Just Pretending

by Leah Rooper

  “My mom taught me,” I say. “Every Christmas Eve, she’d make me and Mi—me a new pair of pajamas. They were always pretty hideous.”

  “I bet they were comfy.” Eva nestles her head closer into my chest.

  “The comfiest.” I want to tell her more, but unlike me, the Prince of Perienza still has a mom.

  Eva sits up and points ahead. “Look, it’s the lake!”

  I peer through a tangle of trees and something flashes in my eyes. It’s sunlight off the frosted lake. As if on a track, the reindeer stops precisely in front of it.

  “What a good girl,” Eva says, jumping out. “You’ve got to give her one of those bars.”

  “Right,” I say and look around the sleigh for the bag.

  “Ty,” Eva says, “this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”

  She stands on the edge of the lake. The light reflects off it and surrounds her like a halo.

  The snow is plush and unmarred, except for her footprints.

  I could never capture such perfection in a painting.

  I hop out and tramp through the thick snow. She falls against me as I come up behind her. “We should have brought our easels,” she says.

  “Next time.” I rest my chin on the top of her head.

  “If my brother were here, he’d want to go out on that ice,” she says. “He’s a hockey nut.”

  Of course, Daniel would. Even though everyone knows it’s super dangerous to go out on a frozen lake that hasn’t been tested for strength and security, Daniel wouldn’t care.

  But as I look out to the frozen lake now, shimmering blue in the afternoon light, it beckons me. Sometimes when it gets really cold in Chicago, Hayden, Daniel, and I will go out onto the frozen lake. I love the rink, but there’s something about skating with the sun shining down on you and the cold wind in your face that’s absolutely exhilarating.

  Not that I can tell Eva any of that.

  “Hockey, right,” I say. There are so many things I want to tell her, all of a sudden. A million memories with Daniel flash across my brain, memories I know would make her laugh. But Tiberius doesn’t know those things. Only Tyler does. So, I just shrug my shoulders and say, “We don’t have that sport in Perienza.”

  “No,” she says, and straightens. “I suppose not.”

  We stand there together, listening to the serenade of bird calls and the whistle of the wind through the woods. When the frozen lake starts to darken, I nudge Eva toward the sleigh. “We should head back.”

  She nods.

  I turn toward the sleigh…but as soon as I lock eyes with that damn reindeer, I know something is terribly wrong. I didn’t think it was possible for a reindeer to glare, but this one is giving me the evil eye.

  My stomach sinks…the bar! I forgot to give her that weird food Ms. Macdonald wouldn’t shut up about.

  “Hey, it’s not like you’re starving,” I whisper to her as I pass, looking at her fat belly.

  Eva hops in the sleigh, and I get in next to her. Eva gives the reins a quick flick.

  Keira doesn’t move.

  “Maybe she’s still tired.” Eva looks over at me.

  I see the bag peeking out from under the seat and grab it. “Give me a sec.” I hop down to the reindeer. Keira’s breath is hot and stinking on my face. “Okay,” I whisper, “I’m sorry about forgetting your treat, but here you go.” I pull out one of the bars. It looks like a granola bar that got dropped in molasses and hay, and smells like it was eaten and then regurgitated. Keira chomps it out of my hand. “There’s a good girl—”

  Slowly, she lays down on the ground and closes those crazy black eyes.

  “Is everything okay up there, Ty?” Eva calls. “It’s going to start getting dark soon.”

  “Uh yeah,” I stammer and kneel down in front of the reindeer. “Hey, you glorified cow,” I say under my breath. “It’s not nap time. You’re on the clock. You can’t just have a snack and pass out.”

  But maybe that’s what she normally does—has a treat, passes out for a bit, then is ready to go. Except I’ve gone and messed up the order.

  “Hey, Ty,” Eva calls, “I don’t want to alarm you, but it’s a forty-minute ride back and these woods are known to have wolves after dark.”

  “Wolves? And here I was, thinking your mom was just being overbearing, not wanting you to come into the woods with only a fat, lazy reindeer and a wayward prince!” I mutter.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” I say under my breath. “Nothing.”

