Chapter 30

Aveline spent most of the evening making sure that the ship was in order and that the rest of the crew were performing their evening duties before she went to sit on the deck by herself and watch the day unfurl into evening. It was significantly cooler than in daylight, when the seaside heat had finally burned out, and clouds had begun to roll in.

The others joined her as the ship churned into deeper waters, heading towards the East- to Diviel. Aveline had been there a few times. It was rustic, relatively poor. She was pretty sure the royal family farmed for a living.
Aveline had seen worse. Besides; despite its undistinguished residents, Diviel was lovely in its own humble sort of way; it was a grassland with rolling hills and green, lush vegetation.

None of her companions spoke as they each sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. Eli sidled up next to her, with Jamie on her other side, and Aveline was grateful to remain silent and observe the sea.

Silver fins emerged beside the ship, following the tide to a new breeding spot, and in the distance a few mermaids clustered together on a sandbar and whispered among themselves.

Aveline watched them for a moment. She wondered if she was supposed to feel emotional when she saw the creatures, but she didn't. They were ghosts to her, half-lucid phantoms existing beyond all feeling and desire. I couldn't ever live like that.

I'm not afraid of you, she thought at the finned maidens. I have everything you want. Life, feeling...

"Look at them. So blissfully ignorant of the outside world." Aveline tucked her chin on her knees, listening to her own muted breaths. "I almost can't remember what that was like."
She spoke so quietly she might as well have been talking to herself, but Ari tensed, and Eli whipped his head in her direction.

"What do you mean?"

"You were one of them, weren't you?" Lyla murmured, vivid cornflower eyes turning softly on her. "I wondered..."

"I didn't," Eli spluttered. Jamie's jaw had slightly dropped, and Aveline hoped she didn't think that Aveline had been dishonest with her. She'd grown rather fond of the other girl.

"Oh, right, I forgot," she said with forced casualness, allowing a bit of sheepishness to color her tone. "Yes, I was, I suppose. I left the ocean when I was ten."

Ari touched her shoulder. "Aveline..."

"It's alright, Ari," she assured him. It felt good to say it out loud. Truly. "Anyway, I'm not really sure what I am now. What does that make me? A mermaid? A human?"

"A lunatic?" ventured Ari, a satisfied smile settling crookedly across his face as Aveline elbowed him in the side. She felt anxious, all of a sudden, almost guilty, her cheeks burning as Eli ogled her with an illegible expression. But what was she to feel guilty for? She hadn't done anything wrong. God, would he stop staring at her?! The deck felt constricting, all of a sudden, and she desired to leave.

Lyla was turning to Ari, open mouthed. "So, then, what," she huffed, "what are you?"

"Stupid," Ari said, keeping a straight face with little effort.

"True." Aveline brushed specks of dirt off of her lap as she stood. "I think it's time for bed. We arrive early tomorrow."

Aveline clasped her arms tightly over her chest in attempt to warm herself from the cool evening breeze and walked back inside. She felt Eli's gaze burning into the back of her, but she didn't dare turn around.

-

The air was heavy with fog by the time Aveline went above deck the next morning, the white billows of vapor flooding the atmosphere and giving it an almost eerie appearance. Mauviri was far behind them, and Aveline could not be sorry for it. The sea kingdom had been too familiar, too... pretty, Aveline thought. If that was possible.

She gaily continued the argument with herself as she wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and made her way over to the helm, where their navigator steered the ship.

"Thank you, Emil," Aveline greeted. "Get some rest, I'll take it until Inez wakes up."
He relinquished the wheel to her gratefully and scurried off in search of breakfast while Aveline expertly wound her hands around the instrument the way Ari had taught her.

She had no idea what they would find in Diviel that day. A part of her wondered if they would reach Tristran's alleged meeting spot and it would be another dead end, that they'd be left with more questions than answers. But there was some visceral part of her which anticipated that the unhappy truth about the royals was almost within her reach.

Aveline tended to trust her instincts. If Ari had his attitude of general unruffled peevishness, then Aveline, by contrast, relied on her emotional intuition. It made for balance, at least.

