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Vox had always been fascinated by humans.
She was the most ‘normal’ looking in her human form, so she was almost always the one to go ashore while her pod stayed back in the water and guarded her pelt.
Valentino had purple hair, and Velvette had gray skin in their human forms, so they couldn't really blend in with human society like she could. Really, the only thing that stood out about her was her different coloured eyes, but some humans had that too, so it could be passed off fairly easily.
She’d learned lots about humans during that time on land, and she knew for a fact that humans were… weird.
The thing that stood out most about them- to her, at least- was that they didn’t migrate. They just stayed in one spot all year round.
Selkies did not do that.
Vox didn’t quite get how anyone could without going mad.
Selkies, instead of living in one place their entire life, travelled thousands of miles every single year- every season a new place to call home, moving on again when it was time.
She loved being a selkie because of that.
It was riskier to live in the water than it was on land, but the freedom it came with was well worth it- at least to her.
She, Velvette and Valentino had spent a few hundred years traversing the ocean, always returning to the same four spots along the coast to settle down for three months. She was the oldest of the trio by far, and she’d long since established her route before inviting Velvette and Valentino to join her.
They were the only three selkies that shared that route, though they often bumped into the same people every year at the same places. Some of those people were pod-adjacent, but none of them had chosen to go with the Vees instead of their own pod even when asked.
The Vees technically weren’t even her pod, since none of them were related, but they travelled together and would guard each other’s pelts when asked, so Vox considered them family. She would never make it official though, as that would require asking and possibly getting rejected.
Speaking of, fuck Alastor. He’d led her on, made her think they were going to be mates, and then, when she asked about it, said they weren’t even friends, much less mate or pod material.
She’d changed her route after that to avoid the places she knew Alastor visited, so she hadn’t seen him since.
But that was the past.
Now she had the Vees, and she was closer with them than she ever was with Alastor.
She trusted them with her pelt. That wasn't something selkies did lightly.
A selkie's pelt was more than just a way to change between forms. It was freedom. It was home.
Without it, a selkie could be trapped on land indefinitely, unable to return to the sea until someone gave it back- which was why they never left their pelts with humans.
Vox had heard stories about humans stealing selkie pelts before. Some were probably exaggerated, as stories tended to be, but enough were true that no sensible selkie would ever risk it.
Humans liked pretty things. They liked owning things. And a selkie without her pelt couldn't simply walk away.
That was why, whenever Vox went ashore, the Vees stayed behind with her pelt.
She trusted them.
She trusted the sea.
She did not trust humans. Not enough to let them anywhere near the one thing she could never afford to lose.
Normally, there was nothing to worry about.
Normally, the Vees were waiting for her in the water.
Normally, the sea was calm enough that she could always find her way back.
But the storm came in faster than any of them expected.
Vox woke up with a pounding headache.
For a few seconds, she had no idea where she was.
She lay perfectly still, staring up at a ceiling she didn't recognize, trying to remember how she'd gotten there. Her entire body hurt. Her shoulder in particular felt like she'd been thrown against a rock, and there was a dull ache behind her eyes that made thinking difficult.
She blinked.
Ceiling.
Bed.
Blankets.
A room.
None of those things belonged in the sea.
Vox sat up too quickly and immediately regretted it.
The room spun.
She grabbed onto the edge of the mattress until it stopped, breathing slowly through the nausea. Her heart was already racing, and she had no idea if that was from the pain or the panic.
Where was she?
The last thing she remembered was… was the storm.
Shit.
She’d been separated from Velvette and Valentino.
And worse, her pelt.
She looked around the room.
She didn’t see it.
She threw the blankets off and nearly fell out of bed in her hurry to stand. Her legs were shaky, as they always were after transforming, but they worked.
She checked the floor first, then the chair in the corner, then the small table beside the bed.
Nothing.
Her pelt wasn't there.
Her heart dropped into her stomach.
She searched the room again, faster this time, as if it might magically appear if she looked hard enough. Under the bed. Behind the curtains. In the wardrobe.
Nothing.
Her pelt was gone.
That was when she noticed the clothes.
Vox stared down at herself.
She was wearing some kind of loose, soft dress that definitely wasn't one of the ones she carried around for when she needed to go ashore.
Humans.
She was with humans.
She didn't remember getting onto land. She didn't remember being found. She didn't remember anyone touching her.
But she remembered the storm.
The water.
And then nothing.
Vox backed away from the door.
She needed to leave.
Immediately.
She didn't know where she was, who had found her, or whether whoever lived here knew what she was. For all she knew, her pelt had washed ashore somewhere and a human had found it.
If they had, she was as good as dead.
A noise came from the other side of the door.
Vox froze.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming.
She looked around the room for something she could use as a weapon.
There wasn't much.
A lamp.
A chair.
A vase.
Good enough.
The door opened.
A blonde woman stepped inside carrying a tray.
She stopped dead.