  I turn my attention back to the reindeer. “Okay, Keira, you gotta work with me here. You heard the queen—there be wolves in these woods. And I don’t know about you, but I’m sure they’d prefer a nice juicy slab of Santa’s finest compared to me.”

  Keira doesn’t even stir.

  “Maybe I should call Dwayne?” I look over my shoulder and see Eva hold her cellphone high above her head. “Shoot, no cell reception.”

  I turn back to the reindeer, sweat dripping down my brow. “Okay, I know your master said only one bar, but I’m gonna cut you a deal. I’ll feed you your second one now, then get a third one for you when we get back to the cottage.” I pull it out of the bag and the reindeer opens one eye. “All you need to do is get off your reindeer butt and take us home. Deal?”

  Keira makes a sound that might be “okay, deal,” but also might be snoring. At this point, I’ll run with it. I move the second bar toward her muzzle. She opens her mouth, revealing her flat teeth, and gobbles it in one bite.

  I wait one second. Then another. Then Keira stands. She stands!

  I leap to my feet. “I’m glad we’ve come to an understanding….”

  One of her black eyes twitches, then the other. I’d thought she’d had crazy eyes before, but now it’s like I’m staring into the depths of hell. “Hey, Keira, why are your eyes spinning like …THAAAAAAAT!”

  Kiera gives a thunderous grunt and rears up on her back hoofs. Eva’s shrill scream breaks through the air. Or was that my scream? Keira slams back down onto her hoofs and lowers her head, sharp antlers pointing toward me.

  She charges.

  She slams into me, and for a single moment, I’m flat on her head, then I’m sailing through the air. I land in a snowdrift.

  I scramble out of the snow just in time to see Keira take off in a chaotic rage, pulling the sleigh and Eva with her. “Eva!” I scream.

  But Eva doesn’t seem scared. She reaches forward, clasping the reins, and snaps them hard. I’m not sure what she’s doing, but whatever it is, it’s slowing that psycho animal down.

  Then the sleigh turns, and the reindeer gallops back. Eva pulls on the reins, and the sleigh stops right beside me.

  “My knight in shining…winter wear?” I say, looking up at her sitting gallantly on the sleigh, hands tight on the reins.

  She holds out a hand for me. “My reindeer-trampled damsel.”

  She pulls me up, and I fall into the seat beside her.

  “How did you learn to do that?” I gasp.

  “I’ve been riding horses my whole life. Reindeer aren’t much different.” She snaps the reins, and Keira trots off, but not before shooting a black-eyed glare at me. “There are still a few things you have to learn about me, Ty.”

  “You could say the same thing about me.” I let out a sigh, then turn to her, grinning. “Including my expert reindeer wrangling skills.”

  She throws her head back, and we laugh the whole way back.

  Evangeline and I sneak through the dark hallways, lit only by candles hanging from the walls. After our adventure at the reindeer farm and the long drive, it’s so late when we get back that the whole castle is asleep. Even Eva and I took a little nap on the ride home, lulled to sleep by Dwayne’s insistence that Bella would have better off with Jacob than some pasty vampire. The candlelight illuminates the creepy faces in the old paintings on the walls and flashes off the suits of armor and decorative swords.

  “There sure is a lot o
f weaponry on display in this castle,” I say, my eyes on a glistening halberd that doesn’t look particularly secure on the wall.

  “Eldonia is as famous for our bloody history as we are for our tomatoes,” Eva says. “The first ruler of Eldonia was known as King Harwell the Bloodthirsty!”

  I gulp. “That’s…nice.”

  “They say that same fiery blood still runs in our veins.” Eva gives a tinkling laugh. “So, don’t make me mad!”

  “I’ll try,” I squeak.

  “Just a warning. I don’t think my mother is going to be impressed that we weren’t there for dinner,” Eva says.

  Even if she does have Mr. Bloodthirsty’s DNA, I can’t help myself when it comes to her. I push her dark hair away from her neck and kiss the soft white skin. She leans into my touch. “Don’t worry,” I say. “We’ll avoid her. She can’t say anything if she can’t find us, right?”

  She trails her hand up to my jaw, pressing her body against mine. “I wish this night didn’t have to end.”

