9. Falling

"So let me get this straight," Devri pulled Sienna to a stop during their morning beach stroll the following day. "I couldn't even get a firm yes on whether or not you would attend a party and dance with a few nice young men, and then you get engaged to some sailor you met a few hours before?" She pressed a hand to Sienna's forehead. "You're not feverish, but are you sure you're well?"

Sienna pushed her hand away. "It's only for a week, Dev. And it's not like we're actually planning on getting married. Papa was just worried about leaving me home alone for such a long time, and it would start rumors if people found out about me staying alone with some strange man."

"I'm surprised Daland isn't more concerned about that." Devri frowned. "I'm sorry, Enna, but I feel like I need to be the voice of reason here. How do you even know you're safe with him?"

Sienna's eyes drifted over the waves as she contemplated the question. She did feel safe with Casper, though how much of it was just because she associated his presence with her father's safe return? But there was no sense of danger or malice about him, despite his frequent scowls and gruff words, and she had the distinct impression that he would go to great lengths to ensure her well-being, if the situation required it.

"I just do," she finally answered, looking back at her friend with a shrug. "It's hard to explain, but I know that he's honorable. And his eyes are too sad and guilty for him to be needlessly cruel, like he's constantly reminded of something in the past that's gone wrong, and he doesn't want to repeat his mistakes."

"But why does Daland feel the need to leave you with a body guard now? He's often out fishing."

"Since he lost his boat during the storm, Casper offered to let him use his ship for the week. That isn't a lot of time, though, so Papa plans to spend almost every minute of it fishing. It turns out that we're in a great deal of debt because of the cost of healers."

"What about the income from the lighthouse?"

Sienna laughed mirthlessly, wincing slightly at the scratchy pain in the back of her throat. She had been doing a great deal more talking than usual the past few days, and it was starting to wear on her. "A lot has happened since we talked yesterday." She quickly filled Devri in on the situation, concluding with, "Celly is trying to take care of it as quickly as possible, but until she does, we won't be paid."

Devri blew out a long, slow breath. "That's…a lot, Enna. I'm sorry. I'm assuming that was why Celesta and Drosselmeyer were in town yesterday?"

"Among other things." Sienna wasn't sure yet how much she should disclose about the strange boxes. "Did they stop by your shop?"

A wide smile bloomed on her friend's face. "They did. Having the approval and patronage of the Queen of Winter does wonderful things for business. We sold out of everything hours before closing yesterday."

"That's wonderful!"

"It is." Devri nodded decisively before her face switched back into business mode. "But also beside the point. Daland needs to be gone for an extended amount of time fishing. So what? You're capable of looking after yourself. I know he worried about your health after the accident and your illness, but you've been getting better every day for months now."

Sienna scuffed a toe in the sand. "Remember how the whole reason Celesta was working on getting the law changed was because someone had cited it as evidence for their claim to the lighthouse?"

"Yes," Devri stretched the word out.

Sienna looked at her pointedly.

Devri gasped. "No! He wouldn't!"

She shrugged. "He did. And Erik was nosing around the lighthouse yesterday and tried to force his way in to ‘get a look around.' He seems to think that it's a given that the lighthouse will be his."

"What did he do?" Devri's face darkened. "Did he touch you?"

Sienna quickly shook her head. "No, no—nothing like that. He just tried to appeal to our shared history and used the excuse of checking in on my health as his reason for being there at first."

"That elf," Devri scoffed. "Well, if he's been bothering you, I can see why Daland would hesitate to leave you alone. But you don't have to stay with some strange man you just met. You could always come to me."

"But the lighthouse—I need to be here in order to take care of it."

"Then I'll come to you."

"You can't be gone from the shop that long, especially with the festival next week." Sienna quickly rushed on before Devri could offer up another argument. "It's the simplest option. And besides, it's only for a week."

Devri studied her for a long moment. "I still don't know that I'm convinced. I think I'll have to meet this captain before I will consent to give my blessing."

Sienna rolled her eyes and pulled her forward again. "He's here for the Midwinter festival, but after that he's leaving, so it will hardly matter."

"Hmm." She sounded unconvinced. "Is he handsome at least?"

Sienna's face heated almost immediately at the question, her tell-tale blush giving away the answer to the question before she could even say anything.

"Oh, this just got much more interesting!" Devri sidled closer. "Tell me everything. What does he look like? What kind of fae is he?"

"I…don't think I know. He never said. He's quite a bit shorter than Erik, but stronger, I think. Maybe part dwarf? But then they don't normally sail."

"Alright, so he's got a nice set of shoulders. That's good." Devri nodded wisely.

"I never said that!"

"You didn't have to. It's all in the blush." With a wink, she added, "Continue."

Sienna pulled her hands loose and held them to her face, attempting to cool her burning cheeks. "He's got blonde hair and blue eyes—not dark blue like Papa's, but bright like the sky. I think he might have a nice smile, but I haven't really seen one. He's very serious."

