Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
OPHELIA
Ilose track of how long I walk along the shaded path. No one passes, not a single carriage. Perhaps it has only been a few hours, but the setting sun tells me otherwise. I am not used to walking so far. My feet ache, and my fingers shake.
When was the last time I left our village? It may have been when my father was still with us. In those days, he would guide the carriage for me, and I didn’t need a sense of direction. Everything is different now.
Yet, I run, desperate to flee the piercing glares of people I once cared for so deeply.
It all feels like a dream, but it’s not like the others I’ve had.
I’m no longer floating in the moon palace’s violet clouds.
Instead, I’m on the ground, buried beneath dirt and sticks. This may be where I’ve been all along.
At last, when I have throbbing feet and a heavy heart, there’s a glimmer of hope in the distance, heading right for me. A carriage, white with gold trimming.
Heavens, it is more regal than any I’ve seen.
Perhaps… perhaps it is the prince. He won’t recognize me from the ball, not when I look like such a mess, but he’ll remember me from our night in the tavern, and he’ll help…
Won’t he?
As much as I do not wish for him to see me like this, there is no other option.
“Please!” I call, waving. Hope swells in my chest as the carriage slows. “I am in great need of assistance. If you would give me just a moment of your time—”
The powder blue curtain moves to the side, and I clasp my hands together, readying myself for what will come next. Finally, something extraordinary may happen for me on this terrible journey.
But I’m not looking at the prince. It’s the silvery Moon Fae—the one who assisted me before.
Again? How often will this faerie come to me in my time of need?
She gazes at me with wisdom and a haughty nature, a sly smile appearing on her lips as she clicks her tongue. “Look at you. I cleaned you up just last evening, and you are already a mess again.”
I laugh—relief, shock, and confusion melting into one. “You do not know the sort of morning I’ve had, Madam.”
“I can guess by your dirty gown.” She laughs. For once, that gleeful but chaotic laugh that once set me on edge is comforting. “Come along, then. We’ll have to get you off the road before someone else runs you over. Not everyone is as kind as I.”
“Trust me, Madam, I know that too well.”
Even if she is not the prince, she is my savior. There is a little bitter spot in me, a pool in my stomach that wishes to blame this fae for my misfortune. I wouldn’t be out on the streets if she hadn’t pushed me into attending the ball.
If that were the case, I would have robbed myself of the loveliest night of my life.
It’s an exchange I would not agree to, despite the outcome.
I take the fleeting night and hold it close to my beating chest, even if it led to this great discomfort.
It’s easier now to look ahead and see how my life may improve in the end…
Even if I am currently at my lowest.
My bones are still heavy when I settle into the otherwise empty carriage.
Sitting across from someone so serene and pristine in my messy state is an embarrassment.
I’m grateful for the few feet of space between us, and I wish she could clean me up again, but asking for another favor would be too much. How many wishes can she possibly grant?
The driver continues onward.
“Where shall I take you?” the Moon Fae asks. “You seem to be going in the opposite direction from your home.”
“Yes, I am.” I frown and push the curtain aside. Orange sunlight falls over the trees. From in here, the woods do not look so dangerous. “The nearest town should be just fine. Lilycrest.”
“Then you are running away?” She lifts a brow. “May I ask why?”
How am I supposed to say the words aloud?
My throat tightens. “You may ask whatever you please, but I don’t wish to tell you at the moment. There’s no reason to answer your questions when I don’t even know your name.”
“You may call me Isa.”
“Fine, Isa. My stepmother is cross at me for going to the ball—and for allowing my sisters to. She’s turned all of Far Water against me, and it’s no longer safe for me to live there.”
For a moment, all I hear is the turning of wheels and the clip-clop of the horse leading the way.
“That is terrible,” Isa murmurs. “I’m sorry, dear one. If there is any way I can help…”
“You have already helped quite enough.”
“Don’t sound so bitter. I was only giving you the wishes of your heart—those are the only wishes I can grant, you know.”
I scowl at her. As much as I want to remain polite with my savior, I can’t. Anger bubbles in the pit of my stomach, threatening to spill from my mouth. “Is this truly what my heart wants? To have no home? No friends? No family?”
“You know that isn’t what your heart wants, but was Far Water truly your home?”
My heart sinks deeper, enough that it’s practically trailing on the ground behind us, and I worry we’ll leave it there. What’s the use? My heart has no place in the world I have crossed into—one of survival, of running.
“It once was,” I murmur, “but that was before my father died.”
“I see.” For the first time since we’ve met, she frowns, wrinkles forming around her mouth. “Please, allow me to help—”
Doesn’t she understand? Her help is what led me to exile.
I shake my head. “I don’t think a wish is what I need right now, thank you.”
“Not with a wish.” She chuckles. “There’s far more I can do, and this will not take magic at all. There is somewhere else for you to go—somewhere you won’t have to hide who you are.”
Is there truly a place like that for me?
Hope blossoms like a spring flower, but I shouldn’t let it. This desire for something greater is one I can’t trust, and one I haven’t felt in so long. Hope chases me, pushing me, though I long for it to let me be.
Yet, I ask, “Where do you think I should go, Madam?”