Earth & Sky (12 page)

“He died before I could join him.  Not long before I met
you.  I think… I think I wanted to see what we were fighting for, you know, why
he died…”

I took a deep breath.  “I’m sorry,” I said softly.  It was
completely inadequate.  I’d lost my mother.  He’d lost his brother, and now his
father.  And for what?  From all I’d seen so far, all of the stories I had been
told were lies.

Ville lifted his head, a soft smile trying to make its way
across his face to cover his pain.  “I was never supposed to be emperor.  That
was Henrik’s place.  I was only supposed to learn all of the boring stuff, so I
could help him along the way.”  In the short time I had known him, he was
always so capable and… cheerfully unruffled.  I was surprised to hear the panic
creeping into his deep voice. 

“I know what you mean,” I said, my voice laced with long
suffering camaraderie.  “How to balance the ledgers, how to manage things when
the leader is away.”  I rolled my eyes.  “The proper way to stand beside them
when you are in public…the best way to fade into the background where you
belong.”

He snorted, some of his usual personality returning.  “I
hated the etiquette lessons the most.”

I shook my head in remembered horror.  “And the dancing…Gods,
the dancing.”

He laughed.  “I think I know about fifty different
versions of the waltz.  It’s really helpful in my daily life- especially on the
battlefield.”  He rolled his eyes.

I gave him a wide-eyed look.  “You mean you can actually
dance?”

He dropped his hands and put his feet on the ground,
turning to give me a suspicious look.  “And you can’t?”

I stifled a laugh.  “Ha!  I learned very early on that if
you just pretend you’re absolutely terrible at it, with no chance of ever
improving, they’ll let you off the hook so you can go practice swordsmanship or
something useful!”

He shook his head in disbelief.  “I tried that once. 
Ibbe, damn her black soul, wouldn’t let me get out of it.  She said if she had
to learn all those dances, she wasn’t having Marshall as a dance partner.”  He
widened his eyes in mock fear.  “And no one said no to Ibbe, even then.”

I snorted.  “You, my friend, are what we call a sucker.”

He slumped in defeat.  “Obviously.”

I regarded him for a moment, soaking in his smile.  He
really did look like an angel when he smiled.  A big, dark, intimidating angel-
but angelic all the same.  “It must have been wonderful growing up with your
cousins.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug.  “We had a good
childhood.  Did you and your sister not ever get along?”

I nudged a pebble with my big toe.  “Not really- or maybe
we did.  I thought we did, when we were very young, but now I don’t know if any
of that was real.”

He leaned sideways, bumping my shoulder with his own. 
“Sorry.”

I held my hands out in front of me, turning them to and
fro, flexing my fingers.  They were capable hands that could set a proper table
service, wield a sword, give field triage, and destroy and re-create matter.  I
wasn’t terrible at needlework, either.  “In some ways, I have to thank my
family.  If they hadn’t treated me the way they did, I wouldn’t be me, would
I?”  I still wasn’t so sure that was a good thing, though.

Ville took my hands in his, halting my train of thought. 
“Then I’m thankful for their errors.”

His blue eyes met mine and I stuttered, dumbfounded.  “Th…
that’s a bit selfish, don’t you think?”  I was trying for humor, but it fell
flat.

He bent his head and gently kissed the back of each hand. 
“Very.”

I regarded his silky head, wishing he had never bitten
me.  Then I would know for sure whether this was some kind of Fallen
compulsion, or if he really did just make my heart want to leap out of its
chest all on his own.

He straightened, leaning toward me, and I cleared my
throat awkwardly.  “Should we head back down now?”  I averted my gaze, glancing
back down the hillside.

Ville sighed.  He let go of one hand, but he still held
the other, entwining his fingers with mine.  “Can we just sit here for a little
while longer?”

I glanced at him again, startled at the expression on his
face.  He looked so lost.  I squeezed his hand.  “I’m glad for… whatever this
is.”  I gestured between us, surprising myself with my words.  But it was
true.  I felt connected to him somehow- and right now, I was extremely happy to
have that connection.

Ville smiled- a sweet, heart-melting thing- and I thought
that maybe he was the only person on earth who might actually understand me.

