by Katie Cherry
Tears instantly well in Kate’s eyes. “Of course!” she gasps, carefully accepting the dainty ring from him before throwing her arms around his neck. “Zeke, of course I will,” she says again.
Wrapping his arms around her, they hold each other tightly, their hearts continuing to glow beyond the point of the retreat of the sun’s rays that casts their surroundings into darkness.
<<
“Shouldn’t you be training with the others?” Angela giggles, playfully pushing at Jared’s shoulder, who hardly budges from the small shove.
“Ah, I always have time for that,” he replies with a dramatic groan. “That’s all we ever do ever since finishing that wall. I never thought I’d miss that, especially with how sore it made me, but now it’s just different muscles getting sore and even longer, more exhausting days.”
“Well if you don’t learn to fight, who’s going to protect me?” she teases, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
“Oh, I’ll protect you,” he growls, suddenly getting serious before relaxing once more. “Besides, your brother is much better at this than I am. I’m sure he can protect you if I can’t.”
“He’s had to know how to fight most of his life,” Angela quietly replies, slowly leading him through the trees. “I wish I could keep you from it, honestly. But the King’s gone crazy-”
“It’s not the King’s fault as much as it is Patrick’s,” Jared quickly cuts her off, putting a hand on her back to keep her steady as they step over a fallen tree. “Or, Hunter’s now, I guess. The Dragon Hunters are the ones ruining everything and declaring war, alright?”
Angela sighs heavily, sitting on a large boulder beside the stream Jared had taken her to on their first walk together. They came here regularly now. As regularly as they could get away with without Jared’s superior noticing, at least. “I know. I just hate this whole situation. I wish we could just leave and escape all of this, like Nathan and Crystal did,” she sighs again, some pain carried in her voice as she does so.
Jared’s heart skips a beat. “Go to another realm? …Just the two of us?” He pictures the two of them walking hand-in-hand into a portal and greeting a sunrise on the other side, the light beckoning them forward, to a land where no one knows them, no one knows he’s Giftless- where it doesn’t matter anymore.
“Well, and Chet too, of course,” she replies, tossing a small rock into the stream, watching the bright orange fish scatter at the splash.
“Oh… of course,” he mutters in response, tossing the image out of his head. What was he thinking? He was being selfish even thinking of running away- especially hoping he could have Angela all to himself. That wasn’t possible. Not now… likely not ever. Nathan seemed to be pretty stubborn. Even if Jared could somehow get him to grow feelings for Crystal instead, he would likely fight them and continue to date Angela. Maybe even get married, eventually.
Gagging at the sour taste in his mouth at the thought, he turns his face away from Angela and takes deep breaths, getting his thoughts under control. I have no right to even be feeling this way. I’m a nobody. I’m blessed she even considers me a friend. Ugh, why am I like this? I finally get a friend, and now I’m trying to make it romantic. He can’t help but hang his head at the thought.
A gentle hand on his shoulder encourages him to turn around. Angela gives him a soft smile, filled with more caring than he’d ever seen his whole life. The look makes him want to burst into tears. “What are you so down about?” she gently asks. Before he can scramble for an answer, she shakes her head, her soft curls bouncing in time with her movements. “Never mind. What isn’t there to be down about these days? What we need is a distraction.”
“Sure,” he mutters, trying to pull up his emotions for her and give her a smile in return. “What do you have in mind?”
Flashing one of her heart-throb inducing smiles, she takes his hand and pulls him up the hill. The other side has fewer trees dotting the open, grassy area. “Sometimes I think it’s healthy to be like a little kid again,” she smiles, pulling him down to sit beside her at the top of the hill.
“Okay…”
“Let’s just roll down this hill,” she smiles, tugging his arm until he turns so his side is facing the bottom of the hill along with her. Giving him another grin, she tucks in her arms and begins to roll down the hill, picking up speed as she nears the bottom. A burst of giggles when she stops encourages him to follow her example.
