As June came to a close, the duchess was entering her eighth month of pregnancy and growing even more restless by the day. It was unclear as to whether the baby may come in early or not, but the maids grew concerned with the duchess’s inability to find comfort in any position and the lack of sleep due to that fact. Despite it all, the duchess refused to go back home to her husband and the Ashburn Estate because her friend’s wedding was to take place in two days. The discomfort the duchess felt was small compared to the reward she will soon feel after witnessing her best friend’s marriage. Once everything comes together as planned, her mind and body will be at peace. This, the duchess was sure of. After all, it was all the duchess’s suggestion to the prince that he reward Coral by asking for her hand in marriage.

The event which led to the engagement between the crown prince and Coral Haven, an event that the duchess labeled as fate, happened in early June when the summer heat first began to roll in. Coral and Pearl were strolling along the shores of the beach one morning when they had walked upon the ship-wrecked prince! The intelligent Pearl naturally saw this as an opportunity to gain close connections with royalty, but never did she expect the prince to ask her for suggestions on how to reward them both! At the time, the duchess was almost sorry that she was already married. Perhaps the prince and the most noble title next to him could have been hers, but after setting her friend up with the prince, and then seeing them together, Pearl knew this was destiny. When the prince took Pearl’s suggestion of marriage to heart, she believed Fate had personally handed the two girls this opportunity. Pearl had eagerly grasped onto this firm line, and she was ready to see it through until the end.

It was that night, almost a day away from her friend’s wedding, that the duchess grew a deep thirst for fresh air. The walls of the magnificent estate felt stifling that particular night and so just opening the windows was not enough. Pearl did not have a balcony in her room, but the empty room next to hers had one, so she walked out as silently as she could and entered the next room over. Right when the duchess was about to close the door behind her, she heard the floorboards creak in the distance. She paused, then slowly turned back, creaking open the door wider once more to peer into the hallway. 

In the distance, Pearl could make out a soft glow which disappeared around a dark corner. How peculiar. It was nearly midnight. The whole estate should be asleep by now, thought the duchess. The household staff was no exception as there was no night watch at this mansion. This town was the safest in Gelum, and no one would dare steal from the High Priest’s daughter and future princess; not even in the guise of darkness. Forgetting the balcony and swallowing the suffocating sensation of the enclosed walls, Pearl follows the candlelight. 

The duchess was somehow able to follow the light even in this dark hour. Perhaps it was thanks to the floorboards which creaked ever so often or in the slow way the bearer of the candle walked. Pearl guessed that the person she now followed was not accustomed to walking in pitch black. 

The light left the estate, which Pearl was relieved for because she secretly longed to step out into the freshness of the night air as well. But instead of moving towards the village onwards, it winded back down the hill on the opposite side towards the beach. The duchess struggled to catch up to the candlelight here for the hill was very steep and hard on the pregnant body. She had not visited the beach up close since hallucinating the drowning girl (by this time, Pearl had accepted it as an illusion). And so the duchess doubted her ability and safety to be able to climb down. And there was that question too if she could climb down unnoticed, for she found herself huffing and wheezing violently. 

It was when she had reached the bottom and her bare feet slid once more into sand, that Pearl truly realized what she was doing. This is incredulous. Absolutely preposterous. No one would ever think, let alone believe that a pregnant duchess of such high class such as herself would follow a stranger in the chilling air of darkness. Pearl shivered at the possibilities of what she may face in the night. What was she thinking? Pearl scolded herself. And yet, the duchess felt something in her rise that she hadn’t felt in a long time. A thrilling joy. Ecstasy that shouldn’t be felt at this moment of possible danger. Is this one of the effects of being pregnant?

Pearl hurries along the beach after the light. When the person carrying the candle reaches the waves, their silhouette or form could finally be made out. Pearl had to cover her mouth to keep herself from gasping out loud. It was that girl she witnessed drowning only weeks before! Except the girl must have not drowned for she stood under the night unscathed. So it wasn’t an illusion after all! Pearl watched in amazement, her mouth gaping open with a silent gasp, the only disturbance in the still night before the waves began to churn. 

It was unlike what Pearl had ever seen. The waves continued to wash over what was dry land, but the water, instead of retreating backwards soon after, piled up on top of each other. The tower of waves continued to pile high until it was a foot taller than the candlelight girl. The light now reflected against the clear water and made the girl beneath it more distinguishable. And she looked somewhat familiar. In the way she stood almost on her tippy-toes, the distinct way her free hand moved restlessly, and then the girl’s face turned towards the duchess for a slight second. It was only for a moment, and the two had not made eye contact, but Pearl now knew that this girl was in fact someone she knew. Someone she knew very well in fact, her dear friend Coral Haven.

Pearl had not spoken to Coral since their last conversation regarding Star. Not that they even had the chance to meet with Coral’s busy wedding schedule. But they were best friends, and best friends always find time to try and see each other occasionally. Yet Pearl did not seek out Coral, and Coral did not go meet Pearl. But here she was, Coral in the candlelight beneath a tower of waves. And Pearl, her pregnant friend who secretly witnessed all this, could not make sense of it at all. But the duchess could see it now. How Coral’s red hair could have and still continues to look brown. And how the shadows of the waves, the ominous darkness, sucked all the brilliance out of her hair. What looked like rubies in the daytime looked dead and decayed beneath shadows. 

As Pearl began to define and accept what she saw, she began to sort and calculate her moves. Unlike the bright eyed Coral, Pearl’s dark eyes easily adjusted in the darkness. She scanned her surroundings, picking up her choice of weapon if she would need it later, a rock. Her stone was not a pebble. Sharp along one edge but firmly large enough that it had to be carried by both hands, the duchess clutched onto it as she waited. 

Finally, the sorcery of the Ocean completed and collapsed, revealing Coral’s biggest secret. Pearl clenched her jaw, finding resolve. This time picking up a pebble, Pearl threw it with all her might as far as she could in the opposite direction with a PLU-THUNK! She continued to do it until it caught Coral’s attention enough to scare her. Coral momentarily dismissed herself from the what-would-be-revealed, and hurriedly went to look for the subject that made a disturbance. Pearl made her move. With swift motion, one that should not be possible for an eight month pregnant woman to do, Pearl approached the object that drove all of Coral’s attention, and attacked it with the giant stone. Out of breath, the duchess looked down with the expectation of seeing a mutilated, dead body. But to the pregnant woman’s relief, and pure astonishment, was that all that was left of Coral’s secret, which she had locked so tightly in her heart, was nothing but sea foam.