*****

The fresh lake breeze ruffled my hair and flipped the
pages of the book I was holding.  Frowning, I flattened the pages and tried to
find my place.  Ah, there it was.  I read the passage repeatedly. 

The war of Shifter aggression was sparked by the murder of
the Queen Anna Wei, as she traveled to an orphanage near her home, where she
often volunteered her time.  The completely unprovoked attack was only the
first example of the Shifters’ descent into depravity.

I flipped forward a few pages.  Then I flipped back. 
There was no mention of the assassination of our queen.  The Fallen thought we
had started the war.  The pebbles on the shore behind me rattled, but I didn’t
look up, intent on my research.

“Are my old history books that exciting?”  Ville came to
crouch next to me, tossing a pebble into the water.

I turned to him and held out the book, shaking it for
emphasis.  “This is wrong.  It’s all wrong.”

He took the book and glanced at the page I was reading,
then snapped it shut.  “Well, that’s what happened.  Are you telling me my
mother wasn’t murdered?”

I moved to take the book back, but Ville wouldn’t hand it
over.  “Why don’t you tell me what your version is then?  I heard a little of
it when I snuck into meeting hall that time, but that’s all.  I’ll admit I got
a little bit distracted.”

He had been a bit distracting himself, in his
golden-haired disguise.  Maybe if I’d been acting like an adult that day,
instead of a rebellious teenager, I would have learned the truth from him
then.  But then again, if I hadn’t been acting out, I probably wouldn’t have
helped him in the first place.  I looked out across the water.

  “In our books it was your people who started the war-
our queen who was murdered.”  A strand of hair blew across my face and I
brushed it away impatiently.  “You’re all supposed to be monsters, running
around raping and feeding from humans, burning villages, killing Shifters just
for the fun of it.”

Ville dangled the thick book in front of my face.  “Did
you happen to read the description of Shifters?  You are supposed to be hunting
down humans like rabbits and finding some kind of primitive joy in gnawing on
the bones of our most gallant soldiers- a bunch of rabid beasts.”

I tried to take the book again, but he held it out of my
reach. He gave me a wicked smile.  Then he hauled off and threw the book as
hard as he could.  We both watched it tumbling end over end, pages fluttering wildly
in the wind, before it plunged into the water. 

Ville’s deep voice rose over the wind.  “None of it
matters.”

I shook my head.  “All of it matters!  We have to find out
why we are fighting.”

His crystal blue eyes gazed into mine.  I felt exposed, as
if he could see into my soul.  “No.  We have to find out how to stop the
fighting.”

I shrugged.  “Isn’t it the same thing?”

“Maybe.” 

Marshall and Ibbe had started grumbling when the falling
book landed near them, sending up a miniature geyser.  They had been paddling
around the lake in an old wooden boat for some time now, teasing each other by
rocking the boat or splashing the water with the oars as they rowed.  I noticed
that they never got very far away from shore. 

Marshall caught my gaze on them and stood precariously,
causing the boat to rock.  Ibbe clung to the sides with both hands and glared
up at him.  “Wren,” he called, waving.  “Do you want to come for a ride?  I’d
be happy to paddle you around?”  He pretended to stumble, rocking the boat even
more, and his sister let out an indignant shriek.

I shook my head.  “What is their problem?  I’ve never seen
people act that way over a little water.”

Ville laughed.  “They like living on the edge.”

I glanced at him, puzzled.  “I don’t get it.”

His sharp blue eyes darted away.  “You’re right; it’s only
a little water.”

I nudged his shoulder.  “They can’t swim?”

“Ah…no…” the corner of his lip quirked.

I watched the two Fallen in disbelief.  It seemed pretty
silly, being so terrified of the water.  Just then, Ibbe’s silly floppy straw
hat blew off her head and tumbled into the lake.  It floated beside the boat
like a water lily.  Marshall leaned over the side, stretching to reach it. 

“Marshall!”  Ibbe’s laughing tone changed as the boat tipped,
capsizing with a splash.  Both of them went into the water.

I laughed as they floundered around like wet rats, but
Ville jumped up, swearing.  His sharp eyes took in the situation with an eerie
calm, as if it was a life or death situation.  My eyes darted back to his
cousins and I saw the problem.  They weren’t able to stay afloat, and their
massive wings had just turned into useless, soaking weights.  Of course, the
boat hadn’t flipped all the way over, the way it should have so that they could
use it to float.  It took on water and sank.

