Conversations

Conversations 2

By Alice Fortuna

She lay on her back on the soft grass beside the lake. The golden sunlight felt warm from the coming summer, and the shadows of the treetops were like splashes of yellow paint against his pale skin. He lay beside her, and with his eyes closed, she thought he had fallen asleep.

This Saturday felt like it passed too quickly for Rubymoon, and she savored it like fine wine. A sweet breath of wind blew past like a sigh from the mouth of a tired fairy mother. It was heavy with the scent of wild broom flowers and heather and gorse as though it blew from some moorland further up north behind the castle.

She had always wondered what lay beyond Hogwarts in this wild country and had hoped since her first year that she could explore it one day, but for now...

For now she was satisfied with what she had, and she rolled over onto her stomach to face the beautiful grey-eyed boy who had charmed her under his spell a long time ago. Ruby knew that she mustn't have been the only girl at Hogwarts to ever have a crush on him, and she was pleased at the thought that he chose to spend time with her more than any other of the girls.

His voice was soft when he spoke suddenly; so soft that it would not have disturbed any bird or beast nearby, as he brushed his knuckles against hers. His eyes opened.

"Did you know that there used to be a river not far from here?"

Rubymoon said nothing as she kept her gaze at the treetops.

"It was a wide river, and they called it 'Lover's Leap,' because of one man who tried to jump across it a long time ago."

"So, what happened to this man?" she asked quietly.

"Well, the tale speaks of a time long ago when a young lord fell in love with the princess across the river. She loved him too, although they couldn't be together because there was no way around the river that they could walk in a day. So, all they could do was stand on opposite banks and stare at each other until sunset.

"One day, the lord heard that the princess was to be married to a king her father had chosen for her, and in desperation, they gazed at each other for the last time. Their plan was to run away together, if only he could get across to her, so he tried to jump it. It was too wide, and he fell in shortly before the princess followed, and they drowned together."

"Wow," Ruby breathed. "They must have been really stupid."

The grey-eyed boy rolled over onto his stomach and gave her a pointed glare. "Well, sometimes love can cloud your common sense."

"And it couldn't be truer for those two."

When Rubymoon saw the indignant look on his face, she laughed and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "I'm only joking," she said. "Yes, I know what you mean. It's a very romantic story and it shouldn't be made fun of."

They lay in silence again, and she thought.

Ruby had never known that he was sentimental type to pay attention to those kinds of stories. Between the two of them, she was the more romantic one, but now she doubted it. She truly had been joking; she knew it was meant to be a serious story, but the thought of him thinking the same was just absolutely bizarre to her.

It took some time before she realized he was staring at her.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Oh, nothing. We had better be heading in."

Ruby sat up just as she saw the last tip of the golden sun disappear behind the mountains, but the sky was still light. They stood up at the same time, and as they walked back to the castle, she never knew just how much he wanted to hold her hand.