by Devyn Dawson
Jessie’s usually perfect hair is in desperate need of some Frizz Ease as she tosses it over her shoulder. I’m not sure she realizes she does it, but I’m always reminded of the hair commercials when she does. She drops to her knees, so I drop down next to her.
“I guess this is a thing?” Sabastian asks. For a raccoon, he’s nosy.
“Yes, a Light Tamer thing,” I look at him and give him a lips over teeth jackass smile.
“So touchy, always mean to the raccoon.” He puts his creepy paw over his heart dramatically.
“Oh please,” I moan.
“Amber,” Jessie says.
“Sorry, not really.”
“Take my hand and hush,” Jessie demands as she holds her hand out to me. I glare at it for two seconds before grabbing it in mine. Caleb takes her other hand and he and I put our other hand on Jack.
One-one-thousand. Two-one-thousand. Three-one-thousand. Four-one-thousand. Five-one-thousand….
Jacks eyes jolt open and he looks into my eyes. I can tell we’re healing him by the astonished look on his face. Either that or he’s really freaked out and afraid to scream.
“Jack?” I whisper.
“Blue-haired faerie,” he replies.
“I’m Amber. You. Were. Stabbed.” I say each word loud and clear so he understands what I’m saying. Jessie looks over at me with a puzzled look. “He might have lost his hearing.”
“He was stabbed in the gut, not his ears,” Caleb says and gives me crazy eyes.
“You never know. Yesterday you would have said raccoons don’t talk, but look where we are and who came to our rescue….a raccoon. Stranger things have happened.”
“I hear just fine, Amber. Is everyone okay?” Jack looks to each of us as he mentally takes inventory.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed or anything,” I start to say until Jessie pinches the crap out of my arm. “Ow, that hurt. I don’t want him to feel bad that he drooled on me or anything. Gosh, you’re so bossy now you’re a queen and everything.”
Jessie’s jaw drops in awe as I talk. “Jack, you didn’t drool on anyone, she’s being dumb.”
Jack stands up and holds his hand out to help me stand. I catch Thorne watching us with concern on his face.
“Thank you for getting us out of there. I’m honored to have fought alongside each of you today. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go for us when we started out. If you don’t mind, I need to talk to my men real quick. We’ll be ready to go in two minutes.”
Thorne comes over to stand next to me. “Every time I see you guys use your Light Tamer powers, I’m amazed. He’ll need to see their physician when we get to the castle. I don’t know if the iron poisoning will have any long term side effects or not. You know he’s totally into you, right?”
After the day I’ve had, I have no room for jealous boyfriend issues. For the love of jelly beans, two days ago I wasn’t even admitting I was seeing anyone, now he’s full-out boyfriend. Craptastic.
“He’s not into me, besides, what if he were? I’m into you,” I do my best Jessie impression. She’s much better at this boyfriend stuff than I am.
“You’re blind if you don’t see it,” Thorne says.
I slug him in the arm for being a pansy-boy. “Stop, you’re my sexy guardian who defeats all bad guys, don’t go all jelly on me.”
He laughs. Thorne freakin’ laughs at me!
“What now? Caleb crushing on me too?” I snap, totally not amused with him laughing at me.
“Amber, you just used jelly, do I need to point out the obvious?” Thorne says and smirks sideways at me.
Panic shoots through my veins as the realization hits me….I’ve become a girly-girl. This can’t happen to The Amber. I hang my head in shame.
“God, slap me now,” I blurt out.
Thorne and Jessie are amused with my theatrics. Caleb, he’s so funny and so straight laced. Big beefy Caleb has more manners in his little finger than I have in my entire body. He won’t laugh like other teens, he’s serious almost 24/7. He’ll make a good King, especially one of virtue. No way would he have sex without getting permission and have it planned out to the very last detail. Jessie adores that about him.
H to the hell-no! When I do it, there better be some spontaneous passion. It will have to be romantic and not with a wild hump-man trying to get it on in the back seat of a hoopty. How is it I go from arguing with a raccoon to sex on the brain? Because I’m a hormonal teenager who isn’t going to do the deed before I’m ready. I can’t help that my body has moments of weakness and thinks it’s ready.
