Nethermost Realm: Prisoner of Arlunn

Chapter 20

Please note: I am updating this draft of The Prisoner of Arlunn. The most important change is that the main character's name has been changed from Philip to Rian.

20

The evening at the Floating Islands of Tlera'dor was perfect. Shaz and Anya had a small castle cottage all to themselves and it overlooked the lake and the mountain with a stunning view.

There were two grand bedrooms, one for Shaz and one for Anya. But Anya's governess, Leeza, had accompanied them, had a bedroom in the back of the cottage, so that they weren't totally alone. That would have been inappropriate. With her there as a chaperone, Anya felt more secure, otherwise she might have felt nervous to be alone with Shaz.

And though Leeza was there, she stayed out of sight most of the time, giving them privacy. She also prepared and served them a delicious meat stew for dinner and a salad with river lettuce and sweet koil root. With it, she served a sunberry wine.

"I shouldn't," said Anya. "I don't think mother would approve."

They sat on the terrace overlooking the view at a small table for two set with a white lace table cloth and two pink candles.

"Don't be absurd," said Shaz. "Why should she mind?"

"I didn't tell her I was coming here with you. She thinks I'm too young."

"You just had your 14th birthday. Of course you're not too young!" said Shaz. "I insist."

Anya didn't want to admit to Shaz that she was only 14 years old in Earth years, not in Cathal years. No doubt he thought she was older than she really was. But they were engaged now and she didn't want anything to ruin that. So she smiled shyly. "Just this once," she said. And anyway, Shaz had gone to all the trouble to make it romantic. She didn't want to spoil the evening.

So, they both had a few glasses of wine along with dinner. The wine made Anya feel warm and light-headed. She and Shaz laughed and talked about the silliest things.

Meanwhile, the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. The days were longer here on Chuness than on Earth; it had taken Anya awhile to get used to. But the long days made for amazing slow sunsets, where the sun just seemed to hang in the sky for hours, painting the clouds with subtly varying shades of orange, red, and violet as it slowly sank. And from the Floating Islands, the effect was spectacular.

The sunset began during dinner and lasted until long after they had finished eating. Shaz and Anya sat together on a bench on the edge of the balcony overlooking the lake for an hour watching it and the water beneath while a cool breeze blew. Shaz held her and they said very little. From the balcony's edge, they could look straight down at the water.

Leeza had vanished into the back of the cottage, leaving the two alone.

"I'm so glad that you came on this trip," said Shaz. "I feel so close to you," he said, turning to her.

"I'm glad too," said Anya, smiling up at him. He was so handsome. He was more than she'd ever hoped for.

He drew her close and kissed her softly. She returned his kiss eagerly, lost in his embrace. It continued a long while before they stopped. Anya blushed a little from embarrassment and he laughed. "You're blushing!" he said.

"I've never kissed anyone like that before."

"You've never met anyone like me before," said Shaz mysteriously. She laughed at this. "And I think you should know that I've talked to my mother—she approves of you."