| |
––––––––
“CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO me what happened there? What in the world was that? What in the world were those... those creatures?!”
“I have no idea.”
They were out of the frying pan and into the freezer, but they were too shaken to notice their new predicament. They were adrift at sea. They were floating on a small dingy, tossed by the open water.
“I just wanted to go back home! That’s all I wanted! And here I am, back where I started. I don’t believe this. Well, at least I’m not naked this time. And I can’t complain, because who knows what might be happening to Rachelle right now? Oh, poor Rachelle! But what could we have done? Those creatures wanted to abduct her... what could I have done to stop them? And it wasn’t as if it was my choice to flee. I’m only here because of you.”
“Lyric.” She tried to get his attention, to get him to stop talking, but it was no use.
“What do you think they’ll do to her? What do you think they wanted? I wish I could have done something! I feel so powerless sometimes.”
“Lyric!” She tapped him on the shoulder and tried to direct his eyes to the water that surrounded them on all four sides.
“You think I haven’t noticed that we’re adrift on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean?” he snapped. “Believe it or not, it has crossed my mind.”
“Well, you don’t have to be rude about it!” Aurora crossed her arms and turned away from him. “Then again, you’ve never been anything but rude. Maybe you can’t help it! I’m getting sick of your sarcasm!” A strong wave smashed against the side of their dingy. She had to grab both sides of the boat so she wasn’t thrown overboard.
“I was so close! SO close!” Lyric whimpered. “I was a carriage ride away from being back in my kingdom... back to my nice, warm bed!”
“And Pooka.”
He reeled on her. “Pardon?”
“Pooka. Your stuffed bear.”
“Right... wait... WHAT?!” Lyric’s eyes snapped open. “How in the world do you know about Pooka!?”
“I woke up in bed with you, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“And I heard you mumbling about Pooka.” Aurora rolled her eyes. “Most men your age would be cuddling women, not stuffed bears. What are you, twenty-five? Thirty?”
“My age is none of your business!” Like a little boy, he stuck out his tongue.
“So, anyway...” Aurora looked in every direction, but there was no land in sight. She tapped her fingers against her sunburned cheek, noting its warmth. The sun was hot, the water was rough, and there were storm clouds on all four sides of them. It didn’t look promising. “We’ve got nothing to row with. What are we supposed to do... drift?”
“Well, you could row with your hands.”
“You could row with your hands! I don’t care if you’re an emperor or whatever. I’m sick of you ordering me around!”
“Jumpy, jumpy...“ With a shake of his head, Lyric lied down and kicked up his feet. His boots were inches away from Aurora’s head, which she thought was quite rude. They didn’t really have much room to move around. “I wasn’t ordering you around, I was just making a suggestion.”
“It’s nice that you can relax.”
“Aha! Who’s being sarcastic now?”
“I’m not being sarcastic. If you can relax when we’re in the middle of the ocean on a teeny, tiny boat, more power to you!”
Lyric erupted with a loud, long yawn—as if to express his disinterest in what she was saying. “Listen, if we’re going to have to tolerate each other’s company, we could stand to cut out the hostility.”
“That’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever said, but I hope you’re not excluding your own hostility. You haven’t exactly been nice to me!”
“Well, you haven’t exactly been nice to me either, have you?” Lyric tucked his hands under his head and studied her. “It’s about time you stopped the act, don’t you think?”
“The act? What act?”
“The whole pretending to hate me thing. It’s almost embarrassing to watch you feign hatred when I know you have an overwhelming attraction to me.”
Aurora shoved his feet away from her. “Oh, here we go again.”
“I can tell when a woman wants me. You can lie beside me, if you’d like.”
“Lyric, get it through your head... I’m not attracted to you! I’d sooner lie beside a poisonous snake!”
“Say what you want, girl, but I don’t believe you. The lie is on your lips, but the truth is in your eyes. I can see it.”
Aurora couldn’t even stand to look at him. If she made eye contact with him for another second, she knew she’d be tempted to throw him overboard. So she turned her gaze to the purplish clouds that loomed in the distance. The sun, once blazing, had disappeared behind them. “I really wish you’d call me by my name.”
“And what was it? I’m afraid I’ve forgotten it. Wait... don’t tell me.” He held up a finger and squinted his eyes in concentration. “Adelaide, was it?”
She shook her head.
“Ambrose?”
She shook her head again.
“Adalia? Amaryllis? I’m pretty sure it started an A.” When he saw her eyes narrow in disgust, Lyric chuckled. “I’m joking, I’m joking! Of course I remember your name! I introduced you to Rachelle, remember?”
