by K. E. Drake
“Call me Roland,” the royal gentleman told her. He smiled when she nodded, but kept her gaze lowered. He turned back to his close friend and asked, “Will you be able to stay long?”
Samuel shook his head. “We have to leave as soon as possible to continue our journey.”
Roland appeared disappointed, although he gave an understanding nod. “You must at least join us for dinner tonight.”
Samuel grinned then. “I wouldn’t dream of passing you up on that offer, Roland.”
“I thought you wouldn’t,” Roland laughed. “Very well then. Dinner will be served in the dining hall in two hours.”
Two hours later, after soaking in a hot tub for an hour and preparing for dinner, Ruby nervously wrung the shimmering skirt of her dark-purple dress with her free hand as she walked arm in arm with Samuel to the royal dining hall.
“Stop that. You’re going to wrinkle your dress.” Samuel gently chided as he caught the movement of her hand. His lips quirked in a small smile.
Ruby tore her gaze away from a large painting of a beautiful, sand-colored palace on a beach with a background of a shimmering ocean and a pink and orange sunset. She met the prince’s amused gaze. He looked handsome in his solid black apparel, his sandy hair combed back from his brow, and his jaw now clean-shaven.
The very sight of him eased her jumping nerves, and she loosened the death grip she held on the silk. “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous. I’ve never been to a formal dinner before.” She nudged a pin back into the coil of glossy, red curls pinned behind her left ear.
“You haven’t?” Samuel stopped them suddenly a few steps away from an ornate set of dark brown doors. He slipped his arm from hers and stepped back, taking her hand in his and giving her a regal bow. “My lady, would you do me the honor of sitting with me at dinner?”
Ruby shook her head in amusement, smiling shyly. “It would be my pleasure, Your Highness.” She giggled and dipped a playful curtsy.
“Everything is going to be fine.” Samuel grinned down at her, and they crossed the last few steps to the entrance. “Just don’t mind Jeremiah,” he whispered into her ear as the doormen pulled open the doors to the dining hall.
The full moon shone in through the rows of windows lining the left wall, reflecting off of the gold and ivory swirled marble floor. The long table stretching down the middle of the hall was flanked by rows of high-backed chairs and covered in a cream-colored cloth that brushed the floor.
The king and a man a couple years younger than Roland were seated at the head of the table. The young man’s tall, strong frame was slouched back in his chair, and he lazily rotated one of the silver spoons on the table’s fine cloth.
He wore a fine coat of navy-blue that was only half buttoned over a pale-blue shirt. His thick, soft-black hair was combed back from his high forehead and fell just below his chin in length. The icy light mingling with the dark, azure-blue of his eyes well-matched the scowl that seemed to be permanently carved into his stony features.
Knowing that his old friend wouldn’t want a formal dinner for his visit, the king kept the feast simple and didn’t invite any nobles or any of his military advisers to dinner this evening as he usually did.
Roland looked up and smiled when the pair came into the room. He stood and gave a bow in greeting as they stopped at the head of the table. “I’m glad that you could join us, Sam, Lady Ruby.”
Ruby ducked her head, a faint blush warming her cheeks. “Thank you for inviting us, Your Highness.”
“The pleasure is all mine. This is my brother, Jeremiah.” Roland waved a hand at the other man then at the chair standing empty beside him. “Would you care to sit here this evening?”
The young prince of Kently looked as if he didn’t care who sat with him.
“I’m sorry, but she’s already agreed to sit with me this evening,” Samuel intervened smoothly.
“Sam,” Roland rolled his eyes, laughing warmly. “You always were set in your ways.”
Samuel only shrugged with a smirk and then pulled out the seat across from Jeremiah for Ruby. She softly thanked him and took the offered seat. Samuel pushed in the chair for her and then sat down in the vacant chair between her and Roland.
A set of doors off to the side of the dining hall opened and two young women in dark-brown maid uniforms came into the room, carrying platters full of roasted meats, cheeses, fruits, and warm rolls of bread.
