“Next time, Tyson, we have friends here too.” Zechariah called as they all quickened their pace.
“Good thing I didn’t actually have to do anything,” Farlow whispered back when the horde was finally gone. “I could barely manage to free a limb from a tree in this world.” He laughed lightly and opened the gate to usher the rest past, letting his wings tuck in close against his back.
The laughter followed as we climbed the stairs to the old house, which would keep us all protected for the night.
When the Elders and the boys had arrived in Cherry Valley a year prior, they placed a spell on the house, insuring nobody would be able to do magia inside. What we would do once the sun came up, we’d have to figure out quickly.
I heard the movements of the two old men as we stepped through the front door. The muffled voices were not clear enough to make out what they said, but they were distinct enough that I thought I could hear one other than Gareth and Hogarth. I tried to draw energy from the plants in the house to boost my magia to hear, but it was no use. Magia was banned.
Dizziness overwhelmed me as my memories from long ago and my current life continued to fight against each other. It was becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between the here and now and the past. I wished I could just get them all back without the disorienting flashes. The slightest things seemed to trigger the melding of the mind.
“Uncles!” I heard Ty yell through the house as he went.
“So, what happened to you?” Tabitha turned to me and I froze.
“I really don’t know.” How exactly do you explain the last hundred years to someone you vaguely remember? I knew when I saw the locket that I knew her. It snapped back quickly as to the how and why. She was Tabitha; Ty’s sister. She and I befriended each other in Ormshire. She was important, and for that matter, so was that locket. I just couldn’t remember all of it.
“What do you mean?”
I stared into space, trying to figure out the pieces that I did know and trigger the ones I didn’t, but it was Chase who finally answered Tabitha.
“Just like the rest of the Buio Maga, she’s been oblivious.” He gave me his best goofy grin.
“Thanks, Chase.”
“Yeah, anytime I can help. You know that, Renee.” He slid into the over-sized armchair at the far end of the room and looked out the window, as if he waited for someone.
“Renee?” Tabitha gave a look of confusion.
“Yes?”
“No, I mean why is he calling you Renee?” She stood and walked to me, then knelt and sat on the floor. “What’s going on?”
“That is a very astute question, Niece.” Hogarth emerged from the hall. Gareth and Ty followed closely behind him.
“Uncle? Tyson, what is going on?” Tabitha looked at her brother.
The conversation had become loud and gained the attention of the entire group in the vast room. Hogarth started to answer some of the questions Tabitha and Farlow asked. I wished I could sneak away to Ty’s room again. I thought if I were to remember more about that life—the one we were together in—maybe I would be able to ease the confusion.
“The questions about the maga’s memory of their lives in Pylira held validity,” Hogarth began.
“The princess was unaware of who she once was when Tyson found her,” Gareth finished for him.
“You mean she doesn’t remember who she is?” Farlow asked them as if I weren’t even in the room.
“I have been getting bits and pieces of events,” I said. “People are familiar, but I can’t always distinguish who they are.”
“Okay, so what do we do about the rest? I mean, the sooner you know who you are, the better. We have a war to fight!” Farlow bellowed to the room.
My temper started to get the better of me and before I knew it, I was on my feet, words flying out of my mouth, and everyone was paralyzed into listening. “I know who I am. I’m Renee Foresee. I was born seventeen years ago, here in Cherry Valley. I’m a cheerleader.” I started pacing the room, my arms flying around. “O— Or I was a cheerleader. My parents are John and Karen Foresee, my brother is Xander, and I go to high school.” I turned and gave them a large sigh.
“On the other hand, I’m also Renella Pyliro. A one-hundred-year-old princess…” I stopped and scanned the looks on the faces in the room.
Everyone sat still as if one movement from them would set me off again. I gave up, throwing my arms into the air in defeat and sat down.
“I’m sorry, Princess, this must be hard for you,” Farlow said solemnly.
“No. Forget that bull.” Tabitha moved to me, grabbing both of my arms and shaking me as she spoke. “You are Princess Renella. You’re my best friend, a powerful Maga, and you’re engaged to my brother. Your parents are King Rowan and Queen Karen and your sister was Rosella.” At the mention of Rosella, Tabitha lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “She died at the hands of my father, Ourobus, and he needs to be stopped, and we don’t have time to handle you with kid gloves. So, snap out of it.” She let go and walked away from me with a growl.
I felt the sting of a hot tear swell in my eyes, but I wiped them away before they could fall. “I’m sorry, I know, but—” I turned away from the group. Ty moved behind me, and I felt his hands on my shoulders. The warmth between our touch was familiar, not just from the last few days, but from before, which was even more confusing.
“Don’t worry, it will all come back.” He kissed the back of my head and snaked an arm around my waist.
“I forgot,” Tabitha said, sauntering over to her brother and me. “I need to return this. You made me promise as soon as I saw you.” She took the locket from around her neck and closed the clasp as she put it around mine.
“Thank you, Tabitha.” My hand moved up to the locket against my chest, which suddenly felt heavy.
“Actually, I use Tabby now. So, I guess I can get used to Renee,” she said, giving me a hug.
