She had to be alright. Had to be. If she wasn't, then I didn't know what I'd do.
"Kelis?" Father asked, sleep clouding his voice.
"Is Mother alright?" I asked, moving around to her side of the bed.
Her chest rose and fell in the rhythm of sleep. Could this be enough? It would be cruel to wake her up when she was sleeping so peacefully. And yet, the echo of my dream was so strong it almost demanded that I did.
Father sighed and shifted in the bed so he was sat upright.
"Kelis, what's the problem?"
I glanced at the floor. It would sound stupid to say it out loud.
"I had a dream. Mother...she was in a coffin in the middle of the woods."
One look at his face and I knew it was the right thing to tell him. He understood the panic.
"I wouldn't have come here," I continued. "But it felt so real, and I just had to reassure myself that she was alright."
Father smiled and nodded, but it didn't do anything to hide the concern in his eyes. "I used to cast a spell that would wake me up every few hours so I could check she was still alive," he told me. "It took years for me to realize she was safe, and that nothing like that would ever happen again. It was a long time ago that she was cursed. Your dream was probably your subconscious remembering the story of it. Have you been reading our history books again?"
I nodded. “I was reading one last night.” But it hadn’t had the story of my mother’s curse in it. Could that really have been all it was?
I wasn't completely reassured, even if Father understood how I was feeling. But she was sleeping soundly and plainly alive and well. “I'm sorry, Father,” I whispered. “I didn't mean to wake you.”
He chuckled softly. "I'm glad you did." He paused and studied me. "How about a distraction? I have to go to the train station to pick up your cousin and his friends in a couple of hours, Why don't you come with me?"
I perked up. That would mean a chance to see Jake earlier than planned. That was something I was on board with.
"That sounds good, thank you, Father."
"You're welcome. Why don't you go get ready, and I'll meet you by the front doors when it's time to go."
I nodded, relieved to have a plan that would keep my mind busy.
The racket of the train entering the station was almost too much to bear, but I stood next to Father with my best regal smile.
The train screeched to a halt. Nerves began to flutter in my stomach. Jake was onboard, and soon, he'd be a guest in our palace. As excited as I'd been up until now, a sliver of self-consciousness started to take hold.
What if he still saw me like an annoying kid?
I smoothed down my leggings, a habit I'd no doubt picked up from Mother at some point in my life. I looked good, or at least as good as I could. I would make more effort for tonight's banquet.
The door hissed as it opened, and my cousin stepped out, his thick dark hair slicked back with magic. One of the many advantages people had in Enchantia was that they could use magic to make themselves look good. Hair, makeup, keeping clothes hanging right, and most people used it to their advantage.
"Uncle." Adam reached out his hand to shake Father's.
"Did you have a good trip?" Father asked.
"We did, yes." He gestured to the four people who'd gotten off the train with him. "You remember, Jake, Your Majesty?" he asked.
"I do, good to see you again," Father said politely.
My heart skipped a beat. Jake. Tall, handsome, completely put together in a way no girl would be able to ignore, and with a face that looked like it was chiseled by the gods.
He didn’t even notice me as he stepped toward my father. I bated my breath, ready to say hello when he lazily draped his arm around the shoulder of a petite blonde girl.
"It's a pleasure to be here, Sir," Jake said to Father. "This is my girlfriend, Lyss."
The bottom dropped out of my stomach at the dreaded word. Girlfriend. What was I going to do with that?
"These are two of my other friends, Rhi and Topher," Adam said, gesturing to the other two people with them.
The other girl, Rhi, was just as petite as Lyss, but with dark hair and she was more pretty than beautiful. But it was Topher who took me by surprise. He was scruffy, a word that wasn't often used in Enchantia. His dark hair fell over his ears and into his eyes. He swept it away in one smooth motion, only highlighting the stubble on his cheeks.
He glanced up at me with bright green eyes, taking me off guard. I quickly looked away and set my eyes back on Jake.
"We'll get some more rooms set up next to yours in the palace," Father promised. "This is my daughter, Princess Kelis."
I didn't miss his use of my title and had to wonder what had made him use it.
The two girls dropped into pretty curtsies, while Adam just smiled, and Jake did nothing. Topher swept into a deep bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess." His voice rumbled pleasantly, a little at odds with his appearance.
"The pleasure is mine," I answered diplomatically.
Adam saved me from saying anything else by swooping forward and taking my arm. "How are you, cousin?"
I laughed lightly. I wouldn't say Adam and I could ever have been considered close, but we'd always gotten on.
"As busy as ever," I responded to him. "What about you?"
"The usual. I'm taking the university by storm, fighting off the women throwing themselves at me because they forget I'm not royalty, and just living life to the fullest."
I snorted. Mostly because I knew he wouldn’t give most of those women the time of day. He was far too interested in his studies for anything else.
"Are you keeping up with your magic studies?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "You know it's not my thing."
"You could be great if you just tried," he countered.
"My future lies in running a kingdom," I countered. "Magic is the least of my worries when there's politics and the right way to address the third son of an Earl to pay attention to."
