Finally, someone clinked his or her spoon on a dish and began to slurp the chowder again. Whispers began to follow, though none of the whispers were directed to her, save that of the girls asking tearfully what their grandmother had meant.
“Come now,” Bithiah stood and gently took the girls by their shoulders. “I think I may have some dry dates hidden somewhere in my wooden chest. Let us see if we can find and enjoy them before bed. Yes?”
Arianna threw her a look of thanks as the older woman ushered the girls away. With a start she realized that everyone else was still looking at her, too, but instead of the shock or even hatred she had expected to see on their faces, she saw only sympathy.
I only wanted to help! she wanted to shout. I never tried to seduce him!
Without speaking a word, Master Russo got up and left the room. The uncomfortable silence continued until he returned and walked up to Arianna. He was holding a single quill.
“The queen is worried about her son,” he began. “She’s been concerned with little else than finding him the perfect match since before he was born. I think I speak for everyone here, though, when I say that we need you. And more importantly, he needs you.” He held out the quill. “I believe there’s a stack of parchments sitting on his desk right now that needs you as well.” A kind smile cracked his round face.
Arianna began to reach for the quill, but paused when she remembered the queen’s threat.
Master Russo seemed to read her mind. “If it is the matter of your origin that concerns you,” he glanced around at the table and everyone else nodded, “we have already discussed that amongst ourselves.”
Arianna felt the surprise show on her face. They had been discussing her? She should have known better. Of course they would. She was nothing but odd by human standards.
“And,” he continued, “we have decided it matters not. You have done nothing but good for us since arriving.”
Arianna studied his shiny, red face with a frown. Surely he wouldn’t mean that if he really knew the truth. But a closer look at his suddenly firm expression convinced her that he was very close to the truth, as were the others. And they had decided that it didn’t matter.
With a grin, Arianna took the quill and headed to the prince’s study.
The door to Michael’s study was closed when Arianna arrived. She paused as she lifted her hand to knock. Would he want to see her? Or would he be too embarrassed after his mother’s outburst and accusations?
Gathering her courage, she knocked on the thick wooden door. If Master Russo and the others believed in her, then she, too, refused to be intimidated.
“What?” His answer was sharp.
She knocked again, and a moment later the door jerked open. His expression was fierce until he saw who stood there. She tried to give him a half smile, holding up the pen in a foolish gesture to show him what she had come for.
His face softened and he held the door open wider. “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” The red shade returned to his face as he jammed a wedge underneath the door to hold it wide open, then stomped back over to his desk and yanked up his quill.
Thankful his anger wasn’t directed at her, Arianna quickly gathered up the papers he had left on the corner of his large desk and went to her usual place in the red chair by the window. Leaning back into the shadow of the window’s dark, heavy curtain, Arianna curled her legs up against her chest then took a deep breath before she began checking the figures for mistakes.
She found it difficult to concentrate on the numbers at first. The queen’s voice continued to haunt her thoughts and distract her from her work. Was Drina right? Had Arianna ever come to this study with designs other than fixing the prince’s tired mistakes? She searched her memory. In the beginning, her intentions had only been to make the numbers right.
As the days had gone on, however, Arianna did have to admit that her quiet evenings with Michael were her favorite part of the day. There was a comfortable silence between them that, for once, Arianna did not wish to fill with talk. There was something warm and familiar about their evenings together. But what was it that made her yearn for more?
She couldn’t put her finger on the cause until Michael shifted and put his head on the desk. Then it hit her. When she was with him, Michael simply allowed her to be. Not even Renata had been able to do that. There had always been something she’d been trying to fix, from Arianna’s posture to her understanding of politics to her history. But Michael knew what even Renata had not. He knew of Arianna’s humanity. And yet he kept her near anyway.
“I am sorry for my mother’s outburst.” Michael pushed his chair away from the desk and rubbed his eyes.
Arianna watched him carefully. She couldn’t deny that the event had shaken her, but she didn’t want to hurt or further agonize him, either. She couldn’t imagine having such a mother.
“She is concerned that I marry a woman who can raise the status of our kingdom,” he continued, eyes still closed.
This made Arianna’s heart falter just a little. But she refused to admit why.
“Her myopic goals have made her blind to anything else that might help the kingdom in any other way that she has not personally seen in her own mind.” He finally turned and looked at Arianna, his hands behind his head. “I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better, by the way.”
Arianna gave him a dry smile. It is only a head cold, Bithiah had pronounced the week before when Arianna’s nose had stopped working and her throat had felt like razors were scraping its insides. Whatever a head cold was, it was possibly the most dreadful ailment Arianna had ever experienced, apart from the frill shark’s bite. This had been the first night she and the girls had attended supper with everyone else. What a way to return.
“How about we do something different tomorrow?” he asked. “I know you like to take the girls to the garden after studying in the mornings. Would you be interested in learning about archery instead?”
Arianna had no idea what archery was, but Claire often went on about how she wanted to learn. Not that the event itself mattered. Spending time with Michael would be a joyful event. Eagerly, she nodded.
