"Ba!" Raya called out, seeing her father down below her. He looked her way, his smile visible even at a distance. He raised a hand, and then called her down with a simple wave. Raya didn't need further invitation. She ran down the staircase, but near the bottom, her foot went right through a wooden plank. She just managed to catch herself on the railing.

"Dewdrop, are you okay?" Her father asked, jogging over to her.

She held up a hand, catching her breath after the sudden spike of adrenaline. He got to her, kneeling to inspect her leg.

"I'm okay." She said, pulling her foot back through the broken and rotted wood.

"Whoa, okay. Not too fast now. We need to make sure you didn't twist anything. Or worse."

"It feels fine. Nothing but a few scraps."

"Here, sit down," Benja said like he didn't really hear her.

"Dad," Raya said, placing her hands on his cheeks to get his attention, "I'm okay."

He hesitated, but nodded, "If you're sure."

"I am. The only bruises are to my ego."

"Well, knowing you, that heals quicker than a twisted ankle. I'll make a note about this one too," He said indicating to the broken board.

This was hardly an isolated incident in the recent days for Heart. With no upkeep over six years, several buildings and structures had deteriorated. The number of rotten boards they found only grew with each day. There was a whole training barracks they had to condemn, the condition being beyond repair.

"At least I didn't fall on my face."

"You mean like you did the other day."

"Dad," Raya ribbed him, as he laughed. The embarrassment flushed her face, but he just brought her into a side hug. She couldn't help but lean into him, savoring the moment for a few seconds. At a leisurely pace, they slowly made their way around the grounds.

"How was dealing with the Ta and Danh families?"

"Never ask me to handle a property dispute again."

He gave her a sympathetic smile, "I know it couldn't have been easy, making that choice, but from your letter, you seemed to have found a good compromise."

"You mean Namaari saved my ass with a solution."

"Yes, but I think I put it more eloquently."

She rolled her eyes.

"Raya, you helped our people. And taking them to Fang will only help our long-term goal. We need to dissolve the idea that borders separate us. Needing help doesn't mean you failed."

"Just that I'm not good enough to do it by myself."

"I don't think it's human nature to do anything by ourselves. To need help, is to be human."

"Then why does it feel like a failure."

Benja hummed, folding his arms, "It's only a failure if you choose to not better yourself. You've found where you're lacking. Learn from this so next time you can be the offering help instead of needing it."

"Next time I'll probably do the same thing. How else am I going to ask a family to leave their home?"

"And where is the wrong in that? From your letter, Fang seems a perfectly lovely place to live. You seem excited to be there."

Raya hoped the heat she felt on her cheeks wasn't showing. "It's..." She shrugged instead of answering, "It feels good to help them. Helping their construction is a lot easier than dealing with another property dispute."

Benja chuckled.

"How have things been here?" Raya asked.

"A continuous string of developing issues. But there is good news."

"Oh, please tell me the good news."

"Our first harvest of rice came in."

"That's great news."

"But the bad news is several of the granaries aren't useable. So we don't have space to store all the rice safely."

"So I guess we'll be having rice with every meal for a while."

"I sent a message to your friend with the boat restaurant. I figured his family could put some of the excess to good use."

"That gives me an idea. Do you think we could give some to Fang?"

"The rice? Of course. I'll arrange the transport."

"No needed. I'll catch a ride with Boun."

"You're going back to Fang so soon?"

Raya stopped walking, "Is that okay?"

"Of course." He smiled, "It just feels like I've barely seen you recently."

"Things have been busy you know," Raya said quickly, "I'm never that far away."

He nodded, but his smile looked a little sad.

Raya gave a whistle as she descended the makeshift ladder into the chamber before.

"I've been gone a few days. When you said you were busy, I didn't think you meant this busy."

The chamber was lit brightly now, torches secured along the walls every few feet. Most of the water was drained now, with only a few ankle-high pools remaining. There was a crude elevator system in place, being used to haul material and jade to the surface.

Namaari gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Things have been going in our favor, which is surely a sign something bad is lurking on the horizon."

"I think the dramatic way we found this in the first place was the bad luck. I'd say you're due for smooth sailing from this point forward."

Namaari chuckled, sitting on the edge of a platform. Raya joined her, watching a container filled with jade being loaded onto the elevator.

"I'm a little surprised you returned as soon as you did."

Raya shrugged, "I just wanted to see my dad. I don't like being away from him for more than a few days. But at the same time, it's weird being home again. It's so full of life now. And people."

"But you're happy to have him back, aren't you?"

"Of course. It's everything I wanted. I just never thought about, how different things would be. It was six years for me. For him no time had passed. I was a kid when he last me and then I wasn't. He's not the only one. So many of the staff, the people I grew up around. I don't feel like I fit in at the palace anymore."

"Everyone's had to adjust to this. Things will feel normal again. Just give it time."

"What does normal even mean anymore? It wasn't that long ago when normal for you and me would be trying to kill each other."

"I was trying to capture you."

Raya arched a brow.

"Mostly," Namaari amended, "You were very good at getting under my skin and I let that get to me sometimes okay. I was never trying to kill you. Injury you, maybe."

Raya snorted at that.

"Wait, does this mean you were trying to kill me?"

Heat rose up the back of Raya's neck, "We were using sharpened weapons. It was not the intention, but I was prepared for that to be the consequence. But it's beside the point. I just meant that I don't know if I want to return to what was normal. That's the whole reason things are so awkward."

Namaari looked at her curiously at that. The heat on the back of her neck was impossible to ignore. Raya rubbed at the nape.

"I'm pretty sure they still think of me as that kid."

She saw the way Namaari's lip twitched.

"And you think that's funny."

