Skirts & Swords (Female-Led Epic Fantasy Box Set for Charity)

by L. P. Dover

  Knowing the dark sorcerer is here and plotting to take Meliantha wasn’t settling well with anyone, especially me. I vowed to protect her with my life and I meant it when I announced it in the meeting. My parent’s vigilant expressions were clear; they understood my intentions. I met with them in private and told them of my feelings for Meliantha and about calling off the engagement to Breena. They offered to withdraw making the announcement at the ball. It’s like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. Now all I have to do is break the news to Breena.

  I walk over to one of the windows in my bedroom, and I glimpse two of my warriors standing guard outside the cottage doors. Being the leader of the Winter Army, I delegated more warriors to shadow Meliantha to make sure she’s safe at all times. Each warrior has been thoroughly searched to insure no magical objects were placed on them. I know I should trust my men, but this is Meliantha we’re guarding and I can’t afford to take any chances. I can’t have her taken away from me when I’m about to get her back…hopefully.

  The time has now come for the ball to begin. I thought if I took my time, I would be able to escort Meliantha up to the palace. I stare out the window for another minute and decide it’s probably a better idea if I don’t wait on her. I know I’ll see her tonight.

  I head down the stairs to my front door, and I saunter out into the frosty cold air. The minute I’m outside I am met with the whimpering sounds of a baby pup. I peer down to see Accalia pawing at Aki’s ears vying for her father’s attention while Larentia, her mother, watches in amusement. All three of them are a stunning breed of white wolves and are part of my pack. I have eight more of them, and I know they are somewhere around here causing mischief. I laugh at Accalia and reach down to pick her up. Her fur is fluffy and white reminding me of a giant ball of cotton.

  “Hey, girl, I see you like irritating your father,” I say while hiding my smile behind her fur so Aki can’t see it. I scratch her head and she licks my hand. I whisper in her ear, “Don’t worry, most women find it amusing to pester the men.” I know Aki heard me and he lets out a loud huff in response. I set Accalia down so I can look into Aki’s eyes.

  “I need to tell you something, Aki. Something bad is going on around here and I need you to keep your eyes vigilant and aware. I want you to guard Princess Meliantha any way you can and keep her safe,” I demand. Aki is a faithful and loyal wolf, and I know he would do anything I asked of him. The same goes for my other wolves, but Aki is the one I spend the most time with. He huffs again and I know that is his way of saying he’ll do as I ask.

  “Thank you, Aki.” I walk down the front steps and I stroll my way to the palace. The air feels frostier than normal for some reason. I’m usually not affected by the coldness of our court, but chills reverberate through my body and I shudder. My senses go on hyper alert and I know this can only mean one thing. The dark sorcerer must be near and I have a sinking suspicion he’s going to use this night to play his sick and twisted game.

  I grumble amongst the wind, “Bring it, you worthless bastard.”

  I’m standing before the full-length mirror looking down at my ruby-colored evening gown. I have my tawny red hair hanging down in soft waves flowing down my bare back. It at least covers up some skin. The silky quality of my dress feels smooth and soft as I run my hands down the fabric. The shoes I’m wearing look amazing with it as well. Let’s just hope I don’t fall and break my neck walking in the snow in these shoes.

  The gloves I’m wearing match the color of my dress. I usually don’t wear gloves with my evening gowns, but knowing I was going to be in the Winter Court I opted to wear them. They are long gloves stretching up to my elbows where only my upper arms and shoulders are left bare. I figured they might keep me somewhat warmer than if I went without.

  “Mel, hurry up or we’re going to be late,” Finn yells from outside the bedroom door. My heart jumps and it feels like it’s in my throat from being startled unexpect-edly. Maybe my heart feels like that because I’m nervous, who knows?

  I grab my bow and arrows from the floor and my black cloak that is splayed out across the bed. The cloak will cover my dress until one of the servants will no doubt take it from me. I wonder what Kalen is going to say when he sees me.

