Page 6 of The Gargoyle’s Glade (The Gargoyle Knights #3)
Merry
“ I am…” I stopped to take some slow breaths, willing the contents of my stomach to settle back where they belonged. “Still very unsure about portals.”
“Hailon felt just the same. It’ll get better!” Seir, who was perpetually happy, patted my shoulder and started off down the path toward the cabin I’d be borrowing with my belongings.
I’d visited the glade once before, in Hailon’s effort to help me understand the breadth of new knowledge I’d stumbled into by coming to Revalia. As with that time, the sensation of the portal was uncomfortable at best.
“What helped you?” I asked her when my insides had stopped spinning enough to walk. I turned my bracelet around my wrist, the idle gesture comforting.
The air was warmer here, more humid. Immediately I started musing over what plants I might be able to cultivate in such a place.
Hailon shrugged before handing the paint-swatched canvas over to me. “Time, mostly. Plenty of trips back and forth—it really does get better every time, I promise. Reminding myself how incredibly handy they are helped too.”
“Don’t forget being carried!” Seir yelled from several long paces ahead.
Hailon sighed. “That part didn’t hurt, I suppose.” He was looking over his shoulder and smiled at her capitulation. The demon had three sharp canines instead of one, but his grin didn’t strike me as threatening.
“Well, unfortunately, I don’t have anyone to carry me,” I teased.
Seir chuckled loudly to himself. “Yet.”
“He’s a bit …”
“Odd, yes.” Hailon nodded, but her soft smile told me she loved him all the same. “He means well, though. And you’re lovely, Merry, if you want to find someone to carry you, it won’t take much.”
“Bite your tongue, Hailon.”
“It’s true!” she insisted with a chuckle. “Besides, I’ve seen many of your previous suitors and can guarantee that the options are better here than they ever were back home.”
“Thank all the saints for that.” The number of eligible men in my age range back in Ravenglen was disappointing to say the least. Not that I was even looking, but my mother had seemed positively urgent about matching me once I’d passed twenty-five, and there hadn’t yet been a wedding.
I was now over thirty, and I’d had to mention that Revalia would have more options for a husband as well as jobs when I’d left, just so she wouldn’t be quite so worried.
As if finding a husband would solve anything.
It never had for her, though she’d certainly tried.
Four separate times she’d tried to claim her eternal happiness, and each time I’d ended up the responsible adult in the house taking care of my much younger siblings, myself, and her when her marriage dissolved or blew up.
A stab of guilt hit me in the chest, the same one I’d gotten watching the girls practice with their wooden swords.
I’d left my siblings behind. I knew it was for the best, and they’d never begrudge me for it.
But I’d been the only stable thing in their lives many times, and now I wasn’t there if they needed me again.
I’d been selfish for once. The guilt over it was terrible.
By the time we caught up, Seir had already put my bags in the bedroom. The door and windows were all open, and a brisk breeze blew through. The smell of freshly cut lumber was still potent but not unpleasant.
Emotion narrowed my throat. Very few things were ever brand-new in my life, let alone a whole house. And having it all to myself was a luxury I didn’t know how to process.
“It’s beautiful.” I stood just inside the door, almost afraid to move, like the house might vanish if I did, exposing this all as just a lovely dream.
“Come on.” Hailon tugged me by the hand and gave me a tour. It didn’t take long, the cabin was hardly large, but I grinned like mad as I tried to take in all the little details.
“I think green is the right choice,” I muttered, picturing curtains for the kitchen in a soft sage, perhaps a blanket for the sofa in dark pine.
Hailon’s mouth twitched. “I brought over some of the basics we had extras of to get you started.” She opened cabinets and drawers. “But you can move them wherever you want of course. And if you want new things, I’m sure that can be arranged too.”
“These will do fine.”
She drew me in for a quick hug and took the canvas back, tacking it to the kitchen wall. “Settle in. Come find me if you need something, okay? You can find your way?”