"You're really something special, Kelis. You know that, right?" Amusement tinged his voice.
"Of course. I am a princess, not many people can say that about themselves," I quipped.
"And then there's your personality."
A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips. "Some of us don't have dashing looks to make ourselves memorable like you and Jake do," I pointed out.
"You think Jake is good looking?" he asked.
"Objectively, yes," I answered too quickly.
The knowing look on Adam's face was enough to let me know he'd caught me.
Oops. That wasn't what I wanted to happen.
I'd almost picked a white dress. My hand had been ready to pull it out of my closet, but I knew I was choosing it to impress Jake. He had a girlfriend, I reminded myself The coolly impressive Lyss, with her perfect body and perfect face and perfect red lips.
“Your face will stay looking like a duck’s if you continue to pout like that.”
I flashed the mirror some shade and pulled out a black dress.
I had no reason to impress Jake. None, whatsoever.
I pulled out my wand and waved it over my hair. Sparks flew out of it, lifting the dark strands and making them into bouncy curls sweeping over and pinned so they fell over my left shoulder. Remembering what Mother had said about my costume for the Fright Festival, I picked up a pot of red lip paint and smoothed it over my lips. The full-length mirror in front of me revealed the effect of my paying more attention to my appearance.
I didn't look half bad. My black, shimmering dress fell to the floor in one smooth line. The sleeves stopped at my elbows with a square cut neckline. I needed' to choose an appropriate necklace from the ones in my jewelry box, preferably one that had a matching wand belt and sheath.
Rummaging through the box, I found exactly what I wanted, deep rubies set in black metal. The only thing that would pull attention was the gems. The wand belt looked th
e same. It'd cinch around my waist, and the black leather sheath would hang against my left thigh. A matching bracelet caught my eye, so I slipped it on. There'd be no sense in leaving it behind.
I sighed and studied myself in the full-length mirror.
"Not too bad, Kelis," I said to myself.
"I have to admit, you're not wrong," the other mirror said.
My mouth dropped open. I spun around to face it. "What did you just say?"
"You look passable. Definitely better than normal, but that doesn't mean much."
I blinked a couple of times. Had it just given me a compliment? A back-handed one, sure, but it was still far more than it had ever given me before. I wasn't sure how to process what had just happened.
"Erm, thank you?" Was that the best way to respond to a mirror that normally insulted me telling me something nice? I wasn't too sure about that one.
I swept out of the room in a rush, almost tripping over the dress as I went.
The corridors were full of people dressed in their best clothes, all white, naturally, and heading towards the banquet. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my black dress.
The smells of roasting meat and baking bread filled the air as I neared the hall. My stomach rumbled as I thought about eating. I'd been too nervous to eat much of my lunch, and I was starting to regret that.
I slipped through the banquet hall door and stepped into the room full of chattering people. No one paid me any attention, which was something I was used to. I made my way to the opposite side of the room where two thrones sat waiting for my parents. A smaller ornate chair to my Father's right was waiting for me if I chose to use it, but my parents had always made it clear that I could choose to sit with my friends instead of with them during events like this. Normally, I didn't take them up on that, but tonight it would be different.
Adam and his friends stood in a semi-circle a few paces in front of me. I reached out a hand to tap Jake on the shoulder so they would know I was there.
"Where are we sitting?" Jake asked.
My hand dropped.
"Why don't you sit next to Kelis?" Adam suggested, though I didn't think he'd seen me.
"Why?" Jake sounded shocked his friend had even suggested it.
"She likes you. It might be nice for the two of you to spend some time together."
I was mortified. Why would Adam say such a thing?
Jake laughed, the booming sound filling the room and making more than a few people stop talking. "Why would I want to sit next to that kid?" he asked.
Pain lanced through my heart.
"She's my cousin," Adam warned him.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to fake interest in her," Jake snarled. "Besides, I’m with Lyss."
I stepped back, hitting someone and stumbling slightly. My clumsiness drew attention to me, and I was greeted by a horrified look from Adam and a scowl from Lyss.
"So sorry," I muttered to the person behind me, turning away so that none of the others saw the tears welling up in my eyes.
"It's alright," Topher's rumbling voice distracted me for a moment. "Why don't we go take a seat?" he suggested.
I wanted to tell him no, that I already had a plan, but Jake's words still rang in my ears.
Instead of running back to my room like I wanted to, I nodded once. "That would be nice. My chair's at the top of the hall. You can take the one next to me if you'd like." It was an offer most of the court would fight over.
"That'd be great." His smile reached his eyes. I looked him up and down, paying more attention to him than before. Which was how I noticed that he had a dark material lining the inside of his suit jacket, and his wand holster was similarly black. Maybe he could be the friend I so desperately needed.
"Unless you want to sit with your friends, I understand if you don't want to..."
"No need, I'd be honored to sit next to you, Princess." He shot a glance at Jake that was almost impossible to decipher. Was he just doing this because he'd heard what Jake had said about me and wanted to be nice?
