A Harmony of Water and Weald Read online

  Makes sure that she’s put away

  All the things she was using

  And then takes my hand

  With the one in which

  She is not clutching the blanket

  To her chest and walks away,

  Humming to herself.

  Running is undignified here. :(

  Otherwise we would be running

  And scaring the animals roaming

  The courtyards and the premises. ^_^

  When we find my prince

  He is sketching Shark

  As she lounges

  Artistically under

  A set of branches.

  He is not as impressed

  With my gift as my princess

  And cannot quite hide

  The frown on his face

  When she shares it with him. :(

  It doesn’t last long.

  “Are you sure you feel

  Well enough to be moving about?”

  He asks.

  I nod, a little frustrated

  With their caring.

  I know that my family

  Means well with their

  Concern, but I worry that

  Perhaps they don’t know

  How much I need to move.

  “I’m glad,” my prince

  Says with a smile.

  “You hate being still.”

  He pauses, then adds,

  “Except on the ocean.”

  I consider it for a while.

  And… he is right.

  I don’t mind sitting still

  When I am on a boat. ^_^

  I don’t mind sitting still

  In a carriage when I can feel

  The wind in my hair

  And the air past my skin either. ^_^

  Shark stretches and yawns,

  Then comes padding over

  To weave herself between

  My legs.

  I bend down and

  Stroke her as she passes.

  “Can she come with us?”

  I ask, not for the first time.

  “Yes. I promise.”

  As he speaks,

  My princess spreads

  Her new blanket onto

  The ground and sits

  On it, patting the fabric

  Around her until my

  Prince and I both sit

  Beside her and Shark

  Is contently purring

  On her lap.

  The silence is nice. ^_^

  Overboard

  We are leaving.

  Shark does not like

  To be confined to a basket

  Any more than I like

  To be confined to a bed.

  She is yowling in a way

  That I have never heard

  Before and it takes me

  Everything I have not

  To let her out and let

  Her roam freely.

  Both my prince and my princess

  Have already had to stop me

  And it is only because I keep

  A tight hold on the basket

  That they’ve failed to take

  It from me entirely.

  I hope Shark will forgive me.

  I wouldn’t forgive me. T_T

  But it is the only way

  To take Shark with us,

  So I try my best to ignore

  My cat’s anguished cries

  As we move further and

  Further from the castle

  And closer to the sea.

  It is not a pleasant journey. T_T

  It’s raining and Shark

  Does not get used to the basket.

  My arms are red and swollen

  With scratches from when

  We have to put Shark back inside

  Every morning until

  We reach the ship.

  She does not need

  To be confined on

  A ship. ^_^

  I am so happy to be

  Back on the water!

  I could sit on deck

  Forever and not

  Get bored by anything. ^_^

  The sea air makes

  Me wish I could sing

  With songs of the sea

  But I can only sing

  With my body and

  So I do.

  I am careful not

  To get in the way

  Of the sailors.

  Sometimes, these sailors

  Even let me help them. ^_^

  The captain is especially kind,

  And teaches me how tall-crabs

  Navigate the seas.

  It is very different to how

  My sisters do it below the seas.

  I even get to climb the mast!

  And control the helm in a moment

  When the water is particularly calm! :O

  I prefer swimming

  On my own strengths,

  But it makes me happy

  That the captain has allowed

  Me to do this.

  My prince sketches it.

  He sketches everything

  When he is not playing

  With Shark. ^_^

  I think he’s missed her too.

  The days and nights are calm

  Until one night, the Sea Witch

  Wakes me from slumber.

  I don’t know how I know

  But I can tell it’s her presence,

  Calling me up to the deck

  And down into the sea.

  Below, in the dark,

  Are people calling to us.

  As my eyes adjust

  I can tell they’re in a small

  Boat. A dinghy, I think.

  I don’t know what to do.

  For a moment, I stand,

  Frozen, and then I hear

  The night crew moving

  And I find myself falling

  Into a rhythm to help them

  Pull the dinghy up.

  Then. A splash. A cry.

  I don’t think.

  I jump overboard

  After the noise and

  The sound and I find

  Myself holding a small

  Tall-crab. A little one.

  I make sure to keep its

  Head above water while

  I wait for the crew to

  Help me up onto the ship

  With a small, struggling child.

  Far in the distance, I think can see

  The Sea Witch diving beneath

  The waves as I splutter and

  Let the sailors drag me and

  The child aboard.

  I guess this is what

  The Sea Witch was talking about. ^_^

  Introductions

  The little tall-crab

  Is shivering and

  We wrap them up in a

  Blanket and rub at

  Their arms.

  We feed them some alcohol

  To warm their limbs

  And carry to our

  Cabin where it is

  Warmer than outside.

  I am not so cold

  And wave off most

  Attempts to warm me.

  I accept the hugs of

  My princess, though,

  And snuggle against her

  As I sit, watching our

  Prince fuss over the

  Little human child.

  “Hello,” he says.

  “I’m Bernhard.”

  The child follows

  His movements with

  Their eyes.

  “That’s Asta –”

  My princess releases me

  Long enough to raise her hand.

  “– And that’s Maris.”

  “You must be very tired,”

  Asta adds. “And cold.”

