"You seem to confuse my kindness as stupidity, dear brother-in-law." She said,
"You really thought no one could see through your dirty schemes. I didn't know you'd go far enough to kill your own brother, my husband."
"That is an accusation!" He shouted.
"You really thought we wouldn't notice you used the Ursalaians to hypnotize the villagers and make us go there so you could execute your plan."
"I don't know what you speak of! Where has that evil man kept my son?" He asked in anger.
"Using your own son, your own blood as bait. You are a despicable merman.* She said in spite.
He began to laugh." Are you all going to watch her take over? A woman whom my brother was a pawn for? A woman who is accusing me of these heinous crimes."
"You don't have to lie anymore and act all self-righteous. They all know. They all know everything you did. Did it not bother you that everything went smoothly and without an issue?"
"No- I-"
"Guards seize him."
"You are to be beheaded at sunrise on the West Coast in front of all who thought you were a good man." One of the leaders said.
"Lilith, are you okay?" Kent asked.
"Yes, I am."
"You seem to have slipped into some sort of a daze when I asked about your father. I apologize if that brought back any tiresome memories."
"Oh no, no need to apologize."
An awkward silence followed.
"My papa was accused of being a witch in a small town we were visiting. It turned out my uncle was the one who made the rumors and made it happen."
"Made what happen?"
"My papa, burned alive in the middle of the town for everyone to see while I watched and heard him scream in agony while my mother cried, her shoulders shaking and wet tears drenching my hair."
"Oh Lilith…"
"My uncle was killed right after we came back to our land, beheaded for everyone to see. All his crimes had been made known to everyone."
"That must have been a hard lot. I apologize for even asking."
"It's fine. I had a cousin too, I can't remember his name. He was never found. My mother tried to find him and she didn't succeed. And yes it really was a hard lot. It gets worse as I grow older. All these things were happening and I had no control over anything."
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that."
"It's fine. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?" Lilith said with a smile.
"Right," Kent said, smiling back.
"Do you have any siblings? I don't. I'm an only child."
"I have one brother and I had a sister."
"Had?"
"She passed away when she was young. An undiagnosed illness the physicians said."
"I'm sorry," Lilith said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"For a while, my parents forgot they had other children. My mother dedicated her time to tending her greenhouse and her flowers because they reminded her of my sister and my father dwindled his time into work and some unfavorable things."
Lilith rubbed Kent's back slowly as a form of platitude.
"In the end, we all turned out fine didn't we?" She said with a smile.
"Damn right we did." He smiled back.
"It's getting quite late don't you think?" She said, stretching her neck to see through the branches of the willow tree.
"I think so. Bartlewich is going to be quite worried if we don't get back while the sky's still a bit bright."
"Are you seeing the sky you're calling a bit bright?" She said looking up at the darkening skies.
"It is a bit bright."
They both laughed.
"Let's get going," Kent said rising from the bench and stretching his palm for Lilith to take.
Lilith looked at his hand in amazement and looked at his eyes, she smiled, taking his hand and they began to walk back to the manor.
"Do your parents not stay in New Ford too?" She asked.
"Oh no, they don't."
"Hm okay."
The sun is gone and the moon takes its place creating a serene, beautiful moment for all to enjoy.
"Tomorrow. all the papers are going to be about us and they're going to say a lot of unfavorable things."
Lilith laughed.
"I've been called a slut in sight and in mind. I can handle anything ."
"I want to apologize for my behavior on the ship. I was hostile to the u and I didn't mean to."
"It's fine. I was a stranger to your ship. It's normal for you to be on guard."
"..."
They walked in a comfortable silence passing by the River Ethamè enjoying the cool winds and looking at the low ripples on her surface.
Fireflies slowly fly around them creating an enchanting moment.
"Light bugs!" Lilith said happily.
"Light bugs?" Kent said with a smile.
"That's what my papa always called them, Light bugs."
One settled on her finger, its steady light shining bright and moving slowly on the unfamiliar surface. It flew away as soon as she tried to look at it closely.
"Did you ever try to catch fireflies when you were little?"
"I did."
"You did?"
"I imagined you as the sort of scholarly type, no time for fun."
Kent laughed, throwing his head back.
"Is that really what I give off?"
"Most of the time, yes," Lilith said with a giggle.
A firefly settled on Lilith's nose.
"Oh look Kent! it's on my nose." She said excitedly.
"Don't move. I'll try to catch it." He said moving closer to her, his face in deep concentration.
Their breaths mingled as Kent came closer to Lilith trying to balance the fly in his finger. He did.
They looked into each other's eyes.
"Kent, I just want to tell you that ..."
In that instant, Kent started to see Lilith as the woman of his dreams. He drew closer to her holding her hands.