  I stop at the bedroom door and I take a deep breath. Here I go, I say to myself. I open the door to step out into the hall and I peer around the corner. Finn has done what I asked and has worn his long, white-blond hair down. His black tuxedo is very elegant. He looks ethereal with his appearance, but also devilish wearing black. It’s not long before they all notice me staring at them from around the corner. I am met with three sets of bulging eyes the minute I step into view.

  Finn snaps out of it first and gives me an enticing grin when he calls out, “Meliantha, you look amazing.” I can’t help but laugh, and I soak up the compliment by twirling around in my dress to give them the full view. Finn marches over to take my cloak and holds it open for me to slide into.

  “You do realize this is a black and white affair, Princess?” Ashur utters silently.

  I glance over at him and he’s shaking his head in disbelief. I shrug my shoulders at him and taunt back sarcastically, “I guess I didn’t see that on the invitation, Ashur.” I put my hand over my mouth, “Whoops.”

  “You know you’re getting just as bad as Ariella with breaking the rules.”

  Thinking about it, this would be something she would do. The thought brings a smile to my face and Ashur quickly pipes in, “Laugh about it now, Princess, but we will see who is laughing when they throw you out of the ballroom.”

  I wave him off and turn our conversation vocal.

  “They will do no such thing,” I tease.

  I see Elissa waiting by the door looking ravishing in a black jewel-encrusted gown. She smiles as I approach.

  “Ashur giving you a hard time?” she asks.

  “Doesn’t he always?” I reply back.

  “You look beautiful, Meliantha.” She looks down at my hand and sees the bow and arrows I have clutched in my grasp. “Do you really think you will need those tonight?” she asks dubiously. I hope not, but with the way things are going, I probably will.

  I shrug my shoulders at her and confess softly, “You never know, Elissa. That’s one thing I’ve learned…you never know.” I give her a warm smile. “You look amazing tonight.” She blushes and waves me off.

  She doesn’t seem frightened at all about the dark sorcerer being around and for some reason that bothers me. She could easily be a target just like Ashur and Finn could be. We all saw how easy it was for the dark sorcerer to infiltrate his way into Finn’s body.

  “Come on ladies, we need to go,” Finn urges while gently pushing me toward the door.

  “OK, OK, let’s go,” I give in.

  Ashur opens the door and a blast of cold wind comes rushing in sending shivers racing down my body. I grit my teeth to keep them from chattering. I hate the cold weather. I notice two warriors stationed outside the door on both sides and I kindly give them both a nod. They bow their heads before preparing to escort us to the palace. I appreciate the added security, but I also hate it because it makes me look helpless. There’s nothing they can do against the dark sorcerer, or any of us for that matter, because unfortunately no one has figured out how to destroy him.

  Finn takes my arm and walks me down the steps. I take a quick peek over at Kalen’s cabin and it looks eerily dark and quiet. He must have already left. The back veranda of the palace is swarming with people, and they are all milling about and smiling like they have no other care in the world.

  Twinkling lights are floating all around and it reminds me of my sprites back home. I really miss them and the times I would spend with them in my gardens. As soon as I get home, I plan to devote all my extra time with them. The twinkling lights also remind me of the mortal realm at Christmas time. We don’t celebrate mortal holidays here, but I guess you could say this ball is our Christmas celebration, minus all the pre
sents. This is more of a Winter Court celebration that we are obligated to take part in.

  Walking in the snow in high heeled sandals may not have been the best idea. My toes are numb and they’ll probably fall off from frostbite. My temperature runs naturally hot, but the cold still affects me. It only takes a few minutes to reach the veranda at the back of the palace. Now that Kalen is the leader of the Winter Court Army, he must have ordered extra security for the ball tonight. The place is swarming with warriors.

  We enter through the doors and are motioned toward what I can only assume is the ballroom. I can’t really see because of the huge mass of people scattered about. There’s a long line of guests waiting to enter, and I can hear the booming voice of an announcer calling out each individual’s names. I silently groan and squeeze Finn’s arm to grab his attention.

