by s. Behr
Jane nudged my face until my hands obediently rubbed her ears.
“When you left this morning, you said you would tell me everything. Do you really want to be a liar?” Hailey asked, tapping her chin as her tablet flickered on the pillow next to me.
“That’s just mean,” I muttered. “Lights off,” I yelled at the com.
“I’m sorry. It’s just so boring here. I need out,” Hailey exclaimed with a huff.
The A.I. was still her usual snarky self, but every day, I noticed a little something different about her. I wondered if her hardware was failing or if being away from the Ark had more to do with it?
Several more pleas, and I caved. After a lengthy and detailed description of how we managed to get to Empire Tower to pick up a few princes, then head to Park Tower just before the sun had completely set, I gave her the dinner highlights.
“After the tour of the PT Gardens, Princess Spring took so long deciding which flowers she wanted to take home with her that we were summoned to dinner without time to change.”
“I can’t wait to see more than the underside of this pillowcase.” Hailey sighed dreamily.
“Well, for the next dinner, you’re welcome to take my place,” I groaned.
“It couldn’t have been that bad. Don’t leave out the details, you know how I like those.”
Lying in the dark, I closed my eyes, and I could see the eight of us girls seated at dinner on the eastern terrace, far away from the prying ears of our parents and the princes in the other banquet rooms.
Nyssa had recounted her run-in with Prince Leo for the third time that day, which made the Princess from Cana blush again. “Cam! He was practically drooling all over you.” Nyssa laughed.
The Ico Princess Aspen smiled sweetly in a way that didn’t quite reach her eyes as she said, “Well, isn’t that sweet. Flavor of the season.”
“Great spouts of water.” Orlea Princess Reyna laughed, throwing her napkin at Aspen. “You’re just jealous because he’s never given you the time of day.”
“Well, it’s not as if Barton is giving you much to swim about,” Aspen snapped back.
At some point, they all joined in throwing comments back and forth. If the words would have been knives, this dinner table would have been covered in blood. I tried to sit as still as possible as they bantered and laughed, hoping I would finish this meal unscathed.
“It’s not like that,” the soft-spoken Camelia said, surprising us all.
Every girl at the table fell quiet and waited for her to elaborate. The northernmost Realm of Cana was an isolated place. There were very few who could withstand the temperatures in that region even with abilities, and I wondered how often this princess was let out of her tower.
“We’re just friends,” she said. “Prince Leo is so busy he rarely has time for anything. Honestly, I was surprised when he said he wanted to go down to the beach.”
Nyssa broke the long silence as she declared, “Nope, no typhoons here. You can’t spin it. I know what I saw. You were there, Violet, tell them.”
All eyes shifted in my direction, and my cheeks flamed as I sputtered, “Oh, um, I didn’t stay long. I was called home rather urgently.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well, you missed out. He’s as perfect as everyone says.” Nyssa laughed and turned back to Camelia. “If you’re not going to do anything about his crush on you, then I might have to take a dive at him.”
“And the conversation carried on in much the same way ‘til I came home. The end,” I announced to Hailey as I pulled the covers up. “Goodnight.”
“And that’s it?” Hailey asked, indignance ringing in her attitude. “That’s all they said?”
“I’m really tired, Hailey, and tomorrow is going to be even worse.” I grimaced.
“Worse than what? Being trapped in a broken tablet?” Hailey scoffed while lying on her side to match me.
Just then, my door com chimed, and it opened unannounced. That meant only one thing. It was one or both of my parents. I pushed the tablet under my pillow and held my breath.
“Violet,” my father whispered. “Are you still awake?”
My heart clenched. With everything I was tasked to do over the last two days, my parents had given me space, and I only had seen them for short greetings and in passing.
I hesitated before reminding myself of my mission. “Yes, father,” I replied as I called up the lights.
Dressed in his formal hunter green coat, he sat at the foot of the bed, and Jane crawled into his lap. He immediately presented her with a snack.
“Not you, too.” I shook my head, watching the fox curl up, chewing on my father’s fingers after she swallowed her treat.
“She’s a sweet one,” he said with a smile. “She really loves you.”
“How can you tell? Lately, she loves anyone with a snack.”
“She’s told me.” He gave me a knowing grin.
My bottom lip dropped. “You can talk to her?”
He shrugged. “In a way.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, suddenly awake.
“She doesn’t speak our language, but I can tell what she is feeling. It’s more like reading her emotions.” I thought I knew every ability my parents had even the ones not recorded somewhere in our history.
Though all kings and queens were documented in most ways, there were always minor abilities generally overlooked because they typically didn’t matter that much in the daily news.
Thinking back over the years, I had never really seen signs of my father speaking with animals; it was usually my mother. I had always assumed it had something to do with her healing gift. Healers typically had the most talent in communicating with other species.
“You have the ability to communicate with animals?” I asked.
“It’s more of an intuition. The real ability is that I express to her what I am feeling and from what I sense from her. So can you.”
