrutinised Kenny. Her feelings towards this girl kept shifting back and forth between jealousy and sympathy. But the next thing Kenny said sent her brain into lockdown, "I'll ask him to run away with me."
What did she mean? Ask whom to run away with her? Harry? Reyna's Harry?
"I'll ask him tonight. We'll run far away from here and start a family. And we'll come back to visit his family once in a while. I don't care about Gideon's wealth, only my mother does. He doesn't love me. And I can't love him." Kenny placed her hands over Reyna's, her voice desperate yet hopeful. "I was so relieved to know that you're only his friend. Because I could...I could never compete with you."
What was happening? Please, stop. Stop talking, please...
"I'm telling you this because I need to get it off my chest. No one has loved me the way Harry did. D-Do you...do you think he still does?"
Reyna could say no. She wanted to say no and tell Kenny to get rid of that idea because Harry was hers now. But her conscience didn't let her answer on his behalf. When did he ever say that he was hers? She had made it up all in her head because she loved him and felt possessive of him. She didn't know what he wanted. It might not be her.
She parted her lips, her breathing unsteady as Kenny squeezed her hands, asking for the answer she couldn't give. The words rolled out of her tongue before she could swallow them, "You should ask him."
"Really?" Kenny said brightly, and Reyna nodded her head, her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you! I'll speak to him in private after dinner. Then, I'll ask him."
And Reyna would wait. She hoped there was ale. She would drink a lot of ale while expecting the worst.
"Kenny, can you lend me a hand?"
"Coming!" Kenny shouted back to Gemma and hurried to the back of the house. Quickly, Reyna got to her feet and rushed after her.
In the kitchen full of cooking smoke, Gemma was struggling with the steaming pot of soup while making sure the fire was going at a steady heat. Reyna didn't know how it worked. She had never watched people cook before.
She stood rigid in the doorway as Gemma asked Kenny to fry the fish. Kenny gracefully moved around the chairs and collected different ingredients on the crooked shelves. Reyna watched them carry out their tasks so effortlessly, like when she danced with her sword. Sword-fighting suddenly looked like a children's game now.
"Just leave us, Rain. You don't have to do anything," Gemma said, and Reyna should have fled right away. But she was her father's daughter. Arrogance ran in her blood. She had to go in.
"I want to help," she said and padded across the kitchen to where Gemma was standing.
"Okay." Gemma nodded her head at the raw pork on one of the dishes. "You can roast the pork."
Reyna rubbed her eyes as the smoke made them water and fumbled through the ingredients and vegetables. She had no clue how to start. How should pork be roasted? What should it be roasted with? Did you start by chopping it, or putting the ingredients on it? Wait, did you put ingredients directly on the pork, or into the pot?
"Are you looking for onions?" Kenny's voice made her spin around.
"Yes, onions!" She accepted those from Kenny. Thank you, Kenny.
She believed she had seen Stefan cut an onion before. If she wasn't engulfed in smoke, she would have recalled it already. She picked up a random knife she saw on the table, staring attentively at the round vegetable as if it was the first time she'd seen it. It was in the wrong colour! Right, she must peel its skin first.
She wiped the beads of sweat upon her brows with her sleeve and started peeling. She had to do it quickly so Gemma and Kenny wouldn't get suspicious. Once she had the white onions that looked like the ones Stefan had cooked, she picked up the knife again. Thanks to her sword skills, she chopped them perfectly and wiped her hands with a cloth.
"Here. Use this pan." Gemma handed her a pan and that was actually the first time she'd held it in her hands. But these women should not know that. She was Rain, not Princess Reyna of Isolde. Rain was a maid, who should be an expert of pans and pots.
She suppressed a smile at her own stupid joke and poured a bit of oil into the pan. Look at her. She was cooking like she'd done it since she was born. She proudly placed the pan over the fire. But right as she put the onions in, the oil splattered onto her arms and she bounced back, dropped the pan and bumped into Gemma.
The world stopped. Four eyes set on her. She stumbled over her apology and blindly reached for the pan to pick it up. The heat stung her fingertip and she jerked away, sucking the burnt finger into her mouth.
As her heart finally slowed down, she stared at the oil-covered onions on the ground. She'd not only ruined dinner, but also her dignity.
"Are you okay?" Gemma grabbed Reyna's arm, but she pulled away, her mouth wrinkled. It was meant to be a smile, but she was on the verge of tears.
When Kenny asked, "Would you like to lie down for a moment?" and told Gemma, "She's probably exhausted," Reyna almost screamed at her to shut up and stop being so nice.
