Holiday Special Edition 2011 by Anthology

Author:Anthology
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: ! Yes
Publisher: L-Book ePublisher
Published: 2011-12-01T06:00:00+00:00

Kirste was miserable for the rest of the week. Her brother's funeral was relatively subdued, considering that a member of the royal family had died, but the circumstances of his death were so embarrassing and gruesome that the king did not want to make matters worse. Kirste grieved in her own way, but for the young, innocent brother that had once been her playmate, not for the hardened man that had tried to kill her.

The knowledge that she was the only heir to the throne weighed heavily on the princess, but it also gave her more influence. With Joran out of the way, there was nothing to prevent Kirste from helping Ara except her own selfishness. It was time to let her return home.

Once Joran's funeral was behind her, Kirste summoned the swiftest trading ship in the royal fleet and ordered the glass blowers to make a comfortable box for Ara to travel in. Even though the mermaid could take on human form for a short time, Kirste wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. The Northern Sweep was two weeks away at best by sea, but when she showed the box to Ara, the mermaid started to cry.

"Why do you want to send me away? Do you blame me for your brother's death?"

Kirste's first instinct was to comfort Ara and dry her tears, but her lover's words stung. She pulled her hand away from where it rested on Ara's upper arm. "My father had you kidnapped and given as a Solstice present. You don't belong in this palace as a prisoner. It's time for you to go home."

The princess expected Ara to be happy about her freedom, but instead the mermaid turned away from her and ignored all of her attempts to explain. She refused to speak to Kirste for the rest of the day.

The next morning, Kirste felt like she was sinking into the deepest part of the ocean. It hurt to breathe when the men came to take Ara to the ship. The mermaid took her two-legged shape in a surprising show of independence and refused any help. She hardly said a word to Kirste and only took her arm reluctantly. Even though she wanted to stay at the palace so that her goodbye to Ara would be a brief sting instead of a long ache, Kirste decided to accompany her lover to the northern part of the continent. She did not want to leave the mermaid completely alone for the journey.

The voyage to the Northern Sweep took less time than the captain and crew expected. The currents and the wind remained favorable despite the season, and the sailors all agreed that having a mermaid on board the ship brought them good luck.

Ara was friendly toward the traders, and Kirste was pleased to see her interacting well with other humans, but part of her was also jealous. The blonde mermaid was still doing her best to ignore Kirste whenever possible. The princess tried not to be

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