Capítulo 9: Sailing, Learning, Finding (3/4)

There were plenty of heads on this beach. Voices stretching to rejoice my return. But I was burdened by the families we were lacking. I studied the forest ahead, then the ruined buildings beside it. No one retreated from them.

I held Nelera's arms, afraid to wonder. "Is this what is left of us?"

She grieved with a nod, and I felt a flame extinguish in my chest. "Only one hundred of us remain. We are all working together to rebuild the broken families, but we cannot steal from the sea what was already taken." My sister sighed next. "Before you came, we nearly ran out of food from the provisions we could save. We were all too fearful to venture into the forests without proper weapons, but we would have as soon as it was necessary."

It was as I had feared. And I would mourn for the souls I had laughed with but would never see again. But at least my sister was here. At least I had not lost her.

I wrapped my arms around her. Because she was exposed in her torn clothing.

"Nevian." It was Aestos' voice behind me. Inquiring about what he should do.

I looked back at him. The boat had only just touched the shore, and that meant Aestos had followed me when I jumped into the water. He was not drenched like I was.

"Friend, lend me your shirt so I can cover my sister."

Nelera broke apart from my hold, hoping to see who I called 'friend'. Curious crewmen began to wander onto the beach, and I felt anxious one might look lustfully upon my sister and the other women on this island. Coverings. They all needed them.

"I know what you are thinking," my sister stated calmly. "But we are family. All of us here. Our men would not look upon me that way."

"I trust our men," I stated, holding Aestos' eyes. "But I will not know the intentions of the men I brought with me if they witness you this way."

Aestos understood my concern. He removed his shirt, and I slipped it over my sister. Sand speckled her hair like minerals embedded in cave walls. I brushed some of it away, but she would need to bathe to remove the rest.

"Who is this you brought, little brother?" Nelera asked, peering over my shoulder. And now the rest of my people gathered, surrounding us with unspoken curiosity.

I looked back at Aestos with a smile. I gestured for him, and he came. My hand came up naturally to cup his neck with affection. "This is my new companion. It was due to him that I could borrow a ship and men to find you. But the truth is…I believed you all were dead, so I had only ventured across the sea with the hope that I might find your body, Nelera."

Speaking the truth removed weight from my chest. I had not initially come to rescue them. But surely, I would take them all far away from here. And we would avoid Salyras, the only home we had known, because I would not allow my people to experience the same anxiety I had. That it might not have resurfaced.

Nelera smiled politely at Aestos beside me. But his eyes were on the ground, and I understood it quickly.

"Aestos, this is my sister, Queen Nelera. It is okay to look," I assured him.

He lifted his eyes. Looking at me first. When he saw my sister, Nelera was astonished.

"Wow," she gasped. And it was the same initial response I'd had to discovering his beauty up close. "I have never seen eyes as unique as yours. They are a lovely shade of green."

Aestos stared thoughtfully at her as if he did not know the color of his own eyes.

"Please excuse my rudeness," my sister amended. "I am Nelera, Nevian's eldest sister."

"My only sister." I smiled, and Nelera laughed.

"Yes, that I am. Thank you, Aestos, for protecting him and bringing help for us."

I startled when Aestos dropped to a kneel, hanging his head with more respect than he had offered his island's king. I considered him for what he might say, but he did not speak. He simply waited.

"Thank you," Nelera said again, with a pleased grin at me. The look in her eyes was curious and delighted.

"Aestos!" a man at the corner of the beach shouted into cupped hands. "Should the rest of the crew undock?"

My people parted a narrow path, and Aestos stood. His acknowledgement was on the tip of his tongue, but I interrupted him.

"We'll have a party tonight," I said, addressing my friend quietly. "I wish to play music and for my people to relax and dance." That could not happen if the men joined us on this side of the beach.

Aestos considered my eager people, then me. "I do not trust them not to run off with the ship at the first hint of danger. I will keep them distracted from your party."

"How if you are to celebrate with us?"

Then, Aestos smiled. Never asking to be, but grateful when he was considered. "Some other way then."

