Merry & Bright: A Christmas Anthology (Nocturne Falls Universe)

by Fiona Roarke

  “You know, I would never have put you and Xiao together,” Merri admitted. “But you really are a perfect match.”

  “Speaking of,” said Bianca. “Xiao still asks about Bright. You never hear from him?”

  “No.” Merri ran a hand through her short hair, so that it didn’t look squashed flat from hours against a bus seat. Whatever her feelings for Polaris Brighton had been, they’d faded over time into a dull heartache, like one might have for a lost toy, or an old home. Their time together was a beautiful memory she could never relive. That was all.

  But she still couldn’t bring herself to say his name out loud.

  “His loss,” said Bianca, “because you are amazing.”

  “Thanks.” Merri did a twirl in her gown for good measure and Bianca clapped.

  “You can leave the rest of your things here. I’ll keep an eye on them. Just don’t forget your mask.” Bianca’s ghostly form hovered over to where Merri’s glittery mask lay beside the sink. “And you should get a move on. Hubble said he would meet you in the courtyard, by the fountain.”

  Merri stopped with the mask halfway to her face. “Who?”

  “Hubble,” said Bianca. “Bellamy’s friend from the drama club. I think he has something planned for tonight. But it’s Hubble. He’s always organizing something.”

  Merri smirked. “Sounds like this Hubble and I have a lot in common. Is he the guy my sister’s sweet on?”

  “Oh, no,” said Bianca. “That would be Tinker.”

  “Wait…you mean her best friend Tinker? The goblin? Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure Hubble will explain it all,” said Bianca.

  Merri sighed dramatically. “Doesn’t Xiao Wu have a nice calm brother I could maybe set her up with instead?”

  Bianca giggled and waved her out the door. “Shoo! Go on, don’t be late!”

  Mask in hand, Merri slipped on her dancing shoes and hurried out of the restroom. She slowed her pace when she exited the library, as she hit the wall of heat. Was Nocturne Falls under a spell or something? Georgia had never been so hot this late in the year.

  She fanned her face with the mask as she walked, her heels clicking on the cobblestone path. Why couldn’t this Hubble have met her somewhere air conditioned? Was he a fire elemental of some sort? She was so lost in thought that she arrived at the fountain before she knew it.

  On the other side of the fountain stood Polaris Brighton.

  Merri halted midstep. They stared at each other in silence.

  As many times as Merri had imagined this moment, she had no idea what to say. And he had never been the one to start a conversation.

  Did he look older? As far as she could tell, he looked exactly the same as the night she’d walked away from…everything. That same cold beauty: same black hair, same haunting eyes, same sharp jawline. He might have even been wearing the same bespoke suit and expensive silver bowtie.

  Merri gritted her teeth. Well, at least one of them had changed.

  A crease between his eyebrows was the only indication that he had no idea she’d be here either. Merri wracked her brain. She had to say something, or they might be stuck here forever.

  Thankfully, a short cloaked figure slipped through the gap in the hedge. His hair and skin were the silver-gray of a winter elf’s eyes—a kobold, she guessed—and he carried a garment bag over one arm.

  “I’m Hubble,” he said quickly, “and I’d love to chat, but there’s not much time. Which stinks, because I’ve always wanted to meet the legendary Mad Bandits.” He looked from Merri to Bright and put his free hand to his heart. “This is a real honor. I’m a huge fan of your work.”

  Merri’s heart stopped. This was definitely not the conversation she’d been expecting. “How did you find out?”

  The kobold shrugged. “Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, especially when you know what you’re looking for,” he said. “You do enough research, put enough class lists together, read enough articles…” He waggled a finger at Bright. “Getting your brother to publish about you was a masterstroke, I have to say. And you”—this time he pointed to Merri—“did you know it took them almost a year to erase your parting shot from the athletic field? Only a flower fairy could have been so precise.”

  “Does anyone else know?”

  Merri flinched. It was as if she could feel Bright’s voice against her skin, and it hurt all over.

