Maisie listened without giving much away, though a part of her wanted, against her better judgment, to respond.
After the meal was done, Isabelle turned to Maisie with a hopeful smile.
"Would ye care to walk with me a while?" she asked, her tone light as a summer breeze.
Maisie hesitated, catching Caiden's watchful eyes from across the table, the silent warning in them.
"Daenae go beyond the walls, Isabelle," he said.
She gave the faintest nod to him, then rose.
They stepped into the crisp morning air, the stone walls of the castle towering above them. The courtyard below bustled with life, stable lads leading glossy-coated horses, washerwomen hanging linens that billowed like sails, and guards in polished mail passing by with the quiet clink of metal.
The keep's grey granite gleamed faintly where the sun struck it, banners in deep crimson and gold snapping sharply in the wind. The whole place breathed wealth and power, from the carved stone lintels to the wide, sturdy gates bound in iron.
Maisie and Isabelle made their way along the outer wall walk, boots echoing softly on the worn flagstones. From this height, Maisie saw the castle's sprawling grounds, orchards neatly kept, fields beyond dotted with grazing sheep, and a line of fine wagons laden with goods making their way toward the gate.
"I've never seen a castle like this before," Maisie said, her gaze lifting to the soaring stone towers. "It's… well, it's somethin' out of a tale."
Isabelle's lips curved into a soft smile. "Aye, it can be a bit overwhelmin' the first time. I used to get lost in it. But now it is home, and I love it very much."
Maisie could smell fresh-baked bread drifting from the kitchens below and hear the distant ring of the blacksmith's hammer. It was a world so different from the quiet village life she'd known that she felt almost like an intruder in a dream.
Then they reached the seaward wall, and Maisie stopped without meaning to.
"Beautiful…" she gasped.
The ocean stretched before her, a rolling expanse of steel blue beneath a pale sky, sunlight dancing in silver shards upon its surface. White-crested waves crashed against the jagged rocks far below, sending up bursts of spray that glittered in the light. The sheer majesty of it took her breath away, the scent of salt and the cry of gulls wrapping around her like something wild and untamed.
"Yes, it is very beautiful. I love to sit here often. Ye should join me sometime. I come here and sit with bread and cheese and a bit of port if I can manage it," Isabelle laughed.
Maisie allowed herself a smile. "Ye've a way about ye, easy to talk to."
"Well, that's a fine compliment," Isabelle said with a soft laugh. "Though I reckon it's just that we're both lasses tryin' to find our place."
Maisie turned and caught sight of her shadow, tall and long compared to the smaller shadow of Isabelle.
Maisie's eyes flicked over Isabelle's slight frame, neat and graceful beside her. "Ye're wee compared to me," she said before she could stop herself, feeling a flush of embarrassment as she did not mean to say it aloud.
Isabelle tilted her head. "Aye, I've heard that before. But why say it now?"
Maisie looked ahead, her voice quieter now. "Folk say things… about me. I'm taller than most men where I come from. Some suitors dinnae like it. They'd whisper I was undesirable."
Isabelle's brow knit. "Then they were fools. A woman's worth is nae measured in inches."
Maisie gave a short, disbelieving laugh. "Tell that to the lads back home. I've barely had two even look at me proper."
"Then it's their loss," Isabelle said firmly. "Height or nae, any man worth keepin' should see the strength in ye."
Maisie glanced at her, feeling an unexpected warmth in her chest. "Maybe… maybe ye're right."
Maisie walked beside Isabelle, the sound of the sea in the distance mingling with the cry of gulls overhead. The lass's light step contrasted sharply with her own, as though Isabelle floated where Maisie clomped.
She kept her shoulders back, trying not to hunch, but she could feel the height difference with every glance down. Isabelle's braid swayed lightly against her back, catching the sunlight, and Maisie wondered how the lass managed to make walking look so graceful.
They stopped at a break in the wall where the ocean rolled out in a great expanse of silver-blue. The waves caught the light, flashing like scattered coins, and the scent of salt filled Maisie's lungs.
It was beautiful, so much grander than the streams and hills back home. She tried to picture herself waking to this sight each morning, yet the thought made her feel as if she didn't quite belong, like a rough-edged stone among polished gems.
