Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 11. Water (1)

Indigo

A soft warm breeze made its way through the sails in the harbour and the salty smell of the ocean reawakened me. The sound of the swell put my nerves to rest and the seagulls were excited at the sight of the fish market. It was a warm day for the time of year and people rejoiced in the sunlight, already forgetting the dreadful rains of the past days. I was making my way through the crowd towards the entry of the harbour, where Hlér would be waiting for me. My heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again. But as I moved through the crowd the nightmares of yesterday came back. The soft hand of King Domhnall was still on my shoulder. Saoirse was in the hospital wing now, she barely made it through the night. I was still unsure what to think of all the things that happened and were said yesterday. There were so many mysteries revolving around this girl that I could barely keep track of everything that happened. Ben called her ‘mum’, twice actually and then the way people talked about her and treated her. The way she behaved around the King and at the party. She was at home with all these important people, yet didn’t like titles. And there was the way she made me feel, the way that she seemed to peel away all my secrets and yet give me comfort at the same time. There was something in me that felt so safe with her, something that I couldn’t place. The notion that something was up with her only became stronger yesterday. I wanted to know more about her, but I just knew that if I asked no one would give me answers. So this was something I needed to figure out on my own. And it was just another thing on my list. For now I needed to focus on my own past, not someone else’s.

As I had hoped, Hlér was already waiting at the gates. He was dressed in a dark blue jumper and thick, woollen black trousers. He had hidden his white hair underneath a blue sailors hat and he looked absolutely stunning. Even though he didn’t really dress up, I felt really underdressed. I didn’t own much clothing and that what I did own was mostly practical and not very pretty. So I was wearing a bright yellow coat, just a pair of simple blue jeans and a warm, red knitted jumper. To be sure my hair wouldn’t whip around at sea I had braided it and secured it tightly with a ribbon. Hlér however didn’t seem to mind and smiled brightly when he finally saw me between the moving mass of people. He gave me a somewhat awkward hug and took me further into the harbour where hundreds of boats were slowly filling up with people ready to watch the contest.

We walked in silence, shoulder to shoulder while the soft morning breeze blew through the rigging. The sounds of the harbour were refreshing after all the worried voices inside the castle.

‘Is something wrong?’

Yes, your bodyguard hurt my friend.

‘No, why are you asking?’

Hlér laughed. ‘You’re biting your lip and you look distracted.’ As he said it I realised that I was indeed biting my lip, to the point where I’d drawn blood.

‘Sorry, there’s a lot on my mind.’ This seemed to worry Hlér even more.

‘If this is a bad timing, you can say so. I mean I’d love it for you to come, but if you rather be somewhere else…’

‘Oh, no. That’s not what I meant. My friend is in the hospital, there isn’t anything I could do anyway. So better to take my mind off of things.’

‘Oh…’ He seemed to get lost in thought too. I wondered if he knew what I was talking about. If he knew what Tane had done to Mo Bhean.

‘Is your friend going to be alright?’ His voice sounded strained, uncertain. I looked at him and saw my own fears reflected in his eyes. He avoided mine and stared at the boats that were filing up.

‘I don’t know. I hope so…’

He didn’t respond just continued looking at the boats. I knew now, that he had at least some idea of what I was talking about. And it stung to know, that he knew that something was going to happen to Mo Bhean. It stung that he too had dark secrets, just like his father. Though I could also feel his guilt and his sadness. As if he never wanted all this to happen, but just had no voice to stop it. Or maybe he had been filled with lies by his father, which made him think that he was doing the right thing, even though he didn’t like doing it. But did that mean that he was playing a game with me too? Did Tane or Einar find out who I was and send Hlér to get to me?

But even without looking at the innocent young boy walking next to me, I knew that that wasn’t true. I could feel it in the way he behaved and in his swirling emotions around me. We shared a connection that I never thought possible. I just knew he felt this too.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put out the mood. It’s not your fault.’ He let out a shaky sigh.

‘It’s okay. You are just worried. I would be worried too if my friend got hurt. I didn’t mean to imply that you shouldn’t be able to share your worries with me. Because you can, you always can.’ I smiled at him and his tension evaporated in the bright sunlight. His smile broke through like the sun behind dark clouds after rain. My insides stirred, a wee feeling in my stomach.

‘Where’s Abi by the way?’ He suddenly whipped around as if she was following us.

‘She’s at the day care. I swear she likes it better there, than with me! Damn that girl.’ He laughed and put his arm around my shoulders.

He brought me to a very large white yacht, with small round windows and a short but sturdy mast. The bridge was tall, with larger windows where the curtains had been drawn. The sails were still rolled in, but the rigging clattered in the wind. The deck was made out of beautiful polished wood and people were running up and down to get everything ready to sail out. The name of the ship was painted just below the bow. “Ulv” which I knew meant wolf, it made sense cause the Nordlysian flag also featured a wolf. As it had for ages. The people on the gangway bowed deeply for Hlér and this was something I hadn’t seen before. It was as if the people at Gaeilaí castle just didn’t care about these sort of formalities. Though then I remembered that Tane didn’t show much respect either for the Prince, so not everybody liked the display of power.

When my eyes were sweeping the deck and looking at the faces, my heart froze and I stumbled on my feet. At the helm of the ship was none other than King Einar. He had a bright smile plastered on his face and my insides turned into ice. From this perspective he looked even taller than at the party and his coat made him look broader than he was. I could feel his satisfaction from here and every vein in my body was telling me to turn tail and run.

Hlér immediately noticed my discomfort and raised his eyebrows at me. He didn’t understand! He didn’t know! How could he even?

I barely resisted the urge to turn around and swallowed hard. It felt as if a rock was stuck in my throat, words didn’t come. Guilt welled up in my stomach. I was betraying the people at Gaeilaí. They put their trust in me and now I was siding with the enemy. I was meeting up with the man who hurt Mo Bhean. If she could see me now, what would she think of me? I bit the insides of my cheeks so hard, that I tasted blood.