by Lena Lee
“Yes, this is the royal house of Zephyr. This is our wing of the castle. Our brother, Rian, has the entire South wing since he is the King and all. The East wing is shared space and the West wing is where we hold court.” Rex gestured for me to exit in front of him since the rest of our party was already out of the elevator.
I thought the Felix citizens were rich, I was vastly wrong. I stepped into a large circular shaped room that had floor to ceiling windows stretching most of the circumference of the room. There was a large circular fireplace in the center of the room with a curved white couch circling it. My eyes quickly took in the room before my eyes were drawn to the windows.
“This place is unreal.” I walked to the wall of windows and looked out on a vast expanse of trees, mountains, and cityscape. I had never seen so many trees, besides in pictures. A city rose in the distance, shining in the sunlight. The sky was as if the sun of Earth was stuck rising, the most beautiful blue and purple hues.
I quickly wiped a tear from my face as I stared out at what had been taken from me for so many years. Whoever stuck me on Earth must have hated my parents. I suddenly felt very out of place with my dirty clothes, and disheveled hair. A hand gently landed on my shoulder blade and I turned.
“We will find out who took this away from you...” Rex’s green eyes met mine. He placed a hand gently on my cheek and wiped away another escaping tear. “Who took you away from me…”
“I don’t understand?” I stepped away. McCreeper was back in full force.
“We have a soul bond. Do you not feel it?” His eyes searched mine as I shook my head. I felt a lot of things at the moment but wasn’t completely sure what I was feeling towards him. There was something there, but a soul bond? He was definitely nice to look at though.
“Aren’t you super old? You talked about you and your brothers searching for me back when I was a baby.” I returned to looking out the window, trying to calm myself. I had about reached my limit of revelations. Now apparently, I had some kind of bond with a really attractive prince.
“Age is negligible when you live a long time… you really feel nothing?” I could feel his unease as he too looked out the window. “That is how I was able to find you. Since the time I came of age I knew I would have a soul bond. Maybe your side just needs to catch up after not being on this planet.” He sounded hopeful.
“Maybe.” I turned and looked around the room. “Where’s Kyra?” I had been so distracted by the view in front of me, I had briefly forgot why we had rushed to go inside.
“They took her to the rooms. Let me show you yours. We weren’t sure when you would be ready to go to Ardor, but in the next few days we should go.” Rex took my hand again and led me down a hallway. He pointed out that the door across from mine was Kyra’s. He opened one on the right, which opened into a large room that had the same floor to ceiling windows as the living room. “I hope it is to your liking.”
Liking it was the understatement of the century. Anything was an improvement on my previous living situation. Most of the room was white, including the large four-poster bed in the center. It was large enough to sleep a family of four.
How was I supposed to keep this all clean given my propensity for finding myself covered in dirt? I walked to one of the doors on the other side of the room, which opened into a large empty closet. I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t filled with dresses. I had never owned a dress, it wasn’t worth wasting fabric to make clothing that was seldom used. No need for dresses when you lived in a wasteland.
“I will ask Queen Sara to send some clothes over for you, she is into that stuff. Why don’t you get yourself cleaned up and I will leave some clothes and food on your bed. We will be contacting Queen Sienna to grant us audience. The news of your return is best done in person since there are still so many questions about who took you.” Rex grabbed a controller from the bedside table. “If you want to sleep, just press this button to cover the windows.”
“Thank you.” I ended up in front of the prince and took the controller from him, our fingers brushing and causing a warmth to spread to my cheeks.
I wasn’t the type of girl that blushed but was pretty sure if I looked in a mirror, my cheeks would be slightly pink. I turned the controller over in my hands and averted my gaze, hoping he hadn’t noticed my blush.
We didn’t have technology in Blight, I usually just pressed all the buttons on things when I was in Felix and hoped for the best. “Will you wake me if Kyra wakes up? She’s more out of touch with all of this than I am. I had three weeks to explore the finer things in life.” I gestured around the room with the controller before putting it back on the bedside table.
The first day I had been in Felix had been a shock to my system. Going from dirt to marbled floors and electronic devices was unnerving and slightly scary, especially when they made crazy sounds and flashed lights all the time. I could see the appeal of them though, instantly making tasks less cumbersome. I would get on board with any technology that would wash clothes. Scrubbing dirt caked clothing was not my favorite activity.
He nodded and met my eyes before glancing at my lips. He was at the door before my brain had time to register that he had been thinking about kissing me. He wasn’t subtle with his feelings for me at all. He had known me less than a day and already he was enthralled with me.
“If you need anything you can press this button right here and one of us or an assistant will get it for you.” He pointed to a square box on the wall above the light switch. “Get some rest.” He walked out and shut the door without glancing back.
I wandered into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. The bathrooms in Felix had nothing on this bathroom. It was bigger than my entire hovel with marble or some other kind of shiny rock surface lining every surface. It seemed a little extravagant for a bathroom.
I turned on the shower, which had four separate shower heads, steam quickly filled the room. I breathed in the warm moisture and sighed. I could get used to feeling clean every day.