Ville flexed his wings, and then snapped them closed.  “If
I get close enough to help, my wings will get wet too.”

I took three steps back and got a running head start. 
Then I dove into the water, gliding beneath the surface in a smooth arc.  I
struck out with powerful kicks, reaching the floundering Fallen in no time. 
They were managing to stay afloat, but just barely.  I grabbed Ibbe around the
chest with one arm and struck out toward shore.  She kicked, trying to help,
but she was just so damned heavy.

When I got her to the shallows where she could stand up, I
turned around and swam back for Marshall.  He was treading water, slowly making
his way toward shore, but he was panting with effort.  I wrapped my arm around
him and dragged.  It was slower this time.  He was even heavier than Ibbe. 
When we reached the shallows, we staggered arm-in-arm to shore, where Ville and
Ibbe were waiting. 

Marshall tripped over his own foot and we both went down
in a tangle of sodden clothing and straggly wet wings.  I relaxed as I hit the
ground and let myself roll, boneless.  Marshall hit the ground with an oof.  We
lay there panting while Ville stood over us, his expression torn between severe
anger and humor. 

“Lovely day for a swim,” I panted, still sprawled on the
ground.

His lips twitched and he crossed his arms.  “Oh, I’m
sure.  It’s a bit chilly for my tastes though.”

Marshall coughed.  “I knew Wren would take up my
invitation… you don’t know what you’re missing staying up here on dry land.”

Ibbe rolled her eyes.  Her mascara had run down her cheeks
and she looked like a sad doll.  “My clothes are ruined.”

Ville squatted by my head.  “Are you okay?”

I snorted.  “Much better now.  Nothing like a refreshing
swim.”

Marshall sat up, then slipped an arm under my shoulders,
and levered me up as well, pounding me helpfully on the back in case I’d
inhaled water.  “I’m sorry.  We were acting like children.”

I shrugged.  “No harm done.”

Ville shook his head, his dark hair rippling in the
breeze.  No one else’s hair rippled.  The rest of us looked like drowned rats. 
“I suppose this means we should head back.”

Ibbe and Marshall gathered their things and headed down
the dirt path that led toward the mansion, ribbing each other the entire way. 
Ville pulled me to my feet and we followed, lagging a bit behind.  My feet
scrunched over the gravel and I wondered if the soft-soled leather shoes were
salvageable.  They had been such a pretty cream color.

“Thank you,” Ville said softly. 

I glanced at him.  “Really, don’t worry about it.  I would
have acted sooner, but I honestly had no idea.  You all really can’t swim, can
you?”

He laughed.  “No.  We sink like rocks…boulders.”  He shot
me a sideways glance.  “Now you know our fatal weakness.”

I snorted.  “I’ll write home and tell the king to dig a
moat and put out some sprinklers.”

The wind kicked up and I shivered a bit.  “There’s nothing
I hate worse than wet clothes,” I whined.

Ville stopped to look me up and down with a mischievous
grin.  “I think they look nice on you.”

I pushed my straggly wet hair out of my eyes and glanced
down, frowning.  My lacy white shirt had become transparent, and it clung to me
like a second skin, enhancing what little bust I possessed.  My skirt was
plastered to my thighs.  I groaned and closed my eyes, feeling a blush coming
on.

Ville wrapped a long arm around my shoulders and pulled me
close to his side with a soft chuckle, rubbing my arm.  I crossed my arms over
my chest, but didn’t pull away.  He was blissfully warm. 

We made our way around to the back of the house, shuffling
up the stone walkway through the jungle of greenery.  I was disappointed when
he removed his arm.  It had been nice.  Not that I have any right to be
enjoying it so much, I reminded myself. 

I started to turn away, pausing when Ville reached out and
grasped chunk of my wet hair.  He fanned it between his fingers, and a soft
smile played about his wide mouth.  “You have the prettiest hair,” he said,
pulling it forward over my shoulder.  “It’s much darker when it’s wet, almost
black in spots.”

I met his warm gaze and my traitor’s heart stuttered in my
chest.  I swallowed the urge to move closer to him.  Then he dropped my hair
and stepped back.  “Go on and get some dry clothes.  It’s cold out here in the
wind.”