"So he's broody on top of mysterious. No wonder you jumped at an engagement."

"I thought you didn't approve."

"I've decided to keep an open mind."

"Really? Just because he's nice to look at?"

"No, because he did that to your face." Devri gestured in a circle around Sienna's flushed cheeks. "I haven't seen you so affected by a man since, well ever. Not even Erik made you blush like this."

"He's only here for a week," Sienna reminded her, echoing Casper's words from the day before. "It's not like I'm going to fall in love with him or anything."

"I don't know," Devri answered in a sing-song voice. "It sounds like you'll be together most of the time. A lot can happen in that many hours."

Sienna rolled her eyes. "I think I liked it better when you were cynical and suspicious."

Devri laughed and linked their arms again. "Now tell me, does Captain Mysterious and Brooding have any friends?"

"There you are."

Casper's unexpected voice caused Sienna to jump, holding a hand to her heart. She and Devri had parted ways a short time before, and she was making her way back to the lighthouse. The steep cliffs loomed in the distance, and the path up the rocky incline that led to the top lay just ahead.

"Do you often go around sneaking up on young maidens? You were so quiet, you might as well have been a ghost."

He flinched slightly at her words, but it was gone before she could stop to really analyze the reaction.

"I'm sorry."

The conversation leading up to his proposal the day before had been the most words she had heard from him since. He seemed determined to communicate as little as possible, and in as few words as necessary. His face was either scowling or impassive, especially after Jem left early that morning with her father. For all her blushing responses to Devri's questions, Sienna was truly befuddled as to what had caused the change.

"It's fine. I'm sure my heart will return to beating as normal eventually."

He fell into step beside her, clasping his hands behind his back. "You didn't alert me that you were going out."

"I thought you were my fiancé, not my jailer." She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "I didn't know I had to tell you."

"You don't," he conceded after a moment. "But the whole purpose behind my presence here is for your safety. If I don't know where you are, I can't do that."

"Do you worry this much about each member of your crew, as well?"

Casper's unfocused eyes stared straight ahead. "I'm their Captain; of course I worry."

Sienna sensed that a small piece of the puzzle that was Casperion Helmrud was at hand, but she couldn't quite figure out how it fit into place.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me. I was with Devri, and Erik wouldn't dare pick a fight with her. She's a Siren, for one, and everyone knows you should never anger a Siren when you're within sight of the sea. For another, she owns the best bake shop in Nivem, and he's much too fond of his caramel and sea salt cookies to risk making her mad. And third, her twin brother Doryss is one of Erik's newest business partners, and he wouldn't want to risk making Doryss angry by picking a fight with his sister."

"Doryss?" There was a hint of interest in Casper's tone that hadn't been there before.

"Yes. He's in the fishing business, like Papa."

Casper nodded slowly. "And has he always been involved in fishing?"

Confusion scrunched Sienna's face. "Yes. Is there a reason why you're so interested in my best friend's brother's livelihood."

He was silent for a long moment, still staring at the ground in front of them. He gave his head a small jerk, as if shaking himself awake. "No."

"Alright." She drew the word out slowly, confused by his odd behavior. "Well, you can rest assured that when I am with Devri, I am perfectly safe. We go walking nearly every morning, unless it's storming." A sudden thought occurred to her. "You're welcome to join us, if you like."

I suppose it can't be very interesting, left all by himself at the house with nothing to do.

"I don't wish to intrude."

"You wouldn't be. Devri would really like to meet you, actually." She gave him a wry grin. "Since we're engaged, it only seems right that you should meet my best friend."

He was silent, so she filled the space by continuing to talk. "Anyway, you're more than welcome to come. We always walk this stretch of shore." She gestured around them to the sandy beach, sheltered by rocks and cliffs on one side and the sea on the other.

They reached the rocky slope, and conversation became difficult as Sienna focused more of her attention on climbing. The rocks were still slippery after an early morning drizzle, and since she had no desire to scramble up on all fours the way she might if Casper were not with her, there were several points where she nearly lost her footing. Each time, the captain's chilled but steady hands were there at her elbow or back to help her regain her balance. When they finally reached the top of the cliff, Sienna turned and walked along the edge.

There was a particular point where the land jutted out further than the rest, hanging over the water below. It wasn't more than a dozen feet, but to Sienna it always felt as if the view was better. It was a popular spot for thrill seekers, as the overhand jutted out just far enough that the more adventurous could get a running start and jump into the water, avoiding the sharp rocks that lined the bottoms of the cliffs.

She shielded her eyes with her hands, peering out to the horizon.

"What are you looking for?" Casper settled beside her, crossing his arms in front of him. His cap was pulled low over his ears again, leaving just the ends of his hair to lift in the cold breeze.

