In waiting...

Arisa was an odd one indeed.

 She didn't speak, only the rainbow parrot creating speech for her in that wild southern belle accent you'd never see an animal use.

 "I guess the rumors are true. You truly don't remember anything." the parrot said from Arisa's lap. She brushed the delicate rainbow feathers with her fingers, her rings placed on each finger.

 "Um...well, yes. May I ask...what's with the bird?" Miriam asked, a laugh escaping from the parrot.

 "The name's Penelope, my lady. And well, I'm here to assist my owner Arisa since the poor witch played with her voice too much, lending it to creatures willy-nilly and now she's stuck like this."

 Penelope the parrot answered, Miriam blinking at the explanation. "I must say though, Penelope has never taking a liking to you, but that's probably because you always kept your distance from us since we weren't appointed by you, but by your father. But I assure you, Lady Miriam, he only appointed us to your lady-in-waiting status to be friends, nothing more."

 Miriam asked Kier to tell the servants to bring in a tray of snacks, and tea.

 Arisa, Penelope, and her had a lot to catch up on.

 The more that they spoke, the more that Arisa tried to rack her brain for any mention of Arisa in Miriam's diary.

 But it was just as Arisa-well, Penelope had said; they weren't close enough for Miriam to even bother to write about her.

 And Arisa was a sweet, though timid girl. Miriam wished that the original Miriam had given Arisa a chance. After all, it would have helped Miriam be less alone.

 Maybe things could have turned out differently had Miriam reached out to someone, instead of struggling by herself.

 At that moment, the doors opened, and servants came in with trays of tea and snacks, placing them on the coffee table before them. Miriam thanked them, and they dispersed to other tasks, Kier standing guard outside of the entrance.

 Arisa waited until the doors closed once more, and Penelope flapped her wings, before taking the spot in between the both of them on the couch.

 "I know you said that Kier is just your guard...but he's handsome. You know the rules of marriage for you aren't as strict as that of royalty, right?" Penelope commented, Arisa nodding.

 This caused Miriam to choke on her tea.

 Concerned, Arisa slapped her back, causing Miriam to control herself.

 "Arisa, why would you say something like that?" Miriam said, Penelope squawking as she flew up behind the couch, her feet perched on the edge. 

 "It was just a joke, honest. Your reaction says something else. Does this mean you overcame Elyanna in the end?" Penelope asked, using Arisa's line of thought to ask the question.

 That question and name left Miriam winded, but she played it off. Arisa must have noticed, because Penelope made a sound of sympathy.

 "Not that I don't love the gossip, but what was the true purpose of this meeting?" Miriam asked, grabbing a scone and biting into it. The flaky bread tasted of cinnamon and raisins, and she hummed in approval.

 "Oh, forgive me my lady. I actually wanted to speak with you to catch you up on the duties that I took part in while you were missing." Penelope replied.

 Miriam nodded, steadily stuffing her face with more of the scones. She realized then that she hadn't had breakfast.

 "You were supposed to learn about the trade shipments going in and out of Azuris. Also, some of the leaders of other territories thought it'd be...spoken about if you were to offer your hand in marriage to one of the sons of Dukes of the fire kingdoms." she finished, and Miriam could feel Arisa's gaze on her grow more serious. "It's why I suggested that maybe you consider marrying Kier. At least you have a bond with him, and you know him."

 Penelope, tired of talking, rested on Arisa's shoulder, keeping her head under one wing. Arisa, ever so ready, pulled out a pad of paper, and a quill pen.

 They continued on their conversation, Arisa/Penelope's words on the back of her mind.

 When Arisa was done catching up with Miriam, she went back to her home, Miriam deciding to take an easy day. Kier and her wandered off to the gardens, despite Miriam protesting that surely he had better things to do than babysit her.

 "It is my job to protect you." he replied firmly, taking her arm as they went outside of the estate.

 Miriam sighed, agreeing with his logic. The sun was in the middle of the sky, the rays showing row after row of beautiful flowers.

 As they stroll together, Miriam thought about what Arisa/Penelope had told her. If the people were speaking about her taking a husband, she'd rather it be someone she knew, other than being assigned to someone she'd never met before.

 But if she was going to take this into consideration, she was also going to have to ask him-

 What the hell was she going on about?

 Miriam had no time to be seeking out a husband when she was trying to solve the missing case of why the kingdom of Aqua had perished. She couldn't be wasting time trying to appease people she'd never met before.

 As she made up her mind, Kier slowed his pace, exhaling.

 "My lady, I must warn you." he started, turning to face her. Miriam arched an eyebrow; what would the problem be this time?

 "There have been members and friends of your father who have been trying to persuade or pressure him into marrying you off to one of the different kingdoms for stronger allyships. He's refused each time, but I don't want you to be blindsided in case a suitor is chosen for you." he said, and Miriam could feel the tension in her shoulders return.

 "Why must I marry? It was never an issue before." Miriam argued, Kier holding up his hands in surrender.

