Ash (17 page)

Ash

the huntress might have been making her an offer, and perhaps—she a common household servant—should have turned her down.

But the huntress said, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, “Then I’l come tomorrow?”

For a moment, Ash was not sure if she had heard her cor-rectly. She stared at Kaisa, who finished tightening the straps of the saddlebags before looking back at her. She was slightly tal er than Ash, and she rested her left arm on the horse’s withers; the sleeves of her tunic were pushed up, and her hands were bare. She seemed to expect her to say yes. Ash opened her mouth to do so, but then remembered that her stepmother would be at home. “I cannot, not tomorrow,” Ash said, her heart sinking as she realized that she real y did wish to say yes.

Kaisa seemed unperturbed and merely asked, “When wil you be free?”

She stepped back so that she would not be in the way as the huntress came around to unhitch her horse. “I—I suppose I could go the day after tomorrow,” she said, feeling awkward.

Her stepmother and stepsisters would be in the City then.

“Then I wil bring a second horse on the day after tomorrow,” Kaisa said, and smiled at her.

Though Ash looked out the kitchen window every few minutes on the morning Kaisa said she would come, part of her 144

MALINDA LO

did not believe it would actual y happen. So when she saw the huntress outside the garden gate with a black horse in tow, she had to look twice to make sure she was not imagining it. She went outside to greet her, but before she could say anything Kaisa asked, “Do you have riding clothes?”

“No.”

“Then you should wear these.” The huntress handed her a cloth bag cinched shut with a leather tie. When Ash hesitated, Kaisa said, “Go on—I’l wait for you.” So Ash went back inside and changed into the dark brown leggings and long-sleeved green tunic. They fit almost as if they had been made for her, but for a tiny scar in the knee where the breeches had been mended. They were more comfortable than the borrowed livery she had worn at Yule. These were made for a woman, and Ash wondered whose clothes they were and how Kaisa had known they would fit her. The thought disconcerted her, and she hurriedly laced up her well-worn boots. Then, taking a deep breath, she went back outside. The huntress stood with her back to the house, gazing out at the meadow. She turned when she heard Ash coming. “Those seem to fit,” she said, and opened the gate for Ash.

“Thank you for bringing them,” Ash said, wondering if her face were as flushed as she felt.

“You can’t ride a hunting horse in a dress,” Kaisa said with a grin, and Ash laughed apprehensively.

“I don’t know if I can ride a hunting horse at al ,” she said.

“There is no need to worry. Jewel is an experienced teacher,” Kaisa said, stroking the black mare’s neck. Ash looked at Jewel dubiously she might be an experienced horse, but to 145

Ash

Ash’s eye, Jewel was grander than any horse she had ever ridden. Except, she realized, the times she had ridden with Sidhean. The thought of him in the midmorning light, with the huntress standing before her, was jarring.

Kaisa saw the changed expression on her face and she took it for nervousness. “Truly,” she said gently, “I won’t let any harm come to you.”

Her words brought Ash back to that moment, standing at the edge of the meadow in the sunlight with two beautiful hunting horses before her, their coats glossy and smooth for of course they were the King’s horses and must have a stable ful of grooms to attend them. And the King’s Huntress was there, too, looking at her with concern, and Ash suddenly laughed out loud.

“I apologize,” Ash said. “I am unaccustomed to this sort of thing. You must be patient with me.”

The huntress handed her a pair of riding gloves and said easily, “We have all day.”

Afterward, Ash would remember that first ride less for the awkward way she mounted Jewel—she had to climb on with one foot propped onto the lower bar of the gate—or for her novice’s mistakes that sometimes made the whole endeavor quite painful, but for the way the ride made her feel like she might, someday, be free. It did not feel so strange after al , this animal beneath her, ready to spring through the forest. The 146

MALINDA LO

work of keeping herself on the horse, every muscle attuned—however inexpertly—to the feel of the ground through Jewel’s strides, seemed to dispel her nerves. Beside her the huntress was relaxed and calm, encouraging her without treating her like a child, and Ash found that it wasn’t so difficult to talk to her, after al .

They stopped at the riverbank to water the horses just before noon, and as Ash clumsily slid out of the saddle the huntress offered her a canteen, saying with a grin, “I did not forget it today.”

Ash took it, drinking deeply, and then came to sit beside the huntress on a fal en log. She handed the canteen back to Kaisa and said, “You are very generous.”

“It is only water, not wine,” Kaisa said dryly.

Ash smiled. “That is not what I mean.”

“What do you mean, then?”

“I mean . . . I mean that I am nobody. I am not sure why you are . . .” Ash trailed off, hesitant to continue.

“Why I am here with you?” Kaisa suggested, and took a drink of water.

“Yes,” said Ash.

Kaisa shrugged and looked out at the river. “I suppose it seemed as though you were being placed in my path time and time again.” She put the cap back on the canteen and looked at Ash. Kaisa’s green eyes were flecked with brown, and her lips were shining from the water. “I wanted to find out why.”

Ash asked, “Do you know the answer?”