"Nothing in particular. I usually try to keep track of any ships that might be passing through. It's not quite as important during the day as it is at night, though." She looked over her shoulder to the lighthouse that stood at attention behind them. "Part of the duties of a lighthouse keeper include watching out for and rescuing any sailors who might be in distress. There are a lot of hidden shoals around here, and a wreck happens at least once every few months, particularly if we have heavy storms."

"Are you worried about the weather?"

She shook her head. "No. It doesn't sound like bad weather."

"Sound?"

He was looking at her with a curious tilt to his head, though his face was still just as serious and inscrutable as before.

But at least he's talking now, which is better than whatever grunting language he was using this morning.

"You don't hear it? The music in the sea?"

Casper shook his head.

"Not a Nymph or a Naiad, then," she muttered quietly to herself.

"I beg your pardon?"

Sienna blushed, having unintentionally voiced the thought out loud. "It was just—Devri was asking about you and wanted to know what kind of fae you are. You can't hear the water, which means your Natural magic must be attuned to something else."

He grunted noncommittally. "And yours is, I take it?"

"I'm a Naiad, so yes." She hugged her arms tight around her middle, the memory of her loss producing a hot knife of longing in her heart. "Though it doesn't do me a whole lot of good at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

She turned to face him, shifting backwards a step closer to the edge. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that my voice is different. I—"

Her words cut off suddenly and were replaced by a startled shriek as the ground suddenly gave way beneath her. One moment she was standing on solid ground, and the next she was plummeting toward the water full of treacherous rocks below. Her arms and legs flailed wildly, and she grasped for the edge, only for it to crumble beneath her fingers.

She came to a sudden, jarring stop as Casper's hand clamped around her wrist. There was a pop, followed by a searing pain in her shoulder, and she cried out in pain.

"Hold on," Casper grunted. He was lying on his stomach with his arm extended, having just barely caught her before she was out of reach. Sienna snuck a quick look down at her feet, then quickly clamped her lips together as nausea rolled through her at the sight of the jagged rocks below that had so nearly been her final resting place.

Casper slowly hauled her back up and over the edge until she was able to awkwardly crawl away from the precipice, holding her injured arm close. She melted into the ground once she was far enough away to feel safe again. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, her limbs shook with adrenaline, and her mind could process nothing but the terror that still flowed through her veins like ice water.

The captain was on his knees beside her in an instant, and she was surprised to see his eyes were wide with a fear that nearly matched her own, and his face was a pale, deathly white.

Sienna saw his mouth moving, but her brain struggled to make sense of any of the sounds that came out. A biting wind blew past, freezing the tears on her face that she hadn't even realized she had been crying.

"Sienna?"

She blinked slowly, finally registering that Casper was speaking real words.

"Where are you hurt?"

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "My shoulder—I can't move it."

"Anything else?"

"I don't think so."

Without another word, Casper scooped her up from the ground with one hand under her knees and the other gripping her waist. She squeaked in surprise and threw her good arm around his neck to stabilize herself. The position put her head just beside his and, from so close, she could see a faint hint of freckles dusting his nose and cheeks.

The pain must be going to my head. Of all the things to notice—freckles! It's not as if I don't see them every day; I have enough to freckle a small army.

"I'm not sure how that would work." His eyes were focused on the path ahead as he carried her to the lighthouse, but there was just the tiniest smirk of amusement on his face. "And why would you have an army in the first place?"

Sienna realized that she must have inadvertently spoken her thoughts out loud again but couldn't summon the energy to care. A sudden fatigue pushed through the haze of pain, and she let her head drop onto Casper's shoulder. He smelled like fresh air and the sea.

"Thank you?"

"I did it again, didn't I?"

"You did."

She could hear the humor in his voice, and the thought that she would miss the sight of a real smile on his face was enough to prompt her to lift her head enough to see it.

"I knew it." She fell back again with a contented sigh and closed her eyes.

"Knew what?" The crunch of gravel under Casper's feet signaled that they were nearing the house.

"That you would look handsome with a smile."

He stumbled, and jostling action sent a jolt of pain through her shoulder. She whimpered and shoved her face deeper into his shoulder.

"Sorry." He carefully readjusted her. "You shouldn't say things like that."

"That you're handsome?"

He grunted in response. They reached the door, and he gently lowered her to the ground before fumbling about for the key.

Sienna leaned against the doorframe. Her eyelids drooped to half-mast of their own accord. The adrenaline of the near-death experience had worn off, and after several days and nights of broken, inadequate sleep, her body was exhausted. "I can call you whatever I want. We're engaged."

"For a week."

"Which means that for a week I can call you whatever I want. Actually, longer than that, because after you leave you won't be around to hear it."

The lock clicked and Casper pushed the door open. Rather than going in right away, he stood and watched her for a moment. Even in her pain- and sleep-addled state, Sienna could see the look of longing that flashed through his eyes, followed immediately by resignation. He sighed.

"Alright, Si. Let's get you taken care of."