  I say nothing,

&nbs
p; Merely wring out

  My wet hair and wonder

  What the Sea Witch wants

  Us to do with this child.

  “Rest now and we’ll talk

  About everything in

  The morning,” my prince

  Says. He tucks the

  Child in and we all

  Go back to sleep.

  We try, anyway.

  I can’t sleep. :/

  I still feel the tug

  Of the Sea Witch

  Calling me… somewhere.

  Not to the child.

  To the sea.

  This time,

  When I move up

  To the deck I keep

  A blanket wrapped

  Around my shoulders

  And shudder a little

  In the night air.

  I am not surprised

  To find the child

  Following me

  Or the Sea Witch

  Perching on the railing.

  She is smiling,

  As much as a predator

  Can ever be said to smile.

  The child is frightened,

  Pressing close to me,

  And I can only wrap my

  Arm around their shoulders

  Briefly.

  “Ah, you’ll get along fine,”

  The Sea Witch says

  And before either of us

  Can think to say anything

  She is gone. Splashing

  Beneath the waves

  And deep so fast

  We cannot follow

  Her silhouette in the darkness.

  The child takes my hand

  And squeezes.

  I squeeze back before

  Pulling it free and

  Saying that we should

  Go to bed.

  Then, remembering

  That they probably cannot speak

  With hands like I do,

  I mimic a pillow and point

  At the door to the cabin.

  The child shakes their head,

  And pulls me down onto the deck

  To watch the stars fade from

  The sky and the sun rise

  Above the water.

  It reminds me

  So much of my first

  Few days as a tall-crab

  That my heart aches.

  I stroke the child’s hair

  And by the time my family

  Is up, the little tall-crab

  Has fallen asleep,

  Arms wrapped around my waist. ^_^

  Alf

  By the time we reach home,

  We have taught the child

  Some speech the way I

  Learned it. ^_^

  We know that the

  Sailors found a child

  Drifting in the water

  And that, before they could,

  Return home a storm

  Raged and their ship

  Was caught in the worst

  Of it. Yet their dinghy

  Was somehow spared.

  I’m not sure if I’m glad

  I did not know this when

  I last saw the Sea Witch

  Or whether I want to

  Admonish her for

  Her interference.

  I’m sure the storm

  Was her doing. >>

  We find ourselves

  Welcomed home with

  A great feast that pleases

  Neither my princess, myself

  Or the child the Sea Witch

  Thrust into our paths.

  Everyone’s assumption

  That Asta will adopt

  The child is truly

  Not helping my prince or I

  Because it means

  The celebration becomes

  Bigger and lasts even

  Longer. And we just

  Want to return to our

  Lives as they were.

  But now with Shark

  To hunt mice and snuggle

  Into people’s beds at night

  And with this child

  In our midst.

  The priests name him

  Alf, because he is small

  And silent and mischievous. ^_^

  The queen dotes on him.

  It is good to be home

  Again and to slowly

  Slip back into the life

  That has made me so happy. ^_^

  And maybe one day

  We’ll have a child of

  Our own to adopt.

  That would be a great adventure. ^_^

  Acknowledgements

  Many, many thanks to the people of the Ace Book Club who picked up Sea Foam and Silence for one of their reads. I am deeply honoured to have one of my books selected for a book club read and I hope everyone enjoyed it a lot!

  Members' enthusiasm for more of Sea Foam and Silence sparked the seeds for what would become A Harmony of Water and Weald, which is what you've just read. Or have yet to read if you're the kind of person who reads the acknowledgements before the rest of the text. Many, many, many thanks to all the (book club) readers who reached out to me and who expressed their enthusiasm for Sea Foam and Silence, especially Lucia and Sinead without whom this little companion collection would not exist. Many thanks, as always, to my wonderful betas and critique partners for their time and effort to turn my messes into something enjoyable and awesome. Seriously, my stories would be infinitely less rich without you all and I love you loads.

  About the Author

  Lynn O’Connacht has an MA in English literature and creative writing, but wouldn’t call herself an authority on either. She currently resides on the European continent and her idiom and spelling are, despite her best efforts, geographically confused, poor things. Her tastes are equally eclectic, though fantasy will always be her first love. She has been chasing stories one way or another since she was old enough to follow a narrative.

  Connect with Lynn online:

  http://www.leoconnacht.com

  http://twitter.com/lynnoconnacht

  Thank you for reading!

  More Books by Lynn

  Verse Novels

  Rapunzel, Rapunzel

  Sea Foam and Silence

  Novels

  A Promise Broken

  Novellas & Novelettes

  Courage Is the Price

  The Passage of Pearl

  Collections

  Feather by Feather and Other Stories

  Tales of the Little Engine

  A Harmony of Water and Weald:

  a Sea Foam and Silence collection

  Published by Dovelet Books

  Copyright 2017 by Lynn E. O’Connacht.

  Cover art by ClickPaperCo.

  Design by Lynn E. O’Connacht.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This file is licensed for private individual entertainment only. The book contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into an information retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photographic, audio recording, or otherwise) for any reason (excepting the uses permitted to the licensee by copyright law under terms of fair use) without the specific written permission of the author.

 

 

 
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