altitude.”
Curious, she watched as he stopped and pulled a pair of sturdy boots from the bag. “Time for you to change.”
Mildred sat on a nearby rock. “But I have no socks.”
Adlin went down on bent knee and took her foot. “These.” He pointed at her odd shoes that she thought boots. “Are socks enough.”
Before she knew it, he had both boots on, his nimble fingers working the strings until they tied tight. Kneeling, he came between her legs and cupped her cheeks, his thumb skimming her lower lip. “What do you want from this, Mildred?”
Confused, she shook her head. “I don’t know. What do you mean?”
“From this day, from me, what do you want?”
What did she want? Honestly, she’d given it very little thought. She put her hands over his. “To understand what I want.”
Surprised by her own response, she knew it to be the truth. This day with Adlin was fresh and new but somehow old. It was a day that she got to escape and be outside herself, at least outside the person she’d always thought she was.
Adlin’s eyes studied hers for several long moments. “Good,” he said softly.
This time he didn’t pull her after him but stood and started through the woods. Sort of stunned, she sat for a moment, but not for long. In hot pursuit she trailed him up an ever narrowing path through the woods. Adlin moved smooth and smartly, his long legs at ease in his own land.
And he wasn’t about to give her any help.
It occurred to her then… perhaps he and Iosbail had something in common. Yet she kept up, curious about his quick pace and somewhat distant attitude. In fact, she rather liked it. This allowed her time to gather her thoughts. Yes, she was in a foreign land and time. Much like her brother and friends back home would soon be if they went off to war.
Strange how thoughts of her issues back home suddenly resurfaced.
Then it occured to her... had she been purposly ignoring her real feelings?
The idea of Jonathan going off to war petrified her. He was ready to fight a battle that he had nothing to do with. He could turn away, not be a part of it. He had that choice. A choice she didn’t have right now. Not that their circumstances were anything alike really.
The path narrowed then ended. “Time to climb a bit,” Adlin said.
Determined, ready, she grabbed the first tree root and pulled herself up. Grateful for her new shoes, Mildred continued. Despite how determined, the route grew more difficult. Whether the air thinned or she’d just grown weak, it was hard to tell.
Eventually, Mildred found herself trudging uphill at a slow grade. Slight at first, she marveled at the trees thinning on the right and the vast view of the ocean. Eventually, the incline became steeper, the trees thinner.
Adlin stopped. “Time for you to go first.”
Though she had lots of questions, Mildred sidled past him, more aware of the way his skin glistened with sweat than anything else. Why were they doing this when they could easily spend the day in bed? That in mind, she didn’t meet his eyes but traveled upward. It soon occurred to her he’d put her in front of him for good reason.
The path became not one that she walked but once again one she climbed. And this climb proved far tougher than the first.
“I’m right behind you, lass,” Adlin said.
With an emphatic humph, she pulled herself onto a narrow ledge and frowned when Adlin sat alongside.
“Your body is shaking.”
“Do you blame me?” She asked, gripping the rock.
“No.”
“Adlin,” she growled, frustrated by his indifference.
With a sharp shake of his head he looked from the horizon to her. “What, Mildred?"
“Do you hear how hard I’m breathing?” She pointed at the trees below. “I’ve followed you without question.” She glanced up the mountainside, dubious. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see. We're almost there." When he stood and held down his hand, she took it. Instead of continuing the fairly treacherous climb, he led her up a narrow path that cut alongside a moss covered sheet of rock.
Mildred exclaimed in surprise when ancient looking steps appeared. As expected, they made the climb considerably easier. It was hard not to stare up in wonder as the path became framed on both sides with hundreds of feet of rock wall that narrowed at the top. Wind whisted high overhead and created a sound simliar to a church pipe organ.
"Beautiful," she murmered.
"My thoughts