"You're more poet than anything." I folded my arms and glared at Ian. He sat perched on the edge of the roof, dressed like an adventurer. I coveted every part of his outfit -- the breezy shirt made of course cloth, the sturdy breeches, the leather boots that laced up to his calves, the dagger on his hip. Tomorrow he would set sail to a life I craved more than anything. But did he appreciate his opportunities? No. And I hated him for it. "Do you despise poets, Ingrid?" His voice was sad, but a grin twisted at the corners of his mouth as he finished his question. Those blue eyes of his cut in my direction with a teasing flash. "They don't DO anything." My thoughts and emotions ran in torrents, but I could see his flowing smoothly and quietly. Even in his uneasiness about the morrow, his face was a peaceful as a child falling asleep in his own bed. ...

Love this!
ReplyDeleteMe, too! I like Matthias' arc in the story, even though he is only a side character.
ReplyDeleteOne of the fascinating things about these snippets is what happens to them when you take them out of context.
ReplyDeleteI know who Matthias and Detlef are and why they are hunting the princess and why Matthias' heart isn't in it anymore.
But when I read just this snippet by itself, my mind spins the tale in a hundred different directions.