The ladies all gathered into a large carriage to take them down to the town a few days after their tour. Captain Colt joined with the captain of the city watch to ensure their safety in town. A good number of men surrounded the carriage, a few more awaiting their arrival. 

Queen Farida would have the captains and her queen guards with her at all times. Lady Sylvia and Lady Cur had each three guards, provided by the duke. Lady Gyla had Ajax, Phlad, and a new fellow named Jilis. Short and stocky with a battle axe strapped to his back and arms exposed to show a sleeve of tattoos. An interesting man according to Ajax who was proper and polite when introduced to Gyla. 

Farida did not expect them to huddle about together. The townsfolk might not like them crowding the streets. So, they separated in the market to peruse the stands. 

Gyla smiled as an elderly woman tried to curtsey, a cane off to her right. She returned the gesture and bought a slice of bread to munch on as she walked. A group of children ran past, her guards tightening around her momentarily at the disturbance. One of them, a young boy with an ashen face and dirty blonde hair stopped to stare up at her.

“Good morning,” Gyla curtsied to the boy who gave an exaggerated bow and nearly toppled over. He ran off to join his friends. 

She found a few pieces of jewelry that interested her but she passed them by. She intended to converse with the folk and try not to get caught up in any bargains they might be offering. Nice people still had to eat too. 

Gyla found them all pleasant, chatting excitedly about the festival and seeing the queen. Toothy grins with missing teeth flashed her way. Wry smirks as she came too close. Shy, tight-lipped smiles from several little girls who liked her hair. All beaming with information about their lord. Kind words. Defensive tones. Side eyes cast her way. 

“I want to be one of the duke’s knights when I grow up!” Shouted one boy who quickly got shushed by his mother. 

“Can I touch your hair?” Asked another child who tugged roughly on the strands and Ajax had to grab Gyla’s hand so she wouldn’t fall over. 

“Your dress is very pretty!” Said several children who ducked in to hug her legs and vanish into alleyways. 

Gyla left the market to see the docks, empty except for a few small vessels loaded with nets. Many would be out on the water trying to haul back the catch of the day. The water rippled in high tide, soft splashes against the stone of the town. 

She got to see a medusa for the first time! A snake-like creature that would slither from the land and swim in the deep ocean. It’s slimy skin like a snail’s and two gills like those of fish. She even watched as it unsheathed two legs from the middle of its body and used the webbed feet to grasp onto the stone and haul itself up. 

“That looks disgusting…” Ajax murmured as he watched on. 

“It is not a pleasant creature,” Jilis agreed. “My nana would say that it was a hungry creature born of nothing but envy and greed. It ate the eel and the snake and the frog to traverse both the land and the water, but it could never catch a bird. Teffany, the seagull of the reefs, decided to tease him because he could never get to her.” 

“And that’s why the medusa is mostly eaten by birds.” Gyla could recall the vague details but the story definitely interested her. 

“Exactly. If you feed it, it will come back for more and more until you have nothing left,” Jilis added. 

“That is strange…” Gyla turned from the docks to return to town. Dinner would be waiting for them by the time they returned to the castle. “Why is the Dominis’ symbol the medusa then?”

Jilis only shrugged, unable to answer.

A greedy creature did not feel fitting in the slightest, but perhaps there would be more stories in the library to explain the choice. 

Gyla pondered the thought throughout dinner, hardly glancing up from her plate. As soon as she could be dismissed, she headed for the library to determine any more stories for the medusa. 

“Here.” Ajax aided her search and handed her a book on the history of Hermilant. “This might have your answer.” 

“What are you looking for?” The duke startled them both and with his fierce gaze, Gyla suddenly felt in trouble. 

“The medusa,” Gyla answered quickly. “I heard stories in town and wanted to know more.” 

Duke Dominis stared at her for a long moment before taking the book from her hand and placing it back. He disappeared for a moment, then returned with a thick volume. 

“This might be more appropriate.” He gave the book to Ajax who bowed his head upon receiving it. 

“Thank you, Your Grace. Would you care to sit with me?” A little nook with chairs and a table sat in the corner. 

“No, I have other business to attend to.” And he disappeared the way he came. 

Gyla huffed then turned to Ajax. 

“So much for conversation.” Gyla almost rolled her eyes.

She wanted to pursue the damn man but couldn’t make up her mind if she should or not. She hadn’t really a chance to speak to him. He made time at the queen’s behest for he could not refuse her, but even Lady Sylvia and Cur tried to get him to talk and he would back away with excuses. His shy demeanor started to feel more like asocialness than anything shy.