The maids served the steaming plates of food to the royals and the guests, then poured goblets of hot cider for each before they stepped back from the table.
“Thank you. You may go now,” the king told the young maids.
The two women curtsied and then exited the dining hall, leaving them alone.
Roland was the first to begin eating, taking a bite of roasted pheasant. “So what brings you here to Kently?”
Samuel took a sip of his cider. “Ruby and I have been searching for the Kings’ Jewels.”
Roland looked impressed. He opened his mouth, but it was the stone-faced prince who spoke first. “And have you found the mythical treasure?” he scoffed, his low, gruff voice lined with disbelief.
“Jeremiah,” the king quietly cautioned his brother.
“No, Roland. That’s all right,” Samuel assured. “Yes, Jeremiah. It just so happens we have.” The prince of Avon reached into a pocket on the inside of his black coat and pulled out the Danica Diamond, passing it to Roland.
Roland took the Jewel and studied the glimmering, silvery-white diamond closely. His mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. “I always believed the legends to be true, yet still I can’t help my surprise.” He looked to his brother. “Isn’t it remarkable, Jeremiah?”
The prince only rolled his azure eyes and took another bite of his food.
Roland shook his head and turned back to Samuel. “Where did you find it?”
Samuel told the king about their experience on the Scafell Bridge and of the troll residing there. “I couldn’t have done it without Ruby,” he finished and looked to the lady seated beside him.
She blushed pink and looked down at her plate to cover her smile.
Roland returned the gem to Samuel. “This reminds me of the stone we found when we were boys. Do you remember?”
“Remember? I still have it!” Samuel laughed.
The king grinned at Ruby when he saw her glance curiously from him to Samuel. “Several years back, when Sam and I were only boys, Sam had come to visit with his father. We overheard a conversation about a diamond hidden here in the palace. We searched the entire palace before we found the jewel, but it turned out to only be a piece of glass that was cut to look like a diamond.” Roland smiled fondly at the memory. “I remember it as if it was yesterday. That was the day I became engaged.”
“You’re married?” Ruby inquired curiously.
“Not yet, and I’m betrothed, actually,” Roland amended, “to the princess Grace, Queen Esmeralda’s stepdaughter.”
“Queen Esmeralda?” she asked, not recognizing the name.
“The queen of Tamall,” the king supplied. “Jeremiah is betrothed as well, to Lady Nicolette Lockwood.”
Ruby looked at the prince of Kently. He sat back in his chair and focused solely on his plate, completely ignoring the discussion of his future bride. She turned to Samuel and surprised herself by asking, “Are you betrothed?”
“No,” he answered with a hint of a grin.
Ruby could only nod as a strange sense of relief came over her.
“My mother and father both agreed that I should be able to marry whom I choose,” Samuel explained. “Someone who accepts me for what I really am.” Though he said the words openly, only Ruby understood what he truly meant.
“Where are we going next?” Ruby asked Samuel as he walked her to her rooms later that evening after leaving the dining hall.
“I thought that we would set off at dawn tomorrow and start towards Tamall to search for the Teryl Gem,” Samuel answered. They entered a
vast room with multiple doorways and took a set of carpeted stairs up to the next floor.
“At dawn? What would the king think?”
“Don’t worry about Roland. I’ve taken off suddenly and without leaving word before. He won’t be surprised,” Samuel chuckled.
“Oh.” Ruby only nodded. She and the prince turned into another long corridor, and they slowed to a stop in the middle of the hall in front of the doorway leading to her guest chambers. She sighed softly and turned to the prince to bid him goodnight, but he appeared pensive.
“Ruby...” Samuel started reluctantly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Ruby curiously tilted her head, her soft-brown eyes searching his face as she held her breath. “Yes?”
“Are you happy? On this journey? Here with me? Do you want to go back to your home?” Samuel asked, almost as though he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
Air found its way back into Ruby’s lungs and a soft sigh slipped past her lips. “Oh. I thought something was wrong. Yes, I’m happy here, with you. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life when I’m with you,” she softly confessed.