The crew delivered food and clothing for my community, and for the next few hours, my people bathed themselves and settled in the grass with snacks to eat. A few of the king's men taught me how to make temporary structures that would collapse on their own in some days. Modest huts made of flexible twigs and long leaves. We spent the afternoon creating many so women and children did not have to rest on the floor.

Twenty-three children remained in my community. Of all ages. And they regarded Aestos with awe. Fingers rudely but excitedly tangling in his saturated hair and gazes snapping across his pale skin, trying to discover what might have made his skin so bright. Some of my people had never seen it. Someone with such a drastic contrast in complexion. So, it fascinated them.

After their initial exploration, and once Aestos was properly dressed, the children toppled over him, assessing his strength. Seeing how many of them he could carry.

I did not interfere, even when Aestos seemed uncomfortable. I believed the moment to be important for him. In his land, mothers turned their children away from him unless it was to beg for blessings he could not give. And their husbands would not look a man they feared in the eyes.

But my people did not know Aestos. Nor his strength. To the children, he was an ordinary man to play with.

And throughout the afternoon, Aestos' demeanor changed into something joyful and expressive. He grinned as he raced children across the vast stretch of the beach. And he looked eager to swing them from his arms, even the tallest ones, who were nearing adulthood. I felt elated for him.

Night arrived, and small fires dotted the beach and edges of the forest, each hosting a group of ten to twenty of mine and the king's men. Somehow, we had all mixed without my realization, but everyone seemed pleased. So, I could not bring it to surface to fear the king's men, who I did not know well. They had been kind to me and got along well with my people. Conversing and sharing our limited supplies without issue.

Why had Aestos been so mistrustful of them?

Later into the night, some of our crew wondered about me when the children begged me to play my music. To sing to them as I used to. And I no longer feared how they might react to this new and wonderful thing. I believed I could win them over like I had with Aestos. The king's men did not seem malicious.

I sat at a fire across from my sister and the women she conversed with. Nikolas was nearby, stoic-looking and lost in thought as some of the crew piled around him. Aestos had caught over a hundred fish, but too distracted with their own conversations, no one wondered how he had done it so swiftly. Now, every fire had plenty of fresh food hoisted over it.

He sat beside me. Cheeks flushed, and his tunic clinging to the sweat on his skin. Aestos was smiling, and he did not look tired. He looked youthful and renewed with vigor. I was glad he had returned. I'd been waiting for him.

I took up my lyre, which I had retrieved from the ship, and excited voices came from all the children who saw me hold it.

Aestos caught my wrist. His delight gone, and warning now present in his eyes. "Nevian."

I touched his hand. "I'm aware. Trust in my discernment, friend. I do not believe these men would harm me, even if this new thing frightens them."

Aestos leaned into me, and I thought it a protective gesture. He would continue to hold onto his mistrust, and I had let go of mine.

I strummed my lyre and began to play a modest tune, something a bird might hum in the blue morning, to get these fresh ears accustomed to melodious noise. Then I sang. The crowd around my fire deepened, and the temperature in this circle increased. I did not mind. I enjoyed the sight of so many lively and beautiful faces.

"What is that you're doing?" a man asked, inclining his head above the rest. His cheeks were flushed with wonder, but he appeared confused.

"Music," I explained with a grin. "Tell me, does hearing it fill your chest with warmth?"

He touched above his heart, and his eyes widened joyously. "Yes. I believe I do."

"Because music is a good thing," I said, and I played for a while.

My people who were already familiar with it sang along while others taught the crewmen to dance. Their movements were playful and clumsy and endearing, and I witnessed it all with contentment in my heart. I had only gone days without this, but I greatly missed playing music for others.

"I'd like to try it out." Nikolas had said this, surprising me.

"Are you familiar with this instrument?" I asked him.

He smiled, and it softened him. "Where I am originally from, music is well-liked. I played the flute when I was little, and a few other things. I taught my wife and daughter how to play."

My smile was wide. "That is wonderful, friend!" I handed over my instrument. "Please, play something exciting for us."

He turned my instrument in his hands, rediscovering everything he had seen once or many times before. And when he played, his way of strumming my lyre's strings was skilled. He is good at memorizing things. I could not tell that it had been years since he last played. I smiled contentedly and sank against the tree behind me.

My eyes slipped closed, and I enjoyed the music.