The Sentinels Tam o' Shanter

this looked lonely!

Youthful whims still gripped her from time to time. They were the words of the wind, who spoke to her so clearly that it was if his words were her own thoughts. That day she had trotted beyond the the reaches of the wood and into the fields beyond to rejoice in the beauty of the day. The sky opened above her like a great, blue bowl. Clouds whisped over the blue delicately, and Starbuck sat for a long time in peace.

When she returned to the wood, she had the excellent timing of running into Flaris, whom she and Dierdre had sung to not many days before. He was a welcome sight, for he was both handsome and kind. Rather than greet him, she strode near (yet left a teasing distance, her girlish caprice was a terrible thing) and began to recite, Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. She let the poem trail off there as she smiled, bright as the sun, at him. Hello, Flaris!