Shersheba sat on her knees on the floor. Her hands were tied up behind her back and a blindfold lay around her neck. She seemed shaken but unharmed.
Her eyes lit up when she recognised him. "Jason!"
He waited until the guard had laid down the plate with food in front of her, cut the robe around her wrinkles and left the hut.
"You're okay?" he wanted to know while sitting down cross-legged on the floor as for the lack of chairs.
She rubbed her wrinkles and nodded. "Yes. I certainly didn't expect them to make me their princess again but after meeting with Merein again, I kinda hoped..."
"Yeah," he replied when she didn't finish the sentence. "I know what you mean."
She grabbed a piece of bread. "I tried to explain to them what really happened with Malakat. What he did. His true motives."
She took a bite and chew before she ran on. "They twisted every word I said. They must have been brainwashed, even before we went down to Earth the first time."
"Well, they accuse you of being brainwashed by us," Jason responded.
"I feel so stupid," Shersheba murmured. "It took Malakat one word and they all turned against me. How could I not see this?"
She gave him an apologising look. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I know we had a deal."
Jason shrugged. "That's alright. Coming here made me realise leaving the past behind is much more difficult than I thought. Malakat's spirit imprinted itself on your people. It's spreading like poison, making it somehow impossible to find closure, leaving huge scars at least."
"Scars are usually not for the worst," Shersheba took over his line of thoughts. "They remind you of the mistakes you made. Remind you of the pain. We have to make them feel it again somehow. And make them see it's Malakat who is causing it."
She took another bite.
"We might just found the way to do that," he said slowly and she looked up from her bread.
"And they really agreed with this?" she asked after he had finished explaining his idea.
Jason shook his head. "No, not yet. But I hope they will reach a decision soon. Preparing such a trial will require a lot of time. We'll have to sight a lot of evidence, and talk to witnesses ..."
"I will testify against Malakat," she promised.
"That will certainly help your case." The words escaped him before he could stop himself.
The realisation about what they meant for her was dawning on her face, the shock making him want to slap himself. This was not the way, he had intended to give her the bad news.
"Shersheba," he started ruefully, "I'm sorry, I ..."
"No," she cut him quietly, her shoulders sagged. Obviously lost of appetite, she put the piece of bread back on the plate.
"I know this wasn't your decision," she said in a sad tone, "but it would have been more decent if the child regent had told me herself instead of sending you once again for the dirty work."
"No, it's not like that," he assured her. "I wanted to tell you myself. I'm sorry for doing it so insensitively."
She gave him a sad smile. "Bad news are never delivered in a comfortable way."
"Yeah, but I still feel like I'm sort of betraying you," he replied. "I mean, you're trying so hard and I just throw it back into your face like nothing's changed."
"It's not you," Shersheba said gently. "Mera has been on my case ever since. I knew she would come at me if she found a way."
Jason sighed. "I'm afraid this is somehow not just about you personally but more about me."
"About you?" she asked startled. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," he responded and tucked up his legs, arms wrapped around his knees. "Lately, Neri is ..." … feeling jealous and Mera implied there is something going on between us.
"Mera thinks, you took me the Archali Islands on purpose," he changed his reply to a less personal level. "She told me that the blue pollen is also so be found in the air. Explained the effects, all the effects."
He couldn't help slightly blushing and the knowing smirk of Shersheba certainly made things worse.
"Ah," she made, and he avoided her gaze. "She thinks I took you there to seduce you."
"Yeah," he murmured, uncomfortably shifting on the ground. When he finally made eye contact again, her mocking smirk had disappeared. Instead, she watched him with a serious expression.
"If I tried to seduce you," she said slowly, "be assured, you'd be fully conscious."
"Thanks," he replied, trying to get the heat out of his cheeks, unsure if to feel better or worse.
"Jason, I know how you men of Earth think about extramarital mating," Shersheba added. "And I doubt, Neri would consent. If I can ever hope to reinstate my status and reputation, I certainly won't succeed by trying to get my future queen's heart in the sack!"
Her light tone and her unusually colloquial words made him grin. "I know you didn't take me to the temple intentionally," he responded then. "Maybe in the past, you would have tried that, but you changed. Sooner or later Mera will acknowledge that as well."
"You really believe that?" she wanted to know. "That I changed?"
He nodded. "Yes, and you know what? You set me straight. You were honest with me when I needed it. And the promise we gave each other … If overcoming such kind of personal struggle is a step made together if that doesn't make us friends, what does?"
"Friends?" she mouthed, her voice slightly shaking, her face at the same time hopeful and disbelieving. "You're not messing with me, are you, Jason? To get me to agree to the trial?" She leant forward. "That's not necessary. I'm gonna do it either way."
"I know," Jason replied, "and I'll help you get through it. Because as for my part, I am your friend, Shersheba."
Her heartfelt smile was so radiant it was infectious. Shersheba had always been an eye-catcher but now, with no arrogance left, she seemed even prettier to him.
Slightly embarrassed, he looked the other way to avoid turning red again, searching his mind for something to say to change the subject.
"What does heart actually mean?" he wanted to know. "First, I thought, it means partner or something, but people keep calling me that, emphasising it in this certain way."
Her expression changes into confusion and disbelief again. "They didn't tell you?" she asked, frowning.
He had certainly not expected to leave this room overly happy after bringing the bad news to Shersheba. But when he finally inhaled the fresh night air outside the hut, his stomach felt like as if a knife was slowly turned around in his flesh, cutting his insides into pieces.