Glad no one was watching, he follows her lead, tucking in his arms, laying on his side, and rolling over. As the grass rushes by him and he grows dizzy from the bouncing terrain, he feels a real smile creep back onto his lips. By the time he reaches the bottom beside Angela, his smile couldn’t be hid.
Letting her lead him back up the hill by the hand, he feels his heart warm once more.
Angela was here, in his world, right now.
And nothing could make him happier.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Royal Brothers
The merchant street seems even more busy than usual. Shoving my way through the hordes of people, it takes me a good twenty minutes to make it to the stall selling corn on the cob. I had wanted to look around and find something good for lunch, but the corn is right here, the merchant yelling at me to buy some, and it would take me hours to make any headway in this throng.
“Alright! Get me some corn,” I groan exasperatingly, turning my head to face the merchant, my body wedged tightly between a lady with green hair and a guy with dreadlocks made to look like tentacles.
“Cooked in salt water or fresh?” he offers, baring sharp teeth at me. That can’t be easy to eat corn off the cob with teeth like that.
“Salt,” I respond, figuring it’ll help flavor the corn since there’s no butter here to help the salt stick to the kernels.
As the crowd shifts, I’m shoved into the side of the corn merchant’s stall, which I’m grateful for. I can finally move enough to grab my coin purse. Tossing one of the bigger coins on the table, I let him gather the change for me rather than figuring it out myself. My brain is not in the best situation to be figuring out the foreign monetary system right now. Handing me the corn, I lean against the stand and begin chewing monotonously, my eyes roaming over the tightly-packed crowd. The street was large, but good heavens they needed to make it bigger.
Deciding to chance sounding dumb, I turn to tentacle guy behind me, ignoring as best I can how close he is. I’ve only been here for a few minutes and I’m already sweating from all the body heat. “Hey, why is the street so crowded today?”
He gives me a funny look. “You mean you aren’t here to try and catch the eye of Prince Noran? Every other eligible girl your age is.” He moves his head in a nod, indicating a long line of girls that I just happen to be at the end of. They’re the only ones with a little elbow room.
“Uh, no, of course, I was just wondering why all these guys are here too,” I scramble, trying to blend in.
He smirks, eying my body. “Well, the prince can only choose one girl to make his bride. The rest of us are here to… console those he passes over.”
“…Ah,” I manage to offer in reply, quickly turning away from him once more. I focus on the corn in my hand, trying to ignore the cold shiver slipping down my spine as I feel his gaze stay on me. Luckily he doesn’t try to touch me. I would knock him out if he did.
Suddenly, the crowd starts to shift, with a vast majority of people streaming into the connecting streets, leaving me suddenly exposed at the end of the line of girls, all prettied up for their prince. Panicking, I look around, but if I left the line now, I would draw much more attention than I would otherwise. Dropping the remains of my corn into a trash bin near me, I wipe my palms on my pants, now sweating from nerves. It’s fine. You just have to stand here until this prince picks a girl. This line is surprisingly long… probably with girls from all over Quagon. He’s extremely unlikely to get all the way to me. Being at the end of this line is a blessing.
S
till, I can’t help but gulp at the sight of an approaching litter, carried by four muscular men. Atop a pile of pillows sits the prince himself. I can feel his smugness from here. His chiseled face and carefully styled brown hair may be attractive, but I find myself immediately not liking this man. I watch as the litter is carefully lowered to the ground and the spoiled prince helped from his pillows to the street.
Taking the few steps needed to carry him over to the first in line, he begins to question the girl, pacing in slow circles around her. Like she was prey. She stands tall and proud, though, not intimidated by Noran’s show. Shaking his head, he pushes her to the side and moves on to the second girl. Rejected. My guess was because he wanted anything but someone with an attitude, who would stand up for herself.
Watching as she buries her face in her mother’s shirt, I notice her shoulders shake. I feel bad for her, but what can I do? This was a game of Quagon’s own making. I can’t stand out and make a scene about how awful of a situation this is, to set up Quagon’s finest women and have them be turned down, one by one, in public. In front of everyone they know.
