Page 134 of Sea's Secret

“Are you ready?” Meria asked, stepping into my view.

“I am not sure I will ever be ready. Were the children loaded off?” I asked, looking at Meria.

“They were the first ones to leave. Sands is making sure they find their families. They seemed so much better this morning. You helped them so much, Dominick.”

“Sometimes, this curse is helpful,” I shrugged. I did not want to move. I felt like a coward. Even with all the information I had, that my mother actually wanted to see me and had always wanted me back, I felt as if seeing her was more burdensome than me not getting my revenge on a hateful mother. I had dealt with more hateful people than kind people throughout my life, but I had handled Peter just fine, I reasoned with myself.

“DOMINICK!” I turned from Meria to see a woman, running from a carriage, up the dock, and onto the ship, her dark blue, very fine dress, twisting around her legs as she ran. Her hair was dark brown, and her eyes were dark blue, just like mine and just like Peter’s. “Oh, Dominick!” She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached me and Meria. I watched in confusion as she threw herself at my legs and held on there. “I thought I would never see you again, my dear boy–my sweet, dear boy!” she cried.

I bent down, and she in all her finery moved back, and she sat down on the ship's deck. She reached out and touched my face. “You do look just like him! You are so handsome. My boy! Oh, Dominick! You have come home!” She wrapped her arms around my neck.

I had never pictured such a thing, even when Peter had expressed to me that she wanted to see me.

I was too shocked for words.

“You are Queen of Walden?” I heard Meria say, standing beside me.

My mother removed herself from me and stood. I stood also.

“I am, and you are?” she asked, wiping away tears.

“I am Meria, Dominick’s friend.”

“My friend?” I asked in irritation, looking from my mother and back to Meria. “You are not my ‘friend,’” I grunted. But, maybe that's what she thought it was? I had doubts trickling in. “Are you?” I asked her, hoping that she, too, had felt what had been growing between us.

“Not exactly. We can discuss that later, but for the moment, your mother is here, Dominick,” she said, pointing to my mother.

“I understand; she is your maiden, whatever stage you are in. I am so pleased to meet you, the maiden my son cares for,” she said with a curtsy.

“It is a pleasure,” Meria said back with a smile.

“Dominick, thank you for coming home. I have prayed for this day,” she said sweetly, keeping her distance as if she could sense that I was a bit spooked. “The Creator is so good!”

“I always wanted to come home. I wrote you letters–” I began, not knowing exactly where to start, but needing to start somewhere.

“You did? I never received any letter. I sent ships filled with knights to search for you. We could not find you, and I never received any letter.”

“None?” I asked. I was not surprised. Veeto was an awful man. Of course, he had lied to me.

“No, if I had, I would have answered. Nothing was ever the same without you,” she whispered.

“But I killed my father; surely, you hate me for that. You sent me away–onto Veeto’s ship, because you could not stand to look upon me, yet you still asked me to make basic princely appearances to make it appear as if Walden had no issues.”

“Hate you? How could I ever! And, no, Veeto?! That is where you have been all this time? Oh, my poor boy!” she cried.

“You did not tell Veeto to take me? Did you not instruct me to attend to my royal duties?”

“No. We always wondered why you were doing royal events, and I tried each time to reach you in time–before you left, and I even stationed Walden knights at various events, just in case you came, and I hoped that they could, well, capture you. I was desperate; I would have captured you, just to see you, to speak with you so that I could understand. Yet my soldiers were always ambushed, and you only were at those events for a brief time, and then, you always vanished. I cannot believe you have been with that vile man.”

“I should have known that he lied to me. Was he even Father’s brother?” I asked, but with more hatred than I already had for Veeto, curling around inside of me.

“His brother! Why, my boy! Is that the lie he fed you? No, Veeto is a notorious pirate lord who stole from many cities within Walden, and he always got away. Father spent so long trying to find him, but when he fell ill, he never got the chance, and Veeto left the Walden Seas.”

That information made my head spin.

“Perhaps, we should go, Dominick, get off the ship and speak at the castle?” Meria whispered from beside me.

I nodded, feeling all the pain of so many years rise to the surface. All the useless guilt–all the lies. “You never sent me away? Never blamed me for Father’s death, and you wanted me all this time?” I asked in awe.

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