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Chapter Thirty-Seven

“ H ave you ever ridden a horse before?” asked Grim as they stood in the royal stables.

She nodded, masking a wince of pain. They had been standing there for a while now, waiting for the horses to be saddled, and all she wanted to do was sit down or go to sleep.

Unfortunately, she could do neither and instead waited for the horses to be ready.

Her clothes this morning consisted of a pretty blue riding habit that Molly had carried in with a grin, and a message from the prince asking to meet him in the stables in an hour.

Shortly after she had exited the room, she had bumped into Thea.

The girl had taken one look at her clothes, and her lips tightened into a thin line.

Serena had figured out by then that the part Thea was playing was that of the other woman in the fairytale— the one the prince falls for instead of the mermaid.

Fortunately for her, Grim gave no indication that he felt anything for Thea beyond the sisterly affection planted by his false memories.

Thea should realize how lucky she was. Otherwise, Serena might have been tempted to brew a nasty tonic that would give her a stomach ache for a good few weeks.

Without a word of apology, the other girl had hurried off, and Serena had continued, following the directions Molly had given to the stables.

The horses were ready a few minutes later, and the groom led a pretty gray mare towards her.

“His name is Elvira, milady,” he told her, and then coughed.

Serena ran her fingers through Elvira’s pretty mane, falling in love with the mount in an instant.

“A gentle one she is. You’ll be safe with her.” He coughed again, more violently, and Serena frowned in concern.

“Maybe you should take the day off to rest, Bronson.” Grim's brow furrowed.

“Please do not trouble yourself with me, Your Highness. These old bones still have some strength in them.”

“Very well then, if you are sure.”

A black steed called Aslan was Grim’s mount, and she couldn’t help but notice how dashing he looked on top of it, with his black riding clothes and combed back hair.

“Follow me,” he said, with a grin that made her heart flutter. “I’ll take you through my favorite riding path, that way you’ll be able to see the forest.”

The path in question did indeed cut through the woods as he promised, and she looked around in delight at the pretty picture.

The trees on either side of them were bent toward the other to create an archway of sorts.

Flowers of pink, blue, and purple were littered around them, and the place was tinted in the azure colors of the dawning sky.

She spotted a few butterflies darting through the trees and a humming kind of energy that made her feel at home, as if she was in the Woods of Glenn.

She remembered how Nerida had told her about the enchanted woods in every world that created the doorways to cross through, and she wondered if this was the enchanted woods of this world.

As if to answer her question, she spotted what looked like a tiny person with wings peek out the patch of daisies and give her a slight wink before ducking back into the flowers.

She whipped her head around to see if Grim had spotted it as well but he was looking at something ahead.

A few seconds later, he looked at her again, and beckoned for her to follow.

“If I were to race ahead,” he asked with a teasing smile, “would you be able to keep up?”

Raising her eyebrows at the challenge, she gave him a mischievous smile.

Emile, her second-oldest brother had taught her to ride a horse when she was but a child, and she had taken to it like a natural.

Before Grim could even blink, she was racing ahead of him, her hand in Elvira’s mane as she urged the mare to go faster.

She heard the sound of hooves behind her and a deep male laugh that made her belly curl in pleasure, and she knew Grim was catching up.

They raced through the woods, crossing into an open field, and for the first time in a while, Serena felt her worries slip away as she threw back her head in exhilaration, her long pale hair coming free from its pins to dance in the wind.

Looking back, she saw Grim watching her with something akin to wonder on his face, and she gave him a bashful smile in return.

They slowed down to a trot, halfway across the field, to let the horses take a break.

“That was quite something,” marveled Grim. “You’re a proficient rider, Selene. I would love to do this again with you.”

She gave him a mock curtsy—or tried to the best she could atop a horse—and he grinned.

“For now, though, we need to go back. I’m afraid work awaits me.”

Her shoulders slumped despite herself, and he laughed.

“Tomorrow, I can take you into town if you like,” he offered, and she eagerly nodded, unable to believe that she had made this much progress already.

“Good. Then let us return.”

“You look like you enjoyed yourself, milady,” said Molly in a pleased tone, as Serena relaxed in the tub.

“Your cheeks are pink, and you’re beaming like the moon!

I’m ever so happy to see that—you were such a pale frightened little thing when you first awoke.

Do you have plans for tomorrow as well?”

She nodded, and her maid’s smile grew .

