The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

  “No, no, my dear. We shall be leaving shortly. It won’t be long now. You have done your part just by being my daughter.” He winked with a slight smirk.

  I smiled in return. Really, my only task had been to sit back and watch as Ender took care of everything. I was more than grateful the humans had treated his wound enough to where he would recover well. However, without his ability to manipulate their emotions and decisions, it would not have gone over so easily. Surely, he must have had to smooth things over countless times in order for them to behave according to his exact wishes.

  The only part of this that mattered was that Ender was alive and well. We would not be remaining in the Earthly realm long enough for there to be further implications of our lies and deceit. We would be returning home to Luïnil soon enough.

  Perhaps an hour or two later, Ender was wheeled in a chair toward the exit, and I was both relieved and back to nervous. Relieved that we were close to finishing this ordeal without a horrible commotion, and nervous since we currently were about to start the next round of tasks—Getting out of here. Where were we to go? What were we to do now? I could not fathom it and hoped mightily that Ender was not so unsure as I.

  Thankfully, Ender did seem to take care of everything to my utter glee and satisfaction. Because of him, the woman at the front had ordered some sort of transportation for us by simply picking up a strange object, poking it a few times with her finger, and then speaking into it.

  We waited for whatever it was she had ordered to arrive. When it did, Ender instructed the man behind the front wheel on where to take us, which was Kennebunkport, and further explained the name of where we needed to go. Per Rydan’s instructions, we were taken to Maine Street upon entering the small town.

  The man stopped the vehicle in front of a large house. A beautiful wooden sign read “O’Malley’s Bed and Breakfast.” I did not know what to expect next. He said, “That’ll be thirty-six-dollars and one penny.”

  “Please give us one moment to gather the proper amount.” Ender held up his palm. Turning to me, he said, “Naminé, you must enter the house and ask for assistance.”

  “Me? Alone? What am I to say?” My stomach flipped uncontrollably. Give me a goblin to run through with a sword and I would have no qualms doing so. Enter that house looming before me alone—a house that contained Rydan’s human parents? Oh, dear stars.

  “Remember what Rydan instructed? You have his birth-key, do you not?”

  I felt the small item under my smock as it lay against my chest from around my neck. “Yes. Yes, I remember.”

  I removed myself from the yellow automobile and took careful steps up to the entrance of the inn that belonged to Rydan’s family. I was incredibly nervous, though I did not understand why.

  Knocking on the wooden door lightly, I waited for an answer. A soft, muffled voice said from the other side, “Oh, do come in! All are welcome!”

  There was no other choice but to unlatch the handle and push the heavy door open. Inside was something completely unexpected. Simple wooden beams, fabrics, and artwork decorated the area. What had surprised me was how familiar it seemed. It was not all that different from our own homes in Aselaira.

  “Good afternoon, are you looking for a room?” a petite lady inquired of me from her place in the corner.

  “Ah, good afternoon. Yes, I do believe I am in need of a room. But first, would I be able to trouble the mother of Rydan O’Malley?” As I said the words, a loud gasp escaped her. I was frightened, surely, but I did not mean to frighten this woman as well.

  “Of course,” she barely said before hurrying through a door behind her. I could hear her whisper, “Anna, there is a young girl out there. She asked to see Rydan’s mother. Perhaps she knows where he is!”

  Immediately, another woman I assumed to be Anna, whom Rydan had said was his mother, came out into the room I stood in. She said, “Hello. I’m Anna, Rydan’s mother. Can I help you? Do you know where my son is?”

  My poor heart beat stronger than hooves from a stampede of horses. “It is lovely to meet you, Anna. I am Naminé, and a dear friend of your son’s. My friend and I, who is also very dear to Rydan, are in need of your help. Rydan is quite well, you need not worry for him. Please, we beg of you, help us. We have nowhere else to go, and Rydan directed us here.”

  “But you don’t know where he is? How do I know you haven’t hurt him? Why should I believe you?”

