PART II
She was seven when King Elessar came to visit the Isle and its denizens. She remembered that time as well; for though she only saw the king for a minute at most, he was -- well, different from the herald. King Elessar was more like the people she knew, tanned and weathered, used to being outdoors. Seeing him riding through the little town, Wild Rose was awed by the finery that surrounded him. "He looks kingly," she whispered to Lark. "He looks like someone like us but more royal."
Lark, awed, could only nod in agreement, eyes shining with admiration.
King Elessar saw Briar Rose and Lark, staring at the finery they could never hope to own; and his heart softened. He would ever remember those two little girls, one blonde with eyes that glittered emerald green in the daylight, the other strawberry-blonde with dark eyes that shimmered with wild things, a forest, a bird, a fiery spirit that was her own, and a wild rose. He could not say what had so strongly reminded him of these things in her eyes, but they did.
For days after Elessar came, the only thing Lark could talk of was how beautiful it all was, and Wild Rose saw the king whenever she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw before she went to sleep was the king, all alone on his majestic horse, and then they would become nightmares where she was the one all alone on horse, and in her nightmares, she would be the only one for miles and miles, just her and her horse, no birds or trees or flowers or sunlight. It was weeks before those nightmares passed, and then she was so grateful that they were gone she could hardly sleep.
That summer, strawberries were bountiful, and Briar loved to eat them fresh-picked. She would go, alone except for a bird or two and maybe a butterfly, to sit by the strawberries and watch the sunlight play in shafts between the trees. That was when Briar felt most alive; those days just before her eighth birthday, when she could just lay in the sun and do nothing but be herself. Those were golden days.
Days always seemed golden for Wild Rose in the summer.
She was seven when King Elessar came to visit the Isle and its denizens. She remembered that time as well; for though she only saw the king for a minute at most, he was -- well, different from the herald. King Elessar was more like the people she knew, tanned and weathered, used to being outdoors. Seeing him riding through the little town, Wild Rose was awed by the finery that surrounded him. "He looks kingly," she whispered to Lark. "He looks like someone like us but more royal."
Lark, awed, could only nod in agreement, eyes shining with admiration.
King Elessar saw Briar Rose and Lark, staring at the finery they could never hope to own; and his heart softened. He would ever remember those two little girls, one blonde with eyes that glittered emerald green in the daylight, the other strawberry-blonde with dark eyes that shimmered with wild things, a forest, a bird, a fiery spirit that was her own, and a wild rose. He could not say what had so strongly reminded him of these things in her eyes, but they did.
For days after Elessar came, the only thing Lark could talk of was how beautiful it all was, and Wild Rose saw the king whenever she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw before she went to sleep was the king, all alone on his majestic horse, and then they would become nightmares where she was the one all alone on horse, and in her nightmares, she would be the only one for miles and miles, just her and her horse, no birds or trees or flowers or sunlight. It was weeks before those nightmares passed, and then she was so grateful that they were gone she could hardly sleep.
That summer, strawberries were bountiful, and Briar loved to eat them fresh-picked. She would go, alone except for a bird or two and maybe a butterfly, to sit by the strawberries and watch the sunlight play in shafts between the trees. That was when Briar felt most alive; those days just before her eighth birthday, when she could just lay in the sun and do nothing but be herself. Those were golden days.
Days always seemed golden for Wild Rose in the summer.