I turned around to face the room and for the first time, felt as if I could see everyone clearly. A bright white light illuminated beneath my hand, where the locket sat. I looked from my hand to Ty and Tabby before I dropped to the floor.
Chapter Three
Ormshire: Past
The morning was muggy, and the breeze off the waters near Ormshire was nonexistent. Everyone in the castle was cranky from the heat and carried a paper fan. The sweat beaded on Renella’s brow, and she felt the trickle of it sliding down her back.
“This heat is unbearable. How do you deal with it?” Renella asked Tabitha as they searched for shade in the town square.
“I guess when you grow up around it, you’re just used to it,” she said as she poked fun at Renella, who carried a bright pink feather fan. Tabitha didn’t have a fan with her on their walk to the village, and Renella wondered how her friend had not yet broken a sweat.
The walk was not unbearably long, but in the heat, it felt like it took them all day. Renella wore her thinnest purple summer dress and felt like she was wearing wool. Tabitha rarely wore a dress. She wore her signature color and style; a gold satin jumper. It covered her from shoulder to calf and was snug at the waist with a belt. The pants flowed freely so they looked like a skirt.
“Here.” Tabitha disappeared down the long alley of vendors, returning with a purple and white paper umbrella. She handed it to Renella. “To keep the sun off you,” she said when Renella gave her a confused look.
“Thank you. This should help quite nicely.” She placed her feather fan inside a sack and opened the umbrella, letting it rest against her shoulder.
They spent the day in the square, buying jewelry and trinkets of gold and silver. At one table, Renella marveled at all the books for sale.
“Did you read all of these?” she asked the vendor as her hands skimmed the titles on the table.
“No, my lady. I have collected them from family and friends. I have no use for the written word,” the man said, and Renella saw the sadness in his eyes. Many could not
read in the realms, and Renella shared his sadness for it.
“Renella, have you chosen one yet? I’m starving.” Tabitha seemed to have a bottomless pit where food was concerned.
“Go ahead. I’ll catch up to you.” She looked and scanned and touched the books before her. She wished she could carry every one of them back to the castle.
“I don’t know. Are you sure?” Tabitha asked as her stomach growled.
“Yes, I’m sure. I have guards. I’ll be along in a minute.”
Tabitha left under the cover of her own guards. She was only going two alleys over, where all of the food vendors were gathered. Renella didn’t see the need to hold her or her stomach up.
As she looked across the table, she saw a light blue book with silver etchings. She reached for it, and as she put out her hand, another hand grabbed the book.
“Excuse me, but I was about to purchase that book.” She looked up to see Tyson there, book in hand. He studied it intently, as if by some miracle he was interested in it.
“I’m sorry, Highness, but I’m afraid I’ve grabbed it first. He handed the man behind the table a silver piece and placed the book in the bag he carried.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, I do believe I’m shopping.”
“Why are you shopping? Were you sent here to keep an eye on me?”
“No, milady. I’m just enjoying a nice day in the village. I thought I’d pick up a few things, while I’m here and all.” He grabbed an apple from a clerk who refused his money and handed one to Renella as well.
“Princess, for you,” the man said with his hands outstretched, offering the apple.
“Thank you. It looks delicious.” She stuffed the apple in her bag and waved a hand at Tyson. “Fine, enjoy your shopping.” Renella turned from him and followed the path Tabitha took, in hopes of finding her before Renella was forced to speak with Tyson again. Tabitha had a knack of chasing him off, for which the princess would forever be grateful.
“Are you burned?” Tyson said behind me.
“Burned?”
“By the sun?”
“No. I don’t believe so.”
“Then why are you carrying a shade with you?”
“The heat of the sun; it’s a bit much.” She kept walking, anxious to find her friend. “Why? Does it bother you to think I may be burned?”
“Of course, it does.”
His words made her stop dead mid-step. “Why would it bother you?”
“I’m not without feeling. I don’t wish you harm.”
Renella had no words to give to him for that. She simply kept walking until she could smell food. Once she found Tabitha, Renella turned and left Tyson to his own folly.
It didn’t take long to find Tabitha, and soon after, Renella forgot about the encounter with Tyson altogether. The girls spent the afternoon eating and playing in the water fountain with a group of small children. Tabitha hiked her jumper above her knees, and Renella sat on the edge of the fountain kicking water up at those dancing inside. The sun began to set, and the guards reminded them of the curfew.
When they headed for the castle, Renella wondered if Tyson had already gone back, but she quickly dismissed the thought. They returned, and she went straight to her room to bathe and change for supper, which was called for shortly after. With each day, the temperature outside rose, and as it had, supper was served later. On her way to the dining hall, she realized it was the same time in the evening that she liked to look at the stars from the courtyard. Since she had eaten a late lunch and was not hungry, Renella turned from the dining hall and headed to the pond.
It felt like hours had passed while she gazed at the stars in the little spot of the castle that reminded the princess of home. The sky overhead could not be changed; she could always count on them to remain constant. Sitting in that place made her miss her home and her family a little less.
