by J. S. Brent
He lurched forward, one hand reaching towards the pocket of his jeans. Out of it he pulled a leathery sheath, and from the sheath he pulled a small dagger that gleamed in the late-morning night.
“LET—HER—GO!” came a voice from the edge of the clearing, and Henry stepped into view.
“Leave it, Henry,” said Devin, still advancing forward. “This is none of your business.”
“Put down the knife,” said Henry.
“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”
“Devin, listen,” he said, his voice hoarse and throaty. “We found the lost trail, we looked for the treasure, and it’s not there, okay? It’s gone. You can search and search for it but you’re never going to find it, because someone already took it. Someone got there before us and took it all and nothing you do to me will ever change it. You’re just throwing away two perfectly good lives. You murder her, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison. It’s not too late to turn around. You still have a choice.”
“I’ll find it,” said Devin, but his arms were shaking. “The two of you stashed it away somewhere, and I’ll find out where.”
“Listen to him, Devin,” I said. “The treasure is gone.”
“LIARS!” he shouted, springing forward onto the stone and seizing my hair. I screamed. Henry roared; his tall, lank silhouette expanded and shifted, and with a single ferocious lunge the bear sprang to the foot of the cross.
I thought Devin was dead. I doubted that Henry could control himself while still in his bear-form, when the madness of beast-brain and battle overtook him. But, with remarkable self-control and dexterity, he wrangled the dagger out of Devin’s hand. Devin, apparently overwhelmed by terror and surprise, fell backwards onto the grass and blacked out.
Chapter 15—Henry
Having overcome Devin, I shifted back into my human form and ran for Liv. She squirmed restlessly as I struggled to loose the knots that bound her, then showered me with kisses and hugs.
“I was so scared,” she said, over and over. “I really thought I was dead.”
“Not yet,” I said, brushing my lips against the top of her forehead. “Not today.”
* * *
I carried Devin back to the tavern, where we tied him up. I made an anonymous call from a payphone alerting the authorities to what had happened. Then we sat down at the bar, ordered drinks, and waited for them to arrive.
At the subsequent trial, Devin was convicted of attempted manslaughter. He was also found guilty of embezzlement, as Liv had discovered that he had been using the excavation’s funds for his own personal uses, which apparently included a BDSM dungeon and a gigantic bouncy castle. The team’s benefactors were so overwhelmed with gratitude at Liv’s exposure of the truth, and my assistance, that they made her the leader of the expedition and gave me an advisory role.
“So…?” said Liv, entwining her arm with mine, as we descended the steps of the courthouse.
“So?” I said.
She twirled and giggled girlishly. “What are you going to do with your life? You know, now that we’ve found your granddad?”
I stretched wearily and sighed. “I’ll have to go back for him eventually. He deserves a proper burial, but after that, I don’t know. I’ve spent so much of my energy and time chasing after him, now that I’ve found him, I don’t know what to do with my life.”
Liv wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned close. “I have an idea,” she whispered into my ear, motioning to the window of our hotel room just across the street. I began running and she ran after me, laughing the whole way.
Epilogue—Olivia
One Year Later
Flashlights flared in the darkness. The temple was filled with the sound of running footsteps and the slow, repetitive grind of metal against stone.
We had been excavating here under the ground, under the sea, for the last six months. The first couple of months had been slow going, but recently we had made some of our most exciting discoveries.
“Those books you found really turned out to be the key to the whole expedition,” said Henry, as we walked through the marble ruins. “They allowed us to translate the remaining bear dialects…”
“… and let us to an entire library of bear history and legend,” I said. “I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t gone on that little adventure.”
“It gave us everything, didn’t it?” said Henry. “Closure…”
“A career…”
“Careers for both of us,” he said. “And now—this.”
I was watching two of the other workers sipping coffee and not actually working, so I didn’t see when it happened. “And now what?” I asked, turning round to look at him, and seeing he had fallen to one knee.
My heart thudded as he whispered, “I realize this may be a bit soon, but I’ve known, ever since the moment I first saw you in the tavern. There was just something about you. Today I’m more sure of that than I’ve ever been.”
His eyes posed the unspoken question that I hastily and unhesitatingly answered with tears in the corners of my eyes. Henry slipped the ring on and slowly stood up. The kisses that followed were so hungry and enveloping that we hardly noticed the applause that had erupted around us on all sides, echoing throughout the temple.
Royal Love
by
S. Brent
1) Chapter 1: New Jobs and Breakups
Her best friend waved her over.
As soon as she was seated, her friend began to blab.
Soon afterwards, her phone began to ring. The name scrawling across the screen made her light up. Making a quick gesture to reassure her friend she’d be back, the young girl picked up her phone and answered it.
“So did you get the job at the yarn shop?” A typical Tristan-esque response.
“I did. My first day is tomorrow, earlier than expected.”
