Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Evasion
Mia avoided Ford for the next several days, as much as she was able to. He’d avoided her for a long time, and turnabout was fair play, wasn’t it?

There was a bit of resentment in her for it, though she knew she couldn’t really justify her feelings. At least, not entirely. She would have avoided her father as well, if she were in Ford’s shoes.

Seth glared at Ford almost every waking moment. Mia had overheard Grandpa talking to her father about how invaluable Ford would be for the rescue, and Seth had somewhat belligerently agreed that it was in their best interests to have him help, but that didn’t mean the man had to like it.

Grandpa had seemed amused, but let the matter drop.

Mia was still mulling over Anaisa’s words about love and guarding her heart. What did that mean, exactly? How did one go about it?

If guarding meant ‘keeping safe from harm,’ then the only way Mia knew to keep her heart safe from harm was to keep it away from Ford!

It was too embarrassing, too humiliating to spend long contemplating why she was drawn to him. She recalled the early days, when he seemed to despise everything she said. They’d moved past that, but did he still, underneath it all, see her that way?

She didn’t really want to know.

Was it a blessing or a curse to have her magic right now? What if… what if her magic had identified that he was the most qualified man—anywhere—to be a husband for her, and he still rejected her? Didn’t want her?

What if her magic really was just latching on to the nearest available man? It seemed wise to keep her heart to herself until she knew for sure. Didn’t it?

Anaisa took on the role of treating his wounds, though technically Mia had more experience in tending to such things. Seth clearly preferred that Mia stay away from the young man, which for now suited her very well.

The days followed a steady rhythm. Mia woke up, tended the chores, cooked breakfast, helped break camp, and led the party along the way. She didn’t slack on any other task simply because she was using her magic all day.

Daniel would project images and narrate portions of the books he’d read on dragons, wights, and their traits, habits, and history of human interactions with them, which were entirely relegated to myth and therefore somewhat less than entirely believable.

The group had a collective laugh over one or two stories that involved outrageous exaggerations or attempts to distract dragons with bubbles in order to steal an egg.

Grandpa spent extra time with Daniel, who seemed to be keenly feeling his father’s absence. Mia also tried to comfort her young cousin when she could, though he’d heard all her stories before.

Ford lurked at the edges of the group, almost as if he were still invisible. Grandpa included him the most, even pulling him into what he called his “Man Lessons” that he shared with young Daniel.

Seth occasionally chipped in with skills on braiding the tall grass into useable rope, whittling, and other tasks. Daniel, of course, already had a firm grasp of basic skills from family camping trips, but had missed out on some of the nuances due to time spent in the capital.

Mia was occasionally a bit wistful about the extra culture her cousins absorbed. Her time in the city with them had been colored by parties and etiquette and all sorts of skills she had to learn from scratch. It had been a whirlwind that she was glad to leave behind at the time…

But now, she wondered what it would be like to be more like her aunt. The woman was hardy and strong, but with an elegance to her that Mia found herself trying to imitate a little more. The way Anaisa walked was more graceful, her movements effortlessly decorative rather than merely utilitarian.

Mia had been given plenty of training on running a household and being a woman. She had less training on how to be… well, a lady. Because she wasn’t one.

Her aunt was only related to her by marriage; Mia herself had no claim whatsoever to noble blood. Bred as a simple girl for a simple life, and always content with that fate.

So why did she now find herself watching Anaisa’s delicate gestures and refined posture so that she could practice them in private, later?

It was incredibly silly. Even if she were trying to get Ford’s attention–which was not her aim at all!–he had been raised in poverty. The trappings and airs of wealth would not impress him in the least.

They might even drive him to dislike her as much as he had at first.

And so, instead of embarrassing herself, Mia began to withdraw. She spoke relatively little unless spoken to, and used most of her time for introspection… or daydreaming.

Hours on horseback each day with the slowly passing scenery lent itself to great flights of fancy. Why, anything, at any moment could jump out from the tall grass! A wolf, a deer, or some creature she’d never seen before!

Daniel was a very great aid to her imagination, as he occasionally thought of other mythical creatures he suspected might be real, or ridiculous ones he was very certain were not real.

Chimera, centaurs, goatmen, and more were projected into the air ahead of them, scary or silly and everything in between. More than once, Anaisa chided him to try to keep it relevant to the mission ahead, but there was simply too much time on the journey for everything to be focused on that.

Over the evening meal most nights, the adults discussed strategies for how best to move forward once they came to the wight’s castle. How to approach it, whether to attempt negotiations or simply sneak in as best they could to steal Trace back.

To Seth’s dismay, For better or for worse, a whole lot of the latter strategy depended on Ford.