She was tucked in the far end of the courtyard when Tyson stepped through the doorway. He didn’t speak but looked at Renella the way he always did; like he was trying to measure her mood or read her mind by simply looking. She stood to walk back to the castle and he jumped on the ledge of the pond, mirroring her movements.
“This is your favorite place out of the whole of the castle, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” She watched his footing around the ledge. He teetered on one foot.
“Why do you like it here so much?” He spun around with a hop and back again.
“It’s not cold here.”
“Are we not nice to you?” He stopped what he was doing to look at her.
“I did not say it was not discourteous here, I said it is not cold.” She took slow, liberal steps towards the door. She was not in the mood for another aggravating conversation. “The rest of the castle is cold, like a prison.”
“Are you saying you feel trapped here?”
“Well… Yes, I do.” She looked at her hands, almost ashamed to have spoken ill of his home.
“Well, Highness, on that we have mutual feelings.” They stopped moving and looked at each other.
“You feel imprisoned? I’m sorry, sir, but I do not believe you. You seem quite comfortable here in your home.”
“I may live here, but this is my father’s home. It hasn’t felt like my home for some time.” He stopped with one foot in the air and the other on a ledge. As he tried to wrap his leg around the pillar to get to the other side, he became unsteady.
“You’re going to fall,” Renella pointed out to him as his foot connected with the other side, and he maneuvered around the pillar. He was steps away from her, and she stopped walking. She didn’t know if she wanted to run or let him catch up, but she quickly decided on the former and quickened her pace to the door.
“Why do you always run from me?” he asked, looking at her instead of his feet.
“I’m not running. I’m avoiding confrontation.”
“Are we not supposed to be bonding this hour? I do believe supper was called. Yet here we both find ourselves.” He took another step towards her, and she took one back.
“Yes, but when we try to bond, you just end up being sarcastic, and I, unhinged.” She sighed.
“It doesn’t have to be that way. We could try having a real conversation.” He took another step towards her. She took another deliberate step back.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, quickly moving away from him. As she did, he reached out and grabbed the skirt of her dress to keep her from leaving.
“This would be easier if you stopped running away from me,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I told you, I’m avoiding; not running.” She pulled her skirts from him with a jerk, and he lost his balance and fell in the water.
Renella tried not to, but she couldn’t help the laughter that erupted from within. She laughed so hard, her sides felt as though they were splitting open. One look at Tyson and she put her hand over her mouth to try to control herself, but she had not laughed like that in ages, and boy did it feel good.
“Are you finished yet? Maybe you could give me a hand?” Tyson asked her with a stern glare.
Renella, still using one hand to cover her mouth, used the other to tell him to give her one more minute. She turned from him to compose herself. Once she could stand straight again, she turned back.
“As you wish, sir.” She outstretched her hands and gave a dramatic clap, a faint giggle escaping her lips.
“Ha ha. Very funny. Could you help me out, please?” He looked furious. Renella stopped clapping and removed a glove from her hand, so it would not get wet.
“Do not pull me in,” she warned him, and he made a cross motion over his heart to promise he wouldn’t. She reached her hand across the ledge and grabbed his. Just as she thought he would pull her in, she began to feel dizzy. Her hand started to slip from his as he gained his balance. Renella felt like her body had been shocked by electricity and her mind became fuzzy.
Before she knew what happened,
she found herself lying in Tyson’s lap, the two of them in a heap on the grass beside the pond. She looked up and saw into his eyes. The blue swirled within the irises and sparkled like the stars in the night sky, but the blue was as clear as the crystal waters of their land.
“Beautiful blue eyes,” she said in a whisper before she knew what had come over her.
“What was that?” he asked, not quite hearing her.
She quickly recovered herself and sat upright. “Beautiful blue skies,” she said as she stood and straightened the skirt of her evening dress. “I just noticed how clear blue the night sky is,” she covered.
“Are you okay?” he asked in earnest.
“Yes, I believe I am.” She placed her glove back on her hand.
“May I walk you to your room?” He stood and brushed the grass from his slacks.
“If you’d like.”
“I would.” He held out his arm, and she took it.
They walked arm in arm to her chambers. Renella was glad the dizzy feeling had not come back, and she was grateful for the company.
“Here we are.” She began to open her door.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Renella? You don’t look well.” Renella noticed the sweat beading on his brow.
“Yes, I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Um, I think so. I just got a little dizzy for a moment.” He wiped his brow with a handkerchief from his back pocket.
Renella let her hand fall from the door. “Dizzy?”
“Yes, why?” He saw the concern in her eyes.
“I felt a little dizzy myself. Maybe it’s the heat.” She contemplated for a moment. “Thank you for walking me to my room. Good night.”
“Good night.” He started to turn and stopped. “Can we spend some time together tomorrow? I’d like to show you something,” he asked, fumbling to get the words out.
“Sure, I’d like that,” she said as she slipped past the door. She turned to close it and noticed that he still stood looking at her.
“Good night, Tyson.”
“Good night, Renella.”
Renella readied for bed, contemplating curling up on her window seat to read her book for a while, but she thought better of it. She lay between her sheets and drifted off to sleep.
The Curse of Ormshire (The Beast Within Book 2) Page 3