They slipped through the door of the gym just as the band began playing the school song. Every major event started with the Harmswood anthem. Bellamy and Lian joyfully lifted their voices along with the rest of the assembly.
Sun and sand and sea and sky
Though Harmswood years go flying by
Rock and fire, wind and rain
This bond will bring us home again
Bellamy scanned the crowd. She caught Kai’s eye—her best friend gave her a thumbs up. She spotted her sister Merri, too. Merri also seemed to be looking for someone…someone that Bellamy noticed first. Half-hidden in the trees was Polaris Brighton, Merri’s matchmaking partner-in-crime and lifelong crush.
Good, thought Bellamy. If Bright is here, Merri will be on her best behavior.
There seemed to be no sign of Tinker, but with so many students wearing masks, it was hard to tell. She thought about all the things she had promised Kai and tried not to be disappointed.
For one, for all
The brave and true
Our Harmswood family
Through and through!
The end of the school song was met with applause, and then cheers as a well-timed spell rained bubbles from the sky. Bellamy’s heart soared. The Midwinter Masquerade had begun!
6
Tinker fidgeted as he waited for Hubble to arrive with his suit for the masquerade. He glanced from the window to the clock and back again…they were already late. Tinker flipped the latch and slid the window open, wincing as the thick outdoor heat assaulted his face and took his breath away. From the opposite end of campus, he could just make out a low chorus of voices singing the Harmswood alma mater.
He might not have been a regular attendee at school functions—a fact he’d give anything right now to go back and change—but he knew they always started this way. The voices raised in song were like a spell lifted into the night. He actually liked the lyrics, filled with their well-meaning camaraderie, even if they were a total lie. Sure, most of Harmswood loved him now that he was heir to a throne they knew nothing about, but Tinker knew who his loyal companions were. He could count them on one hand.
“For one for all, the brave and true,” Tinker whispered along in the oppressive heat. He’d never been much of a singer.
“Are you nuts? It’s a sauna out there! Close the window!”
It never got this hot in Goblin City. Tinker wasn’t sure if that made him happy or sad. Either way, he obeyed Hubble and twisted the latch shut again. “Where have you been?”
The answer was obvious: not only had Hubble fetched Tinker’s costume, but he’d also completed his own wardrobe change. Hubble was now bedecked in black from head to toe: shoes, slacks, button-down shirt and bolero tie. He wore a flat-top hat with a wide brim, a long cape that swirled around his knees, and a wickedly-pointed, bone-white plague doctor mask.
“Wow! What are you supposed to be?”
“I am the Black Death.”
Tinker couldn’t see Hubble’s face, but he could easily imagine the pompous smirk beneath the mask.
“Romeo and Juliet is all about death,” Hubble added.
“Which I see you’ve decided to take literally.”
Hubble removed the mask for ease of speaking. “It’s about staying true to the art. Especially when it comes to Shakespeare.”
Tinker held up a hand. Hubble could go on for hours about Shakespeare, and Tinker was ready to jump out of his skin with anticipation. “They’ve already sung the song. We need to hurry!”
The kobold’s shrug frustrated Tinker even more. “We’re supposed to be late. That’s the only way to make a grand entrance.”
Tinker grit his teeth and forced a smile. It was true; Hubble certainly knew a thing or two about grand entrances.
“Don’t give me any grief.” His roommate gave a pompous smirk. “I just scared the mess out of your little goblin brother in this getup.”
Tinker’s whole body went tense. “Which brother?”
“The one you call Snot,” Hubble said as he unzipped the garment bag. “He was carrying another note from the Goblin King about how you needed to ‘come at once or else,’ blah blah blah. I told him I had unfinished business with you. And I might have been a little intimidating.”
Poor Snot. After seeing Hubble in that get-up, the kid would probably have nightmares for weeks. Tinker vowed to make it up to him later. “Thank you.”
“Hey, I told you I would deal with anyone who came to fetch you, and I will. You will get through this night, or my name isn’t Hubble G. Hobson.”
