Love and Freedom (Book 1 in the Finding My Way Series)

Two Masters

 Two Masters

It was after our mid-day meal that I decided to fetch some water; we run quite low, quite quickly with all the cleaning, mudding and drinking going on. And mine wasn’t the only water run done during the day. One of the men that came with Edan, his name was Anton, helped me to the water pump for the first load. He was quite lovely. He looked younger than Edan, only just, he was German, but his English was very clear. He said that his family were taken to a place In Adelaide which was a long way away from where we were. He told me of how they followed him out here when he was sentenced for transportation, but got on the wrong ship and ended up in a different place altogether. I never asked what he did or what happened for him to be transported, but I felt sorry for him. After he was free, he was going to make the long journey to find them.  I couldn’t imagine travelling by boat ever again, the thought alone was enough to deter me. Seeming as though my first experience wasn’t at all memorable in a good way.

It was nice to talk to someone different, and I could tell he was happy to have some female company for a change. He praised Edan, and said he had been trying to persuade him to go with him when he left. He blushed as red as Beth’s hair when he said he could understand why my brother wanted to stay and protect his sisters, and that we were as beautiful as Edan said we were. Edan had warned both him and Brian, the other man, to stay away from us. It made me laugh thinking that Edan was warding off men, at the same time as telling me to marry one.

Once we got back to the Barracks, I was surprised when Tristan came up from behind Anton and took the second load of empty buckets from him, saying he would help and that Anton was needed somewhere else. I didn’t say anything, I wasn’t going to make a big deal of it, so I turned with a bucket in hand and started off for the pump.

Tristan came up next to me, and we walked in silence for a time, it wasn’t far to the pump, just far enough for it to be a nice walk. I looked out toward the direction of the sea. I couldn’t see it from here, but I could hear it. The rhythmic whooshing of the waves as the came up on the land used to soothe me. I wondered briefly if I would ever live right on the beach again. Who knew I would have liked it so much.

“You seem to have struck an interest Avalyn.” Tristan’s voice pulled me from my musing, and giving him only the briefest of glances before I answered.

“I don’t know what you mean Tristan.” His little huff was telling enough for me to know where his thoughts were.

“I’m finding it hard to watch you move on.” Well that was a surprise; I wasn’t expecting him to be so forward. But then I supposed that’s all he has been since I’ve known him, I stopped to face him.

“I don’t believe you Tristan.” I said laughing softly.

“Well its true Avalyn, I don’t want to believe that you…” His thoughts trailed off, and he let out a long breath. I decided to make things easy on him, only because I didn’t like seeing him beat himself up over this, even though at times this mess of emotions that spiralled between us had me in knots inside most of the time.

“Well I honestly didn’t think I would settle at all, if that’s where your thoughts are, and things are changing for us here, so you actually have helped me.”

“Helped you? How?”

“Well I’m my own woman still. I can take my time in finding someone who would appreciate me for me, and not feel as though  they were rescuing me.”

“Is that how you saw what I was doing? What we...I…”

“No.” I interrupted before he could say it, “but that’s what I tell myself because it hasn’t been easy.”