 "I do believe it's because of the actions of Sir Elton with his daughter Lady Elyanna." Kier replied, a small ripple of pain crossing over Miriam's heart.

 "Well, if he wants to sell his daughter like fresh meat, then let him. I will not succumb to the same circumstances just to appease people I will most likely never meet." Miriam stated, huffing in annoyance.

 Kier kept quiet, though there was a glint of respect in his eyes as he looked back at her.

 "Always the strong one, my lady." was all he replied, as they went back to their stroll.

 By the time Kier walked her back to the estate, dinner was being served. Although Miriam really wanted to finish the diary to get answers, she also knew that it was best that she played her part.

 Kier guided her back to the dining hall, giving her space as a good personal guard would, the idle chatter and soft clink of plates and silverware sounding out from the room. Miriam could smell something akin to roasted beef fill her senses, and her mouth watered.

 Just as they made it, a soft laugh filled her ears, making Miriam pause.

 It was one that she'd never heard before and one that she couldn't forget; Miriam's palms began to sweat, her heart beating fast in her chest. Her lungs felt like she couldn't get enough air, and when she spared a glance at Kier, his eyes were wary and concerned.

 Miriam's body knew who was at the dining table, speaking and laughing with her father, and someone else. Her heart had the answer; it was her brain that was failing to keep up.

 She took in a ragged breath of air, and stepped in, her world tilting as she saw the women dressed in red sitting on one side of the dining table.

 The woman had golden brown hair braided at the top of her head that framed her face with messy brown and gold locks, stark green-brown eyes lined with black kohl to make them bigger and soft beige skin that had a sort of gold dust on the sides of her face to enhance her cheekbones. Her full lips had a shining oil on them, making them glossy and full, the red dress that she wore covering her neck in lace before going down in loose waves. She sat poised and regal in her seat, as she reached over to grab a roll of bread from the center of the table.

 It was with that one movement that Miriam could see how the dress strained over the center of her belly, her feet feeling like she was cemented to the ground.

 The woman was pregnant, and for some reason, that really mattered to Miriam.

 Miriam must have made some noise, because it caught the woman's attention as she looked up at her, joy spreading on her features making her look so beautiful, her heart ached.

 "Mimi!" she said, as she struggled to her feet, and sped walked to Miriam, throwing her arms around Miriam as she hugged her. Miriam could feel her large stomach almost tackle into her.

 "Lady Elyanna, you shouldn't move too fast like that." Kier said from behind Miriam, and Miriam stiffened.

 So, this was the infamous Elyanna. The one that the original Miriam had been in love with to the point of madness.

 And Elyanna was pregnant, looking like she was around four or six months' pregnant at that.

 As Miriam hugged her back, her gaze went over to the dining table, wary to see if Elton was there as well. To her relief, it was just her father sitting at the head of the table, and someone who looked to be from the fire kingdom.

 Elyanna's husband, Miriam presumed, her chest hurting.

 "You must tell me everything Mimi. Where did you go in all that time? Why did you just disappear like that? What-" Elyanna started, Kier placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

 "Apologies, Lady Elyanna, but my Lady Miriam has suffered from a serious head injury and hasn't been able to obtain any of her memories since she's returned." Kier explained, and for a moment, Elyanna looked crestfallen, looking at Miriam with a careful gaze.

 "But you remember me, right Mimi?" she asked, holding on to Miriam's hand which made her chest warm, and her heartbeat stutter.

 "How could I ever forget you, Elyanna?" Miriam asked, putting double meaning in that question.

 Miriam truly didn't know how to forget Elyanna, especially because the original was no longer host of this body. And even so, her strong longing and yearning had fallen upon Laney, the new host of the body.

 It wasn't fair.

 Elyanna looked relieved at that answer though, and she pulled Miriam along with her while Miriam's father and Elyanna's husband were in deep conversation.

 Unease filled Miriam's belly; if her father got along with Elyanna's husband too well, the option of marrying her off to another kingdom to form allyship was looking more and more like possibility.

 And Miriam was already busy enough as it was trying to solve the wonders of the kingdoms of Zodius.

 She sat next to Elyanna, a maid making her a plate of food, and Kier standing guard outside of the dining room.

 So enraptured with their conversation, Miriam's father didn't greet her, and Elyanna's husband continued on speaking with him.

 "Mimi." Elyanna said hesitantly. "I have so much to tell you since we parted ways. I know that you told me not to come near you or to write to you anymore, but I wanted to see you and catch up. Especially since I was told you went missing without a trace for about a month and a half." she finished, and Miriam began to slowly realize something.

 Elyanna wasn't concerned as a friend would be; she was concerned in the way that a noble would be, wanting to use Miriam's experience as a way to climb the social ladder by putting her down.

 And the original Miriam had been too infatuated with her to see it.

 As Miriam gave Elyanna a weak smile, she took a deep breath, and then bit into her vegetables.

 This was going to be the longest dinner of her life.