High tide would be approaching later in the day as Rea and Ixo were expected to be bright in the sky that night. Fishermen set out down the shallow canals and into Stonesilt Harbour to collect their catch as the city awoke.
Atop Castle Bower, Katryna sat alone on the terrace, holding down her knee to stop it from bouncing. The open section of the upper castle let in a pleasant amount of the morning sun. Palms grew tall in the open gardens, skirted with iridescent wildflowers and long-leafed starferns.
Katryna played with the plate of food before her, using her fork to push the fruit pieces from side to side before stabbing them. She had slept a little, but still had not worked up a proper appetite.
Katryna felt a little uneasy, sitting alone in a castle she had once known.
Walking between two Infinity Guardsmen, Rashel Bower entered the terrace wearing the same dress as the day before. She had bags under her eyes and her thinning hair was unkempt.
Katryna rose and gave her aunt a warm embrace, before dismissing the two guards.
“Aunt Rashel, thank you for coming,” Katryna said.
“Thank you for asking me to come,” Aunt Rashel said, smiling with appreciation.
Katryna had asked Aunt Rashel to attend a breakfast- she knew the old woman was exhausted. She had spent who knows how many days in a row by the king’s bedside, anxiously awaiting his potentially final breath with each passing moment.
The pair were seated at the table, looking up at the trees surrounding them as they danced in the breeze.
“How’s father?” Katryna asked.
“Same as last night, I’m afraid. No better, no worse.”
Katryna nodded. “I barely got any words out of him when I saw him.”
“He’s been like that for weeks, now.”
“I’m surprised he has held on this long.”
“He’s a fighter, you father is. Always has been.”
Katryna pushed a second plate of sliced fruit over to her aunt.
“Oh, thank you, dear. I’m starving,” Aunt Rashel said before digging into the fleshy summer fruits. “Where’s that gorgeous handmaiden of yours? Tracy, was it? The blonde one?”
“Trish,” Katryna corrected. “She’s with Tulip at the stables.”
Risha smirked. “Her and that servant boy haven’t kept their hands off each other since she arrived, I’ve noticed.”
“She will attend to Tulip. She is a loyal friend.”
Risha nodded, not wanting to give her niece the wrong implication. “How about you? Are you going to eat?”
Katryna looked down at her impaled food. “I’m not all that hungry, to be honest.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Aunt Rashel said as she took a mouthful of grapes. “I remember you as a child, you basically lived on prickly peaches and mangoes!”
Katryna could not hold back a smile of her fond memories of being a child, back before everything went wrong. Back when she was so innocent.
So naïve.
“Each time at supper, you mother and father would have to force you to eat your soups and your meats by tempting you with fruit for dessert!” Rashel laughed.
“I won’t lie, I haven’t had prickly peaches since leaving Ravenrock. They don’t grow so far west.”
Katryna took a nibble of the prickly peach on her fork. An explosion of sweet, tangy juiciness filled her mouth.
“It’s almost as good as I remember.”
“I’m glad. If you ever travel down south to Ember, you must try smoked gecko!”
Katryna nearly coughed up the soft fruit in her mouth. “Smoked what?!”
“Gecko,” Rashel laughed.
“As in, the small lizards?”
“It’s a delicacy in Ember, dear. I once visited in my youth and could not get enough of them. They spice them with tangy sauces and herbs. The meat is too good to even describe. I have crates of the stuff sent up to Camridia for myself!”
“Sounds…delicious?” Katryna said, smirking.
“Oh, hush you. Don’t comment on it until you have tried it! Most of us would never have found our favourite meals if it weren’t for the sharing of such cultural curiosities. Perhaps we can travel together to Ember, when all this is over. I would love to see the capital and the red deserts again.”
Katryna was cheerful at the thought. Some quality time with her aunt sounded like just the thing to reconnect and breath fresh life into her.
“That sounds fantastic, Aunt Rashel.”
“And you can try some smoked gecko!”
“If you insist.”
“Let’s make it happen, then! You and me and nothing but a whole country to explore.”
The pair continued with their meal, admiring the natural beauties around them on the terrace while discussing their other favourite foods.
Some small, finch-like rockbirds flew down from above and landed in the branches, singing their peaceful songs to one-another.
They spoke of the past few years, family affairs and events in the kingdom. Aunt Rashel proudly boasted of Finn’s luck with the ladies, given his dashing good looks, shining eyes and innocent personality.
“I am hoping for some great nieces and nephews soon!” she laughed.
It felt relieving for Katryna to be away from all the turmoil she had been facing, even for a moment. It had been a non-stop barrage of emotion. Being able to step back and breath was exactly what she had needed.
Eventually, Aunt Rashel changed the topic.
“So, how are you feeling, love?” she asked, eyeing Katryna’s shaking leg.
Katryna held her knee tightly with her hand. “I’m alright, I think.”
Aunt Rashel took Katryna’s other hand from across the table. She looked deep into Katryna’s eyes.
“Tell me the truth. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your trembling hands and legs since you returned.”
Katryna paused for a moment, looking away to compile her thoughts. Rashel was observant.
“I’ve had trembles like this since the day I left Ravenrock. They come and go but are always there in varying degrees.
