Oaken

by Melody Robinette

  “And that I’m crazy,” Avery cut in.

  “And that you’re crazy,” she agreed. “But we haven’t covered why you’re here.”

  Autumn joined Avery near the railing, facing the courtyard and forest beyond. He leaned back against the railing with his elbows propped up next to him. There was a slight breeze outside and Avery watched as it blew a strand of Autumn’s auburn hair across her face. She looked into his steely gray eyes, searching for something within their depths. What she was looking for, she wasn’t sure.

  “So, why are you here?” Autumn said.

  Avery’s eyes narrowed as he looked past her into the distance. “Good question,” he said quietly and then added, “Actually, I was going to tell you that you don’t have to worry about having me as a bodyguard anymore.”

  “Really?” Autumn said, though she’d become so used to Avery being around, she hadn’t even thought about it much. “So, you’re a castle guard again?”

  “Yeah, but Olympus cut my hours so I won’t have to work as much what with my new Warrior duties and all.”

  “Why don’t you just quit?” Autumn asked, trying not to sound hopeful. “Warriors make plenty of money.”

  “We don’t start getting paid until we pass the Warrior Trial in January. Initiates have to spend a few months in training first. Besides, it’s the only way my mother and I can live here. I don’t want to take her away from her home,” he said.

  Autumn nodded in understanding, not pushing the topic any further. She knew he didn’t like talking about his family.

  “Is Victor happy to be a Warrior?” Avery asked, with a hint of resentment.

  Autumn looked at him questioningly, trying to figure out where this was going. “I assume he’s happy, seeing as how he tried out and everything.”

  “You assume? Haven’t you two talked about it?”

  Autumn frowned, looking back at the forest. “He doesn’t talk about much of anything, really.”

  “Well I could’ve told you that.”

  This particular subject had been bothering Autumn lately. The time she spent with Victor had become unbearably silent. He seemed perfectly content to just sit in the quiet with her, not saying anything. She would try to start a conversation, but he would simply give her the shortest answer possible before returning to his daydreams—or whatever it was he was thinking.

  “Do you think you and Victor will be partners?” Avery asked.

  “Partners?”

  “Yeah. Warrior partners, remember? Atticus told you about it your first day at school.”

  “Oh, right. When do we find that out?”

  “Atticus will announce them at the Warrior Initiation Ball.”

  “How are they chosen?”

  “By Lady Carys.”

  “Who?”

  “Lady Carys. She’s been using her Power to determine the Initiates partners for years now,” he said.

  “What’s her Power?”

  “She can sense chemistry between elves. She can tell who would work best with each other…which elves are most compatible.”

  Autumn’s heart sank and lifted at the same time, a strange sensation. Their eyes locked on to one another’s now.

  “I see.”

  “Are you afraid?”

  “Why would I be afraid?”

  Avery moved closer so that he was inches from her face. “Because now Victor will know how you really feel.” Autumn’s breathing ceased temporarily. “And so will I.” Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. Avery backed slowly away. “I have to go. See you later…partner.”

  Avery smirked as he crouched down and sprang up to the branch above them. He caught a hold of the balcony railing and swung lithely over.

  Autumn let out a slow, shaky breath.

  The Warrior Initiation Ball

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The whole castle was talking about the upcoming ball. Preparations were already being made in the castle’s ballroom. Autumn and Crystal tried to sneak a peak, but were caught by Luke and Avery. Autumn hadn’t talked to Avery much since their little conversation on her balcony.

  One afternoon, Autumn asked Crystal about Lady Carys and the extent of her Power.

  “Well, this is just something she does every five years when the Initiates are chosen. She is usually in her little psychic shop downtown. Couples go to her to see if they’re compatible and if their connection is strong.”

  Autumn gulped. “So, how exactly does she evaluate the Warriors’ connections?”

  “She’ll evaluate us while we’re dancing. Each girl will dance with each guy at least once and Lady Carys will be watching the whole time.”

