Betrothed

by Wanda Wiltshire

  ‘No wonder you like having your breakfast down here,’ I said when we were both seated at the table.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Leif asked, his gorgeous face innocent.

  I raised my eyebrows and looked pointedly at the other occupants of the room.

  ‘Marla, many of the females here helped raise me.’

  ‘So? Look at them.’

  ‘I would rather look at you.’ He smiled the kind of smile that made you glad you were sitting down. But I wasn’t comforted and stared at the empty plate that had been set in front of me.

  I could feel Leif’s eyes eating me up.

  ‘What worries you?’ he demanded.

  I watched my fingers as they flicked the edge of the plate before me. ‘What do you think? You’ve got gorgeous women lusting after you everywhere we go. How am I supposed to feel about that?’

  ‘I am prince, my love, it cannot be helped.’

  I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard a trace of impatience in his voice.

  I looked up. ‘Just get over it, is that what you’re saying?’

  ‘Don’t the ordinary people of Earth crave contact with the royal family?’ he asked.

  I thought of images I’d seen on television and in magazines, crowds of people—mostly women—waiting for hours just to touch the hand of some prince or other. I sighed. ‘I suppose so. It’s just . . . ’

  ‘What, Marla?’

  ‘I’m not really that confident. I never have been. I mean . . . why would you want me?’

  He watched me for a moment, and when he spoke his tone was gentle but firm. ‘I wore myself out searching for you, Marla. I travelled to another world to be with you. Naturally I am able to recognise a beautiful female, but you are my betrothed—how could I want anyone more than you?’

  I pulled my eyes from his and lowered them to the table again. ‘I’m sorry. I know I’m a pain.’

  He reached across the table and lifted my chin. ‘Don’t apologise, my love, please, just be assured. You know the feelings you have for me—those powerful, all-consuming feelings?’ He didn’t wait for me to answer. ‘I have them for you too.’ He pressed his thumb to my mouth, parting my lips a little. ‘Now, let’s have breakfast. My father is speaking to me right now and telling me to make haste.’

  One of the maids arrived with breakfast.

  ‘Pancakes,’ I cried, forgetting all else as she set the dish in the middle of the table.

  ‘You said you wanted to try them,’ Leif smiled.

  ‘I love you,’ I whispered.

  ‘I know, now eat.’

  I filled my plate and polished off three, dripping with syrup.

  ‘Yum,’ I said when I’d finished off the last one. ‘I’m going to get fat.’

  ‘And I will love you just as well,’ my prince promised with a laugh.

  My grandparents’ home wasn’t hard to find. When we arrived at the river Asher had directed us to, Leif asked one of a group of women picking stones from the riverbed if she knew which house belonged to Asher and Faun. The woman stopped what she was doing, thrilled to have the honour of assisting Prince Leif. I refused to feel anything other than gratitude when she came out of the river, shook the water from her body and curtsied to my prince, before flipping out her twinkling apricot-coloured wings and leading the way to my grandparents’ house.

  Asher and Faun lived inside the riverbank. Their home was carved into the pale yellow stone in much the same way as the castle was carved into the mountain. As we landed on the pier leading from the front door, crystal chimes dangling in the windows sent tinkling music to greet us. After thanking the woman for helping us, Leif rang the bell that hung from the doorknob.

  ‘Marla, you have come,’ Asher cried when he answered the door, and for a change Leif might not have existed. My grandfather reached for me and kissed each of my cheeks, before ushering us inside.

  ‘Faun, our granddaughter has come! Marla is here!’ he called. I glanced around the room. Everything in it was small—the woven loveseat, the table and chairs tucked into a corner, the little kitchen nook to the left.

  My grandmother appeared from a doorway to the right. She was shorter than me and had long wavy brown hair, a sweet round face and a lush figure. Tears sprang to her soft brown eyes as she looked at me. ‘Oh, my darling,’ she cried and embraced me. This was the first female who hadn’t practically fallen at Leif’s feet. I loved her instantly. She kissed my cheeks, then, holding me away from her, she looked me over. ‘You are beautiful, Granddaughter.’ She ran a fingertip beneath her eye to wipe a tear away, before turning to Leif. ‘Thank you for finding her, my prince.’

