Shayn swallowed. He'd just winked at Simone. Winked at her! Was he turning into Riley, who shamelessly flirted with Ashley at every opportunity?
And this after he'd practically held Simone in his arms earlier! He was out of control. With a deep breath, he turned back towards the fire. Simone finished her meal and cleaned her plate, and he did the same.
"I'll sleep over there," He pointed to the far side of the fire, "You'll get some shelter from the wind next to the log."
"Well, then shouldn't you be here? I took your coat, after all," She reminded him, shrugging deeper into it as the breeze gusted again.
The wind made him glad he'd dug a little fire pit with his small wilderness shovel. He didn't want the fire to go out, or worse, sparks to blow away and start a forest blaze. The wood of the dead trees would make for excellent kindling and he didn't want that to happen.
The withered and dying trees creaked under the strain of the breeze, and he frowned. It really was rather creepy.
"I'll be fine," He assured her, laying out his bedroll after handing her one.
Simone didn't reply for a time, preparing herself for sleep as she furtively glanced at their unnerving surroundings. A crease formed between her brows and he tried to decipher her thoughts.
She caught him staring, and his eyes shifted to the fire by reflex, letting it be the barrier between them. He wanted, somehow, to start a conversation, to learn more about her, to distract himself from the fact that out there, Kyler might be alone, cold, and struggling to survive on his own as he chased this wild idea.
There was nothing he could do about that right now. Worry would not help, and any progress they made alone would be negligible compared to what they could do when Judah returned. They might even head the wrong direction without his tracking.
He sighed, and crawled into his bedroll. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell Simone was still awake. She had slept for hours that day; she would be hard pressed to get any rest tonight in this ominous place.
"Tell me a story," He requested.
"A story?"
"Don't librarians have any bedtime stories?" He rose up on an elbow to see her better. "Some senior apprentice to tuck the younger ones into bed and read them to sleep?"
"No, not really," She chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "I did that a few times for the new ones who were homesick and afraid."
"Pretend I'm homesick and afraid," He encouraged lightly, though neither one was as far from the truth as he wanted it to be.
She nodded, and was silent for a moment before beginning.
"Once, long ago, there was a goat herder who lived in the mountains near the sea. He kept his animals well, and was very proud of them. Wherever he went, he sold their milk, cheese, and butter. He was renowned from the villages of the sea people to the outlying townships of Klain. His goats were as loyal to him as dogs, following him and obeying his commands without question.
"There came a time of drought upon the land, and the man struggled to find enough grass to feed his goats. He walked for days as they followed, growing weak from thirst and hunger. Finally, he came to the top of a large hill. A beautiful carpet of green grass covered the land, and the goats rushed ahead eagerly to fill their bellies.
"The man sank to his knees, grateful to have food for his cherished animals, whom he treated like his own children. Soon, however, his relief turned to thirst and hunger, for though there was grass, there was no water source he could see. 'Where could any water be?' he asked of his goats, but they had no answer.
"A sorcerer stepped into the open. 'Ah, you have found my fine field of green grass,' Said he. 'Do you like it?' The goat herder looked at him and stood to his feet, replying 'yes, I like it very much, but is there any water?'
"The sorcerer smiled and said 'there is no water, but I can bring some to the surface if you have need of it.' 'Yes, Please!' cried the herder. 'If you can provide me with water to save my life, I will give you ten of my finest animals!'
"The sorcerer agreed and struck the ground with his staff. Water poured from it, bubbling up and creating a clear, cool stream across the hillside. The herder and all his goats drank greedily until they were satisfied.
"Regretting his promise to the sorcerer now that he was no longer thirsty, the herder came up with an idea. Going to his finest goats, he combed through their fur until he found ten fleas. Offering them to the sorcerer, he said 'here are ten animals!'
"The sorcerer looked at the herder for a long moment until the latter became uncomfortable. 'I did not ask you for your promise, nor did I demand that you fulfill it. Yet here, you insult me with such an offering as this. Your heart is stone, and so now you and all your herd will be.
"Striking the ground once again with his staff, the sorcerer rendered the field suddenly barren and rocky. The herder and his goats were frozen into stone statues, never to move again."
Shayn lay quietly for a moment, having enjoyed listening to the gentle cadence of Simone's musical voice. It was far more pleasing than the creaking of the dead trees or the mournful call of the wind. He wished the story were longer, but maybe he could prod her into speaking more.
"What kind of bedtime story was that?" He asked with incredulity. "Where's the happy ending?"
"What?" Simone blinked at him.
"The good bedtime stories have to have happy endings so that you sleep well and have good dreams after hearing them. I'll be lucky if I don't dream about being turned to stone tonight!" He complained.
"That's not a rule of bedtime stories," She protested. "They're meant to teach lessons to young children."
"In this case, 'don't attempt to defraud strangers or you'll be cursed and turn into a statue forever with no second chances'?" Shayn shook his head in disapproval.
"Something like that," She grinned. "Children sometimes benefit from extreme examples to impress upon them the importance of lessons like honesty and fair dealing."
"So you think I'm a child in need of lessons about honesty," He teased, and she reddened.
"You're the one who asked for a bedtime story, so don't complain about its contents," She scolded.
"I can and I will complain about anything I wish," He shot back with a smile, "but I am curious what made you come up with that particular tale."
Simone considered him before answering. "Queen Serafina has always been interested in stories that include any references to a sorcerer. She long ago asked me to set aside any I found during the Klain/Cetoan book exchange program. Spending the last few days with a Fae has had me contemplating them, I suppose."
That made sense. Shayn's step sister had something of an obsession with the topic. Of course with the raising of her children she would need help with the task of identifying more potential information about the Sorcerer.
"Why that story in particular?" He prodded, and she paused longer than she had before.
"Because, like the herder, I wonder how long we will go through a land with no food or drinkable water that will tempt people to make promises they don't want to keep." She finally replied, her voice soft.
"Me, or just people in general?" He asked slowly. They'd had their moments of strife, but did she think of him as an oath breaker? A few weeks ago he would have been offended and toss back a cutting remark about how she was no better than him, but for now, the knowledge that she might think of him in such a way made his chest ache.
"Kyler," She replied. "I was thinking of Kyler and others like him, so desperate that they will do anything to see healing, even offering to follow Beast… I guess I'm afraid that, like in the story, offering hasty promises out of desperation will make them stone-hearted."
Shayn was quiet for a time, and Simone shifted to curl deeper into her bedroll.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," She apologized.
"I'm not offended. I'd be worried about you if you didn't speak your mind," He gave her a halfhearted smile. "We should both try to get some sleep now. It may be a long day tomorrow. Goodnight, Simone."
He rolled away so that she didn't see his face as he mulled over her words. Her last ones were so quiet he almost didn't hear them.
"Good night, Shayn. Sleep well."
He sighed, knowing the well wishes were beyond his control.