Ajax snorted at her ire and followed her to the chairs. 

The book did have good insight into the histories of the region. Fascinating insights on creatures and superstition. The medusa’s section lasted half a page and only noted the creature to be of bad luck and greed. 

Gyla would have to ask elsewhere. But, all the servants answered the same and even the guards could not tell her any different than what Jilis’ nana told him. 

“You hunt not for the duke?” Queen Farida caught her in the corridor, steps away from Gyla’s rooms. 

“His family chose the medusa,” Gyla dropped her voice low and the queen leaned in to listen. “Except, everything I hear about it is bad luck and greed. I don’t understand why such a creature would be chosen for a noble house.”

“The Dominis are an ancient house, not as ancient as yours, but they carry a heavy history with them.” Queen Farida beckoned her to follow and they entered the queen’s rooms at the end of the hall. 

“I know about the rebellion and the war between them and the Thaurn.” Thaurn being a region neighboring Bellesea and is currently run by a Baron with only one generation to his name. “King Alcott intervened.” 

“Yes, well, before that and before Aedon towered the sea from this cliff, the Dominis were known to be a very greedy and power hungry family. They came from the south and owned a great portion of the coastline. They chose the medusa because they were not afraid to swallow other noble houses whole to expand their power.” Farida settled into her chaise and Gyla sat across on a sofa. 

“I did not know they came from the south. How did they lose all that land?” Dominis were ancient and so were the Rookes. Surely, their loyalty had been tested fully over the years. 

“Pirates raided the coastlines.” Old news really. “The Nile Isles conquered some of the more southern portions before being pushed back.” More old news that almost everyone knew about. “Soon enough, they began to take sides against their southern cousins. They were cut off and they needed better allies. The northern territories were not trusting so it took a family feud and some major revisions before the Dominis were entrusted to the fold.” 

“And they kept the medusa?” 

“Adaptability.” Farida smiled at Gyla. “The medusa can be found in the north and south, they care not about the cold or the heat. They will survive no matter the cost. While bad luck and greed follow the creature in stories, it does hold out to be one of the best survivors out there.” 

“How interesting…” Gyla turned to look out the window. 

“Not really.” Queen Farida called back her attention. “Your family symbol is the discus. Strength. Unity. Family. Yet, they kill your people, maiming the ones they don’t. They are territorial and unforgiving creatures.” 

“I would disagree with such statements, but I suppose, I am biased.” 

“Explain, my dove.”

“The discus only attacks those bigger than them because all their predators are bigger. One needs only to sit and move out of the way. Offer no threat and receive no violence, I believe His Majesty said during the latest cease.” Farida grinned, almost feral, as Gyla tried to argue her point. “Violent and territorial, yes, but that is the north. To survive in the harshest of lands, one must be harsh, but we are a family unit and the family must survive.” 

“You are very intelligent, my dove.” Farida leaned back in her chaise, the wicked gleam not leaving her eyes. “And you have explained the medusa perfectly.”

Gyla sat a little straighter at the sudden similarities. 

“I supposed I just did.”

A creature of great adaptability. Land and water. Just like the Dominis controlled the forests of Hermilants and the reefs of the coast beside it.

Farida laughed and shooed her out of her rooms. A young lady like Gyla should be using her youth to explore. 

Gyla also happened to run into the duke once more. 

“Was the book not to your liking?” 

She frowned. How could he possibly know that?

“I’m afraid it did not offer additional insight on what I wanted.” Gyla fought to choose her words carefully. “But, I have managed to find a new point of view with the information I gathered, so yes, the book was to my liking.” 

Gyla peeked past the duke to see Lady Sylvia spying. 

“If I may ask, what point of view would that be?” His blue eyes bore into her own with such interest that it made her smile. 

“That the discus and the medusa share as many similarities as they do differences,” Gyla declared confidently. 

The duke blinked down at her. 

“You did say,” he began slowly, “that Hermilant and Bellesea had looked the same but you only needed to walk to know the difference…”

“I did.” Then quickly, as the thought struck her, “I did not intend to sound disapproving, Your Grace. I only meant that-”

“I know what you meant,” he stopped her with a chuckle. “Are the discus and the medusa the same?”

“Only this time,” she clarified with renewed enthusiasm, “the similarities are not in the looks but on the inside, the meaning if you will.” 

“I see…” He clearly did not and Gyla glanced at Lady Sylvia, Lady Cur now joining. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go.” With a quick curtsey, Gyla ran past to join the other ladies who excitedly waved for her to join them. 

Maybe, they would pick up on this conversation again. A little cliff to keep him interested.