“That’s great, Cassie! I hope you enjoy it.”
“I know I will. I’ll see you tonight?”
“Of course, baby. I’ll pick you up at seven sharp.”
“See you then, Tristan. I’m looking forward to it.”
The line went dead. Tristan was driving back from a national game for high school football (though she had often heard foreign exchange students from the United States of America refer to it as “soccer”) and Cassie (Cassie to her friends) had just gotten a job. She’d been searching all week (in places such as restaurants, shops, and the works) and most had come back negatively. Until this morning that was, when the call from a local yarn shop came, saying she was just the person for the open position.
“Is Tristan on his way back?” Delilah’s voice startled Cassie enough she jumped slightly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you, Cassie.” Delilah giggled slightly as she handed Cassie the celebratory ice cream that had been deemed ‘necessary’ after hearing the news.
“Yea, he’s already half way here. I’m thinking about breaking it off tonight, Delilah. It’s just not working, even with all the effort we’ve been putting in since March.”
“I was about to suggest that action, Cassie. I really don’t see it ending well for you two if you don’t break it off now.” Delilah’s prediction matched up fairly well with Cassie’s own. “I don’t care how cliché this sounds, Cassie, but you deserve a prince…but the chances of meeting one are slim to none…” Delilah sighed.
“Delilah, you never know what’s just around the corner of life.” Cassie smiled as Delilah laughed lightly.
“You have a point, Cassie,” Delilah started, “but still. A prince isn’t the kind of guy to sneak around in jeans and a tee.” Cassie nodded slowly. “Cassie, please consider the odds. If not a real prince, then settle for someone that treats you like a princess. Tristan does not make the cut. Break up with him tonight or over text afterwards.”
“Delilah, I will. I promise. Tonight.” Cassie smiled. Then added with a laugh, “Besides, text break-ups are so unfeeling.”
***
“Adrian…she�
�s dead.” The queen’s voice weighed her son down. Adrian put a hand to his chin, holding back his tears as only a prince could.
His grandmother had been one of his closest confidents. She’d been closer to him this past year than ever before. Now she was gone.
“I can’t believe she’s gone…” In Adrian’s experience, the Roman family had always been close. A death in the family would travel around fast. Someone would be visiting soon if he was right…many someones actually.
Much of the extended family lived in the country, but some did live out of the country. The only people that did the latter (living out of the country, Adrian meant) that he could think of were his cousins – Lyla, Samuel (Sam for short), and Delia – and their parents, Aunt Kiela and Uncle Adam.
“Kiela just called. She’s headed here as soon as she possibly can get here. Our mother’s death weighs heavily on her mind.” Upon seeing that he was not really in the mood to respond, his mother added, “Adrian, get some rest. We’ll have family here soon.” His mother’s voice somewhat soothed Adrian’s nerves.
He simply nodded and got up from where he sat. The death of his grandmother wore him down too.
“I will, mother. Does father know?” Adrian took a deep breath as his mother shook her head. His dad not knowing might not be a good thing.
Especially because he could tell that she needed him now more than ever in his memory.
“I’ll tell him tonight at dinner, Adrian. For now, rest. We’ll announce the death publicly tomorrow.” His mother waved her hand, a signal that meant Adrian could leave.
He did so after placing a kiss on her forehead, all the while wondering how to break the news to his right hand man. Luke would be a major support in this trial…he hoped.
Slightly shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, he headed up to his room. He just needed a good cry.
Adrian slipped out the back gate easily. Dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt, especially with his black wig and blue contacts from a previous Halloween costume, he looked like a servant. No one knew the difference, especially since many servants knew sign language (to communicate with the head of the guard, who was deaf), as did Adrian.
Pulling the door to his beat up truck open, Adrian slid into the soft leather interior. He’d had a lot of work done on the interior, but purposefully neglected to do anything to the exterior. It looked more like a commoner car that way.
It also matched his disguise better this way.
Adrian wouldn’t have it any other way. It was actually pretty cool, searching for his car in the parking lots only to find it by looking inside at the leather, the new steering wheel, the custom painted dash… and what made it all worth it was that he had done extra chores around the palace to earn the privilege of tricking his truck out like this. That had been one of the best days he could remember from the past couple of years, and he didn’t want to trade it for anything. When asked if he would do it again, he would always answer yes.
“Where to first?” Adrian began to mutter to himself, as he did when he was upset or nervous.
A look at the clock revealed that it was almost seven in the evening. Dinner sounded good, and Adrian knew just were to go. Besides, if he were going anywhere with tear tracks on his face (as it looked like he might since he had only stopped crying about twenty minutes or so ago), he’d look more like he belonged at this particular restaurant than the fancy one his parents would prefer he go to.
***
Cassie smiled at Tristan. The team had won the game, just as had been expected.