  “There’s always tomorrow,” I say. “And the next day, and the next day, and the next.”

  She trails her hand down my arm until our fingers are interlaced. “That is the only thing that makes saying good night tolerable.”

  We keep walking down the hallway, and I can’t help it—I can’t keep my eyes off of her. Even after being out in the snow for so long, she still looks perfect: the flush in her cheeks, the slight, almost shy, smile. But there’s a light, an energy, that radiates from her that almost feels like Christmas magic.

  “How did I get so lucky as to meet you?” I whisper.

  She looks up at me and blinks slowly. “I dreamt of being queen my entire life. After it happened, I felt like all my wishes had come true. Like I’d used them up.” Her eyes sparkle intensely. “Like…I couldn’t dream again. But then I met you.” Her hand drifts up, cupping my cheek. “Tiberius…I guess you made me believe in dreams again.”

  I sweep her into my arms. “You did the same for me. Although, I think you’re the only thing I’m going to dream about for a long time.”

  Softly, our lips brush together, a thousand hellos and goodbyes held in a single kiss.

  “I won’t keep you up any longer,” Eva mumbles against my mouth. “There’s something I want to show you tomorrow.”

  “You could drag me to hell and I’d ask to stay, as long as I’m with you,” I say.

  She lifts my hands to her mouth and kisses my fingers. “This is your stop.”

  “Hmm?”

  She nods behind me. “Your room?”

  I turn around. We’re standing in front of a beautiful mahogany door. And then it hits me. We’ve been walking through the hallways—because Eva was walking me to my room.

  Tiberius’s room.

  The other Tiberius’s room.

  “Oh, uh, my room? Right, my room,” I say, feeling my throat suddenly go dry. “Why don’t I walk you to your room? Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

  She smiles and kisses my chin. “I want to spend every minute with you, too. But the hallways are a labyrinth.” She blinks lazily and steps back. “Good night, Ty.”

  “Yeah, uh, good night.” I step back and place my hand on the doorknob. Maybe she’ll turn a corner and won’t wait to see me go in—

  The door flies open, and I yelp, stumbling back.

  Out steps a very shirtless Prince Tiberius and a very leggy woman.

  “Good gracious!” Eva cries. “What are you doing in there?”

  Prince Tiberius gives her a wolfish grin. “Aah, Queen Evangeline. So fantastikós to finally meet.” He looks from Eva to his girl and gives a chuckle. “Your staff is very nice.”

  “How dare you!” Eva snarls. “You can’t just…canoodle in any old bedroom you find! Get out of there!”

  The girl looks absolutely ashamed and jerks away from Tiberius. He crosses his arms. “Vasílissa, she was, ah, off the clock.”

  “I don’t care if she was on the clock or off the clock,” Eva says, her lips curling. “It’s absolutely disgusting! You have no respect for the castle or the people!” She crosses her arm and looks Tiberius up and down. “You’re obviously Daniel’s friend. I see why you haven’t been at any meals now.”

  Prince Tiberius plays with a loose strand of his girl’s hair. “Just enjoying the Eldonian scenery.” He gives Evangeline a thorough up and down.

  Somehow, I get my heart and breathing under control. Oh my God. Thank whatever Perienzian deity that Tiberius is such a drunk manwhore. Eva thinks he’s the friend Daniel brought!

  I clear my throat. “How dare you disrespect the Eldonian hospitality in this way! Begone with you!”

  Prince Tiberius narrows his eyes and stares at me. “Don’t I, ah, know you, agóri?”

  “Go!” I say, pointing down the hallway.

  Tiberius clutches his heart, as if I just stabbed him. “Again, sir?” he says, his words dripping in his thick accent. “You must hate poor me.”

  “My queen,” the girl squeaks. “I’m sorry, I just…”

  Eva rubs the bridge of her nose. “Just get out of my sight, and I’ll pretend this never happened.” When they don’t move, she looks up and snarls, “Both of you!”

  Prince Tiberius straightens his glistening shoulders and heaves his nose in the air. “Fine. We were on our way to the kitchen, anyway.” He throws an arm around his new friend, and they stroll down the hallway.