I nodded. “Yes, I can. Thank you, Hailon.” I stared into her eyes so she could feel how deeply I meant the simple words.
“It’s my honor, Merry. And I mean that. You were the only person back home to be an actual friend to me. I want you to find your happiness too.”
She left after double-checking that I had ample food, that the plumbing was operational so I could get a glass of water and take a bath, and that there was at least one extra blanket for me to use.
As the eldest daughter of a flighty mother, I wasn’t used to such attention. Managing all the small details was something I usually took care of. It would definitely take some getting used to, but it was nice to be fussed over.
For at least half an hour I wandered from room to room, touching the fixtures, straightening a pillow here, arranging a towel there, picturing what could be if I had endless funds to spend at the market and this place was truly mine.
I tested out one of the new knives on a lovely pear someone had put in one of those pretty little baskets Hailon had been looking at in the city.
As I ate, I walked around the exterior of the cabin, noting that during construction the soil had been disturbed in several places that would make wonderful little garden beds.
Planting could still be done for some winter crops if I hurried.
A persimmon tree would suit nicely for shade along the back of the cabin, and squash would do well along the far side.
I made a mental list for my next trip to the market.
It was fairly early, so I left the little cabin and walked into the glade proper.
I stopped to test the five hot springs pools with my hand, then wandered into the area heavy with trees I’d been told had plentiful wild berries.
Beyond the edge of that little grove was Hailon and Seir’s cabin, but I didn’t venture that far.
I marveled as I glanced around, the scent of pine heavy on the air and the singing of insects and chatter of birds constant.
The area was a true oasis, abundant in every way, and I considered myself blessed to have been invited.
Carrying an overflowing handful of sweet black fruit, I made my way back, unsure exactly what to do with myself. I wasn’t used to having such profound peace and free time. I’d never spent a night truly alone before, and never in a place so quiet.
After another wander around the cabin, I put the berries into a small bowl with a handful of seeds and nuts Hailon had left in the cabinet, and took them and a pot of tea with me into the bathroom.
I was going to indulge in a long, hot bath.
With snacks. It was the height of decadence.
The only thing missing was a glass of wine, and I could easily remedy that during my next visit into the city.
As the water filled the tub, wonderfully hot straight from the tap, I gathered my supplies. A pitcher for my hair, the shampoo and soap, an unbelievably plush towel. Unable to stand the wait, I stripped down and climbed in before it was even halfway filled.
Back home, we had a bath of course, but nothing like this.
This basin was so large and deep, my knees wouldn’t even be above the water if I sank down enough to put my head under.
The water was always either scalding or barely warm depending on how impatient I was with boiling pots on the stove that day, and I never had any soaps or shampoos of such high quality.
I looked at the door, which I’d closed out of habit.
At any given time, someone at home would have been knocking to make me hurry or rushed in to use the toilet.
That wouldn’t happen here. I could have left it open.
Guilt pressed in, uninvited and unwelcome, demanding to know how I dared to revel in such luxury knowing full well what little my mother and siblings had back in Ravenglen.
I frowned, grappling with the emotion. They were housed, fed, clothed.
There would be more to go around now that I wasn’t there, in fact.
Life wasn’t always easy, but there was joy.
Mother worked, and Mattias would be of age to start at the market soon, or maybe the stables, so that would help.
I planned to send some money every month once I found work.
I’d left behind what I could, as well. It wasn’t like I’d just up and abandoned them with nothing. They could always come to Revalia too.
Before it could take hold again, I shook off the guilt and wave of homesickness that threatened.
The heavy feeling in my chest eased, and I sank into the water on a sigh.
The bath was everything my body needed after the incident with the owl and the disorienting trip through the portal.
I soaked until the water started to cool, then washed in earnest. By the time I moved to get out, I was as relaxed as could be and blinking heavy.
At least, until I reached for my towel and a small, furry creature launched itself at me.