“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine. I just need to get out of here for a while,” I explained distractedly.
“You’ll stay close by then. Don’t go getting into trouble,” he admonished. I nodded, not caring that he was lecturing me, just wanting to be free. He finally released me, and I began making my way toward the ballroom doors. I was walking quickly, brushing up against people, desperate for escape.
I cried when I was frustrated and it was a horrible side effect to my feelings. The tears were pooling in the corners of my eyes again and I was barely holding them back. My vision blurred slightly as I stepped out into the hallway and accidentally bumped into someone's shoulder when turning the corner. It was more than a brush and caused both of us to stumble.
“Careful there, love.”
I brushed the tears from my eyes and looked up to apologize to the person I had run into, only to find Shar standing in front of me.
“Shar?”
His eyes scanned me up and down. Slowly I could see the wheels turning in his head. A knowing smile spread across his lips.
“This explains a lot,” he said, obviously amused. His hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail, his green eyes as piercing as I remembered.
“I suppose you find this amusing?” I hissed, annoyed by his haughtiness.
“I knew you were lying the minute I met you, but never did I expect this.”
I glared at him, hating the way he was patronizing me.
“Well, I’m glad to see someone is entertained by the outcome. What are you doing here anyway?” I growled, and he raised a blond eyebrow at my brazen temper.
“I’m the prince’s personal guardian.”
“Of course you are,” I acknowledged flatly, and suddenly I couldn't take anymore. If I met one more person that night, I thought I might scream.
I turned to walk away but he stopped me before I could get out of reach, and twisted me back toward him. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned in closer, his voice reducing to a menacing whisper.
“Love is a perilous game, especially when the person you desire belongs to someone else. Walk away now from whatever it is you’ve found with him. Because in the end, it will only destroy you.” He released me from his vice-like grip, and I rubbed the spot where his fingertips had made little imprints in my arm.
I stalked away, determined to ignore Shar’s words. He didn’t need to warn me or tell me the consequences. I already knew we couldn’t be together. At least, that’s what I told myself on the way back to my room, repeating it over and over again in my mind to make sure my heart understood. You can’t be with him, you can’t be with him. But I don’t know if my heart was even listening.
NINETEEN
I was forced to attend breakfast the next morning. I promised Oli I would show up. The pale blue day dress I wore was particularly itchy, and I was regretting my fashion choices as I fidgeted in my seat. We sat at a table together placed within a glass-enclosed pavilion. The windows protected us from the winter air. We could see on all sides and were nestled amidst a grove of golden aspen trees. “Sabeara. . .” Oli rarely called me by my real name, and it made everything suddenly serious.
“Are you finally going to tell me the truth?” I asked him bluntly, not in the mood. I’d barely slept after the previous night’s ordeal and could feel the grouchiness prickling beneath my skin.
“The amulet, your mother did leave it for you.”
I looked up from my tea I'd been lazily twirling with my porcelain spoon.
“She did?”
“She told me you had to find it on your own. I couldn’t help you, something about getting in the way of destiny. She said after you found the amulet, I should begin to tell you more about the curse. And despite your father's disapproval, I think it's time you know.” He was looking out the window, a faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering something. “Everything you’ve been suspicious about, the book, the curse, the amulet, it's all true.”
I remained quiet, wanting to gather as much information as possible.
“The story book your mother gave you was created so you’d believe in the curse, to help you know the role you would play in all of this. Your mother hoped you’d be led to the amulet someday and realize it was a token from one of the five kings that will eventually help defeat the curse. ”
This wasn’t something I’d considered really, the amulet being one of the tokens of the five kings. Instinctively, I reached up to clutch the ruby still hanging around my neck.
“When did she tell you all this?” I asked quietly, almost hushed. “Before she died,” he said.
My forehead scrunched in confusion. “And my father, she didn’t tell him?”
“Your father is a skeptical man, she tried to make him believe, would tell him about her visionary dreams but he never truly could comprehend them. Which was why he was so insistent about keeping it from you and Jasper.”
I nodded, realizing it sounded like him.
“Why me?” I suddenly wondered why I’d been the daughter chosen to find the amulet and not Jasper. “Jasper would be much better at this sort of thing.”
“For some reason your mother wanted you to be the one to find the amulet. It could potentially have magical properties that could be used to defeat the curse. She thought you’d be the one to unlock them.”
“If she thinks I’m going to be some sort of hero that saves the realm with her magical necklace, she’s going to be disappointed,” I snorted unattractively, and Oli frowned.
“The curse is coming; the lands are getting more contentious as the weeks go by. The other sentries and I have been studying the histories of the ancient kings. But we’ve only just begun to infer what the other tokens are and where they might be.” It was then that I noticed the bags under his eyes and the visible exhaustion in his demeanor. I’d been so caught up in other things I’d been unable to see his apparent stress. “If we don’t save the realm, Little Bear, who else is going to?” His question made me uncomfortable.
“Maybe you should take the amulet and figure out what it does.” I began to pull the golden chain up over my head, but Oli quickly grabbed my hand, stopping me from handing the amulet to him.