Tinker smiled to himself. He knew better than to ask what the G stood for. Definitely something he would miss teasing Hubble about for the rest of his days. And then Tinker caught a glimpse of what had been hidden inside the garment bag.
“Are those ruffles? No. N-O. So much no. All the no. Ruffles were not in the deal.”
“I said you were going to have to trust me. So trust me.”
Tinker began to rethink the whole “missing Hubble” thing. “Dude, I’d follow you over the Falls, but I am not wearing a costume from…what…The Phantom of the Opera?”
Hubble rolled those extremely-blue eyes of his. “Get out of your own brain and think like a romantic, my friend. Women have loved every guy that has ever worn this suit.”
“It’s a school dance, Hubble. Not one of your precious plays.”
“This is a masquerade.” Hubble raised a finger. “And all the world’s a stage. Now go put this on and yell at me afterward, willya? Sam and Natalie will be here any minute. And we’re late, remember?”
Tinker knew that if he didn’t do this one thing for Hubble, as ridiculous as it was, he’d never forgive himself. Plus, even if there was time, there wasn’t anything in his wardrobe even close to decent enough to wear instead.
He put on the pressed black trousers and buttoned up the shirt that belonged on a historical romance cover. Hubble helped him as he slid the jacket on over it—there were even ruffles on the shirt’s sleeves. And the jacket had tails. To be fair, it all did fit like a glove. That Ausrinne had some serious talent.
Tinker felt his body threaten to sweat beneath the layers. “I sure hope it’s cold in the gym, because it’s certainly not in these clothes.”
“Beauty is pain,” Hubble said as Tinker buttoned up the jacket. Hubble stood back to look over his work, then hopped up on the closest bed and tousled Tinker’s hair. “There. Perfect.”
“You’re kidding.”
Just then, Natalie and Sam burst through the door. “You guys! Wait until you see…” Natalie stopped dead in her tracks. “Whoa. Move over, Tom Hiddleston.”
Natalie had on a crimson sheath dress, the sleeves of which made her seem as though she’d been dipped in blood. Her headdress was a skull face, crowned by a towering mass of red feather quills.
Tinker smiled. Maybe the ruffles weren’t so terrible after all. “You don’t look half bad yourself.”
Natalie pointed to herself, and then Hubble. “Get it? Red Death and Black Death. Kwasi’s going to be Osiris. Egyptian God of the Dead.”
“Fitting,” said Tinker.
“If Kwasi expects us to address him as ‘your highness,’ he is sadly mistaken,” Hubble said curtly.
“I’ll cut him up into pieces so small that he’ll have to find an Isis to put him back together again,” said Natalie.
Tinker shook his head. “I am really going to miss you guys.”
“Don’t talk about leaving,” said Sam. His simple black mask was topped with a floppy pirate hat. “I’m not ready to deal with it yet.”
“We at least have to leave this room,” Tinker said impatiently.
“Here.” Sam handed Tinker a mask as they finally walked out the door. It was a work of art: a theatrical rendition of a menacing goblin’s face, complete with dark green skin and horns that gleamed gold in the right light. There were even a few warts on its nose.
“Wow, that’s…intense,” said Tinker.
“It’s brilliant!” cried Hubble.
“You don’t think it will scare Bellamy away, do you?”
“Brother, if you haven’t scared Bellamy off after all these years, she’s not going anywhere,” said Hubble.
Kwasi was waiting for them by the gymnasium doors. He wore a sleeveless kaftan that showed off the gold bands around his wrists and muscular upper arms. Above his eyes, his mask became a tall Egyptian crown, complete with ostrich feathers. “About time, Juliet,” he said in that deep voice of his.
“Shut up, Romeo.” Natalie placed her hand inside Kwasi’s elbow. “I was totally worth waiting for.”
“Is the coast clear?” asked Hubble.
Sam peeked through the door. “Looks good to me,” he said.
Tinker adjusted the goblin mask over his face. “I don’t think I can breathe.”
“Yes you can.” Hubble winked at him before pulling down his own mask. “Now let’s rock this thing.”
Sam took one side of the doors; Tinker took the other. At Sam’s nod, they pulled them both open. Hubble strode in, with Natalie and Kwasi a few paces behind. Tinker immediately began scanning the ornate room full of students.