"No. No." Namaari shook her head, covering her lips with the back of her hand.

Raya rolled her eyes. "I would laugh if our places were reversed."

Namaari cleared her throat, composing herself, "And that's where we differ."

"Oh, so you'll only laugh when my back is turned."

"No," Namaari said, genuine sincerity slipping into her voice, "It must be hard, having friends and family who don't know you anymore."

"I used to see them every day. And I don't know how to talk with them anymore."

"Why not stay in Heart then? Spending more time with your father seems like the fastest way to bridge the distance."

Raya sighed, "I'm the Princess of Heart. Our people need help everywhere."

"Then why are you in Fang?" Namaari's eyes narrowed.

"Raya's cheeks darkened, "Because I don't know to be a Princess anymore. I've kind of been hoping if I follow you around enough I'll pick something up."

Namaari snorted, "I'm the example you're following?"

"Well I'm not going to Talon for advice."

Smiling, Namaari placed a hand on Raya's back, "What about Tail? You've got their anti-social traits down already."

Raya shoved her hand away, "That's what I'm trying to break."

"You're something, you know that?"

"What you mean?"

"Most people, immediately after stopping the end of our civilization as we know it, would think that's enough."

"Most people weren't raised by my father."

"A ruler is as much a servant to the people as they are to them," Namaari said.

"Yeah, something like that."

"My mother says that."

"I guess our folks aren't that different."

Namaari's lips quirked, "If only they'd figured that out a few years ago."

"Nah, you wouldn't want that. Imagine how boring your life would have been if you hadn't spent the last six years chasing me down."

Namaari punched Raya's shoulder as she laughed.

"Someone thinks they're important."

"You're the one who insists I'm the savior of our people at every turn," Raya said.

"I-" Namaari's cheek flushed and she looked away, sweeping her hair behind her ear, "I was just pointing out the obvious."

Raya snickered, "Then I'll keep pointing out the obvious that I wasn't the only one there that day. It was a group effort. And speaking off, I was all ready to help around here. But it doesn't seem like you need any."

"This find has revitalized spirits. The jade puts us in a better position with our expansion, but it's still only a fraction of what we need to pull us out of the red."

"Is there any way Heart can help?"

Namaari shook her head, "Mother would never to agree to it. And I agree with her in this case. If Kumandra is going to work, all the tribes need to have equal footing as we move forward. Fang wouldn't have that if we were indebted to Heart."

"It wouldn't be a debt."

"My people won't see it like that."

Raya looked guilty which caught Namaari's attention, "What's wrong?"

"If that's how you feel, then there is something I should tell you…"

Sinn and Tuk Tuk crested the path to the docks. Boun saw them first waving eagerly as he put down a sack that was half his height, giving Raya a quick hug. He moved to do the same for Namaari, but she walked past him, inspecting the sack he'd been carrying.

"Okay, no hug then," He said, a little dejected.

Namaari turned on Raya, who instantly put her hands up, "I just wanted to help. I thought this would be fine."

Namaari sighed, rubbing her brow.

"It's a gift."

"We can't accept this and you know it."

"Are you not taking the rice? Can we take it then?" Boun asked.

"No," Raya said to him, without taking her eyes off of Namaari, "If it makes you feel better we're giving rations to all the tribes. These just happen to be from our first harvest."

"That's…" Namaari huffed, hands on her hips, "Doesn't really help me feel better about this." She saw Boun's father bringing two more sacks over his shoulders and her eyes went wide when she saw him add them to an already large pile"How much did you send for us?"

"The excess we didn't have the space to store. Really you're doing us a favor by taking it off our hands."

"Why does that feel like a lie?"

"It's a half-truth," Raya said, making Namaari give a short laugh.

"Weren't you the one just talking about not knowing how to be a leader? You've got the doublespeak down."

"Look. We have a lot that fell into disrepair the past few years. Our granaries among that list. We really didn't have a way to store this long-term. When I mentioned to my father, he thought it giving it to you made more sense than letting it go to waste."

Namaari didn't look convinced.

"Okay, okay." Raya said, her hands up, "A gift is hard to accept. I get that. So this isn't a gift. You've paid for it."

"Well, that's an outright lie."

"No, it's not." Raya took Namaari's arm, holding it as she slipped one of the gold bracelets on her arm off, "You paid me with this."

"Raya that's hardly…"

"Wow, you sure know to negotiate. You really beat me down, but I absolutely can't go any lower." Raya said, her voice exaggerated. She nudged Boun next to her, "Isn't she a great negotiator?"

"I don't really know what's happening right now."

Raya glared at him with a 'come on' expression.

"There isn't anything wrong with the rice if that's what you're worried about. We cooked with some today from the same crop. The best congee we've made in months."

Raya snapped her fingers, "Boun, that's a great idea. Can you make enough congee for everyone here?"

"With a big enough pot, easily."

"Do you know who Atitaya is? She'll be able to direct you to someone who can get you the equipment you need. Namaari won't be able to say no once she tastes how good the rice is."

"Atitaya is the serious-looking general right? I'll find her." He ran back to their boat, having a quick conversation with his family before he and his sister ran off.

Namaari watched all this before looking back at Raya. She crossed her arms.

"I didn't agree to any of this."

"You needed the food and we have food we needed to get rid of. It's win-win, all around."

She rubbed her brow, "The most annoying part of this is you make it so hard to be mad at you."

Raya's smile grew a little at that, a little smug, but mostly she looked genuinely pleased.

"I hope mother doesn't hear about this until tomorrow. I don't want to get chewed out for this right now."

"Come on, let's go help with the cooking."

Next time, Namaari's mother finds out. Also, other fun stuff.

Nardragon- until the next page.