Unruffled peevishness- was that an oxymoron?

A tawny arm skimmed past her and landed on the wheel she held, putting a stop to her reverie.

"Something's bothering you?" The arm belonged to Ari, who wore a dark jacket to match the morning weather and scrutinized her with a lifted eyebrow.

Aveline heaved a mock sigh. "I was trying to gaze dramatically into the ocean."

"Sorry for interrupting." Ari kept his hands on the wheel, allowing the briny wind to tousle his curls. "Come now, Aveline, you only offer to steer when you're upset."

"I'm not upset, it's just..." Aveline hesitated only a moment before she dropped her hands and allowed him to take over. "Something isn't adding up about the royals."

Ari's expression changed; he seemed relieved as he blew out a breath. "I thought so as well." He straightened and focused his gaze on the churning waves as he tilted the wheel slightly to the side. "I mean, if the Hapsburgs' only motive was to avenge their ancestors, don't you think they would have made it more obvious?"

"Yes." Aveline nodded her head vehemently. "And it doesn't explain what it is exactly that they're doing with the princes and princesses they stole."

"There's more happening here," Ari agreed.

Lyla glided lightly up the stairs and towards them, then, a delicate hand covering her yawning mouth, with Eli and Jamie behind her.

"You're up, finally," Ari said dryly. "We've been waiting for you all-"

"You woke up fifteen minutes ago," Aveline countered. "I'm starved. Shall we have breakfast?"

Aveline left Ari to scoff as she went in search of Inez.

-

The fog hadn't lifted by the time they reached the main village.

The houses in Diviel were mostly constructed of silt and clay, which probably kept heat in very well, but made for a slightly dreary appearance. Their wagons ricketed stubbornly into the muddy ground, weighing down Diviel's agrarian reputation with every curve of their wheels. A few children scuttled past them, donned in brown patched fabrics and dirty cheeks.

"I seem to have forgotten how many stray children run around loose in this kingdom," Ari sniffed, disapproval clear in his voice. Lyla raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

Jamie couldn't resist, it seemed. "There's no need to be a snit about it," she snapped. "Not every kingdom is filthy rich."

Ari's mouth parted in feigned astonishment, his eyes flitting around his surroundings as if seeing them for the first time. "Truly? I hadn't noticed."

Aveline, who was becoming impatient with the conversation in its entirety, sighed audibly. "Both of you, shut up."

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Lyla raised a hand to her eyes, shielding them from the sun as she scoured the marketplace. "I don't see anyone here."

Aveline didn't, either. The market was crowded, teeming with greedy sellers and quick pickpockets. Everyone seemed to be in motion, briskly rushing past each other on their way to their individual destinations. Aveline glanced through the swarm; watching for anyone who acted suspicious or looked frequently in their direction.

"Well, this is the clock tower," Eli was saying. "And we're right on time, so... Ari?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Ari exclaimed, annoyed. "The note said-"

"Wait." Aveline stopped Ari with a hand on his arm. "Look over there, by the fruit stand."

Two figures in expensive-looking clothes stood a bit away from the crowd, murmuring to each other. Their heads were both covered, but their robes were of unusually fine material.

Aveline briefly caught a flash of dark hair under the one with the royal blue hood.

For a moment, his pale face rose from the shadows, revealing unhardened skin and a soft frown in his brow, and she tensed. "Is that-"

"That's Prince Tristan." Lyla's voice trembled and she started to take a step forward before hesitating. "Who's that person with him?"

"Who?" Jamie followed their gaze to the figures, watching as one of them delicately lifted his hood off.

It was a boy- ruggish looking, with auburn hair. He hovered next to Tristran, glancing around almost suspiciously-

"Ben." Jamie's hand raised tremblingly to her mouth.

Aveline's head whipped to her. "Who?"

"It's... It's Ben! I have to-" Jamie's quivering voice stumbled as Ari caught her by the shoulders before she could charge at the two.
"Let me go!" Jamie shoved at Ari's chest with surprising strength, and Ari stumbled backwards in surprise.

