“Perhaps.” She lobs an impish smile his way. “Or maybe we haven’t found them yet.”
As Rominy watches, she makes a beeline for the bedroom door. Should he follow her?
“Are you coming?” she calls over her shoulder.
Apparently, he’s supposed to come with her.
As she pushes the door open, he glances at the small space. It really is cozy.
A little too cozy.
There’s a wardrobe along one wall, and Elowyn pulls the doors wide open. “Oh, wow,” she murmurs.
It’s full of clothes of all sorts for both of them. Formal human attire and elven styles. Coats and cloaks and—is that a bathing costume? A set of bathing costumes, rather.
At the bottom of the wardrobe, beneath all the clothing, various pairs of shoes await them.
“Perfect.” Elowyn reaches for a set of sturdy shoes in the smaller size. “Though they don’t match my gown.”
Rominy’s eyes flit over her again. It’s not a dress meant for shoes or boots or any sort of foot covering.
And the longer they stand here, the more keenly aware he becomes of the bed right beside them.
Elowyn shrugs and carries the shoes to a nearby set of drawers while Rominy reaches for his own footwear. She tosses a pair of stockings his way, and he follows her back into the sitting room of their little cottage.
Soon, with their shoes in place, they step through the door into the garden. Rosebushes line a path beneath a large oak tree, and Elowyn glides past each bloom, smelling some and fingering the petals of others. Reds and pale pinks and golden yellows.
The garden is enchanting, but watching Elowyn’s delight in everything they pass—from the roses to a friendly little chipmunk that twitches its tail as it gazes up at her—is far more intriguing than any garden could be.
She’s so easily pleased. Each new thing is fascinating to her, and Rominy can barely take his eyes off her expressive face as she explores every facet of their private paradise.
“A labyrinth!” She points to an opening in the hedgerow beyond the cobblestones lining the path of roses.
Rominy’s eyebrows draw together at the sight of the shadowy path. It’s full daylight out here. Why is the hedge so dark?
“Where do you think it leads?” She glides toward it, undaunted by the mist filtering through the opening between the hedges.
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning to find out,” he says under his breath.
A moment later, she steps off the stone walkway onto a dirt path and vanishes into the murky darkness.
“Elowyn!” He sprints toward the labyrinth in her wake.
They Should Have Gone Swimming
Episode 16
Rominy’svoicesoundsfaraway, as if muffled by the mist. What an odd place this is. It’s just the heartlanding, though. None of it is real.
“Elowyn!” Rominy nearly bowls her over as he rushes into the hedgerow behind her, and she grabs his arm to keep him on his feet.
“What’s wrong?”
“You vanished.”
“Strange. It must be the mist and shadows.”
“My heart nearly stopped.”