“Good,” he leaned forward again and picked up his quill once more. “I look forward to it.”
“And how is the work progressing?” Master Russo poked his head in through the open door and gave Arianna a sly smile. “I thought I might come and ensure that your figures were getting done properly.”
Arianna blushed, and Michael tossed a wad of used parchment at the steward over his shoulder. Master Russo returned to the hall without another word, chuckling to himself all the way.
23
Due
Arianna stared at the odd contraption in her hands. What was one supposed to do with a string tied to both ends of a bent stick and a bunch of long pointy sticks? She gingerly put her finger to touch the feathers near the end of one of the long pointy sticks. Then she poked the stick’s sharp point, only to yank her hand back as a drop of blood beaded on it.
“Does this mean I get to go hunting with you?” Claire bounced up and down as she trailed after Michael, who was carrying three more of the strange device.
Michael chuckled. “I’m not sure what you’re going to hunt, as I’ve never seen anything larger than a dog running through Maricanta’s streets. And I don’t think Bithiah would take too kindly to you hunting her greyhound. Now,” he handed each of the girls their own contraption, “since everyone has a bow, let’s walk to the other side of the field. We don’t want to be anywhere near the palace.”
“Why?” Lucy asked.
Michael bent and slung the quiver, as he’d called it earlier, over his shoulder. “Because if we miss, which you will on your first tries, we don’t want anyone to be in the way. An arrow in the foot or arm would make an awful gift to one of our friends.”
He continued to warn the girls about the dangers of playing with the bows and arrows, as they were apparently called, as their little
group traipsed across the field of sand and wild grasses. It was the first time Arianna had ever ventured on the east side of the palace grounds, and the walk was warm and sunny. Smiling to herself, she only half listened to his warnings as the wind played with her gown and threatened to pull loose locks down from her hair.
What a perfect day. The sound of Michael’s voice and the girls’ laughter was soothing, and with the sun on her face and the sound of the ocean behind it, Arianna could really think of nowhere else she’d rather be at that moment. Of course, that thought alone made her feel a little guilty.
But, she wondered hesitantly, wouldn’t her mother want her to be happy? Wouldn’t Renata want her to make the best of where she was here and now? She believed it to be so. Her father, of course, would see her position with the humans quite differently, and she shied away from thinking of his response too closely. Rinaldo would have been pleased, though. She was sure of it.
When they reached the other end of the field, which was shaded by a line of squat, thick palm trees, Michael began to put together a standing rectangle with a set of circles painted inside of it, something he called the target. “You want to hit the middle circle with your arrow, or get as close to it as you can.”
Arianna stared at the arrows on the ground before smiling to herself. This would be easier than she’d thought. Without waiting to hear the rest of his instructions, she picked up one of the arrows and walked over to the target. She turned to make sure they were watching her, then whacked the center of the target with the end of the arrow as hard as she could.
When she turned back around to gloat over her cleverness, however, the girls were rolling in the grasses, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down their faces. Even Michael, who was attempting to keep a straight face, was turning red as he bit his lip. When she frowned at him in confusion, he began laughing as hard as the girls. Arianna looked back at the target as the others continued to laugh hysterically. She’d hit the target with the arrow, she thought as she glared at it. What else could they want of her?
Still laughing, Michael walked up to Arianna and guided her back to the girls before taking the arrow from her hands. Arianna crossed her arms and glowered at him. What was so funny?
She watched with resentment as he faced the pointy end of the arrow toward the target and fitted the bow’s string in a notch she’d not noticed in the back of the arrows earlier. Then he raised the bow and arrow, and to her surprise, began to stretch the string so hard that the bow began to bend. Farther, farther he drew the arrow back until his right elbow was as high as his ear. Then, in one swift movement, he let go of the arrow and it flew out of his hands before hitting a tree several yards behind the target.
“I thought you were supposed to aim for the target, Uncle.” Lucy pulled on his shirt.
“I was just showing you the proper stance,” he mumbled as he fitted another arrow onto the string.
Arianna saw what the girls did not, however, in the way his eyes tightened ever so slightly as he pulled the arrow back again. She put her hand over her mouth to hide her laugh while Michael missed the target again.
“All right, everyone,” he said, still not looking at Arianna, “you’ve seen the stance. Now you try.”
Still trying to stifle her silent giggles, Arianna did as she was told, and she and the girls began to let their arrows loose as well. And not one of them hit the mark. Her arrow didn’t even leave the bow in the right direction, falling to the ground before she let go of the string. The girls fared little better.
As she leaned over to grab another arrow, Arianna felt the slightest tug at her own bow. Whirling around, she gasped as Lucas held a finger up to his mouth for her to be quiet. As though she had any other choice.
With a sly grin, he gently pulled the bow from her hands and lifted an arrow from the ground, right behind Michael, who was leaning over Lucy to help her adjust her stance. Then, in one fluid motion, Lucas had fixed the arrow in its proper place and let it fly, hitting the center of the target with a loud crack.
Michael jumped, and Arianna nearly fell over laughing herself as he whipped his head around to see where it had come from. When his eyes rested on his brother, he scowled. “I thought you were working at the docks today.”
