Jasmine reached out to take it and as she did, she caught the most alluring scent coming from both this man and the flowers he held.
She felt a blush race to her cheeks and she stumbled to find the words to thank him. “That’s… very… that’s very kind of you. Thank you.”
Her mother stood and stepped between them. “Please wait in the workshop for my husband.” Her voice was cold and unlike any tone Jasmine had heard her use before. “He won’t be long. The other workers can get you started.”
The man nodded and stepped back. “Of course.”
As he withdrew from the gazebo, Jasmine felt a piece of herself leave with him and had to fight the urge to follow him.
“He could have joined us,” she sulked. “I thought you said we should always use our manners.”
“Not always,” her mother said, bringing a smile to her lips that failed to reach her eyes.
Jasmine picked up her buttered toast and took a bite, scowling at her mother.
“Get rid of him,” Jasmine’s mother said to her father. “Please.”
“I’ve been so busy,” he protested. “I can’t keep up with the needs of the people. This apprentice was the only suitable applicant. His knowledge of oils is extensive. I need his help.”
Her mother huffed and folded her arms.
Taking another sniff of her flowers, Jasmine realized that she’d misjudged the new apprentice on first appearances. He wasn’t odd or plain. He was… really quite magnificent. Is this what it felt like to be a proper grownup? Because she suddenly felt more like a woman and less like the girl who’d stepped into this gazebo.
“Give me those,” said her mother, snatching the bouquet from her hands and throwing them into the lavender bushes.
“What did you do that for?” Jasmine stood up, horrified. “They were for my birthday.”
“You don’t want those,” said Raph, with eyes like saucers. “Mother’s right.”
“Sit down,” her father said with his own look of confusion on his face. “Let’s not talk about the new apprentice. It’s Jazz’s birthday. We should enjoy our breakfast.”
They ate in silence, the good mood broken, the birthday both now the best and the worst birthday Jasmine had ever had. Bittersweet would be a better word for it than happy. Her mother had been right about one thing though. This was a birthday she’d always remember. Just maybe not for the reasons her mother had planned on.
She was a true woman now. She’d just met the only man she’d ever love.
RAPHAEL
THE BEFORE
“Tell me the story about the sleeping princess,” said Raphael, snuggling down under his blanket.
“Not that story again!” His mother groaned. “I think I’ll turn into a sleeping princess if I have to tell that story one more time.”
“It’s my favorite.” He pulled the sad face he knew usually got him what he wanted. “Just one more time and I promise I’ll never ask for it again.”
His mother sat down on his bed and ran her fingertips lightly through his hair. “Okay, I’ll tell it to you one last time.”
Raphael reached for his mother’s hand and gave it a squeeze, pushing down the awful feeling that this really was the last time she’d tell him this story. Dark thoughts like this had been plaguing him lately and it was upsetting him. He wanted his mother to tell him this story at least a thousand more times. He wanted her to tell it to his children and his children’s children. For now, he was going to have to be happy with hearing it this time and hope that he was wrong.
“Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen who had a baby daughter. And they loved her very much. It came time—”
“Stop!” Raphael held up his hand. “You forgot to say my favorite bit.”
His mother rolled her eyes. “They loved her very much. Just like your father and Jazz and I love you very much.”
“Better.” Raphael settled back down again, waiting for the rest of the story.
“It came time for the princess to have a special blessing and everyone in the town was invited to join in the celebration. Except for one person.” His mother crinkled her nose as she always did at this part of the story and held up her hands to make her fingers look like claws. “They didn’t invite the evil witch!”
Raphael gasped and joined his mother in an evil cackle.
“They didn’t want the evil witch at the party, and this made her very, very angry. So, she came to the party anyway and she put a curse on the baby as her revenge.” She hesitated. “Honestly, Raphael, I don’t know why you like this story so much. It’s quite awful really.”
“It’s exciting,” he whispered. “And it has a happy ending. Go on.”
“The curse said that when the princess turned sixteen, her finger would be pricked by a spinning wheel and she’d fall into a deep sleep. The only way to wake her up would be with…”
“True love’s kiss,” Raphael finished.
“That’s right. The princess stayed asleep for one hundred years, in which time her parents died and the castle she lived in was covered in vines with thistles and thorns. One day, a prince was galloping on his horse through the forest and he came across the abandoned castle. Curious, he tied up his horse and used his sword to fight his way through the thistles. After much effort, he worked his way into the castle where he came across the princess, laid out on her bed, sleeping ever so deeply.”
“Then what did he do?” whispered Raphael, knowing exactly what was coming next, but enjoying pretending that he didn’t.
“He went up to the bed and sat next to the princess, just like I’m sitting next to you right now. And he looked at her and instantly knew that what he felt was love.” His mother put her hand on her heart. “Then he leaned over the sleeping princess and kissed her gently on the cheek.”
Raphael closed his eyes, just like the princess, and waited for his mother to bend over and brush her lips across his face.
“And the princess woke up,” said Raphael, his eyes springing open.
“She did.” His mother smiled at him in the way only a mother can.
