Page 27 of Mountains of Mist and Magic

“I'm sorry,” he said, and he found that he was sincere. His parents' lives had been short, but he knew they had been mostly content with each other.

“Were your parents happy?”

Triston thought back to his early childhood, remembering bits and pieces. His mother smiling as his father placed a strand of pearls around her neck. The pair of them dancing together at the Moon Tide ball. The way they retreated to their shared room together, laughing and whispering.

“Yes, they were.”

“Were they fate-bound?”

“I think they were—but I hypothesize that their bond was locked. I don't think either one of them realized, or maybe they did, but… I do believe they were fashioned to each other.”

It felt good to finally voice a theory that he'd had for a long time. He never even told his sister what he suspected.

“I think that's quite possible,” she said, slowing down a bit as the path narrowed. Overgrown roots sprouted up along the forest floor, and the underbrush was getting thicker with every foot. “And romantic.”

Triston almost blushed. It was a romantic thought, wasn't it? He never considered himself as someone who believed in the overarching power of love, but now, it seemed like Julietta had forced him to look inward. Perhaps he did possess a romantic streak.

He didn't respond, but looked ahead, seeing a clearing with a shallow pool of water.

“Let's water the horses here.” He dismounted swiftly and watched as Julietta swung her leg down from her horse. It was quite a large drop, and Triston quickly moved in, grabbing her by the waist and setting her on the ground. The second his hands connected with her middle, he felt his member stir, and he quickly moved away so she wouldn't feel it against her backside.

Julietta brushed off her pants, and then turned around. “Thank you for helping me.”

He said nothing, but pulled out some travel cakes from their rations. He gave Julietta the larger one, and then shoved his in his mouth. He then turned towards Sea Breeze, grabbing a handful of oats from the saddle bag and bringing them up to the horse's mouth.

“What's his name?” she asked, still picking at her cake.

“Sea Breeze. He's a racing horse. My father went all the way to the coastal islands to buy him for me. He was a birthday gift.”

“Can I touch him?”

Triston nodded, and Julietta wiped her hands on her pants and then came over to where Sea Breeze stood.

“Hi there,” she whispered, stroking Sea Breeze's mane. Sea Breeze instantly nickered, and Triston realized it was his happy noise. The horse usually didn't care for others, and Triston tried not to read too much into the fact that even his horse seemed to like this girl. But his mouth flew open with astonishment when Julietta placed a soft kiss on Sea Breeze's nose, and the horse responded with a gentle nuzzle against her neck.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?” she asked, obviously unaware of the monumental response from the animal.

“Get him to like you.”

“He doesn't like people?”

“Generally not, no. He bit Esmeralda on the rump last year. Hard.”

Julietta laughed, her entire chest heaving. It was a musical sound, and he found himself grinning, too.

Triston heard a loud whinny and turned towards the sound. Julietta's horse was watching her carefully, and she laughed again, walking towards her own mount.

“There's no need to be jealous, girl,” she murmured, stroking the soft velvet of her horse's nose. “I can have other friends, but you'll always be my favorite girl.”

“What's her name?”

“Sunny. As a girl, I longed to leave the Twilight Kingdom and live in a place where the sun always shone. Hence the name.”

“You would love the Tidal Kingdom,” he said, and before he could stop himself, he added, “If you'd ever like to visit, I'd be happy to take you.”

She stopped petting her horse, looking at Triston squarely. “Do you mean that?”

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