“When we get back home, I’ll slap you. I’m keeping a tally on how many times I’ll need to slap you around,” Jessie says with her big award winning grin.
“Ah, you love me. On to this trip. Does anyone else wonder why the Queen would test us like this? She knows Jessie is a queen, would she pull the same shenanigans with the other royal families? Do you think, Jack, knew what was going to happen? He seems fairly straight forward, but he’s been her son, surely he would suspect she was up to something.” I watch each of their faces as they think about what I’ve said.
“I’m not trying to intrude on your conversation, but I have a theory,” Sabastian blurts out. “Jack is probably the most honest person in the Seelie Court, so if he says he didn’t know about the attack, he didn’t. My thoughts are she knew he was smart enough to figure things out once the trip started. She also thought it would be a good way to display your abilities to the faeries in the forest. Believe it or not, this court is the most liked in all the land. I’m guessing that the Everlasting Court will take that title soon and she’s nervous. It’s also a message to you to let you know she’s not afraid to play dirty, look what she did to her own beloved son.”
For a split second, we all stood and stared at Sabastian in awe of his insight.
“I think you could be right,” Thorne says breaking the silence.
In the corner of my eye, I see someone walking towards us. Jack is standing taller but he grimaces ever so slightly every few seconds. He’s still in pain, but he won’t ever tell us how much, he’s a Prince and would rather die than admit he’s hurt.
“Sabastian, I heard what you said,” Jack says.
“I mean no disrespect Your Highness.”
“I know you don’t, Sabastian. My mother is calculating in her moves, and none of this surprises me. She would put her own blood in harm’s way to prove a point. We’re about an hour’s ride away, I don’t plan on stopping, so keep up.” Jack’s voice is stern and anything but friendly.
I’m sure he’s peeved at his mother for humiliating him in front of another King and Queen. I wonder if he’s allowed to voice his concerns to his mom like a kid would, or if he has to be subservient to her. At this point, I’m ready for everything to be over so we can go home. The human world might have rules and laws, but I know what they are and I’m not a target to be killed.
Chapter 6. When in Rome
FOG has started to set in as the temperatures begin to fall. The moisture in the air makes the evergreen smell even stronger even though we’ve been surrounded by the trees all day. We stop at a shallow stream allowing the horses to get a drink of water. Every time my horse bends forward, I tip so far over I feel like I’m going to fly head first into the rocks. Something inside me believes the horse wishes it would happen. It could be that I gave him cornrows up and down his mane when we had to walk the horses when the woods were too thick to run through.
“Wow, look over there,” I say and point straight ahead. I’m not sure how we missed seeing it before now, but damn.
“Is that your castle?” Jessie asks Jack.
“Yes, that’s home. The rest of the ride I’m lifting your no talking rule. We’re in my territory now and guards are everywhere,” Jack says and sits up straighter.
“Can Thorne ride next to me? I think Caleb would like to be next to Jessie and I’m tired of looking at her.” I turn to Jessie in time for her to blo
w me a kiss. She never wants to ask anyone to do anything, good thing she has me, I’m not afraid.
“That will be fine,” Jack’s reply is curt to say the least.
Even though we were given the okay to talk, we spent more time pointing to something and oooing and ahhhing. The trees have been cleared out and now we can see the castle without obstructions in the way. It looks straight from a fairytale. I’m jittery with excitement the closer we get to the castle. Thorne’s horse and my horse are too wide for us to be close to one another. I can’t help smiling at him when we both point to the same thing at the same time.
My thighs are hot and sweaty from being on the beast for so long. When we arrive, it will look like I peed my pants. Which might not be too hard to believe because I’m about to explode. Every bump we make doesn’t help the situation.
“Look! You have a real mote around your castle. We’re getting all Lord of the Rings. Man, sneaking out must be a bitch!” I shout to be heard over the sound of the water in the mote. Two guards are at the end of the bridge. Jack stops and talks to them for a couple of minutes before they tell us to cross. I see one of them glaring at Zohr as our horses step onto the bridge.
