Falk and Erick did a great deal of talking and walking around Elise’s rock structure shelter as the rest of the brothers left the pond.
“How are you doing, Elise?” Rune asked tugging on the ribbon that held Elise’s hair back in a low ponytail.
“Better than could be expected, stop that,” Elise said, sliding away from him.
Rune sighed. “I would question you further, but I need to get started on your knife. Walk with me?”
“Sure,” Elise said, glancing at the rest of the Arcainian princes to see what they did. Erick had Mikk and Nick by Elise’s shelter and gestured with his arms to show dimensions of the branches he was looking for.
Steffen was puttering around on the shore, sorting through rocks.
Falk ignored the oldest prince as he stalked back to the pond. “Gerhart, what part of now did you not understand?” Falk barked.
Gerhart squeezed water from his clothes. “I thought you were joking. It’s dark; I can’t see anything.”
“The moon is almost full, and we have a limited amount of time to work. Get going,” Falk growled.
“I don’t want to. I’m only human for an hour. I don’t want to waste that hour doing chores.”
Falk snatched Gerhart’s shirt collar and dragged him towards the woods. “You don’t have a choice. Find firewood or else,” Falk barked, barely avoiding Steffen—who was still puttering with rocks.
“What is going on?” Elise asked Rune as she strolled with him.
The handsome middle prince weaved up and down the shoreline, his eyes glued to the ground. “We’re trying to ease your burden.”
“Pardon?”
“We can’t expect you to knit us shirts and make a decent camp for yourself. There are seven of us. We should be able to accomplish a decent amount of work in just an hour,” Rune said, crouching to pick up a stone. He inspected it before tossing it over his shoulder and moving on.
“I’m off to find a softwood base,” Steffen announced, carrying several rocks as he ventured to the edge of the forest.
“When did you decide to do this, and how did Falk become the captain of this venture?” Elise asked as Falk exited the woods sans Gerhart.
Falk found Elise’s dress and thoughtlessly ripped one of the sleeves off, making Elise wince. He tied off one end and stomped back into the woods.
“He knows the woods best. With his line of work in the Agriculture Department he’s learned more about plants and trees than the rest of us combined,” Rune said picking up a rock.
“I would have thought you would be the one most comfortable in the wild,” Elise said. “You spend a great deal of your time camping. I don’t know if Falk has ever set up a camp in his entire life.”
“I don’t think he has either, but with his knowledge of trees and woods and with Erick’s mind, they could accomplish more than would ever occur to me. And you’re right. I’ve camped the most, but I always stay in temporary camps with a tent. Steffen says we need to make a more permanent site for you. I agree,” Rune said, still carrying the rock as he climbed higher up the shore.
“Can you understand each other as swans?” Elise asked.
“Goodness no,” Rune said. “We outlined all of this last night while you and Steffen were busy talking about what happened with Clotilde after the Lady Enchantress left,” Rune said. He found a larger, smooth rock and briefly returned to the pond to dunk his first rock in the water.
He sat down on the smooth shore and started chipping away at the wet stone. “Sit with me, please? It grieves me that I spend the whole day with you, unable to remember you or converse with you for even a moment,” Rune said.
“Do you remember anything as a swan?” Elise asked.
“Only that you are wildly important to me. I think when I am a swan I think like a swan. Now that I am human again, it is hard to remember what it is like to be a swan,” Rune admitted.
“That should make the days more bearable. It means you won’t be sitting around, worrying,” Elise said.
“Perhaps, but it’s not very satisfying,” Rune said as he chipped away at the stone.
Steffen returned, carrying a log that was split in half. “Will this work, Rune?”
Rune briefly inspected the log, feeling its grainy surface. “That’s willow. It will be perfect. Remember the hardwood should be about a foot long and pointed.”
Steffen tossed the log down next to Rune. “I will let you sharpen it to a point,” he graciously said, the white of his clothes gleaming in the night as he disappeared back into the woods.
“Did you say you were making a knife?” Elise asked as Rune slowly shaped the stone he hammered away at.
“A rudimentary one, yes. It won’t be much good as a weapon, but it should make it easier to gather the nettles; you can saw them off at the base with this,” Rune said.
