“We have to cross that?” Claire put her hands on her hips.
A wide river stretched out before her. The water rushed by at a rapid pace, churning brown with mud and other debris. A small shack sat along the river’s edge accompanied by a rickety dock that extended out over the river. Four canoes sat atop the dock, their bottoms exposed to the sun. A similar shack and dock stood on the other side.
“Honestly, my lady, where is your sense of adventure?” Aeron smirked and strolled past her to stand along the bank.
“Why couldn’t they just build a bridge?” she asked.
Aeron shrugged. “You have to admit, it is a good business idea, even if it is impractical. Besides, the nearest bridge is at least a day’s hike to the south.”
Claire looked over at the run-down building. The boards along its walls were painted bright orange to attract travelers. The sign above was painted red with the words ‘Boat Rental’ scribed in black across the top and then repeated in several different languages underneath. She wondered how many different people crossed here. How many languages were there? There was still much she didn’t know about the world.
Bren stepped out onto the rickety looking dock, testing each plank with his foot before moving on to the next one.
Farron argued— or maybe his version of bargaining— with a middle-aged man by the shack. The man, wearing a ragged outfit of white shirt and tan slacks, pointed toward the dock, his tanned face set in a stern scowl.
Claire walked over to the quarreling duo. She probably wasn’t the best negotiator, but maybe the man would receive her better than an angry elf.
“That’s my final price,” the man growled out. “Surely you damn fay bastards can afford it.”
Farron’s face twitched and that emotionless mask slipped into place, but Claire knew better. The comment had stung him. How could such a thing not?
“Please don’t call him that.” She stepped up to the man and he turned his angry gaze on her. “I may hate him, but that’s because of who he is, not what he is.”
They stared at each other for a few tense moments. Her hands found their way to her hips. She wasn’t going to back down. Although the elf was a thorn in her side, he didn’t deserve to be discriminated against. Nobody did.
“Now, you will give us the same price as everyone else, or so help me I will turn myself around and march down to the bridge.”
“That’s at least an extra day, little lady.”
“I’ve done more to prove a point.” She had. For three straight months she would hike across town to the other bakery after Mr. Martis said a scathing remark about her and her mother. They didn’t need his bread or his judgment. And Mother bought a lot of bread. It didn’t take him long to come crawling back, begging for their business again. “Are you willing to lose business over such a trivial matter?” She stepped closer and narrowed her eyes at him. “The same price or we walk.”
She could almost see the vein pop out of his forehead. He glanced at the elf behind her and finally yielded, “Fine.”
“Thank you,” she said with a pleasant smile and turned toward the dock to join Aeron and the General. Farron followed shortly after without saying a word.
“Well, now that that is settled.” Aeron slapped Farron on the back and pushed the elf toward Claire. “I will be escorting the prince across. You two play nice.” He turned and started toward the dock.
“Wait a minute,” Claire called after him.
Aeron spun around and leaned in close to her. “Now, now, my lady, we cannot have the prince running off with the princess, now can we? Besides,” he glanced past her shoulder to Farron, “if we stick those two in a boat together, they would end up killing each other.” He stood up straight and gave her a considering look. “Although, that would be interesting to watch…”
She opened her mouth to protest but Aeron cut her off.
“You will be fine,” he said with a final note.
Helpless, she watched as he joined Bren on the dock, picking up two paddles along the way. The elf helped Bren flip one of the canoes off the dock and into the water before he hopped in. Bren gave her a smile before he jumped down into the small boat. She let her breath out in a long sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly. Just great.
“That was very noble of you, my lady.” Farron muttered near her ear before he made his way to the canoes.
Claire flushed. She hoped he didn’t get the wrong idea, sticking up for him like that.
He handed her a paddle after she joined him on the rickety dock and it felt foreign in her hands. It might have been a good time to tell him she’d never done anything like this before. She opened her mouth but stopped. He already had enough to tease her about; she didn’t want to give him any extra fodder.
She glimpsed the water in between the cracks of the wooden boards as it drifted by underneath. A splash sounded from the end of the dock as Farron flipped a canoe over into the water. He hopped down into the boat and held onto one of the pilings. His eyebrows were raised questioningly as he looked at her. Aeron and the General were almost halfway across the river. Good thing they weren’t racing.
With a deep breath, she gripped the paddle tight with both hands. She could do this. Her pulse sped up, anxious, as she approached the edge and looked down at the battered boat. It just didn’t seem sturdy.
“I think I’ll take the bridge,” she said, her voice coming out higher than usual.
“That would have been nice to know before I spent the money, my lady.” Farron sat down on the front seat. He glanced up at her after a moment, his eyes narrowing. “Could it be that you’re nervous?”
She shot him a glare. “Of course not.”
Claire slowly lowered herself into the boat and grabbed the paddle off the dock. The canoe jerked causing her to lose her balance and she fell backwards, sitting hard on the narrow seat opposite the elf. Her hands gripped onto the sides of the canoe tight until she felt steady again.
“Ready!” she exclaimed cheerfully, trying to cover up her nervousness.
Farron turned in his seat, pushed off from the dock and stuck his paddle in the water. She watched him to study how he held the paddle, the angle it dipped into the water. It didn’t look so hard. They drifted past the dock, her last chance to change her mind slipping away a little too quickly. Muddy water suddenly surrounded them like an ocean. Not that she’d ever seen the ocean, but she’d imagined that it would be somewhat similar. The lump in her throat grew steadily the further they got from solid ground. She gripped the paddle as the elf had done, stuck it in the water and pulled with her lower hand. There, that wasn’t so bad.
