Chương 43: I Was Told There Would Be a Sea Dragon

"Are they bothering the village or construction?" Tori frowned as she sat on a chair in the front of the dining hall during the weekly meeting. She knew that this most recent annoyance was her fault, and it made the irritation she felt worse.

"The visitors have not been able to go to the islands, so they haven't gotten in the way," Professor Meyer said from his seat in the front.

"However, there have been requests to visit the islands."

"We have made the precaution of refusing to bring anyone to the island who wasn't working at the construction sites and have implemented boat assignments and schedules to make sure that only those working on the islands are ferried across to them." Mr. Cerna was managing the village labor that was working on the islands. He used to run the largest mill in the village before they fled and his past experience organizing and dealing with people made him suitable for the job.

"Excellent work, Mr. Cerna," Tori said with an acknowledging nod. She looked towards another man who ran a small goods store in the village in the past.

"Mr. Vesely, is the stockyard experiencing any problems with unwanted visitors?" A large, middle-aged man with a large scar down the side of his face stood up and shook his head.

"No, my lady. The stockyard is well guarded by both the allocated imperial guards and village patrols. All visitors are turned away."

"Where else have these visitors been going?" Tori asked, still frowning. She looked towards Johan, who was part of the committee overseeing the organization in the encampment.

"It has proven difficult to keep unwanted visitors from the encampment. By now, we're all familiar with the students and staff from Université and others employed by you to oversee the construction. The additional master masons and carpenters are also familiar and most remain in the southeast quadrant, where their lodgings and facilities are. They rarely come through the rest of the encampment, but there have been visitors who have walked through." Tori took a deep breath.

"I don't want to put a fence around the encampment to keep them out. We're not animals," she said in a low, annoyed voice. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the members of the village who were present.

"I'm opening the floor to suggestions. What can be done to limit the curious visitors who are coming to the delta?" News of the construction on the delta had prompted a wave of curious onlookers from Horizon, and other wealthier areas in the region, to come and essentially be tourists. Normally, Tori would have nothing against that, but not right now.

The village had nothing to offer in terms of services, activities, or general infrastructure, and unaffiliated people at a construction site was a no-go to begin with. This started a few months earlier with just one or two people coming to the encampment. It was attributed to curiosity over the construction. The individuals didn't get in the way and seemed to remain at a respectful distance. Villagers had noted people standing further up the road, simply looking at the rows of tents.

Then the 'visitors' started coming closer and became more numerous and frequent. It wasn't the villagers who told Tori, but the professors who were concerned that the visitors would get in the way or cause an accident wandering around unescorted. Luckily, none had made it to the islands and Tori wanted to keep it that way. The delta was a legitimate construction site and even she only went to check on the islands with supervision.

Not to mention she didn't know if the visitors were all just curious or had other, more malicious, intent.

"My lady, there is currently only one road leading to the village. It is possible to put up a gate that restricts access," someone said from the crowd.

"I believe we should also put-up notices that non-laborers and personnel unaffiliated with the construction are not allowed in the construction areas."

"This is a safety concern, as well," Professor Grey added in agreement.

"Someone could get hurt or cause others to get hurt if they are a distraction."

"All right, I will have formal signs made in Horizon noting access restrictions to both the encampment and the islands, to be posted on the road and at the dock," Tori said.

"Tomorrow, we should select a suitable location on the road to put up a gate. Professor Meyer, please suggest what material to use. Mr. Vesely, please source what material is needed from the stockyard once decided. I will leave the building and division of labor to Mr. Cerna to organize."

"What should we do if they bypass the gate?" someone else asked.

"Do not allow them into communal areas and request that for their own safety, they are not to proceed within the encampment due to construction," Tori said.

"If they wish to come, what we can do is organize a festival later this year to introduce visitors to what goods the village plans to sell and take them on tours around the islands. The test island should be completed by then and this would both satisfy their curiosity and give us the opportunity to display what we've accomplished so far. I will allow this; however, this is your village and I believe you should have a say in such an event. Let's take this as a call to action and decide at a later time."

Many people nodded their heads and murmurs of agreement circulated the dining tent. Tori continued to sit and listen to various reports and acknowledgements for another hour before the meeting ended. When it was over, a few people followed Tori to her tent to discuss a few finer details as well as go over the schedule for the summer.

Université was a research institution and while classes typically followed the same schedule as Lycée, Université was technically year-round, with most professors and students spending the summer months doing research elsewhere, like Uncle Maurizo in Alpine Valley. In the case of the delta, there were many more students who applied for firsthand experience. Professor Meyer and Professor Grey submitted a request to work on a second test island, one that was larger and eyed for workshops with ovens and furnaces.