“What? How can you know that?” I asked, staring at the kit, who was now curled up asleep in my father’s arms.
“She’s been feeling ignored. I think she feels like you have stopped talking to her.” His voice full of remorse.
“What? How? I talk to her all the time.” Suddenly, I remembered. “The serum.”
“Yes, Petal, I am afraid so.”
I felt my cheeks warm in resentment. This was one more thing this poison had taken from me. I was more sure now than ever, it had been altered to the extent it did something to my inner voice.
Before I could boil over, he said, “It’s just a few more days. I don’t like this any more than you do.” He looked so tired, and though the scars on his face were healing, I could still see them like lightning across his face.
“You will explain it to her,” I ordered as I crossed my arms and sat back on my pillows.
“I already have.” He rubbed Jane’s ear, his eyes unfocused as if lost in thought. Finally, he looked up and said, “Ameli and Rall have said that things are going well. Thank you, Petal.”
“For what?” Listening to a bunch of spoiled girls all day was brutal, but I didn’t really think a thanks was necessary.
“For your patience. For your commitment to your people. I am not sure there are many with the gift you have for forgiveness.”
“I’m not sure I have that gift,” I said sourly.
“You do. I am certain. You wouldn’t be doing all of this if you didn’t have it in you somewhere to forgive me and your mother.”
I sighed, not ready to give up my stance on how they had chosen to raise me. But every stab of anger was accompanied by all the wonderful memories that had nothing to do with abilities other than to love and be part of a family. It made me feel as if I was treading a thin line, unsure of where I would fall. Was I capable of forgiving them? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t ignore the part of me that wanted to. No matter how loud the anger screamed.
“You are doing extremely well,” he praised as I peeked up between my lashes to see his
serious expression. “All the courts have mentioned your kindness, your intelligence.”
“Glad I pass the quality check,” I said, unable to keep an edge of bitterness from my words.
My father heaved a heavy sigh. “This isn’t a test, Violet.” He paused. “The reason I came here tonight was to tell you that tomorrow’s schedule has changed.” Eyeing him, he continued. “All the planned functions are being canceled. We have come to an agreement with the Hg-1 and tomorrow evening we will welcome them officially.”
“So, they have been here this whole time in Hattan?” I asked, my heart thudding.
“Yes, they have been in Empire. Most of them are in the Queen’s Palace. Half the Ameran courts are here; some at the Met Tower.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because I wanted you to be the first to know. Because I want you to know that you are always going to be the person that matters most to us. And because I don’t know what will happen after tomorrow.”
“You’re worried,” I said, noticing the pressure on his shoulders and his brow.
“We have some serious issues we will be facing. Life changing things, at least for some. Hopefully, we are making the right choices.”
I wanted to tell him he was. That they always did. Only I couldn’t because I no longer believed that, so I folded my hands in my lap.
“The banquet schedule will be sent to you in the morning. Violet, whatever happens from here on out, I want you to know there will be no more lies, no more secrets. Our family can’t afford them.” He waited for me to reply, but I didn’t know what to say. I had secrets that I couldn’t share, not yet and maybe not ever.
After a full minute of silence, he said, “I love you. Your mother loves you. We will get through this.”
My heart wanted to answer him, to tell him I loved him, too. My mouth refused to move.
He stood and placed Jane on the pillow next to me. “Goodnight, Petal.” He kissed my forehead.
I whispered, “Goodnight.”
When he left, I tossed and turned for an hour, thinking about everything that had happened since I’d returned home.
Eventually, I pulled the tablet back out, and Hailey sat up. “Finally! Did you fall asleep?”
“Sure,” I said, feeling drained.
“What? How can you not be thrilled?” she asked as if she was about to jump out of her skin if she had any.
“Thrilled?” My forehead wrinkled.
“Yes. We finally know where they are, and we can finally get our proof. What are you waiting for? Get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day.” She clapped, then faded away.
But I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think about anything except the dozens of humans who were only a tower away. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but Hailey was right. I was ready for some answers, and suddenly I couldn’t wait for tomorrow.
The morning came and went in utter chaos. Ameli had been in and out of my room a dozen times, swooping in for one reason or another, expressing her feelings about finishing the new ballgown before dinner, and swooping out again. Between Ameli’s visits, Hailey relentlessly drove me crazy with reminders of what was pertinent to accomplish our goal.
“Make sure the pockets are big enough for the tablet,” Hailey said for the tenth time that morning.
By lunch, my head pounded, and I tried to tell both of them, it didn’t have to be perfect. To which I received their version of the same look of exasperation.
My bracelet chimed, and my new schedule scrolled for me to look over. I smiled.
“What is that grin for?” Hailey asked, her eyes narrowing.
“I just solved our biggest problem.” I sat back, happy that I found who I needed to help me with her transfer and when. Before I could tell Hailey, Ameli reentered, this time carrying an arsenal.
