by Bonnie Lamer
Dagda sighs. I don’t think he’s much more comfortable talking about it than Kegan and Kallen. But, he explains. “Garren was told that Isla had given herself to their grandfather.”
“Given herself?” Oh, I get it. “So he was told she wasn’t a virgin?” Now I’m getting angry. “He didn’t want her anymore because he couldn’t have her virginity?” Scumbag. My mind is already thinking of several ways I can get back at him for Isla.
“It was more than that,” Dagda hurries up to explain. I think it’s because he can actually see my murderous thoughts in my eyes. “He was also told that Isla was with child.”
My mouth drops open. I look over at Kallen and say, “Your grandfather was a bastard.”
He frowns at me. “He was a man in love. Sometimes love makes you do stupid things.”
“So it’s okay since he was in love with Isla. Nice. Would you be marrying me if someone told you that I wasn’t a virgin when you met me and that I was pregnant?”
Now Kallen’s temper is starting to rise. “Would you still be marrying me if I had made love to other Fairies before meeting you?”
“Yes.”
He looks taken aback. “You would?”
I shrug. “Yes. I wouldn’t like it but I’d just have to live with it. Since you’re marrying me, I would assume that you weren’t still interested in them. You didn’t answer my question, though. Would you still marry me?”
A slow smile creeps onto his lips. “I would marry you if you had made love to every Fairy you ever met.”
“Let’s not get too crazy,” I say with a shy smile. All the anger has seeped out of my words.
“Yes, well, now that that is settled, may I continue?” Dagda drawls. Kallen and I nod at him sheepishly. “It was not the fact that Garren thought Isla was no longer a virgin that made him step aside. It was the fact that she was with child. He felt that she could not possibly love him if she was already starting a family with another man.”
Okay, I guess I can see his point. “Was she pregnant?”
Dagda shakes his head. “No, she was not. That became quite clear when she did not have a child until three years into her marriage. Garren had left for the Dragon world shortly after he heard the lie so he did not discover this until well after the wedding. Isla thought he simply deserted her. He returned home to visit family and was confronted with the truth. He had been duped.”
“What did he do?” I ask. He must have been pissed.
“He beat our grandfather to a bloody pulp,” Kegan says. “Grandmother had to use magic to separate them.”
Dagda continues the story. “It was then that the truth came to light. Garren expected Isla to be as outraged as he was. He also expected her to run into his arms and join him in the Dragon realm, leaving her life here behind.”
Yeah, like that was going to happen. The guy must have been delusional. “Obviously she didn’t do that.”
He shakes his head. “No, she did not. Much to Garren’s surprise, he was the one she was angry with, not her husband. She was outraged that he would have believed the lies and he had not even asked her if it was true. She sent him away with a clear message that he was not welcome anywhere near her ever again.”
“So, she hasn’t seen him since?” I ask.
“She saw him one more time. When he heard that her husband had died, he returned to this realm determined to make her forgive him.”
Isla has never come off as the forgiving sort. “So she sent him packing again?”
“Correct.”
It all makes sense now. “Wow. No wonder she doesn’t want to talk to the guy.”
“Indeed,” an icy cold voice says from the doorway. She has the most incredible knack for coming in when the conversation is about her. I wonder if she’s worked some sort of spell that tells her when her name comes up in conversations.
Chapter 5
“What does he want from you now?” I ask. “He doesn’t want you to marry him or anything, right?”
I think she’s too angry to answer me so Dagda helps her out. “He is not asking for quite that much. He simply wants Isla to give him a chance at convincing her to forgive him. He wants to be included in the rescue party and wants to be with her at all times while she is in the Dragon realm.” That doesn’t seem so bad. So why is Isla so pissed then?
“He has no right to demand anything from me.” Okay, I guess there’s that.
“But, if he can help us get Tabitha back you’ll do it, right?” The look she gives me is a big fat no. My brows furrow into a frown. “I know it’s a pride thing, but you made me come here to save Dagda even though he tried to have me killed. That’s worse than someone taking off because they were too stupid to ask questions.”
“She does have a point, Grandmother,” Kallen says quietly. He doesn’t even blink when she turns her death stare to him. Impressive.
“Then how fortunate I have agreed to abide by Garren’s terms.” If I was standing next to her, I think her words would change me into a giant icicle.
“Um, okay, now that that’s settled,” I rush to say, “is there anything that Kallen and I should be doing for the hand-fasting?”
After a loud exhale of breath she must have been holding to help calm herself down, she says, “The sooner you finish your design, the sooner I can make your dress.”
Crap, I forgot about making my dress. “Okay, I just have to finish the drawing.” Or start from scratch since I haven’t really come up with a great idea yet. Not saying that out loud though.
“Meet me back at the house in one hour,” Isla says curtly before turning around and leaving the room.
