But he knew he had frightened her when her hands came up to his chest and she made a sound of protest. He opened his eyes to find her staring at him, her own eyes wide and afraid. He pushed back and she looked away.
“Let’s dry off, we can eat some of your pomegranate.”
“I don’t want to get out,” she said. “I like it too much,” she said, although she was now shivering.
“We’ll swim again before we go on. I have a surprise for you in fact, but first, let’s eat and drink.”
She nodded and the two climbed out of the water, Rowan ahead of Silas. He watched her as she did, her dress as good as transparent as it clung to her every curve. She noticed it too and looked up at him for a moment, then at his own naked form, embarrassed again.
“Take it off and hang it to dry,” he said, going to the wagon to collect some fruit along with the jug of water. When he returned, he found her sitting naked on a grassy area near the water’s edge. He handed her the water and watched her drink her fill before taking it from her. He then sliced the fruit, tore it like she had and handed her half.
“Can I plant some of the seeds at your village? Perhaps a tree will grow. I don’t know for sure, but we can try.”
“Yes, we should try. We have some vegetation but the lands are farmed regularly and water is scarce. We also raise cattle and other animals for milk and food and grow a variety of herbs,” he said.
“Herbs?” she asked.
He nodded. Her face grew serious for a moment, which gave him pause, but she masked whatever she was thinking quickly.
“I know a bit about herbs, healing herbs, not so much for cooking.”
“You do? How?”
She nodded. “My mother was a healer and she passed the gift on to me. I don’t know how but I just know. We had an herb garden in our courtyard and there were some wild plants and when I could reach them just beyond the gates, I could gather the seeds and grow them within our own garden. The guards never noticed,” she said.
“They watched you very closely?”
She nodded, eating her fruit, a bit of red juice staining her cheeks and nose. He had to smile at that and didn’t clean it off. It was too sweet to see her so carefree.
“We weren’t allowed to do much but eat and rest when pregnant. Breeders, once we bleed for the first time,” she said, blushing and looking away for a moment before continuing, “we are almost constantly monitored then. For me, it was all too new but I saw how some of the other girls were almost locked away and just watched us from their windows like ghosts.”
Silas watched her pick at the last pits of the pomegranate, sadness returning to her features. His own smile faded as he imagined her thinking, knowing that after her term with him, her hell would only continue once she was returned to her colony and bred again and again until her body simply couldn’t take any more.
He stood. “Come with me, I have a surprise for you, if you dare,” he teased. He held out his hand.
“What is it?” she asked, taking it, allowing him to lift her to her feet.
He pointed to the top of the falls. “Look,” he said, “up at the top of the falls.” She looked. “We’re going to jump from up there.” He began to pull her toward the path he’d climbed a thousand times before.
“Can you do that? Won’t we die?” she asked, walking along with him but resisting a little.
He laughed. “It’s not my plan,” he said, lifting her up the first steep step ahead of him.
They climbed and with a little encouragement from him, they stood at the top of the falls. Her grip on his hand tightened as she looked down and exhaled a very nervous breath. He waited until she turned her gaze to him.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“You won’t let me go?” Her eyes were like saucers when she asked.
“I promise,” he said, squeezing her hand.
She nodded, “I’m scared, but ok.”
“On three,” he said, and took a step forward. He counted to three and before she could change her mind, they leapt off the top of the fall and he watched her face, listened to her scream as they splashed into the lake.
Breathless, they broke the surface, his arms tight around her.
“Again!” she screamed before he could get a word in. She began to drag him toward the edge of the lake. Silas laughed and followed her.
* * *
Rowan felt good when they began the final leg of their journey. They chatted quietly, Silas asking about her life at the colony, her asking about his life at the settlement. Her feet didn’t hurt so much anymore and she just felt good. They had jumped seven more times before he had said they had to go but she had managed to get him to promise he would bring her back as it was only three hours from his village.