Did I care?
I shook my head. I was being given a gracious way to exit the situation, and I was going to take it.
"I'll show you to our seats. But no one calls me Princess in the palace. Just Kelis is fine."
"I'll take that into account Just Kelis." He smirked.
I didn't wait for the others to say anything. I just led Topher up to the top of the banquet hall, gesturing to the chair next to mine.
"There's an unspoken advantage of sitting here too," I said to him.
"That you can always see when someone spills on themselves?" The amusement was impossible to miss in his voice, and I found myself relaxing and starting to forget the nastiness in Jake's voice as he'd spoken.
I chuckled. "Oh, better than that. We get the first choice of all the dishes they send up from the kitchen. After my parents, of course."
"That does sound good," he admitted. "Which ones are your favorites?"
I thought about it for a moment. "It depends on the day, but I'll tell you what's good and what isn't," I promised.
Before Topher could answer, trumpets sounded. Chatter throughout the room died off as Mother and Father walked in, their heads held high despite the heavy crowns placed on top of them. Their white cloaks trailed along the floor, glittering with tiny crystals that caught the light of the candles as they walked.
They were a vision. No one would ever doubt that they were the ruling royals.
People bowed and curtsied to them as they made their way up to the two thrones next to me.
"You look beautiful, Kelis," Mother said once they reached me.
"Thank you. So do you." She always did. The mirror wasn't lying when it sang her praises. She had the kind of beauty that was impossible to ignore. And no one ever did.
Once they were seated, servants began to stream in with various dishes piled high. They'd bring them straight to my parents, who would gesture to tell them which of the dishes they wanted. After them, they'd turn to me and Topher.
"Not that one," I warned him as he asked for a soup made out of fish heads. I'd always found that dish to be wholly unappetizing even if Father loved it.
"Is it not good?"
"Not unless you particularly like fish eyeballs," I told him. "But you do want some of that bread." I gestured for the server with a basket of baked perfection.
"What's in it?" Topher asked as a roll was placed on his side plate.
"Some nuts and some kind of spice. It's delicious, especially when it's freshly baked." I picked up my own roll and broke it in half. The inside still steamed from the warmth of the oven.
No one paid us any attention as the banquet progressed. My gaze slipped to where Jake and the others sat. Just like the rest of the people in the room, they weren't paying any attention to me and Topher. Jake had his arm slung around the blonde girl. Lyss laughed and popped a strawberry in his mouth.
Jealousy bubbled up inside me at the sight. She was perfectly perfect with her long blonde hair and white gown giving her the appearance of an angel, albeit with a face that was a touch too angular.
"You really like him, don't you?" Topher asked.
"Sorry, what?" I turned to face him.
He frowned. "Never mind. Are you looking forward to the Fright Festival?" he said instead.
I studied him. His intelligence was a little intimidating in some ways. He'd already been able to see through my emotions.
"Yes. It's going to be a good year. Are you?" I put on the politest voice I could.
"It's not really my thing."
I frowned, unable to work out Topher. Why was he here if he wasn't interested in the Fright Festival and didn't seem to want to spend time with his friends? It made no sense.
"Can I ask you something?" he interrupted my thoughts.
"Of course."
"Why isn't there more magic in the room?"
"What do you mean?" There was magic everywhere. I could see it in the way people had styl
ed their hair, and the way their jewels shone and the fact no one's white clothing was stained despite the soup starter.
"Everyone's wearing a wand, but no one is doing any spells. I kind of expected the whole room to be full of them," he admitted.
"Oh. No, that won't happen. Magic is banned at feasts. There have been too many accidents involving sparks, fire, and spilled wine." And a couple of assassinations a hundred or so years ago, but I keep quiet about that one. “Besides, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing by hand.”
"That makes sense." He glanced away, but not before I caught the disappointment on his face.
"There'll be plenty of magic on other days," I promised, even though I didn't know that for sure. I never paid much attention to what people were doing with magic. Like I'd told Adam, there were more important things for me to focus on.
"I hope so. I heard talk of there being spell competitions here in the capital." The excitement was back, though maybe it was just a front. It was hard to tell.
"I can find out and send you the information in the morning, if you'd like," I offered.
"I'd like that if you don't mind."
I smiled as I picked up another piece of bread. I needed something to do with my hands right now. "Of course, it's not a problem."
Even as I said it, I realized I had no idea how to find any of that information on my own. But I wasn't the kind of princess who went back on her promises. He'd have his information, no matter what it took for me to get hold of it.
The banquet ended much too quickly. I’d spent all day readying myself for the dance that would follow, but I’d not pictured standing at the sidelines watching Jake and Lyss dancing like they were made for each other.
“His left foot is not quite in step,” Topher whispered in my ear as I watched a traditional Enchantian dance being performed.
The way Jake spun Lyss around was almost magical, but now as I lowered my gaze to their feet, I saw that Topher was right. He wasn’t quite in step like the other couples were.
Queen of Reflections: A Snow White retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Snow White Book 1) Page 3