“Then did they live happily ever after?” he asked, needing to hear her answer as if saying it would make it true.
“Indeed they did. Goodnight now, my little prince.” She tucked in his blankets a little tighter and touched his cheek before leaving the room and closing his door so he could sleep.
But sleep didn’t come to Raphael, being kept at bay by troubled thoughts. Something wasn’t right. In fact, something was terribly wrong. He just couldn’t work out what it was. Ever since Jazz’s birthday breakfast at the gazebo, he’d had an awful feeling in his stomach. Like the Evernow that his mother spoke of was crumbling, no matter how much he tried to hold the pieces together.
He loved his mother so much yet couldn’t shake the feeling that their time together was coming to an end.
Was his mother about to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep? They didn’t even own a spinning wheel. Well, not one that he knew of. And there was no evil witch in Cypress. Not even in all of Wintergreen. He was just being silly. Although, he knew his mother didn’t trust the man who’d come to work for his father. But he wasn’t a witch. Was he a warlock?
No, everything was okay.
Why then, were tears pooling in his eyes, trying to fight their way out? Because somehow, he knew that just like the princess who’d been destined to prick her finger, he was also destined for something. And although his story also had a happy beginning, the part coming up right now wasn’t going to be good. Would he get to have a happy ending, too?
ARI
THE NOW
Ari followed Jasmine through the winding paths of the garden and out to the main road.
“Hurry,” she said. “We need to get to Raph.”
It’d taken them a while to get moving while they set up a trap to lure the Alchemist back to the apothecary so they could find a way into his house. Raphael had been right when he�
��d said Jasmine would know what to do. Her idea was brilliant. Ari was disappointed he hadn’t thought of it himself.
“He might see us,” said Ari, taking Jasmine’s hand and pulling her down to the scrub at the side of the road. “We can walk along here. He can’t know we’re coming.”
Jasmine went with him, but he could sense her hesitation. She may be emerging from her haze, but she was still extremely confused.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said, letting go of her hand. “I’m trying to help you.”
“Why are you helping?” Jasmine fell into step beside him, her eyes glued to the ground as she watched her footing, her steps fast and measured. “I still don’t understand what the Prince of Wintergreen is even doing in Cypress?”
“That’s kind of a long story,” he said, stumbling on a branch and catching himself just in time before he fell.
“Surely it’s too dangerous here for someone as important as you? It’s obviously too dangerous for the King. I don’t think he’s ever stepped his royal foot in Cypress. Why should his son be any different?” Ari ignored the bitter tone to Jasmine’s voice, despite her words leaving a sting. She was only voicing what he’d already thought. How many others in Wintergreen felt the same?
“My father didn’t want me to come here,” said Ari. “In fact, he forbade me.”
“Brave of you to defy the King.”
“His decision made no sense. He was thinking like a father, not a King.” Ari wondered if when he became King if he’d find it any easier to keep these parts to himself separate.
Jasmine glanced up at him, smelling her salts as she walked. She’d told him that Raphael had switched the elixir in the sachet and he’d noticed that her eyes were getting clearer each time she inhaled them. The complete opposite of when he’d first met her. Her brother certainly was an intriguing boy.
“It must feel very strange for your father to be the King,” said Jasmine.
“Not really.” He was impressed at the fast pace she was keeping up. It was more like a jog than a walk. She really was keen to get to her brother. “It’s all I’ve ever known. Something only feels strange if it’s new to you. It would feel strange for me to have a father who isn’t the King.”
She seemed to consider this for a moment. “Fair point. But you still haven’t answered my question. I don’t care if it’s a long story. Why are you here?”
“I’m looking for someone,” he said, hoping that would be enough for now. She was being quite pushy and he wasn’t used to it. People didn’t normally speak so candidly to members of the royal family, but Jasmine seemed not to care who he was and he had to admit that he liked it. It made him feel incredibly real. It was just a shame she didn’t seem to like him very much. He was still trying to recover from her calling him a coward when he’d only been doing what he thought was best for Raphael.
“The Alchemist’s wife.” Jasmine slowed her pace just a little. “Who could you possibly think she is?”
Ari sighed. She really was pushy.
“I heard about the Alchemist and his wife and I thought I knew them from a long time ago. But I saw the Alchemist outside his house and even though I only saw him for a few moments from a distance… I don’t think it was him.” He was puffing now, not used to talking as he hurried his footsteps like this.
“People change,” said Jasmine. “How long ago since you saw him?”
“Ten years. But he looked younger now. He should have looked older.”
“Maybe he’s discovered the elixir of youth,” said Jasmine, giving him the sense that she wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. Just how powerful was this Alchemist? Could it have been the man he was looking for after all?
“I need to get another look at him,” said Ari, remembering that Jasmine had said that the Alchemist had known Doctor Abner’s name. It had to be him!
“What do you think he’s done with Raphael?” Jasmine asked, not seeming to have noticed that he hadn’t really answered her question about who he thought the Alchemist was. Or perhaps she’d just decided to drop it for now. “Do you think he’s hurt him?”
“I don’t know,” he said, increasing his pace to keep up with her. “You’re the one who knows him.”
