Sky of Wind by Emily Deady

Chapter 16

Meena woke early when a hand shook her shoulder. She groaned into her pillow, keeping her eyes closed until she realized Sol—her new husband—was gently asking her to wake up. She rolled over, instantly wide awake.

She clutched the blankets to her shoulders, despite the fact she was still wearing a full chemise and under dress. Sol wasn’t her real husband, after all, even if they did have to share a room for the next several days.

She needn’t have bothered. His back was already turned. He was fully clothed and appeared to have been awake for some time. His blanket was folded on the floor. His tousled curls, however, stuck out at all angles.

Slipping out of bed, she slid her travel dress over her head and fastened it in the front. In the interest of speed and secrecy and safety, she had declined bringing a lady’s maid. The councilor had insisted that they would provide someone to assist her in Falqri. Meena was fairly certain he meant ‘watch’ her, not ‘assist’ her.

Turning to Sol, Meena gestured for him to come closer with her hand. “Lean your head forward,” she said.

“Why?” He turned to face her at her words, but moved his head back, the exact opposite of what she had asked.

Meena snorted. “Because your hair looks slept in.”

“It was slept in,” he retorted.

“Just let me fix it.” Meena reached up to the top of his head, though she had to stretch her arm up to do so.

He sighed audibly and slunk his shoulders forward.

Gently running her fingers through the short lengths, Meena separated some of the thick, wide curls. It only took a few shakes of her hand to encourage them to stand on their own and fill in the flat spot he’d created from sleeping. “Much better,” she said. The casual touch had calmed her, even as it brought a happy twinge to her stomach.

Sol lifted his hand and ruffled his fingers close to his scalp as she had done. “I’ll remember that tomorrow morning,” he mumbled, turning away from her.

Meena felt the happy twinge in her stomach pop into disappointment. She’d liked the familiarity of touching his hair. It would be better if he took care of it himself. She squeezed her fingers into a tight ball against her palm. He needed to get a little more comfortable together or this would be a very difficult trip.

Through the rest of the short morning, Meena chatted easily with General Gautho, who had also risen early to see them off. When he asked pointed questions about how she and Sol had met, she deflected his questioning by describing the wedding in great detail.

The sun had barely risen over the sea when the captain of the ship came up to the monastery. He informed them the ship was ready and the tides were favorable.

Meena bid Gautho a cheery farewell to compensate for Sol’s monosyllabic goodbye.

The ship, a merchant’s vessel, was a short distance from the shore. Meena assumed it was a trading ship from Falqri as the captain spoke with a noticeable staccato rhythm. The ship had a wide, rounded hull, designed for transporting goods rather than speeding through the water. It was a fairly large vessel, requiring two masts.

Meena bunched her skirts in hand and hopped from the sand into the grounded rowboat that waited to take them out to the larger ship.

Sol leaned down, putting his shoulder against the small craft to push it off the sand.

“Your highness, please.” A sailor rushed forward, leaning down to take over the task. “We may not have the sleek caravel you are used to, but you are our guests.”

Sol ignored the man’s plea and helped him slide the rowboat until it floated on the light waves. He splashed through the shallow water and leaped over the side of the boat, sitting opposite Meena.

He grabbed the oars and swung them into place. “Thank you for your aid,” he said to the sailor. “I will see my wife safely aboard.”

“Is it that hard being a prince?” Meena asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

“I’m not enjoying it,” Sol replied heavily, pressing against the oars.

“You just need to be in control.” Meena knew she was somewhat correct, but she hoped he knew she was jesting.

“Is that such a bad thing?” He looked up at her, letting the craft carry its own momentum forward for a moment.

“You did well,” Meena replied. “I was afraid you would offend that sailor by ignoring him, but your excuse was well thought out.”

“My excuse to take care of you?”

“Taking care of me is always a good course of action. It never has to be an excuse,” Meena spoke the light words before her mind realized that Sol would take her too seriously.

Sol remained silent for the rest of the short trip.

Once on board, they were welcomed stiffly and given a short tour of the upper deck.

The captain climbed aboard a short while later, directing the sailors on where to stow Sol and Meena’s personal chests.

He turned to a door on the upper deck, opening it and standing aside. “The Sapphire isn’t used to transporting royalty, but she’s a good ship. You’ll have my cabin, of course. It’s small, but I hope you will be comfortable here.”

Meena stepped past his open arm into the small space.

Small was too generous a description. The closet she stood in consisted of a thin bed, barely wide enough for a single person, and enough room to stand right next to it.

As soon as Sol entered the room beside her, neither of them could move.

“It is quite cozy,” the captain said behind them. “But it is the best space on board. Cozy is perfect for two young people in love.”

“I’ll sleep with the crew below decks,” Sol whispered in her ear.

Meena hoped the captain couldn’t hear the quiet words. She grabbed Sol’s arm, squeezing it with a small shake of her head. “Thank you, captain,” Meena said. “We do not want to take your space. Surely there is room for us elsewhere on board?”

“Just the main galley below, where everyone else sleeps. And, well.” He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t suppose the crew would mind too much, but I think your highnesses might have a different perspective.”

Meena swallowed. Suddenly, the small room felt like a palace. “Thank you for your generosity, captain.”

“I’ll let you get settled in.” The captain left, closing the door behind them.

“This will not work,” Sol whispered. The back of his arm rubbed against her shoulder.

Meena felt her face grow warm, but she didn’t want to move her arm, as that would only bring attention to their closeness. “This has to work,” she said. “They would be suspicious if we separated. We’ll make it work somehow.” She spun around in place, trying to find an extra finger’s width of space in the tiny room. The movement also gave her a chance to resettle her arm into a place where it was not pressed up against his. “We can take turns sleeping at night,” she said. “It will be like standing guard.”

“I hadn’t thought of that as a solution,” Sol replied. He sounded as though he would consider the idea, even if he was not excited about it.

“It will be a test.” Meena kept talking. The tingling in her shoulder was distracting, and she didn’t want to scratch it in front of him. “If we can handle this together, surely we can get through anything.”

“Let us go see the rest of the ship.” Sol unlatched the door behind them and slipped out.

Meena followed, oddly disappointed about leaving the small space with him. The sooner she could accept he would never relax around her, the easier her life would be.