by Godiva Glenn
“Of course.”
“I know you said we wouldn’t talk but—”
“It wasn’t my dad. I’m fine. And the no talking rule is still in place.” She took his hands and pulled him towards the doors. “It’s fun time.”
No one had thought to bring popcorn, but there was plenty of chocolate and fruit, so they spread out in the downstairs theater and passed the snacks around while they watched a cheesy comedic horror movie. Blair sipped a strawberry margarita—the only drink he’d found he enjoyed so far—and Alethea played it safe with a blended mojito. Pavel’s bartending skills were obscene.
“I think that’s the actress from that show that’s big now. I can’t remember what it’s called. There’s dragons and sex,” Nikki said.
“Dragons and sex? How have I not seen this?” Pavel asked.
Alethea squinted at the screen. The actress was running too quickly through the dark forest to recognize. “Oh, I see. And yeah, I think so. The show that was based on those books? The Ophelia Bell ones?”
“Yeah. Man, I know she’s about to run off that cliff but I’m jealous of her running skills. I used to do marathons, and now I can barely jog down my driveway.” Nikki sighed wistfully. “The second we get back home, I’m going to start working out again.”
Alethea snickered. There was no way Nikki would last more than a week. She could barely stand to do the stretches when they used to do ballet together. “We’ll run together.”
A ridiculous amount of bright red blood covered the screen and one of the actresses wiped it clean with her hand before screaming at the top of her lungs.
“I don’t understand this,” Blair admitted under his breath.
Alethea squeezed his leg. “It’s okay. I guess you have to understand all the genres and see examples before you could laugh at a parody.”
“But it’s fun,” he added.
“Well, you get part of it, then.” She scooted closer to him in her chair and leaned her head onto his shoulder.
“There are no movies or television in fae world?” Pavel asked.
Blair shook his head and Vevina answered, “We can get Earth television channels, but most of your entertainment relies heavily on being immersed in the culture already. Cooking shows are nice, though.”
“Yeah?” Nikki asked. “Why cooking?”
“We can get ingredients, or substitute what we think would work. New food can be oddly exciting. I don’t watch it, personally. My boss does.”
“Cooking gets the ladies. We’ve established this,” Pavel said.
“Does it really?” Blair asked.
Alethea shrugged. “You’ve already got one, does it matter?”
He grinned and finished his drink just as the credits began to roll.
Nikki hopped up and flipped the lights on. “We’ve also got about a dozen rom coms if anyone is up for a double feature.”
“What is a rom-com?” Blair asked.
“Romantic comedy,” Vevina said turning around in her seat. “They tend to have the same plot, same actress, and most hinge on a simple misunderstanding.”
“You’re no fun if you think that,” Nikki countered.
“She’s not wrong,” Alethea teased.
Pavel stood and stretched. “I’m sure I’ll be outnumbered but how about something the men could enjoy, huh? Get Joseph in here and we can watch some old Bond.”
Nikki groaned and threw a grape at him.
As tempting as it was to stay curled up with Blair while he got a crash course in pop culture, Alethea was exhausted. “I’m ready for bed,” she confessed. “Teaching a tree to swim and snorkel has me absolutely dead.”
Blair rose and helped her up. Everyone else retreated back to the bar upstairs, and she and Blair headed for the bedroom. She’d wanted tonight to be a special night, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not unless some dose of magic came along and woke her up.
At the top of the stairs, Blair lifted her in his arms.
“I wanted to wear you out, but not like that,” he said playfully.
“I just need a full night’s sleep and I will be one hundred in the morning.”
He carried her to their room and deposited her on the bed. “Percent?”
“Yes. One hundred percent. Good catch.” She pulled off the warm socks she wore around the house and removed her bra without taking off her shirt. She wore an oversized silk shirt and matching shorts to watch the movie, so she was already prepared for bed.
Blair removed his shirt and crawled next to her. He pulled her to him so that she lay on his chest. The steady beat of his heart filled her ears and had a soothing effect. She’d be out in minutes.
“Honesty is important,” he said carefully.
“Of course.”
“I need to be honest with you, but I know it will upset you.” He brushed his fingers through her hair gently. “I can’t recall ever being in this position, and it’s confusing.”
She traced over the dark branches on his chest with her fingertip and closed her eyes, imagining what he would say. It would be a poor lesson to tell him not to say anything. Selfish to deny him the need to be open, even if it hurt. “You should tell me.”
“I don’t like the promise I made. I don’t agree with not talking about things just because they’re complicated or stressful.”
She turned her head, finding a serious look on his face that was completely unfamiliar. “We can talk, then. About our relationship?”
“No… about the more important part of us being here.”
“Blair…” She rolled away and sat up, crossing her legs.
“It pains me to see you hiding so much inside. I don’t understand why you won’t talk to me about your father when clearly it’s something that needs to be addressed. And maybe I could help somehow, but you won’t even give me a chance.”
“Because it’s my dad. You can’t put yourself in my shoes. No one can. It’s just something we have to figure out, me and him. It’s a parent thing. Doesn’t that make sense?”
