07| A New Land

Mel groggily woke up, her head slightly aching. She shifted on the cushioned surface and slowly opened her heavy eyes.

She surveyed her surroundings and realised she had been covered with a blanket while sleeping. Her head was apparently resting on Anna's lap too. She looked up at the sleeping face of her servant and immediately sat up, worried the woman's laps would be sore by now.

Anna kept on sleeping, and Mel surveyed the room once more. Eustace was nowhere to be seen and Mel properly sat up, leaning back against the divan. She took off the blanket and wrapped it around Anna.

Mel's throat itched and her mouth felt dry. She made her way to the door, about to open it and ask for water when it vibrated with a soft knock and was pushed open.

"Oh." She stepped back with a start as Enmel stood before her.

Her future uncle-in-law regarded her with his usual stoic expression. He closed his eyes and gave Mel a short nod. "My apologies for barging in," he said, his voice low and deep. The lack of emotion in it surprised her.

"It's no problem," Mel whispered. "Please I would like to have some water."

"Ah. Of course." He opened the door even wider to reveal a tray holding two metallic flasks and a cup in his other hand. "Precisely what I came for."

Mel smiled and Enmel walked into the cabin, dropping the tray on one of the stools before heading back for the door. Mel stood still, surprised.

He wasn't going to serve the drink to her?

Enmel stared back at her, as if able to read her mind. "We will be at Orion in a few hours," he merely said.

"That fast?" Her eyes widened.

Enmel nodded in reply and left the room as quietly as he came. Mel walked back to her seat and poured the water from the flask into the cup herself. Her hands trembled a bit, causing a small amount to spill on the tray.

She drank the water from the cup and sat still. Her heart tightened as she stared into space. It had been subtle, but she was either being paranoid or she felt a slight hostility from the man.

"No." She warded off the thought and murmured to herself, "Maybe it's not part of their culture? It has to be."

"My lady?"

Mel shifted to see a rousing Anna and a warm smile returned to her lips. "You're finally awake."

As the next few hours rolled by, Mel went to the surface of the ship. The wind was far cooler than Mel expected and she wrapped her coat tighter around her body. There, she found Eustace on deck and had a small talk with the woman, familiarising herself a bit before she noticed the approaching land.

Eustace gave Mel's arm a light squeeze and the old woman's eyes brightened for the first time. "Welcome, Mel."

Excited shouts and whistles from the men on board disrupted the tranquility and a knot formed in Mel's stomach.

Would she really be welcomed here?

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Mel was welcomed with such vigor and excitement that she felt dazed by it. Even Enmel seemed more receptive the moment they got online and the smile on his face shocked her as he met with his family.

Had the journey to her home clan caused such gloom?

'Come to think of it. Father had never really told me what he had taken from them, had he?'

Mel's heart began to ache from a new feeling and a vague understanding of why her family wouldn't be available on her wedding day came to her. They would only dampen the atmosphere.

The harbour, noticeably larger than that of Urn's had been teeming with members of the Grime clan eager to meet with Mel, and quite a number of them had brought small gifts, most of which, she learned, were already placed in her new residence.

A confused Mel was then whisked off in a horse-drawn caravan, shielded from the excitement. Mel peeked through the curtains at the landscape. There were a lot of domed stone structures, with just as many wooden ones, but the streets were wide and the ground was concealed with cobbled stone, unlike the exposed earth in Sprite. The majority of the structures were low unlike the high rising ones back in her country.

It took a while to make out the boundaries where the housing stopped and Mel paused. There were no fences or even gates. Only a clear field surrounded the settlement as far as the eye could see and it seemed pretty small compared to Urn. And Urn wasn't even the wealthiest clan in Sprite. The clan was exposed… why?

Mel's face mirrored the growing panic and worry within her as she lowered the curtain and looked away from the window to find Eustace staring at her across her seat in the carriage. A small smile spread on the old woman's lips.

"Fences," Mel whispered. "The gates. You have none of them… How do you protect against…" Mel brushed her lips with her fingers, unable to string her words together and at loss at the sheer lack of protection against invaders.

Eustace chuckled. "Orion or other beast nation has no need for fences. I believe you should have been taught that by now."

Mel's cheeks grew hot and she covered her open mouth, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry," she stammered. "I have no excuse. I had a few lessons but I would have brushed up on them if I had known when I would be… coming…" Mel swallowed and lowered her eyes to her laps, ashamed.

"No, child. Don't do that." Eustace stood from her seat and smoothly maneuvered through the moving vehicle to seat beside Mel. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Your parents didn't inform you as to our arrival?"

Mel looked up at Eustace and slowly shook her head. "I came to know about it just that morning."

Eustace's brows furrowed, deep in thought. "I see. That's why you looked so under the weather. I thought it was a simple case of not wanting to leave your family."

A wry smile spread across Mel's lips and she shook her head. "There was that too. But I was more annoyed at the moment."

"You poor thing." Eustace hugged Mel to her side and rubbed the girl's shoulder. "Even at that, you don't have to carry the blame. It's on us for taking this long to get in touch with you." She paused and then continued, her voice lower than before, "Not to worry, I will teach you all you need to know about Orion as a whole, including our clan, Grime."

"Thank you." Mel's worry eased at Eustace's tender smile and for a moment, her feelings seemed to be alleviated until a persistent thought came to mind. She gently pulled away from Eustace and straightened. Facing the woman, Mel asked, "I apologise in advance, but I would like to know this. What did my father steal from you?"