Margaret's POV
I dismounted Dartagnan as we made a complete stop by the stream. Untying some bags from the saddle, I quickly looked around before tying Dartagnan to a tree and walking home.
I ducked behind the curtain of vines to the cave, pulled out the small rock from the corner, and was about to push the door open when I heard Mary humming inside. I recognized the tune immediately as Mountain Ballad, a song she used to sing to me when I was younger and had a hard time sleeping. Listening to her hum it now almost felt surreal, like a memory from a dream. I leaned against the door and mouthed the lyrics to the part she was humming.
The heart will find
What it seeks behind
The tallest mountain
Only few dare climb
As if my body was reacting to the music, a yawn escaped my mouth. Not wanting to fall asleep against our door, I made unnecessary grunting noises as I pushed it open to warn Mary that I had returned.
"Hello, lovely!" I said, resting my bags against the side of the wall.
"Welcome back, Margaret" Mary bounced over to me and embraced me for a moment.
"Wait just a moment!" I spoke in a dramatic voice as she began to pull away. "I have been gone for close to two hours and one little squeeze is all I get?" She raised an eyebrow, looking quite amused with me. "I am hurt. Perhaps even a little insulted."
"Oh, shut it." Mary laughed and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, tighter this time. Her hugs were like a mother's hugs, gentle but secure. After a few more seconds, she pulled away again. "Did you notice that I cleaned?" She gestured to the room. The beds were straightened and the bookshelves and cabinets were dusted and organized.
"Yes, I did! But you hate cleaning." I picked up my bags and set them on the table.
"There was nothing better to do." Mary shrugged.
"In your mind, there is always something better to do." I began unpacking one bag and Mary began unpacking the next.
"Not this time. Leona hasn't brought me a book in weeks and she knows I go through them in a day. Though she is doing the best she can, and I can't attempt to expand on her generosity." At that point Mary seemed like she was talking to herself more than me, so I stayed quiet and let her continue to talk. "What more did you buy?" She asked once both bags were emptied.
"Come help me with the remaining bags and you'll see." I slowly backed toward the door, waiting for Mary's response.
"Of course I will." Mary chuckled and followed me out the door. "How was he?" She asked once we got closer to Dartagnan.
"Like a dream." I unhooked the last bag and handed it to Mary.
"Don't worry. Soon you will have your own horse, one that you have a special bond with."
"I know. I'm in no rush." I smiled and pointed at one of the bags Mary carried. "That one is feed for Dartagnan, so just hang it up on a tree near him so he can get to it when he's hungry."
"What about these other three bags of feed?" Mary held them up.
"We'll keep them in the house for now, and when he runs out we'll replace it." She nodded at my idea and started walking in the direction of home with me trailing close behind. My gaze lowered to her right hand, which had always been bare but now displayed a sapphire ring. Not wanting to shout ahead to her, I made a mental note to ask her when we got inside.
I pushed the door back into place as Mary leaned the bags of feed in the corner against the wall. I walked toward our pantry and organized the new items.
"We should finish off the rest of that bread and jam, they're about to go bad and I'm starving." Mary said, sitting down at our little table.
"Me too. I'll bring them over." I grabbed the remaining bread, jam, and a couple of knives before setting everything down on the table and sitting across from Mary.
"Anything new at the market today?" She asked as she spread jam over a piece of bread and handed it to me.
"Well." I lifted the necklace the man gave me from under my cloak. Mary's eyes widened.
"My Goddess!" She reached across the table and ran her fingers over the jewel. "May I?" I undid the clasp behind my neck and let the necklace fall into her hand. "Is this from him? The boy you spoke fondly of?"
"Yes." I nodded. "His grandmother wasn't too happy about it, though." A bit of jam spilled onto my hand as I lifted the bread to my mouth. I licked it off, my lips puckering from the tart flavor.
"I can imagine." Mary held the necklace at eye level, studying the sapphire. "It would have gone for a good amount of money." She handed it back to me and folded her hands on the table. "Now Margaret, you know that by selling that you could buy yourself a horse?"
"Yes, I know." I clasped it around my neck and held the charm between my thumb and index finger. "But I cannot part with it."
"It is very pretty, I'll admit." She took a bite of bread, her lips mimicking the pucker mine did only moments before.
"Yes, but it was a gift from him. If he gave me a string instead I'd love it as much." My gaze drifted to the ring on Mary's finger.
"Did you finally get his name?" Mary stood and took the empty jam jar to place by the front door, a reminder to wash it out in the stream later.
"No...no I didn't." I said, remembering my lack of success in asking him.
