Neria liked having Fiona around. The landwalker loved to talk, maybe a little too much. She always brought flowers to her room, brought her those sweet, sticky things she called tarts, and tried her very best to help Neria adjust to her blindness.
She wasn’t perfect, but the landwalker always had the funniest things to say, and somehow that made Neria like having Fiona around.
Today marked the third day since the landwalker who had checked her eyes came to see her. Neria hadn’t heard anything from him since then, but Fiona had assured her that it was normal. Doctors of his kind apparently took days to prepare things, though Neria didn’t understand why it could possibly take so long to make something that would help her see especially when he already did it once.
Now she stood near the window, her vision still blurred as she listened to Fiona hum while pushing some of the furniture around. Neria had bumped into the same tables more times than she cared to admit, so Fiona had decided to rearrange the room.
Neria heard wood scrape against marble, followed by a few small grunts from Fiona.
"Do you need help, Fiona?" she asked, taking a few tentative steps forward. She stretched out a hand, carefully moving toward Fiona’s blurred figure.
"No... I am done." A moment later, Fiona caught her hand and guided her back toward the bed. "Are you hungry, Nerry?"
Neria shook her head and sat down. "No..." Her words trailed off as she stared toward the window, though she could barely see anything beyond the bright blur of daylight. "I’m just really bored."
Fiona went quiet for a moment.
Neria could almost hear the girl thinking. That was usually a sign Fiona was about to come up with one of her terrible ideas.
Neria’s lips parted to speak, but the doors to her room opened before she could say a word. Her head immediately turned toward the two moving figures approaching her, and she squinted slightly as she tried to make out who they were through the familiar blur that had become her world.
"Don’t do that... it’s not good for your eyes."
She recognized that gentle voice immediately. It was the doctor. He was back? Neria hadn’t expected him to return so soon, especially since Fiona had told her that doctors usually took days to prepare whatever they needed.
"Master Darian insisted I stay and observe," another voice said. Neria couldn’t quite place it. She was certain she had heard that voice before, but with her vision still so poor, she couldn’t tell who it belonged to.
The physician approached her and crouched beside the bed. His features were still blurred, but she could make out the shape of his smile. "Observe the cute little Calypso try on specs?" he asked with a quiet chuckle.
Neria blinked at him.
Cute?
A strange flutter passed through her stomach, and she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. She had never really been called cute before.
Well, Fiona had called her cute more than once, but Fiona also thought flowers, soap bubbles and tiny spoons were cute, so Neria had never taken her seriously.
She watched as the physician lowered his head toward the leather bag beside him and began searching through it. She heard the faint clinking of glass and metal as he moved things around before finally pulling something out.
"I have something for you, little one."
Neria frowned slightly at the nickname. "Little one?"
"Just hold still."
Before she could complain, he carefully placed the strange object over her face. Something light rested against the bridge of her nose and over her ears, and Neria instinctively blinked a few times as she adjusted to the unfamiliar feeling.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the world changed.
The blur slowly began to clear. The curtains beside the window became sharp enough for her to see the delicate patterns stitched into them. The flowers Fiona had placed on the table were no longer patches of colour but actual flowers, each petal visible enough for her to make out their shapes. Even the marble floor beneath her feet looked different.
Neria stared.
She could see.
Not perfectly. The edges of everything were still slightly hazy, but it was enough. After days of seeing nothing but shadows and light, even this felt almost overwhelming.
The girl’s brown hair was slightly messy from spending most of the morning moving furniture around, and her eyes were bright with excitement as she watched Neria’s reaction.
"Nerry?"
Neria smiled without even realizing it.
"You should really fix your hair" she teased.
Fiona’s face immediately lit up, and she reached for Neria’s hands, squeezing them excitedly. "So you can see me?!"
Neria nodded, still staring at her. "I can see your face."
The physician chuckled softly beside them, clearly pleased with himself. Neria finally turned toward him and was able to see his face for the first time. He was younger than she had imagined, probably in his twenties, he had sandy blonde hair and grey eyes that crinkled slightly when he smiled.
"Looks like they work."
Neria carefully touched the frame sitting on her face, still amazed by how much clearer everything had become. "What are they?"
