For a moment I could do nothing but stare at her as she sat on a boulder, dipping her toes in the water of a smooth lake. Water lilies floated around her and tall reeds fanned out on either side, an army of gently swaying sentinels. The moonlight turned the world silver, but that couldn't detract from her beauty.
She wasn't in the body I recognised as Darcy, nor was she Dunthryth. My Fríge still held me captivated all the same. Chestnut ringlets decorated with glittering gems cascaded down her back to her waist and a loose, shift like dress gave her an ethereal look. She reminded me of a nymph, staring out over the lake to wait for... What?
Did she know who she was? Would she recognise me?
I glanced around the place she'd created in her dreams, my gaze lingering on the mural which decorated the side of a boathouse. The one eyed king who stared back at me seemed both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time; a face I should recognise as myself but couldn't seem to.
"I probably knew this place once," I murmured. "I don't remember it though."
Fríge shot upright, spinning and raising her fists in an admirable defensive pose. She splashed backwards into the lake, seeking to distance herself from me. The water swirled around her, tugging her skirts tight against her calves. She still looked enchanting, although the fear in her eyes made my heart squeeze, aching.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
The pain which intensified in the centre of my chest stole my breath, but I tried to keep my expression neutral, unthreatening, as I leaned against the door of the boathouse. I studied her, looking for any sign of recognition or harm, then I held up my hands in surrender.
"I'm a friend, Little Warrior. You have no reason to fear me. I'd never harm you."
"I don't know that."
My heart squeezed again, and that time, I doubted my expression remained as closed off as I intended. My only comfort was that she flinched at her own statement, then looked confused by her own reaction. Did a memory stir?
"No, at this moment you don't recognise me, but you will. I know, because your heart is stronger than any magic Tiw could force on you. It will remember, even if you don't."
Her frown deepened at my assessment, her dark eyes large and anxious.
"I don't understand."
"I know, but I'm hoping you will."
When I took a step forward, she stepped back, further into the lake, alarm in her expression as she yelped, "Stay back. You're trespassing."
"I can't trespass in my own kingdom," the words slipped out unintentionally and I froze, my hands still raised in surrender. Shit. I hadn't meant to say that.
"Your kingdom...?" Fríge stared at me as if I was mad. Maybe I was. "What do you mean, 'your kingdom'?"
Sighing, I shook my head. The truth would put her in too much danger.
"You aren't ready for that story, Little Warrior. Not when you don't remember who you are." I paused briefly before adding, "You look so different in that body, yet you still seem familiar. You are the only thing that's right here. You should be queen. But you shouldn't be his queen."
Her expression took on uncharacteristic scorn, using derision to mask her uncertainty.
"Then whose should I be? Yours? Am I nothing more than a prize for men to squabble over? Like the realm itself. An asset. Something to rule over. A possession."
