A Fish Out of Water by Karin Kallmaker

Author:Karin Kallmaker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Lesbian Romance, Fairy Tale retold
Publisher: Karin Kallmaker
Published: 2017-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Erica did not ask her to leave. Maybe she didn’t have the strength. Maybe she thought Ariel would break down. If she’d had any pride left, Ariel might have thought that pride was what kept her silent and out of Erica’s bed. But she had no pride. It was fear of losing the cure that had her huddling in blankets on the chilled floor of the bedroom next to Erica’s. She chose the wall closest to Erica’s bed and slept little, hearing the song of Erica’s dreams churning with the anguish of wanting Ariel.

At night there was Erica’s song, during the day Erica’s anger at Ariel’s silence. She’d left pens and pads of paper for Ariel’s use, and been livid when Ariel had pointedly sat on her hands. How could Erica possibly understand the subtlety of Queen Vellia’s mind? No words silent or aloud. Writing would not have escaped her intent.

Ariel’s attempts to ease Erica’s anger in other ways all failed. Erica didn’t want to eat, to dance, to play. She didn’t want company, not Ariel’s company. Sometimes she would stay in her room all day. Then she would quit the house from dusk to dawn, prowling the grounds and the overgrown garden, always returning in a mood more foul than the one she had left in.

Deeply lonely, Ariel found herself sleeping at odd hours or sitting miserably in the garden. She would suddenly realize it had gone dark while she was maundering. One day Erica stormed passed her, dropping a blanket on her lap. Only then did Ariel realize it was bitterly cold. For a long while, it was the only contact she and Erica had, and Ariel slept with the blanket every night after that. The steady pulse of her need was the only way she marked time.

She had never been truly alone. Even the echoes had been a kind of company. It was a novel experience to be studiously ignored. It hurt to feel Erica’s desire, to hear her ever-continuing song, and not give way. It hurt, but she breathed in enough of Erica’s chemistry to get through the day without weeping. Well, most days.

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