“If I remember correctly, you were once one of those people. There are a lot who don't understand what the Divine is. It's not something that can be learned from the outside. You'll get used to it after a while.”
Erik nodded, and the happy yet unconventional family walked back to their guesthouse. Cheyenne couldn't remember making the trek up there before, even though she’d stayed with them the previous night. It disturbed her that the entire evening was nothing more than a blur. She wasn't sure how well her parents would take it if she told them she had blacked out an entire evening. I was tired, she told herself. Maybe I'm sicker than I feel.
“That was a beautiful necklace you got from the Alpays,” Persephone said, breaking through the silence.
“It's gorgeous. I've never seen anything like it before, but I don't know what it does. I didn't want to insult them by asking, but do you know? They said it had something to do with my abilities,” Cheyenne said.
“I'd have to look at it more carefully to be sure, but I believe it’s a storage pendant of sorts.” She paused. “Nymphs and sprites thrive on nature, which is where they gain most of their strength. The necklace, if I'm correct, is something for you to store the power of the Earth in so if you were ever in need of an extra boost, you’d still be able to defend yourself and stay strong. Out here in the forest for example, you’re far more powerful than if you were in a desert. You’re a nymph, and the plants are your source.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Her dress was missing. She could have sworn she left it in the closet, and she knew she hadn't touched it since the day they went shopping. She had an hour to get ready, and Halyn and both of their mothers were eagerly waiting in the other room to help with hair and makeup and all other things girlie.
“What's taking you so long?” Halyn whined from the other side of the door. “Did you get stuck in it? Do you need help putting it on?”
“I…” Cheyenne was starting to panic. Where could it be? This doesn't make any sense. It couldn't have just disappeared. Who knew who had been in her room while she was out. Maybe Denver was playing some kind of sick joke, or Jewl. She'd been uncharacteristically nice lately, and Cheyenne doubted it had anything to do with a change of heart.
She scowled and then raised a curious eyebrow when she noticed a different garment bag hanging in her closet. She examined it for a moment and then pulled it down to spread it on her bed. It didn’t look like the one for her previous dress at all. Her last bag had been clear, and the dress was short and easy to carry around.
Nervously, she opened it and was surprised to find another dress, a much fancier one. In fact, she was almost concerned it would be too high-end for the event. Still, it was like love at first sight. This was the kind of dress she’d wanted all along. She couldn't wait to try it on and see if it fit.
She got it on in a matter of seconds and examined herself in the mirror. The navy blue dress flowed to the floor and hugged her curves, accenting and flaunting them. She’d never before seen her body in the way she was seeing it now, and it was a little unnerving how it made her feel, exposed and beautiful all at the same time. The back was almost entirely open, aside from where the straps crossed just below her shoulder blades. They and the rest of the dress were decorated with sparkling silver beads. The whole garment had her feeling mature and sexy.
Going back to the closet to see if she had some shoes to go with it, she was surprised to find a pair of silver high heels with crystals encrusted over the straps. Her eyes widened with surprise and delight as she tried them on. That was when she noticed the note with a rose taped to her closet door.
“Roses are red, your eyes are blue, my poetry sucks, and I love you. Wear your gift with grace and be the envy of the ball. Cinderella would be jealous. Meet me in the hall.”
She took the rose and found it a place for safekeeping. There was no point in asking who gave her the gifts. Something in her gut told her they were from Denver. Just as she was about to step out of her room, Halyn burst in.
“Sorry, but I—” For the first time Halyn was speechless. She stopped midsentence and stared at Cheyenne, her jaw dropped. “Where did that come from? I thought your dress was black and short and...wow.”
Cheyenne blushed and carefully walked out to the den to show the rest of the family. Their reactions were similar to Halyn's. “My other dress went MIA sometime while I was out, or it magically morphed into this.”
“I still…” Halyn looked down at her pale pink dress and sighed. “I feel underdressed now.” Which was saying a lot. Halyn's dress was a cute, short thing with a halter top ornately decorated with jewels. “This is going to be awesome. You know, I'm pretty sure your date is going to die when he sees you.”
“I'm pretty sure yours will too,” Cheyenne said with a smile.
“Ew, no! I would rather make another boy swoon, thanks.”
Cheyenne laughed, sitting down on the couch while taking off her new shoes for a break. She at least wanted to make it to the dance in them, and survive dinner. A small smirk played on her lips. If Halyn didn't want Denver to swoon over her, Cheyenne would be more than happy to take his attention from her. After doing so many dastardly things, he'd finally somewhat redeemed himself.
Soon her hair was curled and piled on top of her head, with flowing and wispy tendrils framing the side of her face. She wore the necklace Halyn's parents had given her and dangling silver earrings to complement it. In her hair was a silver, jeweled butterfly clip. Staring at herself in the mirror, she never dreamed she'd ever look so much like a princess.
“You're not going out like that, are you?” her father asked.
Cheyenne frowned at this reaction. She’d been hoping for something a bit more positive from him. “What's wrong with it?”
“Nothing. You look amazing, and I don't want anyone to try anything they shouldn't,” he said.
