“I’ll sleep with the crew below decks,” Sol whispered in her ear.
Meena hoped the captain couldn’t hear the quiet words. She grabbed Sol’s arm, squeezing it with a small shake of her head. “Thank you, captain,” Meena said. “We do not want to take your space. Surely there is room for us elsewhere on board?”
“Just the main galley below, where everyone else sleeps. And, well.” He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t suppose the crew would mind too much, but I think your highnesses might have a different perspective.”
Meena swallowed. Suddenly, the small room felt like a palace. “Thank you for your generosity, captain.”
“I’ll let you get settled in.” The captain left, closing the door behind them.
“This will not work,” Sol whispered. The back of his arm rubbed against her shoulder.
Meena felt her face grow warm, but she didn’t want to move her arm, as that would only bring attention to their closeness. “This has to work,” she said. “They would be suspicious if we separated. We’ll make it work somehow.” She spun around in place, trying to find an extra finger’s width of space in the tiny room. The movement also gave her a chance to resettle her arm into a place where it was not pressed up against his. “We can take turns sleeping at night,” she said. “It will be like standing guard.”
“I hadn’t thought of that as a solution,” Sol replied. He sounded as though he would consider the idea, even if he was not excited about it.
“It will be a test.” Meena kept talking. The tingling in her shoulder was distracting, and she didn’t want to scratch it in front of him. “If we can handle this together, surely we can get through anything.”
“Let us go see the rest of the ship.” Sol unlatched the door behind them and slipped out.
Meena followed, oddly disappointed about leaving the small space with him. The sooner she could accept he would never relax around her, the easier her life would be.
Chapter 17
Sol spread himself out on the floor of the tiny cabin. He had to bend at the knee so his head and feet would fit between the two close walls. It wasn’t completely uncomfortable. The constant rocking of the boat kept him rolled against the wall, which meant no one could open the door without waking him. Perhaps he would be able to sleep deeply because of that.
“Goodnight, Sol,” Meena whispered from the bed just above him.
“Goodnight,” Sol whispered back. He could not remember the last time someone offered him a nightly greeting.
He woke with a start sometime later when a hand touched his shoulder. He sat up instantly. “What’s wrong?”
He could feel the princess kneeling by his side, since her knees pressed against his hip.
“It’s halfway through the night.” She yawned. “At least I think it is.”
Sol tried to make out her face in the darkness. Her voice was calm and sleepy. Perhaps she was talking in a dream. He’d heard of it happening, though he’d never witnessed it.
“Go back to bed, princess,” he whispered.
“It’s your turn to take the bed,” she replied. “I’ll take the floor.”
“You were serious about that?” Sol asked. “It sounded like one of your jests.”
“I can’t let you sleep on the floor every night.” She sounded offended.
Sol wasn’t sure what to respond to that. He’d intended to sleep on the floor every night. He’d never even considered asking someone else—especially a woman and princess—to take the more uncomfortable option.
“We are in this together,” she said after a short pause. “I expect you’ll need sleep even more than I, by the time this is over. Take the bed.”
“That’s really not necessary,” Sol protested.
Meena dropped to her elbows and rolled on her side, curling up on the floor. “I’m too tired to move again.” She yawned. “Goodnight.”
Sol realized his only options were to take the bed or sleep next to her on the floor. While he was tempted to do the latter, he knew he’d never get any sleep, so he pushed himself up and rolled onto the thin pallet.
When Sol woke the following morning, the tiny cabin was empty. Slipping out the door, he stretched his folded limbs to their full height. A cursory glance at the deck around him provided no sight of the princess. A sparkle of laughter rang out above the low groans of the wooden ship and Sol followed the sound below deck.
Meena was sitting at a small table with three sailors and the captain, laughing over a bowl of thick stew. “That’s truly how you became a sailor? It didn’t scare you away from the sea for life.”