  I hesitated, taken aback by this. “Please, he instructed my friend and me to come seek you out for help. Rydan is begging you to help us, and even told me to give you this in order for you to see that we can be trusted. Rydan will return, I can assure you. He is not hurt.” I lifted the chain that carried Rydan’s birth-key from around my neck and handed it to Anna.

  “This is all very strange.” She took the key from me and drew in a sharp breath, covering her mouth with her other hand. “But okay. I would do anything for my son. What do you need?”

  Thank the stars. I explained all we needed, which was food, shelter, and money to pay the man waiting outside with Ender. She did not delay to provide all that was asked of her. Unfortunately, there were no rooms available at the inn, but because we were close to Rydan, she offered us a place at her home. I did not want to accept such a generous offer, but Ender agreed to it, knowing there was nowhere else for us to stay.

  She brought us to a place where we could gather food, and then finally, to her home outside of the main town. I was awfully worried over Lómë and Calen, yet I was forced to wait to do anything for them. The moment night drew late and I was left alone in my given room, I quietly advised Ender that I was to visit the Fëa. They would need food and comfort. It could not wait another night. Ender agreed, and with utmost care and covertness, I borrowed a beautiful horse the O’Malleys had on their land.

  With my heart racing, I galloped through the cold night on horseback, letting the gravity of our sacred Ëlemmiire guide me to it. The stars and moon shone lovingly overhead, but their beauty was less visible in this realm. As strange as it was, I preferred the feel of the sun on my skin than the light of the stars. It was an odd thing about myself I did not divulge to anyone, for Isil’Elda preferred the night. But I was different than my kin. I favored the daylight.

  Once I reached Lómë and Calen, I embraced them into my arms dearly. I was glad to find they were at least alive and well, for the time being. I did not hesitate to offer them food, which they heartily tore into. I would stay with them for as long as I could before I would be forced to return the horse I had taken without permission.

  Chapter Nine

  ~Nari~

  Inside the castle walls, the city was as gorgeous as I remembered it. Once again, the vividly colorful stained-glass windows that glistened in the starlight overwhelmed me. Arched towers, hallways, circular structures, and stairs all shined to the backdrop of twinkling trees that they were built into. Beautiful woodwork and intricate carvings were in every detail and tall beam.

  When I was here last, the people had greeted me, along with the company I was traveling with, by nodding their heads kindly and smiles on their faces. This time, I was looked upon with confusion and disgust. Still, they carried themselves with elegance and fluidity.

  The soldiers pushed me onward, and the deeper we made our way into the city, the heavier dread spread into every crevice of my insides. Lovely singing could be heard somewhere. It was soft and delicate, just like these elves were. The massive trees seemed to reach toward the sky for miles. Eventually, we came to the citadel.

  My heart broke as they led Lissë off to the side somewhere. She didn’t want to leave me alone, I knew, but I felt it best to just obey what they wanted at this point. Sitting in the heart of Lassaira, we were at their mercy. If they wanted to kill us, even for the tiniest reason, I didn’t doubt they would.

  My eyes found the door I had been taken to last time—the very oval door that appeared to be made out of red oak that housed my grandfather Döron. Below t
he leaf-shaped knocker was the carving of a weeping willow with an intricate, leafy crown circling the trunk—the royal emblem of Lassaira.

  I had the urge to sprint over to the door and knock, desperate to get to my grandfather for help. But could he save me? For all I knew, he was in trouble as well. Based on what the brown-haired leader had told me, they were upset and felt Döron deceived them. What if he was executed for treason? No, no, no. I couldn’t think like that. Not until I was told that for certainty could I ever give it any thought. It was pointless being pessimistic when I didn’t need to be.

  The Wood Elves led me up beautiful stairs that circled around the largest tree in the kingdom. It was so incredibly huge; I couldn’t even comprehend its width. The white, wooden steps climbed higher and higher, and were equally detailed with artistic carvings and designs. I had the strongest desire to reach out and slide my fingers along the swirls and inscriptions, but my hands were tied behind my back.

