Chapter 3 Orion Vessel

"You all must not like me much for me to be hearing of this just now."

Harriett started, nearly jumping out of her own skin. "No. No. That isn't true. I... I didn't want you to worry-"

"Well done, you've achieved what you wanted. Now I'm set to leave, unprepared for what I'm to expect. You must be happy now."

"Mel-"

"Just leave. I don't want to talk to anyone." Mel turned away, giving her mother the cold shoulder.

Harriett remained standing still, devastated. Her lips quivered once more and she covered her lips with a thin hand. "I understand."

Mel watched her mother leave the room and her heart sank. She remained sitting in a daze, staring off into space as more servants came in scuttling about and running in and out of her dressing room with folds of fabrics in hand as they packed her things and set out the garments she was to wear.

"My lady," Anna, the older of her two chambermaids whispered at Mel's ear, snapping the young woman out of her reverie.

Mel looked around the mess that was her chamber, the bustling movement of the maids finally reaching her ears with a soft hum. "What?" she tiredly asked Anna.

"Your bath is ready."

"Oh," Mel simply said as her chamber maidens escorted her to the bath chamber.

She was undressed and bathed in scented water, massaged with sweet-smelling oils, and had them rinsed off her body before applying a thin layer of honey-scented body lotion to her skin. Mel sighed in relief, already exhausted from the pressure applied to all areas of her body. The one time she had been prepped like this was for her coming age ceremony, and if her memory served her right, this seemed to be more taxing than the previous preparations.

Mel stood in front of the standing mirror, a rising panic pooling within her as the maids started dressing her up. After this, she would be on the seas to Orion. What would she do when she got off? She struggled to remember everything her mother had taught her when she was eighteen about raising a family and watching over the stronghold but nothing came to mind. Her pulse raced.

Maybe she should have paid more attention to her mother's teachings.

"My lady-"

Mel flinched and looked around. They stood in silence, watching her. Mel looked into the mirror, pausing to take in her appearance. She stood a few inches taller than the rest, dressed in a light camisole that accentuated her fair skin and dark eyes. Her hair was plainly combed back, yet to be brushed and adorned after tending to her face with makeup. Then more layers would be added to her undergarments for the final dressing.

"Yes?" Mel spoke up, eager to be seated. "You're done?"

A maid shook her head. "We're not done adjusting-"

"Just have me seated, you'll do the rest there," Mel breathed out, slightly faint. "I haven't even eaten and I would like to rest at least."

The maids scrambled and led Mel to the vanity, seating her on the stool before rushing off to bring her some food. A short while later and with a slightly full stomach, Mel watches the servants get to work, brushing and pleating her hair into several rows as they applied faint makeup on her face, highlighting her soft features.

A subtle knock came before the low voice of her father, "Mel."

The servants halted and Mel froze, not knowing how she should proceed with her father's visit.

'Send him away. Send him away. Send him away!' she constantly repeated to herself but her mouth betrayed her when she asked for him to come in instead.

The servants backed away without any words and left the chamber once again as the lord of the castle walked in, his small frame further shadowed by his dark green robe. Her mother was the taller of the two, but she still loved her husband despite his small frame. The old man shuffled in, his hands folded behind his back as he walked in, his brown apologetic eyes fixed on Mel.

"My little flower," he let out in a hoarse whisper, coming to stand before her.

Mel didn't answer but only looked back at him through the mirror.

"You're in this mess because your father did a very terrible thing in the old days," he spoke up, his voice shaky as he laid his hands on her shoulders, giving them a small, affectionate squeeze.

Mel frowned. "What did you do?"

He was silent for a while before speaking, "It was a foolish act. One I deeply regret, but I stole something very precious from a clan of the Orions, one of the largest in that kingdom. Something so precious..."

"Why? Why would you do that?" Mel whispered, slowly shaking her head, unable to believe the words she was hearing.

He lowered his head. "I really can't say, Mel. I can't. Not now... I was able to return their item and they required that for us to have good relations with not just their clan, but the nation as a whole, I would need to sacrifice something precious of mine..." His hold on her shoulders tightened and Mel's chest tightened equally in anticipation. She had never expected things to be this serious.

"What would happen if you had refused?" she asked.

Her father sighed. "They would get rid of the whole family, including my most precious I didn't want to hand over to them..." He then straightened and walked over to kneel beside Mel, looking up into her eyes. "You shouldn't worry about anything, Mel. You will be safe, I promise. The Orions are generally hospitable and the clan has promised to take good care of you-"

"Bears, papa. Bears," Mel whispered, her eyes watering. "You are sending me to a territory with bears as their spirit animals." She shook her head and wiped back her tears. "I can't believe this."

