Suddenly there was a series of loud knocks on Autumn’s door and she rushed to open it. She found herself—or who must be Luke—standing there with a panicked look on her—his—face. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of Autumn in his body before she pulled him inside.
“What the hell is going on!” he said in a high-pitched voice and then clutched his throat. “I sound like I’ve been kicked in the—”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Autumn said with a small flinch at the sound of Luke’s deep voice resonating from her mouth. “It was Olympus. He switched us because of how we were fighting last night.”
“How?”
“The tea.”
Luke cursed and ran his hands—Autumn’s hands—over his—her—face. This was exhausting.
An auburn curl fell into Luke’s eyes and he batted it away as if it were a dangerous insect. “I hate this long hair. I’m about to cut it off.”
“No you aren’t,” Autumn warned. “Wait here.” She rushed into her bathroom, retrieved a hair tie and hurried back to the living room where she pulled Luke’s long curls back into a tight ponytail. “There.”
“Thanks,” he muttered. “We can’t stay like this. I cannot be a girl. I’m too much of a guy. Maybe if it were someone else it would be sort of interesting…but not my sister! Ugh!”
Autumn gagged. “Wow. I think I just threw up in my mouth. Don’t say that again. We just, we need to talk to Olympus. You know, tell him we’re sorry about last night. Then he can switch us back.”
“Okay. Let’s hurry then.”
“We just have to hope we don’t run into anyone.”
The twins took a deep breath and hurried out of Autumn’s branch, both wearing looks of intense determination that faltered often as they stumbled over their new bodies. When they reached Olympus’s living quarters, two castle guards greeted them.
“I’m sorry, but the king is not in at the moment,” one of the guards said.
“What!” Luke exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
Autumn flashed Luke a look of warning before asking, “Where did he go?”
“Rose Valley, to speak with the Head Elf about yesterday’s attack.”
“Great,” Autumn said. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“Later this evening I believe.”
Autumn and Luke thanked the guards dully before rushing clumsily back up to Autumn’s branch. As they passed the dining room, they peered discreetly over the banister to see Avery and Crystal eating breakfast at their usual table.
“We can’t see them until Olympus puts us right,” Autumn whispered. “They’ll know something is wrong.”
Luke nodded in agreement and they hurried up the stairs, ducking down so that Avery and Crystal couldn’t see them. When they entered Autumn’s branch, Luke fell face forward onto the couch. “This is a nightmare,” he said, his voice muffled by the cushions.
“I’m not all that thrilled about this either, Luke.”
Luke lifted his face and said, “If you would have just admitted that I should be the next elf ruler then none of this would have happened.”
“Why would I admit something that I don’t believe?”
“You don’t seriously want to be elf ruler, do you?”
“Yes. I do.”
Luke sighed dramatically and planted his face in the cushions again. They sat in silence for some time until Luke sat up again. “There has to be a reason for all of this. It isn’t just a punishment.”
“Olympus said that we should look at things from a different perspective. This is what he was talking about. He must think it’ll help us make a decision.”
“Well, it isn’t working. I still feel the same way. The only difference is that now I’m a girl.”
“Finally you admit it.”
“Shut up.”
They stayed in Autumn’s branch until lunchtime. “I’m starving,” Luke whined. Autumn couldn’t say she cared for the sound of her voice like that. She’d never been much of a whiner.
“I’ll have a worker bring some food up,” Autumn said, moving to the small Communication Tree in the living room. Picking an acorn off of the little red branch, Autumn took the top off and spoke into it, “Two lunches for branch 308, please.” She placed the top back on the acorn and popped it into the hole after reciting the destination. “Happy now?”
“No. I’m not happy now. I won’t be happy until I’m back in my body.”
“You know, as king, you’ll have to do a lot of things that you don’t necessarily want to do. Think you can handle that?”
“I really doubt that part of my kingly duties would be for me to impersonate my sister, but, yes, I can handle whatever I need to handle.”
“Without whining?”
“I don’t whine,” he snapped.
Autumn laughed loudly at this, startling herself with the loud, deep sound.
There was a knock at the door.
“That was fast,” she said opening the door. Autumn’s breath caught in her chest when she found Avery and Crystal waiting on the landing. They were looking at Autumn—or, who they thought was Luke—with raised eyebrows.
“Where’s Autumn?” Avery asked.
“She’s, um, on the couch.” Autumn reluctantly stood back to allow Avery and Crystal to enter.
“Is it the food?” Luke said, lifting his head and then jumping at the sight of Avery and Crystal. “Oh hell. What’re you guys doing here?”
Avery looked taken aback and Crystal frowned down at Luke.
“Autumn doesn’t feel well,” Autumn said, combing a hand awkwardly through her hair, which was much shorter than she was used to.
“Why don’t you go to the castle healer?” Avery asked, moving to sit beside Luke. Autumn rushed to sit between them because she was afraid of what Luke might do if he felt Avery rubbing up against him. Avery raised an eyebrow at Autumn, but she just gave him a tight-lipped smile. She realized with a jolt that the magnetic pull between her and Avery was still there, even when she was in Luke’s body. She hoped he didn’t notice this, scooting a little farther away from him just to be safe.