Oh jeez, it’s one of those wooden bridges with rope rails. It dips down from the weight of the horses. Jack orders us to walk in a single file line and only two horses at a time can cross. I paint a mental picture of warriors trying to charge out from the castle and having to stop and gingerly cross this rickety bridge.
Before my eyes, the place comes to life. There are faerie everywhere. Everything is old fashioned and hand made. A woman is walking a tight-rope that is only a couple of feet off the ground, but she’s making her crowd laugh out loud. An old fashioned peanut roaster is handing out cones of freshly roasted nuts. My stomach growls from the intoxicating aromas.
Jack comes to a stop and tells us all we have to walk the rest of the way. I’m happy to hear it, I’m tired of riding that monster.
Thorne catches me as I dismount the horse. I try to take a step and realize the extent of the word bow-legged. I’m going to walk like a freak for the rest of my life. Thankfully, the rest of them will too. I bet the guys have a wedgie from hell.
The doors of the castle open and out comes an entire staff of people. Before we have a chance to look around, Jessie and I are swept away by five women identically dressed in black yoga pants and yellow shirts. They shuffle us into a huge bedroom with one of the canopy beds that are made with expensive fabric and fancy rope ties.
The youngest one started asking us to take off our clothes so we can be cleaned properly. Jessie tells them over and over if they’d just show us to the bathroom we’ll be able to get cleaned up. The oldest one has her face twisted up in a scowl and muttering under her breath.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
I don’t know if she thought I was deaf and wouldn’t hear her, but the look of terror on her face was priceless.
“Oh, no ma’am. I was taken by surprise, it won’t happen again. Please don’t kill me, I have a family to support,” she pleads.
“Yeah, no worries. I’m not killing anyone, so take a chill pill,” I say to her.
“I’m sorry ma’am, we don’t keep chill pills here in the castle.”
Jessie and I glance at each other and stifle a giggle. “It’s okay, don’t stress out so much. The Queen and I won’t need help to clean up. If you’ll show us where everything is, we’ll be able to take care of ourselves.”
The stressed out girl keeps wringing her hands together as she talks to me. “Oh no, please let us help, we’ll be let go if we don’t.”
For the love of peanut butter, I think to myself. “Whatever, but you’re not washing me. I can take care of all my girl bits myself. For the record, this is creepy,” I say exasperated.
“I’m sorry you’re crept out. Queen Jessie, your assistant Avalon will be here within the hour. I’m Synthia and I’ll be assisting your lady in waiting and Janalorie will be caring for you, Queen Jessie. Now, if you’ll both follow me, I’ll show you where everything is. Dresses have been sent over from the Queen’s dressmaker. They’re very lovely.”
We walk into the most elaborate bathroom I’ve ever seen. The ceilings are embossed gold tiles, while the floors are in marble. The huge round soaking tub in the center of the room is highlighted with the fifty or more lit candles. I can’t help feeling like this is the most beautiful bathroom I’ll ever see.
“Oh, this is gorgeous. I love how the candles are lit and they’re my favorite scent, vanilla bean. This is amazing. Janalorie, if you don’t mind, I’d like to soak alone for ten minutes,” Jessie proclaims. Janalorie nods her head in agreement as Synthia and I walk away.
Synthia hurries through the corridors down long wood paneled hallways. Large oil paintings of roses are hung prominently on the walls. They must be at least four feet tall, yet they look small.
“Why are you walking so fast? Do you realize I’ve been on a beast they call a horse all day long?” I complain as I try my best not to think about how bad my legs hurt.
“Sorry, I forgot how lazy humans are,” Synthia blurts out.
“Lazy? You just called me lazy? What the hell?” I huff. What a heffer, how dare she call me lazy. “I’m not human, and I’m not happy you called me lazy.”
She comes to an abrupt halt and turns to face me. “Oh, I’m sorry if I offended you. Please don’t have me killed. I have a problem with blurting out things before I think them through.”