“Your mother was very adamant that you needed to keep the amulet. Don’t deny her wishes, Little Bear. She wanted this for you.”
I was reluctant to believe what he was saying but also afraid she’d seen something in her dreams. I wished I could go back in time and ask her about all the things that she saw. Then maybe I would understand more.
The sound of hoofbeats in the distance could be heard coming up the path to the pavilion. We both turned our heads to see three people on horseback riding toward us. It looked to be Jasper and Mid with Shar not far behind. Jasper waved to us, a smile on her face.
She jumped off her steed, Astrid, a beautiful palomino gelding, and came strolling into the pavilion doors. She wore her red cloak that morning and an elegant day dress that had soft mink furs on the cuffs. She wore a pair of matching fur riding boots on her delicate feet and just like every other day, she looked absolutely stunning.
“Good morning you two! We were just going to play a game of Arches. Would you like to come along?” Jasper asked excitedly.
I could feel the change in the atmosphere as Mid stepped into the pavilion behind Jasper. The room was suddenly charged with a tangible tension. Mid's gaze was piercing as our eyes locked on each other.
“I’m not very good at Arches, so I think I’ll pass.” I broke our gaze and began standing to abandon the tea table as if it were a sinking ship. I was almost out the door when Mid’s voice echoed off the glass walls, causing goosebumps to erupt down my spine.
“Please stay and play with us. It would be rather boring with only three players.”
I was about to answer when Oli jutted in.
“I wouldn’t mind playing a few rounds, and I don't know what you’re talking about, Little Bear, no one in t
he castle has been able to beat you in months.” I turned to shoot a glare at Oli. Despite him knowing absolutely nothing about my relationship with Mid, I still felt betrayed.
Shar stepped in at that moment, shaking fallen leaves from his cloak. When he saw all who was in the pavilion, a smug smile fell onto his lips as he said sarcastically, “Well, this should be fun.”
IT WASN’T long before all of us were on horseback and heading toward the open fields beside the stables. Oli was on Sovereign while I rode atop one of my father’s sweet-tempered mares.
When we came to a standstill by the field, each of us retrieved a mallet from a gaming rack by the fence. The mallets were long and skinny, each designed to reach the ground while on horseback in order to hit the wooden playing balls. Jasper was the first to pick up one of the balls in her hand and took the lead in explaining the game to everyone.
“The object of the game is to get the ball to the other end of the field through those wooden poles,” she explained. In the distance, two goals were set up on either end of the large field. “To score a point, you have to make it through three arches before you can try for the goal.” Jasper gestured toward the staked arches in the middle of the field. They weren’t very big, also made out of wood, and spread out across the grassy terrain. “Hit the ball through three arches then finally into the goal to score. We will go until someone scores five points.”
We split up into two teams. Jasper and Mid were a team, then Oli and I, while Shar stood by keeping score. We spread out on the field and waited for the ball to be thrown into the middle. Shar counted down for the game to begin.
“All right, get ready. Three, two, one!”
I took off down the field, instincts taking over. I held my mallet firmly in my right hand, my eyes focused on the ball.
I was the first to swing, my mallet knocking with a satisfying whack against the ball, sending it into the first arch I was aiming for. Oli's whooping cheer echoed from behind me. The victory was short- lived though. Jasper swept in and sent the ball skidding in the opposite direction. I growled, wrenching my reins to the left and spinning around again.
We went on like this, back and forth for a while. Oli and I scored three points by mid-afternoon, and Mid and Jasper were close with just one point behind. Jasper galloped down the field just about to score a third point. She hit the ball through the last arch and Mid came up from behind, sending the ball the rest of the way through and into the goal.
“Three points for Jasper and Midennen,” Shar called from the sidelines.
I looked over at Oli, giving him a look that indicated we needed to try a different tactic.
We realigned again at the starting point. Shar threw in the ball and I took off once again, my eyes transfixed on the target. When I reached the line, I strode right past it. I could see the look of confusion on Jasper's face as I missed the obvious mark. But before I could get out of range, I sent my mallet flying backward, hitting the ball toward Oli who was behind me. Oli quickly sped up at the opportunity and took hostage of the ball once again.
I was reveling in my triumph when things took an unexpected turn. One second I was peering back to see if Oli had retrieved the ball, and then my horse brushed up too close to Mid’s and I lost my balance and fell to the ground. I hit my backside with a thud and felt the muddy earth squish into the fabric of my dress. I groaned and looked up to see the pale blue sky staring back at me.
“Bear, are you all right?” I heard Jasper call from down the field, but I couldn’t call back. I was waiting for the wind to return to my lungs.
“Are you okay?” I turned to see Mid kneeling beside me.
I coughed a little and nodded my head. “Yes, I’m fine.” I pushed myself up to a sitting position and began brushing off the dirt from my sleeves.
“I didn’t mean to knock you over. I thought you were well out of my way.”
“I wasn’t looking where I was going. You just took me by surprise is all,” I grumbled, embarrassed by my clumsiness.
“Well, I tend to surprise most women I meet,” he smirked.
I gave him a smug smile. “Very funny.”
