The Forbidden Rose

There was a little stir. Séverine said, “Golden?”

“They are the gold that is found in streams in the far country of Armenia where water has washed over the river gold for years upon years. A gold as soft as the warmth of a fire. That is the gold of those birds’ feathers.”

She took up the thick, gold-brown braid that curled down Séverine’s back and tucked it in front of her, against Guillaume’s waistcoat. “Now, it happened that one of these magic birds, a young girl bird, was chosen to make a long journey. It was an important journey, and she was a little worried . . .”