“It was slept in,” he retorted.
“Just let me fix it.” Meena reached up to the top of his head, though she had to stretch her arm up to do so.
He sighed audibly and slunk his shoulders forward.
Gently running her fingers through the short lengths, Meena separated some of the thick, wide curls. It only took a few shakes of her hand to encourage them to stand on their own and fill in the flat spot he’d created from sleeping. “Much better,” she said. The casual touch had calmed her, even as it brought a happy twinge to her stomach.
Sol lifted his hand and ruffled his fingers close to his scalp as she had done. “I’ll remember that tomorrow morning,” he mumbled, turning away from her.
Meena felt the happy twinge in her stomach pop into disappointment. She’d liked the familiarity of touching his hair. It would be better if he took care of it himself. She squeezed her fingers into a tight ball against her palm. He needed to get a little more comfortable together or this would be a very difficult trip.
Through the rest of the short morning, Meena chatted easily with General Gautho, who had also risen early to see them off. When he asked pointed questions about how she and Sol had met, she deflected his questioning by describing the wedding in great detail.
The sun had barely risen over the sea when the captain of the ship came up to the monastery. He informed them the ship was ready and the tides were favorable.
Meena bid Gautho a cheery farewell to compensate for Sol’s monosyllabic goodbye.
The ship, a merchant’s vessel, was a short distance from the shore. Meena assumed it was a trading ship from Falqri as the captain spoke with a noticeable staccato rhythm. The ship had a wide, rounded hull, designed for transporting goods rather than speeding through the water. It was a fairly large vessel, requiring two masts.
Meena bunched her skirts in hand and hopped from the sand into the grounded rowboat that waited to take them out to the larger ship.
Sol leaned down, putting his shoulder against the small craft to push it off the sand.
“Your highness, please.” A sailor rushed forward, leaning down to take over the task. “We may not have the sleek caravel you are used to, but you are our guests.”
Sol ignored the man’s plea and helped him slide the rowboat until it floated on the light waves. He splashed through the shallow water and leaped over the side of the boat, sitting opposite Meena.
He grabbed the oars and swung them into place. “Thank you for your aid,” he said to the sailor. “I will see my wife safely aboard.”
“Is it that hard being a prince?” Meena asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
“I’m not enjoying it,” Sol replied heavily, pressing against the oars.
“You just need to be in control.” Meena knew she was somewhat correct, but she hoped he knew she was jesting.
“Is that such a bad thing?” He looked up at her, letting the craft carry its own momentum forward for a moment.
“You did well,” Meena replied. “I was afraid you would offend that sailor by ignoring him, but your excuse was well thought out.”
“My excuse to take care of you?”
“Taking care of me is always a good course of action. It never has to be an excuse,” Meena spoke the light words before her mind realized that Sol would take her too seriously.
Sol remained silent for the rest of the short trip.
Once on board, they were welcomed stiffly and given a short tour of the upper deck.
The captain climbed aboard a short while later, directing the sailors on where to stow Sol and Meena’s personal chests.
He turned to a door on the upper deck, opening it and standing aside. “The Sapphire isn’t used to transporting royalty, but she’s a good ship. You’ll have my cabin, of course. It’s small, but I hope you will be comfortable here.”
Meena stepped past his open arm into the small space.
Small was too generous a description. The closet she stood in consisted of a thin bed, barely wide enough for a single person, and enough room to stand right next to it.
As soon as Sol entered the room beside her, neither of them could move.
“It is quite cozy,” the captain said behind them. “But it is the best space on board. Cozy is perfect for two young people in love.”