Mel silently wept. In the past, she had been looking forward to her life in Orion, but now that she knew what was truly behind this engagement, a new kind of fear consumed her. She was heading into a carnivorous den.

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The Sprite kingdom was the only nation in the whole realm with people born without a connection to spirit animals. They were more in tune with nature itself rather than the beasts of nature. Their lands were the most fertile out of all lands in the realm and the Sprite kingdom was not just the largest nation, it was among the most powerful. They were very good gardeners, and a variety of plantations grew bountifully on their lands.

Just like other nations, there were several regions or clans within, which were headed by a clan leader each. The only thing that other nations had was their ability to use attributes belonging to powerful creatures. These were their spirit connections. The strongest clans with the tightest spirit connection were able to transform into their creatures, partially or fully. This, however, didn't stop Sprite from being one of the reigning nations, as they had control over plant life, and this was something the strongest Sprite clans could manipulate at their free will.

But Mel's family, the heads of the Urn tribe, were one of the weakest amongst other tribes in the Sprite kingdom. The weakest tribes in the whole of Sprite were impressive at what they did, compared to other nations in the realm, but within Sprite, the weak were weak. The hierarchy wasn't as harsh as other nations in terms of their beastly traits, but weak clans in Sprite weren't as impressive as the strongest clans in the same kingdom. The most impressive traits they had was tending to the vegetation and nurturing it.

This was something Mel had never bothered to improve on. She produced satisfactory results but had brought it upon herself to miss most of her classes. The only thing that might have saved her was her ability to learn things quickly.

Orion, on the other hand, was a growing nation whose spirit animal was the bear... and there were all kinds of bears. Mel had no idea what could have possessed her father to think he could steal from the Orions, but she considered they had nothing to gain from having a connection with one of the weakest clans from the Sprite nation.

Unless they were doing this to spite her father... there wasn't a guarantee they would treat her well either.

The daughter of the man who stole something very important to them.

Mel ignored the aspect of her being the most precious person to her father, she wasn't going to be treated well where she was going. Now she understood why they were hesitant on letting her know about the journey on time.

But why did the Orions wait so long to ask for her?

"Papa." She softly pushed his hand away from her and she looked down at her lap. "I want to be alone for a while..."

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The wind of a cold evening swept by the Urn harbour, threatening to undo Mel's neat hairdo as they watched the approaching Orion ship. It was still a speck of a tiny fruit on the vast ocean, but Mel was very certain it would loom over them as a massive travelling vessel before long.

Adam held his older sister's hand and tightened it, reluctant to let Mel leave. Mel looked at him fondly. He hadn't heard of any letter until today, just like her. He had equally been annoyed she wasn't told sooner, but there wasn't much he could do, and he had spent the past few hours sticking by her side right after she had been dressed up.

More of Mel's belongings were being brought out to the harbour in horse-drawn carriages and heavy cargos. She looked calm outside but her mind and heart were in chaos. She tightened her hold too on Adam's hand and her stomach tightened as the foreign ship was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Harriett walked away from the men assembling Mel's things and stood beside her daughter, looking at the approaching vessel against the orange horizon of the setting sun.

Harriett spoke softly, but clear enough for both Adam and Mel to hear against the lapping waves of the sea, "I don't know if you will ever forgive me-"

"Mother," Mel faintly whispered, her voice shaky as she cut Harriett off. "I'm scared."

Harriett clasped her hands tight at her chest as it tightened in agony. The woman fought off the strong urge to grab her daughter and run back into the castle, refusing to hand her over to the approaching Orions. But the sensible part of her, no matter small, told her that such an action would be a very terrible mistake. But nothing was assuring about her handing her daughter to such people.

Harriett cast a frustrated glance at her husband on one of their ships, giving out a few instructions to the workers as they carried Mel's luggage on board. She had pestered her husband that she would go onboard the Orion ship with her daughter while their ship carried her things along with them to the North. The sad thing was that after Mel's belongings were dropped at Orion's shores, she would have to go back, leaving only one servant from their side to be Mel's personal maid.

Harriett had felt a faint relief when Mel had chosen Anna. The middle-aged woman had been Harriett's decision too. Mel's younger chamber maiden was alright, but Anna was more experienced and capable.