A girl after my own heart. “No worries, but don’t call me lazy. My legs hurt too bad to walk so fast. Stop saying you don’t want to be killed, we aren’t that kind of faerie.”
“Very well.”
“I can barely breathe, how about you?” I ask Jessie as we check out our dresses in the mirror. “What is their deal with corsets in everything we wear?”
Jessie looks at me and laughs. “In our kingdom, we’re never wearing anything like this. I’m sorry, they’re pretty for play dress-up, but I’m not doing this every day. Caleb says they’re all in suits. Queen Teagan scared me at the wedding and now we’re sleeping in her castle.” Jessie and I step out into the hallway and wander around trying to find out where Caleb and Thorne are getting ready.
Three short beeps and then an intercom goes off and we hear, “WOULD QUEEN JESSIE AND AMBER PLEASE MEET US IN THE SOUTH DINING ROOM.”
“Easier said than done. Now, to find the south dining room. Do you happen to know what direction we’re going?”
I look around before answering. “Not a clue. They should have a map station set up like they have in the mall.”
“The mall in New Bern has a map station? Are you kidding? They only have twenty stores, this place is bigger than the entire mall and parking lot,” Jessie says incredulously.
“Hey, we have a Buffalo Wild Wings now, which makes twenty-one.” I loop my arm through hers and we shuffle down the hall.
We try to walk quietly, but our skirts are making such a swishing sound we’d never be able to sneak up on anyone. After five minutes of randomly walking, Janalorie steps out of one of the rooms.
“Janalorie, can you help us find the dining room?” Jessie asks sweetly.
“Yes, of course. Queen Teagan is expecting you. Follow me.”
As if she drank ninja juice, Janalorie rushes down the hall as though she were on fire. Even though my legs feel a little better after my shower, I still walk like Frankenstein.
“We’re making her ride the giant horse and then we’ll take her jogging,” I whisper to Jessie.
She grins over at me and nods her head in agreement.
We walk through a large marble archway into the most breath taking dining room I’ve ever seen. Not even in books or television have I ever been so gobsmacked. The canary yellow walls and white marble pillars are beautiful. The table is set for thirty people, with space to sit more if needed. Two feet tall glass vases with a topper of yellow roses are set every three feet or so, down the
center of the table. The place settings have more plates and glasses than I know what to do with. Looks like I’ll need to watch someone who knows how to eat with this many forks and spoons.
It doesn’t take long before I see Jack. He’s dressed in a black tuxedo with a canary yellow bowtie. We lock eyes for a moment, just long enough for a lump to form in my throat.
I startle as I feel a pair of hands on my hips and I turn to see Thorne. He’s in a form fitting suit, like he just stepped off the runway in Paris. My fickle eye can’t help but make my heart skip a beat.
“Wow, you look like a man, a very rich man,” I exclaim.
“I looked like a poor girl before?”
I smack his arm. “No, but you don’t look seventeen. Where is everyone?”
He shrugs his shoulders and leans in to whisper in my ear. “You wear corsets very well. You look like a little hottie. Did you change your lip ring?” He kisses my ear softly before pulling back.
My insides go all gooey as I absorb his compliment into my brain for future reference.
“Thank you,” is all I can say in reaction to my gooey insides. “Yeah, they had a little box filled with jewelry for me to wear. This place is massive. Do you think Jessie’s castle is this big?”
Caleb and Jessie are being escorted to the end of the table. Thorne and I head that direction but we’re stopped by a short goblin looking guy.
“Your seats are over here. Your names are on the place setting. Queen Teagan picked the arrangement. You’ll be comfortable.” His voice sounds like someone pinching their nose and talking.
Sure enough, our seats are next to one another. On the other side of me I read, Prince Jack O’Neil. Great.
“There’s so many people, who do you think they are?” I ask Thorne. Before he has a chance to answer me, people start taking their seats.
The goblin guy pulls out my white upholstered chair. I fidget around trying to get my skirt up under me. How in the hell do they expect me to be comfortable in this ridiculous dress? I feel like a stuffed marshmallow. Thorne grins at me as I struggle to give him room to sit down.
