by Mary Dublin
Reluctantly, Esmae pulled away first, breathless and wide-eyed.
Her heart was fluttering, and she searched for a feeling beyond the warmth in her chest and face. Something that would tell her that it had worked. That after everything, the mess she had gotten herself into would fix itself.
Hope dwindled with the silence of each passing second. Nothing happened.
Esmae's gaze dropped to the table. "It's too late," she murmured.
Suddenly, the warmth of Daniel's lips was at her lower face again. She stiffened, and then relaxed again despite her surprise.
Her breath came out as a shaky laugh when she leaned her forehead against his lower lip. "If it didn't work the first time, why did you think it would work a second time? You silly human."
She felt him smirk, a breathless quality to his voice. "It was worth a try."
Esmae had to bite her lip from sighing aloud in pleasure as Daniel's hand adjusted to cup her back. He stretched out his thumb, stroking her cheek. She leaned into his touch hungrily, putting up no resistance as he tilted her head back for yet another kiss.
Her heart beat wildly as his fingers wound around her waist, holding her tighter. He knew nothing would come of this caress. He saw it himself. But he was still here, holding her despite everything against her.
She should have told him that they needed to stop. If his affections were as fierce as he was letting on, they would both have their hearts broken in the end. But she couldn't bring herself to say it. The hour was growing late, and she was content to leave those worries to tomorrow. Tonight… she wanted to be happy.
Running her hand along the side of his index finger, she was unable to even remotely fear his hands, no matter how big. The intensity hiding under his touch was clear, but his natural gentleness was unmissable.
"I don't want to see these books anymore," she said softly.
Daniel reluctantly leaned away from her to catch her eye. A new glint to his gentle gaze had emerged, wonderful and dangerous.
"You'd better come with me, then," he murmured.
An airy giggle escaped her as his grip tightened on her waist, sweeping her off the tabletop.
Yes, she would be very happy tonight.
Chapter
Seven
Darkness chilled her to the bone. Esmae drew in a sharp breath, and the cold crawled right to her lungs.
"Daniel?" Though she struggled to remember what she had been doing, his name found its way to her lips.
She had been warm, safe. That much she was certain of.
Faint, flickering light spread through her surroundings. She blinked hard, trying to make sense of it. The world seemed to blur and shimmer, like peering through a sheet of rain.
Her hands flew to her mouth when she recognized the shadowy interior of the witch's hut. She was deeper inside than she had been before, standing on the workbench at the far wall, though she couldn't really feel the wood beneath her. It was as if all her senses were working half as well as usual. Her sense of fear, however, was burning bright.
"Daniel!" she cried, scrambling backward.
"He's far away at the moment."
A figure broke away from the shadows along the adjacent wall and approached Esmae. The witch's eyes glinted with malice, though she wore the same good-natured smile as before. Even with her surroundings distorted and blurry, Esmae found it in herself to be terrified of the old woman.
"You," Esmae hissed. "You lied!"
The witch was not fazed in the slightest. "The spell will reverse, and you will be your natural size again. Were those not the words? You agreed to them yourself."
Esmae clenched her fists at her sides. "Why am I here? How am I here?"
"Your usefulness is not quite spent, my dear," the witch purred, resting her hands on the edge of the table and leaning in. There was nowhere for Esmae to run. "And I believe you have something worth gaining, as well."
"The contract is over. I don't want to see you again. Just leave me alone!"
"There's always room for another contract," the witch said, her smile twisting into something more malevolent. "I want something that you can give to me, and you want something I can give to you."
"I want nothing from you!"
"Are you sure about that?"
The world faded into darkness again. Esmae blinked hard, feeling something strange wash over her back. A gasp caught in her throat. Her wings fluttered at her back. Though she couldn't see the witch, her voice echoed all around.
"Your magic is no longer part of the deal, but your wings… they can be yours again. I ask for only one thing."
Esmae wanted to turn her down immediately, but something compelled her to ask, "What?"
The hiss at her ear made her blood run colder than ever. "Lead your prince to me, and your wings will be restored."
"No!" There was no pause for consideration. She didn't need to ask what the witch would want Daniel for. There was power in royal blood. But how on Earth could the witch know that Daniel was still part of the picture? "He banished me from the castle grounds before the third sunset. Even if I wanted to bring him, I doubt he would listen. He'd probably laugh at the sight of me."
The witch's laughter echoed in all directions. "You are a terrible liar, my dear. It's a wonder how you managed to convince anyone for even a day that you were human."
Images swirled around her, illuminating the darkness. Esmae awakening at her diminished size. Being caught in the dining hall. Desperately researching. Handing Daniel a blue butterfly. Kissing him in the candlelight.
"You've been watching me," Esmae breathed, aware of a familiar sensation coursing through her—the same sensation she felt when she performed a spell to turn book pages. "My magic that was left in me… You've been spying with it somehow, haven't you?"
"My magic," the witch corrected. "You hold no claim to it anymore. But as I said, you are still useful to me. I see now that boy would follow you anywhere."
Esmae scowled at the images of the past days, flickering by one by one. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn down this contract."