He held out his hand and helped me from the ground. The others seeing that I was alright, continued back to the starting line.
“Can you still play, Little Bear?” Oli called to me, and I nodded, raising my hand to show him I was fine.
“Yes, I can still play. Let’s keep going.”
Mid followed me over to my steed that had wandered a ways and was munching on some grass. I tugged on the reigns and the mare’s head snapped back to attention. I hooked my boot into the stirrup, getting ready to mount.
“Little Bear,” he murmured under his breath, pretending to fiddle with the saddle cinch. He’d come close enough so that only I could hear him. “It suits you.”
His words were more than friendly, and I quickly mounted my steed in need to escape our close proximity. He finished pretending he was fastening the saddle and had the nerve to run his fingers discretely over my calf. My dress hid his soft caress and I squeaked a little when I felt his touch. I could hear his faint chuckling as he walked back over to his horse.
“Back to the starting line!” Shar called from the fence.
With a new determination, I kicked my horse forward into a trot. We played for another hour. Oli and I ended up winning by one point. When I hit the ball into the goal, scoring us the win, Oli cheered loudly, and I could see Jasper’s pout from across the field.
“All right, all right, no need to rub it in,” Jasper said, jumping off her steed beside Mid.
“I admire both your skills,” Mid commented to Oli and me.
Oli winked at me, jumped down from Sovereign, and went to return his mallet with the others. I was just about to dismount too when I heard the screams.
My head snapped to attention at the terrifying noise, while panic threaded through me. I caught sight of a horse in the distance, barreling out from the barn on the hill. I had to squint my eyes to see the young woman on its back. Her red hair was a bright flame in the wind. She was clinging to the back of a black stallion. The steed was moving at a frightening speed, and his gallop didn’t seem to be slowing. Instinctively, I kicked my horse into a run and started after the girl.
Her screams didn’t cease as the runaway stallion continued to take her with him. It looked to be the girl I’d seen at the ball, Queen Ruby’s granddaughter.
I urged my mare forward, leaning down into her mane for balance, clutching her black locks in my fingertips. As I tried to close the last several feet between her horse and mine, I reached out my hand to her.
“Grab my hand!” I screamed. When the girl saw that someone was there to rescue her, she frantically reached out to clasp my outstretched hand. With a firm hold on her, I wrenched her from the back of the stallion and onto my saddle. She clung to me, her hands raking against my dress sleeves to find a good hold. When I slowed down, she was still pressed tightly against me. She was shaking, and I had to help her down off the saddle and to the ground.
“Are you all right?” I asked breathlessly.
The girl nodded. “Thank you for saving me,” she said. Her bright green eyes were wide with shock.
The black stallion had slowed in the distance and had already taken the liberty to munch on some fresh field grass. I could see several stable hands already coming down the hill to take possession of the animal.
Not far behind were the others I’d left behind in the Arches field. Among the group was the girl’s mother, Embrosine. She was the first to run over and hug the young girl.
“Sunn, what were you thinking?” Embrosine said, with both anger and reprehension.
The girl looked sheepishly at her mother. “I just wanted to go out and play Arches with them.”
It was up close that I finally got a good look at Mid's sister. Embrosine was utterly beautiful. Her hair was dark red and her skin a pale milky white, a true rarity among her tan-skinned family members. She ha
d freckles adorning her dainty nose and her eyes were a dusky brown. They were so rich in color they bordered on being black. She was fussing over Sunn, checking her for any bruises or scratches.
“You could have been seriously hurt!” Embrosine scolded.
Mid came over and stroked the girls bright red hair. It was a nest of mussed curls now from the wind.
“Next time tell us you want to play Sunn, and we’ll let you,” he said gently.
“Embrosine, she’s fine,” Shar said, trying to calm her down by gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get her back inside.”
Embrosine nodded, but before leaving turned to me with a grateful expression. “Thank you for rescuing her.”
“I’m just glad she’s all right,” I said, my heart still racing inside my chest.
Embrosine took Sunn by the arm, who rolled her eyes at her mother and grumbled something under breath. Despite Sunn’s complaining, Embrosine led her reluctant teenage daughter away from the field and back toward the barn on the hill.
A COUPLE of days later I was in the library mulling over the Ethirical once again. I was at a table by the tall floor to ceiling windows, hidden between a set of bookshelves. I was trying to find the king that my mother's amulet had belonged to. If the amulet truly was a token, it had to have once belonged to one of them.
I was just about to close the book and give up on my search when I heard a shuffling from behind the shelves. I looked up curiously at the noise and was surprised to see Mid come around the corner. I’d successfully avoided all guests for almost a week now since the game of Arches, but it seemed my hiding place had been discovered.
I inwardly panicked at the sight of him.
“How did you find me?” I demanded.
“So you were hiding from me?” he asked knowingly.
I glared at him.
“I wasn’t hiding. I was. . . avoiding.”
“Well, to answer your question, your sister told me about the library, and I thought I’d take a look and explore a little.” His lips twitched with the hint of a smirk. “It seems I found exactly what I was looking for.”
Granted (Granted Series Book 1) Page 15