New Shores ➳ The Last Kingdom | Finan the Agile (The Northman's Daughter 1)

DECISION

Shaylee was startled and looked around the room in shock. She was still at home with Finan. Damn it, she must have fallen asleep. She held her breath and listened if there were already people walking through the streets of Coccham. But it seems that she had been lucky. She took a deep breath and made a mental note to make sure she would be careful in the future not to fall asleep at Finan's place. They usually both made sure that neither of them would fall asleep. She would stay with Finan for a few hours and then sneak back to her room. Like that, she could assume that no one was on to them. At least as long as they didn't get careless.

She turned to Finan and tried to nudge him gently to say goodbye. But then she realized that he was the reason why she had woken up in the first place. He shifted restlessly back and forth and muttered confusing things. Shaylee could hardly understand a word. But there were a few words he kept repeating over and over again: "Níl! Ná déan, le do thoil."

He must be having a nightmare. Shaylee hesitantly reached out her hand and put her hand on Finan's chest. His skin was burning hot. He was literally glowing.

"Finan. Wake up," she tried to wake him up in a soft voice. But Finan just threw his head to the side and whimpered, "Éirigh as."

"You can make it stop. Just wake up, and it'll stop immediately," Shaylee spoke reassuringly to him and stroked his shoulder reassuringly. But Finan was too caught up in his dream that she could not wake him with some gentle words. So she swung a leg over him and sat astride him. She grabbed his chin and gently tapped his cheek first, and when she realized that that didn't help either, she slapped him pretty hard. Not exactly the gentlest way to wake someone up, but it was effective. Finan opened his eyes, and for a moment, Shaylee feared he wouldn't recognize her. But then the terror in his eyes disappeared, and relief took its place.

"Shaylee, I ..." he took a shaky breath, "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see me like this."

Rapidly Shaylee shook her head and put her hand to his cheek again, but this time with all the gentleness of her voice: "You don't need to apologize for anything." She bent down to him and kissed him gently on his lips. He was still way too warm, and she felt cold sweat running down his chest. As she pulled away from him, she gently asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Finan's hair was ruffled from his night's sleep, the strands sticking together in the way they do when a wash is overdue. Anyone else would have looked like a vagabond, but he just looked stunning. Tenderly she tugged at his brown curls and tried to bring some order into the chaos. But then gave up and smiled at Finan: "A smart man once told me that talking would sometimes help."

Finan smiled and ran his thumb over her lower lip: "As far as I know, you never followed the advice."

Grinning, Shaylee bit her lips. He was right. She had never told him about the dreams, though they had both been strolling the streets of Coccham for the hour, even before they fell in love. She rolled down from Finan and looked up at the ceiling: "Did I ever tell you about my mother?" Finan turned to her in surprise and shook his head. Shaylee smiled slightly and said, "My mother was a beautiful woman, you know. She had this long, fiery red hair that fell across her back in curls that were impossible to control. But while my hair just looked messy, hers always looked like paint," she laughed melancholically. But then another thought smothered her laughter, and she murmured: "It's been so long since I've seen her face. Sometimes I have trouble remembering it."

"Try not to remember her face; try to remember a situation," Finan murmured softly and squeezed Shaylee's hand.

Shaylee frowned but followed his advice and in fact, a clear image of her mother standing on the edge of the River Bann appeared before her inner eye. How her hair blew in the wind, and she turned to her, laughing. Her laughter was so free and pure, so childish despite her adult years. Shaylee remembered only too well how it had sounded; it had felt like tickling and bouncing - and only a rocky heart could do anything but join in such generous mirth. Just the memory of it made her laugh. Finan smiled, and Shaylee turned to him.