“My lady, this would go a lot faster if I had a little help.” Farron glanced over his shoulder at her.
Claire looked at the paddle. She thought she was helping. Was she not doing it right? Bren and Aeron drifted further away as the current carried her and Farron a little down river. That wasn’t good. She stuck her paddle into the water again and pulled with all her might. The boat turned so they were parallel to the land on either side of them.
Farron turned around in his seat and the canoe rocked back and forth. Claire dropped the paddle in her lap and quickly gripped the sides of the canoe.
“Could this, perhaps, be your first time?” The arrogant grin was already plastered on his face.
She glared at the elf. They had made it to the middle of the river when Farron had stopped paddling and the current was slowly sweeping them down stream.
Claire sat up straight and grabbed her paddle again. “Do you think it’s a good idea to stop?” She began to paddle furiously on both sides in a vain attempt to straighten the canoe out. “Farron, don’t just sit there!”
The canoe swayed, more violently than before. Claire stopped and gripped the sides again, her breath escaping her in a gasp. She glanced anxiously at the water surrounding them with the paddle across her lap.
“You seem nervous, my lady,” he taunted. “Is it possible that you don’t kn
ow how to swim?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. She had hoped to keep that a secret. “Well, it’s not like I had much to practice with.” Which was the truth. Her village was landlocked with only shallow creeks and ponds in the immediate vicinity. It wasn’t her fault she was deprived of the experience. She just lacked the necessary facilities.
Farron laughed. “The mighty Claire defeated by water!”
“I hardly think it’s funny.”
“Oh, but it is.” The laughter faded a little. “It seems that once again you are at my mercy.”
“This is no time to joke around. Aeron and Bren have already reached the other side, you know.”
Farron laid his paddle on his lap and gripped the sides of the canoe, mirroring her stance. He smirked, his eyes glinting with a mischievous spark. “How about a swimming lesson, my lady?”
Claire’s eyes grew wide, her muscles tense. “I’ll pass.”
Farron jerked the boat which sent it rocking. Claire grabbed her paddle and used it to splash water up at the elf. He held his hands up in front of him in defense.
He gripped the sides again and shook the canoe.
“Stop it!” She splashed him.
His laughter grew louder, echoing off the trees lining the banks of the river. They had drifted considerably downstream and she was stuck in the middle with a vengeful elf. He really must enjoy torturing her.
The boat rocked again and she slid from the seat onto the floor. She threw an arm over one side of the canoe and held on tight for dear life.
“You’re evil, you know that?” She glared up at him.
The laughter faded again and he looked down at her, feigning innocence. “Swimming is an important skill to have. I’d be doing you a favor.”
Annoyance boiled up inside of her. She lunged at him and grabbed onto his shoulder. “Then why don’t you go in and show me!”
Farron laughed and grabbed her arms. “This seems terribly unsafe, my lady.”
Claire leaned back a little as she tried to get better stability, but her foot slipped on the wet surface along the edge of the boat. She whirled with her arms as she tried to catch her balance, then began to fall backwards. Farron’s eyes grew wide and he grabbed her by the arm at the last moment, but her momentum carried them both over the side and they splashed into the water as the canoe flipped belly up.
Her arms flailed around her as she struggled to raise her head above water. Farron managed to grab her by the waist and pulled her to the surface. Air burned down her throat as she inhaled deeply, swallowing a bit of water in the process. Dirty river water did not taste as good as she imagined.
“Relax, Claire.” Farron’s voice was full of amusement. He held onto the overturned canoe and swung her around toward it.
She flung her arm up onto the boat and glared at the elf. Her heart was still in her throat. At least he’d gone in as well.
“Looks like you got that swimming lesson after all.” Farron smiled at her.
Claire splashed him with water. “You are not funny!”
The elf glanced around. “Well, my lady, it seems that you owe me for the paddles.”
“Miss Claire!” Bren shouted from the bank of the river.
Aeron stood next to him with his arms crossed, frown already in place.
Claire could feel the heat rush up to her cheeks again. Well, this was certainly embarrassing. Why did she always seem to get into these predicaments with him?
“Fine, just add it to my tab,” she snapped. She just wanted to get out of the water and arguing wouldn’t make the process go any faster. “Now can we get out of here?”
“And I thought you were enjoying it,” Farron said as he began to push the canoe toward the shore.
Her feet touched ground as they drew closer and she was able to stand and walk the rest of the way. Bren offered her a helping hand to pull her up onto solid ground before swinging his cloak over her shoulders. Farron flipped the canoe upright and Aeron helped him drag it up onto the dirt path that ran along the river.
“Do I even want to know what happened?” Aeron asked.
“My lady insisted on taking a dip.” Farron shrugged his shoulders. He shook his arms in the air as he tried to get the excess water off him.
“Well, that would have been helpful to know earlier. Could have saved some money.” Aeron crossed his arms again.
Claire wrung the water from her hair with a sigh. Wet clothes were just uncomfortable and she dreaded having to walk miles in them. The elf would pay, she’d be sure of that. “Let’s move on.” She spun on her heel and started to walk down the path. It seemed her temper was getting better after all.
She glanced back to find that the elves had lifted the canoe up on their shoulders as they trailed behind. They did have to return it after all. She sighed and grabbed her shirt, wringing as much water as she could squeeze out of it. It was going to be a long day.