“I don’t think I’m sick. I’m just tired,” Luke said. “You know, from the battle and everything yesterday.”
Avery looked unconvinced. “Oh.”
Crystal came to sit in the armchair across from them. “What did Olympus talk to you two about yesterday?”
Luke opened his mouth to speak, but Autumn beat him to it. “He was just congratulating us on our success in the battle.” Luke gave her a questioning look and then understanding lit his features.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s all.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Avery asked, looking at Luke with concern.
Luke nodded as another knock sounded on the door. This time it really was a castle worker with their lunches. To Autumn and Luke’s relief, Crystal and Avery both had work in the castle that they had to attend to. Autumn could hear them muttering to each other as they left her branch.
Autumn shook her head in frustration at the confused look on Avery’s face. “Olympus seriously needs to hurry.”
Later that night there was yet another knock on Autumn’s door. She opened it to find Olympus, smiling wryly at her.
“Hello, Autumn,” he said, catching her off guard, though she needn’t be surprised. He was, after all, the one that did this to them.
Luke scrambled up from his spot on the couch. “Please turn us back!” he said, an edge of hysteria in his voice. “We’re really sorry for how we acted last night. We won’t do it again. Just please turn us back!”
Olympus chuckled, closing the door behind him. “I cannot switch you back.”
They gaped at him in horror.
“So, we’re just stuck like this?” Autumn said.
“That’s up to the two of you. Once you have both come to the mutual decision of whom will become the next elf ruler, you’ll switch back.”
Alarm lit Luke’s face. “But w
hat if we never come to a mutual decision?”
Olympus simply smiled, causing both of their faces to fall.
“If you do not plan on coming to a decision tonight, I suggest you familiarize yourselves with one another’s school schedules,” he said before letting out a yawn. “Well, it has been quite a long day, I’m sure you’ll agree. I’m off to bed.”
“Wait—” Autumn began.
“Goodnight,” he said, gliding out of the room before Autumn or Luke could say anything else.
The twins spent another hour bickering about the same things without coming to any sort of agreement.
Autumn groaned. “Ugh. Let’s just go to bed. We’re going around in circles.”
“Fine. Just leave then.”
“Me leave? This is my branch. You leave.”
“I’m in your body. Your body sleeps here. My body sleeps in my branch. How strange would it look if someone saw us coming out of each other’s branches tomorrow morning?”
Autumn frowned at this because—as much as she hated it—she realized that he was right. “Fine,” she said, storming from her branch, leaving Luke and her body behind. This plan of Olympus’s was definitely not working thus far. They weren’t seeing any clearer than they were before. If anything, this was making them more and more sure that they didn’t want the other to be the next elf ruler.
Autumn entered Luke’s branch in a huff. The layout was very similar to her own. His furniture was a little different—darker and more masculine maybe, and he had a four-poster bed rather than a canopy. Changing clothes proved to be particularly difficult with her eyes closed. She tried not to think about the fact that she was technically undressing her brother. Ugh. The very thought made her throw up in her mouth again.
Autumn climbed under the covers and tried to fall asleep, which seemed to be almost as difficult as changing into Luke’s pajamas. Normally when she had trouble falling asleep she just Sang to herself, which relaxed her mind and body enough to coax it into a deep slumber. She wondered if she still had her Power. Did Powers stay with their elf’s bodies or with their minds? There was only one way to find out. She opened her mouth to Sing and was surprised when an ethereal melody resonated from within her. It sounded different in Luke’s deep baritone, but it still worked and she could feel herself beginning to relax. As she drifted off to sleep she tried not to worry about how they were going to explain to everyone how their Powers got switched.
Scarred for Life
CHAPTER THREE
The next morning Autumn rushed through getting ready—an experience that was sure to haunt her for the rest of her life—and traveled up to her, now Luke’s, branch to make sure he was awake.
When he opened the door, Autumn gasped.
“What did you do to my hair?”
“Nothing…”
“Clearly,” Autumn said, pushing past him and rushing to her bathroom to find a hair ribbon and a brush. It would seem that Autumn—or her body, at least—would be wearing her hair in a ponytail or braid until they could come to an agreement on who should be the next elf ruler. Lest Luke cut her hair off.
“Ow!” Luke exclaimed as Autumn ran a brush through his tangled hair.
“You know, you could have showered.”
“Uh, no thank you,” he said with a look of disgust. “Wait. Did you shower?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay. Let’s just get today over with,” Luke said, attempting to walk out the door before Autumn pulled him back.
“You can’t wear that.”
“Why?”
“Because I wore that yesterday,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.
“Don’t do that,” he said, indicating her crossed arms. “If you’re going to be in my body, you’re going to have to stop acting like a girl. I have a reputation to uphold, you know.”
“Fine.” Autumn uncrossed her arms and tried to mimic Luke’s usual, lazy posture. “Then you should learn to stand up straight.”
Luke straightened his back dramatically and pretended to flip his hair. “Is, like, this better?” he said in a valley-girl accent.