There would be heavier equipment, wide spaces needed, and heat involved. Planning the island would require additional work so as not to overcrowd it.

"I approve this proposal," Tori said as she circled some things on the paper.

"However, before wood or coal burning kilns are installed, I'd like to have some tests done with the carnelian ovens my instructor and I have been developing as an extension of the cooking plates. After the final exams, I will bring Instructor Ignatius to the delta with two baking ovens and a glass furnace built with assistance from Daybreak Garden."

"I'm excited to see the models," Mr. Cerna said.

"The cooking plates are very useful and they're holding their charge well."

"How large are the baking ovens?" Johan asked.

"We made them a standard kitchen size. Both are working and we've made bread in them," Tori said.

"We are waiting for some carnelian to come in so we can have four more built and spread amongst the kitchens. Going back to the additional students arriving, how many will there be? We will need to allocate more tent space and supplies for them."

"There are fifteen, Lady Guevera. All will be in their third or fourth year come the fall," Professor Grey told her.

"I will allocate two more tents to be put in the southeast quadrant," Tori said.

"And increase supplies to account for the newcomers." The list of topics went on and on. Medicinal plants had arrived. Three more boats suitable for fishing arrived. Small groups had headed out to do some fishing with the visiting fishermen. The hospitality committee was to expect four teachers to be coming over the summer to meet the children and get a better idea of where they were moving to come autumn. Things were moving along and by the time the last person left her tent, Tori was exhausted.

So many things were happening at once, it was a task even for her to keep track of. She looked at her satchel hanging on the back of her chair and crinkled her eyes. She hadn't opened her books or notes to review yet. She had a day and a half to review before her first final exams at the beginning of the week.

"Lady Guevera?" a voice asked from the entrance of her tent. Tori lifted her head.

"Yes?"

"It's Margo Sima. May I have a moment of your time?"

"You may enter." Tori sat back down behind her desk and folded her hands together, waiting for the woman to enter.

"How may I help you, Miss Sima?"

"My lady, the students from the biology department of Université have entrusted us with noting flora and fauna in the area and, recently, we've taken one of the larger vessels towards the mouth of the lagoon," Margo said, appearing excited as she rushed into the tent.

"On the last two excursions, we've noted some large animals in the water, but are unable to identify them."

"How big are they?" Tori asked.

"We're unsure, but they spit out what appears to be steam," Margo said. Tori narrowed her eyes.

"Steam? You're sure it's steam?"

"We've spoken to the villagers at the fishing village on the mouth of the gulf and they told us that there are legends of steam breathing sea dragons-""Hold on, hold on." Tori could feel some excitement bubbling in her stomach. She stood up and placed her hands on the desk.

"Steam breathing sea dragons?"

"They are large creatures that match the description of what we saw," Margo said with wide eyes.

"Where did you see them?"

"The mouth of the lagoon, where it opens to the gulf." Tori ground her teeth together. She didn't want to get her hopes up. It was probably dolphins or whales wandering into brackish waters. But at the same time, what if fantasy animals did exist, but they weren't what she thought they were because they were normalized in the world of Soleil and weren't considered 'fantasy'? Maybe Kasen misunderstood her when she asked. After all, he did look at her strangely when she brought it up.

The few books with animals she'd looked at were pretty standard and focused on land animals, so they weren't all encompassing. Margo was talking about a sea dragon. A big one, so it couldn't be the sea dragon that was a glorified pipefish-sea horse hybrid she was familiar with in her original world. No, even a giant sea dragon that's like the sea dragons I saw at aquariums would be good enough. It was possible. The ocean was vast. And this world had magic in the form of crystals and charms. Tori bit her lower lip.

She wanted to see it, but there was no guarantee she'd be able to run into them if she went out. Also, she really needed to review for her exams. Those were guaranteed to happen, and she was a student; she needed to study. That was the responsible thing to do and deep down, she was a responsible adult. The sea breeze felt great against her face and Tori took a moment to close her eyes and relish the light salty scent in the air.

The sun was shining down on her, the air was cool, and she wrapped her wrist with a strip of cloth over a round crystal on her acupoint to keep herself from getting seasick. She opened her eyes and looked out towards the mouth of the lagoon and the shoreline in the distance.