"Come on, Margaret." Mary laughed, rejoining me at the table. "You finally talk to him after days of longing eye contact and you forget to ask his name?"
"I know, I know, I'm ridiculous." I chuckled, fiddling with the ends of my hair.
"You know the prince rode by today." She raised her hands in front of her to stop me from panicking. "Don't worry, he still has no idea we're living here." I released the tension that somehow built up in my shoulders within that last second. "But I actually got a good look at him..." Mary smiled, as if reliving the moment. "I swear if he wasn't the Prince and my enemy, I'd have had my way with him while you were gone."
"Hard to believe, considering you haven't yet had your way with anyone." Mary rolled her eyes.
"A woman is allowed think about such things, Margaret."
"As much as she likes." We lifted our last bites of bread as if to toast with champagne glasses, then finished them off.
"Did you get that from him as well?" Mary pointed to the ring on my finger as she swallowed her last bite.
"No, actually." I removed the ring from my finger and placed it on the table between us. "An old woman in the market gave it to me after I accidentally slammed into her. She said it would bring me true love or something along those lines."
"An old woman gave it to you? With white eyes and a black cloak?" Mary asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes. And I'm assuming that's where you got yours?" I pointed at the sapphire ring on her hand.
"How did you know?" She took the ring off and set it next to mine.
"Because she asked me to choose between yours, mine, and two others. The pearl seemed most appealing to me." I shrugged. Mary squinted at me, confused.
"Really? She just kind of...left this one for me. No options to choose from. And she was quite rude about it." She fiddled with a small piece of cloth in between her fingers.
"She seemed nice enough to me." I shrugged again. "Although something in me just did not want to be around her."
"Well, the woman must not like me very much for some reason." Mary shook her head and handed me the piece of cloth she had been playing with. "However it is said that this ring grants a wish, so that will be a lovely case of false hope." I read the blue ink. Wish-0.
"Mary?" She looked up. "This says there are no wishes left." I handed the cloth back to her.
"What?" She read over the cloth again and again before tossing it on the table in disbelief. "That used to say one wish. I don't know what-" Mary's eyes lit up suddenly.
"What?" I asked, waiting for an answer.
"I suppose I did make a wish after all. For my freedom." She looked down at the floor, almost like it came to life and started talking to her.
"That doesn't surprise me." I took her hand, smiling. "You were always a caged dove, longing to explore the skies." Mary smiled back at me, a twinge of sadness lurking behind her eyes as I used the endearment her mother gave her.
"I would take you across the world, my sister." She squeezed my hand. "To the sand dunes of Sahali, or the lush forests of Varden. We would live like royalty on a beautiful ship and want for nothing." Her eyes sparkled as she spoke of the fantasy she had expressed to me many times prior. "Not a care in the world...just adventure." Like always, I smiled and nodded, reassuring her of her dream. In reality, every time she talked of adventure and far off places I became sick to my stomach.
"And those places will be worth the wait." I stood, gently letting go of her hand and crossing to the door. "I'm going to wash that jar while it's still fresh in my mind."
"Be careful!" Mary called to me as I pushed open the door, jar in hand.
"I will!" I whispered back, pushing the door and the rock back into place. Peering between the curtain of vines, I listened for movement. The forest was silent, save for the familiar chirps of nesting birds and the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. I stepped out in the open, taking one more look around before walking to the stream.
I hated to do that to Mary, but I always found an excuse to walk away when she mentioned travel. We were such polar opposites, she and I. Her need for exploration was nothing compared to my need for familiarity. I never felt compelled to discover new things, or sail the seas like the protagonists in her books. I much preferred the comforts of home, and friendly faces-
My thoughts were cut short when I saw something laying beside the stream, barely moving. I surveyed the area, making sure nothing and no one was looking for it. I hesitantly crept closer, trying to get a better look through the tall, lush grass. My chest tightened as I noticed the hand outstretched from a figure laying facedown.
"Oh dear Goddess." I dropped the jar and ran to the man immediately, checking for vital signs. I grabbed his wrist and sighed as my fingers found his steady pulse. Looking at his face, I could have sworn I knew him from somewhere. I gingerly lifted the hair from his face, hoping my belief of his identity was wrong. "Oh no." I whispered, softly running my hand over the man from the market's head, where a large bump began to form. His eyes fluttered open for a moment, then closed once again. "It's alright." I moved to stroke his cheek with the back of my fingers. "I will take care of you. I'll return in a moment."
Finding it difficult to tear away from him, I stood and hurried back to Mary for help.
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Well James just did not have the best night, now did he? You know what to do <3 love you guys