The House of Oldenrock

Underlying

Chapter Eight: Underlying

           

            The wind changed at Rolda.  It was a common occurrence, for although Chass Isle was a large island, not far from the mainland, and Rolda was the closest city on the Isle to the mainland, the weather there was still at the mercy to the whims of the sea, and now the sea seemed rather moody.  That did not matter to Stierra though as she danced through the palace hallways singing a melody that reminded her of Chass Isle.  All that mattered was that she was getting married to her charming beautiful fiancée, Mark Roladon, next month.  Just the thought of it made her feel so elated.

            Oh how she loved Mark. He was so handsome with his black curls and gray eyes.  He was so intelligent and so kind.  He got her flowers every day, and he would frequently leave her love letters all over the palace, and most importantly, he could sing.  That was what had attracted Stierra to him, and although many men were attracted to Stierra, Stierra was rarely truly attracted to men.  Yes, she did notice them much more than her sisters, Margot and Robby, and she considered many men very good looking, but that did not mean that she would frequently feel infatuations. This was the first time she had ever found herself falling in love, and she knew that it would also be the last.

            There had been many fine handsome young men at the Clanmeet, and Stierra was sure that she had the best.  At first she had had eyes for Hilden Oak, not enough to fall in love with him, but enough to be attracted to him. Sadly, Hilden only had eyes for Robby, and that had sorely disappointed Stierra.  Yet, the Spirit must have been listening to her plea for a man, because she soon heard Mark singing, and she knew that her quest to find a man had been fulfilled.  She was off to see him now.  Although he had not called for her, they had an agreement that they could see each other whenever they so wished.

            She found him on the balcony of the chambers staring off into the gray waters of Chass Straight, the straight of water that separated Chass Isle from the mainland. Without even looking at his face, but only at his posture and that he was gripping the railing, Stierra could tell that he was deep in thought. She turned to go, for she did not want to interrupt him.  As the Roladon heir, the highest Clan in Chass Isle, Mark was responsible for learning how to run the place. He was aware of the affairs of the Isle, and his father was frequently having him come up with solutions for problems in order to test him.  She assumed that that was what he was doing, and she did not want to distract him.

            “Stay, my love,” she heard him say.  He said that he could recognize her without even looking at her by listening to the musical way that she walked.

            She began to walk to him.  “I did not want to disturb you,” she said.

            He finally turned to look at her.  “You can never disturb me,” he said.  “A man who has no time for his wife has no time at all.”

            “But I’m not even your wife yet,” she replied as she reached the railing.  The water, though turbulent and gray, was beautiful, and she saw a large expanse of clouds in the sky, yet the sun was still out in the west, where the mainland was.

            A half smile curved on his face.  “A storm’s coming from the east,” he said.  “It has probably already hit the east coast of the Isle, and it most certainly not is a small one.”

            He looked away from her and back out into the waters.  Stierra waited in silence understanding that he had more to say.  Something was troubling him, and since he had grown up on the Isle and was used to storms, she knew that it involved a lot more than the weather.