The next morning came softly — light spilling through the cracks of the wooden walls, carrying the smell of damp earth and boiled herbs.
Zelene awoke to the faint chatter of birds and the creak of footsteps outside. When she stepped out, she found Elias already tending to a stack of firewood that looked like it had been stacked in the most unstrategic way possible. Finn stood a few feet away, sighing so loudly that even the forest seemed to share his exhaustion.
"You're hopeless," Finn muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I—I can fix it," Elias said, trying to balance a log that immediately rolled off and thudded against his boot. "Just give me a— ah!"
He stumbled backward, narrowly missing the fire pit.
Zelene blinked, momentarily forgetting to breathe. "Are you—"
"I'm fine!" Elias straightened, brushing the dirt from his clothes, pretending nothing happened.
Finn groaned. "This is why I keep saying you shouldn't be left alone with sharp objects. Or round ones. Or… anything, really."
Elias offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Finn…"
Zelene couldn't help it — a small, genuine laugh slipped past her lips. It felt strange, almost foreign, after so many days of grief.
"I can help," she said, stepping forward. "Please — I may not have money to repay you, but I can do something useful."
Finn crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "You should rest, your majesty."
Zelene froze at the way he said it — not with respect, but with a sharp edge, as if to remind her that she didn't belong here.
"I'm not—" she started, but stopped herself. Correcting him would mean explaining, and she wasn't ready for that.
So instead, she smiled faintly. "Then let me rest while working."
Finn groaned under his breath. "Unbelievable…"
Elias chuckled softly, scratching the back of his head. "It's alright, Finn. Let her help if she wants."
Finn muttered something inaudible but didn't stop her when she picked up a basket of herbs from the table.
Zelene followed him around as he sorted through bundles of dried leaves, his movements quick and practiced. She tried mimicking what he did — trimming stems, tying knots, keeping count — though half the time, her fingers slipped and she ended up redoing everything.
"Not like that," Finn said, taking the herbs from her hands. "You'll crush the roots."
"Then show me," Zelene replied calmly.
He blinked, thrown off by her tone. "Show you?"
"Yes." She met his gaze evenly. "I learn better by watching."
Finn sighed, clearly torn between annoyance and reluctant admiration. "…Fine. But don't complain if you get dirt on your fancy hands."
Zelene looked down at her palms — already scratched, bandaged, and far from graceful. "They're not that fancy anymore."
Finn paused for a moment, his expression flickering before he looked away. "Hmph."
Elias, meanwhile, tripped over a bucket again, spilling water across the wooden floor.
Zelene turned at the splash. "Elias!"
"I'm fine!" he said automatically, though his face was red.
Finn rubbed his temples. "This is my life now. Babysitting the world's clumsiest person and the most stubborn noblewoman in the kingdom."
Zelene bit back a smile. "Then I suppose we make quite the team."
He scoffed. "You call this a team?"
"Why not?" she replied softly. "We're alive, aren't we?"
That silenced him for a moment.
Zelene lowered her gaze, continuing to sort herbs in silence. Her thoughts wandered — to the weight of her past, to the strange turns of fate that pulled her here.
Two years ago, she'd been an ordinary student — running late for exams, worrying about rent, laughing with friends under flickering streetlights. And now… she was here, in a world that had taken everything from her, helping two strangers in a quiet forest cottage that smelled of smoke and wild thyme.
Maybe this — this quiet — was what she needed to remember she was still alive.
Finn glanced at her from the corner of his eye. For all his sharp words, something about the sight of her working so earnestly — sleeves rolled up, hair tucked back, sunlight on her face — made him pause.
He clicked his tongue. "Don't overwork yourself, princess."
Zelene smiled faintly, eyes still on the herbs. "I'll stop when you do."
Elias chuckled from the doorway. "She's got you there, Finn."
"Not helping, Elias!"
The sound of their small argument rose and fell through the forest, light and fleeting — a fragile kind of peace Zelene hadn't felt in a long, long time.