  This was even worse than Autumn thought. She knew how strong her and Avery’s connection was. She could definitely feel it and knew he could too—he’d told her as much. What would Victor think if Lady Carys announced that she and Avery were partners? What would Olympus think? Autumn shook her head to clear the unwelcome thoughts. It wasn’t like her to worry so much about what other people thought. Then again, she’d never been a princess or a Warrior before.

  The next day, the Initiates found that they would be taking dancing lessons with the castle dance instructor all week to prepare for the ball. Since the main ballroom was occupied by castle decorators they had to use the second, smaller ballroom in the castle for lessons, which still could have held the entirety of Aspen Academy.

  Kyndel and Charlotte were the only Initiates who had previously taken dance lessons, and Victor and Avery were clearly naturals. However, during practice time, the rest of the group moved clumsily around the dance floor. The dance instructor made the mistake of pairing Luke and Cera together—the two most uncoordinated of all—and Autumn had to stifle a laugh when Cera attempted to twirl into him, but instead ended up knocking him to the ground.

  “Oops,” Cera said, chuckling.

  Luke glared up at her from the ballroom floor.

  Autumn tried not to be jealous of the ease with which Kyndel and Avery danced together. They spun gracefully around the dance floor, although Avery didn’t seem too happy with his partner. As they twirled by, Autumn overheard Kyndel bragging about her ball gown, which was the most expensive one in the store, of course.

  Victor had somehow made certain that he was Autumn’s dance partner. He moved well on the dance floor and made it easy for her to follow his lead. She was happy to find that she was not the most uncoordinated one of the group. Luke and Cera definitely topped all of them. Near the end, the two of them seemed to have given up on ballroom dancing and Luke ended up teaching Cera the “robot.”

  Rigorous dance lessons took place every day up until the ball and Autumn found herself too tired to worry about Lady Carys and the Warrior partners. She felt particularly sorry for Avery and Crystal, who both had work on top of everything else. Crystal worked tirelessly on Autumn’s gown when she wasn’t in dance lessons or school or Warrior training. Autumn had repeatedly told her not to worry about it, but Crystal insisted.

  The morning of the ball, Autumn was reading in her little library when there was a loud knock at the front door. Autumn opened it to find Crystal hiding behind a heap of gold fabric.

  “Finished!” she announced, breezing through the branch to Autumn’s room, laying the gown across the bed. Autumn’s mouth dropped open as she took in the golden gown that was now hers.

  “Crys, it’s gorgeous. How did you do this so fast? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Crystal beamed. “I’ll bring mine up here after lunch so we can get ready together. What time is your hairdresser going to be here?”

  “One o’clock. She’s doing your hair too, you know.”

  Crystal’s eyes widened. “She is?”

  Autumn nodded, smiling. “I told her that she would be styling us both.”

  Crystal wrapped her in a hug, thanking her repeatedly.

  They had lunch brought up to Autumn’s branch and talked about what the other girls might be wearing.
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br />   “I know Kyndel is wearing a hot pink ball gown. I heard her telling Avery,” Autumn said, laughing through a mouthful of soup.

  “She would wear hot pink to a ball,” Crystal said, rolling her eyes. “So, who do you think your partner will be?”

  Autumn looked at her lap. “Uh, I’m not sure. It could be anyone, I suppose.”

  “I bet you’re with Victor, Avery, or Luke,” Crystal said.

  “Luke?” Autumn said in disgust. “Gross.”

  Crystal laughed. “It’s not a romantic thing, Autumn. It’s about compatibility and connection. Luke is your twin. I’ll bet you two have a strong connection simply because of that.”

  Autumn breathed a sigh of relief. Avery had made it seem like whoever she would be paired with was who she was meant to be with romantically. Now she realized that was probably a stupid thing to think.

  “What if Victor isn’t your partner?” Crystal asked. “Do you think he’ll be mad?”

  “Um, I’m going to say yes.”

  “He’s very protective of you.”

  “Yeah, well he needs to realize that I don’t need to be protected,” Autumn said a little too hotly. “I mean, I’m a Warrior too.”

