The music changed, and Topher took my hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he whisked me into a line.
“In this dance, we all change partners. Here is your chance.” He winked at me and I swallowed back the trepidation I felt. I knew the moves. I’d had plenty of dance lessons over the years, but this was the first time I’d actually had to put them into practice.
Topher pulled me toward him as all the other men did with their partners. We circled each other, and then I moved back into line facing him. After a minute of dancing, I found I was enjoying myself. Topher was not the best dancer, but he made up for it in enthusiasm, sashaying me across the hall, intertwining through the other couples. I was almost sad when the men took a step to the side, and I found myself in the arms of one of my father’s oldest friends. He was at least six inches shorter than me and spent most of the next minute face deep in my chest. The men took a step to the side again, and I came face to face with Jake. He stepped forward and took me in his arms. Further down the line, I caught Topher giving me a wink and a sly thumbs up as he danced with one of the ladies. I closed my eyes and rested my head on Jake’s shoulder, inhaling his aftershave.
“You’re not a bad dancer,” he remarked as he spun me around. I opened my eyes and looked into his.
“For a kid, huh?” I couldn’t help myself. When would I learn to keep my mouth shut and just enjoy the moment? I’d been daydreaming about it long enough.
“You heard that, huh?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything else.
“You are a good dancer, period. You fit into my arms like you were born to be there.”
My heart looped the loop, and I almost tripped over my own feet in shock.
“What about Lyss? You were dancing pretty well with her.”
To my surprise, he shrugged as though I wasn’t just talking about his girlfriend. “She’s ok, I guess. She knows all the moves.”
“Do I know all the moves?” I asked
He laughed and then spun me back into the line. My turn dancing with him had ended. I didn’t get a repeat performance for the rest of the night.
10th October
The forest was back. The trees moved without any wind to cause it. I hugged my arms tightly around myself, trying to ward off a chill that didn't stem from the dream world itself.
"Why am I here?" I whispered to the woods, trying not to let the stress and oppression get to me any more than it already had. This wasn't the kind of place I wanted to spend my sleeping hours in.
My feet were still bare, and this time, the stones on the path tickled the underside of them. I carried on down the path, drawn to the same place I had been last night. At least, I assumed it was the same place.
A whistling sound filled my ears. It still wasn't the wind. I hugged myself tighter. I tried to turn back, but whatever was causing these dreams wouldn't let me go.
I sighed and sped up. If I had to go through this, then I was going to get through it as quickly as possible. There was no point in drawing things out.
The clearing came up before me, with the varnished wooden coffin in the middle of it. I gulped down my nerves and approached. This time, I'd keep my cool. I knew what I was going to find when I looked in the coffin. I was ready for Mother's pale face and weakened state.
It was just a dream.
Nothing could hurt us here. It was nothing more than stress causing me to dream of things I shouldn't. Mother was safe in her bedchamber with Father, not poisoned, and certainly not in a coffin.
I closed my eyes as I reached the edge of the coffin. I knew it was pointless, and that the dream wouldn't end until I saw what was waiting for me, but that didn't stop me from wanting to put it off.
"Come on, Kelis," I muttered to myself. "You can do this. One peek is all it's going to take."
My eyes snapped open. And that was when I started to scream, even if I'd promised myself I wasn't going to. It was Mother's body lying in the coffin, but her face had changed. Her face was wizened with deep wrinkles and grey hair that was falling out in clumps. She looked sick. Sicker than I'd ever imagined possible.
The dream started to throw me out, the images blurring in front of me and becoming far less tangible.
"Mother!" I screamed. "No, Mother, please, let me help!" I thrashed against the dream, but it didn't let me go. Of course, it wouldn't. This was exactly what had happened yesterday.
My eyes darted open, and I found myself tangled in my sheets. The dim light of dawn streamed through the window. Huh. Exactly the same time as yesterday. That had to mean something, right?
I took a few deep breaths, trying to steady the worry building inside me. It was just a dream. Nothing more than my subconscious worrying about things it didn't need to. If I stayed calm, it would disappear, and I wouldn't have to worry about it any longer.
I drifted back to sleep, though not very deeply, I was still full of the worry and distrust the dream had left me with. How had this happened?
The next time I opened my eyes, more light streamed through the windows. It was time to start the day, even if the echo of the dream still haunted me.
I crept along the corridor, not wanting to be spotted. I didn't want to go into my parents' room again. They might start thinking that I was going crazy. Not when they were so patient with me after yesterday morning. But I did want to check that Mother was alright. The dream was etched in my mind, and I knew it wouldn't go away until I reassured myself that she was alive.
I flattened myself against the wall as one of the servants walked past. This wasn't my best plan, and I'd certainly have a hard time explaining it if I was caught.
Mother's laugh filled the hallway as the servant slipped into my parents' room. I breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't sound hurt. Or sick. She was fine. I could get on with my day and stop worrying about her.
Before heading to bed the night before I’d asked one of the servants to find some pamplets on the various spell casting competitions currently being held around Azure, Enchantia’s capital city and to place them under his door with a note to meet me in the front hall after breakfast.
