“Hey.” I poked at the fruit again and then popped a slice of it into my mouth.
“Hey,” Mercedes said from her spot two places down from me.
Instead of answering, Jesse ignored her and sat at my other side. I narrowed my eyes at him and then saw Rhys, who sat next to Mercedes, clench his hands into fists beside his plate, and Winston—sitting next to me—tensed his shoulders.
“I just got done meeting with the Fate Maker,” Jesse said, his attention focused on me.
“You two sure are spending a lot of time together.”
“It is my duty.”
“Your duty?” Winston asked. “Why is it your duty to meet with Allie’s royal adviser and the general high lord of creepiness for Nerissette?”
“Because I’m the crown prince, and there were things we needed to discuss. Things only I can handle.”
“Such as?” I asked.
“About the coronation.”
“Wait, shouldn’t he have had that conversation with Allie?” Mercedes asked.
“She doesn’t need to worry about it,” Jesse said. “There are other things that are more important that should be occupying her mind, and that’s why I’m here. To make the decisions that she doesn’t have time for.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I’m not doing anything but eating breakfast. If the Fate Maker wants to talk about the coronation I’m sitting right here.“
“Darling.” Jesse put his hand on top of mine, and Winston lunged across the table. Rhys threw one beefy arm out and smacked Winston in the chest, pushing him back into his seat.
Jesse raised one eyebrow at them and then turned back to me. “Darling, this isn’t something for you to worry yourself about. It’s simply a few small details that need ironed out.”
“What details?” I asked. “And don’t call me darling.”
“Oh, like the guest list, the music, the order of events, the date.”
“Sounds like you’re basically planning everything.”
“The Fate Maker and I just want this to go well. We need to make the effort to show the people that nothing has changed with the new monarchy in place.”
“But everything’s going to change,” I said. “That’s sort of the point. Fate brought us here to change things.”
“Allie, I think you should let the Fate Maker handle it. He knows more about this than you do.”
“The Fate Maker—” Winston started.
“Is the wisest person in this place,” Jesse said. “He’s going to help us unify this world and then spread out among the stars. He said it’s the will of Fate that we come to rule not just this realm but all of the Realms of Possibility.”
“He’s going to what?” I asked. “Are you reading from a script or something? A textbook?”
“Because megalomania is always such an attractive quality to cultivate. That’s why Dictatorship 101 is such an in-demand elective—right after Marching Band and Introduction to Button Collecting,” Mercedes said.
Jesse looked at her, confused.
“Forget it.” Mercedes elbowed me. “Just go back to planning your party.”
“This is a big deal,” Jesse said, turning to look at me. “The Fate Maker says that this coronation will set the president.”
“You mean a precedent?” Rhys asked.
“Yeah, whatever,” Jesse said. “It’s going to go down in history. King Jesse and Queen Alicia crowned the rulers of Nerissette in front of a crowd of thousands.”
“You mean Allie will be crowned,” Winston said. “She’s the queen.”
“Then she’ll crown me king, and we’ll be a team. Ruling Nerissette together. That’s what the Fate Maker promised me. Plus, he said we’re throwing another party like the one last night but throughout the entire city. Five days of nonstop partying, and when it’s over, we’re royalty.”
“Fabulous,” I said, trying to ignore Jesse’s whole I’m gonna be a king bit because that was just ridiculous. “That’s just what we need, another party.”
Then again, once I was officially crowned as Golden Rose, then I would be in complete control of Nerissette, at least in public. And my coronation ball would be a good opportunity to announce my plans for everyone to hear. Well, after I figured out what my plans were exactly.
“Allie, it will be great,” Jesse said.
“Oh yeah,” Mercedes said. “More time with the nobles. Just what we all really want. Maybe Carolina of the Veldt will show up again and throw herself at every guy in the palace.”
“It’ll be fine.” I bit my lower lip to hide my smile. “We’ll stick together and keep the guys safe.”
“What do you mean you’ll stick together?” Jesse asked. “You won’t be there.”
“Excuse me?” I asked. “It’s my coronation, so I kind of have to be there.”
“Not you.” Jesse waved his hand toward the others. “Them. The coronation is meant for the nobles at court only. Not the peasants.”
“Were you referring to me or your former girlfriend with that peasant comment?” Mercedes said, her voice snapping like a broken twig. She stood and pushed her chair back before stalking toward Jesse and looming over him.
He swallowed loudly.
“Because you better not have meant me, otherwise I’ll give you a whole new version of flowery speech.”
“You’re not even human anymore,” Jesse said, his voice filled with scorn.
“And Heidi?” Mercedes asked. “Is she coming?”
“Of course Heidi won’t be coming. She’s a maid. She cleans up after other people.”
My jaw dropped open, and I didn’t try to hide it.
“What? She’s a maid, not royalty like we are.”
“We all fell through the book together. I don’t care what people became once they got here, but we came together, and that means we are in this mess together—whether you like it or not.”
“Allie.” He wrapped his fingers through mine and tugged my hand toward him.