“Good! Only…well—”At her hesitant tone, Serena opened her eyes and saw the other girl fidgeting, her eyes shifting. “I know it’s not my place, but if you are…that is…if you are considering anything toward His Highness, you should know he is nigh engaged to Lady Thea.”

Her heart stuttered, and she had to remind herself that this was only in the story and not real life.

Still, it was hard to hear, and she fought to keep her composure as she gave Molly a smile and a grateful pat on the girl’s hands.

It was sweet of her to worry for a strange, shipwrecked girl, and Serena was immensely grateful that she had a friendly face who was cheering her on in this strange world.

Normally, she had Grim, but this time…

No, it would do her no good to pity herself. She shook herself mentally, and resolved to stick to her plan of spending as much time with Grim as possible.

She smiled internally. As if that was a chore.

“It’s strange,” said Grim, as they sat at the edge of a fountain in the town square. He wore a hooded cloak over his black tunic and pants to disguise his appearance, while she wore a simple white blouse with a ruffled lilac skirt.

She turned questioning eyes toward him. The fountain they sat in front of was, ironically, in the shape of a mermaid, and there were little pieces of silver at the bottom, where people threw their coin for wishes.

“I’ve only just met you,” he continued, “but it feels like I’ve known you much longer.”

Because you do , she wanted to cry out. You know me better than anyone has ever known me before .

“Does it feel like that for you?” he questioned, and she nodded, trying to ignore the prickling in her eyes.

“I thought so,” he said, sounding pleased. “Which is why I wanted to tell you about this strange dream I’ve been having. It’s always the same thing—a girl calling my name. I can never see her face, but I just know, she’s my one true love.”

Serena felt her heart stutter. Could his memories be trying to reach him through his dreams?

“Do you think that’s silly?” he asked her, almost sheepishly, and she shook her head violently, her heart hammering in her ears.

He looked at her intently for a minute.

“When I first saw you, I thought maybe… But no, pay me no mind. I’m just being irrational.” He forced a laugh. Then, with a real smile, he patted her head affectionately and said, “But it would be nice if you could speak. Then I’d know if I was right.”

Her heart sank. Of course. The girl in his dreams could speak—unlike the mute girl from the shipwreck.

Besides, even the Grim from her world had never said he loved her.

She clenched her hands in her lap and violently cursed whatever forces were at play to make sure she was tormented as much as possible.

“Look,” said Grim, breaking her away from her morose thoughts, “there are people dancing over there.”

Her lips lifted at the corners as her gaze fell upon a bunch of laughing men and women linking their arms and dancing to a cheery folk tune.

Some of her longing must have shone on her face, because Grim asked if she wanted to join them.

Remembering how her legs ached just from walking, she shook her head.

“Ah, all right then,” he said. “But just so you know, I would have liked to see you dance.”

The last one was said in a low tone, his eyes focused on her with a burning look in them. Well, wasn’t this man playing hot and cold? A minute ago he was professing his love for the girl in his dreams, and now he was looking at her as if he was devouring her in his thoughts.

Granted both girls were her, but he certainly didn’t know that!

Unfortunately, she was a gullible idiot, and she could not deny him when he looked at her like that, not even if it caused her immense pain. So she gave him a small smile, and took one step, and then another, before skipping off to where the dancing was, ignoring the way her feet burnt.

At first she danced on the sidelines, trying to copy the movements she saw, but it was not long until she was dancing in earnest. The tune had changed to a mournful song that built into an urgent crescendo.

She danced, and danced, her hair whipping around, her lithe body swaying with the tune, until she had forgotten the original dance and was simply following the notes, becoming one with the music.

She leapt and twirled, though it felt like she was stepping on sharp blades, and she kept expecting to feel the warmth of blood to spill from her soles, but it never came.

The world fell away, until it was just her and the music.

She realized the music had stopped when she heard applause and opened her eyes to see that the dancers were standing around her.

Startled at the audience, she dipped into a little curtsy and their smiles widened at her display.

However, her eyes sought only one person, and she turned to look at the fountain where Grim sat, his eyes still fixed on her.

He was not smiling, but rather gazing at her with an intense look, his eyes like flaming dark embers under the dark hair that spilled over his forehead.

Face flushing, she looked away first, feeling self-conscious and another emotion she could not indulge at the moment.

They rode back to the castle in silence, and although Serena knew this was a win, she felt too raw and exposed to celebrate it just yet.