"Oh, my baby." Harriet's eyes watered and she hugged Mel, burying her daughter's face in her chest. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, patting Mel's hair as she soothed her daughter in whatever way she could.

If only her words could reassure Mel.

Uncomfortable, but a little sad, Adam let go of his sister's hand as she hugged Harriet back in a silent embrace.

"If-if you're willing to accept, I have something to give you when we get on board the ship," Harriett said.

Mel nodded. "Alright."

A high-pitched shout tore through the morose atmosphere, startling Mel, "Coast!"

Mel stepped away from Harriett's embrace and watched as the Orion ship loomed nearer, almost twice the size of her father's largest ships. She stood, transfixed as she watched the decorated carvings along the hull of the ship, snaking around the ship's base to form a clan symbol she was unfamiliar with.

The vessel finally docked at the harbour and Mel tightened her coat around her, warding off the cold wind that brought a renewed anxiety with the ship's arrival. A long bridge stretched out from the side and two large figures made their way down to them, garbed in luxurious fur clothing.

Mel's eyes widened in surprise. They were well dressed and clean. From what she had heard about the bear kin from Orion, she had expected barbarians to be coming for her. The two representatives, one old woman, and a fairly young man came to stand in front of them as Mel's father walked towards them.

They towered over Mel's family a good number of inches. If she could recall Adam's measurements, they were a little over six feet on average.

"Welcome," Harriett forced a weak smile and greeted the visitors. They gave a short bow as a curtsey and Mel's parents did the same.

Mel shifted as her mother subtly tugged at her dress, signalling for her to greet their guests.

"Oh. Excuse me," Mel said and sharply bowed, rising back up to see the old woman's lips turn up in a wrinkly, but sweet smile. The intimidating aura she had felt from the visitors eased almost immediately and Mel looked away, feeling a little guilty for harbouring the possibility that they would be inhospitable people.

'Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all?' Mel reasoned.

"I hope you had a smooth sailing," Mel's father offered with a smile, but she could note the wrinkled crease of worry on his forehead.

The Orion man nodded, his vibrant caramel eyes boring into hers. Mel looked back to the old woman, and the Orion man spoke, "The seas blessed us with a safe travel."

"You have a wonderful abode," the old woman addressed Mel's parents, her voice a deep rich tone that Mel found soothing. "We would be grateful if you would allow us to spend the night in Urn. It would even give my brother and I time to learn more about our bride and her family." Her eyes, a dull brown, shifted from Harriett to Mel once more with a maternal gaze.

Harriett's eyes wavered. Gratitude or relief, Mel couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it seemed her mother was glad Mel would still be with her, even if it was for the night.

"That-that would be wonderful!" Her father clapped his hands, and his eyes brightened. "Please, make yourself at home. We will prepare lodgings back in the castle for the rest of your men."

"Much appreciated," the woman answered with a subtle nod of her head. "Though, only a few. The rest will have to stay behind on the ship..." She looked at the ship where Mel's things were being taken into and she looked back at her father. "If you wouldn't mind, I feel it would be much easier for the lady to have her things on our ship. I hope it's not too much trouble."

Mel's father opened his mouth to speak, but Harriett beat him to it, holding his shoulder and shaking her head. She looked up at the woman. "We would be glad. Thank you very much, Madam..."

The old woman's smile returned, the corners of her eyes wrinkling. "Eustace. Just call me Eustace."

Eustace had apparently turned out to be Mel's mother-in-law and this panicked her to some extent. But the old woman's good graces, soft countenance, and charisma set Mel and her whole family at ease. Although her brother, Enmel, was somewhat aloof, he didn't have much of a presence. The castle received the guests from Orion with morbid curiosity. While Eustace and Enmel were tall and slender-figured, some of the Orions that came to rest in the castle were huge.

This left Mel questioning what her husband would look like, but she was too shy to ask the old woman, and Eustace didn't say much about her son. The reason they had taken such a long time to get in contact with Urn in regards to the union was that they had encountered a few inconveniences on their end. That aside from the fact that some of their men had to go deep into the woods to hunt for rare creatures and materials that only appeared during a certain time frame within the span of every few decades.

Eustace apologized for the delay and brought along numerous gifts for Mel's family, which led to a small send-off party for the young lady. Contrary to what had been expected, Mel had a pleasant evening that day, and the rest of the after-party was spent dining with Eustace, Enmel, and the rest of her family.

And for the first time since she was little, Mel spent the night in her parents' bed, as a last goodbye.