Closing my eyes, I turn my face from the second rejected girl. This is horrible. I can’t just stand here and watch this. But what am I supposed to do?
Opening my eyes, I notice it’s gotten darker. Alarmed, my head jolts up. Peering up at the sky, I recognize the dark clouds racing towards us. Thanks to the procession happening here, no one was paying any attention, their gazes riveted on the Prince and his girls.
I knew what I had to do. But I hated to draw attention to myself- especially right in front of a prince whose father would immediately kill me if he knew I wasn’t from here. Still…
“Ice rain!” I scream, pointing up at the clouds. They were close. So close… but we still had time. There was still time to get everyone to safety. As soon as the others catch on, everyone scatters, the intense concentration that had permeated the air now replaced with panic and chaos.
I’ve only taken a step back toward the house when I see one of the girls stumble and fall. Spinning, I immediately run to her side. Kneeling beside her, I help her to her feet. She looks at me with pretty brown eyes, already swimming with tears. “Why…”
“No time, come on,” I respond, helping her to stand. She looks at me in confusion, but leans against me for support nonetheless. Hobbling beside me as I follow her directions, she doesn’t look at me anymore. I realize after glancing down why I feel shame radiating off of her.
Her foot was twisted. It looked like it’d grown that way. She had forced it to go into a shoe, making it look as though she were whole… clearly hiding it from the prince.
“Why are you helping me?” she asks, fearful eyes darting toward the sky. I don’t need to look to know the clouds are almost upon us. I can hear the rain splashing onto the ground mere feet behind our stumbling forms.
“Because you need it,” I growl in reply, my response simple as fear begins to cut into my heart, making it pound heavily. Releasing the girl, I quickly rip my jacket off and hold it over her. We’re almost to her house when the rain hits.
An involuntary scream leaps from my lips as the drops begin to hit my skin, quickly burning, even through my clothes. It felt as though the sky was pelting me with tiny fireballs. Gritting my teeth, I hurry our steps, even as the ice spreading over me begins to thicken, making my movements difficult. Keeping my head bowed to protect at least my face, I order the small girl to get beneath me. Hunching over, I’m able to protect her pretty well from the ice rain. Finally, we reach the house and she bolts out from beneath me, yanking the door open and diving inside.
She turns back for me, her eyes panicked from the doorway.
But it’s too late.
I can no longer move, encased in my growing prison of burning ice.
<<
Savitri leans against the side of a building, watching as his brother begins scouring the girls literally lined up for him. Letting out a sigh, he runs a hand through his brown hair, so like his brother’s, as he rolls his eyes. Typical of Noran. He just doesn’t get enough limelight as the heir to the throne, apparently. Now he’s putting on this big show, dragging it out, like he hasn’t had an eye on Bree for months already. He knows who he’s going to choose, yet he’s dragging all these girls through this unfair scrutiny. …I just hope he doesn’t make me do the same when I’m supposed to choose a year from now. This is a horrible situation. …I just wish I had had the guts to tell him so before today. Now, it’s obviously too late, he observes, noting a third girl get tossed to the side.
“Ice rain!” Straightening in surprise, Savitri’s eyes flick over to the end of the line. There, a beautiful girl stands, her finger raised to the heavens. Following it, he discovers the dark, heavy clouds for himself, leaving little room for doubt. He can’t help but feel the corner of his mouth twitch up in a smile. Who is this girl? Everyone here has eyes only for Noran- not just the girls trying to catch his interest. Even I was lost in thought… and here I thought I was the observant one.
As the people scatter and Noran slumps back to his fancy litter, Savitri still has eyes only for the mystery girl. Once she was assured everyone had heeded her warning, she had turned to join them in the race against the clouds… until that small, brunette girl had fallen. Mystery girl had immediately swiveled and helped the girl to stand. As she begins leading the fallen girl away, he can’t help but follow, curiosity tugging at his heart.
