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Sirena looked a little distracted as we crossed the open lawn in the direction of the Northern Wood.
“Is something wrong?” I said.
“No,” she said, shooting me a smile. “Nothing’s wrong.”
We walked along in silence. She kept casting furtive glances at the guards behind us and Zes ahead. I guessed it must get some getting used to. I still wasn’t entirely used to it myself.
I had a guard with me at all times long before I became a lord but I had some degree of freedom. Now that I inherited the title, I had given up any hope of privacy.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Sirena said.
“You should see it during summer,” I said. “The leaves turn multicolored like rainbows.”
“Really? Wow. We have beautiful trees back home but nothing like that.”
I spotted something. I took Sirena’s hand and lowered her into a crouched position. The guards followed suit. I pointed at the Pegadeeran. They stepped out from the wood and peered around nervously.
“They look like deer,” Sirena said.
“They’re very young,” I said. “They haven’t fully come into their wings yet.”
“Wings?”
Something snapped in the wood and startled the young deer. They leaped forward and flapped their dainty wings. They floated for a moment above the ground before landing—clumsily—back on their feet.
I chuckled.
“They need to work on their landing a little,” I said. “And look there.”
Now I pointed at the sky, where two full-grown Pegadeeran sailed high above us, spinning around each other in an effortless dance.
“They’re like Pegasus… but deer!” Sirena said.
I admired the wonder on her face. I must have had the same expression. I felt a little self-conscious of the guards and tore my eyes away from her.
I missed the simple pleasure of taking a walk with someone and enjoying nature. It was even better when it was with someone who looked upon everything with a sense of wonder—because to her, it was all a wonder. The same way it would be for me if I were to visit her planet.
I felt something brush against the back of my hand, stroking it. When I looked down, I found her thumb gently caressing me. She didn’t look at me. She was still gazing up at the gorgeous creatures overhead.
That tiny sensation trickled like soft water over stones and brought pebbles to the surface of my skin.
I missed this.
We got to our feet and pressed on, heading into the woodland. Tiny creatures, invisible to our eyes, scurried beneath the undergrowth and disappeared before we could see them.
We came to a crest that broke, giving a spectacular view of the shimmering lake on the other side. Two rowboats floated on its pristine surface.
A bird sang on a branch and I pointed him out.
“He’s called a Love Bird,” I said. I listened to the translation but it didn’t sound right. “The translator strip calls them Love Birds but that’s not quite right. They’re soulmates. They mate not only for life but for all their lives. When one dies, its partner finds a nearby egg and sings to it, calling its partner’s spirit back so he can return to her.”
“Does it really work?” Sirena said, unsure.
“What’s so hard to believe? We all die and come back again as the trees and grass. So why not guide it?”
“That has to be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she said.
No sooner had she said it than Zes waved a Love Bird away.