Tears formed in her eyes, touched to have a father be so protective. She wasn't quite sure how to handle it, but it was something she’d always wanted.
“Thank you,” she said. “Are you ready, Halyn?”
“Yes,” Halyn exclaimed and bounded for the door. She was practically running in full strides in her heels and would have done so if her dress wasn't so tight. Cheyenne was far more delicate with her approach to the door.
* * * * *
The pictures were taken in the courtyard. The whole campus was there. Small groups were scattered on the grounds, discussing how they wanted to go about the task. The twins and Denver waited off to the side. None of them was glaring or making snide comments.
Anj's suit was being straightened and nitpicked by the boys' mother, while Zes kept a more than comfortable distance from Denver, who was his usual indifferent self. They all stopped what they were doing when they saw the girls approach. Zes in particular was slack jawed.
“My ladies, you both look amazing,” Anj said as he pried himself away from his mother. He walked up to them and offered each an arm. “Allow me to escort you three feet to our designated photo location. Once Jewl arrives, we'll get started so we can finish and go eat.”
“Well, she better hurry up,” Denver said. He still avoided the rest of the group, completely and fully aware of the fact nobody wanted him there—nobody but Cheyenne at least.
As if on cue, Jewl made her appearance. She wore a simple, short, white dress with thick straps and a flowing, loose skirt. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, but that also was simple. On her feet were white strapped sandals. Nothing she'd done stood out, but it all somehow made her far more elegant than any of the other girls.
“Sorry I'm late,” she said and tried hard to hide the smirk on her face the moment she saw Anj's eyes light up with their soft, blue glow. She didn’t react to him at all, and he said nothing to her. He quickly resumed his cool exterior and brushed her off completely.
The photo session didn’t take long and was painless, for the most part. They took pictures in just about every combination possibl
e. Just as Zes had warned, Cheyenne was shoved in Anj's direction on more than one occasion. She was expecting this to bother Jewl, but the girl was indifferent.
“Mother, shouldn't we let Zes have one picture with his date for the evening,” Anj protested at last as his mother started to smooth down flyaway strands of his hair with her hands and spit.
“Just one more.”
“For crying out loud, woman, how many pictures do you need?” an annoyed Denver asked. “You've taken twenty million of them. We don't need any more. Nobody cares about them anyway.”
Halyn snorted at him and retaliated by snapping a picture, being sure the light flashed directly in his eyes. “For that, I'm taking five more of you.”
“I agree with Denver. We have dinner reservations, and I don't want to lose our table,” Zes said quietly. The frown he wore suggested otherwise.
“But…” Anj started and the brothers locked eyes. Zes shook his head, and the subject was dropped.
“All right,” Cynthia said with a contented smile as she took one more picture of Anj and Cheyenne together.
The teens left for the twins' car, saying fast good-byes to the parents present. Somehow they all managed to pile into the car somewhat comfortably. Thankfully the ride was only a few minutes long. Dinner itself consisted of mostly small talk until the food arrived, then everyone focused on eating. Denver being quiet and nice was impressive. Even more so when he paid for Halyn's dinner.
Once back at school, Anj extended his arm for Cheyenne to take. “I don't suppose you'd mind leading me inside, beautiful lady? As much as I would love to drape two on my arm, I do believe you have another date, so I think you should be the one allowed to look pimping.” He waved for his brother to come over. Zes joined them and also linked an arm around her. “We're ready to make our grand entrance.”
Denver offered himself to Halyn. “I did buy you munchies,” he said when he noticed her scowl. “Just humor me. I don't want to go in looking lame. I need some kind of arm candy.”
She frowned, but acquiesced anyway. “Since you've been on good behavior, I'll let you have your moment.”
Jewl also stepped up to his side and shoved her arm in his.
“Don't say I never did anything nice for you,” she mumbled.
He stared down at her with a large grin. “Oh, honey, you've done plenty nice for me already.”
“Don't go there with me, or I'll make sure you regret it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cheyenne glanced over at Halyn and then up at Anj. “Am I…” She started to whisper to him, but stopped as he shook his head and shrugged.
He didn't know either. Initially the thought of Jewl and Denver having a fling had popped into her mind, but then she remembered the stones. She swallowed hard as she thought about how the two may have plotted against her, and it was enough to make her feel queasy.
“Are you okay, Chey? You look pale,” Zes said to her as they walked through the halls of the school.
“I'm fine, it's just my shoes,” she lied.
“I didn't know shoes had that effect on people. You women and your fashion statements. Must you hurt yourselves over it? Is it really worth it?” Anj asked.
“Yes,” Halyn chimed in with a giggle and smirked at Denver, whom she was almost at equal height with.
“If you say so.” Zes said, but she could tell he didn't believe her by the way he frowned the whole walk.
The dance was held in the ballroom of Lord Reyld's Manor. A refreshing change from the typical overdecorated cafeteria or gymnasium she was used to at her last school.
The ballroom itself had a fine wooden floor that had been recently polished just for the event. It wasn't slippery to walk on, though it did shine under the large, crystal chandeliers lighting up the room. Electric light candelabras lined the walls, giving off a fake, flame glow, and there were a few tables with fine white cloths draped over them. A DJ was toward the back of the room, and not far from there was a table with refreshments. If this was their homecoming celebration, she couldn't even imagine what their prom was like.