I walked down the corridors, nodding to the servants as I passed. It never hurt to be on good terms with them.
The moment I stepped into the entrance hall, I stopped in my tracks. In the middle of the marble floor, stood Adam's entire group of friends, including Jake. I swallowed my nerves. There was only one way I could save face in this situation, and that was to walk up to them as if nothing was wrong.
I held my head up high and put on my best princess face.
"Good morning," I said brightly. "Was there anywhere you had in mind that you wanted to go?" I directed my question at Topher as he was the one I'd arranged to meet.
"We were just deciding whether or not we wanted to go to one of the competitions that are on today," Topher said.
"Which one is it?"
"One on Queen's Row," Adam answered, eyeing me up and down.
"That one is supposed to be good," I said, though it was more to impress them all than anything, I'd never been to any of the spell competitions, so I didn't really have an opinion on them. I knew that was bad of me, but I couldn't help it.
Lyss glared at me, her eyes narrowed with displeasure. Clearly, she wasn't going to become my friend overnight then. "I think it's stupid." She crossed her arms under her chest, revealing a little too much for my tastes with her low cut top. "I don't want to go."
"You don't have to come," Topher cut in. "But I'd like to go, if Kelis is willing to show us where it is." He looked at me for confirmation.
I nodded at him. “Of course.”
Indecision warred over Lyss' face. Clearly, she didn't like the idea that I was going, but she couldn't backtrack and say she was interested now, or she'd look like an idiot.
"I'd like to go," Adam said. "We don't get much spell practice at the university. It'll be good to do some while we're here."
Jake nodded.
"That's a good point. I'd like to go too."
Lyss' scowl deepened, but I chose to ignore her. It wasn't my fault that her boyfriend had decided to come with us instead of staying with her.
"What about you, Rhi?" Adam asked.
She jumped, clearly not having expected to be asked anything. "Yes, I'd like to come," she said after a moment, shooting a longing look at Adam.
"Alright, then." I clapped my hands together to get everyone's attention. "I'll go order one of the carriages to take us to Queen's Row."
"How long until it'll be ready?" Adam asked me.
I shrugged. "Five minutes at the most. But it'll wait if you want to grab anything from your rooms."
The boys nodded and disappeared back into the palace. Topher lingered a moment longer than the other two, but didn't say anything and finally disappeared into the palace too.
"Do you need to go get anything?" I asked Rhi.
She shook her head. "I can just come with you."
I nodded and gave a half-wave to Lyss. She shot me a look of contempt and stormed back into the palace. I clearly wasn’t making any friends with her. I wondered what had got a bee in her bonnet. Probably me dancing a little too closely with her boyfriend last night. Ooops.
"Do you often take part in spell competitions?" I asked Rhi to take my mind away from Lyss.
"No. I just don't want to be stuck in the palace with only Lyss for company." She screwed up her face.
"You don't like her?"
"Do you?" she threw back.
I didn't answer; instead, I just led her out of the front door and towards the stables where we'd order a carriage.
"Can I tell you something?" she blurted.
"Of course."
"You have to promise you won't tell anyone."
I glanced over to find her staring intently at the floor, avoiding any kind of inquisitive look. "I won't."
"I-I kind of have a crush on your cousin," she whispered.
I blinked a couple of times. On Adam? That wasn't what I'd expected when she said she wanted to tell me something.
"Have you tried to do anything about it?" I asked.
She laughed. "Have you done anything about the crush you have on Jake?"
I was saved from answering by our arrival at the stables. "One carriage to Queen's Row, please," I told one of the stablehands.
"Of course, Your Highness." He dipped his head before disappearing back into the stables to get it ready.
I turned back to Rhi. "How did you know about that?" I asked quietly.
"It was written all over your face yesterday when Jake said what he said. He can be a total jerk sometimes."
Oh. I hadn't even realized she'd been in the banquet hall when the whole thing had happened. I stayed silent, not knowing how to respond to her.
The competition was this afternoon, which meant we had until then to practice our spells and learn some new ones. Or in my case, learn anything at all. I wasn't about to admit to any of them quite how out of practice I was at spellwork, but they were probably about to find out.
Adam and Jake instantly got into position, setting up to spar with one another. I hoped they were just as good at defensive spells as they were attacking spells, or someone was going to get hurt.
They've been doing this much longer than I have. I needed to remember that. These weren't amateurs.
"Want to pair up?" Rhi asked.
"I haven't had much sparring practice," I admitted. "Perhaps, Topher would be a better bet?"
He stepped forward, dipping his head to the two of us. He might be a bit scruffy on the outside, but his manners were impeccable. If he ever wanted to stay at court, then I suspected he'd fit right in regardless of his appearance.
"I'd be happy to," he said to Rhi.
She smiled and withdrew her wand.
The four of them were soon firing spells back and forth, bright lights flashing as they attacked and defended one another. I didn't know enough about any of this to work out what they were doing.