I tried to jerk my hand back and glared daggers at him when he didn’t release his grip on my fingers. Seriously, enough with the touching and the dating and all of it already. If he didn’t dial it down I was going to banish him to a dungeon—in someone else’s kingdom.
Winston growled, and I watched as Rhys tightened his grip on Win’s shoulder. “Get your hands off Allie,” Winston said.
“Fine.” He let go of me. “Whatever. I’m just saying, the coronation isn’t meant for your type of people.”
“Their type?” I challenged, my eyes narrowing at him.
“Allie, let’s go somewhere and talk about this.”
“Talk about what? The fact that you’re suddenly trying to run a kingdom that isn’t even mine yet, or the fact that you just told my friends they aren’t welcome at my coronation. My coronation, Jesse, not yours. Mine.”
“But, sweetheart, I’m just trying to make things easier for you.”
“Sweet—” I started, but Winston lunged for real this time, and Rhys couldn’t hold him back. He grabbed Jesse’s shirt and started to drag him over the tabletop.
“Win!” I pushed on both boys’ shoulders, hoping to break them apart, but Jesse was struggling and I couldn’t get a good grip on either of them.
Jesse swatted at Winston, fighting to break his hold, and I tried to get between them. “Both of you, stop it! For Christ’s sake, knock it off.”
“I’m going to kill him.” Winston jerked Jesse off his feet, pulling him closer.
Jesse’s flailing hand smacked into my nose, and I felt a sharp crack. I sat down heavily, my hands cradling my face.
“Allie,” Mercedes yelled.
My eyes started to water while piercing pain radiated through my entire head, and my vision went speckly white as I saw stars. I pressed my fingers carefully against my nose and winced, the pain lancing upward into my brain.
All three boys stopped, frozen, and then turned to look at me.
“Oh my God,” Winsto
n said.
“See what you made me do?” Jesse jerked away from Winston’s hold and straightened his shirt.
“Come on.” Rhys grabbed Winston’s arm and marched him from the room. “Come on, Winston.”
“I’m going to destroy you,” Winston said, his eyes fixed on Jesse. “I’m going to rip you to pieces for that, and then I’m going to roast your bones.”
“Winston.” Mercedes hurried over to grab Win’s other arm and helped Rhys drag him from the hall.
I stood up, still cradling my nose. Thankfully it wasn’t bleeding, and the pain was starting to ebb, so most likely it wasn’t broken.
“You stay here,” Mercedes said, “and deal with…him.”
“Jeez, Allie,” Jesse said as Mercedes and Rhys managed to drag Winston away. “Are you okay? I can’t believe he did that.”
“He didn’t do that, Jesse.” I let go of my nose and glared at him through watering eyes. “You’re the one who hit me.”
“Yeah, but it was only because he was trying to kick the crap out of me. I would have never done it otherwise. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I shook my head. “But I can’t believe you. You just tried to uninvite Winston and Mercedes from my coronation ball. Which FYI? Totally isn’t going to fly. I get to decide who’s coming to my own coronation.”
“But look at how he behaved. He was an animal. He flipped out for no reason. You’re my girlfriend, and he just blew a gasket when I got near you.”
“I’m not your girlfriend.”
“But you are,” Jesse said. “It’s fate.”
“How is it fate? You didn’t even know I existed until we were trapped here.”
“Because you weren’t a princess then. Duh. Plus, you can’t hide how you feel about me. You did save my life after all.”
“What?”
“When we first arrived, you saved my life. I don’t know any better indication that a girl is into you than that.”
“I saved you because it was the right thing to do, not because I was into you.”
“That’s great, but it doesn’t change anything. You’re the princess, and I’m the prince, and so that means we’re meant to be.”
“So, it’s not me that you’re fated to be with, it’s the princess? Whoever she might be?”
“But it’s you, so it’s the same thing.”
“And what if I’m not fated to be with you?”
“Of course you are. You’re the most popular girl in Nerissette.”
“And that gets me you? What’s the consolation prize?”
“I know you don’t really understand how things work, but there are two types of people in the world.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that,” I said.
“Good. There’s us, and then there’s them. People like us, we have to stick together.”
“Like us?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“The better people. Royalty, like we are. Think about how awkward your life would be for your friend Mary if she was constantly in the palace.”
“Mercedes,” I said. “Her name is Mercedes, and I know that this is weird for her. It would be weird for anyone to find out they’re now part tree, no matter where they lived.”
“It’s not just that,” Jesse said. “You’re the Golden Rose, a queen, and she’s a thing.”
“She is my best friend.”
“Eventually she’ll accept the idea that you can’t be friends anymore, and everyone will be happier because of it.”
“How can you think either one of us would be happier not being friends?”
Jesse reached for my hand, and I pulled it away from him. “You’re royalty, and she lives in the forest. Did you see her that day in the woods? She was covered in dirt.”
“She’d spent the morning learning how to nurture a tree. Besides, I don’t care if she was dirty. She’s my best friend, and dirt is nothing that water and a little soap can’t wash away.”
“It’s not just that,” Jesse said, his voice low and steady, like he was trying to explain some basic idea to a small child. “She’s a dryad now. They aren’t like us.”
