[Complete] Eroh has reached his seventeenth spring and has finally become a man. With manhood comes a gift: marriage to the woman he loves. But when a strange new woman from another world enters his life, he is stuck with the decision to honor his...
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I decided that I was going to kill the landwalker prince ...
Grouper was too clumsy and would likely get caught. That may work to get the landwalkers to attack us. We could get our revenge then, but Grouper might give them valuable information the landwalkers could use against us. If I were to be captured, I'd die before I talked.
Getting out of the castle was more tricky than the last time. Father had the patrols doubled, and every passageway in the cave guarded. The only way out was up. And the only way to the loch was on two legs.
I packed a bag, grabbed my seal-hide robe, and my blue-gem necklace, then slipped out after going to bed early. I hoped that I'd return home before dawn. I had about twelve hours to find their village and get back to the cottage before anybody would notice I was missing. It was risky, but I could do it. My legs were never stronger than my tail, although they were sturdy enough for a long hike through the woods. If only I could run all the way there.
The cave entrance was heavily guarded. A fort was built with an ice wall that extended the mouth. I learned from a young soldier I charmed that he'd worked the gate on certain nights. It only took a sapphire to get that information and another to get him to let me out, with the promise of letting me back in before dawn.
There was not a cloud in the sky, but there was a chill in the air. My seal-hide robe kept my flesh warm. And the trees shielded the gusts of wind that rattled their branches. The moon was half sunken in the ocean of black, giving little light to the path leading to the loch. I filled a jar with algae and shook it every ten minutes, giving off a blue light that'd help me see.
The path was stony; hard on my knees and even harder on my feet. My back throbbed as I ascended and descend hills. And by the time I reached the loch, I was already too tired to go on. It was my stubbornness that kept me from quitting.
The loch was black, mirroring the sky above and the stars that winked at me. I only allowed myself a break when I got to the odd, wooden structure that extended out into the water. The same structure Aqule was dragged onto and beaten to death. It had been near two weeks and I could still smell the blood in the wood. I gagged and fought back the tears that tried to slip down my cheeks.
I walked to the end of the platform and peered down into the lake. "Oh, Aqule," my throat trembled, "I'm so sorry it was you-"
A blue light reflected into my eyes from the water. At first I thought it'd been the moon, but soon I realized that the light was not on the surface, but underwater. I knew I had to be on my way ... although something told me to stay. Told me to go fetch what rested at the bottom. It'd only take a minute.
Maybe Aqule was guiding my heart. I dropped my robe and dove into the water. I reached the bottom in a second and after three swipes of my hand; I clutched the trinket, pushed off the bottom, and resurfaced. I climbed back onto the dock and wrapped myself before the chill made my flesh bumpy.