He grazed the back of his hand along her arm. “No. I never met my parents. And even though I know their names, they aren’t really my parents. All dryads share a single father, and the one time I met him, I yelled at him for abandoning me. And in leaving Prism, I basically told him that I never wanted to see him again.” He furrowed his brow. “So, no, I can’t wear your shoes, and I don’t understand why it’s a parent thing. I thought he was upset about how you behave as a princess, not as a daughter. That hints that perhaps it’s not a parent thing at all.”
“It’s one in the same,” she said softly. Her heart ached at hearing his story, but she knew she was right and wouldn’t be distracted.
“Are we serious?” he asked.
She looked at the ceiling as if it held the answers. “I believe so.”
“And you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Then talk to me. Maybe this is something we can look at together,” he insisted. “Eventually I’m going to meet him, won’t I? It’s not like we’ll avoid each other forever. And if we are together, and if we are serious, then surely some of his concerns, the things he says, will apply to us both.”
A part of her was delighted that he looked at it that way, since she’d met enough guys that never thought twice about having the king being an ever-present floating eye in the sky of their relationship. The rest of her was purely frustrated. “You mean well, but I’ve been handling my dad for my entire life. I think I know what I’m doing.”
“By running away?”
She closed her eyes and slid from the bed. “I’m too tired for this, Blair.”
“Don’t go.”
“I’m just going to bunk with Nikki, or in any of the empty beds.”
“No.” He stood and placed himself between her and the door. “I’ll go. But… we’re not… Have I ruined everything?”
“I just need to sleep on it.” She placed her hand on his chest, savoring the rapid thumps against he
r palm. “But I’m going to sleep alone.”
The pain in his eyes and clenched jaw was raw and hard to witness. She’d had arguments before, but this was his first, she realized. And as with all firsts, he’d be filing it away for future reference. That thought alone made her knees weak. She didn’t want to be the reason he had these memories. He covered her hand with his for a moment, then left the room.
She pressed her forehead to the cool wooden post of the bed. The moment he was gone, it was like the air left the room. She couldn’t breathe, and she felt empty. The argument played over and over in her head as she pulled back the blankets and buried herself under them. He had valid points, but did that matter? She knew what was best for herself. No one could be better at running her life than she was. So as miserable as it was to sleep by herself and soak in her ultimate rightness in solitude, she pushed down every urge to go after him. If she went to him now, it would be like admitting she was wrong.
Clenching her eyes, she tried to stop the tears from welling up. She fluffed her pillow and the earthy scent of Blair wafted into the air.
Blair didn’t sleep. Or if he did, it didn’t feel refreshing. There were times his thoughts became nonsensical, but in all, he was trapped in a loop of watching his relationship with Alethea. Obviously, it was naïve to assume that they could have a perfect relationship of all ups and no downs. He knew that disagreements were normal and could be frequent in even strong relationships. Even without personal experience with such things, he thought he was prepared.
But he wasn’t.
Alone in this room, he’d stared at his phone in the vain search for answers. He skimmed and read for hours about remedying disagreements, and whether it was a bad sign to sleep apart. It’s not like there was a couple in the world in their exact situation, but it was startling how many similar plights there were across forums and such. But even with the advice handed out, there was never a follow-up. No one ever asked a question, then later returned to explain what happened in the end. In which case, was any of this advice worth heeding?
The internet was crowded with people who labeled themselves bloggers, and these bloggers enjoyed tackling the complicated web of romance, but it seemed that the vast majority of them were single. Were they single because they were picky, or because they followed their own advice, which didn’t work? Perhaps it was something else. Relationships were complex, and humans were often irrational, so maybe most couples were simply lost and irreparable. It seemed fair to assume then that the chaos of it all was why so many sad bloggers resorted to images of small animals rather than admit to their own failed romances.
Regardless, by the time the sun came up, he didn’t feel that anything had resolved. If he’d gone too far, if Alethea was done with him… well, that remained to be seen. He could have his answer by exiting the room and following the scent of breakfast foods, but he simply wasn’t ready.
Someone rapped on the door and he sat up. “Yes?”
Alethea entered. Her brown eyes were puffy, and her lips were red as if she’d been chewing them. Without a word, she crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Good morning, lovely,” he said carefully.
Her lips twitched as if she would smile, but it disappeared. Instead, she squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye. “We were both right and wrong.”
“Okay…”
“I don’t want to fight about my father,” she said in a single exhausted breath. “It was stupid of me to try and silence our conversation in the first place. I put a weight on your shoulders and it was unfair.”
“It’s okay.”
“But… and even though you don’t see this as the most important thing, it is to me. I can’t expect you to magically know what I want. Especially if we’re not talking about our relationship.” She smiled weakly at him. “My life as a princess isn’t going anywhere. I act like it’s life or death but honestly, my dad won’t disown me or revoke my princess card or whatever. So, you and I are the number one priority. I’m focused on you.”
He opened his arms and she fell against him, squeezing him tight. It felt like forever since he’d held her. He kissed her temple and inhaled her sweet floral scent desperately. Though his concerns for her hadn’t vanished, he could put them aside for now. “I just missed you.”