For the first time in ages, I slipped my wand from its holster, feeling the firm wooden grip in my hand. It was both alien and completely natural, a testament to the craftsmanship of the tool. It was a shame that I didn't use it enough, with the way wands worked, no one else could use it either, meaning this beautiful creation didn't get the love it deserved.
It was time to change that. I lifted my arm, trying to ignore the tremor running through it. None of them were watching me; they were too busy with their own mock battles. No one else in the arena was watching either, and even if they were, they wouldn't necessarily know who I was.
I counted to three and let out a simple fire spell. The stream of fire that headed towards the target opposite me was stronger than I expected. "Not bad," I whispered to myself.
Before I could fire off another spell, my vision blurred, and I placed a hand to my head, hoping it would steady me. What was all that about? I glanced around at the others, all doing their spells, only to find everything had taken on a fuzzy quality that was almost impossible to see through. Had I been hit by a spell? Was this some side effect? My eyes locked onto a spell shooting in our direction from one of the other groups. For some reason, it was the only thing that didn't have the blurry quality to it. I wished I'd paid more attention to magic, then I might have known what was happening better.
The spell pulsed a dark red. I reached out as if to try and catch it the moment I noticed it speeding straight for where Jake was standing. I tried to cry out, but something held my voice back. This almost felt like the dreams I'd been having, where something else controlled what I was doing, and I just had to go along with it, helpless.
It flashed brighter as it connected with Jake's chest. His eyes widened, but it all happened too fast for him to be able to scream. His skin paled, and his eyes changed from vibrant to dull as he collapsed to the floor in a heap.
Adam was the first to react, at his best friend's side within moments, checking for a pulse.
"He's dead," he said to no one.
Topher and Rhi stood behind him, neither of them saying a word, and no one paying me any attention at all. It was like I wasn't even there to them.
I stood motionless, the pain ripping through my heart almost too much to bear. Jake. Even if he'd hurt me at the banquet, I didn't want him to be gone.
A wave of dizziness overcame me, and I swayed back and forth even as the fuzziness of my vision faded, and the world came back into focus. The sound of shouting voices and whooshing spells assaulted my ears. I hadn't even realized they'd been missing before. What was wrong with me?
My gaze locked on Jake, who was still very much alive and blasting off spells with Adam and Topher, just like he had been when my vision had gone funny.
In fact, he was acting exactly like he had when my vision had started to change.
Did that mean that the other parts of what I'd seen were going to happen too? Had it been a vision of the future?
I dithered on whether or not I should do something, or even just give a warning. Seeing the future just wasn't a thing people did. For that matter, it wasn't something I'd ever done before either.
"Jake, watch out," I blurted before I could overthink it all.
He turned at the sound of my voice, a scowl marring his perfect face. But he didn't move.
I stepped forward. "You need to get out of the way," I said, feeling slightly crazy.
"Why?" He didn't seem particularly bothered about my warning, other than annoyance for me even giving it.
I grunted in frustration. If he wasn't going to listen to me voluntarily, then I was going to have to make him. I leapt forward and pushed him to the ground, only processing how close I was to him after our bodies began to touch. He struggled against me, but the surprise of my attack was enough to knock him to the ground.
"Will you get off me?" he demanded.
He pushed hard with his arms, and I fell to the side, grunting in pain as I landed. That was going to leave
a bruise. Jake got to his feet, dusting himself off.
"What are you doing?" he half-shouted at me. "You think that you can just jump on people, you weirdo?"
I bit my lip, trying to keep back the tears that were threatening to fall. I didn't like the way he was speaking to me, but on some level, I knew I kind of deserved it. I'd done exactly what he was accusing me of, and there was no getting away from it.
"I..."
A flash of red light streaked past us, saving me from having to come up with an explanation that didn't make me sound crazy. The last thing I wanted was for it to go around that the heir to the Enchantian throne had a few screws loose, there was already enough talk of that, thanks to my dark clothing.
"Was that what I thought it was?" Rhi asked, her mouth gaping open.
Adam nodded. "It looked like a stun shot."
I looked between them from my position on the floor, hoping one of them would explain what that meant. Once we got back to the palace, I was going to spend some time learning about casting spells. I hadn't paid as much attention to it as I should have, and it was starting to catch up with me.
"I was standing right there," Jake whispered, his face as pale as it had been in my vision.
"It would probably have killed you," Topher said without any hint of sadness that his friend nearly died. "It was lucky the princess was there to save you."
Jake glared at him. Maybe he didn't like the fact he'd been saved by a girl? A small voice in the back of my head whispered that his problem wasn't because I was a girl, it was because I was me. I shook it off.
"Those kinds of shots should be banned," Jake grumbled.
"It would only have gained so much power because of the distance," Topher pointed out.
I listened raptly. This was all new information to me, though that just highlighted how badly I was doing in that part of learning about my kingdom. I’d thought the basics would do me. I was wrong.
"Still." Jake shuffled about, twisting his wand in his hand nervously. He was more shaken than he was letting on.
He needed someone to reassure him. I opened my mouth, wanting to make that person me, but Jake stepped away before I could.
Queen of Reflections: A Snow White retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Snow White Book 1) Page 4