When we got to the middle of the courtyard, I had a thought. “Tabitha, do you have any clothes that would be good for traveling? We might be walking for quite a while. I don’t even know if we’ll find people and comfortable clothes would be a must.”
She looked apologetic. “All I have is this dress and two others like it at home. They’re comfortable enough, but not exactly something I’d want to be trekking through the woods in.”
I turned and walked toward the tailor’s. She pulled back saying, “I know you weren’t going to take a tent and you didn’t need another pack or bedroll. You’re buying all this stuff and I have no way of repaying. Now you’re taking me to the tailor’s to have clothes made for me? Why?”
“Tabitha, I like you. You’re sweet, friendly and attractive. I want to spend more time with you and if I have to pay a few gold coins to get things for you, I hope you’ll let me. I’m not expecting anything from you except that you’ll let me get to know you better. If I do anything to make you feel uncomfortable or you get tired of me, I can send you home faster than you can blink. So, may I please purchase some clothing for you that will better fit our needs?”
Her face red from the compliments, she nodded and followed me to the tailor’s. I asked Tabitha, “Do you think that you’d feel comfortable wearing clothes like Star, Ivy, Lynna and Kemma wear? Those would work well, but if you would be self-conscious, we could think of something else.”
“I’ve seen them dressed in those uniforms for so long I don’t think it would bother me to wear something like that at all. Perhaps if we could find the right cloth in a medium green, it would be nice. Like the color of young sprouts? I’d like that.”
The tailor had been listening in and had a bolt of the stretchy cloth the wizard girls used for their uniforms sitting on the counter. It was very close to the color that Tabitha had requested. I asked if it would be possible for her to make two sets before closing. She looked as though she didn’t think that it could be done until I tossed a platinum coin on the counter. That made it very possible and she’d have them delivered to the Master’s suite before dark. I stood out of the way, with my eyes averted, while Tabitha’s measurements were taken.
Once we were done with the tailor, we went back outside. I took five coins and placed them in her hand and told her that I wanted her to give them to her family. I’d feel better if they had it, since she was going with me. She looked and almost dropped the platinum in her hand.
“Seth! This is more money than my family sees in a year! If you’re trying to buy my affection, you should know that you don’t have to. I already really like you and am hoping that you feel the same. Why are you doing this?”
I almost panicked seeing her reaction. “I’m not trying to buy anything and I can see that you like me. I just want your family to be as happy as I’ll be when you leave with me. As a prince of the kingdom, I’ve been given an allowance of twenty platinum coins a month since birth and I never buy anything. Let me pass some of that on to someone who has made me happy by allowing me to meet you.”
She sighed, stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. My heart went into overdrive, pounding like it was trying to escape through my ribcage. She tied the coins in a handkerchief and put them in her pocket. She gave me a look I’d never seen in a young lady’s eye and we went into the keep. We went up the stairs with our goods trailing behind us and to the guest suite. I knocked to make sure ‘my’ room was empty and went inside. Tabitha stopped at the door and waited
“You can come in if you’d like. We can keep the door open. I just want to get this gear set up for in the morning.”
“I’m just worried about what people will think if they see me going into your room.”
“Who cares what they think? I know the Lord of this castle pretty well and if he catches wind of someone slandering you, they will be out on their butts.”
She laughed and came in to help me pack the new gear into our backpacks. I took most of it and left her with some food items, water, bedroll and some miscellaneous things. I knew that she would have clothes and whatever else she brought from home and didn’t want to overload her. She was a petite thing and I wanted to look out for her. Not that I was a giant myself, but I’d finally found someone close to my age that wasn’t a foot taller than I am. It made me feel good to be the tall one in the room for a change.
All packed up except for her items from home, we stood and went out the door. We knocked on the Master suite and Ivy opened it. She saw us there holding hands and, thankfully, stifled a squeal. James gave me a wink as we walked in, smiled and nodded. Star saw us and suddenly got the sniffles. I think that it’s strange how girls will sometimes cry when they’re happy. We sat on the couch opposite James and I leaned over and whispered to Tabitha, “Get ready to cover your ears. I’m going to tell them that you’re going with me and you know Ivy!” She grinned and nodded, but didn’t release my hand.
“James,” I spoke conversationally, “I’ve decided that going on my ’escape from duty’ adventure alone wouldn’t be a very good idea.”
James nodded and uttered through pursed lips, “That’s rather odd, little brother. When you got here earlier this morning, you were all for the ‘off on your own adventure’ thing. Something changed in the last few hours?”
James’ family had gathered around to find out why my plans had changed. James could read it in my eyes that I was falling head over heels for Tabitha, but he wasn’t letting it be known. “Well, I met this wonderful young lady who revealed that she’d like to go with me…” The rest of what I had planned on saying was lost in the noise of squeals and giggles from all the females in the room. Tabitha tried to hang on to my hand but was pulled away into one of the apartment bedrooms, leaving James and me in relative quiet in the living area.
Star stuck her head into the room to let us know that Ivy had taken Tabitha home to tell her parents and grab some things. They wouldn’t be gone long, and with the money that I’d given Tabitha for her family, Star thought there would be no argument. She went back into the apartment, leaving James and me to chat.
