Meadow

You are never wrong, Lady.

Part of her had expected that he would deny her accusation, or at least be reduced to the same bumbling colt he had been moments ago. Yet the words, when they come, are crisp and clear as the frost on the ground beneath her feet, and spoken with no hesitation. Her suspicions confirmed, Ylva’s pale face softens with the hint of a knowing smile, but this dissipates in the next instant. You have been more than a simple calling, he says, his voice so quiet that at first Ylva is not certain she’s heard him properly.

For a few long moments Ylva is expressionless, her brown eyes searching Errant’s face as though clues to his context will be written there, in the kind lines around his eyes or the soft flare of his nostrils. She sees something there, something that frightens her, makes her heart flutter and her gut clench with feelings that are too complex for her to unpick right now.

She looks away, pressing her lips together in a firm line as she struggles to maintain her composure.

“Once I would have turned you away,” she says softly, looking out at the misty meadow beyond, its muted browns and greens being chased away by pillars of liquid gold sunlight. “But I think we are beyond that now.” She sighs a heavy exhale, her breath escaping in drifting plumes. It takes a moment for her to find her courage, but finally she finds Errant’s gaze again. “I think you’ve done more for me the past year than you know, Errant. When you first found me, I was bitter and frightened: a mare that had been betrayed and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. But over time, you’ve reminded me what it is to enjoy another’s company. And you’ve done so without asking anything of me in return. So, I suppose I am saying… thank you.”

Her lips gently curving upward in a smile, she reaches forward as though to touch him, but something quails within her, and she pulls away at the last moment.

“I have to ask, though… would your time not be better spent elsewhere? There are so many islands to see, and a herd could make great use of you, with your skills as a guard. Why stay here, in the company of a hermit and her wayward son? I hope you… don’t stay merely for our sakes. You deserve much more, Errant.”