Chapter 44 I'll Be On Disguise

Chapter 44 I'll Be On Disguise
🐝ELIAS🐝

The voice jolted me. Garin was waving from ahead with his little boy. “We’re here. This is the house.”

I didn't know if everyone else had brought their child along as I was only noticing Garin with his child.

The group split. The other men diverted to different homes, calling out light goodbyes. Garin and I walked toward a smaller structure tucked between two larger ones.

“We’re living alone?” I asked, not because I cared about company.

Garin grinned, eyes bright with some joke I didn’t understand.
“You’re lucky,” he said. “Plenty of privacy. You and the lady will be fine.”

Lady?

I scoffed under my breath. What lady? Surely he didn’t mean

No. It didn’t matter. I didn’t care.

Garin pushed open the door, and I stepped inside. The house wasn’t large—barely more than a small common area, a simple kitchen with stone counters, and two, maybe three rooms branching off the dim hallway. The air smelled faintly of clay and something sweet, maybe from herbs left drying near the window.

It showed signs that people had lived here before. Could it be that some kind of rule like this had been implemented before?

Or could it be…he said the woman. Consort and a sacrifice. It couldn't be. She is not from this land so she can't be forced to partake in it.

He led me to one of the rooms.

“This will be yours.”

I stepped in. The bed wasn’t a bed, not in the way I knew it. No posts, no height—just a floorboard with a thick cloth laid over it to soften the hardness. The walls were plain.

I dropped my bag…. the woven sack I carried all the way from home—onto the floor beside the low bed. The heaviness left my shoulder but climbed into my chest instead.

Slowly, I sat. The bed dipped a little under my weight, but not enough to offer real comfort. My hands dangled between my knees. My breath stretched long and tight.

This place was strange.
Quiet.
Unfamiliar.

And Seraphina wasn’t here.

For the first time since arriving in the Still City, the room felt too empty. Too quiet. Too real. Like it had always been back in my kingdom. The same stillness and loneliness.

This is peace!

🍯SERAPHINA🍯

I stayed in the room long after Elias left, my feet glued to the floor as if the very ground wanted me to remain where he abandoned me. My mind spiraled, unsure whether what just happened meant the end of everything. The end of the plan. The end of our reluctant alliance. The end of… whatever had begun forming inside me.

I didn’t even hear the door open until a soft shuffle and the scent of warm broth drifted in.

The elderly woman stepped in first, slow and steady, and Liora followed behind her, carrying a plate of food. I shot to my feet immediately, my body reacting out of instinct rather than will.

“We brought you something to eat,” the elderly woman said gently.

Liora set the plate on the small table. I mumbled a thank you and sat down again, picking up the spoon with a hand that trembled slightly. The first bite tasted like nothing. The second felt like sand. And halfway through, I dropped the spoon entirely. My head was too full, my chest too tight, my heart too bruised to even pretend to eat.

I wasn't like this before,even in my down moment, I would always ensure I stuff myself. But now—what is taking over my thoughts?

I didn’t realize they were watching me until the elderly woman finally spoke.

“This is not the end.”

My head snapped up.

The woman’s eyes, steady and wise, flickered toward Liora, silently urging her to continue. Liora stepped forward, her smile warm—so warm it nearly unraveled me.

“Back in the days,” Liora began, voice soft but full of conviction, “our people did whatever was within their power to protect the ones they loved. To protect the ones they were born and destined to protect.”

The words sank into me, heavy yet comforting. It dawned on me like it was what I wanted and needed to hear.

I swallowed. “You’re… not freaked out? That Garin is away?”

Liora shook her head, her earrings swaying gently. “No. I know everything is happening for a reason. And you—” she reached out and touched my hand lightly, “—you should not let my sacrifice go in vain.”

Her sacrifice.

Her sacrifice to have her husband away?

My throat tightened painfully. “So I should… take action.”

“That is exactly what I mean,” she whispered.

The elderly woman nodded as though that was her cue to leave, and she slipped out quietly, closing the door behind her.

The moment she left, my thoughts swirled—wild, desperate, searching for a path. Something. Anything.

There has to be a way. A way to get to Elias. A way to continue the ritual. A way to save the kingdom.

And then, like lightning striking dry earth, the idea hit me.

I gasped and looked at Liora. “I can… dress as a male. I can join the other men at the house.”

Liora’s eyes widened, and then her smile bloomed again. “Yes. Yes, that is a very good idea.”

She turned at once, moving to the large wooden chest at the foot of the room. She opened it and began rummaging through the contents—old garments, tools, and folded cloths. One by one, she pulled things out and placed them on the bed:

A blade.
A plain shirt.
Male trousers.
A pair of worn boots.
A belt.
And a few small items that would help disguise me better.

My gaze landed on the blade last, its metal shimmering faintly in the morning light.

My heart thudded.

Cutting my hair…
I had never done it—not once since childhood. Not a single trim. Not a single snip.

A part of me felt like I was cutting away the last piece of who I was. A part of me trembled in fear.

But I straightened my back.

My kingdom is at risk. The poor…ungrateful Elias and I have to complete the ritual.
This is the only way.

I would not fail my people. I would not let Liora’s sacrifice mean nothing.

And I would not leave Elias alone. Not in this strange place. Not when he knew no one. Not when the world was turning against both of us.

I inhaled.

“I’ll do it,” I whispered, mostly to myself.

But the blade gleamed again, as if reminding me that once I took this step… there would be no going back.