Chapter 144

MILA

The village of Beauveis was nestled on the coast, a few miles south of Carnea.

Traditionally a fishing village, and one of the poorest villages in the kingdom at that, Beauveis was beginning to blossom into a popular tourist destination after a video from a famous travel influencer of her spending time in the small town went viral a few years back.

Now it was filled to the brim with adorable bakeries, pubs, and small retail shops. You could even go fishing for a day alongside one of the native fishermen. The village was in the middle of an economic boom, and its citizens were gladly reaping the rewards.

As I approached the town square, I found myself wondering for a split second what my life would look like if Beauveis had been so economically prosperous when I was born. Would my parents still have felt like they had to give me up?

There was no use in wondering about that now. I wandered around the village center, wishing I had any more information to go on about my parents. I supposed I could have magically searched for them, but that seemed dangerous. I had no idea how the people of Beauveis would respond to magic.

I finally decided that the best thing I could do was ask.

I had no idea if the people in this village would recognize me as their lost Queen. Some of the more rural areas of Fresonia still did not have great Internet, so perhaps I could walk about incognito. Still, to be safe, I made sure to conjure a large sun hat for myself before entering the village.

I stepped into a small pub, with a large patio area overlooking the sea. I ached for my husband, the glittering waters reminding me of his magical proposal.

“Excuse me,” I said to the bartender, as politely as I could, “I’m looking for a couple. They’d be a bit older now. Alexander and Charlotte? I’m not quite sure of their last name.”

“The Frosts? They’re usually down at the docks this time of day,” he responded as he cleaned glasses.

“Thank you,” I said, heading for the door.

“Wait!” He called after me.

The bartender stared at me for a long moment. I held my breath, nervous that he might place me.

“You look just like her,” he said finally.

“Who?” I squeaked out.

“Charlotte,” he said with a half smile.

Apparently in the last twenty years, my parents’ fortunes had drastically changed. The fishing docks were dominated by a central building with FROST FISHING scrawled on the side in a pretty font. The light blue doors were thrown open, as if to let in the light, and several men milled about the property, bringing in their daily fish.

I dared to take a few steps more when suddenly a slender woman emerged from the main doors.

Charlotte Frost. My mother.

The bartender was right–we did look eerily similar. Her light brown hair now had some grey at the temples, and her eyes crinkled when she smiled, but our faces were nearly identical. Her features were a bit sharper than mine, and her face a bit thinner, but there was an obvious family resemblance.

I wondered if our looks had anything to do with Sofia’s magic, or if my mother’s genetics had beat out even the most powerful of magic.

Charlotte smiled as she talked to the dock workers, greeting each one with a warm “hello” and a respectful nod. I stood, frozen to the spot, transfixed by her sunny demeanor and kindness. I had no idea how to approach her, no idea what to say.

Before I could really brainstorm the best way to announce my presence, Charlotte looked over to where I was standing and her eyes met mine.

A wave of emotions washed over her face–sadness, regret, joy, longing, sorrow, anger, confusion. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and she lifted a delicate, trembling hand to her mouth.

I was still unable to move, unable to think. This was my mother, and I had no clue how to talk to her.

“Mila?” She said it so softly it was a miracle I was able to hear her from this far away. But hearing my name come out of her mouth broke open something deep inside me–an ancient hurt I had no idea I was carrying.

This was different from the heartbreak I felt from Felix. No, this was a deep-rooted sadness, a loneliness, that I had spent my entire life ignoring.

I started sobbing myself, feeling my knees buckle under me. Charlotte rushed towards me, catching me before I hit the ground fully.

“Mila?!” She exclaimed again. From this close, she smelled of clean laundry and salt air. “Is it really you?”

I looked up at her through eyelashes thick with tears. “Are you Charlotte Frost?”

“I am,” she said, helping me back to a standing position. “And I’m your–”

“Mother,” I said, finishing her sentence.

Before I could say another word, Charlotte enveloped me in a deep hug.

I have no idea how long we stood there–weeping, hugging, not really saying anything. I had a feeling that that unknown wound inside me had a twin in Charlotte’s own heart. When she gave me up, she had no way of knowing if she would ever see me again.

Now, here I was, being held by my mother for the first time in twenty years.

Some of the dock workers began to notice. Charlotte finally pulled away, cupping both my cheeks with her hands.

“So it really is you, and I am not dreaming,” she murmured.

“I’m here,” I said awkwardly.

Charlotte wiped a tear from her own face.

“I thought about you every day, Mila,” she said breathlessly. “From the second we gave you up, I wondered if we made the right decision. All I wanted was to know that you were alright, but the rules of the adoption stated that we could not make contact with your family.”

“I understand why you gave me up,” I said, flashing back to the vision I had of their poverty-stricken life. “I know how expensive babies can be.”

Charlotte sighed and looked down at her shoes. “I wanted you to have the best life possible. I knew that I could not give that to you, at least not at that time.”

I gestured to the large building behind her. “It seems that your fortunes have changed.”

“Yes,” Charlotte beamed. “A few years after you were adopted, a storm hit Beauveis, destroying almost every dock on the coast, except for your father’s. Alexander was able to pull in more fish than ever during those weeks of rebuilding, and sold them at a reduced price to those recovering from the storm.”

“And then you were able to build all this?” I asked.

Charlotte nodded. “We were very lucky after that.”

“Is Alexander… is my father in there now?” I held my breath for the answer.

Charlotte placed a hand over her heart. “Indeed he is. Would you like to meet him?”

We made our way into the fishing building, Charlotte never letting go of my hand for the entire time. As we approached a small office overlooking the water, she smiled at me and gently nudged me ahead of her.

I knocked on the door and a pleasant-sounding male voice called out, “Come in!”

I walked into the office, the brown-haired man not yet looking up from his work.

“Hi,” I said, shifting my weight from foot to foot nervously. “I’m Mila. I’m your daughter.”