Chapter 35
Seven days had passed since our trip to the city and, as I had already grown accustomed to, Sando had disappeared again that morning. He had slipped away before even the birds had begun to sing and taken the same road he never spoke about.
That morning, I woke somewhat later than usual, and Welme was already waiting for me with breakfast, considering everyone else had eaten long ago.
I patted my face with a soft cotton towel, wiping the water from my skin.
Welme placed a plate on the table, the smell of meat and fried eggs spreading through the room and making my stomach growl.
I sat down and began to eat while she opened one of the wardrobes and pulled out dresses she thought I might like today.
When she took out a red one and then returned it to the wardrobe because it was far too formal and sensual for an ordinary day, an idea suddenly came to me.
I swallowed the piece of meat in my mouth, stood from my chair, and walked over to her.
"Welme, find me something a little prettier, but make sure it isn't too warm. I'm going to spend the day outside today. Servant!" I called toward the room where the other servants stayed, and one of them entered with her head bowed and her body drawn inward.
"Inform Ser Lysande that he should dress more lightly today. We're going to the gardens." She bowed and left the room to carry out her duty. Welme glanced at me from the corner of her eye, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
"Ah," she said as she pulled out a beautiful, thin burgundy dress with a longer cape-style back. I touched the edge of the dress before holding it against myself.
I turned toward the mirror and looked down at my body. "This one is perfect," I told her, looking at her, and she chuckled.
"Princess, you're only going to the gardens. You've been there hundreds of times."
She began undoing the braid I had slept in, letting waves of blonde hair fall down over my shoulders.
They shimmered in the morning light as she brushed through them.
"Would you like me to braid it?" she asked.
I thought about it for a moment, but when I pressed the dress against my body again, I decided against it.
She smiled, and I could tell she was relieved to have less work to do, before she began pulling the dress over me.
She tightened the lacing and fastened every button before pulling out a strand of hair that had become caught inside the dress.
She sprayed perfume into my hair and onto my neck before turning around to find a pair of shoes for the day.
While she did that, I sent for the servants and had them prepare a basket filled with fruit and a few pastries, along with a larger blanket. After a few minutes, everything was ready, and I left my chambers with the basket in my hand.
Lys was already waiting, dressed in his usual attire, wearing that smile on his face that I could never seem to get enough of.
For a moment, he stopped, and his eyes traveled over me from head to toe. They lingered for a few moments on my hair falling over my shoulders, but soon his eyes found mine again.
"Princess, you look beautiful today," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, Lysande. You don't have training today, do you?" I asked him, holding out the basket filled with everything we needed, and he took it without hesitation.
"No, Princess."
I clapped my hands together and nodded excitedly. "Excellent, Lys. Then we have the entire day."
He raised an eyebrow, trying to look serious, but he couldn't hide the boyish smile spreading across his face.
I think it was obvious that this wasn't going to be just an ordinary outing to the gardens.
"Let them run, Lys. Let them have some fun," I told him, lying on my stomach beneath the shade of a huge weeping willow.
Its branches danced before my eyes, but they were high enough for me to see Lys standing in the enormous meadow in front of me, stroking our two horses. He listened and, with a light, playful slap against the horse's backside, let them run free.
I didn't know what to look at anymore. The two horses racing magnificently across the meadow, their manes and tails flowing in the wind, or Lysande as he made his way toward me, magnificent and proud.
I don't think he was even aware of how formidable and magnificent he looked.
His long arms brushed through the golden strands of tall grass while his curly hair danced in the wind. His jaw was clenched, and his powerful body moved elegantly across the meadow.
Princes and lords spent years at court learning how to walk like this, how to leave such an impression on everyone around them, while Lysande did it without even realizing it.
Finally, he spread apart the willow branches and approached me from the side. He turned toward the horses one more time before sitting down on the blanket. His arms wrapped around his knees as he continued watching them with a relaxed expression.
"Beautiful beasts. We had four of them back home. We used them to haul wood from the forest, but sometimes my brother and I would take them and ride them to the next village." He shook his head as he remembered those better days, while I rested my hand beneath my head and watched him.
Every movement, every breath, every smile. Each one was mine, and mine alone to see.
"I didn't know you had brothers."
A sad smile slipped across his face as he turned toward me. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Princess."
I closed my eyes for a moment, gathering my courage in the silence.
"Can I find out?" I asked him, and he slowly turned his head toward the horses. I could see enough of his face to recognize the many emotions moving through his eyes. He took a deep breath, so deep that I watched his shoulders rise, then nodded toward the horses.
"Ours weren't this expensive or this fast. These are racing horses. Ours were draft horses."
I turned my entire body toward him, giving him my full attention. I placed my hands in front of my face and relaxed as I listened to his voice. There was enough space between us for me to see his entire body, yet we were still close enough for me to catch his scent.
"Atos, Matos, Ratos, and Batos. That's what we called them."
He chuckled at that, and so did I.
"Very imaginative," I teased, and his body shook as he laughed.
"We couldn't tell them apart. They were all the same black color, and the only one with a white mark on her head was Atos."
"You came here with her, didn't you?" I asked, just somehow knowing the answer and remembering what had happened to her in the end.
He nodded absentmindedly.
"She was a good girl and strong. She always listened to me." His voice cracked at the end.
I pushed myself up onto my knees and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer him some comfort.
He turned halfway toward me, and I watched as the tension left his arms, which had been resting against his knees.
They fell loosely to his sides. I swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw his eyes fill with tears.
My knight, brave and strong, was above all else ever so gentle.
Slowly, I moved the hand resting on his shoulder across his neck, and when my palm finally touched his skin, he closed his eyes.
I took a deep breath and used that same hand to trace his cheek, gently grasping the skin there.
The short beard along his face scratched against my palm, sending goosebumps down my arm.
He opened his tearful eyes, and I moved closer to him.
When I saw a tear fall from his eye, I pulled him into an embrace.
It was forbidden. It was dangerous. But it was the only right thing to do.
For a moment, he hesitated, but then his strong arms wrapped around my body like two snakes, and he pulled me tightly against him. "It's alright," I whispered into his ear, while he began to cry even more quietly.
And while the two brown horses ran across the meadow, Lysande and I remained wrapped in each other's arms beneath the old weeping willow, far from the eyes of anyone who wished us any good or any harm.