  When we reached the top, a large pavilion welcomed us. The elf sitting beneath it, however, not so much. Proud and disinterested, the slender king cocked his head and looked the other way, as if not wanting to lay his eyes on any part of my body. A simple crown of silver adorned with leaves circled his head. It was the same leafy-crown that appeared in the Tavas’Elda emblem. His long, cornsilk hair lay perfectly straight over his chest.

  The brown-haired captain of the guard stepped before the king and knelt to the ground. “Your Majesty, we have apprehended the traitor as you requested. I give you Nariella Ashwyn Woodlinn.”

  “Do not utter that name in my presence nor in my kingdom, lest you be hanged along this anathema’s side,” King Aglar said in an icy-tone, his eyes boring holes into the guard that still knelt before him.

  “Forgive me, Your Majesty,” the elf-leader apologized, bowing his head further.

  “Off with you. Leave the filth.” The king waved his fingers toward the exit, but his eyes never did move to mine. I kept my own gaze on his face, though, not wanting to back down or show I was terrified, even if he wouldn’t ever take notice of it.

  My lungs heaved, and I wished them to settle down. I prayed again for calmness and strength, and especially I wished the squeezing of my chest to cease. It was maddening being here with bound hands and no way of escaping. What was he going to do with me?

  “Amin feuya ten' lle,” he muttered coldly from his seat across the way from where I still stood.

  “Excuse me?” I inquired, not understanding. “Um, I’m sorry, I don’t speak Elvish.”

  He closed his eyes bitterly and gritted his jaw, as if he were doing all he could to keep from raging into a violent tornado. “You disgust me.”

  My heart plunged into my stomach. What could I say to that? It was a sickening feeling being this hated by people I had never even met before. People that I had expected to be like a long-lost family. The only thing this realm contained were enemies on every corner wanting nothing more than my death. Why had I ever come to this rotten place to begin with? Apparently, I didn’t belong here like I wanted to believe.

  “Fine. I get that. You hate me. You all do. So let me go and I’ll get out of your hair, okay? I’ll leave Luïnil and never return, if that’s what you want. Just let me take my Fëa with me, and we’ll call it quits. I won’t bother you, and you won’t bother me. Deal?” I hoped I could reason with him, but the second he slid his emerald eyes to mine that were filled with so much hate, so much hostility and resentment, I practically cowered in my boots.

  “Do you mock me?” his voice pitched low in a deep rumble of animosity.

  “What? No! Never. I was simply saying I had no intention of bugging you a second more. I apologize for coming here, truly, and if you’d just let me go, I’d get out of your way in a second. To be honest, I didn’t even want to come back to Luïnil like I did. Already I had left. It wasn't even my fault—”

  “Will you shut your disgusting mouth!” he cut me off harshly while standing up with anger. “You were supposed to be dead. And yet, you live like a cockroach hiding in the filth and grime of the Earthly realm whilst kept secret from my knowledge. I should kill you now and be done with you.”

  “Then why don’t you? Why don’t you just do it?” I didn’t know why I asked that, but I really couldn’t understand why he didn’t just execute me and get it over with if he hated me so much. What was stopping him?

  “Do not tempt me. You only breathe as you do because your existence has spread to every ear in my kingdom. Even the children whisper of your despicableness. I have no other choice but to ensure your execution is witnessed by all those now aware of the treachery made by their contemptible queen,” he explained with acerbity. He slowly paced in a straight line, his long silver robe trailing behind him. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought he was floating across the marble floor.

  “Then when? When do you plan on killing me?” I tried to swallow, but the words made it difficult to function properly.

  “At the break of dawn. Be grateful for this one night you now have to ponder your wretchedness. For it shall certainly be your last,” King Aglar muttered in that same accent everyone had here as he returned to his throne.

  I wanted to ask about my grandfather, but I was terrified to implicate him further or cause any more harm to him in case he just happened to still be alive. It was killing me to not know if he was or not, but I didn’t know if King Aglar knew of his full involvement with me. He might not have even known that I had been here inside the castle walls before, right underneath his nose. He wouldn’t have to execute me—I’d just die right on the spot if I gave King Aglar reason to murder my grandfather, too.