A small grin turned the corners of Samuel’s lips. “Good. I just wanted to make sure.”
Ruby watched as Samuel’s smile slipped and his brow creased as he examined her face, as if she was a puzzle he couldn’t piece together.
A moment passed and he took a slow step closer and placed a warm hand on the side of her neck, causing her heart beat oddly. She drew in an unsteady breath, holding completely still as he lowered his head closer to hers, close enough that his warm breath brushed her face like a caress.
Their lips were only inches apart when a door across from them swung open.
The pair startled and pulled back from each other. They looked to the newcomer to see an older, gray-haired gentleman. He smiled with a polite nod to the young couple and walked down the corridor, disappearing around the corner.
When the echoing footsteps faded, Samuel laughed lightly and shook his head. He looked at Ruby for a long moment before he asked, “I’ll see you at dawn?”
She nodded and knotted her trembling hands behind her back. “Dawn.”
“All right. Good night, Ruby.” Samuel bade and left in the direction they just came from.
Ruby let out a long sigh and rested her back against the door frame. “Good night,” she whispered longingly after the young prince, who had no idea he took her heart and her love with him.
Chapter Nine
The Dark Tower
“How much further is it?” Ruby asked Samuel through chattering teeth, her breath appearing as silver vapors on the icy air. A fat snowflake landed on the tip of her ear, and she looked up at the cloudy, early-afternoon sky through the canopy of leafless tree limbs. It hadn’t stopped snowing since they crossed the border into the kingdom of Tamall late that morning.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Samuel admitted, “but if my calculations were correct, we should be close.”
Ruby nodded and once again marveled at him. He wore no cloak, and she didn’t know how he managed. She was bundled in a heavy, woolen cloak and leather, fleece-lined gloves, but despite the extra layers, she was still freezing.
The pair had stocked up on supplies and obtained an extra mount before they had departed from the palace of Kently. They traveled through the kingdom for four days until they came to a farm near the border of Kently and Tamall.
Samuel had explained to Ruby that it would be better to travel through the next kingdom on foot, so they traded their horses to the owner of the farm for food and warmer clothes for Ruby. They stayed overnight in the farmer’s barn and then set back out on their journey at dawn. They had crossed the border from Kently into Tamall just before noon and traversed the cold climate for hours before it had begun to snow. Soon, they had ventured deeper into the kingdom where the land was carpeted in inches of freshly fallen snow, which they made their way through for over an hour now.
“It’s freezing here,” Ruby muttered and rubbed her arms through her cloak in a futile attempt to bring warmth back into them. “Is it always this cold here? And does it always snow in summer?”
“Tamall is... unique,” Samuel began thoughtfully. “Though it borders the kingdoms of Kently and Glendower, it has longer, harsher winters than the other kingdoms. Its winters begin early in autumn, or even the summer months, and last longer into the spring than is normal. During the period of late spring into early summer, the warmest it gets is temperatures that are typical other kingdom’s autumns.”
Ruby shivered and pulled her gray cloak tighter around herself. She was beginning to lose feeling in her fingers. “I much prefer warmer summers and pleasant winters, like in Omrie and Avon. I don’t think I could bear living here.”
Samuel glanced down at Ruby and felt a twinge of sympathy. Her cheeks were rosy with the cold air brushing over her face, and she clenched her teeth together, her body trembling. The young prince slipped his bare hand into her gloved one, taking her by surprise. She said nothing and he wove his fingers into hers. Steady, tingling warmth seeped into Ruby’s hand and spread up her arm until her entire body was soon free from the biting winter chill. She found herself smiling and then her wide eyes turned up to him, curious. “How do you do that?”
Samuel was quiet and he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a part of my power. Beings with the ability to transform into animals or magical creatures can use their powers outside of their changed form. For instance, dragon shifters can summon their dragon heat in human form.”
Ruby’s face lit up and she studied their intertwined hands, beaming.