As I showered, I watched the gray water run towards the drain. Was it really so easy to wash my old life away? Life certainly would have been infinitely easier with prestige and resources at my disposal though. Money might not buy happiness, but it certainly made life easier no matter what anyone said.
I finished my shower and sighed at the softness of the towel. I stood in front of the mirrors after drying off, taking myself in. Full length mirrors were a recent phenomenon in my life and I can’t say I liked how they drew too much of my attention. It was easy to get lost in the reflection of yourself. I could see my entire being in one glance.
My blue eyes glistened with tiredness, the light gray circles under them making my eyes appear duller than usual. I hadn’t had much sleep in the past day. Plus, there was the whole you’re a princess of alien’s thing. I found a brush in a drawer and brushed out my auburn locks. My hair was one of my favorite things about myself. In the right sunlight Kyra said it looked like it was on fire. I typically kept it braided or in a bun though since keeping it clean and tangle free was a struggle.
I secured the towel around me and exited the bathroom, finding a pile of clothing and a tray of food on my bed. The clothing was all white which seemed to be the theme of this place. I examined the lacy underwear, determined they were new and quickly put them. Lace anything seemed to be a waste of material, but beggars can’t be choosers. The pants and tank top were loose but would work for now.
I folded my legs under me as I sat on the bed and eyed the food on the silver tray. I started first with the water which was so clear and tasted cleaner than anything I’d ever had. I finished the entire glass, but still felt I could drink several more. The tray held a sandwich and a bowl of cut fruit. I scarfed it down, feeling full halfway through but unable to help myself from finishing. I had years of eating to make up for after all. With a full belly, I made my way under the soft covers of the bed and passed out.
Chapter 7
My brea
th was heavy as I ran down a dark alleyway. There was no light here, only a few stars dotted the sky between dark clouds. A scream filled the night. And then another. And another. I ran towards the screams, my bare feet hitting the hard ground. Pieces of rock and debris bit into the soles of my feet. Where were my shoes? I felt a warm liquid ooze up between my toes, looking down I saw that my feet had blood covering them.
I got to the hub just as the last scream shattered the night. I looked up as large flakes fluttered down from the sky. Was it snowing? I held out my hand. Blood. I must have fallen and cut myself. The large flakes landed on my outstretched hands. Not flakes. Ash. I turned around. It was gone. Everything was gone.
I woke up with a scream, clutching my chest. The daylight was just starting to filter in through the blinds, casting a dull yellow glow across the room. I must have slept over twelve hours. I stared at the ceiling trying to calm down my breathing. It felt like I had actually been there. I hadn’t had a nightmare quite as vivid since I was small. Even then they had been about normal things like little monsters that float through the air that attack your lungs and rabid beasts in the night.
Normal. Yeah right.
I finally sat up and looked around the room. This place hadn’t been a dream after all. I was actually in a castle, in a fancy room with crisp white sheets. I left the warm protection of the bed and shuffled over to the windows before remembering I had to press a button on a remote. Why did something so simple such as opening the blinds need to be so complicated? It actually took more time to find the remote than it would have to manually open them.
The sun was just rising beyond the mountains. Was it called the sun here? This world already looked like what Earth had been described as before things changed. Maybe the apocalypse had actually happened and now I was in some kind of after-life. I pinched my arm. Nope, still alive.
I needed to check on Kyra, she had to be awake by now. Not even caring about my state of dress and my hair, which was always a tangled mess after sleeping, I crossed the dark hall to Kyra’s door. I knocked gently, but there was no answer.
“Kyra?” I opened the door and slipped inside, shutting the heavy door with a click. “You awake?” I approached the bed where she lay asleep.
She looked as she always did when she slept. Peaceful and as beautiful as always. I hated that she never seemed to toss and turn in her sleep. Her hair seeming to always stay in place and her face never marred by pillow creases. I, on the other hand, always looked like I had been attacked by the pillow people.
I sat gingerly on the bed next to her and felt her forehead and cheeks. She didn’t seem to have a fever and her face was the normal shade of olive with slight hints of pink in her cheeks. Her chest was rising and falling in a steady pattern too. I lifted one of her eyelids, perfectly normal. She had always been a deep sleeper, but this was a whole new level of deep. I gently shook her shoulder. Nothing.
My frown deepened and I went to the bathroom where I grabbed a washcloth and drenched it with cold water. Too bad there wasn’t a cup somewhere. I returned to her bedside and squeezed it onto her face. Usually water woke her up, especially after a night of too much drinking. I didn’t even get a groan out of her.
I wiped her face with the sheet and took her hand. “You have to wake up, I can’t do this by myself.” I sighed and crawled into the bed next to her. “This place is crazy Kyra, it’s a castle surrounded by the most beautiful trees and mountains. The water tastes like… I guess how water is supposed to taste. Even if you just wake up for a second to taste the water.” I smoothed her hair out of her face.
Kyra and I had been through hell together and somehow still found a way to find joy in each other’s company. Not many people had that in a friend, a sister. I needed her now more than ever.