“And I thought you were teaching the girls archery.”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Michael snapped.
“I’m not sure, but it’s not archery.”
Michael continued to scowl at his brother, but Lucas sauntered over to Arianna and handed her back her bow before fetching her another arrow.
“Hold your hand up here, by your chin,” he instructed her, taking her hand in his and lifting it up. “Not by your chest. Now, widen your feet.” he gently kicked her worn boots with one of his own large feet.
Arianna’s chest fluttered a bit as Lucas leaned in close to adjust her grip on the bow. Though she had never considered Lucas in the same light she did Michael, it was still a bit . . . shocking to have a man so close.
Why hadn’t Michael tried to teach her this way, she wondered. Then she shook her head bitterly. Because he wasn’t interested in her that way. He was supposed to marry a rich princess who would replenish all of the Maricantans’ wealth and win the hearts of the people. With a huff, she tried to focus her efforts on Lucas’s instructions, and not the way she suddenly resented his brother.
“Now,” Lucas whispered, “let go.”
To Arianna’s amazement, the arrow zipped straight toward the target. And though it didn’t come anywhere near the center, she did what Michael had not.
She turned immediately to see Michael’s reaction, but to her disappointment, he hadn’t seen her hit the target. Instead, he was quietly conversing with a stranger in yellow clothing. A runner, she guessed. Boys and young men, Master Russo had once explained to her, were hired to take messages from one place to another. As they spoke in hushed tones, however, she noticed that all joviality and even his annoyance had fled from Michael’s face. Lucas noticed this, too, and though he handed Claire another arrow and gently angled her elbow, he studied his brother with a slight frown.
After dismissing the messenger, Michael stared down at the parchment he now held.
“Well?” Lucas took a step toward him.
“Just . . .” Michael swallowed, still staring at the parchment. His jaw tightened, and his eyes became daggers. “Keep them safe and busy,” he snapped.
“But Michael—”
“Just do as I say!” Michael shouted.
Arianna and Lucas exchanged a stunned glance while Michael stomped off toward the palace. “I’ll be back,” he barked over his shoulder.
“What’s wrong with Uncle Michael?” Lucy whimpered.
“He got a letter that he needs to respond to, and no one likes boring letters when you could be doing this.” Lucas turned his attention back to the girls before Arianna could. “But don’t worry,” he mussed their hair in turn, “I’m better at archery anyways. You’ll get a better lesson from me!”
The girls eventually returned to trying to hit the target, but Arianna couldn’t bring herself to continue. Her thoughts were with the man stalking toward the palace.
“You’re worrying about him.”
Arianna looked over to see that Lucas’s eyes were trained on the palace, too, his brow furrowed.
“You shouldn’t worry, though.”
Arianna frowned at him, but Lucas just shook his head.
“You can’t let his poor archery skills or his gentle manners fool you,” he said, giving her a hard smile. “Because my brother could be very dangerous if he chose to be.”
Michael hadn’t returned by the time the girls grew tired of the archery, nor did he appear for dinner or when she tucked Claire and Lucy into bed. Arianna’s concern turned to a near panic, though, when he failed to appear in his study. Without anyone to distract her, Arianna finished the figures all too soon, and for the lack of something better to do, decided to go to sleep
.
But sleep wouldn’t come.
After an hour of tossing and turning, Arianna finally gave up and decided to go for a walk. She pulled on her old boots and slipped out of the palace. She managed to somehow make it out of the palace without waking anyone, to her knowledge. The guard said nothing as she tiptoed by him and out onto the walkways that sprawled all through the gardens.
It should have been a peaceful evening. Crickets chirped and the ocean lapped gently at the shore. The air had a thick, sticky feel to it. It should have been soothing to Arianna, considering it felt much like the water, but there was an undercurrent that made the hair on the nape of her neck stand on end.
As she passed the edge of the palace and began down toward the field, a light in the window of the palace chapel caught her eye. Arianna stopped and squinted. Sure enough, someone had lit a candle inside. Removing her clunky boots, Arianna snuck up to one of the chapel’s color-stained front windows and tried to peer inside.
To her disappointment, it was empty. A sudden wave of frustration washed over her, and with it, a burst of anger as well. Without thinking about what she was doing, Arianna stomped into the chapel.
What are you doing to me? She stared up at the altar. I know you can hear me. There was no audible or visible answer, but Arianna charged ahead anyway. Every time I have happiness within reach, you yank it away! Was that why you made me? Why I am the way I am? So that you could have a plaything when you’re bored? A treacherous tear gathered at the corner of her eye, but she shook it away angrily. Rinaldo loved you, and you let him die! Renata took care of me, and you let her disappear! And now Michael? What horrid fate do you have planned for him? Her breath caught in her throat as the truth rose up within her, a truth she had done her best to suppress for years. But not anymore. She was through with quieting the voices inside her.
I loved you. This time, the tears ran freely down her face, and the flickering light of the candle grew blurry. And you turned your back on me.
Silent Mermaid: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid (The Classical Kingdoms Collection Book 5) Page 15