Something in the air shifted. Mounting frustration.
"I am giving you an opportunity to win your independence back, Princess. This is something that your prince will never be able to give you. What do you expect to happen? Do you want to spend the rest of your days at his mercy? Will you convince him to return you home, only to be shamed and turned away? There is no life he can offer you. You'll sit in his pocket, wait in his closet, forever at his beck and call."
"He's not going to pay for my mistakes. I'd give all my blood before I let you touch even a drop of his."
The world rattled and filled with piercing light. Esmae cringed and shielded her eyes.
"So be it," the witch decided. "I have other means at my disposal."
Esmae's vision became hazier, flickering with light and memories that faded into blotches of color. Sharp pain erupted at her abdomen, like a knife being driven in and twisted. A cry of pain tore through her throat. She grasped at her stomach, pulling bloodied hands away from the fabric of her dress.
Her scream mingled with another's. A familiar voice, but it became distant amongst the pain and swirling colors.
Esmae awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for air. She was no longer standing on the witch's workbench, but laying upon something warm. Trying to roll over and gather her bearings, she found herself pinned by something heavy. Again, she tried to force herself into a seated position, but the thing would hardly budge. She was trapped.
"No!" Remembering the distorted image of the witch, she writhed to free herself.
In a matter of moments, her entire world rattled and shifted. The thing on her tightened as the ground seemed to rise of its own accord.
"Esmae? Esmae, stop! What's wrong?"
She could hardly make out the source of the deep voice as it boomed through her. Tears in her eyes, she gave a final kick to the weight. It fell forward, and she landed sprawled like a starfis
h on the warm surface. She gasped and raised her head to make sense of her surroundings. Giant fingers… A hand. Certainly not the witch's.
Daniel.
It all came back to her. In the night, she had never left him. When she jerked head up and to the side, the prince was already peering down at her with worry. She palmed her face with relief. He was still safe.
"Are you alright?" His voice was soft, but the urgency remained. "You're shivering…"
She shuddered as a second hand came up to rub her back. Fingertips tangled in her long hair, brushing it aside gingerly so he could continue the calming motion.
"It was a nightmare," she croaked. "Just a horrid dream."
The calming motion at her back paused, and Esmae had half a mind to cling to the retreating hand. But in the next instant, Daniel had clasped her lightly to his shoulder and suddenly her entire world smelled of pine and spice.
"You're safe," he hushed. "You're okay."
Esmae nodded absently, sliding a hand down to her stomach and feeling along the fabric. Nothing. No rips, no wounds. But the pain had felt as real as anything she'd experienced. Leaning into Daniel, she tried to relax. Already the chills were being warded off.
"I was back in the witch's hut," she said, unable to rid herself of the images. "She… she was telling me to do something horrible in exchange for my wings."
The gentle pressure of his hand increased, and his thumb smoothed her hair down comfortingly. "What was it?" he pried softly.
Hesitance nearly halted her words completely, and she took a deep breath. "She told me to lead you to her." Dread flooded around her, and any progress she'd made with relaxing was lost. "What if it wasn't just a dream?" she breathed.
"How could it be anything but? She's miles away from here."
She balled her fists in the fabric of his sleep shirt, knuckles whitening. "I think she might be using me," she whispered. "Watching me with the bit of magic that remains in me."
Daniel pulled her out in front of his face. If he had looked worried before, now he looked visibly disturbed.
"There's no way she could hurt you in here," he insisted gently. "The palace is heavily guarded, you know that."
"It's not me she's after. She's taken what she can from me." Esmae leaned forward, laying both hands on his palm. "You, though… she has nothing of yours."
"What could she possibly want from me? I don't have a drop of magic."
"But you do have royal blood," she fretted. "It's rare and powerful, even from a human. She's made it clear she's keen on making her magic stronger."
Her stomach churned at a terrible thought. It wasn't Daniel's death she needed to fear. No, the witch wouldn't kill him. She would keep him alive just enough to ensure she could harvest as much blood as she could.
Esmae trembled. "I'm her only connection to you." It suddenly felt so naive to believe that her encounter with the witch had only been a dream. "If she really is watching, then… I'm putting you in danger just by being near you."
"Don't talk like that." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, making the world seem bright again for a few precious seconds, but as she leaned her head against the side of his face, it hit her all over again exactly what was at stake. He could be little more than a breathing corpse if the witch got her hands on him.
"I just don't want you to get hurt," Esmae whimpered. "You could lose your life because of me."
Daniel's grip tightened on her. "Nothing's going to happen to me. This could be nothing more than a dark dream. Just a nightmare, as you said."
"Maybe." There was no concealing the uncertainty in her voice, but she tried to look at the situation from a less panicked view. "And if it was real… I refused her, and she's angrier than ever. Frustrated. Clearly she can't come here herself. That's what she needed me for."
I have other means at my disposal, the witch had said.
The words chilled Esmae to the core, but she reminded herself the prince was well-protected within castle grounds. It was heavily guarded, as he said.
Esmae ran the back of her fingers along Daniel's cheek. "Please, at least promise me that you'll stay away from the forest."
