Chapter 23: A Single Rose

When the ferry finally came to port again, Rose couldn’t wait to be back on dry land. There was a rush of passengers and luggage disembarking the vessel, making it difficult for Rose to find Ivan. She moved from the ferry, crossed the dock, and finally came to a stone street in the town. Not long after, she saw Ivan breaking from the crowd and went to meet up with him. A certain level of excitement swirled around her stomach now that they were getting so close to the capital.

“Hey, Ivan!” She called to him, trying to catch up. “Ivan!” She shouted again, now jogging some.

“I’m going to the capital alone,” he said as Rose came within a few feet of him.

“Why? Aren’t we traveling together?” Rose asked, confused.

“We were,” he said, stopping to look at her now. “I also thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but the crew spent half of the trip bragging about how they all fucked you and those other girls,” he added in a nasty tone.

“Ivan, I didn’t mean-” she began to say but stopped. There was no good excuse for what happened. “It happened so fast,” she said in a low voice, embarrassed voice.

“How fast could eight guys take turns with you?” He countered, with a look of disgust on his face.

“Ivan-” she tried to say but was immediately cut off.

“I don’t want to see you again,” he interrupted before turning to walk away from her.

Ivan’s words made Rose feel disgusted about herself, as if she had been tainted by some plague or disease. The further Ivan retreated from hurt, the more pain Rose felt. Not only had they traveled so far together, they had lived in each other’s body. She wiped the tears from her face as she walked, looking for an inn to stay at for the night before continuing toward the capital. All afternoon and evening, Rose expected Ivan to return. At any moment, he’d knock on her door so they could talk, and then she could apologize.

As Rose set off for the capital the next day, Ivan was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t at the inn or on any of the streets leading toward the town’s exit. The road to the capital wasn’t nearly as empty as the ones on previous trips. Every half-mile to a mile, there were shops, lumber camps, small farms, and horse stables. Also, to Rose’s surprise, there was a small inn to stay in for the night before she had to complete the trip. The inn was crowded, though, filled with people migrating in and out of the capital. There were no private rooms available except for people holding elevated titles.

Two of Rose’s roommates were discussing their plans for the capital, which seemed so meager compared to the big ask she planned to make. Now that she was this close, Rose pictured herself explaining her predicament. Somehow, she’d need to convince strangers that she was from another world. Once that was done, she could only hope that her problem could be solved.