“She’s amazing,” I said.
He rubbed the horse’s ears. “I’ve had her since she was a foal. She’ll let no one ride her but me.”
“What a steadfast companion.”
The king left his horse to lift the polished saddle from the wall. “Do you ride, Lady Isa?”
“I do.”
He threw the saddle over his horse’s back, then gestured to the stalls around us. “Take your pick.”
I gawked at the selection. Tall and short, painted and single-colored, mixed and purebreds… I didn’t know where to begin. Considering none were acquainted with me, I thought I’d stay away from the temperamental purebreds. A shy painted horse five stalls away caught my eye. I snagged a handful of straw from one of the other horses’ stalls and slowly approached the painted horse. She stepped back at the sight of an unfamiliar face, but was quick to investigate when she saw the hay I held out to her. Once she had tasted the hay and decided it was good, she let me pet her nose. I opened the stall to gather her saddle and bridle, softly introducing myself. She nickered but held still while I saddled her.
Torvald trotted over on Inger, smiling. “A fine choice.”
“What’s her name?” I asked once I had mounted my horse.
“The stable hands call her Malie,” he replied. “It means serene.”
I patted the side of Malie’s neck. “You’re properly named, my friend. Shall we go for a gallop?”
The king and his horse thundered down the hill as if we were racing. Malie and I struggled to keep up. Torvald waved at the guards stationed at both gatehouses, who let us through without a problem. Then we galloped around the base of the hill and toward the eastern side of the island. This was the richer side of Holger, with buildings closely resembling those on the royal hill. The dresses the women wore were even finer than the ones in Thora’s shop had been. No one walked; the traffic was awful. The king and I barreled down the empty sidewalks while carriages inched along the streets. Several people called out to and waved at us, but the king paid them no mind.
We continued riding east until we came to the beach. It happened quite abruptly. One moment, glass, jade, and stone edifices were flying by us on either side, then we leapt over a waist-high wall and landed in sand. At last, the king slowed his horse’s pace. In the middle of the day in the middle of the week, there wasn’t a person in sight. I prepared to stop Malie, but Torvald spurred his horse onward to the south. We rode in the sand with the waves lapping against the shore beside us until a rocky wall intercepted us. The king slowed his horse down to a trot as we neared a narrow crevasse in the rock and carefully guided Inger through. Malie was hesitant to enter the dark, confined space but after a few reassuring words, she proceeded. When we stepped out into the sun again, we were in a cove. Tropical plants grew along the cliffs.
Torvald dismounted and walked his horse to a stretch of grass that grew near the cliff’s base. I climbed down from Malie and did the same. The king removed his shoes and stockings, then rolled up the bottoms of his trousers. I pretended to admire the view to give him privacy, but he didn’t seem to care. The cravat came off next, then the waistcoat. He tucked the crown between his folded clothes and rolled up his sleeves. He ran a hand through his hair, took a deep breath, and finally relaxed.
“Raoul and I discovered this place when we were children,” he said. “Bodil and Dagmar took us to the beach as a treat for good behavior. The stretch of beach on the other side of the cliff was sectioned off so that the city kids wouldn’t bother us.” He rolled his eyes. “Dagmar has always been protective of us. Anyway, we played in the sand together and attempted to climb the cliff. Raoul found out that crevasse wasn’t a shadow, as we had originally thought, and was brave enough to venture in. I followed to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.”
Almost as a side note, he added, “It was always my fault if he hurt himself. He discovered this place so he named it. Pirate’s Cove.” He laughed. “In reality, this place is referred to as Valda Cove, but in my mind it has never been so. Bodil and Dagmar came looking for us and scolded us for disappearing. But they didn’t make us leave. In fact, they brought us back here numerous times after that day. Many an adventure was had in this sand.” He grew somber. “As we grew, there was less and less time for trips to the sea. I haven’t been here in a long time.”
“Dagmar raised you then?” I asked.
The king nodded. “After my mother passed away, my father assigned the mistress in charge of the royal midwives to be my governess of sorts. Even now that I’ve grown up, Dagmar insists on caring for me. I suppose that’s why I asked her to be your handmaiden. I couldn’t think of anyone else who could do a better job looking after my new Defender.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m honored.”
The king shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.
I sat to unlace my boots, then tossed them and my stockings aside before getting to my feet again. Then I hefted up my skirts and padded over to the sea to let the waves wet my feet. The water was cold but refreshing. I longed for a swim.
Looking out across the waters, I envisioned a small schooner with Kustaav at the helm and my family hurrying across the deck to help him get it out to sea. My quiet, reserved fiancé had offered to take us out on the eve of my twentieth birthday. It seemed like ages ago.
“Have you ever sailed, my lord?” I asked before I could be overcome with emotion.
The king came to stand beside me. “Only once, before my father passed. I hardly remember the experience and I haven’t gone out since. Dagmar is convinced I’ll sail into a storm and be lost at sea.”
“That’s a shame. Everyone should sail at least once in their adult lives.” I tucked some stray hairs behind my ear, only to have the breeze blow them free again. “But that can be said about a lot of things. Things you have probably already done.”
Torvald laughed, but there was a bitter edge to it. “You would be surprised at the things I haven’t been allowed to do.”
I gave him a sideways glance. “Do your counselors govern every detail of your life?”
He squinted against the sun, the breeze tugging at his collar and ruffling his hair. “It isn’t so much the counselors as it is our culture. Rules and traditions set by my forefathers demand certain things of me.” He shrugged. “Or so everyone keeps telling me. Even if I wanted to be unconventional, it would take a completely different attitude, a different generation in fact, to support me and my new endeavors.”
I sighed. “Sire, I know what the counselors have asked you to do concerning me and our unique situation.”
“It’s ridiculous,” he muttered. “I won’t go through with it.”
I raised my eyebrows at him and waited.
After a time, he finally met my gaze. “After speaking against tradition and claiming a desire to be unconventional, you might think me a hypocrite for saying this but I must be honest. I didn’t want you to be my Defender. When I first heard of your skill, I was impressed but I knew I would never forgive myself if an arrow or a knife meant for me ended up hurting a woman. It was General Halvar and Director Endre who encouraged me to be objective. Both were convinced you were the better choice out of all the other candidates. Then I watched you fight and I saw for myself that you truly were the best choice. And your compassion for your friend spoke volumes about your character.”
The king looked away, embarrassed. “I’ve been told not all arranged marriages are terrible. With enough communication and a willingness to please one’s partner, two people can grow to love each other. Doing what my counselors want and marrying you wouldn’t be a burden. It would be forming an intimate relationship with my Defender that would be the problem. If anything happened to you…”