Page 62 of Tashama
“She wished to swim, and I said I didn’t think…”
“With Tashama, you must say no, with no room for her to wheedle her way through to getting what she wishes.” He sighed heavily. She was a handful. Could he ever tame her free spirit?
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He glanced down at her wet gowns. “Go get dry gowns on before the whole of Banff sees you fairly naked.”
“Yes, sire.” Listra ran back to the guest chambers.
“The pool splits into three different directions from here, sire. One leads to the pond where the fish are kept, one heads toward the west end of the gardens ending abruptly where the waterfall dumps into it from 50 feet above, and the other…”
“At my chambers.”
“Yes, sire.”
“Which way?” The prince studied the blue waters.
Tashama surfacedfor air and smiled at the tropical surroundings where no one could spy her from the path. She caught her breath. The blue fabric of the thief boy hiding in the leaves of a palm caught her attention. He stared at her with his mouth agape, and she hastened to his side.
“Warn the others, they lie in wait for you tonight. They found your note to me.” Guards shouted orders nearby. Tashama waved her hand at the boy. “Leave here, quickly.”
“You’re swimming,” the boy said.
“Yes, yes, but do hurry and leave.”
He nodded, then slipped away from the edge of the pool and disappeared into the lush foliage. Tashama dove under the water and swam. Hearing shouts as she resurfaced, she found the pool had neared the path for the viewer’s pleasure. She smiled at the guard who motioned to the others, then she dove under and continued on her way.
She rose again. Vegetation hid the path. There was no sign of her captors, but voices shouting drifted over the shrubbery. She swam along the water's surface. Spying a bridge ahead spanning the narrowing pool, she frowned as several guards poised on the stone walkway with a fishing net readied. She studied the net and the depth of the water as the prince and Carissian hurried to join the men on the bridge.
After calculating the risk, Tashama dove down to the blue-tiled floor and pulled herself through the warm waters. The sparkle of brilliant blue flittered ahead in the water. A water nymph waved for her to advance, but Tashama, still beneath the waters, studied the wavering forms of the men above her as they held the black net over the water.
The nymph fluttered about Tashama’s head and yanked at her hair in the direction of the bridge. Tashama swam for the bridge as she pulled the water behind her while the nymph swam beside her. The black mesh dropped into the pool, but instead of ensnaring her like she had feared, the water swirled with the blue wings of water sprites of varying sizes as they pulled the net up and away. Tashama surfaced below the bridge as her lungs gave out.
“The net didn’t catch her.”
“She hasn’t passed this way!”
“She’s under the bridge!”
“Ready the net for the other side!”
Tashama dove under and headed for the other side of the bridge before the men had a chance to move the net. She resurfaced some distance beyond. Several still leaned over the railing as they stood on the bridge, while they shook their heads at her. But along the path, the prince and several others took chase again.
Disappearing beneath the silky water, she swam until bubbles foamed about her. She rose to the surface of the pool to investigate their source and smiled at the waterfall spilling from the pink rock formation above. The prince, Carissian, and the guards ran to the edge of the pool, sixty feet from where she floated in the bubbling surf. She ducked under the waterfall. Running her hands through her hair, she smiled as the prince folded his arms across his chest.
“How do we get her out of there?” the prince asked Carissian.
“Some of the men can fetch a raft, sire.”
The prince glanced back at one of the men who had handled the net. “What happened back there? It looked as though you couldn’t have missed.”
“Yes, sire. The net was in perfect condition when we threw it into the water. When we pulled it out, there was a hole bigenough to allow a mermaid to slip through. That one, in fact.” The guard pointed at Tashama.
Tashama explored the formation of the waterfall while several of the men hurried a raft to the site of the pool. They launched the makeshift boat, and three of the strongest boarded it.
The prince shook his head as Tashama waited until the raft neared the waterfall, then she dove underneath and headed back the way she had come.
“Hurry!” the prince shouted.