  Hubble looked offended. “I’m a fellow miscreant, sir. Not a jerk.”

  Merri might have enjoyed this worship of her past accomplishments if she wasn’t so annoyed. The oppressive heat didn’t help matters. “What does all this have to do with my little sister?” she asked him.

  “Right, sorry. The short version is this: Bellamy and my best friend Tinker are in love with each other, and pretty much have been forever, and—circumstances being what they are—this dance is their last chance to actually say so. And it needs to be said.”

  Merri met Bright’s eyes across the fountain again. Too much of that story sounded like their own sad tale.

  “I’ve set them both up with costumes—”

  “Costumes?” Merri asked.

  Hubble grinned. “Bellamy should be arriving at any minute, and I’m about to go get Tinker.”

  “It sounds like you already have everything under control,” she said.

  Hubble shook his head. “I can dress them up and get them to the dance, but I need help getting them together. Preferably alone. If left to their own devices, Tinker and Bellamy will happily stand at arm’s length for the rest of their lives.”

  “Probably a good idea since goblins are allergic to fairies,” Merri quipped.

  “Normally, I’d agree with you,” said Hubble. “But tonight, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

  Merri sighed. The kids must have gotten their hands on an anti-allergy spell or something. Ultimately, the details didn’t matter. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll get them together. On one condition.”

  “Yes! Wonderful! Anything! What?”

  This kid was too excitable for his own good. “I want to talk to the goblin first. I’m not setting him up with my sister if he’s not good enough.”

  “Deal,” Hubble said too quickly. “’Cause you’re going to love him, I promise. He’s a real prince.”

  She admired his loyalty. “And how will I recognize him?”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll make a grand entrance.”

  Merri raised an eyebrow.

  Hubble sighed. “He’ll be the annoyingly tall and handsome one in the goblin mask.” And with that, he dashed off into the night.

  Without a backward glance, Merri turned and headed for the gymnasium. The sound of Bright’s perfectly-polished Italian leather shoes followed her.

  “We’re legendary,” he said. “How about that?”

  Merri said nothing.

  “You said you’ll get them together,” he said.

  Merri continued to ignore him.

  “You said you’ll get them together. Not we.”

  “There hasn’t been a we for a very long time,” Merri replied without turning around. “Not that you care, but I’ve been coming back here every year and pulling off similar stunts just fine without your help. I can handle this without you too, thank you very much.”

  “Just because you didn’t see me, doesn’t mean I wasn’t there.”

  Merri tripped on a raised stone in the path, caught herself, and kept walking. The thought that Bright might have been there any—or all—of those times she’d come back to the masquerade, watching from afar, silent and distant… It was exactly the sort of thing he had done in the past, before they had ever been friends in the first place.

  But it made sense. Every prank they pulled together in school had inadvertently matched up a pair of unsuspecting individuals, and every prank Merri pulled at Harmswood in the years since had had the same side effect. Bright had been there, and she should have realized that. Merri gritted her teeth again and silently curse
d at the sky.

  Whatever scar tissue had healed over her broken heart ripped right back open again.

  Merri stopped in front of the gymnasium door and settled her mask over her eyes. “When Hubble makes his grand entrance, make sure you’re dancing with Bellamy. I’ll grab Tinker. If I decide he’s really as in love with my sister as his best friend seems to think, I’ll get him over to you. Then we’ll switch off and be done with this.” And done with each other, she didn’t add. Again.

  Bright put on his mask and gave a small salute. “Aye aye, captain.”

  Merri grimaced behind her own mask, remembering all the times she’d said that to him, back in their heyday. He’d used those words on purpose, she knew. She wished he’d stop doing stuff that hurt so much.

  The gym had been decorated to look like an idyllic winter landscape, complete with a copse of silver-white birch and a star-filled sky. Atop a pillar in the center of the room was a picturesque snow globe. Merri smiled. Not only did this landscape have Bellamy’s signature all over it, but it had obviously been decorated by someone very much in love.