“No one’s dancing. This is a shame. We must fix this, and now. Zes, I’m stealing your date for a moment. You can have her back in five minutes or so. Come on,” Anj said and dragged Cheyenne out to the dance floor.
Dancing at the Old Union had been different. There had been other people on the floor to draw eyes away from them, meaning it wasn’t so obvious when she screwed up. Once more she was thrust into a spotlight she did not want to be in.
“Am I going to have to talk you down every time I bring you out like this?” Anj asked. “Relax, you're too tense, and there’s no way you'll be able to do anything, especially in those heels.”
“I'm sorry, but I don't like being the center of attention. And I'm not good at dancing. I don't want people to see me fall down on my butt and rip my dress to pieces or break an ankle or something.”
“You wouldn't be the first person who’s fallen, you won't be the last, and if you rip your dress, be glad you have a lot of nice…things…to show off to everyone else.”
“Yeah, but—”
“You're being overdramatic. Do you honestly think I’d let you fall in the first place? What are you saying about my ability as a partner? I'm a bit insulted by that.” He was teasing her, thankfully, and grinning the entire time he spoke.
Cheyenne shook her head. “You are by far the best dancer I have ever seen. It's my own skills which will embarrass me.”
“Close your eyes and breathe. You need to practice because Zes is a horrendous dancer, and he’ll trip over himself like a nervous wreck if you're not calm for him.”
She nodded, trying to relax and ignore all of the eyes on her. “So that's what this is about?”
“For the most part. I told him he could hog you for the evening, but I wanted one chance to get you alone for myself. I'm a bit selfish sometimes.” He pulled her in closer to him. Just as before, they were at a comfortable distance and far from being intimate, though outsiders might have thought otherwise.
He placed one hand on her hip and then took her right hand in his, holding her in a classic waltz position. The song was slow enough for it to be appropriate. “Are you ready?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.” He laughed, and she soon was following his lead.
“So while I'm being hogged by your brother, what are you going to do? Float from one person to the next?”
“I don’t see me dancing much, but I'm sure there’ll be acquaintances who’ll want to,” he said. “I might take a few of them up on the offer, but I'll probably spend my night on the sidelines. It's a lot of work to dance with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and it takes a lot of magic. At the moment I don’t need to, seeing as there's no one to run over, but soon it will be full. My magic has been giving me some massive headaches the past few days. There's only one person I can dance with who—”
“Right, and you're kind of on the outs with that person,” Cheyenne said.
“Actually, no, things have been much better and I have you to thank.” He spun her, and a few of the students applauded. Her body tensed up, and she heard him sigh. “Ignore them.” His eyes were dark. Sure enough, he wasn’t using his magic, and she was a little envious he could keep himself secluded from the rest of the world so easily. Being blind wouldn’t solve her problems though.
“I'm trying, but it's not so easy,” she whispered.
“You'll figure out how soon enough.”
“Anyway, I shouldn't be acting too into this, huh? Glad I could be of service. So does that mean you're an item again or something?” She teased him, not wanting to talk about her social anxiety anymore. Talking about it would only make things worse.
He laughed. “No, we're not back together. There's simply a new sense of understanding. That's what I wanted. I would say you could be as into this as you wanted, but I don't know what kind of repercussions that would have. By all means, follo
w what your heart thinks it should be doing.”
There was no way she’d have been able to do that and get away with it. Unless he was hinting at something and she was supposed to take it as a sign to make a move. But then she remembered the look on his face when Jewl had joined them. How his eyes had never left her. There would always be a possibility, but it wouldn’t amount to anything. He'd never get over Jewl. Instead, she smiled at him and carefully brushed some of his hair away from his eyes.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Trust me, you'll melt her heart if you actually let her see you,” she said.
“I don't need—”
“Yes, you do. Let me give you a little advice about women. We're insecure. If she doesn't trust you and you don't learn to expose yourself to her—and I'm talking about your soul here, by the way—you're never going to get past her ice princess exterior. She's going to keep breaking your heart.”
Anj let out a quiet sigh and shook his head before releasing her. “I believe it's been five minutes.”
Sure enough, as soon as they left the dance floor, other students began to flow onto it and the music picked up. Anj excused himself from the rest of the group to go “use the bathroom,” but Cheyenne was positive she’d struck a nerve. She took this as an opportunity to spend some much-needed time with Zes, and she dared to lean against him. A smile spread across her face as he rested his hand on her waist.
“You want anything to drink?” she asked.
“What? I'm fine. Do you need something? Is that what you meant?”
“I'm all right. I just wanted to make sure you were okay because you're looking a little red,” she said, eying him. Their eyes met briefly. His eyes were an amber-like color. Apparently his brother wasn’t the only one who had eyes that changed based on his magic. Cheyenne didn't know what it meant for Zes though. She still hadn't seen his magic in action. Now her curiosity was even greater.
“Do you want to dance?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. I mean, not now. I don't do this fast stuff. I'd rather wait, and you said your shoes were bothering you.”
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