As he passes Noran, he grabs Savitri by the arm. “What are you doing? We have to get out of here,” he orders.
“I brought protection, as I always do,” Savitri replies, not lifting his gaze from Mystery Girl and her burden.
“What are you looking at?” Noran groans, before growing still. Finally, he chuckles. “Do you have a secret girlfriend?”
“What? No,” Savitri growls, yanking his arm from his brother’s grasp. “I’m just curious about her.”
“Hmm.” Noran’s heavy gaze follows the girl as well before turning back to Savitri. “As am I. Let’s follow her.”
The last thing I wanted was for you to come along with, Savitri groans to himself before leading the way regardless. They follow at a distance, watching in awe as the girl refuses to leave the other. As the rain reaches them, Savitri pulls out his pocket umbrella, pressing the button. He hardly pays attention as it unfurls, creating a draping bubble of protection around the two, his focus on the girl.
His heart pounds as the rain laps at their heels. You have to move faster! The rapid beating of his heart stops completely at the sound of her scream as the rain hits her, burning as it sticks. Her jacket would have added more protection, but she was using it to shield the girl.
Picking up his pace, Savitri can barely hold himself back from sprinting to the girl’s side. Noran, holding me back as always… even with this girl in danger he can’t bring himself to speed to her side. Typical.
The brunette reached her house, minor burns on her arms and legs, but the other girl, with the blue and blonde hair, was now encased, the ice holding her up, yet weighing her down at the same time, leaving her stuck in her half-stooped position.
Thank Dravyn I brought the de-icer, he thinks, though he worries it may not be enough. “Move your big feet!” he growls in frustration, grabbing Noran’s arm and dragging him faster.
“Hey! Not all of us like to exercise, okay?” he replies, yanking his arm back when they reach the girl. “Did you bring-”
“Yes,” Savitri breathlessly replies, parting the umbrella so he could guide it over the girl. It was cramped with the three of them, especially since they had to be careful not to touch her. Hands shaking, he passes the umbrella to Noran, who grudgingly takes it. Carefully pulling the vial out of his pocket, he begins to pour it on the girl’s head, watching as it runs down, taking the ice with it. The ice melts, seeming to retreat from the areas the de-icer had touched. Pouring the rest into his hands, he stoops and begins to spread it around the rest
of the afflicted areas. Looking up into her face, he finds her eyes closed. She seemed to have passed out, likely from the pain.
“Thank Dravyn we got here so quickly,” Noran remarks. “Her burns aren’t too bad.”
“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Savitri sighs in reply, catching the girl as she collapses, no longer supported by the ice. Shifting her weight in his arms, he stands and turns back to his brother. “Come on, let’s get her home.”
<<
It was not a good time to be a tiny Rabazi monkey.
He had finally felt the connection to the boy again, only to have it disappear again mere minutes later. And now… now, the heavens were trying to melt his fur and burn his skin once more.
Skittering around a corner, he finally finds a hiding place. Squishing as tight as he could against the side of the house, the overhang from the roof is just enough to cover him, thanks to the wind blowing the scalding rain away from his tiny, quivering body. Collapsing to the ground- still hugging the building that was protecting him- he catches his breath. “Get beneath me!” The sound is familiar to him- one he’d been looking for for days now. Peeking his head as close as he can to the edge of the house, he peers into the sheets of rain pummeling the girl who’d shouted. The girl who was with Boy! He’s anxious to get to her, but also afraid of the rain. So he just watches as the smaller girl runs into the safety of the house he was sheltering beside… leaving the girl he’d been searching for to freeze in place, buried by the painful precipitation. His tiny heart pumps faster in anxiety. Will she be okay?
Just then, a strange looking bubble that repelled the water zoomed to the girl’s side and enveloped her. Screeching in dismay, the Rabazi monkey skitters back and forth beside the house. Luckily, the storm soon ends, and the ice on the ground becomes less painful to touch.