The two boys looked up at the same time, in reaction to the noise. Aveline watched twin pairs of eyes widen- two blue, two brown.

For a moment, everything was still. Aveline felt certain that they'd been noticed; it was as if Prince Tristran's stare honed in on each of them to make sure they knew he was there.

Then, just as Lyla took a step closer, the two boys backed away...

And ran.

"No!" Jamie cried. She sidestepped Ari before bolting off after them, and Ari started.

He clenched his fists. "I'm not losing them." He turned to flee after Jamie without another thought.

Aveline and Lyla broke into a sprint at the same time, dashing across the marketplace with Eli in tow.

"Why are they running?" Lyla gasped, nearly tripping over a loose cobblestone.

"Who's Ben?" Ari demanded as he raced on Jamie's heels.

"I don't have time to explain," Jamie shouted behind her, clutching the dark folds of her skirts to prevent them from slowing her down.

Aveline's legs pumped faster. The boys were passing the end of the marketplace and retreating towards the woods. She leapt over the stone remains of some decaying building, the wind whizzing in her ears as she and her four companions chased Prince Tristran and the mystery boy across the Diviel soil.

They had been wearing heavy cloaks- for disguise, Aveline realized, and that might've slowed them down somewhat, but they had the advantage of a head start and Aveline struggled to keep sight of their targets as they weaved expertly through the trees.

As they zipped into the greenery, Aveline lost sight of Tristran's dark fabric; he seemed to suddenly disappear behind the leaves. She looked around wildly, but the forest was silent, as if they were the only inhabitants- as if no one had been there in the first place. Aveline stopped short, confused.

"Where'd they go?" Lyla caught her knees, panting, and shoved blonde tangles out of her eyes.

Aveline's senses sharpened as she narrowed her eyes and scanned the forest for any sign of movement.
Finally, a shining head of hair popped out from behind one of the tree trunks. It was the taller boy about twenty yards ahead of them.

His gaze lingered on Jamie for a moment, and then before anyone could react, he raised his hand and made some gesture with his fingers. He was beckoning them to follow, Aveline realized in astonishment.

"Don't follow him," Ari commanded. "It's a trap."

"No it's not, it's Benny!" Jamie admonished him sharply, before whirling around and running after the boy named Ben, who had disappeared into the woods yet again.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Ari yelled back, matching her pace as they hastened their chase deeper into the heart of the forest.
Aveline focused on the muddy green of Ben's robes as she followed.

Only two minutes later her eyes caught onto a flash of blue- Prince Tristran.
He stood behind another tree, just ahead of her. Aveline nearly stopped in surprise, her heart beating in time with her legs as she slowed her pace.

Tristran waited until Aveline was looking directly at him, and then slowly, he raised a finger to his lips.

Why was he telling her to be quiet?

The others caught up to her just as Aveline caught sight of a large clothed structure behind Tristran.
A moment later, Ben's worried face appeared beside the prince. He grabbed Tristran's hand with a familiarity that Aveline didn't have time to dwell on, and then they both stared at the group with a sort of expectancy about them. Like they were trying to say something-

Aveline could suddenly hear a stream of other voices somewhere in the distance, and she froze.
"Get down," Ari ordered immediately.

Aveline crouched down just as two men in black left the tent and approached the two boys. Tristran and Ben both quickly looked away.

"Where have you been?!" One of the men demanded.

Ben mumbled something Aveline couldn't hear, and after a moment the two were ushered behind the flap.

Aveline inhaled sharply. The men in black held pistols, she could see, and they both scanned the forest with narrowed eyes before disappearing behind the two boys into the tent.

The forest was silent once more, accompanied only by the distant rustling of leaves and birds chirping. Aveline released her breath.

"What just.. happened?" Eli whispered, his breathing labored from where he sat next to Aveline behind a rock.

"Jamie," Ari addressed her firmly, and this time Aveline knew he wasn't going to let it go. "Who is Ben?"

Jamie let her hands fall miserably to her lap. She lifted her forlorn stare to his, and Aveline could see tears shining in her sea-colored eyes.  "He's my brother."

**MWAHAHA!! See y'all on Tuesday!!**