James said, “Tabitha really is a sweet girl. She’s been hanging around here for a long time and I’ll admit that I was tempted to invite her into the family myself. The way you two already look at each other makes me think that you’d make a better couple.”
“She is really nice, but when will talking to her and being close to her quit making my heart do funny things?”
James laughed. “My heart still does that when Star hugs me, and we’ve been married for a while now.”
“I’m actually getting to like the feeling. If things go well on this trip, I still don’t think I’ll take her on as a courtesan.” I blushed slightly. “I honestly think that she’d make a better wife.”
“Wow! I hadn’t seen that coming. I could read you both and could tell that you really liked each other. I guess I’m getting rusty with my reading. If you ask this lady to marry you, be sure you’re willing to stand up to your mother. You’re the only person that she treats the way she does, you know. I think that sometimes she doesn’t want you to grow up.”
“That might be true and it might be that she still thinks of me as a baby. Naiads are different and age differently. I have enough human in me to feel like a grown man right now and she doesn’t want to accept it. This would be one case where I’d have to, and would stand up to her. Lia is all yours.”
James laughed. “Lia I can handle.”
James and I sat and talked about my plans and the castle that I was supposed to take charge of when I returned. He let me know that if I needed help on the adventure or with the castle, I should drop him a note and he’d be there for me. We rambled until supper time. When the maids showed up with plates for everyone, we were ready. They also brought up a package from the tailor. James called to the girls and let them know that the food was on the table. We kept our seats to allow the ladies to go first, as gentlemen should. Tabitha came over carry
ing two plates. She handed them both to me so she could climb on the couch beside me, and I told her that her clothes had arrived, too. She got the package, took out a set for in the morning and gave me a set to put in her pack. She crawled up next to me and took one of the plates back. I thanked her and looked at James. He cocked his head to the side, raised an eyebrow and smiled. James and I included the ladies in our conversation and when Tabitha and I finished eating, she took our plates and stacked them on the table for the maids. As she was returning, James chuckled. “I’m beginning to have second thoughts about not having a new consort!”
Tabitha climbed back up beside me and smiled. “I’m sorry, James, but after a year, I’ve decided to withdraw my application as your consort. Something has come to my attention that has changed the situation. I’m not sure I want to be a consort at all!”
Ivy was starting to vibrate with the back of her hand pressed against her lips. She was doing all that she could to fight off a squeal and barely winning. James spoke in his most conversational tone, “Would my little brother have anything to do with your change of heart?”
Tabitha flushed slightly. “Your brother has shown me that I might be able to feel for someone more strongly than a consort might feel for her Lord. I’m going on his upcoming trip with him to explore these feelings. I’m also hoping that he might feel the same.”
I smiled at her and cautiously slipped my arm around her shoulders. I fought off a laugh as Ivy squeaked and I stated, “I’ve never wanted to be a consort, but I agree with most of what the young lady told you. I’m thrilled that she agreed to come with me. I’ve been having feelings that I’ve never had before since I met her this morning. I’m glad she’s giving me the chance to examine them.”
She snuggled against me and pulled my arm more tightly around her. My stomach started doing flip flops again and I had butterflies trying to escape my throat. I put my hand to my stomach and looked at James.
He laughed. “It’s perfectly normal, little brother. There’s nothing wrong with you that a walk in the woods and good conversation won’t fix. Once you two are more comfortable around each other the nausea, jitters and butterflies will go away. “
Everyone laughed at our blushing and the conversation returned to mundane topics. My side and arm tingled where Tabitha was snuggled against me and I didn’t think that I’d ever seen Ivy happier. We chatted as the sun set and James finally announced he was calling it a night. Tabitha hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, triggering another squeak and I went to my room. I felt like I was floating without levitation and was frighteningly happy. In my room I double checked the gear to make sure we had everything we needed. I could always remote transport gold or platinum if I needed to, so I didn’t have to carry very much. I had ten platinum and around fifteen gold coins left. Since I thought we’d be in the woods most of the time, money wouldn’t do much good anyway.
I got undressed and crawled into bed. I laid there for quite a while planning the trip with two people instead of one. I decided to stick to the game plan of not showing magic if we ran across a population. We’d be two kids traveling together. We could both easily fit into that role. Thinking of Tabitha and smiling, I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Two
I was up with the sun and triple checked the gear. With nothing else to do and not wanting to disturb James’ entire household, I floated everything into the air. As I left the room, I glanced back and made sure that I’d remembered everything, and was glad I did. I pulled the note to my mother from my pack and put it on the bed to send just as I left. It was short and sweet and let her know my intention to wander before settling down. I knew she’d worry, but I also knew that there were many people at Wizard’s Castle she could turn to for support. I wasn’t the first son to wander off like this and my brother Alec had made it his life’s work.
I went out of the room, closing the door behind me. I opened the door to the balcony and stood outside with the packs beside me, looking out over the eastern sea. By noon I hoped to be flying over the western sea in search of whatever I found. I didn’t have a goal in mind, other than to be out on my own. I was standing there daydreaming when James found me.