She couldn't hate Kenny if Kenny was nice. Why wasn't Kenny a money-hungry monster, or only mean to her when Harry wasn't around? She wanted to hate Kenny so much. She needed a reason to believe Kenny didn't deserve Harry. But Kenny was too freaking nice to her. Kenny was perfect. And Reyna couldn't even fry onions.
Before she could utter another word, Harry's mother appeared in the doorway. The woman squealed when she saw Kenny and ran to give her a hug. "I miss you, my sweet daughter-in-law. Where's your husband? Where's my son?"
Daughter-in-law?
"Uh...He went out with Caleb. He'd be back soon," Kenny said with a smile.
Harry's mother pinched her chin. "What about your puppy Whiskers? Does he eat well?"
Whiskers? Was that the name Harry had given his and Reyna's imaginary dog? Except it wasn't theirs. It was his and Kenny's first.
Reyna could see him and Kenny telling the same joke and sketching out their bright future, where they were married and had a dog named Whiskers. That was the future they could have if they ran away tonight.
"Let's go, Ma. It's not safe for you to be here," Gemma said and led the sick woman out of the kitchen.
Kenny looked over at Reyna and lifted a shoulder. "Mama Styles doesn't know what she's talking about. She thinks I'm married to Harry."
"And you let her believe that?" Reyna blurted as she couldn't help it, but Kenny didn't seem offended at all.
"I often came over to check on her after Harry was away. I never said that I was his wife, she just assumed that I was, because I always gave her news of him to keep him alive inside her head." Kenny's jaw worked for a moment, her thick eyelashes fluttering to hold back tears. "She has a weak heart. She wouldn't have been able to handle such terrible news. I told her that he was a merchant so he always travelled and didn't have time to visit her. But she wasn't angry at him. She was happy to know that he had a decent job, and alive. She enjoyed the made-up stories about us and our dog Whiskers." Kenny paused for a moment. "We'd always said we'd get a dog."
The girl ended the last sentence with a laugh, so soft yet so destructive. It caused Reyna more pain than her burnt finger. She was burning from inside out; her heart was inflamed. This fire couldn't be put out.
Tears stung her eyes but she tried to hold them back. She wasn't going to cry in front of Kenny.
"The men are home. Let's feast!" Gemma exclaimed brightly as she dashed into the kitchen, putting an end to the depressing atmosphere.
Reyna carried the dishes outside to set the table. Her footsteps faltered when she heard Harry's voice and saw him come in through the front door. He smiled at her. And she smiled back. She felt like crying again.
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Dinner was awful. Not the food. The food was great -- though there was no fried onion because Reyna had wasted the last ones -- everyone's exuberance was what made it so awful. Even though her stomach was growling, she ate very little.
Harry's mother paused the conversations a few times to ask, "who's this girl?" Reyna had lost count of the times she'd repeated her fake name, but the old woman still couldn't remember it. She already had a daughter-in-law, anyway. Why should she remember the name of a stranger?
When dinner was over, Reyna helped Gemma clean the table. She overheard Kenny ask Harry to meet her outside but decided to turn a blind eye to them and return to the kitchen. She busied herself washing the dishes. She was less clumsy when she was sad, which was a good thing. She finished the work quickly without breaking anything and then excused herself to go back to her room.
'Room' was such a fancy word. It was a storage place with a window. Gemma had rearranged it to leave just enough space for a dirty mattress on the floor. But Reyna didn't mind. It was still better than sleeping in the woods.
She sat on the mattress, hugging her knees to her chest and letting her worries consume her. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there when the wooden door creaked open and warm light split her face into matching halves. Harry stepped in and shut the door again.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" he asked in hushed tones and sat down in front of her.
"It's not dark. There's the moon."
Her answer made him smile. His eyes moved to the little window above her head. "There's the moon," he repeated as if he'd never noticed the moon before.
Seconds were ticking away in silence. Why hadn't he said anything? Did he come in to tell her what she was afraid to hear? That must be the reason why he was silent. He was trying to find the right words to break this news to her, to break her heart. How stupid she was to think she could compete with his first love.
Silence became loud. Too loud. Deafening. She had to break herself out of the prison inside her head. If this must end, he deserved to know the truth. His eyes met hers as she worked her jaw. She had spent all that time sitting here practising her speech. But with his presence, the words got stuck at the back of her throat and wouldn't come out.
Say it. Say it. Say--
"My real name is Reyna. Reyna Callisto. Princess of Isolde."