“You’d be surprised how long it takes some of us to come around,” says a rumbling voice from behind me. I feel Nolan’s arms wrap around me as he rests his chin on the top of my head, my whole body warming with his touch.
Charlie scoffs. “Some of us aren’t as patient as Wendy here.”
“Do you think she’ll ever forgive him?” Nolan asks as Charlie struts away, his jaw gently brushing my forehead as he speaks.
I turn slightly, hitting my head against his chin. “Do you think he’ll ever apologize? That’s the real question.”
We both grunt in unison, a sound neither of us finds particularly comforting.
Beyond, the waves glisten, blurring as they advance toward the empty horizon. “Do you think she’s out there?” I whisper.
Nolan glances out at the calm sea and the endless blue skies above us. “Fair weather,” he says, and, for a moment, I wonder if he didn’t hear my question. “But I’m having a lovely day on deck, holding my wife in my arms, with the sun shining down. Heading in the direction that gives her hope? That’s exactly where I want to go. I think it’s an honor that she’d travel across the world to give me a chance to have more days like this. And I’ll do anything to make sure I can gift her more of them. Anything within my power.”
He pauses for a moment, his voice softening. “So yes, yes, I believe she’s out there. And even if I didn’t, my actions would speak otherwise.”
In the end,it takes us the full five weeks, and each day feels as if it’s one of the last of a few granules of sand stuck in the neck of an hourglass. Like all it would take is an accidental jostle, and the sand would lose its traction and fall.
Everything about the village at the base of Mount Serba is themed around the Youngest Sister.
At the entrance of the city is a massive archway. Carved into it is the likeness of a woman assisting mortals through a variety of misfortunes—a man who has been torn away from his wife by a jealous woman who’d made a bargain with one of the Fates (the Eldest or the Middle—I can’t tell), a woman who bargained away her eyesight so her family wouldn’t starve, and lastly, a girl whose parents made a treacherous deal with a Fate to save their child from a deathly illness.
Cold sweeps over me at the sight of the last image.
“What is it, Darling?” asks my husband, placing a hand on my shoulder from behind.
“It’s just, if she were real, I can’t shake the feeling she would have helped me by now,” I say.
Once we enterthe gates and reach the main thoroughfare, I can’t help but notice the fabric women have carefully crafted into intricate tapestries hanging from poles throughout the town. The effect is mesmerizing, as the tapestries cast shadows that shift and dance across the streets, perfectly designed to reflect the place’s essence. Some of the tapestries are sewn into the shapes of animals—dragons, bears, birds—and even trees, so that the shadows play out stories along the main street.
It’s strange, though. One would think the shadows would cast an eeriness over the town. But that is not at all the case. The shadows, instead of hiding things, seem to offer respite from theoverbearing sun. There’s a levity about the town as it bustles with life.
Part of that, I have to believe, is due to the tourism. The streets are crowded with people of all nationalities, chatting eagerly in at least five different languages that I can tell, though I can already hear more the further we walk. Everyone wears long, flowing coats with hoods drawn low over their faces. There’s nothing sinister about the attire, just an air of excitement for a legend—a legend these people so desperately want to believe.
It’s not as though I can blame them for that.
The vendors are just as enthusiastic as the visitors, though it’s obviously in their financial interest to be so.
“Do you think they actually believe in the Youngest Sister?” Maddox asks from beside me.
“I think there’s a great deal of coin wrapped up in it,” says Charlie, not even looking at him. Maddox nearly freezes in his tracks, shocked that she actually answered him.
I shoot him a knowing look, and he blushes, unable to conceal the grin spreading across his face. When Charlie walks on ahead without turning back, I know exactly what game she’s playing. Maddox speeds up behind her to catch up.
Nolan and I linger behind, holding hands, as Charlie explores the market and Maddox goes off to do whatever it is he plans on doing—hopefully buying Charlie whatever her heart desires.
“It’s really quite beautiful here,” I say, glancing up at the mountain that looms at the far edge of the town. The mountain is gray, capped with snow at its peaks. The sun behind it is bright, though as it sets, the blue sky begins to streak with the faintest oranges and pinks.
Music fills the street, and I catch Nolan humming along.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you hum before,” I tease, nudging him in the side.
I immediately regret it, worried I might’ve hurt him, but he winces dramatically, grasping his side and making an exaggerated face. Then he smirks at me, pulling me in closer with his arm.
“This is a rather pleasant accidental honeymoon, isn’t it?” I say.
Nolan smirks. “Is this the kind of place that normal people pick for honeymoons?” Suddenly, he adjusts his collar and clears his throat, his smirk remaining but less certain.
“I wouldn’t know,” I reply. “With all my training to be a bride, my mother never really got as far as the honeymoon. She was more concerned about the vows.”