“That seems like an excessive amount of tools for one person,” My nose wrinkled to my dismay at what was coming next.
“You are never easy, and today I will not be remembered for letting you look anything less than perfect,” Ameli grunted, dropping her bags in the middle of the room.
After a few more hours of pulling and prodding. Ameli declared, “You are ready.”
She left me in a hurry, and I walked over to the window, wondering where the humans were and if I would see Lance Yzer again. The sun sat low on the horizon when the com at my door chimed.
“Granted,” I said, holding my breath as the dress Ameli had worked on all day swayed like soft waves on a moonlit night.
Rall entered with a smile. “Good evening, Your Highness. You look lovely.
“Ameli did a fantastic job.” I returned his smile, and Rall stood a little straighter. I recognized that look as pride. The way he grinned, I couldn’t help but beam at Ameli’s hard work. The soft pearlescent dress had shades of lavender coating the edges of the billowy skirt and a pocket just big enough to fit Hailey’s tablet into.
“Yes, she knows how to dress a princess.” He laughed.
“It’s harder than it looks,” I said, squinting at him.
“I am aware of how hard you make it for her.” He grinned with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s not on purpose.”
“Of course, it isn’t.”
“Did I mention how dashing you look?” I offered.
The captain held out his arm and I took it. “No, you haven’t, but you may as many times as you would like.”
I chuckled, turning to take one last look at my room. “You know, no one is going to notice if I don’t show up.”
“Outrageous,” he scoffed, pulling me a step closer to the door. “Not our princess.”
I took a deep breath and shook my head. “With the company I kept this week, I wither in their spotlight.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Haven’t you seen the feeds?” I stopped dead in my tracks and gaped at him as if tree roots had grown out of his head. He knew I was not one to pay attention to any of the social feeds. “It’s all over that you and the Phoenix prince have run away and secretly gotten married,” he said seriously.
“What?” I felt my cheeks turn crimson.
“Yes, your secret getaway when you were reported to be at your grandparents’ farm. Some people believe it was a ruse. The Prince himself even went missing for a few days.”
Rall looked oddly at ease, despite people doubting the cover story they had spun in my absence. I stared at him, unsure if I was more surprised by this new storyline or the fact that he was even talking about gossip.
“Crest Ryans himself said he had it on good authority that because no one had seen either of you in any realms over the same few days that was proof.” Rall shrugged. “It’s what they’re saying, and it’s my job to prepare you for the punches. Those princesses play by a different set of rules.”
I looked at him with a lopsided frown.
“Besides, you could do worse. Prince Leo’s a good kid. I think you might like him.” He guffawed at his matchmaking schemes when my face contorted with shock, and I punched him in the arm, which hurt him about as much as a gnat landing on a stone.
I rubbed my knuckles. “He barely even knows who I am. I’ve met him once.” My lips pressed together as I realized how untrue that was. I tried to squash the recording from the tribunal out of my head. “I have barely even seen him this week. Where do they get this stuff? Do they really spend their time trying to figure out what we do?” Maybe there was more to what Nyssa had been complaining about.
I eyed Rall as he grinned, still pleased with himself.
“If they really did know anything, they’d know it would have been hard to do all of that while I was busy trying to get myself killed out in the Wild Steel Mountains.” I chuckled, but by the look on his face, smothered my laugh when I realized it was not a very funny subject to Rall. Not at all.
His expression turned serious, and his tone stern. “We are going to have to discuss what happened. All of it.” His face softened. “But as we are due in
the ballroom in three minutes, I am pretty sure that is not enough time for you to tell me the grand tales of how you came to be the proud guardian of Lady Jane over there.”
We turned to study Jane sprawled on her back on top of an impressive pile of pillows. While I might have never accepted life at court very well, Jane was adjusting perfectly. And from the size of her belly, she was no longer in danger of starving to death.
“You are going to have to tell Ameli to cut her portions in half. We don’t need a potbellied fox running around the palace.”
Rall laughed as we started toward the lift. “I will do no such thing. The fox is happy, and Ameli is happiest when I don’t tell her what to do.”
“Well, if you made an honest woman out of her, I am sure she would let you be the boss once a day or at least every other day.”
He laughed. “Who says I didn’t have plans in the works?”
Surprised, I said, “It’s about time.” Imagining how a precise person like Rall would propose, I muttered, “Well, that is one thing that I can’t ruin.”
He stopped and turned me to face him with that same look he usually gave me after I had missed blocking him. “You give yourself too much credit. The only life you have the power to control is your own. Your parents may affect you, Princess, these Courts might affect you, Ameli and I might affect you, but you are the one who gets to decide what you will take from it and what you will leave behind in the dirt. Be the little purple flower I trained you to be. Believe in yourself, and that will be all the ground you need to stand on.”
I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could speak. “Thank you, Rall. For everything.” I didn’t know where he got his wisdom, but his words always seemed to ring true.