Vox did too.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
The woman looked at her, then at the overturned blankets, and at the vase Vox had clearly been preparing to use as a weapon.
Somehow, instead of looking frightened or angry, she smiled. “Thank goodness you're awake.”
Vox stared at her.
The woman set the tray down on a nearby table. “I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure you took a really bad hit. Are you okay?”
Vox continued staring.
“H-how long was I out for?”
She figured that that was probably important information, despite it very much not being the main thing on her mind at the moment.
It’s not like she could ask where her pelt was without possibly exposing her situation to someone who didn’t know.
“I’m not actually sure.” The blonde woman said, frowning. “We only found you on the shore last night though. Were you in a shipwreck?”
Okay.
Okay.
The woman didn’t seem to know that she was a selkie.
Or if she did, she was playing with Vox and this situation was worse than Vox realized.
But regardless, she could play shipwreck victim until she could get out to the beach and find her pelt and or the other Vees, who would surely be looking for her by now.
“I- Oh. We crashed? I know there was a storm, but I- I- I didn’t… Is everyone- Am I- Oh goodness-” She let her voice get more shrill, stressed and confused until the woman cut her off.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We’ll find out which ship crashed, and then we can get you back home once you’re healed. Speaking of, you should really get back in bed.”
That gave her a deadline, but that was fine.
She only needed until she was healed enough to go to the beach.
She gave a fake panicked glance around and sat back down on the bed. “Okay. May I ask who I’m speaking to?”
“Oh! Of course, where are my manners? I’m Charlotte, but I prefer to be called Charlie. How about you?”
She didn’t want to share her real name with a human, but if Velvette and Valentino were looking for her, using her real name could be advantageous and helpful to their search if they were to ask the humans about her.
“...Vox. I’m Vox.”
“Oh, cool! I’ve never heard that name before.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess my parents were creative. Where are we?”
“This is my family’s winter palace just north of Gull’s Landing.”
First off, this girl is rich as fuck if her family has a ‘winter’ palace.
Secondly, Gull’s Landing was the last town she’d visited with Velvette and Valentino. If this was still quite local, they might find her pelt before she could recover and be able to keep it safe for her. That was good news.
Third, palace? Was Charlie a princess?
Fourth, it wasn’t winter. Why was she at the winter palace?
Vox decided not to ask.
Not yet, anyways.
She had more important things to figure out first.
For one, she needed to know how many people were in the palace.
She glanced toward the door.
No guards.
That was strange.
If this really was a palace, she'd expected at least a few humans standing around making sure nobody got in or out. Instead, the hallway beyond the door looked completely empty.
Maybe they were just out of sight? Maybe Charlie was waiting for Vox to lower her guard? She'd seen humans do that before.
Charlie, meanwhile, seemed completely unaware that Vox was suspicious of her. “Would you like some water?”
Vox blinked. “...Sure.”
Charlie picked up a glass from the tray and handed it to her.
Vox stared at it for a moment before taking it.
She wasn't sure what she'd expected. Poison, maybe. Well, probably not poison. Humans didn't usually poison shipwreck survivors.
She took a small sip.
It tasted like just water.
Fresh water, but she knew she couldn’t drink salt water while in her human form without giving away what she was, so if Charlie had given her salt water, that would be a give away that she knew.
Charlie smiled sadly. “You must be exhausted.”
“I am.”
That wasn't a lie.
“Do you remember anything about the ship?”
“No.”
That was a lie. There never had been a ship.
Charlie didn't seem to notice. “That's okay. You don't have to remember everything right away.”
“Where exactly did you find me?”
“On the beach.”
“Which beach?”
Charlie tilted her head. “The one below the palace.”
“Right.”
That didn't narrow it down nearly as much as Charlie seemed to think it did.
“Was anyone else there?”
“No. Just you.”
Vox's grip tightened around the glass.
Nobody else.
Not Velvette.
Not Valentino.
Not even another human.
She had been alone, which meant the Vees hadn't found her yet. That was bad.
But it also meant they were probably still looking. That was good.
Assuming they hadn't been caught in the storm too.
If they had, she would have to find them and possibly save them, but she kind of needed saving herself at the moment.
“And you brought me here?”
“Well, I couldn't exactly leave you on the beach.” Charlie said it like that was obvious.
“I guess not…” Vox muttered. “Um, who’s all at the palace?”
“Oh, no one but me. I get deliveries and such, but I’m alone most of the time here. I considered going into town for a doctor for you, but it was already night. I was just going to leave some food for you and then go into town, but then you were awake.”
Okay.
Alone.
Vox could handle that.
It would mean that Charlie 100% knew where her pelt was if she couldn’t find it on the beach.
She also very much did not want a doctor.
She might look human, but the moment she was held up to close examination, she would be exposed as distinctly non-human.
“Ah, well I’m sure I’ll recover on my own, don’t bother paying for a doctor for me.”
“Oh, really, it’s no trouble. I’ve got the money for it, I promise.”