"And this is where you were when you saw them last?" she asked as she sat on a wooden bench, in the shade of the boat's sail. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Should she have been back in her tent, reviewing her notes and cross-referencing her books in preparation for her final exams? Yes. Was she instead on a large fishing vessel with Margo and four other people, sailing hours away from the shore in a possibly vain attempt to look for sea dragons? Also, yes.

I am a responsible adult, but also... sea dragons.

"Yes, my lady. This is where we last saw them. From here, we can see the shoreline and beyond there is the gulf," one of the men on the boat told her.

"We come out to practice using the boats daily."

"You've gotten quite good. Have you started fishing yet?"

"Not this far away, no," the man told her.

"The fishermen from Glaukos accompany us and have been showing us how to use nets closer to the islands, but our tools are still limited, and we are still learning the methods." Tori nodded.

"More nets should arrive soon." She looked out towards the calm water.

"How many times have you seen the creatures?"

"I've seen them several times!"

"When was the first time you saw them?"

"Roughly... two or three weeks ago, my lady." Is it possible that they're coming in from the gulf for migratory reasons? Did sea dragons migrate? Wait... what if it's just a giant crocodile. Tori's eyes narrowed. Would there be crocodiles in the area? If there were sea dragons, she'd assume anything was possible. Of course, despite her hope of seeing a fantasy creature up close, a large part of her already knew what the sightings were probably of.

"There!" Someone shouted from the bow of the boat.

"I see one!" Please don't just be whales. Please don't just be whales. Tori held her breath and turned around just as a cloud of mist shot into the air from a large, dark lump that broke the surface of the water. Her eyes crinkled up and she drew her lips into a tight line.

"There it is! I've never seen anything like it!" one of the men said with a voice filled with awe and excitement.

"I wonder how big it actually is!"

"Oh, there's another one! How many are there?" If this was also her first time seeing an unknown creature - no, if this was her first-time whale watching, Tori would've been caught up in their excitement. But it wasn't.

"Lady Guevera," Margo said beside her as she kept her wonder-filled eyes on the water as a few dark shadows moved beneath the surface.

"What do you think they are?" Tori swallowed.

"They're whales. And that's not steam. That's mist and a bit of mucus." She slowly sat back down on the wooden bench, unable to contain the defeat on her face. It wasn't that she didn't like whales; she did. Except, she really hoped to see sea dragons or at the very least, something that wasn't a large and familiar marine animal.

"Lady Guevera?" Another person furrowed their brows and looked towards her, concerned.

"Are you all right? Are you getting seasick?" She barely registered his words as she muttered to herself.

"Part of me expected this, yet I'm still massively disappointed."

"Pardon?" Tori closed her eyes and slumped forward.

"It's nothing," she said.

"I'm fine."

"Whales, you say?" Margo asked, holding on to the mast as she leaned forward.

"What are those?"

"They're large marine mammals, that is, warm blooded animals that breathe air. When you see that bump on the surface and then the mist, that's them breathing. They can hold their breaths for a long time and the mist comes from blowholes, which are like our nostrils," Tori said in a dull voice.

"These particular ones are baleen whales, meaning they eat little floating sea creatures that get stuck in their brush-like teeth. They're harmless to humans and live in family groups called pods."

"Then this is a family?" Margo asked. Tori nodded and the other woman's smile widened.

"That's wonderful...."

"Do you think they will come closer to the delta?" one of the men asked.

"Unlikely since the water needs to be quite deep, and they're a saltwater animal, but you never know. Sometimes, they can wander closer. Some whales are known to be curious about us," Tori said. The thought made her smile a bit.

"They're amazing creatures." She leaned against the side of the boat and watched the whales surface every now and then. She briefly remembered going whale watching in Seattle with her friends and they saw whales, but the whales were in Canadian waters, and they couldn't get closer. Tori furrowed her brows. Now that she thought about it, this was the closest she'd gotten to baleen whales. Part of her wanted to stick her hand in the water and see if she could attract their attention, but she decided against it.

She didn't want to disturb the whales nor terrify the rest of the boat if one did come closer.

"You can tell the biology students when they return about the whales. I'm sure they'll be excited to know that they've come this far," Tori said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they'll insist on going out to see them."

"They are very interesting to watch," someone said.

"I like it when they... breathe?" Tori nodded.

"Spouting. In the open ocean, some jump part way out of the water and you can see part of their bodies. Sometimes, you can see most of it. It's called breaching."

"You know a lot about these whales," one of the younger crew members said.

"Have you seen them before? Are there any in the waters of the south?" Tori paused and quietly looked away.

"No, I just... read... a lot." She let out a little cough.