  Crystal shook her head. “Boys. They think they are the rulers of the Underground.”

  “Trust me, they think they are the rulers wherever they are.”

  When the hairdresser arrived, the girls ceased their talk of boys and got back on the topic of the ball and their desired looks. Crystal wore her hair in a sleek bun with small crystals pinned throughout. She looked like a ballerina.

  Autumn’s hair was pulled elegantly back in a low chignon with loose curls framing her face. The hairdresser did their makeup as well, which was very light since elves hardly had the need for it.

  It took Autumn quite a long time to get into her gown as it was a corset and had to be laced up the back. Crystal beamed when Autumn emerged from the bathroom in her gown. “You look beautiful!”

  Autumn approached the full-length mirror, staring in wonder at her reflection. The golden gown was made of a smooth, supple material with a thin overlay of sparkling gold gossamer. The bodice was encrusted with golden jewels and diamonds. The warm color brought out the gold in her hazel eyes and auburn hair.

  There was a knock at the door and Autumn went to open it, expecting Luke needing help with some oddment on his coat, but instead she found Olympus standing before her wearing magnificent robes of emerald. She retreated into her branch to let him enter, his sudden appearance striking her speechless.

  He smiled warmly down at her and said, “Autumn, you look positively stunning.”

  “Thank you. I like your, um, robes.”

  He chuckled. “Why, thank you. I like them quite a lot myself. They’re incredibly comfortable. I know you’re busy getting ready so I will be quick. I’ve brought you something that I should have given you sooner. I am happy to see that it will match your ensemble nicely.”

  He pulled out a thin square box that looked like a jewelry case belonging to an oversized necklace. But when he opened it there was not a necklace but a dainty, golden tiara covered in miniscule diamonds.

  Autumn’s eyes widened as she looked up at her grandfather in question.

  “It belonged to your grandmother long, long ago. Now, it’s yours.” He lifted it out of the box and gently placed it on Autumn’s head. “Perfect,” he said, smiling.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, unable to speak any louder for fear of her voice wavering.

  His hazel eyes crinkled in a smile. They were the same color as her father’s, the same as her own.

  When Olympus left, Autumn turned to see Crystal gaping at her from the doorway. “You look like a princess,” she whispered, taking in the tiara. “I mean, I know you are a princess, but now you really look like one. Not that you didn’t look like one before, I mean—”

  Autumn laughed and said, “I know what you mean. You look like a princess too, Crys.”

  Crystal’s worried frown turned up in a smile. Her dress was not quite as extravagant as Autumn’s, but was still just as beautiful and elegant. It was a soft, periwinkle blue and the overlay was a sheer, sparkling material that looked as if she had weaved it out of the water in Arbor Lake. The sparkles made her blonde hair shine brighter than the actual crystals running through her hair.

  Once Autumn and Crystal had put the finishing touches on their gowns, they traveled down to the base of the staircase, where Luke and Avery had promised to wait for them. Music floated up from the ballroom as they walked down the winding stairs.

  When Luke and Avery came into view, Autumn saw that Luke was also wearing a small crown like a halo around his head. The boys were facing away from them, chatting and joking with a nervous undertone in their voices.

  Crystal cleared her throat and they turned around. Both of their mouths fell slightly open at the sight of them. Avery’s eyes were trained on Autumn and Luke was looking back and forth from Crystal, to Autumn, then back to Crystal.

  The four of them stood at the base of the staircase for an awkward second, taking each other in until Crystal said, “Shall we?”

  Autumn and Avery walked side by side and she noticed him glancing sideways every few steps. Luke and Crystal walked in front of them and Autumn overheard Luke say, “You, uh, you look really, um, really beautiful.”

  Autumn bit her lip to hold back her giggle.

  “You’re making this ‘friend’ thing exceptionally difficult tonight,” Avery said barely louder than a whisper.

  Autumn frowned as she said, “What ‘friend’ thing?”

