Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Rose
Torbin showed up at Rose's door the next morning. He knocked politely, and she always knew who it was based on the sound he made. He was always a little timid, as though he knew the loud sound could startle her.
But lately, she hadn't been startling quite as badly with those kinds of sounds.
Someone had broken a plate at dinner last night and she hadn't even stopped mid-sentence.
She'd just kept talking and hadn't realized she'd not reacted until she noticed the soft smile on Gunnar's face.
He'd almost immediately gotten up to put his own dishes away and stalked back to the barracks for rest.
She'd felt relief in that. Knowing that he could rest without worrying about what or how she was feeling. He trusted her to be well even if he left, and that was a rarity.
So now she was pleased that she didn't jump when the knock came. She just stood up and headed over to the door, opening it wide rather than just a sliver like she normally would.
Torbin stood on the other side with a parchment in his hand, looking it over before asking, "Who was the better hunter in your opinion? Gunnar or Magnus?"
She blinked at him. "What?"
"Magnus or Gunnar?" He tapped the parchment in his hand and then grinned at her. "I volunteered to help with the bridal games."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I like to be part of the drama. Please make a choice, or I cannot go to the next person, and I have a very long list." He tapped the parchment again. "Gunnar or Magnus?"
She opened the door a little wider to show him the venimoss caterpillar that was currently crawling all over her cot.
The little creature was quite interested in exploring the confines of its new home, although it had been very calm for the most part while she had slept.
For that, she was very appreciative because she’d needed to sleep.
Maia had come over last night and would be collecting it sometime this afternoon. The darling creature had been so much fun, but it really deserved to live free and in the wild. The gardens were a perfect spot for it. Not to mention the pleasure they took in knowing it would anger Birgir.
"Gunnar," she blurted before he could ask her the question again. "Clearly it was Gunnar, Torbin."
"Perfect." He used his claw to etch something onto the parchment, then rolled it back up. "You have about half an hour then before he's going to come collect you for your date."
"Our what?"
"Date. The hunting was just the precursor. Because you chose him, you get an afternoon with him. It's a very big honor for the ol' boy, so maybe put on something nicer." Torbin grimaced. "And brush your hair. It doesn't have to be in a nest all the time, you know?"
Then he meandered away, as if none of that was all that big of a deal.
She had never moved so fast. A date, Rose thought as she yanked on a dress that was at least a little clean. A date with Gunnar. She didn't even remotely know what to do with herself.
Brush her hair?
Casting a frantic glance at the little caterpillar she had not yet named, she had a moment of fear that she didn't actually own a brush.
She didn't have time to go get Astrid. Her sister and Bjorn lived so far up the mountain that there was no way Rose would be back in time and then Gunnar would think she hadn't wanted to go, but also. ..
No, she had a brush. It was underneath the venimoss right now, but she had used it to brush the little creature last night. She'd probably somehow get caterpillar in her hair and smell funny, but it was better than the nest on her head. Just like Torbin had said.
Frantically, she yanked the brush through her long strands until they were ripping out of her head. She had just about finished when another knock came at her door. Firm. Unyielding. The kind of knock she knew better than to question because he wasn't going away.
She flung the door open, standing there in her prettiest white dress and with her pale hair wild around her face. "I'm ready."
He looked her over. "That's what you're wearing?"
Rose wanted to slap him. There’d been a time when she might have cowered back in a corner at the thought that she had displeased him, but she knew now he was just being an ass. "This is what I'm wearing," she replied.
"It won't work for where we are going. Put on the clothes that you wore when we escorted Magnus."
"I don't want to wear those. Besides, they are dirty."
"You're going to get dirtier with what we're doing.
" Gunnar reached out, his claws just barely ghosting the cloth over her hip before he let his hand fall again.
She could feel the static electricity that touch left behind though.
As though he had actually touched her. "This is too pretty, Rose. I can't let you damage it."
Well, that was all right, she supposed.
Rose closed the door and got into the other outfit as quickly as she could. With one last pat on top of the venimoss's head, she slipped out of her bedroom door and followed him through the barracks.
There weren't a lot of people in here today. Surprising, considering most people had alternating days off. A few warriors were wearily in the back corner of the dining hall, all of them so tired they could barely lift their heads.
"Where is everyone?" she asked.
"There was a fire in the gardens. A lot of warriors were sent to help put it out."
She put her hands over her mouth in shock, still trailing along behind him. Maia loved the gardens. A lot of people relied on those gardens for food throughout the year.
"Is everyone all right?" she asked, although her voice was a little high.
"Yes," he replied. "But Birgir now has a whole army of men there, and he has been putting them to work. Not a single one of them has been able to escape, even after realizing that the fire wasn't that much of a concern. Truly, the man knows how to trap grown trolls."
Now that she could believe. Rose had found herself stuck in the gardens more times than she could count.
They headed away from the castle, clambering over the massive roots to take a shorter route to the heart of the city. All the lights were lit, signifying that it was considered daylight in Trollveggen. Afternoon, if she had to guess. She'd been sleeping far too long, apparently.
It was pretty here. All the lights hanging off the houses were so delicate, little wisps collected in glasses that were in every different color.
She'd asked once why they were a rainbow of colors, and the answer was always the same.
Because they could be. Some were stained glass, depicting stories from the ancient trolls.
All the houses were sturdy and squat, all around the stone path that led in a meandering way through the streets.
Rose had fallen in love with it the first moment she'd seen it.
Even surrounded by a crowd that made her feel so uncomfortable, she had been so in love.
The quaint feeling here, the warmth that radiated from all the houses, the glass panels that gave her glimpses into other people's lives, it had made her heart soar.
Not to mention there were pretty blue stars all above their heads. Glowworms, she knew now, but the first time she'd been here they had looked like stars.
Gunnar barely even looked at her as they went, and there was a tense set to his shoulders that made her question where they were going. Why was he so on edge? Were they doing something dangerous?
It seemed unlikely. He rarely took her anywhere that was even questionably dangerous, let alone somewhere he should be this uncomfortable about.
But maybe he was just nervous. She guessed she was a little as well.
And there was that strange sensation in her chest. It was a little bit of bravery and a little bit of softness, all without even a single hint of fear.
Live, Rhydian had told her. She had to live to go back, and she supposed this was part of it. Or maybe that was just her excuse to hurry up a little and slip her hand into Gunnar’s.
"Where are we going?" she asked, trying very hard not to let her voice shake and call out the fact that she was so afraid that touching him like this would make her anxious again. And it might. There was always a risk that any contact would make her remember things she didn't want to remember.
It didn't, though. Instead, she walked beside him and looked up into his shocked expression, and she felt pride.
Rose had made him feel like that. She'd made him stumble and then clear his throat awkwardly. All because she had grabbed his hand on her own, and because she had done it without him even asking her to do so.
Biting her lip so she didn't smile, because she wasn't quite ready for that yet, Rose turned her attention to the street he had led them to.
"The smithy?" she asked, a little surprised at the direction this was taking. "Why would you bring me to the smithy?"
"I had something I wanted to show you," he said, his voice lower than normal, more gruff. "Come on, Rose."
The smithy was one of the few places she hadn't ever gone into.
The building itself was a lurking monolith that belched black clouds into the clean air of Trollveggen.
The outside was made entirely of stone, as was everything inside of it, she'd heard.
That way, the fires in the massive forges wouldn't get out and cause any chaos.
The domed exterior was dotted with countless chimneys, making it almost appear to be some kind of quilled monster, just waiting to get up and lurch out of sight.
Swallowing hard, Rose tried not to look at all the black smudges that dotted the stones and plunged through the front door with Gunnar.