  As soon as they’re out of sight, Eva lets out a massive breath. “Oh my goodness, Ty, I’m so sorry! I told Daniel not to bring any of his idiot friends on this trip! You know how hockey players are.”

  I stiffen. “Oh, yeah…”

  “Ugh, I can’t believe those two! Do they think that any open bedroom is fair game? I’m so sorry they did that in your room.” She grabs my hand. “I’ll have someone come in right away to change the sheets.”

  “Oh, uh, don’t bother,” I say. She gives me a quizzical look and I blurt, “I’ll, uh, just sleep on the floor. The beds in Perienza are very stiff, so I’m used to it.”

  She raises an arched brow. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” I draw her close and dust a kiss over her lips. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “If you say so.” She deepens the kiss, dragging her hands through my hair. When we pull apart, I swear there’s a halo of circling hearts above my head.

  “Sleep tight, Tiberius,” she says as she drifts away, her full hips swaying back and forth.

  “Sleep tight,” I say. “My queen.”

  Chapter Nine

  Eva

  “This place doesn’t really look like a university,” Tiberius says.

  We walk through the courtyard of the University of Eldonia. I track Tiberius’s gaze along the tall stone arches and snow-covered turrets. “This used to be the second castle of the Eldonian crown, but around two hundred years ago, my great-great-great grandmother convinced the king to turn it into a university.”

  Tiberius spins in a circle, taking everything in. “It must be pretty incredible, studying in a castle. Is this where you’re going to go to school?”

  “A part of me really wants to, but my mother thinks it would be better to do my schooling through private tutors.” We walk up to one of the buildings, and I turn the brass key in the door.

  “So, what did you want to show me?” Ty asks as we walk down the stone hallways. “’Cause right now, I feel like we’ve just walked into a horror movie.”

  I laugh. I suppose the dark passages are a little eerie with their old suits of armor and the strange oil paintings. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

  “I feel like Peeves from Harry Potter is going to pop out and play a trick on me.”

  I grab his hand. “It’s just quiet because everyone is away for the Christmas holiday. There are no ghosts here.”

  “Well, technically,” Tiberius says, “Peeves is a poltergeist.”

  I open another door, leading to a spiraling staircase. “You read a
lot, Ty?”

  He’s silent for a minute then coughs. “My sis—er, cousin read those books. I mean, I read them to her.”

  “That’s sweet.” My voice is breathy now as we round the rising stairs.

  Our conversation dwindles as we both gasp for breath as we climb higher and higher. I really will have to look into getting an elevator installed in this tower. Finally, we reach another door.

  “I never thought I’d be thankful for all those wind sprints.” Tiberius heaves in a breath. “I don’t think I would have made it up half those stairs if it wasn’t for Coach—” He straightens suddenly and heaves in another great breath. “So…why did we have to climb all those stairs, anyway?”

  “Because this room has the best light.”

  “The best light?”

  I push open the heavy door, and soft, cool light spills over us. Tiberius puts a hand to his brow as he enters the room.

  I practically skip in after him. “This is the art studio!”

  Huge glass windows fill the whole room with bright, natural light. There are easels crammed together in one corner and cupboards overflowing with art supplies. All around the room, students’ artwork is drying on racks or tacked to the walls.

  Tiberius stands in the center of the room then turns to me, grinning. “Okay, this is seriously cool. Eldonia must have the fittest art students in the world.”

  “Hmm,” I say and walk toward the east window. “Maybe I should try to recruit them for Daniel’s new hockey team.”

  Tiberius wraps his arms around me. “And the view is incredible.”

  I look out over the horizon. From up here, I can see the whole town of Eldonia. The top of the giant community Christmas tree is adorned with an ornate star, and the branches glitter with red, blue, and green ornaments. It’s all ready for the Christmas Eve celebration tomorrow.

  And beyond it, up on the hill, is the Eldonian castle. It shines light blue, the turrets like frosted icicles against a gray-swept sky. A castle of ice.

  Sometimes that’s what it feels like. A castle that sucks the warmth and love from everything, where you can only survive if you steel your heart and freeze all feelings away.