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It didn’t matter which direction she leaned, both sides were telling the same story.

She wanted to belong. To have people stand at her side. To be wanted.

But more than that, she wanted to be accepted. To be the wild child and the dreamer. A princess and an ordinary girl. To have the freedom to be herself without consequence.

What does happiness look like to you, Princess?

Happiness felt so far away, what with the weight of her kingdom on her shoulders and the doubt that permeated her every thought. With the fears of her friends and people skulking around her and the state she had left things with Elian.

She knew one thing, though. She wouldn’t be able to find happiness unless she stepped up and fought for it.

Curses, dust, and ruin still coated every inch of this kingdom. She wanted to burn it all away and let her flames become like water, cleansing the world of all its sorrow so it could be reborn into something brighter, happier.

A place where she and everyone else would never feel as though they were not enough.

A place she could call home.

Thicket startled as something bobbed beneath the surface, creating a ripple of rings flowing further and further away until they slumbered within the stillness of the canal. As the water stilled, she swore she saw the edge of a fin dart across the canal.

“What about you?” She dared a glance at Marcellus. His head was bent, staring intensely at his reflection, seemingly lost in thought. “What does happiness look like do you?”

He didn’t respond for a long moment. Thicket couldn’t see his expression from her angle, so she slid her eyes across the water, secretly hoping some tell-tale sign would be reflected there.

Her eyes met his in the water.

Thicket’s pulse jumped. He hadn’t been looking at himself. He had been looking at her.

Marcellus’ eyes didn’t widen, didn’t flick away. He held her gaze, sure and steady, as though trying to peer into her thoughts. Or, convey a message of his own.

Thicket fought a shiver.

“No,” a child whined from somewhere down the street, tearing Thicket’s eyes away from Marcellus. “You can’t leave us.”

Two young boys draped themselves across Lotta, their little arms wrapped firmly around her waist and legs. Thicket recognized one of them from the group of children she had seen when she first woke up in Sleeria. The one who had berated Elian with questions.

Lotta patted him tenderly on the head. “I will be back soon.”

“You always leave us,” the other boy said, looking up at her with tear-filled eyes.

“I know, Milo. I am sorry but I need to go. And you two need to be strong and take care of one another.” Even as she said the words, Thicket didn’t miss the way Lotta’s arms wrapped tighter around her brothers, as if she was also reluctant to let them go.

I sometimes worry that there will never be a next time and they’ll become yet another name carved into the obelisk.

Thicket stood. Lotta noticed her then. She gave a small, embarrassed wave. Thicket returned it. Marcellus brushed off his clothes and returned to the horses, Bayo trotting merrily at his heels. His expression was placid, as though nothing had happened. Had something even happened? Thicket wasn’t sure, but she thought there had been a slight shift.

With the way he was acting, it was most likely all in her head.

The first boy followed Lotta’s line of sight, face brightening when he spotted Thicket.

“Kit!” he said and darted away from Lotta. She looked horrified as he stopped directly in front of Thicket, hands bunched at his sides as he looked up at her and said, “If my sister goes with you, promise me you will protect her.”

“Liam!” Lotta hissed, doing her best to run over while Milo clung to her legs.

Thicket shifted onto her knees so she could meet his level. “I promise,” she vowed. “Not only that.” She stuck her hand out to him, curling all but one finger. “I pinkie promise.”

Liam’s face scrunched. “What does that mean?”

“It is the ultimate form of an unbreakable promise.” She gestured to his hand. Hesitantly, Liam mimicked her. Thicket grinned and wrapped her finger around his and shook. “Now I have to keep it.”