“You shouldn’t be in here.” The voice startled me and I sat up to see Alex standing in the doorway. I hadn’t even heard him open the door. He approached the bed with glowing hands and ran them over the length of Kyra’s body. “I think she’s going to be fine, I can’t feel any damage.”
“You think? That’s not good enough. She is not waking up.” I frowned down at Kyra before looking back at him and narrowing my eyes. “You didn’t change her into these clothes, did you?”
He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “I had our female staff get her settled.” Annoyance laced his words, as if he would rather be somewhere else. At least two out of the three brothers seemed interested in my existence.
“How long do you think she’s going to sleep like this? Are there any other healers here that can take a look at her?” It would be better to have a healer that gave their complete, undivided attention to my friend, not some brooding prince who seemed wound a little too tight for his own good. I got off the bed and stood beside him, looking down at Kyra.
“There are a couple, but I am the most powerful. She’s just adjusting, our worlds are parallel to each other in separate universes but there are still some atmospheric differences which might be causing this. You really don’t need to worry.” His words did nothing to soothe the knots in my stomach.
“I can’t lose her. She’s all I have.” I wiped a tear from my face that had leaked out. Damn hormones, always making me leak everywhere. Alex surprised me by taking my hand and remaining silent next to me. I felt a small tingle at my fingertips and looked down to see his hand glowing in mine. The knots in my stomach eased a bit causing me to let out a small whimper at the relief.
I guess he did have a heart, probably only half of one though.
A throat was cleared from the doorway, causing Alex to instantly let go of my hand, taking the comfort with it. I turned to find Rex leaning against the door jamb dressed in dark gray pants and a dark purple button up shirt. I didn’t know whether to stare at his broad shoulders or his eyes, which were brighter than I had seen them. He was staring pointedly at the back of Alex’s head with a clenched jaw.
“We’ll be having breakfast in the sunroom in about ten minutes.” His words held more than an invitation for breakfast, they held a warning to Alex. He turned and left. He was going to give Kyra a run for her money with morning crankiness. If she ever woke up.
Alex let out a deep breath before turning to me with a smile. “He’s probably going to kick my ass later for touching you. I really hope you cheer for me to piss him off. Rex is fun when he’s pissed off.” He walked towards the door. “Get dressed and I’ll send someone to fetch you in ten.” A fight between the brothers? Seemed our worlds weren’t that different after all.
I was left thinking about what an odd interaction that was. Rex was overly protective and while it was endearing to have someone feel so strongly about me, it also shook me to my core. I had learned to keep people at arm’s length all my life, especially after my parents’ deaths. When they had died, I hadn’t been sure I could put myself back together again. The only person besides my parents I had loved was Kyra. I wasn’t sure I would recover if I lost her.
I gave Kyra’s hand one last squeeze before leaving her. I would check on her again in a few hours. Hopefully there would be a change. There was a lot we needed to talk about.
I walked back to my room, finding a pile of clothes on the bed. Where was the magical bringer of clothing? This time there were several options to choose from. I threw the dress over on the chair, no thank you. The undergarments here were rather racy, not something I was used to. Had Rex picked these things out for me? I held the lacy black underwear and matching bra in my hands. I felt a slight flush rise to my cheeks at the thought of him leaving these for me.
I quickly dressed in black pants that were tight but stretchy and a soft green shirt that was loose but fell in a way to show my narrow waist. I entered the bathroom and noticed a tray of bottles and brushes with a card on top of it. I grabbed the card and opened it.
Mira,
I hope the clothes are to your liking. Rex said you were about my size. I can’t wait to take you shopping. I have also left some makeup a
nd skincare for you. See you soon.
Sara
I was relieved that the lingerie bringer was not Rex. That would have been awkward. I examined the tray in front of me. I didn’t even know where to start with makeup, so I didn’t bother touching it. I brushed out my rat’s nest of hair and quickly French braided it, tying it off with a band. I could only find the boots I had worn, so I wiped the tops off with a towel, trying to put some shine back on them. I slipped them on as I heard a knock on my door and opened it to find a woman dressed in white. She appeared to be around thirty, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Good morning Ma’am, Sir Alexander has asked me to escort you to breakfast. I am one of the assistants in this wing, my name is Laura.” She gave me a slight bow of the head and then turned to walk down the hall. I quickly followed after her, she was all business. I could tell she took her job very seriously.
“Call me Mira, please. So, Sir Alexander? Does he make you call him that?” I caught up to her, but she stopped short of the elevator, almost causing me to crash into her.
“He is a prince, what do you suppose I would call him?” She gave me one of those looks, the one a mother gives a child when they say or ask something they shouldn’t. She continued to the elevator and pressed the up button. There was another level to this place?
“Well… he’s kind of a jerk at times so unless he threatens to take off my head, I will just call him Alex.” We stepped in the elevator and she gave me another one of her looks. I was making a great first impression that was for sure.
Part of me also wanted to test the waters.
“He can be…” she thought of her words carefully, “difficult at times, but he is all heart. I have been in his service since he was young.” The brothers appeared to be mid-twenties and they still had a nanny.