BOOK 3 of The Ostler's Boy Series
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Love. Duty. Valor.
Court & Class.
A pseudo-medieval romance through the eyes of a reckless princess.
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After Svana and her Knight, there was a Princess and her love of adventure.
Eliza Rose, the wildes...
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Ser Nikolai was still talking about his new dagger when we made it onto the ship. He bribed the ferryman not to recognize him and to put us below the main deck where Willoughby and the group wouldn't see us. We walked too close together and with his arm around my shoulders. The motion yanked my hair, which he had suggested I wear down to play the part.
But he had been smart about the act. No one took a second look at me, and we were able to find a table near the front of the boat on the balcony. It wasn't a small ship, either, I was happy to find. There were at least three levels of various heights.
When the thing started to move, I nearly fell over. The dress we'd put on the Crown's account was tight within the bodice and left it difficult to stand soundly. I had gladly neglected boning of any kind over the summer, and two weeks before the social season was too soon for my delight, the ability to function aside. Even if it did suit me and feel better than Ser Braxton's clothes, it was green, and that made me think of the Duke.
Nikolai held me, making a comment as my spouse.
"Steady on, wife," he said. "You'll find your legs soon enough."
I stepped closer to the rail and looked over at the cresting water around the base.
"It's..." I couldn't find the words. "It's beautiful," I said.
"Is this your first time on the ferry?" he asked.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a boat," I confessed. "We always take the carriage to Chalke."
"What of the Riverlands? They're far closer and in between Ísfjall and Rothingham. They have boats."
"Ser–Sergio," I decided to name him. "You know I've never taken a river tour."
He nodded. "We'll have to change that," he said.
I rolled my eyes, batting him. "Oh, yes. Let's."
I steeled myself to creep closer to the sea and held on to the railing for life. "What keeps this thing from sinking?" I asked. "Aren't there... creatures in there?"
Nikolai shrugged.
"Well, that's comforting!"
Above us, Ser Fridrick's voice made a comment on the weather, and I leaped back toward the table to hide. Nikolai glanced at the ceiling that would have shielded me, then met my eyes.
"Friend of yours?" he whispered.
"That's part of Willough's party," I whispered back. "Fifty people on this entire ship, and he's above us?" I damned it. "Dumb luck."
"Sit down," he said. "He can't see you from here."
I nodded and heeded his advice.
Nikolai kept his voice low. "What is this dragon a metaphor for anyway?" he asked.
