By the time they reached the seashore (midday, they’d been traveling since early morning) Adelaide still wasn’t over it, and neither was Eurydicia. They glared at each other as the carriage came to a sudden stop. Adelaide was just getting used to the smell of salt in the air, something that disgusted her more than words could describe. It was also quite wet, and she found it a little hard to breathe. They didn’t live too far away from the seashore, but it always felt like such a change when they visited.

Stepping out was even worse, the smell becoming stronger and a tint of dead fish coming along with it. They had parked above the beach, and Adelaide could already see people in the water, along with bathing machines galore. The sight of them made her groan. The appeal of swimming was something that was lost on her. It was only something that took a hassle. The garments for it were too heavy and dragged anyone down, nearly drowning people under the water. Cold water washing over her bare skin was the worst thing in the world, and the same went for when it was dripping off you when you got out. There was also the lingering fear that someone who’d see you, something that was against every moral law in that book for women. That was the entire reason they had bathing machines, but even sometimes, a frivolous boy decided he wanted to sneak a peek. Adelaide hated taking that risk, so she made sure to stay on the shore, watch the seabirds fly and the children play around in the sand. No matter how many times she was told getting in the water was healthy, there was no way she would step foot in it.

Eurydicia, of course, didn’t think that way though. Very rarely did Adelaide find herself thinking the same thing as her sister.

“I’m going off to the water,” Eurydicia snarled, storming away toward the stairs leading down to the beach. Adelaide rolled her eyes at the dramatic action, and didn’t bother to remind her that her swimwear was still in the carriage. She mumbled something off to her mother and the Governess before heading after her sister. Maybe lying down on the sand would help her, or at the very least, give her a place where she could simply take a moment to close her eyes. Even if it would end with sand in her hair, something that was nearly impossible to get out.

She was already wearing beachwear, so changing wasn’t something she was worried about. It was almost the same as her usual clothes, but lighter, less weight on her shoulders. Her usual train had completely vanished, replaced with a much shorter backside, one that wasn’t as difficult to pull around. The color was a light green, one she felt matched her eyes, making them stand out on her face. It was a bit of a scandalous thought, thinking her face attracted someone, but if anything her neckline was even worse. Coming down far longer than normal, Adelaide was sure that something like it should have been considered improper, but no one seemed to mind. Still, she couldn't help but find herself shielding away from everyone, praying they didn't look at her. Her arms wound around her chest, hiding the neckline from wandering eyes, fingers scraping at her neck nervously. The last part of her outfits was the large hat on her head, shielding her skin from the sun's rays. It was important to keep a pure white complexion, and unfortunately, the big ugly hats were the only way that happened. Parasols were lost too easily, and some sunlight always managed to slip through them, burning her skin. This trip had already turned sour, so she didn’t need that cherry on top of it.

Governess Edna and her mother didn’t say anything as Adeliade went off, heading away much more gracefully than her sister had. Both of them were only here for one for the seawater, which was said to cure any disease. Being older, with each passing year they got more and more worried about how they looked and what their bones felt like. Or at least the Governess was, always complaining about how she was getting sore and old. It seemed like she got a little scared whenever someone talked about illness, so trips to the beach were spent with the two swimming, probably gulping up as much seawater as they could.

Still young, Adelaide had no fear about things like that. She had a long life ahead of her, sixty years was the average. Only being eighteen, she couldn’t imagine dying, not yet. If she got sick, she could usually fight it off with a little help from some medicine. She'd been sick just a few days earlier, but now, she was perfectly fine, being able to stand without feeling as if she was going to pass out. Succumbing to disease wasn't the way she pictured herself dying. Old age or murder was the way she was sure she would leave the world by. It was another reason she kept her image so clean. No one had any reason to dislike her or want to get rid of her. She was completely safe from assassination attempts or so she hoped. Then again, maybe she would get confused with Eurydicia and end up on the wrong end of a knife. Maybe then her sister would finally realize the wrongness of her ways. Would her Adelaide's finally make her come to her senses? She doubted it. Her sister probably would not even care. Or maybe anger was simply clouding her mind, Adelaide really couldn't tell.

Adelaide did not even notice when she came to the end of the steps, sinking slightly as a little grunt left her mouth. She stumbled forward, already ready to take a step down, and nearly tripped. It only took a minute for her to gain back her elegance, straightening up and moving forward as if nothing had ever happened. She did not dare to look back, not wanting to see the expressions of those behind her. Image was everything, and already she hers was falling apart, just like everything else had today.

Was there anything that was not going to go wrong today?

Finding a good spot to sit on the beach was something that proved to be a challenge, too many people around for Adelaide’s comfort. Her low neckline was already putting her on edge, making her feel as if every eye was on her, so the fewer the people the better for her. She’d found a great place, away from people and far off from the water, but it had been ruined when she spotted a group of boys near, a way to the left. The first thing she noticed about them was how they and Eurydicia were similar, awful, and filled with anything but etiquette. Each of them seemed to be laughing, taking turns looking at a telescope pointing out to the sea. Adelaide couldn't imagine the poor soul out there who was being stared at without knowledge. The poor woman leaving her bathing machine thinking all was safe and well. It was just another reason that she didn't dare to step out to the sea, unwilling to be put in situations such as that. If anyone discovered...her reputation would be completely sunk.