"Spectacles. The lenses help correct your vision while your eyes recover."
Neria looked at him with suspicion. "So I’m supposed to wear these?"
"For now."
She wasn’t sure she liked the idea, but she couldn’t deny how much better the world looked through them.
"My vision will recover?" She asked watching him pick up his brown bad from the floor.
"We hope so..." He smiled.
Her gaze slowly drifted past him toward the other person in the room. She recognized him as the old man she had met on her first day here. He was the one who usually told the servants what to do and was almost always beside Darian.
What was his name again?
Hartley?
His eyes were cold and never seemed to leave her. The moment their gazes met, Neria’s stomach turned, and she immediately looked away. He saw her the same way Darian did. As a monster. Something dangerous that needed to be watched.
The physician adjusted the strap of his bag around his shoulder before turning toward Hartley. "I will come check on her again in a week and see how she’s progressing."
The butler raised a brow. "Isn’t that too soon?"
The doctor laughed softly. "Maybe... maybe not." He shrugged before returning his gaze to Neria, who was busy looking around the room with the curiosity of a cat seeing everything clearly for the first time.
Neria couldn’t help it. She kept looking at everything around her, taking in all the little details she had missed while her vision was blurred. The patterns on the curtains, the flowers sitting in the vase and even the little decorations scattered across the room seemed fascinating now that she could actually see them.
The physician reached into his bag again and pulled out something wrapped in paper.
"Do you like candied fruits?"
Neria stared at the little parcel in his hand. She didn’t take it immediately, instead looking toward Fiona as if asking if it was okay and safe.
Fiona nodded.
Only then did Neria reach out and take it from his hand.
"Thank you, Doctor Vale," Fiona said, taking it from her hand for a moment before placing it properly in Neria’s lap.
Before the doctor could say anything else, Hartley stepped forward. "You’re done, Doctor Vale?"
William sighed, though there was a faint amusement in his expression. "Yes. Apparently I am."
Hartley didn’t respond.
William adjusted his bag around his shoulder before turning back toward Neria. "See you later then, um..." He paused, clearly trying to remember the name Fiona had been calling her. "Nerry?"
Neria blinked before a small smile tugged at her lips.
"That’s what Fiona calls me."
"I see." William smiled. "Then I’ll see you later, Nerry."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door, leaving Neria staring after him.
.
.
.
Fiona insisted that Neria have the candied fruits after dinner.
So after Neria had eaten, taken a bath and was now sitting on her bed while Fiona wiped the remaining water from her hair, she finally unwrapped the little parcel and picked one up.
The taste surprised her.
It was sweet and salty at the same time, with a slight sourness that lingered on her tongue. It was nothing like the tarts or cakes Fiona usually brought her. Those were soft and overly sweet, but this was different.
Neria liked it.
She held the parcel out toward Fiona, offering her some, but Fiona shook her head as she continued rubbing the towel through Neria’s damp hair.
"Do you like them?" she asked.
Neria nodded, reaching for another piece. "They’re sweet and sour."
Fiona hummed, but she didn’t say anything immediately. Her hands continued moving through Neria’s hair, though her movements had become slower.
"Are they better than the treats in the sea?"
Neria’s shoulders immediately tensed. The question had caught her off guard. "No," she answered quietly. "They’re not."
Fiona’s hands stopped and for a moment, neither of them spoke.
Neria lowered her gaze toward the little parcel resting in her lap. The truth was, there was nothing Fiona could give her that would compare to the food she had eaten beneath the sea. Nothing could compare to the taste of fresh fish, seaweed wrapped around it and the salt of the ocean lingering on everything.
"Do you miss the sea, Neria?"
Neria’s fingers tightened around the candied fruit.
Missed was an understatement.
She yearned for the sea. For the cool salty water against her skin, for the endless blue surrounding her and the feeling of being completely free. She missed waking up without chains, without guards and without having to wonder whether someone would decide what happened to her next.
Most of all, she missed knowing where she belonged. But all she managed was a solemn nod.
Fiona didn’t say anything immediately. Neria could feel her staring at her, almost as though she was trying to decide whether she should say whatever had suddenly entered her mind.
When she finally spoke, Neria’s head snapped toward her.
"What if I help you escape, Neria?"