Awry

60

Scarlet walked through the stable looking at all the beautiful horses. These last two weeks had been tough, but better than the two weeks before that, and the two weeks before that.

Her mother was extremely ill and completely bedridden. Ana rarely spoke anymore, and when she did it was mostly nonsense. Her pain was atrocious. The castle nurses kept her sedated as much as possible, but there was little they could do. Ana was there in body, but gone in mind.

Scarlet reached a hand out and stroked the large, warm face of the horse nearest her. Such a majestic beast.

“Would you like to go for a ride?” Gabriel’s voice came up behind Scarlet; polite, kind.

She turned and attempted a smile. “Oh no, I was just….just…”

What had she been doing?

“Just walking?” Gabriel looked at her with knowing eyes. He glanced at the ground and nodded. “I do a lot of…walking, too. It eases the sadness.”

Scarlet waited until his eyes met hers before speaking. “Will the sadness go away?”

Gabriel looked at the horse and stroked his mane. “Not today.” He looked back at Scarlet. “So what do you say? Would you like to ride?”

Scarlet took a deep breath as she looked at the horse. She did not feel like riding.

But, then again, she did not feel like doing much of anything.

Exhaling, she said, “Yes. Yes, I would.”

Gabriel smiled. “Very well. I will get a horse saddled for you and I will saddle one for myself as well.”

“You will be joining me?” Scarlet raised a brow.

Gabriel smiled weakly. “I could use the company.”

As the sun set, Tristan headed inside the monastery with two deer on his back. The monks met him at the door and happily relieved him of the weight. Tristan had been hunting for several weeks and had almost secured enough meat to feed the monks through winter.

Game was not scarce in this part of the land.

Tristan sat down at the long table in the old dining room beside a large monk named Gordon and watched Bartholomew, a strong monk who said very little, enter from the back door. The butcher of Tristan’s kills, Bartholomew was shirtless as he gathered the deer from the kitchen.

Tristan’s eyes caught on a design on Bartholomew’s chest. It was dark blue and stained into his skin, but it did not look faded like the design Tristan continued to stain on his own body.

Turning to the round monk beside him, Tristan gestured to Bartholomew. “What is that he has on his chest?”

Through a mouthful of food, Gordon said, “That is a tattoo.”

“Does it wash off?”

“No, it stays forever. Like magic. Brother Elliot does them.”

Tristan’s eyes brightened at this. A permanent ink?

He would have to talk to Elliot about this.

Three weeks later, Gabriel galloped and raced on his horse through the trees and out into the far field. Scarlet laughed as he tried to keep up with her.

They had been taking rides together almost every day for the last few weeks. Scarlet made him feel alive and took away the pain in his chest when he remembered Tristan. Gabriel’s favorite part of each day was the sound of her laughter.

When they had reached the edge of the outer field, Scarlet slowed her horse to a walk and Gabriel came up beside her. “You gave me the slow horse,” he teased.

She laughed and his soul lit up. “Do not blame the horse for your lack of skill in riding.”

He smiled. “But it isthe horse. This poor creature can barely carry my weight. Your animal, on the other hand, only has to carry a tiny woman.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “You are too big a man for your horse? Yes, I’m sure that excuse works with the village girls.”

He laughed with her and took a deep breath as they guided their horses along the field’s perimeter and rode side by side.

“So where are we going today?” She smiled at Gabriel.

“Today, we are going to the lake.”

She smiled. “I like the lake.”

Gabriel smiled back at her. “I know. That is why we are going there.”

The lake made Scarlet happy. And Gabriel wanted to make Scarlet happy.