“I really don’t think I know anybody,” she said, locking eyes with him. “Except Raph. And he’s not here right now.”
“We’ll get him back,” said Ari. “I promise. Let’s just stick to our plan. It’ll be okay.”
Jasmine nodded, making him wish he knew that for certain. Surely the Alchemist wouldn’t hurt a young boy?
An image of the tortured animals he’d found in the perfumery punched Ari in the gut. If the Alchemist had been responsible for that—or condoned Ana doing it—then who knew what he was capable of doing to a small boy.
“Think you can run the rest of the way?” Jasmine asked, dashing off without waiting for his reply.
He jogged along behind her until they reached the Alchemist’s house and Ari hid himself in some nearby bushes and caught his breath. As much as he didn’t like the idea, they’d decided earlier that their plan would work best if Jasmine went to the front door to knock. Please let it work! If the Alchemist pulled her into his house, they were done for. Ari had no idea how he’d get her out on his own. It didn’t sit well with him that both times now, he’d waited outside while someone else put themselves at risk. He was behaving more like his father than the King he wanted to be.
The Alchemist opened the door and smiled at Jasmine. She said something Ari couldn’t hear and the Alchemist stepped out to the front porch to see what she was pointing at. There was a large plume of smoke rising into the air in the direction of the apothecary.
“The apothecary’s on fire!” Jasmine said, more loudly this time. “Your workshop’s going up in flames. Come quickly!”
The Alchemist clutched at his chest, his eyes wide. “No!” he screamed, seeming to be unable to release his gaze from the horizon. “My work! The cure!”
Ari took this opportunity to study this man properly. Despite being several yards away, he had a fairly clear view. He needed to be certain if it was the man he’d come looking for. There was something familiar about him, like Ari had seen him somewhere before long ago, but he couldn’t place where. Was that because it was him and he’d managed to alter his appearance somehow? It didn’t look like the man Ana had run off with. So why then, did he feel like he knew him? Was he just seeing a familiarity as that’s what he wanted to see? Because if this wasn’t the Alchemist he was looking for, then the wife locked inside that house couldn’t be Ana either.
“Come,” Jasmine said to the Alchemist. “We must go and help. The women don’t know what they’re doing. They’re just turning in circles.”
“Why is this happening?” the Alchemist’s voice echoed across the empty space, making Ari jump. This man had an authority about him that stretched beyond his ability to make magic from plants that grew from the earth. It was no wonder he’d so easily been able to mold this village into the evil form he desired.
“Hurry!” Jasmine made her way down the front path, trying to lure him away from the house. Their plan was to have him panic so much that he’d forget to lock his door before he left.
However, not all plans go exactly the way they’re laid out and the Alchemist turned to lock his door, before following Jasmine down the path, jogging toward the smoke billowing from the apothecary.
Ari was aware that the plan got dangerous now, both for him and for Jasmine, who was going to need to break away from the Alchemist before he reached the apothecary and discovered it was indeed the gazebo on fire and not his workshop.
Before they’d left, Jasmine and Ari had stacked the gazebo with belongings from the house and set it alight, hoping the old timber furniture and blankets would create the necessary smoke. It had done a better job than they’d hoped for.
Ari didn’t have much time to find his way into the house and get Raphael out, before the Alchemist would return. An
d when he did return, he was going to be angry, which made things even more dangerous again. But he could do this. This was his chance to prove to Jasmine that he wasn’t a coward.
He liked Raphael. There was something about that kid. He reminded him of himself as a child. He was the sort of brother he’d have liked to have had for himself, instead of his sister who had more troubles than she had insults at hand.
Where was Ana? People didn’t just vanish. If she wasn’t here in Wintergreen, then where could she be? Had she run to one of the other kingdoms? Somehow he doubted that. She loved Wintergreen. It was possibly the only thing in the world she loved. Apart from the Alchemist of course. Was he about to meet her once again?
He went to the front door and tried the handle, despite knowing it wouldn’t open. It didn’t. So, he knocked, hoping the Alchemist’s wife was inside and would be curious enough to see who’d come to call. But that was useless, too.
Perhaps he could find a way in through the window where he’d last seen Raphael’s skinny legs disappearing? But to his dismay, that had been boarded up.
He focused his attention instead on the window next to the front door. The shutters were closed and locked with a latch on the other side, but surely he could find a way in. It would be perfect for getting Raphael out.
Ari removed his pendant from around his neck and held it up to the middle of the shutters, poking the golden tree trunk through, underneath the latch. With a bit of wiggling of the pendant and cursing from Ari, he soon felt the latch begin to shift. He worked on it, trying to ease it upwards until it sprang free and the shutters swung open.
“Yes!” It seemed breaking into houses wasn’t as difficult as he feared it would be.
Ari climbed through the window and blinked in the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
“Raphael!” he called. “Are you in here?”
Silence.
“Raphael,” he called again, still uncertain where the Alchemist’s wife might be. She could jump out at him at any moment. He needed to be on the alert for an attack. But he knew how to fight and was ready for whatever may come at him.
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 30