Hubble threw his arms up in the air. Two small balls flew from the sleeves of his black cloak, exploding with a quick bang—a trick Tinker had rigged for Hubble years ago, still dramatic as ever. A shower of rainbow bubbles floated down to the snow and popped around Hubble’s feet, making it look as if he’d just slaughtered a unicorn.
“HEAR YE, HEAR YE!” Hubble’s words rang out clearly and articulately from behind his mask. Clever kobold had more than one spell handy tonight. The DJ brought the music to a screeching halt. “Two households, both alike in dignity”—Hubble motioned to Natalie and Kwasi in turn—“in fairest Harmswood, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean… The Frozen Fest Players proudly present: Romeo and Juliet!”
Natalie and Kwasi bowed to the crowd. The music immediately started back up again—a waltz this time. Osiris and the Red Death lead the charge in perfectly executed choreography.
Tinker searched frantically for Bellamy. How could she be so hard to find? He normally had a sixth sense that alerted him to wherever she was in the room. But in the dim pseudo-starlight, with everyone’s colorful outfits and faces obscured by masks, even Bellamy’s distinctive fairy wings were hard to pinpoint.
Suddenly, a young woman in a periwinkle gown blocked his view. Her short, cornsilk hair made an angelic halo around her head. “Hey there, tall, green and handsome. May I have this dance?”
“I’m actually looking for—” Tinker started to say, but the woman wasn’t taking no for an answer. She took up his left hand in her right glove and put his other hand at her waist. Then she waltzed him into the throng of dancers that circled around an oversized, snow globe-topped pillar of ice. Tinker tripped a couple of times before he figured out how to match her steps, but he caught on quickly enough. The woman smiled at his efforts. Her eyes twinkled behind her lavender mask. Her very familiar, kaleidoscope blue eyes.
“Are you related to Bellamy?” Tinker asked. The full goblin mask muffled his voice.
“A penny for the smart boy,” she said. “I’m Merri. Bellamy’s meddling older sister.”
Tinker guessed that she wanted him to ask her about the meddling, but he was far more interested in her sister’s current whereabouts. His heart leapt. “Have you seen Bellamy? I owe her a dance, and I—”
Merri took a few steps backward, expertly making it look like Tinker had been the one to spin her around. “She’s over there, dancing with my old friend Brighton. Big, poofy, cake-topper gown. Can’t miss her.”
Once Tinker had Bellamy in his sights, he wondered how he’d missed her at all. Bedecked in silvery white with those diaphanous wings, she looked like a snow sprite. Or Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. Or a princess who’d just stepped right out of a fairy tale.
His princess.
Her beautiful hair had been pulled into some fancy updo. As she laughed at something her black-haired dance partner said, one of the white flowers slipped out and fluttered to the ground. He wanted nothing more in the world right now than to rescue that tiny bud and return it to his true love.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Tinker said, but Merri wouldn’t let him pull away.
“Not so fast, hot stuff,” she said. “All in good time. You and I need to have a little chat first.”
Bellamy was right there, and Tinker was about ready to burn the gymnasium down if he didn’t touch her soon. “About what?” he asked gruffly.
“Gee, I don’t know.” Merri narrowed her eyes at him. “Maybe let’s start with my little sister, and your intentions.”
Tinker sighed. “She is a dream I dare not dream.” He wasn’t sure why he suddenly sounded like Hubble after a day on the stage—maybe it was the mask, or the outfit—but the pretty words sounded like he felt, so he didn’t mind too much.
“Why not?”
Tinker made a face at Merri, even though she couldn’t see it. “I’m sure you already know the details of my situation. Even if goblins and fairies could be together”—no sense in ruining that surprise before he found out if his allergy to Bellamy had truly vanished once and for all—“I have to leave. Soon.” Forever, he didn’t say.
“But you love her,” Merri said matter-of-factly.
Tinker didn’t ask her how she knew, for it was true enough. “I would give up my kingdom for her,” he said.