“Do you want to stand out here staring off into nothing all day or would you like to join us for breakfast?” James asked, grabbing one of the packs.
“I’d love to join the family for breakfast. Is that girl, what’s her name, up yet? I hope to get an early start.”
James chuckled, “Ha! He says ‘what’s her name’, like he’ll ever forget. Tabitha is awake and dressed in the clothes you bought her. You better hurry and get her out of here, because I’m seriously rethinking having another consort!”
Grinning, I declared, “You can have all the consorts you want, big brother. This young lady is going with me and I’m going to learn the secret power that she has over my heart and stomach. No one ever told me that a young lady’s smile could cause a man’s heart to jump to his throat. I didn’t know that holding hands could turn your chest into a butterfly cage, either.”
“She’s got you, doesn’t she, little brother. Love is a wonderful thing, but when it’s young, it has to be nurtured carefully. Let her set the pace and you’ll be fine.”
Since no one was around, I hugged James and we went in for breakfast. Tabitha greeted me with a, ‘”Good morning, Seth,” and the butterflies took wing again. At this rate, my chest should be full of exhausted insects by sunset!
“Good morning, Tabitha; you look lovely in your new clothes. Are you ready for our adventure?” I grabbed a plate and headed to the couch with her following.
She sat beside me. “Thank you for the clothes. I think they’re prettier than the wizard’s uniform. Theirs remind me more of dirt and mine are more alive.”
I could feel the flush creeping up my neck. “I know that yours certainly make me feel more alive.” Everyone in the room, eavesdropping from the table, cracked up laughing, making my flush turn into a full blown blush.
Tabitha took my hand, “Thank you for the compliment. Don’t let them get to you. I’ve been around them long enough to know that they are good hearted people but enjoy picking on everyone.”
I finished breakfast and Tabitha took my plate back to the table. She picked up her pack. “You stated that you wanted to get an early start. Are we ready to go now?”
“We have to do the goodbye thing here and send a note to my mother. James, I do have writing utensils in my pack, just in case. I’ll drop a note on you, Davie or Lia if something that I can’t handle pops up. Ivy, thank you and I’m sure you know what for.”
There were hugs and ‘good lucks’ all around and we made it out the door. We went back to the guest room and I focused on the letter on the bed. If Mother decided that she wanted to back trail the note, she’d end up smack in the middle of James’ guest room bed. I focused on her room in Wizard’s Castle and ported the note to her empty bed. I knew that she’d find it sooner or later, but later worked better for me. I turned to Tabitha. “Are you ready to go?”
“I am ready, excited and happy, Seth. I’ve ‘recalled’ with Ivy before, but have never ported like you do. Is it the same or should I brace myself?”
“It’s a lot like recalling but your vision doesn’t fade in and out. The noise is a lot less, too. You’ll barely even feel us move.”
“All right, let’s do this. I’m ready.” She put her arms around me and her head to my chest. She acted as though the port wouldn’t take her if she didn’t hang on tightly, and I didn’t correct her thinking. I knew that she should be able to hear the butterfly wings. I closed my eyes and focused on the western coast of Eredwynn. I located Perlsea Castle and the city of Seamore. There was nothing that we’d need there and my brother Davie, who was the Lord of that castle, had been informed of my trip. I knew if we stopped there we would lose another day. I wanted to get on with the exploration! I slid my focus south fifty miles and ported us to the beach. Tabitha gasped at the transition from
the inside of the castle to the cool wind blowing off the western sea. She still had her arms around me and I didn’t want her to let go, but I knew she must for us to take to the air.
“As much as I’d like to stand here like this all day, we’ll have to separate for me to get us in the air.”
She looked up at me shyly and let go. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to lose you during the transport.”
“Don’t be sorry and I enjoyed being close to you, but you don’t have to worry about losing me. The way I’m feeling when I’m with you might make it difficult for you to ever get rid of me.”
“I’ve known you for almost a day and a half, but have heard about you from Ivy for a month at least. I feel like I already know you. If I thought that I would want to be rid of you, I wouldn’t have agreed to come with you.”
“I suppose that's fair enough. Now, have you ever flown with Ivy or any wizard?”
“Ivy and I had talked about it but had never gotten around to actually doing it. She’s only had to use the spell involved a few times and wasn’t sure of herself.”
“Ivy made the right choice. If she wasn’t certain she could lift you with her levitation spell and hold it while flying, she shouldn’t have done it. You could have been hurt and the thought of that makes me unhappy. But here we go.” I cast ‘levitation’ on her and let her adjust to the giddy feeling of weightlessness, while I held her hand to keep her from drifting away. When she settled down a bit, I put a magical tether on her so she couldn’t drift far from me and shielded us both against the wind and bugs. I lifted off the ground and we rose slowly to five hundred feet, while I watched her intently. For the first few minutes she was frightened of having nothing under her feet, but as the realization that she was safe sunk in, she started looking around.
Seth, A Naiad's Son (Generations of Eredwynn Book 3) Page 2