The huntress replied, “No, not yet.”

147

Ash

Ana returned from her visit to Royal Forge flush with triumph; she believed that Lord Rowan was in love with her, and she worked very hard to put herself in love with him, despite the fact that he was twenty years older than her. Clara did her part as wel , praising the elegance of his handwriting when Ana showed her his letters, and Lady Isobel could find no fault with his country house or his considerable fortune. So, to make sure that Lord Rowan could not forget her, Ana spent more and more nights in the City as a guest of her aunt. Sometimes Lady Isobel and Clara went with her, and sometimes they did not, but Ash was always left at home. She took care never to al ow them to see how much she relished their absence.

When they were gone, she and Kaisa often rode together. As Ash grew more comfortable on horseback, Kaisa took her on more difficult trails through the Wood, and Jewel began to al ow Ash to lead her instead of simply following the huntress’s horse. Sometimes Ash brought food for them, and they would spread out their cloaks in a sheltered spot in the Wood and eat bread and cold meat and cheese. They talked about hunting, or the way that Ash had felt on Jewel that day, and eventual y they talked about their own lives. After Ash told her about Lady Isobel and her stepsisters, Kaisa said, “I am glad I never had any sisters.”

“Where is your family?” Ash asked.

“I am from the South,” Kaisa told her willingly. “My family 148

MALINDA LO

breeds hunting horses.”

“When did you become apprenticed to a huntress?” Ash asked.

“At twelve,” Kaisa said, “to the huntress near my family’s home.”

“Is she the one who told you that tale about Niamh?” Ash was lying on her side, her head propped up on one arm, looking at the huntress, who was lying on her back.

“Yes,” said Kaisa.

“How long were you apprenticed to her?”

“Four years,” Kaisa answered. “And then I came here, as the apprentice to the King’s Huntress, Taryn. She came to my village and chose me.”

“I remember the King’s Huntress before you,” Ash said.

“She came to Quinn House once, when I was a child, during Yule.”

“Did she?” Kaisa said, turning her head to look at her.

“What do you remember about her?”

“She was . . . she frightened me at first,” Ash said. “Her hunters came with her, of course, and they brought a bloody stag’s head inside with them.”

Kaisa smiled. “Taryn did like a bit of theatrics.”

“And then she told me a story about a huntress who went to retrieve a stolen princess from the Fairy Queen.”

“Eilis and the Changeling,” Kaisa said. “She did love that tale.”

“Why?”

“I think it was because Eilis proves them al wrong in the end,” Kaisa said. “Al those who had no faith in her who said 149

Ash

she was too young were mistaken.” She turned her head to look at Ash and added, “She even outwits the Fairy Queen.”

“I asked her . . . ,” Ash trailed off, hesitating, and looked down at the ground. Kaisa’s shoulder was only a hand’s breadth away from her.

“What?” Kaisa prompted.

“I asked her if she had ever seen a fairy,” Ash said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“What did she say?” Kaisa asked curiously.

“I think she said something vague I am sure she didn’t want to disappoint a child.”

Kaisa propped herself up on her elbow so that she was facing her. “Well, even if she had seen a fairy, she would never have been able to let on that she had,” she said. There was a mischievous tone in her voice.

“Why not?”

“The office of the King’s Huntress has many secrets,” Kaisa said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Any knowledge of fairies or magic, of course, must be kept closely to the vest.”

Looking at the huntress, Ash felt a surge of happiness within herself, as if she were unwrapping an unexpected gift, and the realization of it sent a blush of pink across her cheeks. She looked away uncomfortably and asked, “Why did she give up her place as King’s Huntress?”

Kaisa said, “She fell in love.”

“And she gave up hunting?” Ash was confused. “Why would she do that?”

“Her lover asked her to,” Kaisa said, and there was a curious 150

MALINDA LO

note in her voice that Ash did not understand. But before she could dwell on it, Kaisa said, “Why don’t we ride upriver today? We haven’t been that way before.” She got up in one quick motion, extending her hand to Ash. Caught off guard, Ash took it, and though Kaisa’s grip was sure, she looked away, and Ash saw a rosy flush along the curl of her ear.

As summer advanced, the heat came heavy and damp, and Ash sweated through her day’s work while her stepsisters sat crossly fanning themselves in the parlor. Ana’s romance with Lord Rowan had stal ed, for most of the Royal City had gone south to Seatown during the hottest part of the year, but Ana had not yet received an invitation from Lord Rowan or anyone else to visit them there. That meant that Ash could not leave the house either, so when the invitation arrived at last, just after midsummer, even Ash was excited to deliver it to her stepsister.

“Finally,” Ana said in relief, tearing open the letter in the front hal . “My aunt has invited us al for a fortnight to her villa in Seatown!” She looked at Ash, who was closing the front door, and added, “Unfortunately you are not invited; my aunt already has a lady’s maid and you are not needed.”

“I would expect nothing else,” Ash said, a bit sarcastical y, but Ana did not even notice. Overjoyed at final y being able to go to Seatown, she had already run upstairs to tel her mother the news.