Merri cupped the goblin mask’s cheek in her gloved hand as if it were Tinker’s own face. “Poor dearest,” she said wistfully. “I’m familiar with the heartache that comes from pining away for one person for a very long time.”
“Got any advice?” Tinker asked.
“Treasure every moment you have together,” said Merri. “No matter how bad or good or weird or magical. Those are the moments that help you survive all the other ones.”
Tinker tried to ask Merri what she meant by “weird or magical,” but she stepped backward again, lifting her arms and spinning them both around like a top. When Tinker stopped twirling and settled into dance position again, the person in his arms wasn’t Merri anymore.
It was Bellamy.
His right hand touched the waist of her ball gown. Her right hand rested lightly in his.
They were holding hands.
And she wasn’t wearing gloves. And he wasn’t breaking out in hives.
His heart did jumping jacks.
Beside them, Merri and her old friend Brighton danced gaily off into the crowd as if nothing had happened.
Tinker forgot to breathe for so long that he tripped. But when he regained his balance, it was Bellamy who apologized.
“Sorry about my sister,” she said. “She can be a bit of a…flibbertigibbet.”
Tinker wasn’t sure what to say. Did Bellamy not realize it was him? She couldn’t have, or she wouldn’t still be holding his hand. Even with the goblin mask, the costume Hubble had chosen for Tinker was just crazy enough to fool his oldest, dearest friend.
She was still holding his hand.
Tinker tried to remember to breathe, and not trip again. He was dancing with Bellamy. Finally. He wanted to freeze this moment in his memory, just like Merri had advised, so that he could relive it for the rest of his pathetic life. He concentrated on Bellamy’s beautiful face so hard that the rest of the room blurred and faded away.
He really should say something. But what?
Bellamy’s steps began to slow. “You don’t have to dance with me if you don’t want to.”
Tinker almost burst out laughing, but he caught himself. He didn’t want to offend her. He stepped backward and spun her around, the way Merri had just taught him. “I promised you a dance, so you’re getting a dance.”
Bellamy’s brow furrowed at Tinker’s muffled response. It took her a few more heartbeats to examine his mask and realize what it was…and whose hand
she held.
A few more precious heartbeats.
“Oh, god, Tinker?” Bellamy gasped. She tore her soft, warm hand out of his and Tinker winced behind the mask. “I had no idea! My gloves…where are my gloves?”
“Bellamy, wait.”
The pitch of her voice got higher and higher. “I must have left them in the room! Lian and I were so excited about the dress that we forgot the gloves…oh, Tinker, I’m so sorry!”
“Bellamy, hold on—”
Bellamy turned to run from him, but there was nowhere to go. The rest of the gym had faded away. It seemed that they were now—somehow—trapped together inside the snow globe at the top of the ice pillar.
“No!” she cried. “This can’t be happenin’. I’m gonna kill Merri and Bright.” Bellamy pounded her fists on the frosted glass. “Help! We need the nurse immediately!” But neither the music nor sea of dancers below them stopped.
Tinker removed his goblin mask. “Bellamy.”
“I don’t think they can hear us.” Bellamy slapped the glass again. “HELP!”
“BELLAMY, STOP!” Tinker wanted to grab her, but he didn’t want to touch her again without asking, and he didn’t want her to freak out even more. He tried to remain as calm as he could, even though his insides were electric. “Please. Just…look.”
She turned back to him, her face a wreck of concern, and he fell in love with her all over again. He showed her his hand, the one she’d been holding. There were no welts, no bumps, no redness of any sort.
“Is it a spell?”
Tinker shook his head.
She reached out to touch his fingers with her own, stopping just short of actual contact. “You don’t feel sick?”
Tinker resisted the urge to close the distance himself. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more perfect than I do right now.”
Eyes wide, she slid her fingers slowly in between his until their palms touched. The movement was tender and gentle, unlike the storm raging beneath Tinker’s skin. He wanted his body, his lips, to do what their hands were doing right now, but he restrained himself. Over the years, Tinker had watched too many people take advantage of Bellamy’s personal space. He wasn’t going to be another.
When Tinker Met Bell Page 6
