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He was not sure what she would think of his home. This main room was small compared to the rooms his siblings occupied, though still constructed of arching branches grown in intricate designs as they formed the walls, ceiling, and floor.
As Farrendel led the way inside, he spoke the word to activate the globes lighting the space, setting the lighting level to a warm yellow glow rather than the whiter daylight brightness.
Princess Elspeth stepped inside, her gaze sweeping everything. A hint of a smile returned, so the space must not have appalled her too greatly. Though, a small furrow appeared on her forehead, the smile dimming, as she took in the cupboards of the kitchen. Was this too humble and modest compared to her own kitchen in her suite of rooms in the human palace?
After long moments surveying the room, she turned to him, something hesitant and almost wary tightening her expression.
That panicky feeling clawed its way back into his chest. There was that topic they still had to address. Sleeping arrangements.
Even without a shirt beneath his wedding tunic, his skin burned too hot, and he turned from her, unable to meet her gaze.
Best just to pretend this was not a topic they had to discuss and act like it had already been decided. It would take far fewer words that way.
He strode across the room and pointed at the door to what had once been a guest room. “This is your room.”
The skin on his back prickled beneath the weight of her gaze, the spot between his shoulder blades itching as if expecting a stabbing knife at any moment. The walls of the room closed in, his lungs tight.
Get away. He had to get away. Now.
He flung open the door to his room, managing to force out a quick, “This one is mine,” before he dove through the doorway. At the last moment, he remembered to shut the door quietly instead of slamming it between them.
Farrendel leaned against the door to the stairs to his room, his back braced against it as if to keep himself upright. He drew in several deep breaths, calming his racing heartbeat and clearing his head.
What an undignified exit. She was not a troll warrior waiting to kill him. She was his wife. What would she think of him now? Why could he not talk like a normal elf?
He should have said goodnight. It was one word. That was all. How hard would it have been?
He should go back in there and tell her goodnight. Yes. That was what he would do. With a deep breath, he reached for the door handle.
But before he could open the door, he heard the creak of the other door, then Princess Elspeth’s footsteps as she climbed the stairs to her room.
He could call out to her now, but as it was fully dark, it would probably frighten her. The last thing he needed to do was startle her into slipping and falling to her death.
The door of her treehouse room slammed shut behind her.
Farrendel winced and sank slowly to the floor with his back to the door. That…did not go well. At all.
Perhaps this marriage could work. Maybe they would find love. If he wanted to think about impossible dreams, then they might even form a heart bond and build a lasting peace between their two kingdoms.
But that would only happen if he could manage to actually talk to his wife.
Farrendel leaned his head against the door behind him and whispered, “Goodnight, Princess Elspeth…Essie.”
His only answer was the gentle nighttime breeze wafting against his skin and stirring the strands of his hair across his shoulders.
Tomorrow. He would do better tomorrow.
ChapterEight
Farrendel pushed himself harder, faster, as he raced along the two-inch-wide branch. If he ran fast enough, maybe he could outrun the swirling thoughts tangling his brain and tightening his chest. He had barely slept, not with the human princess sleeping in the room on the next branch.
Princess Elspeth. Hiswife.
He was married. He had a wife.
Do not think. Do not feel. He launched himself into a front somersault, adding a twist to the somersault so that he faced back the way he had come.
What in Tarenhiel was he supposed to do now? Was he doing enough? He had left a plate with breakfast on the counter for Princess Elspeth when she woke. Should he have done more?