"We should start to return to the delta. There are still things I need to take care of." Everyone scurried around to get the boat ready to take them back. Tori remained seated and distracted herself with the whales. She didn't think that seeing them would remind her of her original world. She let out a heavy sigh. She never did get a chance to go snorkeling with whale sharks. They returned to the delta around sunset and as the boat reached the dock, Nanny Rey was waiting with a frown. Tori let out a low hiss.

In her excitement to see 'sea dragons,' she had run out with Margo and gotten on a boat without telling her nanny.

"Lady Victoria Antonia Sophia de Guevera!" Nanny Rey marched over. Tori could feel a pressure against her that she'd never felt from Nanny Rey before.

"Where did you go?" Is that how Axton feels around her? Nanny Rey is scary. Tori put on a pleading face as she climbed off the boat and got on to the dock.

"Nanny, I went to see whales!"

"What?" Nanny Rey narrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"There are whales in the mouth of the lagoon, so I went out to see them." Tori rushed out the sentence and didn't take a step closer. Nanny Rey continued to frown.

"Why didn't you tell me? What if something happened? You are a terrible swimmer!" Tori drew her lips inward. That was something she and Victoria had in common. Victoria simply because she didn't have much chance to practice and Tori because she never bothered to practice outside of floating and swimming across a pool. I should work on that.

"I'm sorry, Nanny. I was excited and wanted to see." Tori lowered her head and wore a sad expression, hoping that her nanny would be lenient.

"Oh... you need to tell me if you leave," Nanny Rey said as she closed the gap between them and brought Tori into a tight embrace.

"What if you were in danger? My angel, don't scare me like that." Her hug almost crushed Tori, but Tori didn't fight it. She could hear the sincere worry in Nanny Rey's voice and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Nanny. I'll tell you next time." She awkwardly said good-bye to the fishing boat crew and Margo before Nanny Rey took her back to her tent. It was only then that Tori began to review her notes. Though she took a few breaks here and there, and would stand up and stretch every so often, she didn't realize that Nanny Rey turned the light crystals on and it had gotten dark out. Nanny Rey brought her a meal and reminded her to eat.

Tori would take bites in between referencing one of her books and scribbling additional notes. Nanny Rey also had to remind her to go to sleep three times and when Tori woke up, she didn't feel like she got any sleep at all. Whatever, I can sleep on the way back, anyway. Tori sat at her desk as Nanny Rey stood behind her, brushing her hair and neatly braiding it. Once her hair was done, Nanny Rey went to fetch her breakfast.

Tori tried to get in some review time between breakfast and her next slew of visitors and activities. They scouted and settled on a place in the road to set up a sort of gate to keep carriages from entering without authorization. They decided that a small booth would be built so two people could watch the gate at a time. She left the organization and schedule of the gatekeepers to Johan and the villagers.

Finally, she confirmed that she would be coming back in a week and a half for an extended stay before she left for a family function. Instructor Ignatius would be coming with her, and she secured a small tent for him in the southeast quadrant. As she expected, she fell asleep in the carriage on the way back and didn't wake up until they reached Lycée. Nanny Rey gently woke her and gathered her things, then sent her into Lycée as if she were a child going to school for the first time.

Yawning, Tori wandered through the gates and headed to her dorm. When she arrived, Ilyana was reviewing at her desk.

"You're still up?" Tori asked with a lopsided smile.

"You should get some sleep. The exams start tomorrow." Ilyana let out a small scoff.

"I should be telling you that." She rose from her seat as Tori tossed her overnight bag at the base of her wardrobe and then put her satchel with all her review materials on her desk.

"Did you eat already?" Tori nodded and stretched her arms over her head.

"I had a sandwich in the carriage. Did you eat?"

"I went with everyone to get something to eat at Cafe Fortuna. Mama J gave us some cookies to 'keep up our energy' during the exams." Ilyana giggled.

"How was the delta?"

"Great," Tori fell back onto her bed and let her legs hang over the edge. She let out a low breath.

"I took a boat further out, towards the mouth of the lagoon." Ilyana's brows shot up.

"What were you doing out there?" Tori narrowed her eyes, somewhat bitter, and stared at the canopy of her dorm bed.

"I was told there would be a sea dragon." Ilyana drew her head back and knit her brows together.

"What?"

"I saw whales," Tori said, rolling over on her side to face her roommate.

"There was a small family of whales in the brackish water." Ilyana's eyes went wide.

"I read about those! Were they big?"

"Very big."

"Did you touch them?"

