Page 37 of Ghosts and Ginger Tea

“So.” Kiki grinned. “How have your first days with your husband been? I’ve been dying to hear everything. I was about to march to the palace if you didn’t show up any sooner.”

I laughed, then spilled everything. About Malakai. The ball. Kalani. Keanu’s apology. And that very day. By the time I finished, Kiki’s smile was as wide as a rainbow stretching across the sky.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Oh, he’s in love with you, isn’t he? I knew it!” She giggled.

“Kiki!”

“And you’re in love with him, aren’t you?” My sister grabbed my arm. “You’re blushing–I knew it!”

“Kiki, that is enough–”

“The riddle makes complete sense, Oli. You must tell him the true meaning!”

“I can’t! What if he doesn’t like me? Or if he’s using me? What if–”

“Oh hush! What if he loves you? Huh?” She raised her eyebrows. I shook my head, but her question lingered with me long after I left.

What if he loves me?

That’s ridiculous, Oli. Right. That was not even an option. He was just flirting because I reacted, and I had to stop reacting. We only knew each other for a few days.

But even as I thought this, I hated that the riddle was becoming clearer and clearer to me. And, after researching more about the chiefs Keanu met while he was a night marcher, I learned that all of them did not have everything in common except that they were all chiefs. Keanu and I concluded that the way for the night marcher to break his curse was unique and individual.

“After all,” Keanu had said, “Kāne sent me riddles in my dreams, and the ones I shared with you the night we met were for me specifically.”

So the riddles only applied to Keanu, not all the night marchers.

The reality of my situation terrified me, and by the end of the day, I felt more cold and callous towards Keanu than wanting to get close to him. It was dangerous, especially knowing that at the end of it all, his death was inevitable, and hearts could be broken.

The next morning, Keanu was up before me, leaning over his journal again, writing.

“Good morning,” I said, my voice quiet as I slipped past him into the washroom. Not before he looked up and smiled at me.

“Good morning.” Why was that smile so infectious?

I changed into the dress inside, but heard a knock on the door to our bedroom. Keanu spoke with someone, and then there was another knock on the washroom door.

When I opened it, a maid stood there, a basket of items in her hand… items to make my hair. Hairbrush. Ties. Coconut oil. Purple flowers.

“Good morning, Your Highness.” She curtsied. I would never get used to that. “May I help you prepare for the day?”

Keanu showed up behind her. “I have meetings this morning, Oliana. I would like you to escort me, if you’d like.” His eyes sparkled. “You are queen, after all.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I nodded my agreement.

The maid brushed out my long hair, pulling it into an elegant updo. How she tamed the frizz was beyond me, but when she finished, I looked at myself.

Oliana.

Queen Oliana.

This is not me. I was just the girl who dove for fish.

And now, I was to sit in political meetings with the king?

The spray of purple orchids was elegant in my hair, and the leis around my neck only added to the fragrance and beauty.