Page 16 of Tangled Sails

“Yes, if that’s all right with you.”

“Yes, that’s…yes. Fine.” What a terrifying and wonderful prospect. I had ridden with my father occasionally, and I still remembered the freedom of racing across a meadow, feeling the wind tugging at my hair and clothing.

The grooms made quick work of preparing the horse, saddling the large stallion with a special something called a pillion. It added an additional padded seat behind the normal saddle so we could both mount. “Will this overtax the horse?” I asked.

“Brutus is plenty strong, and we won’t be going far,” Prince Tavric assured me, patting the horse’s neck before mounting. The groom encouraged me to step up on a mounting block, and after I’d situated myself on the little seat, the prince told me to hold on. I circled his waist with my arms, immediately aware of the warm breadth of his back. I hadn’t been in such close proximity to a man since I was a child, and I certainly wasn’t a child now.

I clasped my hands together over his chest and told myself not to be a ninny. A very kind prince was going to show me some of the world, and I would do well to focus on that world instead of the way his body heat made me feel. But, stars above, it was becoming painfully obvious that I was starved for human interaction and touch.

Luckily, I was well and truly distracted once he urged the horse into motion. My head was on a constant swivel, trying to take in everything all at once as we trotted through the grounds, passed under the gate, and then continued down the road, taking in the views of trees in full bloom, fields of flowers and animals, and even a waterfall sluicing down the hillside.

“Whoa,” he called to the horse, slowing him to a walk as we veered off the road and into a copse of trees and vegetation. “This seems like a good spot,” he said as he pulled the horse to a stop. “Now, take my arm with both hands.”

He held his right arm away from his body, and I did as he instructed and latched onto it.

“And swing yourself down.”

Right. Easy. I didn’t give myself time to second guess his direction, just trusted that he could support my weight as I slid, swung my legs, and fumbled my way off the horse.

He leaned down and held on to me until I’d gained my balance again. “I probably could have given you better direction,” he admitted with a bit of self-recrimination in his tone.

“It’s fine,” I said, not bothering to look back at him. I was too preoccupied with the way the mossy earth felt soft beneath the soles of my shoes as I took a few steps. The air was thicker and cooler than it was in Eldmere, and the way the sunlight filtered down through the leaves overhead, dappling the ground with spots of light, created a kind of beauty I’d either never known or forgotten.

I walked several steps and then fell to my knees, pressing my hands into the earth, appreciating the way the soil molded to my palms. This wasn’t stone. It was vegetation. It was living things, thriving plants, and I could have sworn that I felt a vibrant, living energy penetrate my palms, weaving up my arms and into my whole body. I leaned forward until my forehead rested against the earth, wanting to be closer to it, close enough that I could take it in and remember it forever. I breathed deeply, in and out, over and over as silent tears slid from my eyes and into the foliage beneath me. I’d missed so much, longed for so many things over the last ten years, and this was one of them.

The scent of the ground was heady and calming. I’d been able to smell a fair number of things from my tower balcony, but it had been nothing compared to the experience of having my nose pressed into the soil as its aroma saturated my lungs. I sank down further until I was lying on the ground completely, my stomach, chest, and the full length of my legs flush with the ground.

TAVRIC

I didn’t know what to think of this creature—this maiden I’d pulled from the ocean, this young woman who so clearly longed for freedom but was terrified it would be snatched away at any moment, this girl who now lay snuggled against the earth as if she had been deprived of living things for a long time.

Who was she, and why was she here? And what was it about her sudden presence that I found comforting? Perhaps it was her lack of pretense. Maybe it was just that I wanted to shield her from whatever she’d run from.

Whatever it was, I was grateful she was here. After hearing the news of Princess Saria’s impending visit, I’d jumped at the chance to leave the castle, especially since the days I was able to do so were becoming fewer and fewer.

I spent a good portion of my life trying to avoid crowds, noise, and all the other things that grated on me. Often I felt desperate to simply be left alone. Yet as I sat on the ground with a tree supporting my back, I had no wish to run from this odd little mermaid. Instead, I wanted to know more.

Eventually, she rolled over onto her back with her arms splayed out to her sides as she looked up at the canopy of leaves above. She looked small, here under the large trees and expansive sky. There was no reason I should have invited her to stay at the palace, but something about the smallness of her and the loneliness of finding her abandoned in the middle of the ocean had caused a fierce protectiveness to rear up inside me.

“Miss Lyrielle?”

She looked over at me, a bright smile lighting up her whole face. “You can call me Lyri.”

The sweet innocence of the invitation made my heart lurch a bit. “Very well. May I ask you a question, Lyri?”

“Of course.” She rolled to her side and pushed up so that she sat facing me, her thick hair falling out of its braid.

“Where did you come from?”

Her smile dipped and her eyes dimmed. “I told you. Eldmere.”

“Where is that?”

“It’s a village in Branfrie, near enough to the sea that I could smell it but not see it. The capital was a half-day’s journey.”

“What sea?” I knew it wasn’t the Lantis Ocean. I could understand how she might confuse an ocean with a sea if she didn’t know the geography, but I knew every kingdom and village that bordered the Lantis, and Eldmere was not one of them. Neither was Branfrie.

“Lockmere.”