“Where did you get that stupid idea? Mercedes is still the same person she always was, the only difference is that she’s now green and can heal trees. That’s no reason to act like she’s got some sort of disease.”
“Look, Allie, I know you think Mercedes is your best friend, but I’ve been talking to the Fate Maker. He’s told me about them. They’re like animals. They hate being around people. They think we’ve destroyed the land, and if they had their way they’d kill us all and return this land to forests.”
“That’s not true.” I stood and pushed my chair back. “They’re a group of women who take care of trees. They’re just tree sprites. No one said anything about hating us or wanting to turn the land back into forests.”
“Well, they aren’t going to tell you to your face.” Jesse followed me out of the dining room. “No one tells you they’re jealous of you to your face. They wait till your back is turned, and that’s when they start to whisper.”
He led me into the main foyer of the palace. “I know that you don’t want to accept it but she’s not like you. You are going to be queen.”
“Only because that’s what my mother was. It has nothing to do with me personally. I’m not better than anyone else just because I happened to be born into my family and not Mercedes’s.”
“That’s what Fate does. She makes some of us better than others. She makes some of us more important. Its our destiny.”
“Destiny is nothing more than luck. I don’t care what any goddess says otherwise.” I jabbed my finger into his chest. “It was luck that you were there when we fell through the book, and besides, you didn’t even want to be a prince. You wanted to be some sort of shape-shifting bird thing.”
“I’m not a bird, though,” Jesse said. “Fate knows what we’re supposed to be and makes it happen.”
“There’s no such thing.” I glared at him. “Fate doesn’t exist. It was luck. Good luck, bad luck, I don’t know which, but it was nothing but luck. It was good luck for you that the Fate Maker decided I was to be the crown princess and you were to be my prince.”
“That’s not how I remember it. Fate decreed that we were to be together. That we’re meant for each other.“
“Oh, please. We were brought here—against our will—by a magic cat.”
“A magic cat who does the bidding of the goddess Fate. It’s the same thing.”
“No, it’s kidnapping.” I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to mentally remind myself about how my mother always said violence never solved anything. Even if she was wrong I was still going to try to do her proud.
“You’re not thinking straight. If you were, you’d see the cat did it for your own good. For our own good.”
“No, she kidnapped us because she wanted to. And Fate is just the excuse they used to get away with it.” I threw my hands up in the air and shook them for emphasis like I was some scared peasant in one of those old horror movies. “Oh, I had to do it, Fate made me. She forced me,” I said, my voice pitched unnaturally high.
“Fate didn’t make them do anything. She doesn’t exist. They read a stupid book of prophecy and decided to use it as an excuse to kidnap people,” I said in my normal voice.
“You don’t think Fate brought us all here for a reason? You don’t think that book chose us, chose you, for a reason?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I thought I did, but I don’t. I only know one thing anymore.”
“What’s that?”
“It doesn’t matter what Fate decided we were meant to be. We’re all the same people we’ve always been. Titles don’t change that.”
Instead of waiting for him to answer I turned and stormed off. If he didn’t get what I was trying to say, there was no point in bothering to explain it to him. I rushed up the stairs and through the halls, trying to make my way back to the portrait gallery. Af
ter a few wrong turns I recognized where I was and found my way to the hallway full of paintings.
There, in the middle, on the largest canvas, was the painting that Esmeralda had distracted me from the first day. I stopped in front of it and stared at a younger version of my mother, an elaborate gold crown on her forehead and an older woman standing behind her, the woman’s hands on my mother’s shoulders, squeezing them tightly.
“Princess Allie?” Esmeralda purred as she sauntered into the corridor, her tail pointed toward the ceiling.
“Why?” I asked her. “Why did you try to hide the truth from me for so long? The harvestings? My mother fleeing Nerissette? Why did you try to keep it secret?”
“You can’t fight him and win just because you think that’s what she’d want you to do. You have to do it for yourself. You have to choose to stand up to the whim of Fate. Your mother couldn’t do it, but you can’t do it simply to fight her battles for her.”
“I’m not my mother.”
“No.” Esmeralda shook her head. “You are so much stronger than she ever could have been. That’s why, when you face him, we will win. But you must choose it. Not for her. Or because it’s what you think you’re expected to do. You have to choose to save us because it’s what you want to do.”
“Us?”
“I serve you, Princess Allie. I always have.”
“Why should I believe you?” I swallowed and looked back at my mother’s portrait, staring into the painting’s eyes.
“Because I’m the one who defied the Fate Maker’s original order and brought you here. That’s why he wasn’t waiting for you like he was everyone else I’ve pulled through.”
“So, you thought you’d what? Surprise him?”
“Take him off guard, yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he forbade your return. Because he knew, as do I, that when you become queen, our time, his and mine, is at an end.”
“And that means I should believe you?”
“You should believe me because even though I knew you’d hate me when you found out what I did, I still brought you back to save these people. I brought you here knowing that I might die because of it. I brought you here to end the darkness.”
“You want me to end it?”
Everlast (The Chronicles of Nerissette) (Entangled Teen) Page 17