Guess I better get busy. I give Kallen a quick kiss and then go off in search of my drawing pad. I think I left it in the kitchen when I was in there with Clarice.
After retrieving my pad, I find a quiet spot in Dagda’s library and try to come up with a design that I like. I decide simple is better. The dress is Grecian in style with a form fitting bodice that goes to just above my waist before falling into soft silk folds down to the floor. The dress is sleeveless on one side and the strap on the other is tapered from the bodice to my shoulder. I imagine myself looking like a Greek goddess in it. I want my hair wound up into a loose bun with ringlets around my face to complete the effect.
I’m excited to show it to Isla. I just hope she’s gotten over the whole Garren discussion by now. Probably not.
After finding Kallen, who is still with Dagda going over and over possible scenarios, I teleport us both home. There’s nothing more to do at the palace for the hand-fasting and I’m starving. Isla has made sandwiches and left them out on the counter for us. I’m not sure where she is but I don’t think it’s wise to go looking for her at the moment. I simply leave the sketch pad next to the now empty sandwich plate. She’ll find it.
Kallen and I take a nice long walk along the beach. We don’t really talk about anything. We just hold hands and watch the tide coming in. Moments like this have been rare for us to find. It’s near dark by the time we make it back to the house.
Isla’s in the kitchen looking at the drawing of my dress. “Beautiful,” she says. Even though her face is a portrait of grief and anger, I believe she means it.
“Thank you,” I say. I’m not sure if she wants us to stay or not. I can’t tell if she wants company or to be left alone.
After a moment of silence, she looks up at us. “Alita will be here shortly. She will be sharing your room tonight, Xandra. It is not customary for the bride and groom to see each other the night before the hand-fasting.” Hmm, just like back home. “I would appreciate it if you abide by this tradition.”
There’s only one way to respond to that. “Okay.” I don’t want to spend the night away from Kallen, but I’m also a tad bit superstitious. Just like I won’t let him see my dress, I agree that spending the night apart will bring us more luck. Kallen doesn’t look thrilled about it but he nods his head in agreement.
“Hello?” Alita calls from
the direction of the terrace.
“In the kitchen,” Kallen tells her. When she comes into the room, he says, “Your prisoner awaits.” Then he points to me.
Alita laughs. “It is tradition.” He gives her a look that explains what he thinks of the tradition.
“I know it is early,” Isla says, “but tomorrow will be a very long day. Perhaps we should all turn in early.” In other words, she wants to be alone.
She is right, though. Tomorrow will be insane. After a nice long kiss that makes Alita uncomfortable, Kallen and I part ways for the night. I’m almost ready to flout this tradition like all the others but Alita hooks her arm in mine and drags me to my bedroom. Kallen goes in the opposite direction to the room that he has had since childhood.
It takes a long time to fall asleep. The thought that I will never have to sleep apart from Kallen again eventually calms my brain and I have a smile on my face when I finally do fall into slumber.
Chapter 6
The sun streaming in through my balcony wakes me. Even though we stayed up late talking, Alita is already up and she’s holding up my wedding dress. “It’s beautiful,” she says when she sees that I’m awake.
She’s right. It is absolutely gorgeous. Isla made it perfect. I climb out of bed and take it from Alita, holding it up in front of me as I look in the mirror. I sway back and forth a little bit to hear the soft folds swish.
“Oh, Xandra,” Mom says, floating through the door. “It’s beautiful.” She has ghost tears in her eyes, I swear.
A light knock on the door gives me a chance to swipe at the tear in my own eye as I turn towards it. “Come in.”
Isla comes in and she looks calmer than she did last night. “I wanted to make sure that you were up and about. We should leave for the palace in half an hour.”
Whoa, I just got up. “So early?”
She chuckles. “Xandra, it is already half past nine.”
No way. I spin towards the clock on the wall and she’s right. “Why did you guys let me sleep so long?”
Mom smiles at me. “Because we knew that you would have a hard time falling asleep and you have a big day in front of you. A woman generally does not get married and then go on a rescue mission. You needed the rest.”
I do feel more refreshed than I thought I would. I even feel calmer. I thought I’d be freaking out this morning as it got closer to the ceremony, but I feel great about it. I want Kallen to be my husband and the sooner the better.
“You need to get in the bath,” Isla says, taking the dress from me. She lays it out on the bed and turns back to me with a smile. “You have many talents. It is a beautiful design but you will have my grandson so tongue tied when he sees you that he may not be able to say his vows.”
I’m pretty sure he will. He wants this as much as I do. Mom and Isla shoo me into the bathing room and I take a nice, relaxing bath until they knock on the door telling me it’s time to go.
After toweling myself dry, I wrap the towel around me and go back out to my bedroom. All three of them are still here. Alita is now dressed in a floor length gown. Her tall, slender frame is shown off to its fullest, which means Kallen won’t be the only one rendered speechless. I don’t think Kegan is going to be able to say much, either.
