Tree Singer by Jacci Turner (best novels for beginners TXT) 📕

a small ceramic jar and holding it up for Mayten to see. “It didn’t break!”

She pried off the lid. The smell of lilacs filled the air. “It’s soap to wash our hair.”

The ice-cold water took her breath away, but never had Mayten enjoyed a bath more. She’d never been this dirty before, either. She scrubbed her arms, blushing as the dirt washed away in murky clouds, leaving behind clean skin of a completely different color. How she must stink!

At least the others were just as dirty. Funny what you could get used to.

She wished she had time to wash her clothes as well, but that wasn’t going to happen. She’d just have to wear the least dirty ones. Thankfully, they’d kept their ceremonial aprons packed away. The aprons should cover the worst of the dirt.

Despite being cold, the water felt so good she and Cather were soon laughing and splashing. She’d just rinsed the suds from Cather’s hair when a deep voice interrupted her.

“What have we here?”

Mayten and Cather shrieked, dropping low in the water. A horse and rider moved out of the trees. The rider looked to be about their age, perhaps a little older. He glared down at them, brow furrowed so deeply his thick black eyebrows met in a stern line. His skin tone favored the island’s original inhabitants, a golden brown. His hair, long and wavy, brushed his shoulders, and his nose—a bit too large for his face—gave him a hawkish appearance.

“Swimming in the king’s pond without permission. Whatever shall I do with you?”

King’s pond? Was this the groundskeeper, then? Would he arrest them? Could he arrest them?

The young man dressed like one of the people who worked in her brother’s fields, all in brown with a dirty shirt and disheveled hair.

Water splashed on the far side of the rock pile.

“They’re with me, sir.” Tray’s voice was pitched lower than usual and was accompanied by Anatolian’s low growl.

Was he trying to sound older?

Mayten bit her lip, wondering how effective lowering his voice would be if Tray was standing naked on the other side of the rocks. He was likely shivering as much as she was.

Another growl helped boost her confidence. Anatolian was a large dog and could be intimidating.

“I’m leading the questing team the king sent for,” Tray said. Try as she might, Mayten couldn’t hear any shivers in his voice. “We were unwilling to come before the king in our dirty condition after ten days of traveling.”

The rider moved the horse until he could—at least she thought he could—see Tray. “And you are?”

The imperious tone of his voice set her teeth on edge.

“I’m Tray Traveler, sir. The ladies are Mayten Singer and Cather Healer. Our woodsman was injured three days back and our team leader, Adven Traveler, my uncle, sent us ahead as the king’s summons seemed urgent.”

“The king is familiar with Adven.” The rider turned back to the girls.

Mayten shivered, wishing the rider would go away. She needed to get out of the water before—

“Which one of you is the singer?”

“That would be me, sir.” She didn’t know why she—why they—were calling the rider, a boy barely older than they were, “sir.” There was something in the way he carried himself, she realized. Did everyone who worked at the castle act this way?

She almost asked who he was and what he did, but stopped herself. For some reason asking such a question didn’t feel appropriate.

“All right, Mayten Singer,” the rider said with a brisk nod. “I will tell the king of your arrival. He will be ready to meet you at evening meal. Healer, the queen will want to see you. She’s not well and our healers haven’t been able to help. Until then, I suggest you dry off.”

He smirked and spurred his horse, disappearing almost immediately into the trees.

She didn’t like the rider. Not at all. He seemed to enjoy intimidating them.

“You girls okay?” Tray called from the other side of the rocks.

“F-f-f-ine,” said Cather, shivering so hard Mayten could barely understand her. “Just c-c-c-old.”

“Go ahead and get dressed,” Tray said. “I’ll keep an eye out for more company.”

Mayten gratefully waded from the water, grabbing the blanket tied to the bottom of her pack. She shook the blanket out and wrapped it around her shoulders. Not the cleanest way to dry herself but the blanket was warm.

Cather did the same.

Anatolian trotted up and shook, spraying water everywhere. Mayten shrieked, using her blanket as a shield, then finished drying off. She yanked on the cleanest clothes she could find, then pulled her apron from the pack. The apron was thoroughly wrinkled, but it was clean. “I’m glad Adven told us to take these off.”

“Me too,” Cather said with a nod. She raised her voice. “We’re dressed, Tray.”

He came around the rock jetty, pulling on his shirt.

“Who do you think that was?” Mayten asked, grateful to have stopped shivering. Cather oiled, finger combed, and braided Mayten’s hair as they sat on the grass.

Tray rolled his eyes and plopped on the grass beside them. “I don’t know but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Chapter Nineteen

Mayten followed Tray from the pond up the path as he led the way toward the castle. Their plan to arrive unannounced had failed, leaving her feeling more sheepish than confident.

The entrance to the castle faced the sea, which sparkled in the sunlight. The blue of the water was deep, almost black, and a briny smell filled the warm afternoon air. Up close the castle appeared rather small, probably no bigger than two of Mayten’s homes. But it did have two stories and was made of carved stones, a much grander design than any building Mayten had ever seen.

Were the stones of the castle found close by or had they been brought in by ship?

They walked around the side of the castle which was visible in glimpses through the trees. This brought them to the front and a cobblestone path led from there up to a wooden gate. The