Tristan had opted not to go out with the team. Instead, he was here with her. Besides, the team could always get a little rowdy after a win, and he knew Cassie wouldn’t want to be there for it.
Tristan returned her smile.
“I saw the game last night, Tristan. You did well. I’m convinced you’re the reason our football team’s reputation is so well-known and upheld.” Cassie’s comment reminded Tristan why he had asked her out for the first time – a year and a half ago to the day, March 20th, 2012 being their first encounter in such an environment that asking her out on a date could’ve been possible.
She was a sweet heart then, and she was still such a sweet heart that Tristan could hardly keep his excitement in each time they went on a date.
He was always on his toes around her, especially since she was notorious for being generous with her leftovers if they had gone out to lunch or dinner. In fact, he often joked that she would attract the attention of Prince Roman himself if she kept it up, and that he’d steal her away from him. After making a comment of that nature, he’d hold his hand over his heart, fake a gag, and keel over as if he were dead. His “last words” would always be the same. Tell the prince you were mine once.
“You’re too kind, Cassie.” The comment startled Cassie out of her daydream, which made him nervous. Had he interrupted something that she would’ve liked to finish?
Tristan waited for the usual blush, and a possible scolding. It never came, neither did the scolding he had almost half been looking forward to.
Ignoring this new twist in the usual proceedings of a date with Cassie, Tristan pulled the chair out for her. Cassie sat down, brushing a strand of her chestnut hair away from her face. She seemed to be hesitating with her words.
The resulting pause in the conversation made his heart pound. Had he done something wrong?
“Tristan…I need to be honest with you. I don’t think things are working out anymore. We both go off to college in a few months, and long distance relationships never work well. It’s over.” Cassie sounded like her friend, Delilah.
Delilah hated Tristan with a passion. To hear such a Delilah-inspired phrase from Cassie was not uncommon, but this one got on his nerves more than some of the other “Delilah-isms” that she’d use.
“Did Delilah tell you to say that?” Tristan’s voice held a bit of scorn and annoyance. He’d just helped his football team win nationals and his girlfriend is telling him to get lost! Not cool.
“No, she didn’t. Tristan, it’s over.” Cassie’s words hit him like a train. He’d tried so hard to fix the relationship but it had just gotten worse. Now Cassie was calling it off. It stung Tristan’s heart.
It stung Tristan’s heart.
“But Cassie, w-” She cut him off by putting a finger to his lips.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have prior engagements to be attending.” Cassie got up and walked away. Then she stopped and added, “If you try any codswallop, I’ll tell you to belt up or I’ll box your ears.”
Then she turned on her heel and walked away.
He tried to call after her, to form her name on his lips, something, but nothing came out. All he could do was watch her walk off, refusing to look back, refusing to even say goodbye.
Tristan sighed. He’d tried so hard to keep her happy – to treat her like a princess. His efforts hadn’t been in vain, though. She’d given him so many second chances…
A memory boiled up. Her words from last May came to mind.
“One more month, Tristan. I can’t take any more heart break.”
“Oh, l’amour. Such a heart break, no?” The waiter caught Tristan off guard as he came to check on the table after she left.
“You have no clue.” Tristan bent down to pick up the flower he had dropped in the heat of the moment.
Clink!
Tristan picked the ring up.
He had meant to propose tonight. Cassie was probably right, though. She deserved someone better than him. The words she’d said were small, but she had managed to leave what would probably be a lasting impact on his heart.
It was true that he had been a jerk (something she hadn’t outright said but that he had inferred)…but he couldn’t believe she’d broken it off now. Why hadn’t she done it sooner?
If anything, he’d really deserved it after he’d forgotten her birthday. Then he remembered that she had repeatedly tried to call during her time away. Every time he’d sit
down to call her back, he’d be called away to do work, chores, or homework.
She was too trusting with her heart. Too trusting, Tristan thought, for his own good.
Chapter 2: New Friends Made
Cassie woke up to a shining sun…and her blaring alarm.
It sounded like a fire truck had gone through her window.
The snooze button was too far away to just reach out and hit – and that wasn’t just Cassie being lazy.
Cassie had intentionally put her alarm clock half way across the room so she’d have to get up to turn it off. Useful for first days of anything – school, work, play…whatever.
So it did its job that sunny Friday morning as Cassie grumpily threw the blankets off her body and hit the snooze button. Hmm…
“Cassie! You’ll be late if you don’t hurry.” Her mother’s voice echoed through the house. Was it already that close to time to starting time?
“I’m up, mom.” Cassie’s voice echoed just as well as her mother’s. A laugh came from downstairs as Cassie shut the door to her room.
She had to get dressed and ready for work!
Quickly throwing on her purple tee shirt and her jeans, she found that her mom was simply playing a trick on her and that it was seven on the dot, not almost eight.
“Not funny mom!” She yelled through the shut door, half expecting no response.