  ‘You are most welcome.’

  ‘Forgive me, I have been remiss,’ Asher said, coming forward. ‘Highness, this is my wife, Faun.’

  ‘It is a pleasure, Faun. Now, I do not wish to appear impolite, but my father calls and I must return to him.’ He turned to me. ‘I will be back for you before darkness comes, Marla.’

  ‘Oh, but will you eat with us upon your return?’ Faun asked.

  ‘Thank you, yes,’ Leif replied. He kissed me quickly and turned to go. I followed him out the door—my eyes glued to him as he released his magnificent wings and flew away. I watched the empty sky for a while.

  ‘Come, Marla,’ Faun said. She took my hand and led me back inside. ‘Would you like to see some pictures of your father?’

  My mood lifted immediately.

  My grandmother disappeared into the doorway she’d appeared from and returned a moment later clutching a small wooden box. She sat on the loveseat and bade me sit with her. Asher sat cross-legged on a plump cushion on the floor. The box held two dozen or so images of a fair-haired boy, sometimes alone, often with others. Some were paintings, others photos—in both black and white and colour, just like those in mum and dad’s albums back home. When I commented on this, Asher told me that cameras were one of the few human technologies permitted in Telophy. In each image the boy was a little older, most often smiling, but like Asher, serious somehow. Faun couldn’t stop her tears as she and Asher told stories of their son growing up.

  ‘He is handsome, your father, is he not, Marla? Just like his father,’ Faun said, as she showed me the painting Asher had created of a newly immortal Tobias. ‘How I miss him. I wish I knew that he was safe.’

  ‘Do you have any idea where he might be?’ I asked, as Faun resumed showing me the pictures. A wedding photo now, similar to the tiny version in my locket. I had my mother’s pale blond hair and small features, but my father’s eyes and heart-shaped face. I wondered what my brother Lysander looked like, what features he’d inherited from our parents.

  ‘We don’t know what became of him,’ Asher said. ‘He just vanished with his family without word. I can’t contemplate the trouble he and Finelle were in to leave you and your brother to be raised in the human world. And to separate you . . . ’

  I wondered would it hurt them more to know the truth or if it would give them some relief. In the end I felt compelled to tell it to them, so after a long pause in the conversation I said, ‘My parents left me for adoption because, as punishment for rejecting him, King Telophy forbade my mother her pregnancy.’

  Faun made a choking noise in her throat, as eyes wide, Asher said, ‘Rejecting him? You mean Finelle and our king . . . ’

  ‘You didn’t know?’

  Asher shook his head slowly. ‘I knew there was a friendship, but aside from that . . . I knew nothing of a romance.’

  How strange. ‘Well, they must have been close because the king was really mad when she chose my father. Then years later, when Leif was born, my parents hoped King Telophy would be so happy that he wouldn’t mind if they had a baby. They were wrong. I know they planned to come back and get me before I turned eighteen, but I think something must have happened to stop them. Either that or they’re cutting it fine. In any case, I’m only here now because I’m Leif’s betrothed.’

  ‘That we can be very thankful for,’ As
her said.

  ‘Yes, but Lysander won’t have anyone to save him. He’ll just be dreaming away about some girl, with her name stuck in his head and no way of knowing what it means. He won’t know that she’s his betrothed, or what his pointy ears and bad allergies mean.’ I sighed. ‘I don’t even know if I’ll be allowed to stay in Faera.’

  ‘It will work out,’ Asher said. ‘Prince Leif will make it so.’

  I shook my head. ‘Even if the assembly votes to let me stay, that still leaves my brother stranded on Earth, and unless we can find him before he turns eighteen, he’ll lose his immortality.’ I started to tremble inside at the thought of it. I took a deep breath and remembered Leif’s vow.