  “Guards,” the king called loudly, and immediately they came charging through the entrance in unison. “Escort our prisoner to its cell.”

  I noticed he couldn’t even refer to me as a gender. In his eyes, I was an “it.” I guessed abominations weren’t dignified with the respectable term such as he or she. The same brown-haired leader slid his fingers around my bicep and pulled me back toward the stairway. The king kept his eyes elsewhere as I turned my head away to look where I was going. He truly did hate me. And I sort of did understand it, since I was a reminder of his mate’s betrayal. He had to have been hurt deeply by her affair with Ender. Okay, clearly he was. There was no doubt about it.

  I felt bad for him. I seriously did. But that shouldn’t mean my life had to be taken because of it. I was an innocent party in all of that drama. I didn’t even get to grow up in the arms of my mother and father because of it, the way normal families did. Wasn’t I punished enough? Did he really need my life, too?

  The soldiers led me down the stairway, back to the bottom of the citadel, then out to a side path around the towering trees. We went through an arched doorway, and again we had to take stairs that made its way up another trunk.

  “Do you think I could get some food and water? Since this is my last night of living, can I at least have that, please?” My stomach grumbled. I didn’t know for sure if I could actually eat, but I knew I needed to. I hadn’t had food in days, except that tiny piece of bread Rosie gave me.

  “What do you need food for? It would only be wasted on you,” the leader countered not-so-nicely.

  “Come now, Cílon. Allow her a bit of food. It is but a small request,” one of the guards said in my defense. I was grateful to him.

  “Then you fetch it,” Cílon surrendered with a catch. He pushed me faster. “Keep moving.”

  I did my best to obey, but I was in absolutely no hurry to be locked up in a prison cell. There was no getting out of it, though. We came to a hall of many darkened rooms with iron bars. They seemed to all be empty, but I couldn’t be sure from where I stood. They led me to one in particular and unlocked it. Untying the bond around my wrists, they pushed me through the opened cell door, and then quickly closed it behind me. I heard the final click of the lock like it was a noose around my neck.

  Reluctantly, I turned around and fo
und a long, wooden bench along the wall. With a sadness plaguing my mind, I trudged over to it and waited for my food. If this was my last night, I was determined to spend it thinking of Mycah and Rydan. They would be my happy place.

  Lissë was somewhere out there in confinement as well, and I could feel her despair over my circumstance. Not long later, that guard who had spoken up in my defense returned with my plate of food and water. Bending to the floor, he held it through the bars of the cell for only a second before setting it down completely and resuming a standing position.

  “Thank you,” I said to him. I got up to bring the items to the bench just as he started walking away, not uttering a word in response.

  Sitting down, I looked over the plate of food I held in my hands. Fruit, cheese, bread, and nuts sat in tiny piles around the clay dish. I dove right in, refusing to let the fear overtake my sense of hunger.

  It was disheartening thinking that an entire kingdom wanted me executed without even knowing a thing about me. It hurt even worse that I never had the chance to develop a relationship with my father and learn all about my mother. No opportunity to speak to my grandfather again and find out what he was like, or what my grandmother was like. Was she even around still? I was going to die never knowing these things. Never knowing if Rydan was okay, or if Mycah would reclaim his throne as the true king.

  I felt beside myself, unable to accept that this really was my last night of breathing and living—My last night to ponder my mistakes and regrets, my joys and accomplishments. Especially the great love I got to experience for a short period of time. But I was grateful for those things. All of them. Even the mistakes I made, because without them, I wouldn’t be who I was in this moment.

  Sleep would not take me. My mind was ablaze with thought after thought. Lissë was somewhere nearby trying to break free. I could feel her determination and concern. But we had no power in this kingdom. Nothing to give us aid. Darkness was the only thing I had to give me comfort. The shadows remained still; a reminder that I was completely alone, and no one drew near to break me out of confinement.