Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 200: To The Sea
10 March, 1361. Near the Marquessate of Niarnol, Islia
Accompanied by a small party of servants and escorting knights, William and Camilla rode through seemingly endless countryside, past jagged cliffs and rocky ravines. Most of the land was still fallow and the trees bare, but the faintest green tinge could be seen in the craggy landscape, signaling spring would arrive within weeks.
Camilla rode unseeing, consumed in her own thoughts. William and her had separated from the rest of the court earlier that morning, which meant having to bid her son farewell. She’d managed to avoid breaking down and sobbing in front of the entire spring progress but her heart felt like it had been speared with sorrow.
Her back, at least, was relieved to finally be on horseback instead of confined within a bumpy carriage. She’d spent the last three days travelling in the same carriage as Malcolm and his wet nurse, the two women taking turns holding the wriggling baby on their laps. Camilla had figured it was her only chance to spend as much time with her son as possible before they were separated, despite the discomfort of the constant rocking motion on uneven roads.
Malcolm had been overexcited for much of the journey, staring wide eyed at the movement and noise of the travelling court. Camilla had let him peek out of the carriage curtains every so often and he’d been fascinated by the horses in particular.
Then again, when they had stopped in a meadow for lunch on the first day of the progress, Camilla had taken her son over to see William. He was still mounted on his stallion, calling out directions to various men.
Malcolm had taken one look at the enormous brown horse up close and burst into tears.
Torn between laughing and clucking his tongue in sympathy, William had dismounted and taken the sobbing child into his arms. He’d slowly approached the horse while whispering to Malcolm until he calmed down, encouraging the little boy to gently reach out and pat the animal.
Camilla didn’t draw attention to it, but she always felt a fist squeeze the breath out of her lungs when she saw William carry their child around and demonstrate affection. He showed a patient side that he very rarely showed with others and was surprisingly unbothered by Malcolm’s fussing or wailing.
Now, without her baby, she just felt a stifling sadness.
William slowed down his steed slightly so that she could catch up with him. Camilla could feel his gaze on her so she smiled bravely, not wanting to let him see how upset she was.
"Follow me." William suddenly called out as he suddenly veered off the main road they’d been travelling on. He took a turn onto a narrower road that veered off to the right. "This will be the better route to take."
Camilla followed without hesitation, as did the rest of their party. She noticed puzzled glances exchanged between their escorting knights, though they kept quiet.
It was only a couple of hours later that the reason for William’s detour became clear. As they rounded a corner around the brow of a rocky hill, the land gradually dropped away before them to reveal the ocean. The endless expanse of blue lapped languidly at the stretch of sand that hugged the rugged coastline.
Camilla gasped in disbelief, almost tumbling off her horse from the shock. She could only stare at the wondrous sight, open mouthed. The endless ocean glittered under the early afternoon sun, churning in dozens of shades of blue and green.
She wasn’t sure how long she was staring, mesmerised by the smooth, repetitive movement of white capped waves rolling and breaking. She was startled out of her reverie by William’s voice at her side.
"We can ride closer, if you like." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"Really?" she asked, like a delighted child.
"Of course. It would be a shame for us to be so close and not touch the ocean, don’t you think?" William smiled as he looked towards the horizon, then back to his wife.
He gestured for Camilla to follow him, then steered his horse down a long rocky slope and through the expanse of long, grassy shrubbery that separated the countryside from the edge of the sand. She watched as his horse cantered onto the pale brown sand. He stopped and turned to face her, shielding his eyes with a hand as he called out to her.
"Hurry up, pretty girl! We can’t stay long if we’re to make it to Ferrenthor within two days. Are you going to join me? Or do you plan to just stand there and let this opportunity pass you by?"
Camilla didn’t wait to be asked twice. She steered her mare towards the sand and pulled up next to William, breathing in the salt laden air. "I’ve never seen anything so extraordinary." she said to herself.
William dismounted, then lifted her off the horse and set her down onto the sand. He grabbed the reins to both animals and led them to a strange, shaggy looking tree at the edge where the sand blended into the long grass.
Meanwhile, Camilla pulled off her riding boots in a hurry, relishing the sensation of warm sand between her toes. Then she did something she’d only ever dreamed possible.
Grabbing the hem of her riding gown, she ran for the water’s edge and waited for the next wave to lap at her feet. As soon as it did, she screamed at the shock of the icy cold swirling around her ankles. She hadn’t expected the vibrant blue sea to be quite so frigid. Camilla turned and started running back out of the water, crashing into William, who had snuck up behind her.
As she stood wide eyed in front of her husband, another wave churned around their legs and Camilla screamed again.
William burst out laughing at her girlish reaction and teased her that her screams could probably be heard all the way to Havietten.
After a while of standing ankle deep in the water, the cold wasn’t quite so biting. The two of them stood side by side, watching the ocean fade into the horizon. Camilla was mesmerised by the hypnotic sight.
Eventually, William lead her back to the sand and the two of them perched on a large section of driftwood. The late winter winds were even stronger on the coast than they had been inland.
Camilla shivered slightly as she reached down to squeeze water from the hem of her skirt. A moment later, a warm weight fell across her shoulders and back. Looking up, she realised William had placed his tunic over her.
"But aren’t you going to be cold?" Camilla sat up, holding the too large garment over her shoulders. It had his scent and she wanted to bury her face in it and just breathe it in. She stopped herself though, so that William wouldn’t think she had run mad.
He shook his head and glanced at her, before his eyes were drawn back to the ocean. He rarely seemed affected by the cold.
"Has seeing this cheered you up a little?" William asked after a period of comfortable silence.
"Why would you think I need-" Camilla started, then stopped abruptly. Taking in a deep breath and leaning against his frame, she said, "Yes, it actually has. Thank you. This is beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined."
"Some sights defy description. And I thought you might like this, given how sad you looked." William draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her to him.
Camilla smiled ruefully as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I’m glad I decided to stay with you. I guess I just wish..."
"...to be in two places at once?" he finished.
"Yes, that’s exactly it." Camilla pressed her cheek to his chest. "You know you make me very happy?"
"Even though I’m terrible with words and often struggle to say the right thing? Or I just say completely the wrong thing and upset you?"
"Even so." Camilla laughed. "I appreciate that you try hard and I remind myself of that every time you say something that makes me want to choke you."
"Goddamn. Well, thank you for seeing my effort, I suppose."
Camilla tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, though it was a futile effort because she knew the salty breeze had whipped up her hair into an enormous bird’s nest. Pulling back slightly and looking at her husband’s profile, she was half amazed, half annoyed at how flawless he looked. Even in only his shirt, with the cuffs of his trousers rolled up, looking at him still rendered her mute.
"What are you thinking of?" William asked, catching her staring.
Camilla felt her cheeks grow hot. "If I tell you, you’ll become even more arrogant. So I’m not telling you."
William chuckled. "Now I really have to know. Don’t worry, I’ll get it out of you later."