  Bright looked out over the sea of students scattered across the snow-filled scene. The black and white and silver of him blended in perfectly with the surroundings. “Which one is Bellamy again?” he asked her.

  “She’s got wings,” said Merri. As soon as she spotted Bellamy in the crowd, she couldn’t help but laugh. “And currently looks like she belongs on top of a wedding cake.”

  Bright gave a low whistle at the giant silver-and-white gown. “Some costume. I can’t wait to see the groom.”

  For half a second, they were old friends again and the years melted away. And then a young blonde wearing a black silk dress and too much eyeliner leapt into his arms.

  “Brighton!” she squealed. “Taylor told me you were coming, but I didn’t believe her! Come meet my friends so I can make them all jealous.”

  Bright looked pleadingly at Merri, but she said nothing as Taylor Hayden’s shallow little sister led him into the trees.

  Some things never changed.

  Someone struck up the Harmswood alma mater and Merri sang along under her breath, all the while keeping an eye on her sister. Bellamy was surrounded by friends, a luxury Merri had not experienced during her time at school. Merri recognized Bellamy’s roommate, Lian, and her best friend Kai, who was flanked by two incredibly handsome young men. One of them looked like a werewolf.

  The other looked like Samson Sol.

  Merri had heard that Kai had a serious boyfriend now, but she couldn’t tell which one of these boys it was. They both stood protectively close to her. When the school song finished, Kai took the dark wolf’s hand and began to dance with him. The tawny-haired boy followed, not far behind.

  “You teenagers are always in love with the wrong person,” Merri muttered, and then stalked across the dance floor to save this poor boy from himself…and save Kai’s relationship in the bargain.

  The closer Merri got to him, however, the more a strange feeling washed over her. She was suddenly seventeen again, throwing caution to the wind and asking Samson Sol to dance with her. She was determined to prove to herself once and for all that the crush she’d had for Samson paled in comparison to the love she felt for Bright…right before she’d become the butt of Bright and Taylor’s little joke.

  What a fool she’d been.

  Merri gave herself a mental shake. She wasn’t that silly schoolgirl anymore. She grabbed tawny-boy’s shoulder and spun him around so that he was dancing with no one but her.

  “I’m Merri,” she yelled over the music.

  “Merry meet,” he said, completely misunderstanding. Was that a British accent? Oh yeah, fourteen-year-old Merri would have had a massive crush on this kid.

  “Bellamy’s sister,” she yelled again, pointing at herself.

  “Ah,” he yelled back with a nod. “I’m Owen.”

  Merri smiled, nodded, and kept dancing. She spun this way and that, but try as she might, she couldn’t get Owen to step more than six feet away from Kai.

  Drastic times called for drastic measures. Merri grabbed Owen’s hand and pulled him toward the birch trees. “Come on, let’s dance over here.” She didn’t care if he understood her. Thankfully, he didn’t resist the change of location.

  She didn’t let go of his hand until she’d pushed him right in front of Taylor’s little sister. “Owen, you know Taylor, right?”

  “It’s Heather,” the pretty girl yelled.

  “I know,” Merri yelled back. This time she grabbed Bright’s hand and dragged him away.

  “Wasn’t that a little rude?” he asked.

  “Trust me, those two deserve each other.” It was only fitting that the Taylors and the Samsons of this world be forced to endure each other’s company, if only for one dance.

  “If you say so…”

  Merri didn’t want to start a conversation. “Now go dance with my sister.”

  She shoved Bright in Bellamy’s direction and went to linger by the gymnasium door. The sooner Hubble made his grand entrance, the sooner this painful and awkward night would be over with.

  Chapter Four

  Four years. Four years had passed since that horrible night, and Bright still couldn’t get out of his own head long enough to talk to Merri. Actually talk to her. What was wrong with him?

  Well, whatever it was, he could figure it out later. Right now he was on a mission. A Mad Bandit mission. That old thrill returned to him and rushed through his blood.