  ‘One thing at a time, little one,’ Asher said. ‘First we must get through the assembly. Your birthday is months away. We have all that time to find Lysander. We will go to Earth together and find him. And Marla, do not forget the powerful ally we have in your betrothed.’

  I nodded, but felt overwhelmed, and it must have shown because suddenly Faun clapped her hands together.

  ‘Marla, I am sorry. We have upset you.’

  ‘No, you haven’t—it’s nice to have family to talk with about all this. I do wonder why my parents didn’t tell you any of it though.’

  ‘They would have kept it from us for our protection. If the king had come here to question us after Tobias disappeared, it would have been simple for His Majesty to know if we were to attempt to lie for our son and his wife.’

  ‘How could he know?’ But before my grandfather could answer, I already knew how. ‘Oh, he would use your love for your betrothed to get the truth from you.’

  ‘Our king would neither need, nor want to resort to such cruelty. He loves his subjects and feels protective towards them. He might punish when he feels it is deserved, but he would not do so without reason.’

  ‘What do you call what he’s done to our family?’

  ‘I don’t know how our king has justified what he has done, Marla, but I can assure you, he believes it is deserved.’

  ‘Well, if he wouldn’t force the information from you, how would he get it?’

  ‘The bond we share with him would ensure it.’

  ‘Bond?’

  ‘The Bond of Allegiance—has Prince Leif not explained it?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘The Bond of Allegiance is a surrendering of oneself to the ruling king. It is not just a verbal commitment, but an actual physical tie that makes it almost impossible for us to defy him. If we tried to, he would know. And then he would have reason to punish.’

  ‘But why would anyone want to be tied to such a monster?’

  ‘It is need, my darling, not want, and when we have this bond, we cannot think of him as a monster. All Fae lives are dependent upon a king and when we create the bond with our own we gain his protection, particularly from the Shadow Fae.’

  ‘Wait—what are Shadow Fae?’

  Asher looked at Faun for a moment. Something silent must have passed between them because when Asher looked back to me, he said, ‘If Prince Leif has not told you any of this, there must be a reason for it. I don’t think I should speak of it any more.’

  I wasn’t having it. ‘Please, Granddad . . . tell me. I’m going to be worried if you don’t. You can’t just say something like that then not tell me.’

  It might have been the ‘Granddad’ that did it, because after another silent exchange, Asher looked back to me and sighed. ‘I will tell you, Marla, but I fear our prince might be upset with me.’

  ‘Yeah, well I’m upset with him for hiding stuff from me.’

  Asher managed a thin smile. ‘The Shadow Fae are night creatures. In many ways they are like us. They reach immortality at the same age, reproduce in the same way, have the same limitations. But, there is one vital way in which they differ from us. The Shadow Fae, though they need the sun as much as we do, cannot absorb it through their skin. In fact, direct exposure to the sun is death for them. And so they steal the sun they need from us. They don’t seek to kill us, but unfortunately, unless rescue is swift, death can be a side effect.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because the only way the Shadow Fae can get the sun they need is by taking it from our blood. Blood loss is the unfortunate and potentially deadly side effect.’

  ‘They drink our blood!’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Ew, that’s seriously disturbing! Would that be why Leif’s mum told me to keep the sunlamp on and the window shut last night?’

  ‘Most definitely.’

  ‘That’s terrible, but what does this bond thing have to do with it?’

  ‘After we make the Bond of Allegiance with our king, we become connected to him, so when we are taken by the Shadow Fae . . . ’

  I whipped my hand up. ‘Wait! You make it sound as though it happens often!’

  ‘Shadow Fae attacks are a fact of life, Marla. But when they occur we need only call upon our king. He hears us, senses our location and sends his nearest guard to our rescue.’

  My eyes opened wide with horror. ‘Has this happened to you, Granddad? Have you been captured by these creatures?’

  ‘Several times,’ Asher said. I looked from him to my grandmother, my eyes questioning. She nodded, indicating that she too had been victim to these nightmare creatures. A cold shudder passed through my body. Asher cupped my face in his hand. ‘It is all right, Granddaughter. As you can see, we are both quite well.’