  “This is going to take forever,” I whisper to him.

  He just smiles and elbows me in the ribs lightly.

  “Look at it this way, Cinderella, at least you get to make your grand entrance with that beautiful gown of yours.” He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it softly. “I’m honored to be by your side tonight.”

  But for how long, I think to myself.

  “I heard that,” Ashur says, interrupting my inner turmoil.

  I peek over my shoulder to steal a glance at him. He’s holding onto Elissa’s arm escorting her just like Finn is doing with me.

  “Kalen wasn’t the one that broke my heart, Ashur. I’ve hated him for nothing, and because of what the dark sorcerer did, I closed off my heart and soul to the people that cared about me the most. I’ve missed out on so much.”

  I turn my head forward and we continue our slow pace to the entryway of the ballroom. Ashur’s voice comes back full force inside my head.

  “You may have closed off your heart during the past five years, but I feel it beginning to open up again, and I love the feeling. For the first time since I’ve been your Guardian, I can feel that spark of happiness trying to come back into your life. The dark sorcerer made a mistake when he played you for a fool. I hate to say this, but this experience has opened your eyes and made you a stronger and smarter woman.”

  My eyes begin to burn, but I fight it off.

  “I hope so, Ashur. I truly hope so.”

  We eventually make our way to the ballroom doors and the announcer obviously recognizes me.

  “Good evening, Your Highness.” He bows his head and lifts his gentle eyes at Finn and then back to me. “Who, may I ask, is your escort for the evening?”

  “His name is Finn, and he’s a warrior of the Summer Court,” I kindly respond back.

  The announcer is a short, pudgy man wearing a white tunic and white pants. His rich, black hair and black beard contrasts greatly with his pale features and white clothes. He gives me a warm smile as one of the servants approaches me to help me out of my cloak. I hand over my bow and arrows to Ashur so that I know they are safe while we attend the ball.

  The announcer’s eyes grow wide at the sight of my dress and it takes him a few seconds to gain his composure before announcing in his deep booming voice, “I give you Princess Meliantha, and her escort, Warrior Finn, from the Summer Court.”

  Everything goes in slow motion while I’m met with hundreds of different pairs of eyes all trained on me. Some are smiling, some are gaping, and some of them are giving me hostile looks. I look around, but I can’t see Kalen anywhere. I can tell he is near because the pull tugging on my soul is demanding I go to him.

  We walk down the steps and into the crowd. The room is immaculate with white draperies hanging from the ceiling and glimmering in the light. Clear glass windows surround the room making it feel as if we are in the midst of falling snow. The twinkling lights from outside are also in the ballroom giving off the illusion of falling snowflakes. I find it amazingly beautiful because the illusion of snow is a whole hell of a lot better than freezing in the real snow.

  “Would you like to dance?” Finn asks.

  I look up at him and smile.

  “I would love to dance with you.” Guilt tightens my chest because even though Finn is my date and I love dancing with him, I secretly have been hoping to dance with Kalen as well.

  Finn takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor. He places his other hand on the middle of my back and moves his body a little closer to mine. He smiles at me with a longing passion and begins to sway to the soft flow of the music taking me with him. We dance together, lost in the melodies of the music, when I notice Elissa dancing with a Winter Court fae. He is a very handsome man, but I wonder what happened to Ashur. I glance around the ballroom for him until I finally see him scowling in the corner.

  “Calm down, Ashur. I know she cares about you, so stop looking at them like that.”

  “Well, it doesn’t look like that to me, Princess. Why do women always do this?”

  His anger-filled gaze finds me and I give him a scowl of my own.

  “Men aren’t innocent either, dear Guardian. Just hang in there. She can’t dance with you all night, now can she?”

  His shoulders sag at my declaration and his eyes become weary.

  “I know she can’t dance with me all night, but it doesn’t make it any easier to see her ogling another man.”

