Raven could tell that smiling didn’t come natural to Purity. Her smile always looked forced as if she smiled so rarely she didn’t actually know how to smile.
“You need to name him,” Raven said. “He needs a strong name.”
“King,” Purity said, stroking the little bundle of fur. “It’s appropriate since he rules and commands my heart.”
“Like Arran?”
Purity’s cheeks turned pink and soon blossomed bright red.
“Your secret is safe with me,” Raven assured her.
“How did you know?” Purity asked, realizing there was no keeping the truth from Raven.
“The way you look at him. It’s the same look I see in Oria’s eyes when she looks at Royden.”
Purity never thought to discuss her feelings about Arran with anyone. She’d been too afraid that someone would find out and she’d be mocked for it. After all, a man as handsome as Arran would never desire a woman like her.
“It’s strange,” Purity said. “It wasn’t that I looked at him and thought myself in love, it was more that it developed over time. I’ve visited here more than you know, most people ignoring me or not even seeing me. I love visiting with the various animals since my father forbids me contact with the ones at home. Arran was the only one who acknowledged my presence. He actually talked with me, not for long, but enough that I took notice of him. Over time, seeing the good man he is and that he continued to talk with me, I simply lost my heart to him.”
“My brother is a good man, except for yesterday.” Raven made a fist and shook it. “I could have pummeled him.”
“I regret I didn’t come to your defense,” Purity said with a frown that seemed more at home on her face than a smile.
“Nonsense. We agreed if I told you to run, you’d do just that. If you’d been caught, you no doubt would be forbidden to come here again.”
Purity’s frown deepened. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to continue to visit. My father and brother discuss all sorts of things in front of me. I sometimes think they forget I’m there, then as if he remembers my father suddenly sends me away. My father and brother are extremely concerned about Chieftain Thurbane’s land being confiscated and his daughter forced to wed. He fears that more clans will fall to the King’s demand and more daughters wed to men faithful to the King. Sentries have been doubled and missives sent to other clans to see what they’ve heard or know. I fear my clan prepares for an attack.”
A chill went through Raven. It was one thing to hear her father and brother talk about such a possibility, but to know a neighboring clan prepared as well made the possibility of an attack all the more real to Raven.
“I won’t be forced to wed a stranger, especially one disloyal to the Highlands,” Raven said as if making a promise to herself.
“I think it was one of the reasons my father tried to get Arran to wed me. While he wants me wed, it’s a beneficial marriage he wants, since land equals power and is the true King of the Highlands.”
“And women are used as pawns to gain that power,” Raven said with distaste.
“You understand much for your age, more than I do and only four years separate us,” Purity said with a touch of envy.
“I’m told I’m too young to understand the way of things or that I am a lass and it’s not necessary for me to know certain things.” Raven lowered her voice as if sharing a secret. “I have this urge to learn, to know things. It eats at me something fierce. I sneak and listen to conversations, not only between my da and brothers, but others in the clan. It’s also the reason I sneak to watch Arran when he’s with a woman. I don’t want to be ignorant of things, or others making decisions for me.”
“I never gave thought to learning. I thought my life was what my father deemed it to be, but you inspire me to think differently,” Purity said, a smile returning to her face, a little less forced this time.
“We could learn some things together, even teach each other things we already know,” Raven suggested.
Purity actually laughed softly. “I doubt there’s anything I can teach you.”
“That’s not true. You know the woods between our land and maneuver it with ease. My father will only let me go so far into the woods alone and with not being that familiar with the land and no knowledge of direction, I would get lost.”
“The sun, the moon, and the stars tell you much, but trees impart much knowledge as well,” Purity said, realizing she was knowledgeable about something.
“Tell me,” Raven urged, eager to learn.
“If you look to go north in the woods, then look for the side of a tree where the bark is dull and dark. That side faces north. The tips of the trees look to the sun so they point south. If there is one thing you should remember about the woods over all else, it’s how the woods alert you to danger. The animals and birds fill the forest with delightful sounds, but when the forest turns silent—beware. Something is there that frightens them silent. Something that doesn’t belong, something unnatural to them.”
“That’s amazing. How did you learn those things?”
“Mostly from the forest itself, some from a tracker who took pity on me when I got lost in the woods one day and my father beat me with a stick for my foolishness, and—” Purity turned silent as if afraid to say more.
“I won’t tell. You have my word,” Raven said, knowing Purity had another secret.
“You must not ever tell,” Purity begged.
“Never, ever, you have my word.”
Purity leaned in close to Raven. “There is a woman who lives alone in the woods—”
“The witch,” Raven whispered. “You visited her?”
“No,” Purity said, shaking her head vigorously. “Father would punish me severely if I did that. I’ve come across her a few times and she told me some things about the woods I didn’t know.”
“She’s knowledgeable,” Raven said. “I’d like to meet her.”
“One day if we walk in the woods, we may cross her path,” Purity said.
“Or we could hunt for her cottage,” Raven said excited at the prospect.
“That could bring her harm and I wouldn’t want to do that.”
“You’re right. Hopefully our paths will cross when we walk in the woods,” Raven said agreeing, not wanting to bring the woman harm, though hunting for her cottage would be much more exciting.
“Raven!”
Raven cringed at her da shouting out her name.
Purity turned pure white hearing her brother shout out.
“Purity, you better show yourself now.”
Purity rushed to her feet, disturbing the sleeping kitten who hurried to cling to her.
“Don’t,” Raven warned, grabbing Purity’s arm. “Give me King and go home.”
“But Bayne knows I’m here,” Purity protested.
“No, he doesn’t. He’s guessing. Hurry home, stop and gather some plants, and when he returns tell him that’s what you were doing.”
“If he finds out I’m lying—”
“He won’t. We’re the only two who know and I’m not telling.”