Prince Shelldon Maritime's Arc

Chapter 2 of 5

Prince Shelldon walked Rosalind through the garden the next morning. She wore a pale cape that shimmered in the sun. He could not stop watching her. He could not stop wondering why. "You are beautiful," he said. "I asked for that. But you came. Why?" His shell felt heavier than usual. People rarely chose him first. Rosalind paused. The cape's hem brushed the grass. "You asked plainly. I answered plainly." She did not look down. He noticed her shoes pressed deeper into the soil than his own. Far past the garden wall, on a hill near a small cottage, a long brass tube stood pointed at them. Frocklin bent to its lens. Her mouth tightened. "He believes her," she said to no one. "He should not." Shelldon took Rosalind's hand. It was warm. "I wondered if you were too good to be real," he said. "I have decided to stop wondering." She smiled, but her eyes flicked to the hill. Frocklin stepped back from the lens. She turned toward the cottage door. "Then the sun will have to do more work," she said. The door shut behind her. On the hill, the brass tube kept watching.