"No. They were close to the boat, but not that close," Tori said.

"I don't know if they come just for the season or are in and out the entire year, but Margo and the others will take note. If they're still around in the fall, we'll go out to see them again." Ilyana's smile widened.

"I can't wait! I've never seen whales before." Tori let out a little hum and rolled back on her bed.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Hmm... oh!" Ilyana gasped and sat up straight.

"Did you know that Prince Gideon is also going to Anlar for your cousin's succession ceremony?" Tori made an annoyed face.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Did you know that he's bringing Miss Hart with him?" At this, Tori sat up on her bed. She narrowed her eyes and looked across the room at Ilyana.

"What do you mean with him? As in: he is going west and since Miss Hart's hometown is in the west, she will be joining him?" Ilyana crinkled her eyes, looking almost apologetic as she shook her head.

"No, the prince is going with his mother. Miss Hart is going home separately." Tori squinted.

"Then... what do you mean by he's bringing Miss Hart with him?"

"To your cousin's succession ceremony." For a moment, Tori sat there with her mouth agape. It was always possible, of course, that Alessa would be at the ceremony. Her father was a low-ranking noble in Anlar and there was a possibility that he'd be invited as a formality. If that happened, then he'd bring his daughter. After all, the succession ceremony would also have a very social aspect.

Nobles would parade their children in front of each other during such events to both show off their children, look for, and expose their children to possible marriage partners. All nobles did this, even the marquises. At such an important event that only happened once in a generation in each region, nobles who were invited wouldn't pass up the chance. Therefore, it wasn't that she was shocked to hear that Alessa would be at her cousin's succession ceremony.

It was that Alessa being there would severely dampen the joyous atmosphere for Tori.

"Ugh...." The disgusted noise came out of her mouth as she fell back on her bed.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, apparently the second prince invited her to accompany him."

"Of course, he did," Tori said as she glared at the canopy. It looked like Alessa was going to get a lot of romance points with Gideon that summer. She closed her eyes and rested one arm over them.

"It's not my ceremony, so I obviously have no say in it, but I really didn't want to deal with them this summer." Ilyana leaned against her chair.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Avoiding them is the only thing I can do," Tori said, lifting her arm off her eyes.

"I can't very well ask my cousins to kick out the second prince, especially when his mother is going to be there. And I'm sure if they try to ban Alessa, Prince Gideon will make a scene. It's more trouble than it's worth."

"Do you think they'll try to approach you?" Ilyana asked.

"I know you try to avoid them, but...." She trailed off and looked to the side, exasperated.

"We've all seen Miss Hart."

"I know." Tori let out a low breath.

"I was already bracing myself for direct contact with Prince Gideon. My mother and his mother are friends. I doubt that he'll say or do anything too bad with our mothers present. If anything, he'll say something when they're not and I don't ever plan to be alone with him. I'll stick to Kasey the entire time if I have to."

"What about Miss Hart?"

"Give everyone a proper warning." Tori blew some hair out of her face.

"I should let others know, especially my family members, what Miss Hart has done in the past to offset what she may say or do. I don't want her to be 'misunderstood' and make me look like the bad guy. Usually, when I see her, she looks like she's afraid of me and always backs away and avoids eye contact."

"Why is she like that?" Ilyana said with a frown. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"We've noticed it, too. She didn't seem to act that way when she took your seat the first day of class or during the excursion."

"I think it happened with the vest fiasco," Tori said. Ilyana snorted.

"I bet it's because she was feeling guilty that she was caught." The corner of Tori's lip curled up a bit.

"Maybe. But you would think with the way she reacts whenever she sees me now, that I was bullying her." She narrowed her eyes.

"Why did it escalate like that...." She asked the question more to herself than to Ilyana.

"Maybe she likes the attention." Tori furrowed her brows and looked over at Ilyana, who turned to shuffle over her papers. Ilyana made a good point. If others, particularly the love interests that give benefits, gave Alessa attention when she was the victim, then wouldn't she continue to play the victim? That sort of manipulative bullshit happened in real life. Tori frowned. But if Alessa was doing manipulative bullshit, wouldn't that be against her character?

In The Romance of Soleil, Alessa Hart was a ray of sunshine; a pure, innocent country girl who was the exact opposite of envy-driven, power-hungry Victoria. Alessa's character wouldn't allow for her to purposely play the victim to gain attention and affection. Then again, if Tori provoked the game into making changes, it was very possible that Alessa's character would also start to change. Tori let out a low breath. Well... that's yet another variable I have to consider.