There was a heavy pause, and she could imagine the puzzled frown on his face. She wasn't making any more sense now than she had been just before the spell expired. But that had been before he'd kissed her.
"I promise," he said reluctantly. "If you swear to me you won't do anything rash. I don't want to lose you either."
Her pause drew out longer than his. No matter how she tried to dismiss the witch's taunts as ploys to seal a contract, the awful words echoed in Esmae's mind. Do you want to spend the rest of your days at his mercy? Forever at his beck and call.
The way he held her was not possessive, but protective. The witch would certainly never understand that.
"I promise," Esmae said in turn.
Requesting that he take her home was out of the question by then. Though there was a good deal of distance between Evrosea and the witch's tree, Esmae wouldn't dare allow Daniel to enter the woods for her sake. Chances were, returning home to get herself away from the prince to protect him would be useless.
Shamed and turned away.
The biting words were the witch's attempts to convince Esmae, but that part felt true.
Sighing wearily, Esmae pressed a slow kiss to Daniel's cheek. "I'm sorry to worry you. You should go back to sleep."
He pulled her out in front of his face again, looking somewhat unconvinced. "You're sure you'll be alright?"
Esmae managed a real smile this time, running her hand along his palm. "So long as you're here, I will be."
His expression softened immeasurably, still looking so wonderfully surprised to hear such tenderness escape her. Esmae held to Daniel tighter as he slid down amongst the cushions and set her down next to his own place on the pillow.
"I can't think of any place I'd rather be right now," he declared, eyes soft.
Esmae blushed, but she was beaming as wide as he was. "Not even one?"
Shutting his eyes, Daniel swept her closer to him with a simple flick of the wrist. "Not even one."
Chapter
Eight
The darkness of Daniel's pocket wasn't quite so frightening as it had been at first. Esmae wasn't sure whether to count that as a good thing. The idea that she was getting used to something so degrading was not a pleasant one.
But it was necessary if she wanted to go beyond the four walls of Daniel's bedroom, and he had been as gentle as ever, ushering her into his pocket and taking the time to be certain that she was alright before heading out.
She wasn't sure where they were heading out to, but she perked up when the sound of crunching gravel replaced the thudding of his footsteps through the castle corridors. A surprise, he had said. Thoughts of the colorful flowers in the gardens quickly filled her mind.
Finally, Daniel came to a stop. Esmae rocked back and forth in his pocket as he pulled his jacket away from his chest. She peered at the light overhead and scrunched her face in surprise. His hand blocked the light soon after, and she allowed his long fingers to seek her out and wrap around her waist.
Seeing as it was safe enough to bring her out in the open, she figured it was safe enough to speak. "Where are we?" she called up as he drew her out. "It smells awf—interesting."
Daniel laughed. "I'm sorry about the smell. Damn near impossible to get a stable to stop smelling like shit."
She wrinkled her nose. In the open, the odor only grew stronger. It was a stark contrast from the flowered gardens she'd been anticipating. As Daniel carried her further inside, her eyes widened with awe all the same.
It was difficult to compare the place to any she'd seen in Evrosea. Late morning sunbeams filtered down through wide beams and a thatched roof. It was not quite as high as the ceilings in the palace, but every structure on the property was still enormous by fairy standards. Racks of saddles and riding gear led off in another long corridor. Daniel passed it
by, headed to an area where gravel mixed with soil and hay.
"I thought you might like to meet Amos," he explained.
"W-who?" Her eyes were round as he strode down a walkway lined by massive stalls on either side. Ink colored eyes peered out from many, watching the prince as he passed.
"You'll see," he said, a smile in his voice.
One of the horses nickered as Daniel passed, and Esmae scooted over to wrap an arm around one of his fingers. Her wide eyes trailed over each of the massive beasts. They seemed perfectly calm, but she couldn't help but wonder how the wooden stalls managed to enclose anything like them.
Esmae shook her head in disbelief. "They're so big."
"I suppose fairies don't see many horses up close."
"They don't exactly run wild in the woods."
Daniel's steady gait slowed as he approached one of the stalls. Esmae leaned into his fingers, her lips parting in surprise when she laid eyes on the stallion that stood directly within the wooden gate. It was all black, other than a white diamond shape above its eyes. As if recognizing its rider, the horse stepped forward, leaning its head out over the gate.
"Amos," Esmae said, a smile perking on her lips. "I remember him."
"Do you?" Daniel shot her a startled look as he set down the sack he'd been carrying in his other hand.
Realizing the slip too late, Esmae turned sheepish. "Well, yes. You were riding him the day I first spotted you in the woods." Not a complete lie, she commended herself. Daniel certainly didn't need to know about every instance she had watched him.
"You remember that?"
She nodded, shyly glancing over her shoulder. "I have a gift for details."
Esmae smiled wider as he rubbed a hand up the horse's snout like he was greeting an old friend. The animal snuffled contentedly, smelling his hand and sleeve as if searching for something.
"He looks hungry," Esmae remarked, unconsciously clutching tighter to his fingers.