Autumn rolled her eyes as she moved to her dresser and pulled out some clothes for Luke to wear. Pants and a comfortable shirt should have been easy enough for him to deal with. Luke was already shaking his head as she handed him the clothes.
“What?” she said.
“I’m not taking your clothes off.”
“Grow up, Luke. You’re being ridiculous. Just keep your eyes closed.”
Luke frowned at the clothes Autumn was holding and then sighed dramatically, snatching the garments out of her hands and stomping into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom with a look of repulsion on his face. “I am never going to forgive you for that. I’m scarred for life.”
“Well, join the club. Now let’s go.”
“We should have faked sick or something,” Luke grumbled as they traveled down the staircase to the dining room.
“Yeah, cause that wouldn’t have looked suspicious at all.”
They took a seat at the breakfast table. Luke had already gone back to slouching, not that Autumn could say anything to him in front of Avery and Crystal. So she just settled on glowering at him.
“Are you feeling better today, Autumn?” Crystal asked.
“Yeah—” Autumn began before realizing her mistake and turned to Luke. “I mean…you are feeling better. Right, Autumn?”
“Mhmm,” he said, giving her an exasperated look. “I’m still tired, but otherwise I’m good, I guess.”
Avery and Crystal looked at them quizzically.
Autumn and Luke tried to talk as little as possible so as not to elicit any more suspicion than there already was, but this didn’t seem to work either.
“You’re uncharacteristically quiet this morning, Luke,” Avery said, looking at Autumn strangely.
“Am I? Oh. I’m a little tired too, I guess.”
“What is with you two?” Crystal said suddenly. “You’ve both been acting exceptionally weird since your dinner with Olympus. Did something happen?”
Autumn’s mind raced as she tried to find a way to explain their strange behavior. She decided on telling them the truth—well, part of the truth, anyway.
“We should just tell them, Autumn,” she said to Luke, who choked on his juice.
“What?” he said with wide eyes.
Autumn turned back to Crystal and Avery. “Olympus told us that, when the eldest royal elves come of age, it is customary to announce that they will be the next elf ruler. But since we’re twins, we have to decide who the next elf ruler will be. We’ve been fighting about it a lot because we both want to be the next ruler. That’s why we were in my—uh—Autumn’s branch all day yesterday. We still haven’t made a decision.”
Luke looked relieved when he realized this was all she was going to reveal to them. “Yeah,” he added. “Sorry we didn’t tell you guys. We just didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”
Autumn smiled in approval. That actually sounded like something she would say.
“Oh, right. I completely forgot about that tradition,” Crystal said, seeming to believe their story. “We haven’t had young royals here since your dad left. Which was, you know, before we were born.”
“When do you have to decide by?” Avery asked.
“Our birthday,” Autumn said. “But hopefully we’ll come to a decision very soon.”
Luke nodded in agreement.
“Oh! That reminds me,” Crystal said looking at Luke. “I need you to try on your birthday gown tonight, Autumn.”
Luke’s eyes widened and his face flushed slightly. “Uh, tonight? Are you sure? We could do it this weekend or—”
“Your party is this weekend, silly. If there’s something wrong with the dress, I’ll need time to fix it.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with—”
Crystal laughed. “Sto
p resisting, Autumn. It won’t take long, I promise.”
Luke’s face fell before he nodded in defeat. Autumn felt a bit guilty for finding this somewhat humorous.
The kitchen workers brought out the breakfast trays and Luke immediately swept from the table and rushed to pile his plate full of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. When they returned to the table, he began shoveling pancakes into his mouth as he normally would in his own body. Autumn watched him in horror. She did not eat like that.
She cleared her throat loudly and Luke looked up at her with syrup dripping down his face. Autumn glared at him, but he didn’t seem to understand what she was so upset about. To make her point, she crossed her arms in an exceptionally girly way and his glare now matched her own. Then realization seemed to hit him and he grabbed a napkin to clean his face as he straightened his spine. Avery and Crystal watched their interaction with mystified expressions. Clearly their explanation hadn’t quite elucidated all of their strange behavior.
When they arrived on campus, Avery and Autumn made their way to the History Tree together and Crystal and Luke walked to the Numbers Tree. He wasn’t even trying to walk like her. Autumn narrowed her eyes at his back.
Avery chuckled. “You two are really mad at each other aren’t you?”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. We just keep fighting about who would make the better ruler.”
“Well, the problem with that is, both of you have qualities that would make either of you a good ruler. You just have different strengths.”
Autumn nodded in agreement. She had deep compassion and willingness to help others. Luke could stand his ground when dealing with other magical rulers and had extensive knowledge about the technicalities and inner-workings of the kingdom. The only question was, which qualities were more important?
Luke’s History class was much more subdued than Autumn’s usual History class, probably because it was Monday morning. She knew that her brother wasn’t the type of student who offered answers in class, even if he knew them. So, it was pretty simple to pretend to be him. She just sat in her desk and gazed vacantly into space, pretending to daydream about girls or something. She seemed to be convincing enough. Magister Parkey never called on her and none of the students said anything to her either. Although, she couldn’t say that she cared for the way Alyssa Redfern was staring at her.
Ash (The Underground Series Book 2) Page 2
