TANWEN
“Dylun!” I squealed. “Look!”
I pointed toward the long, flat, sandy coastline. It sloped slowly up to rolling green hills. Totally different from the white sand and steep red cliffs of Meridione but also different from the rocky formations and pebbly beaches of the Eastern Peninsula. It was as if everywhere the land touched the sea, it claimed its own unique appearance.
“Yes, I see.”
I gestured again. “Look, Dylun! It’s the west coast of Tir!”
“Indeed, it is.”
“Have you seen the Wildlands before? I’ve always wanted to.”
“Well, you will have your chance. We’re staying in port for three days to restock our supplies.”
My stomach twinged. Could Gryfelle spare three whole days? Could I?
“But I wouldn’t make too many plans,” Dylun added. “You know what Mor said. No one is to be traveling. He’ll need all hands.”
Blast. If we were forced to stop for three days, at least I might have made the most of it by having an adventure. It might be my only chance to see the Wildlands.
But it wasn’t worth the fight. I knew Mor wouldn’t relent and no one was going to undermine the captain of the ship.
“Have you been to the western coast?” I asked again.
“No, I haven’t.”
“And still you’re so calm as you glimpse it for the first time? Does nothing excite you?”
Dylun paused. “History excites me.”
I laughed. “You are a truly bizarre individual, Dylun.”
“Oh.” He blinked.
I studied him another moment. It hadn’t occurred to me before then, but he hadn’t seemed quite himself since we left Meridione almost eleven days prior. “You seem a little sad, Dylun. Are you all right?”
“I suppose.”
Realization dawned. “Oh, Dylun, I didn’t even think of it. We were back in your homeland. You’ve been captive in Tir so long, and you’d finally come home. Of course you wanted to stay in Meridione.”
“Well, I thought I would want to stay. I thought I would feel at home in Bordino. And then I found I didn’t really belong there.”
“But you and Master Insegno seemed to pick up right where you left off all those years ago.”
“In a way, yes. But in other ways, I felt very out of place. I’ve lived in Tir my whole life. I’m not as Meridioni as I thought I was. I have no country and no people, Tanwen.”
“No, don’t be silly. Of course you are Meridioni. You’re just a Meridioni who had to live away from your home country a long time. And you’re also Tirian. You’re every bit as Tirian as I am. You just need some blond braids and freckles.”
He actually laughed at that.
“So, how about that adventuring in the Wildlands, huh?” I flashed a big, hopeful grin.
He raised an eyebrow, and a hint of a smile crept onto his face. “Maybe we can arrange something.”
“The wood looks darker. Is it darker?” I gazed around the Wildland pub, simply called Mho’s. An afternoon in a pub wasn’t exactly the adventure I had been envisioning, but I was grateful for it anyway. At least I was getting to see a bit of Tir’s west coast away from the ship.
Warmil raised an eyebrow at me. “We have different trees here.”
“I forgot you’re from the Wildlands, aren’t you?”
“Aye.” Then he took a drink of something that smelled like it was made to strip the bark off Wildland trees.
I wrinkled my nose at the barmaid. “Got any tea?”
She stared at me.
I tried again. “Hathberry tea?” Silence. “Brisk-leaf? Anything?”
The barmaid looked at Warmil. “She with you?”
“She’s fine.” He smacked a few copper bits on the countertop. “Just bring her whatever you brew with your breakfast.”
The barmaid shrugged and disappeared through a set of swinging double doors. I guessed that must be where they kept the tea.
“Why did she look at me so funny? You don’t drink tea in the Wildlands?”
“Not usually in pubs, Tannie. And besides, that lass has probably never had a hathberry in her life. They only grow on the east coast.”
“Oh.” I sniffed at his glass. “Ugh. If that’s my other option, Captain, I think I’d rather drink fish juice.”
“That could probably be arranged.” He glanced at me wryly, then took another sip of the bark-stripping concoction.
“You know, you could cheer up a little. You’re home, after all.”
Warmil drained his glass. “Nah. Home is still three hundred leagues inland for me.”
“Oh. Well, you could at least enjoy your afternoon off.”
“I’m not off. I’ve been assigned to watch you.”
I glanced at the sword at his hip. “Aye. I guess my father wouldn’t let me come in here without some accompanying steel.”
“Wasn’t your father, though he has been on edge of late. Says he feels like we’re being watched.”
I shivered but didn’t comment.
“It was the captain who insisted I stand watch over you.”
“Mor?” I rolled my eyes. “Honestly.”
Warmil signaled the barmaid to bring him another drink just as she returned with my tea.
The scent of a rich black tea filled my nose, and I closed my eyes at the heavenly smell. But then I looked at Warmil’s second drink. “If you’re on duty, you shouldn’t have any more.”
“Last one.” He drained half of it.
“Something bothering you, Captain?”
He shrugged and stared into his glass. “I tried to have that talk with Aeron last night.”
I sputtered into my mug, then reeled back and looked at him. “Just now? Took you long enough!”
“I needed to collect my thoughts.”
“For three moons? Goodness. How do you stand yourself?”
“Not sure.”
“So. How did it go?”
“Great. Can’t you tell?” He took another drink.
“What happened?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“I choked up. Told her she was nearly as good a sailor as she was a swordswoman. I might have said something about the ‘mighty fine knot’ she was tying.”
I made a valiant effort not to snort into my steaming drink. “Well . . . that’s nice?”
He glared at me. “It’s the least romantic thing any man has ever said to the woman he loves. I’m . . . not cut out for this.”
“Well, this isn’t the end of the world. Maybe in another twenty years, you’ll work up the nerve to have another go.”
“Not funny.”
I sipped my tea, despite my grin. “Look, War, Aeron knows you. You’ve lived side by side for . . . what, ten years? I’m sure you didn’t offend her with that knot-tying business. In fact, I’m pretty sure she took it as you meant it and is just waiting for an appropriate time to tell you she feels the same way about your sailing skills. Like when she has an afternoon off, say.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“Because she’s standing right there. She looks beautiful . . . and very much like she wants to speak to you.”
Warmil swiveled on his barstool, and then he saw what I saw behind him: Aeron had just walked into Mho’s. Though she wore trousers and a blouse like always, she had taken care with her hair. Her shoulder-length black locks were sleek and shiny. A tiny braided circlet wove around the crown of her head.
She strode toward us, then stopped before Warmil, looking like she didn’t know quite what to say.
“Um, I’ll be going now.” I slipped off my barstool and abandoned my tea. “Meet you both outside in a few.”
I hurried away from whatever conversation was about to take place. A little strand drifted from my hand before I could stop it—a rope that swiftly knotted itself into a perfect heart between them.