  “She’s not ogling.” I turn my eyes from Ashur to take a look at Elissa again. She actually happens to be staring at her partner with an evil glint in her eye instead of ogling. I’ve never seen her look that way before. She takes the man by the hand and starts to lead him out of the ballroom. I don’t know where they are going, but I know I don’t want her traipsing about by herself.

  “Please follow her, Ashur. Something doesn’t feel right with the way she’s acting.”

  “I will, Princess. Will you be OK in here?”

  I give him an incredulous look.

  “Ashur, I’m surrounded by people and I have Finn in here with me. I don’t think anything is going to happen to me around this many people.”

  He nods his head and then searches the crowd for Elissa. We have lost sight of her, so he quickly exits the ballroom in search of her. I hope he catches up to her. The sick feeling in my stomach feels like warning bells ringing throughout my body telling me something is wrong. I’ve had this feeling a lot today and I know it’s just a matter of time before something awful happens.

  “Is everything OK?” Finn asks. I look into his worried amber eyes and I plaster on a fake smile.

  “I hope so, Finn. I’m just a little concerned for Elissa, but Ashur is going to check up on her,” I say, concerned.

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Ashur isn’t going to let anything happen to her. He’s in love with her. He has been for years,” he informs. Yes, I know he’s in love with her. I think I knew before he did that he was in love with her from the feel of his emotions being heightened every time she came near.

  Finn pulls me closer to his warm body and starts to hum along to the tunes of the sweet melody in my ear. I get the feeling someone is watching me, so I search the crowd until I am stopped by the piercing ice blue eyes of a certain Winter Prince. Finn is oblivious to the man staring daggers at him. I can feel the heat of Kalen’s penetrating stare, so I decide it might be best if I take a break from dancing. I don’t want any trouble involving men fighting over me. I fan myself to make it look like I’m hot, and I casually lay my hand over my throat.

  “It’s so hot in here. Do you mind if we go and get a drink?” I ask Finn. He nods his head and takes my hand. The bar is set in the corner of the ballroom, and, unfortunately, we have to walk through the massive crowd to get there. Finn orders me a drink and I sip it slowly. Faerie wine is the best liquid I have ever tasted in my life and nothing compares to it. It feels amazing as it glides down my throat, instantly working its magic through my body and making me feel toasty and warm. People in the mortal realm would freak out at the sight of faerie wine. It’s bright blue in color and gives off a glow as soon as it’s poured out of the bo
ttle. It sparkles in the glass and glitters when swirled around. I have always been fascinated by it. The wine is also very potent, just like any other substance in the Land of the Fae.

  I’m taking a sip of my wine and I almost choke at the sound of my mother hissing in my ear, “What the hell are you wearing? Are you trying to embarrass us?”

  I turn around to spit out something sarcastic when an unexpected voice spears back at my mother.

  “I think the red dress looks lovely on the beautiful Meliantha.”

  I stand frozen at the sight of Queen Mab giving my mom a lethal look. It’s never been a secret that the two women don’t like each other. I’ve been waiting for the day they let all sentiments of manners fly out the window and have it out in front of the other guests. My mother snarls at Queen Mab and then focuses back on me.

  “We’ll talk about this later,” she snaps. She doesn’t give me time to respond because she quickly turns around and walks the other way. I release a heavy sigh while Queen Mab doubles over laughing. She runs a finger underneath her eyes to catch the tears that were escaping from her laughter.

  “Your mother doesn’t know how to loosen up, does she?” she says while still trying to contain her laughter.

  I bow my head to her.

  “No, your Highness, she does not. Thank you for the compliment.”

  “It was my pleasure, Princess Meliantha. It gives me great joy to torment your mother.” This makes Finn and I both laugh and the Queen smiles warmly at us both.

  “Do you mind if I have a word with you, Princess?”

  I look at Finn and he nods his head.

  “I’ll be here by the bar, so don’t worry about me.” He winks. “I’ll keep my eyes on you.”

  I turn back to the queen and coyly reply, “I am all yours, Queen Mab.”