  ‘Because you called on King Telophy for help?’

  ‘That’s correct.’

  ‘So when you have this allegiance with the king, you can talk to him like you can your betrothed?’

  Asher smiled. ‘Talk to the king? I think not, Granddaughter, and I doubt anyone would be brave enough to put it to the test. It is more a distress signal I think. We call out his name—he sends his guard to help us . . . But that is not the only benefit of allegiance, Marla. The protection the king offers is twofold. Not only can he respond to us when we are taken, but also the Shadow Fae can sense our allegiance to him. And so, they know they have limited time with their victim. To avoid capture, they feed swiftly and abandon us. Sometimes they are captured, most often they are not. Always we are weakened by the attack, but we recover. If we did not have the Bond of Allegiance with the king, he would not hear our cries for help and we would be at the mercy of our enemy. There would be many deaths to the Shadow Fae. Since King Telophy began his rule, there have been few; he is ever vigilant. I still remember the reign of King Mirren, how different it was—how terrible. Thousands died, Marla, many of our relatives among them. I came close to death myself. King Telophy saved my life.’

  ‘No wonder he is so loved. Leif told me it was because he is king.’

  ‘That is reason enough. When we have this bond with our king, loving him is not a choice. It is entirely irresistible and when in his presence, nothing matters more to us than his desires.’

  ‘Well I guess I sure don’t have the bond then because I couldn’t care less about his desires.’

  ‘The prince told me you were unprotected. In any case, there is a ceremony involved. You would know had you been party to it.’

  ‘What happens?’

  ‘In a Ceremony of Allegiance, the ruling king offers his commitment and protection. His subject accepts the offer and in doing so submits to the king, promising obedience and devotion and releasing to him a portion of his or her power. A bond is created that assures feelings of love on both sides and can only be broken by the bonded person or the king himself.’

  Faun had been sitting quietly the whole time, but she must have heard enough of this conversation, because she took advantage of the pause to thrust a photo into my hand. ‘You and Lysander,’ she said.

  I took the photo; it showed two brand-new babies curled together in a basket. They were fast asleep—their little foreheads pressed together, their faces peaceful, completely unaware they would never grow up together, or even know one another as brothe
r and sister. Faun pointed out Lysander and it confirmed what my grandfather had told me. It was my brother’s photo I had carried with me. It was too sad. Tears turned my vision blurry as I touched the image of my twin. ‘I have to find him,’ I whispered.

  My grandmother wrapped an arm around my shoulder. ‘We will find him, Marla.’

  ‘Come,’ Asher said, rising from his seat and holding out his hands to Faun and me. ‘You are found. This should be a joyful time for our family. I have faith all will end well.’ We let Asher pull us to our feet. ‘Would you like to meet your mother’s parents, Marla?’

  ‘Yes!’

  I flew between my grandparents to the edge of the forest and beyond, following the river that flowed through fields of flowers and grasses, broken only by an occasional willowy tree. We landed to one side of a fork in the river. Women were gathered in a meadow close by, sitting in small groups, their hands busy at some task I couldn’t decipher. Others further away looked like they were picking something from a huge clump of bushes. As we approached, several of the women looked up and smiled. One hopped lithely to her feet and came to greet us.

  ‘Asher, Faun, what a joy to see you,’ the alluring woman said before kissing and embracing first Faun, and then Asher. Faun didn’t even flinch as this beauty held her husband for what seemed like too long—I’d have had palpitations. They released each other and the woman turned to face me, her face full of curiosity.

  Asher said, ‘Melody, we have brought our granddaughter to meet you.’

  ‘Our Marla?’ Melody cried, her hands fluttering to her mouth as her wide blue eyes drank me in.

  ‘The very one,’ Asher smiled.

  Melody threw her arms around me and squeezed. ‘Oh love! How can this be? Where are the others?’ She looked around wildly like they might just appear.

  Asher placed a hand on her arm. ‘We don’t know, Melody, Marla is Prince Leif’s betrothed.’