Effort will take you far, but origins often have a bigger impact than we care to admit

  -Excerpt from ‘Charting the Tide: Tides of Creation’ by various contributors

  Rose made herself comfortable in the saddle. Or at least as comfortable as she could—the hard leather wasn’t the most supportive seat.

  “Let me start from the very beginning, before you were even a twinkle in your mother’s eye,” her father said, gaze distant as he reminisced on the past.

  She was eager to hear his tale. Her parents had never really spoken about the circumstances of her birth, so she’d always assumed they were… well, normal.

  Yet from the moment her father began talking she realised that the truth was far from her expectations. At the same time though it also felt comforting.

  He took her on a journey through her parents' younger days; a tale of passionate romance and a very determined man trying to win over a stubborn village beauty. Her father won in the end, his efforts paying off.

  Well he didn’t need to explain that… I wouldn’t be here otherwise, Rose thought, mentally rolling her eyes.

  However, when he continued to explain how they’d struggled to conceive a child at first, Rose realised her assumptions might be off the mark. At this point her father had to take a short pause when he started to cry.

  The pain of losing her mother was still fresh. Watching her usually stoic father grieve so freely resonated with something inside Rose.

  She hugged him and from there her own tears flowed freely. She’d lost a lot at sea and returned home only to find greater losses and tragedy awaiting her.

  The father and daughter cried and cried in each other’s arms for a while until they had no tears left. “I needed that,” Rose sniffed, wiping her wet eyes. “I’m so happy to see you again, father.”

  “Likewise, my little fish. Even though we share this burden of grief, know that your mother lives on forever in our hearts,” he replied with a melancholy smile.

  Rose returned his feelings with a nod as they continued along the road. They needed to stop to let the doori eat and drink, so they took a seat on the grassy knoll and her father continued his tale.

  “This is where you may need to brace yourself. Though given your recent exploits, what I’m about to reveal might not be as shocking as it could have been,” he began.

  She laid back on the grass and made herself comfortable. Judging by her father’s expression he was about to reveal something juicy.

  “As I mentioned before we stopped, your mother and I had a lot of trouble conceiving. In fact we tried for over a year without success—and this was us giving it a go almost daily!” he exclaimed.

  Gross… I didn’t need to know that bit.

  “Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, we tried and failed. In our desperation we tried everything; medicines, elixirs, herbs, rituals, blessings; none of them worked. Then one night I woke up in the dark, with your mother missing from our bed. I hurriedly dressed and went to look for her, as she wasn’t anywhere in the house. Eventually I spotted her walking towards the beach and chased her down.”

  “She seemed almost possessed, refusing to listen to me. Her gaze was locked on the churning waters of the sea and she just kept walking towards it… When we reached the beach and I realised she had no intention of stopping I tried to physically restrain her,” he continued, looking conflicted at this part of the tale.

  “It didn’t work. She continued to struggle and eventually I gave in, letting her walk into the shallows. She kept going until suddenly a current dragged her under,” he sighed. “I panicked and rushed in after her, but it was pointless. She was washed back to the shore soon after, looking a little confused and shaken, but overcome with happiness.”

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  “A few weeks later the bump formed and from there onwards it was a fairly normal pregnancy, the strange circumstances aside…”

  “Wait, but I thought to have a baby that both of you needed to… y’know?” Rose asked, her cheeks flushing.

  “As did I, my little fish,” her father chuckled, ruffling her hair and receiving a glare in return. “Apparently if you’re a god, you get to skip a few steps. At the time I was too overwhelmed by the joy of childbirth to accept it… but now I realise that it was Sylack’s doing. Ever the generous watcher of devout fishermen,” he finished, making a hand sign of a net while gazing towards the ocean in the distance.

  Suddenly a lot of things make more sense. Sylack told me that it was only natural that I received his blessing and divine energy. At the time I thought it was because I’d been so faithful, but apparently I’m what? His daughter? How the hell does that work?

  Rose had a million questions running through her mind. Her father’s story had answered a few of them but created even more.

  She clenched her fists as an annoying thought appeared in her mind. Does that mean all my effort was for nothing? Most of my strength was handed to me because of a quirk of birth?

  That thought scared her more than anything else. The idea that her ambitions and effort amounted to little in the face of some random predetermined fate.

  Zut Rubysoul had said she was surrounded by winds of fate, whatever the hell that meant. Was it to do with Sylack’s influence? For once, she lifted her restriction on cursing, allowing herself to go over her annual limit of a single word.

  Screw that. My fate is my own. Even if I have a blessing and received some help from Sylack, so what? I earned everything else through my own sweat and blood.

  Rose nodded, assured in her beliefs. She threw a strange look at her father. Actually, is it even right to consider him my father, given that he didn’t actually have a hand in my birth? she wondered.

  No, whether or not he did the deed means nothing to me. He was the one who raised me. The one who taught me how to fish. He will always be my father, while Sylack is more like… she paused and chuckled at her own terrible joke. He’s my godfather…

  All the internal conflict had taken place in a matter of seconds and her father stared at Rose as her face went through about twenty different expressions in that short time. Eventually she settled on a beaming smile and leapt into her father’s arms, embracing him tightly.

  “Whatever happens, you’ll always be my smells-like-fish-guts, stern-as-hell father,” she whispered.

  He looked at her with an odd, half-insulted expression with a raised brow before scoffing and returning the hug. “Says the one covered in ash and blood… You don’t smell so flowery yourself, little fish.”

  After a few minutes the prince shouted for them to resume the journey and they were forced to get back on the huge doori. Rose was growing fond of the beast, feeding it some snacks and rubbing it between the horns, which made it bleat in delight.

  They’d only been travelling for a few minutes when Rose’s mouth twisted into a devious grin. “Now, father. Would you care to explain why you never told me that Uncle is one of the gods-damned governors of the entire island!?”

  “...”

  ***

  After all the tragedy and shock of the invasion and destruction of Fairwater Bay, the return to Greengate was rather uneventful. Whether it was because of the colossal mounts or the size of their party, no bandits attacked.

  Then again, were they really bandits or just a bunch of disgruntled herders and farmers? Rose only knew she’d felt bad hurting them before and would rather not have to kill her own country folk.

  Prince Everyn announced that they would be heading not to the hidden base of operations, but instead directly to the royal palace. The survivors began chattering, a mix of excitement, confusion, and fear were the main emotions bubbling up.

  Rose herself was curious as this would be her first time in any kind of royal abode, let alone the ruler of her own country’s home. Nonetheless she felt her composure had evolved during her journey and she felt confident in being able to stand tall before the King.

  If that was indeed who they were being brought to see. Perhaps the prince just wanted to be somewhere familiar… he did seem like a daddy’s boy.

  The huge walls and towering… towers rose into the sky as they approached. Unlike the chambers of governance the royal palace was a gaudy affair, with polished white bricks and splatterings of precious metals forming the construction.

  The guards at the gates waved them through without much fuss when they saw the prince and his entourage, but they did shout a few words at Everyn as he passed.

  “Congratulations on your victorious return, your royal highness!”

  “May your blade be forever sharp, Prince Everyn!”

  It’s not like I did all the work or anything… Rose pouted as everyone they saw showered the man with praise.

  They were about halfway to a building that seemed like the stables when a man in grander robes than all the rest of the people they’d seen rushed out to greet the prince.

  “Your Highness! Thank the gods you’ve returned. It’s chaos! Your father demands your presence immediately in the throne room,” he exclaimed, completely ignoring the rest of the group.