Mermaid_ A Twist on the Classic Tale - Carolyn Turgeon [68]
Katrina’s hand was soft against her, and the princess smelled of flowers. A pleasant smell. Lenia stared at her, trying to read her mind. Could Katrina tell that something was strange about her? That she had come from the sea?
Help me, she thought.
“There is a hunt today,” Katrina said brightly. “Will you come, Astrid? It will be wonderful.”
Lenia looked at her, liking the sound of the name he’d given her. She nodded.
“My brother loves to hunt.”
THAT AFTERNOON, THERE was great excitement around the castle. Noble men and women, and the king and queen themselves, gathered on the greens, where horses were being brought around and the dogs and huntsmen were assembling.
Lenia stared, shocked. These huge black creatures with long, thin necks, faces bobbing up and down as if they were floating on water. Their black eyes on the sides of their heads, staring. Like fish, she thought, breathing in. She watched as a stableman lifted Katrina up onto one of the beasts, as she settled in and grabbed the reins, her delicate heels resting along its glistening, muscled side. On the other side of the field, closer to the forest, Lenia could see the prince ready for the hunt, consulting with other men and nobles, all of them with horns and weapons strapped to their sides. A swarm of dogs crowded at their feet, howling. The forest wavered in the distance, as one by one the huntsmen began to disappear inside it.
A stableman brought one of the horses to her. It towered over her, then bent its long head to her neck. She could feel its breath, her skin prickling where it nuzzled her. And then its long lashes were right next to her face, grazing her cheeks.
She put her palm on its neck, stared up at it in amazement. For a moment, she forgot the prince, the long dress, which felt awkward and heavy on her body, the pain slicing through her legs, forgot everything but the warm creature in front of her, whose heart seemed to beat into her fingertips, move through her own skin.
“Let me help you up, my lady,” the stableman said, and she did not resist as he helped her step into the stirrups and position herself on the horse, both her legs pushed to one side, the way she saw the other women mounted. She teetered, felt herself slipping, and then the horse shifted with her and she was steady.
It was strange, looking down at how far she could drop to the ground in this fragile human body.
“How is she?” Katrina called.
Lenia looked up, saw Katrina and several other ladies smiling over at her, the sun lighting them from behind. All of them so pretty. The grass so green, the sun so bright behind them.
They started moving toward the forest that spread out like water, the sea bordering the castle’s other side.
Lenia swayed on top of the animal, grasping the reins. She could feel the blood moving through the horse, its pounding heart. With each step she felt more in line with its body.
The dogs were released, a pack of animals bolting out ahead of them, and the group of them followed. Lenia’s horse began to gallop, and she was not afraid but felt a part of it. She leaned into her steed, shifted her body so that they moved faster and faster. And she was laughing, soundlessly, as the hounds rushed ahead and the horse raced to follow. The wind streamed against her skin like water. In front of her the men charged forward, and the prince was before all of them, lifting his weapon.
She tore into the wind, faster than anyone else. It was wonderful, the feel of this powerful beast under her, moving her through the forest as if she were swimming, as if she were being propelled by her powerful tail. She felt less awkward, freer on this animal. She hadn’t realized how much it was a part of her, that power that had come from living in her mermaid’s body, having that strong tail that pushed her through