So, that spot was unfortunately unavailable, in her mind at least. She didn’t want to be anywhere near boys who would try looking up her skirt for amusement. She could only blame herself, the lower neckline, the want to bring out her eyes, they were thoughts she knew she shouldn't have. A woman was only supposed to be appealing to her husband, and even then it was only to fulfill his needs. Her only reason for being was for motherhood, nothing less and nothing more.That was the responsibility of a woman, that was their path, and Adelaide wasn't ready to stray from it. Something such as love and a soulmate was nothing more than myths and legends to give young girls hope, to give people like Eurydicia some fantasy. There was nothing like that in reality, a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless.

With a few more minutes of walking, she was able to find somewhere alright. It was nearer to the water, but at least it was away from where most families were relaxing. She really did not feel like listening to screaming children all day. As she lowered herself onto the sand, she realized that she hadn't gotten far enough to make that wish come true. The faint sound of screaming echoing in her head, and glancing over, she could see two little girls, probably siblings, playing in the sand. They were building in the sand together, each one holding a spade. A bucket laid forgotten a few paced away, halfway buried in the sand.

Adelaide could remember when she used to do things such as that, with Eurydicia specifically. She was two years younger but still old enough that Adelaide was sure she would be able to construct a perfect sandcastle. They were six and four, and it was one of the only memories Adelaide had of that age, and even then it was only snippets and tended to fade away quickly.They were the only reason she could remember this incident was because Eurydicia cried and cried the entire time. First, it was sand in her eyes, then it was someone who stepped on her castle (a mount she kept throwing sand on), and then it was too hot. Anything and everything had been wrong for her that day. That wasn't the most unexpected or strange thing though, Eurydicia had been a whiny kid. There was always something she could find to sob about, her dress was uncomfortable, her stomach hurt, her shoes had mud on them. Something was always wrong in little Eurydicia's world.

No, the reason the memory stuck to her was not that Eurydicia had cried, but rather what she had found was really the girl's reason for her crying. It was at the end of the day, back in the large resort where their rooms were. They had a seaside view out the window, and young Adelaide had stood under it, watching the waves crawl up to the shore. At that time, she had yet to learn how to swim and wasn’t allowed to go out in one of the bathing machines. It frustrated her, and she was forced to watch the ocean from afar, thinking about how much fun gliding out in the water would be. If only she had known what drowning felt like, then she wouldn’t have been so jealous of the other swimmers.

Well wrapped up in her jealousy, Adelaide had not noticed the little squeak as her sister tumbled off the bed, tired from her day of whining. She walked up to the window, leaning against Adelaide’s side, which nearly toppled them both over. Adelaide said something rather harsh, mostly in surprise at almost taking a dive to the floor, but she quickly quieted when a small whisper came from her sister. It was something along the lines of, let’s go back outside, to which Adelaide responded, No, you’re tired. Go back to bed. Eurydicia began crying again at that, and Adelaide panicked, not sure what she had done wrong. She couldn’t see anything partially wrong with what she’d said, and Eurydicia had a miserable day at the beach anyway. Why would she want to go back?

The only thing Adelaide could think of was that maybe her sister was just in a drowsy state, mind only halfway functioning and mouth spewing. So she grabbed Eurydicia under the armpits and tried dragging the screaming child back to the room's bed, something that took a bit more effort than she'd anticipated. Governess Edna was somewhere else at the time, having told the children to go to bed and not make a noise. Looking back at it, she was probably off to do something less than pure, but Adelaide tried not to think about that part. She focused more on when she finally got Eurydicia to the bed, but it was too high, and there wasn’t any way she could lift her up to the top. Out of options, she finally just dropped her sister, hoping she didn't crack her head on the bed behind her. She didn’t, thank goodness, but she still continued to cry. Part of Adelaide was worried about Governess Edna thinking they were disobeying the rules, but most of her were focussed on the awful piercing of screams Eurydicia was making.

With mind screaming, Adelaide finally thought of asking why her sister wanted to go outside so much. It took a few times repeating, each one louder and louder until her sister finally quieted down to a sniffle. Adelaide asked the same question a little softer than, standing above Eurydicia with her arms crossed. It probably was not the most inviting look, but young Adelaide really didn’t particularly care.

I wanna go back out!

Why?

Because!

Because why?

If you don’t tell me we can’t go outside.

Because I wanna build a sandcastle with you!

Adelaide had started down in shock, confusion spreading across her. Build a sandcastle? They'd already done that, it had been what they'd done the entire! She didn’t understand what Eurydicia was going on about, but then she realized the last part of the sentence, with you. Thinking back, she realized that throughout the whole day they had never actually worked on something together. Adelaide had wanted a competition, so she’d made Eurydicia build one on her own. She had expected her sister to do everything by herself, and in the time it took for her to make a mount, Adelaide had made maybe three (what she thought was perfect) sandcastles. When she looked over where Eurydicia was building, she felt proud, sure she’d beaten her sister in their compilation only she was competing in. Had Eurydicia been cranky all day because they had not done anything together?

In the end, that was exactly why Eurydicia cried so much, and of course, Adelaide felt bad the entire night, even after her sister fell asleep. She wasn’t able to get any shut-eye until early in the morning, and she was awake when Governess Edna came back, looking disheveled with her hair flying out in every direction. The next day, even with the limited sleep, Adelaide made sure to put a smile on her face. She played and played with Eurydicia, making sure to build every sandcastle they could, and there was not any crying that day. It was fun, for both of them, even if Adelaide had to retire early that night.