Vox didn’t doubt that as she looked around the room again.
The furniture was expensive. She didn't know enough about human furniture to know exactly how expensive, but she knew enough to recognize quality when she saw it.
The bed alone was probably worth more than everything she'd ever owned on land.
And this was clearly only a guest room.
Definitely rich as fuck.
“So you're a princess.”
Charlie froze. “Oh… yeah.”
Just ‘yeah’?
That was it?
Vox had expected denial, or at least some sort of explanation.
Instead, Charlie just looked mildly embarrassed. “Princess Charlotte Morningstar.”
Morningstar.
That felt familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on where she’d heard it before. Probably in passing mention while they were visiting Gull’s Landing.
“Do people usually call you that?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because it's a mouthful.” Charlie shrugged. “Charlie is easier.”
That was strange.
Vox had met humans who cared very much about titles. She'd seen them bow and scrape and fuss over who was allowed to sit where and who was important enough to speak first.
Vox was never considered one of those important enough to speak to royalty in her human disguises, yet here she was, speaking to a princess.
Charlie either didn’t care about the ‘rules’ or she was faking because she knew what Vox was. Either made her much more interesting than other humans, and much more dangerous as well.
“Why are you here?”
“At the palace?”
“Yes.”
Charlie glanced around. “I like it here.”
Vox waited.
That was all she was going to say?
“You have an entire palace in the middle of nowhere because you like it?”
“It's not really in the middle of nowhere.”
“There's no one else around.”
Charlie smiled. “Exactly.”
Vox frowned.
That didn't make sense.
Humans liked cities. They liked crowds. They liked staying in one place and building more places around it until they could barely see the original landscape anymore.
Why would a human voluntarily choose isolation?
“You don't like the capital?”
“I do.”
“Then why aren't you there?”
Charlie hesitated. “I just... wanted some time away.”
Away from what?
Her family?
Her responsibilities?
Her people?
Vox wasn't sure.
She was starting to suspect that Charlie might be strange even by human standards.
Charlie picked up the tray again. “You should eat something.”
Vox glanced at the food. She didn't recognize half of it. “What is that?”
“Breakfast.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
Charlie laughed. Vox couldn't help staring. She had a nice laugh. That was… inconvenient. “There's toast, fruit, eggs, and some tea.”
She knew what toast, eggs and tea were. She wasn’t an idiot. “I mean the fruits. Are they imported?”
“Ohhh, right, yeah they are. There’s some pomegranate, grapes, and lemon. The yellow one is the lemon by the way. Don’t eat it, it’s just extra flavour for the tea.”
“Why can’t I eat it but I can drink it?” She asked, picking up the ‘lemon’.
“Well, I mean, you can, but I really wouldn’t recommend it.” Charlie laughed. “You can eat it if you want. I just don't think you'll enjoy it.”
Vox looked down at the lemon in her hand. “You said I shouldn't.”
“I said I wouldn't recommend it.”
“Those are contradictory statements.”
Charlie laughed again.
Vox wasn't sure what was so funny.
“Okay, fair enough.” Charlie reached over and took the lemon from her. “Here.”
She set it back on the tray and picked up a small knife. Vox watched her curiously as she cut the lemon in half. Charlie held one of the halves out toward her.
“Go on.”
Vox stared at it. “...What am I supposed to do with it?”
“Eat it.”
“You just said I wouldn't enjoy it.”
“I don't think you will.”
“Then why are you telling me to eat it?”
“Because you've never had one before.”
Vox frowned. Humans were really strange.
She took the lemon half anyway.
Charlie watched her expectantly.
Vox hesitated.
She'd eaten plenty of strange things in her life. Fish that looked like they had been designed specifically to be unpleasant. Shellfish that pinched her fins when she tried to catch them. Human food that had seemed bizarre the first time she'd tried it and completely ordinary by the third.
Surely a piece of fruit couldn't be that bad.
She took a bite.
Vox's entire face twisted.
She immediately pulled the lemon away from her mouth, spitting out the chunk of lemon into her hand. “What the fuck?!”
Charlie burst out laughing.
Vox glared at her. “You knew it tasted like that.”
“I told you!”
“You said I wouldn't enjoy it. You didn't say it was horrible.”
“I thought that was implied.”
Vox stared at the lemon.
She had been expecting fruit. This was apparently some sort of taste-bud-based weapon.
“How do you eat this?”
“I don't. Not like that.”
“Then why did you tell me to?”
Charlie was still laughing. “Because I wanted to see your reaction.”
Vox narrowed her eyes. “You tricked me.”
“I wouldn't call it a trick.”
“You absolutely tricked me.”
Charlie smiled. “Maybe a little.”
Vox set the lemon back on the tray with as much dignity as she could manage.
She was not going to admit that she was curious about it. She was also absolutely going to try it again later when Charlie wasn't watching. Not because she liked it, obviously. She simply refused to be defeated by a piece of fruit.
And maybe she’d never had anything that tasted like that before.