4
HANNE
He brought several sets of clothes. Traveling apparel, which I put on, and evening clothes to wear in the cabin. There were also underwear and socks, made of cotton so thin, a slight tug would tear it.
But I didn’t dare complain.
We left the island and rowed back to the land from which we’d come. I helped him row, and he didn’t ask me to stop. And when my arms gave out, he rowed us the rest of the way until we reached the other shore.
He held the torch at his side. “Do you know what to look for?”
I nodded. “I know what the leaves look like. Most of these crops grow in cold, dark climates just like this, so they could be literally anywhere.” The circle of light from the torch reached twenty feet, and then everything else was dark.
“Any other prerequisites you can think of?”
“They like damp soil, which means they might grow around a lake, so I’d say we’re in the right area.” I gestured to the torch. “Can I carry that?”
He gave me a quick glance over. “You’ll burn yourself.”
“Why do you assume that?”
“Have you carried a torch before?”
“Well, no.”
“I’ll be right behind you.” He nodded to the left, telling me to get to work.
I swallowed the annoyance because at least I had a sword. It was across my back, and it was heavy because I’d never carried one before. My father had had me learn the sword, but I’d never had to carry it with me anywhere.
I got started, leaving the bank and heading farther inland because the soil right by the water would be too wet. This area didn’t have a lot of foliage. There would be a random grouping of boulders and then a couple trees, and then there would be nothing for a while. “This is gonna take some time.”
“Everything does.”
I continued ahead, surveying the brush and bushes that grew, finding the same thing over and over. I turned back to where the lake was, picturing the land we’d sailed to, even though I couldn’t see it. “Is your camp on an island? Or is that another part of this same land?”
“It’s an island. Why?”
“The vegetation is different there.” I looked at the shore, seeing the water gently moving up and down again even though therewas no moon. “Have you been to the other side of the lake before?”
“Yes.”
“Would you say it’s similar? Because there’s not much here.”
He came closer to me with the torch, his hard features and shadows highlighted in the flames. “Yes, it’s similar.”
“Then I think we should look there.”
He didn’t raise the torch and lead the way. He stared at me for a while longer before he turned to look at the land he couldn’t see. “I have to warn you. It could be dangerous.”
“Why?”
“There are a lot of things that live down here.”
“Oh…” If I were to have left the castle and wandered into the wilderness, that would have been dangerous too. The same circumstances should apply here, even more so because of the darkness.
“It’ll take many hours just to get there. And once we’re there, we won’t be able to speak.”
“What about the light from the torch?”
