whistled as he approached Falk’s horse. “Hey there, horsie. Don’t be a brute like your owner, and let me catch you.”
Mikk stayed behind and started ripp ing dry, flaky bark off some of the firewood Gerhart had collected.
Elise watched her foster brothers and tried to swallow the knot form ing in her throat. “This means a lot to me,” she said.
Rune dropped his chipp ed rock to ease closer to Elise. He slid an arm around her back and placed his cheek against her head. “I wish I could spare you this ordeal. What we’re doing doesn’t seem like it is nearly enough,” he said before a rock whacked him in the back. Rune abruptly pulled away from Elise, wincing in pain. “Ouch.”
“Sorry ,” Falk said, sounding anything but as he dumped a few handfuls of clover onto Elise’s dress with the berries. “These are edible. They don’t taste like much, but they will fill you when you grow hungry, Lamb ,” he said before turning on his heels and joining Erick at Elise’s shelter.
“He sounded angry ,” Elise said.
“ That’s because he is,” Rune said, rubbing the sore spot on his back before he went back to chipping away at his rock.
“I see ,” Elise said, watching Falk inspect Erick’s growing wall.
Some things , even in the worst situations, didn’t ever seem to change.
Elise knitted as she watched the sun sink behind the trees. Soon it would be sunset , and her foster brothers would be men again for an hour.
Star ing at the sky distracted Elise from the way her fingers burned and stung. Each loop she made with the stinging nettle stem was painful and torturous, but Elise knitted with a stony expression. When she wasn’t eagerly watching for the sun to set, she spent the time making calculations. She mentally remapped Brandis’ operations budget. She calculated the various prices at which the royal house could hope to price their crops. Numbers ran through her mind from the moment she picked up the blistering, burning shirt until she finally set it down again.
When Elise was busy running sums and mathematical problems through her mind, she didn’t have the capacity to acknowledge the stinging pain in her fingers.
Because Elise was so deep in thought—she was calculating how long it would be until Carabas’ harbor would be open—Elise didn’t hear the footsteps until they were just behind her.
Elise whirled around , clutching the shirt to her belly. Her eyes swiveled back and forth as she looked for the source of footsteps. She didn’t see the figure until it stepped out from behind a tree.
“Princess?”
Elise went slack with relief. It was Brida, the stone-faced captain.
Brida approac hed Elise cautiously. She wore plain breeches and a black shirt, and her hair was pulled back in a pretty braid. But even out of uniform, one could not mistake Brida for anything but a warrior. For starters, there was a sword buckled to her side, and Elise would bet her last copper that there were daggers tucked up her sleeves and in her boots. She walked with a grace that was different from females who minced along in pretty dresses. She was thicker and taller than most females, but she was lean, and her eyes were always watchful.
Elise offered Brida a wan smile.
“What are you do ing out here? Are you knitting ?” Brida asked, her eyes going to the horrible shirt Elise still clung to. “Where are your brothers?”
Elise nodded her head to the pond wh ere the swans paddled around—either uninterested in Brida’s entrance, or filled with too many swan thoughts to rally any curiosity.
“ Where are your brothers ?” Brida repeated, speaking loudly and over enunciating.
Out of everyone to find Elise , why did it have to be Brida? Deciding the guard captain would eventually figure out that the swans were her brothers, or they would transform in front of the guard and then she could figure it out, Elise sat back down and went back to knitting.
However, Brida was not someone you could
Mikk stayed behind and started ripp ing dry, flaky bark off some of the firewood Gerhart had collected.
Elise watched her foster brothers and tried to swallow the knot form ing in her throat. “This means a lot to me,” she said.
Rune dropped his chipp ed rock to ease closer to Elise. He slid an arm around her back and placed his cheek against her head. “I wish I could spare you this ordeal. What we’re doing doesn’t seem like it is nearly enough,” he said before a rock whacked him in the back. Rune abruptly pulled away from Elise, wincing in pain. “Ouch.”
“Sorry ,” Falk said, sounding anything but as he dumped a few handfuls of clover onto Elise’s dress with the berries. “These are edible. They don’t taste like much, but they will fill you when you grow hungry, Lamb ,” he said before turning on his heels and joining Erick at Elise’s shelter.
“He sounded angry ,” Elise said.
“ That’s because he is,” Rune said, rubbing the sore spot on his back before he went back to chipping away at his rock.
“I see ,” Elise said, watching Falk inspect Erick’s growing wall.
Some things , even in the worst situations, didn’t ever seem to change.
Elise knitted as she watched the sun sink behind the trees. Soon it would be sunset , and her foster brothers would be men again for an hour.
Star ing at the sky distracted Elise from the way her fingers burned and stung. Each loop she made with the stinging nettle stem was painful and torturous, but Elise knitted with a stony expression. When she wasn’t eagerly watching for the sun to set, she spent the time making calculations. She mentally remapped Brandis’ operations budget. She calculated the various prices at which the royal house could hope to price their crops. Numbers ran through her mind from the moment she picked up the blistering, burning shirt until she finally set it down again.
When Elise was busy running sums and mathematical problems through her mind, she didn’t have the capacity to acknowledge the stinging pain in her fingers.
Because Elise was so deep in thought—she was calculating how long it would be until Carabas’ harbor would be open—Elise didn’t hear the footsteps until they were just behind her.
Elise whirled around , clutching the shirt to her belly. Her eyes swiveled back and forth as she looked for the source of footsteps. She didn’t see the figure until it stepped out from behind a tree.
“Princess?”
Elise went slack with relief. It was Brida, the stone-faced captain.
Brida approac hed Elise cautiously. She wore plain breeches and a black shirt, and her hair was pulled back in a pretty braid. But even out of uniform, one could not mistake Brida for anything but a warrior. For starters, there was a sword buckled to her side, and Elise would bet her last copper that there were daggers tucked up her sleeves and in her boots. She walked with a grace that was different from females who minced along in pretty dresses. She was thicker and taller than most females, but she was lean, and her eyes were always watchful.
Elise offered Brida a wan smile.
“What are you do ing out here? Are you knitting ?” Brida asked, her eyes going to the horrible shirt Elise still clung to. “Where are your brothers?”
Elise nodded her head to the pond wh ere the swans paddled around—either uninterested in Brida’s entrance, or filled with too many swan thoughts to rally any curiosity.
“ Where are your brothers ?” Brida repeated, speaking loudly and over enunciating.
Out of everyone to find Elise , why did it have to be Brida? Deciding the guard captain would eventually figure out that the swans were her brothers, or they would transform in front of the guard and then she could figure it out, Elise sat back down and went back to knitting.
However, Brida was not someone you could
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