“I missed you more.” She sighed and pressed her forehead against his. “And one more thing. I will tell you the full story of why we’re here, but I would remind you that this is not Prism. How we do things on Earth… it may seem strange and unreasonable to you, but it’s not changing. But first, I’m really hungry.”
Pavel and Vevina were already up and in the kitchen when Blair and Alethea entered seeking food. Alethea headed straight for the coffee.
“Juice,” Vevina said pointing to a full glass next to her own. Her hair was in a messy braid dangling over one shoulder and she wore a robe Blair had never seen before.
Blair took the offered drink and sat down, peering over her shoulder. “You’ve been glued to your tablet lately. What’s going on?”
“Us,” Pavel answered. He didn’t sound happy it.
“Took them long enough,” Alethea said, moving to stand next to Blair. “What does it say?”
Vevina selected an article and skimmed it. “Lots of speculation. They’ve paired you with Pavel and Blair with me. Nikki is supposedly the royal chaperone keeping everything under control.”
Downing his grapefruit juice, Blair peered at the photos accompanying the article. One showed Pavel carrying Alethea’s bag, but that hardly seemed romantic. The second photo was of himself with a hand on Vevina’s shoulder. Again, innocent. “All that from these pictures?”
“Don’t let it get to you. I’m sure they chose me because now they can once again have a reason to have a full spread about my wild, debaucherous ways as a wealthy bachelor,” Pavel said. He flipped a row of pancakes and waved the spatula in the air as he continued, “They likely came up empty trying to identify you, given that they only call you ‘handsome male stranger,’ so the attention returned to me.”
“I see.” Blair wiped his mouth and looked away from the screen.
“I saw this coming, of course. But now my parents are all excited and I’m going to have to let them down yet again.” Pavel groaned. “They really like Alethea. But I’ve got no nefarious intent. Ignore me if it helps.”
Blair spun on the stool and pulled Alethea onto his lap. “I don’t care about that.”
Pavel slid a plate stacked with pancakes onto the island they sat at. “Really? Not at all bothered that the squawkers are filling their news with scandalous assumptions regarding me and your woman?”
“Should I be?”
“I think you’re supposed to fume and make some veiled statement about being the true object of her desire,” Vevina teased. “It’s the human way.”
“I’m not concerned with any of it,” Alethea murmured into her coffee. Her eyes gazed upon the pancakes longingly and Blair scooted them closer to her. “Mmmm. Maybe I should hire you as my personal cook, Pavel.”
“Wouldn’t work,” he said. “That hat would hide this perfect thick mane I’ve got going for me.”
“Nikki is going to be disappointed. It looks like the paparazzi are about to start labeling her a spinster at this rate,” Alethea joked.
“Indeed. It starts with chaperone and then it’s all downhill,” Pavel agreed.
Vevina pushed her tablet to the far end of the table, out of anyone’s reach. Good riddance. Blair allowed Alethea to slide from his lap and take her own chair, though he covertly squeezed her bottom in the process. He’d successfully survived his first article, which he counted even if they hadn’t known his name and only had one picture of him. Not a big deal.
They dug into the fluffy cakes. Alethea enjoyed drowning each piece in syrup, but Blair found that a bit of melted butter was optimum. He made a note to seek Pavel out at another time. He would like to learn to cook, and though he’d n
oticed that there were online lessons for just about everything, cooking seemed like the type of skill that needed to be taught hands-on. Breakfast looked to be Alethea’s favorite meal. Certainly making little flour paste circles couldn’t be too hard.
“Have you seen the news?” Nikki asked, rushing into the room.
“Yep,” Alethea answered between bites.
“Including this?” Nikki shoved Alethea’s plate aside and replaced it with her phone.
Alethea’s eyes narrowed as the scanned the opened page. “Princess Alethea is at it again. Sources close to the royal family say that this is the last straw. King Andrew insisting she marry, and he’s got her husband picked out… what?”
“It gets worse,” Nikki said cringing. She leaned over and scrolled down.
“The chosen consort is no other than Alethea’s long-time love, whom sources say still holds her heart,” Alethea finished reading.
“Julian?” Blair asked, lifting his eyes to her.
Pavel cleared his throat. “It’s just reaching.”
Alethea stood, and though she appeared calm for the most part, Blair could detect something simmering under the surface. Nikki tried to hug her, but she brushed it off with a mumbled, “I’m fine.” She went to the window and stared out.
Nikki edged to Blair’s side and whispered, “We don’t speak his name.”
A few times since meeting Alethea, she’d mentioned having few real relationships. One major one, however, cropped up time and time again, though she never went into detail. He assumed that the one was responsible for many of her firsts and had broken her heart. However, he also recalled Alethea hinting that she had been the one to leave, which he thought to mean gave her the power. Or whatever power was to be held when something fell apart. Julian appeared to be that one, and though Blair didn’t for a moment believe that Alethea still loved him, he now wondered why they never discussed him.
He rose and joined her at the window. Will she go back in her shell again? This could mean another halt on discussion. Another retreat to keep him out of her space, even if for all purposes, that space now included him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she welcomed him by pressing her back to his chest.