“Sit down,” Isla says, “and we will do your hair.”
I get a pang of sadness because normally it would be Tabitha doing my hair. She probably would have made my dress as well. I’m not complaining that Isla did it; I just really wish Tabitha was here. She’s the grandmother I never had. I don’t feel as close to my real grandmother as I do Tabitha.
“We all miss her,” Isla says quietly as she begins to pull my hair up off my nape. I just nod and wipe at a tear.
By the time Isla is finished with me, I have perfectly lined eyes, flawless makeup and ruby red lips that make a stark contrast to my light complexion and white dress. I haven’t put the dress on yet, though. I’ll do it at the palace.
Kallen and Kegan have gone ahead of us to the palace so it’s just me, Isla, Mom, Dad and Zac in the carriage. Zac is constantly pulling at his necktie and sleeves. I feel for him but he looks so cute in his little royal blue suit that I’m not going to come to his rescue.
My excitement is growing the closer we get until, I hate to admit it, my sadness is overshadowed by my joy. I know I’ll feel guilty as hell about that later. Especially if anything bad has happened to Tabitha. But this is my wedding day. It has come a lot sooner than I ever thought it would, but I’ve made my peace with that and I am marrying the most incredible person in the universe. I love Kallen more than I ever thought possible and I know he loves me just as much.
I step out of the carriage last and we all walk up the stairs to the palace door which is immediately opened by a doorman. I am in awe when he leads us onto the balcony just inside the main door. The great hall below has been transformed into a wonderland of white. White flowers, white ribbon, white cloth draped over the benches near the river.
“Beautiful,” Mom says in a hushed voice. I understand why. It looks so pure that we fear our voices will somehow taint it.
“This way,” the doorman says gruffly. So much for worrying about tainting it. Jerkwad.
We follow him down one of the twin staircases and walk through the hall and down a hallway I haven’t been in before. He stops in front of a set of double doors and then opens them wide. Inside the large room are several maids who are apparently waiting for me. They grab my dress from Isla and usher me farther into the sitting room where a large full length mirror stands along the far wall.
With very little talking, they take over. In a flash, all of my clothes are removed, which I am not thrilled about. I glare at the Fairy who did it and make her naked, too. See how she likes it. She doesn’t. She screams and leaves the room. Still naked. I would have given her clothes back if she would have waited a minute. Geez.
Ignoring the abrupt departure of the maid, Isla makes me some undergarments and then the maids that are left, who are trying not to make eye contact so as not to draw attention to themselves, help me into my dress. Isla does a few magical adjustments and it fits perfectly. With my hair up and the black ringlets that surround my face, I do look like a Grecian goddess. This is the exact look I imagined when I designed the dress.
Mom’s doing the ghost crying thing again. Even Isla’s wiping away some tears. I even catch a maid crying. I don’t think it’s because she’s happy for me though. Her mumbling through her tears that I’m not good enough for him is my clue to that. I debate the maturity of making her naked too, but I eventually decide against it. If she cries during the ceremony though, I will take her voice away.
A knock on the door is followed by Dagda opening it and walking in. Gee, good thing he knocked. What if I had still been naked? “Are you ready?” he asks and then he stops. His eyes take me in and he shakes his head. “I marvel at the fact that I had a part in your creation. Someone as beautiful as you should not have come from a tyrant seeking revenge. You truly are a gift from the Angels.” He turns to Mom. “Thank you, Quillian, for nurturing Xandra into the strong and intelligent woman that she is.”
Um, gulp. Who is this guy? And did he really say all of that? I am so taken aback that I let him pull me into a quick hug. I even hug him back. “Thank you,” I murmur against his shoulder which I have just covered in tears.
Pushing gently against my shoulders, Dagda backs up. “I will be waiting for you at the altar.”
Dad has come into the room and he looks pissed to see Dagda touching me. Great, a turf war on my wedding day. And the turf is me.
To my surprise, Dagda instantly diffuses the situation. “Jim, your daughter is ready for you to escort her down the aisle.” Then, with a slight nod to all of us, he leaves without another word, leaving everyone in the room stunned into silence. Even the maids are staring after him with open mouths.
“Good lord, the modesty of his youth is starting to resurface,” Isla finally says in wonder.
“You mean he used to be like that all the time?” I ask.
“Only when he was weak,” one of the maids mutters as she straightens the short train of my dress. It’s the same one as before. With a small amount of magic, I take her voice and put her in a cage. I’m not going to have her muttering rude things during my wedding.
I hear Mom stifle a giggle and even Isla is having a hard time looking stern as she says, “Was that really necessary?”
Well, that’s a stupid question. “Yes.”
Isla tilts her head and looks at the maid for a moment. “Fine.”
I try not to look surprised. “Is it time to go?”