Aurora didn’t say a word, she just glared at him. She couldn’t think of anything worse than being stuck in his company again. She wondered why she decided to grab him before turning the wayspinner. It seemed like the natural thing to do, to get him out of harm’s way. But now she was regretting her concern for him.
“I didn’t even know it would work,” she said aloud.
“Huh?”
“I didn’t even know it would work... when I grabbed you before I used the wayspinner. I just assumed that was how it worked.”
Lyric looked clueless.
“Don’t mind me. I’m just mumbling to myself.”
A rumble of thunder in the distance warned them of treacherous waters ahead. Aurora’s expression was one of unease, but Lyric didn’t flinch.
“It doesn’t even phase me anymore,” he explained with a sigh. “Thunder? Lightning? Bring it on, I say! I’m getting used to my declining luck.”
Aurora reached into her pocket and pulled out the wayspinner. She stared at it for several seconds, frowning. “This thing is supposed to take me out of harm’s way... not put me in it!”
“Is that some sort of magical device?” he asked, surveying her wayspinner with a lethargic eye. “And did I hear you correctly? It’s supposed to take you out of harm’s way?”
She nodded.
“Well, I think you should throw the bloody thing in the ocean! It’s obviously not working for you. Unless, of course, your idea of safety is to be tossed about in a tiny boat in terrible weather.”
“It’s not so bad yet.” She said. As soon as she said those words, a torrential rain poured down on them.
“Well, Aurora,” he said, carefully mouthing every syllable of her name. “It seems we’re going to die soon, eh? Either a giant wave will send us reeling, or a bolt of lightning will fry us to a crisp.”
“Or the boat will fill up with water and we’ll drown.”
“Yes, that’s possible too.” Lyric raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it strange how casually we speak of our deaths?”
Aurora lay down in the boat beside him. “It doesn’t hurt to make light of a bad situation, does it?”
“Well, no.” Lyric turned on his side, facing her direction. “And now that we’ve addressed your secret lust for me, we might as well make the most of it.”
Aurora winced. She wasn't sure what bothered her more: the heavy rain, or the ridiculousness of his words. “There is no secret lust.”
“You can kiss me if you’d like.”
“I’ll pass on that, thanks.”
“Well, suit yourself.”
“I have a fiancé, you know.”
“Oh, really? That’s nice.” Lyric nibbled on his fingernails, which he hoped would emphasize his disinterest.
“Yes. And I don’t think he’d like me going around kissing other men.” It seemed like a strange thing to discuss in the middle of a thunderstorm, but it made her forget the danger for a moment.
“Oh? And what’s his name?”
“Charmaine.”
“Charming.”
“No, Charmaine.”
Lyric rolled his eyes again. As he did, another rumble of thunder seemed to shake the ocean itself. Their small boat rose against the waves like an errant soldier, relentlessly battling the currents.
“Lyric...don’t stop. Please keep talking,” Aurora encouraged him. “I’m frightened.”
When Lyric looked over at her, there was an uncommon flicker of empathy in his eyes. “So, how long have you known this fiancé of yours?”
“Three days.”
“Three days?!” He chuckled into the palm of his hand. “Are you serious?!”
“I’m very serious.”
“How could you possibly want to marry someone you’ve only known for three days?!”
“Well, maybe he’s a good kisser?” Aurora shrugged a shoulder as she uttered her lie.
“Oh, is he?”
But she was terrible at lying. “Actually, I, uh... I wouldn’t know.”
“Nothing to compare it to?”
“No, I just wouldn’t know. I’ve never kissed him,” she explained.
“You’ve never kissed the man, you’ve known him for three days, but you’re going to marry him?!”
Aurora closed her eyes, letting the storm clouds disappear behind her eyelids for a moment. She couldn’t possibly explain that it was an arranged marriage, could she? Then she would be forced to explain that she was a princess, and she didn’t feel like it. Not yet.
When she didn’t reply, Lyric added, “Well, that seems like a stupid plan to me.”
“I’ve never kissed Charmaine... or anyone,” Aurora reluctantly admitted. “I’m saving my first kiss for someone I love.” She expected him to tease her, but he didn’t say a word. His disinterest in her confession was strangely disappointing.
A few minutes later, something miraculous happened. The storm clouds parted, the waters calmed, and the rain subsided a bit. Lyric sat up, thoroughly drenched and utterly unhappy. “It’s certainly been quite an adventure, hasn’t it?”
Aurora nodded. And sneered.
“If Charmaine’s three days with you were anything like the three days I’ve spent with you, I have to commend him,“ Lyric griped, “because he’s a much braver man than I am.”