Raya walked through the palace as quickly as she could without making it obvious that she was hurrying, nodding to the guards and attendants she passed in the hallways. When she reached the entrance to the main courtyard, she raised her hand to block the morning sun from her face, searching for where Atitāya was waiting for her. She spotted Atitāya leaning against the outer wall just to the right of the main gate and waved to get her attention before heading in her direction.
Raya waited until she was within earshot of Atitāya, then gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry I'm late. I was in the middle of writing a letter and the time just got away from me."
Atitāya tilted her head to the side, raising one of her eyebrows. "A letter? You don't strike me as the letter-writing type."
Raya shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm usually not. But this one is for Namaari, so…" she trailed off, blushing as Atitāya continued to stare at her. She cleared her throat and turned so her back was to the wall, mirroring Atitāya's position as she leaned against it.
Raya was about to speak again when she saw a group of about a dozen children emerge from the palace as Virana tried to shepherd them across the courtyard. She grinned as the kids darted around Virana, yelling questions so loudly that she could hear them from where she and Atitaya were standing.
"Virana is better with kids than I thought she would be," Raya said, gesturing toward the group as they moved toward the road that ran between the row of houses next to the palace.
Atitāya didn't say anything for a moment, watching as Virana and the children moved down the road and out of sight. "Children are easy to talk to. They're eager to please and will believe most things that adults tell them," she said, crossing her arms and drumming her fingers against her forearm. "It's much harder to talk with their parents. They have opinions and problems that they expect you to fix."
Raya nodded but couldn't think of anything to say in response.
Atitāya pushed away from the wall and gestured for Raya to follow her as she headed for the main gate. She waited until Raya fell into step beside her before speaking again. "Today we're going to visit all of the new villages. I want to speak with as many people as we can—laborers, farmers, artisans, council members. We need to find out what's going well and what issues still need to be addressed."
"That sounds like a good plan," Raya said, smiling at Atitāya. She winced slightly when Atitāya didn't smile back, and quickly looked away.
They walked in silence for several moments as they crossed the bridge leading from Fang's major settlement to the mainland. Raya shoved her hands into her pockets so Atitāya wouldn't see her fidgeting while she searched for something to say. Atitāya didn't seem bothered by the silence, her eyes wandering idly over their surroundings as they stepped off the bridge and onto the dirt road that ran alongside the canal.
"Fang was lucky," Raya said, tilting her head toward the river. "The canal was a pretty ingenious way to keep the Druun away."
Atitāya's brow furrowed slightly. "It did keep the Druun away, yes. But cutting ourselves off from the mainland cost us dearly."
"But there really wasn't any other choice, was there? Water was the only thing besides the Gem pieces that kept the Druun back."
"That's true. But Virana made the decision to start the canal so quickly that we didn't have time to think about everything we would lose." Atitāya frowned, her lips pressing into a thin line. "We used to have dozens of villages on the mainland. Every single one had farms, blacksmiths, food stores, shops, artisan halls. All of that had to be abandoned. And we're only just now starting to pick up the pieces."
Raya opened and closed her mouth several times before she was able to think of a response. "The Druun took a lot from everyone," she said finally.
Atitāya let out a long, slow breath before speaking again. "The plan to steal the Dragon Gem was another one we rushed into. Benja's invitation to join the other nations in Heart took us by surprise, and I'm not sure we chose the best path." Her eyes flicked to Raya. "Especially considering it put the fate of the world in the hands of two children."
Raya held Atitāya's gaze despite the confusing mess of emotions that surged through her. Atitāya maintained eye contact for several more seconds, then something in her face changed, but she looked away too quickly for Raya to identify it. Raya took several deep breaths, willing her emotions to settle as her eyes drifted between the flashes of sunlight glinting off the small waves in the river.
"It's good to have someone with me today," Atitāya said, her expression shifting into something that Raya could almost call a smile. "Before the Druun came back, I used to take this walk between the villages often with Virana, and Namaari joined us once she was old enough." She sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, we haven't picked it up again, even with everything we've rebuilt so far."
"Well, then I'm glad I'm here to keep you company today," Raya said, smiling at Atitāya.
Neither of them spoke as they continued down the road, but Raya felt her shoulders relax as their silence became more comfortable.