  “The thing that we do where we pretend we only care for each other as friends, when we both know we’re just fooling ourselves,” Avery said under his breath so only Autumn could hear.

  “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Avery raised an eyebrow. “Right. Well, you’re better at it than me.”

  Victor was waiting for her just outside the ballroom and Avery moved swiftly past him, leaving Autumn with a jumble of emotions at the door.

  “You look exquisite,” Victor said.

  She managed a “thank you” as they passed across the threshold, Avery’s words still echoing hauntingly in her head. The grand ballroom was filled with hundreds of round tables covered in a silky, red material. A band dressed all in white played a light, cheerful melody to welcome the guests to the ball. An oversized throne resided on a raised platform overlooking the ballroom. Upon the throne sat Olympus, looking like a king from a fairytale.

  Two elves sat on either side of Olympus in slightly smaller chairs. One of the elves was Gregorius Dodge and the other was an older woman with crazy, flyaway, gray hair and a hunched back. Autumn assumed she must be Lady Carys, quickly looking away when the woman’s cloudy blue eyes locked on her. Autumn wondered if Lady Carys was examining the connection between her and Victor—or the lack thereof.

  Atticus and the rest of the Warriors were positioned at tables near the platform on which the king sat. All of the Initiates were situated at a table together. As Autumn and Victor took the two seats between Crystal and Cera, Autumn scanned the other girls’ dresses. Kyndel’s gown was just as she had described it, bright pink and over the top. She wore flashy diamond jewelry and her strawberry-blonde hair was pinned back with chunky diamond clips.

  Charlotte looked elegant in a sleek, red corset with her chestnut hair pulled back in an intricate French twist, and Cera wore a mint green gown. Her normally spiky hair was slicked down with old-fashioned waves running through it.

  During dinner, the girls all complimented each other on how beautiful the others looked, gushing over dresses, hair, and jewelry while the guys complained about how uncomfortable they were and how dumb they looked. After dinner, Olympus stood and welcomed everyone to Arbor Castle.

  There was a drawn out ceremony which honored the retiring Warriors and welcomed the Initiates. The old Unum Warriors said their goodbyes and thanked their
fellow Warriors, families, and friends for their support and remembered the Warriors they had lost in battle. Then there was a final ceremony to acknowledge the graduation of the five groups of Warriors to the next rotation. Duos became Unum, Tetras became Duos, Quinns became Tetras and, finally, the Initiates became Quinns, though this wouldn’t be final until they passed the Warrior Trial. Until then they were still considered Initiates.

  After the ceremony Atticus announced that it was time for the Initiates to dance with one another so that Lady Carys could choose their partners. Autumn was more worried about the partner selection than the dancing, which she’d become much better at thanks to their rigorous lessons all week.

  Each male Initiate stood in a circle and the females stood before one of them. When the chime sounded, the guys were to move clockwise to the next girl.

  Autumn danced with Jastin first. His long, wavy blond hair was pulled back from his nerve-stricken face and he kept craning his neck to look at Charlotte. Autumn definitely felt no connection with him.

  Forrest was next. He hated being serious so he goofed around the entire time, making her laugh. Autumn didn’t feel anything with him either.

  Then it was Luke’s turn.

  “You really do look beautiful, Rose,” he said as the music started back up.

  “Thanks, Luke. You look pretty dashing yourself.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I look like a penguin, but at least I’m not wearing ruffles. I was kind of worried about that.”

  “I like your crown,” Autumn said.

  “I know, right?” Luke grinned. “It makes me feel even more like a prince. I kind of want to wear it all the time, but then I think people would think I’m just full of myself.”

  “Well it isn’t mandatory for us to wear crowns, so probably,” Autumn said with a laugh. “But I do see what you are talking about. It makes me feel more like a princess too.”

  “Now that I think about it, though, it would probably get in the way when I’m making out with all those girls.”

  Autumn laughed again, rolling her eyes as they parted and Victor cut in. She could feel Avery’s eyes bearing into her, looking for some sign of a connection.