❝ doubtless i would have. ❞ he said. ❝ it is the mark of a fool or a coward to allow an interim discomfort to keep him from his hoard. ❞ he imagined the bone mother mocking him tenderly in her crackling timbre ( ‘ it is too bad you are both, then, kostya ! ‘ ), but he ignored the burden of doubt & gave her a slow, patient grin. ❝ i couldn’t think to say no, lisichka, and i am sure you are right. it is not every day i’m given an offer to see someone’s illustrious treasure. ❞
he had his own enviable trinkets, of course enough to make the most pious of men water at the mouth in greed & shame but he grew bored of gold soon after it was acquired, silver had the terrible trait of demanding to be polished, and what good were jewels without being worn ? it was nothing to him, a gaping coldness where warmth should have been, but he imagined she would have appreciated it. he would show her his set of ivory handled serving spoons, or the faberge music box he’d once known the owner of but could no longer recall, and she would brighten, perhaps, but he oughtn’t lose himself in abstraction. they were not in buyan. they were here.
❝ it is nothing that should worry you, rybka. it could be that i will keep it to myself & you will have to find your own meaning. ❞ he simpered & his features flashed with a youthful carelessness he did not have ( was he teasing ? he was typically too solemn to tease, but he believed he was ) before it washed away with the crack of a wave.
as soft as her voice was, he heard her clearly & he would not pretend otherwise ; coyness was for nervous brides & fumbling, virginal soldiers, but it had no place with him. ❝ right you are, little fish. ❞ he looked at her squarely. he thought, it’s not called russia anymore, but i haven’t the heart to say so and together we will keep this lie, and the wind whipped his hair around his eyes. ❝ it would be a shame to let you go alone. ❞
the siren had brightened at the knowledge that he would be glad to see her illustrious treasure — and it most certainly was ILLUSTRIOUS , to say the very least — but gasped , frowning , when he continued on to say that what he’d called her was , in much more polite words ; none of her concern. cheeks puffed out in a childish display of petulance , shimmering scaled tail splashing the slightest bit of water in his direction. ❝ you will tell me , one day! ❞ the siren exclaimed , laughing as the spark of mischief in his eyes so quickly faded. ❝ or ... or I will have you DROWNED in the ocean’s depths , koschei! feed your body to my cousins , the rusalka! ❞ she wouldn’t , and well they both knew it.
and if she’d smiled then , when he made such gracious comments about her treasures , it was nothing in comparison to the wide - eyed , wide - grinned , ecstatic expression on her features now. of course , she hadn’t thought he would agree to her quiet suggestion that he might take her back with him .... and now that he had — oh !! how the siren’s mind was spinning with excitement. think of all the things she could see!
❝ really , koschei? —— you really mean it , you’ll take me with you? ❞ her hands grasped tight to his own , ariel pulling herself closer && closer still , until her face came to rest a mere foot away from his. ❝ oh , I would be so thrilled! so thrilled , that I do not think even the pain of walking on land would deter me away from it! ❞ a wistful sigh slipped past the siren’s lips , and she allowed her frame to drop against the soil once more , resting the top of her head against the side of his thigh , still damp hair splayed across his lap && beaming all the while. ❝ when do we leave? you have a castle , don’t you? could I see it? ❞