As they walked, the trees began to thin. The world surrounding them was quiet. The rusting breeze and the crunching of snow beneath their feet were the only sounds as they walked.
Samuel’s light voice occupied the empty quiet. “Tell me something about yourself.”
Ruby’s brow furrowed. “About me?”
Samuel chuckled lightly. “Yes. I’ve shared something. Now it’s your turn.”
She breathed a soft laugh and shook her head. “There... there isn’t much to tell,” she admitted quietly, her free hand fiddling with the strap of the satchel around her shoulders beneath her cloak.
“Yes, there is,” Samuel assured with a warmth that sent a pleasant chill up Ruby’s arms, despite not being cold anymore. “I find you very interesting.”
Ruby tilted her head at him, her eyes lit with a mixture of surprise and doubt. “You do?”
Samuel nodded. “I’d never met anyone who had a longing for adventure like I do. Then I met you.” He grinned when he saw Ruby duck her head to hide the blush that colored her cheeks. He thought for a moment and then asked her, “Why are you afraid of heights?”
Ruby’s lips wavered between a smile and a frown as she recalled the memory. “When I was thirteen, I was hiding in the loft in the barn outside our estate. The railing gave way and I fell. I broke my arm, and almost broke my neck. I’ve been deathly afraid of heights ever since.”
“Ruby... I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Oh, no, please don’t be. It happened years ago,” she tried to reassure the prince.
He nodded once, though he still seemed unconvinced.
She bit her lip and turned her face up to the gray clouds in the snowy sky, trying to think of something else to say. A single snowflake landed on the tip of her nose, and she wiped it away before she pushed a pin back into the thick, braided coil at the back of her head. She smiled when a thought came to her, and she glanced back to Samuel. “When I was born, my mother named me Ruby because of my red hair.”
Samuel gave a laugh then. “It makes sense now.”
Ruby’s heart lifted and she turned playful. “It’s your turn now.”
Her happiness was infectious and Samuel found himself smiling too. “Shifting forms and dragon heat aren’t the only things that...” he trailed off as they found their way out of the forest and Ruby slowed, p
ulling him to a stop with her.
Her gaze had strayed from him and was now fixed on something ahead of them. Her mouth opened with a gasp, and Samuel followed her gaze to the sight of a tower looming in the center of a vast clearing. The tower had a wide base and stretched nearly twice as tall as any normal tower. The eerie, pitch-black stones of the structure were a stark contrast against the gray and white land and sky surrounding it.
“The Dark Tower,” Samuel breathed quietly in the silence. “It’s incredible.”
She brushed her fringe of side bangs out of her eyes and squinted, trying and failing to be able to see the top of the towering structure where it disappeared into the gray haze. It’s frightening, she thought to herself as Samuel started walking again, pulling her with him.
The rapidly falling snow flurried around them and filled the footprints they left behind in the snow. They crossed the circular clearing and stopped at the base of the tower. Samuel reached out to touch his fingers to one of the pitch-black stones. “This building has magic embedded in the walls.”
Ruby imitated the prince and brushed her gloved fingers over the tower. “How can you tell?”
“Those with magical abilities can sense magic in objects and in other people,” he explained rather distractedly, moving his hand to the stone above the one he studied.
“And this tower has...” Ruby reluctantly trailed off, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
“Dark magic,” Samuel thoughtfully supplied. He pulled back from the tower and turned back to Ruby as she too studied it closely. “We should split up and try to find the way in.”
Ruby’s hand stilled on one of the ice-cold stones. She hesitated but then reluctantly nodded to him. Samuel let go of her hand then, and she immediately missed his comforting warmth as he left her and began to search for a way inside.
Ruby turned in the opposite direction and slowly placed one foot in front of the other as she searched and studied the stones within her short reach. She looked for long minutes as the cold quickly returned to her body. Her numbing fingers dipped into a hollow line cutting through the stones. She took a step back, the heels of her boots sinking into the unpacked snow. Her eyes carefully followed the line until she saw that it formed a wide arch in the base of the tower.