  He weaved through the throng of dancing students to where Bellamy was chatting animatedly with her friends. Honey-blonde hair done up with white flowers, big kaleidoscope blue eyes…even without the wings, he would have recognized her as Merri’s sister in a heartbeat.

  He gently touched her on the elbow and she spun around to smile at him. Her face was covered with an organic mask of glitter and white feathers and happiness, and she looked genuinely adorable. If anyone deserved to have a magical night, it was this young woman. At that moment, Bright promised himself that he would do whatever he could to make that magic happen for her.

  “You’re Bellamy, right? I’m Polaris Brighton.” He held out his hand and she shook it politely, but he could tell she was trying to place him.

  He pulled her aside, so that he didn’t have to yell over her friends. “I’m…” A friend from school? A former partner-in-crime? The guy who ruined her life? How did he explain?

  Words, don’t fail me now… “I’m in love with your sister.”

  Amazing.

  Amazing how it just came pouring out like that.

  Amazing how easy it was.

  Amazing how he meant every single word.

  Bellamy’s smile at his declaration made the gymnasium’s wintry landscape shine all the more. “Bright,” she said in recognition. “Yes, I know about you. Even more than Merri thinks I do.”

  The soft bit of South Carolina in her accent was completely charming. “Oh, my,” said Bright. “I believe this is a story I need to hear.”

  “Only if you promise not to tell,” said Bellamy.

  “I solemnly swear,” he said with as much mischief as he could muster.

  “I read her diary once,” Bellamy confessed.

  “As all good sisters should.” Bright tried not to grimace. He could only imagine what scathing words a young Merri Larousse might have written about him once upon a time.

  “She was so much fun back in those days. So alive. And then…” A shadow seemed to fall over Bellamy’s face.

  “And then she left school,” he finished.

  “It was such a difference,” said Bellamy. “She became more and more quiet and withdrawn. I hoped it was a phase, like some sort of depression after leavin’ school. But Mom said that Merri had been that way before, back when I was too young to remember. She said that maybe happiness had been Merri’s phase, and now it was over.”

  Her words were like a dagger in his heart. “So you read through
her diary to find out what caused it,” he surmised. Merri was lucky to have such a caring and generous soul as a sibling.

  Bellamy nodded. “Whatever the happiness had been, I wanted to give it back to her,” she said. “Turns out, it was you.”

  Bright wasn’t sure it was possible to feel worse than he did right now. It was time for his own confession. “She was my happiness too.”

  “What happened?”

  Bright shook his head. “I screwed up.”

  Suddenly, the gymnasium doors burst open. A short plague doctor walked through, followed by an African god and a wicked Red Death. The plague doctor threw his arms wide with a bang and a shower of bubbles.

  “HEAR YE, HEAR YE!” The voice of the infamous Hubble rang out from behind the mask, magically amplified. The DJ stopped the music.

  Bright chuckled. He had been warned. “Nice grand entrance.”

  Bellamy stood on her tiptoes in an effort to peek over the crowd. “That’s my friend Hubble,” she said proudly. “He doesn’t do anythin’ by half.”

  “An admirable trait,” said Bright. “Wish I had more of that.”

  “Me too,” Bellamy replied with a sigh.

  As soon as Hubble finished his announcement, the DJ struck up a waltz. A romantic fairy tale dance, perfect for putting two soulmates together. Well played, Sir Hubble. Well played. Bright held his hand out to Bellamy. “Do you waltz?”

  Bellamy nodded and put her hand in his. “Merri taught me.”

  Of course she did. Many years ago, in the dark woods by a hollow tree, it had been Bright who’d taught Merri.

  At first glance, Bellamy’s massive ballgown looked too stiff for dancing, but in the thick of things, the fabric of her skirt was a blur of shimmering movement. In those first few steps and turns, Bright decided how he was going to put his spin on Merri’s matchmaking machinations. If there was ever a setting where a winter elf’s particular traits would come in handy, it was this one.

  He twirled Bellamy, mindful of her wings, and when she settled back into step she asked, “Do you think you could make Merri happy again?”