"Hey, Noelle," Syney said. "Friends, remember?"
"Friends help friends with what to wear," Noelle said with a smile.
"I guess so," Syney said, and turned back to the tub.
Noelle debated saying more. Friends helped friends out. It wasn't a handmaiden's position to give information she wasn't asked for, but that wouldn't apply here, right? She settled on offering the information. If anything, it would help them become closer. "The Treaty of Allegiance of the Great Races."
Syney turned back to Noelle. "Do you know it?"
Noelle nodded. "It was a document written up between the Great Races when they lived in harmony. It was...to keep everyone in check, pretty much. Where did you hear of it?"
"A...friend of mine invoked an agreement of an amendment or something. It didn't make sense to me."
"He probably wanted something. That's usually the reason to pull upon the document," Noelle said, and turned to leave.
"You sure you're only a handmaiden?"
Noelle laughed. "Trust me, I'm sure." She closed the door and busied herself around the room, getting things out for Syney to prepare for her meeting with the queen. She may have just been a handmaiden, but she had learned quite a bit from her parents, probably more than she should have. Don't think about that now, she scolded herself before going in search of shoes.
Gabe
Gabe eyed the wolf, Leaf, across from him. He was the head of the Royal Guard, set apart by the gold tattoos up his left arm. It was the sign of an unmarried man. Only the head of the Guard and the high priestess had those tattoos. When a Lycin or Magic User were Joined, a black tattoo, similar to the gold ones winding up their left arms, formed to show the mating. Gabe's glaze glanced over his short brown hair and chiseled good looks. Gabe wasn't into that type of thing, but even he had to admit Leaf was a perfect benchmark for handsome, powerful, cut men everywhere. His perfect Roman face was also the thing of intimidating nightmares. Gabe was sure that anything this man wanted, he needn't lean back on his wolf to get.
The two sat in a small room, the table being the only focal point. Gabe had been escorted here soon after Adanna had led Syney away. No one was sure what to do with him. Invoking Agreement Seventeen had been a Hail Mary pass for Gabe. He hadn't been entirely sure it would work, but he did an internal summersault when it did. Not that being hauled off to this room gained him much confidence.
"Are we going to stare at each other all day?" Gabe asked, finally breaking the silence. Faye always said he hated long silences.
Leaf's expression never changed. He continued to eye the Vampire with a quiet contemplation, although no thoughts seem to run through his mind.
"I guess so," Gabe muttered, and began to play with his nails.
A few moments later, the door opened, and Hunter entered. At least it was someone familiar. Gabe smiled and gave him a little wave. Hunter scowled at him.
"They set up a room down in the guards' quarters," Hunter said to Leaf, who nodded in response.
A younger kid, who had to be no older than eighteen, walked into the room quietly and stood in the doorframe.
Hunter gestured to him. "This is Herb. He'll be your escort while you stay in the palace."
Gabe laughed. "I have shoes older than him."
All three wolves stared at him, not amused.
"Fine. I'll let the boy follow me around," Gabe said, standing up.
"You'll also be restricted from some areas," Leaf said, his calm voice lined with intimidation.
"That's not mentioned in Agreement Seventeen," Gabe said, his irritation showing.
"Exactly." Leaf stood. "It doesn't say restrictions can't be placed. You are not allowed into any sleeping quarters other than your own—also the schooling areas or training areas. Do you have any questions?"
Gabe stared at him and decided to give up. At least he was here. "Fine. With the exception of Syney's sleeping quarters. I am her guest after all." He watched Hunter's nose flair and his eyes grow dark. It really did amuse Gabe how easily he could get to that wolf.
"No," Leaf said simply.
"Yes," Gabe countered.
Leaf took a step closer to him and stood up to his total six feet five inches. "I said no. You're lucky you didn't get your blood-sucking ass kicked out of the Village, so I suggest you take whatever the queen has graciously given you and be happy with it."
Gabe didn't want to use his given abilities, although they would come in handy right about now. Every time he did use them, he craved blood even more. Living among humans was easy. Living among humans without having a lot of options other than their pounding veins was another story. But obviously being his normal charming self wasn't going to get him what he wanted, so a little persuasion was in order. He was never really sure how he did it, but it was something that came as natural as walking. He stared directly into Leaf's eyes and told him, in his mind that is, that he would be allowed in Syney's room.
"No," Leaf repeated.
Gabe blinked.
"Part of the Guard and Protector training is resisting compulsion. I guess you didn't know that," Leaf said.
I guess there have been a lot of changes, Gabe thought. It didn't matter, he would find a way around their rules. He turned to Herb. "I guess it's just me and you, kid." He smiled and left the room before stopping to let the young man take the lead. "After you."
Syney
The water felt like heaven. Syney sunk deeper into the sudsy water and sighed as all of the tension she had been feeling melted from her body, the water slowly turning darker from all the dirt that had been caked on her skin.
"I could stay here forever," she mumbled, and dunked her whole head under the water. She needed this after the past day, and it seemed like her adventure in the Village was only going to get worse. The queen had almost literally scared the shit out of Syney when she had approached her. She was all ice and frowns. Syney never trusted people like that, and now she had one as her queen. Syney would never get used to that.
She emerged from the water and took a deep breath. She washed her hair, much slower than she usually did, even running the soap through twice before getting out of the tub and toweling off. She found a fluffy white robe and tied it on before looking at herself in the damp mirror. She looked like nothing was wrong, all clean and refreshed, but underneath the surface she was still broken. She let one tear fall down her cheek before shaking off her grief and toweling off her hair. She walked into her bedroom and found Noelle on one of the couches, reading a leather-bound book.
"That looks old," Syney said.
Noelle jumped up from her seat, her blond hair flapping behind her.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Syney said, sitting down on the chaise lounge that lined the bottom of the bed. "What book is it?"
"Oh, it's just a...romance. My mother was a fan," Noelle said, sitting down again.
"Hm. I never got into that myself. I'm strictly a mystery gal." Syney looked back at the dresses on the bed. "I should probably get dressed, huh?"
Noelle nodded. "Probably a good idea. The queen does want to see you before dinner."
Syney pursed her lips. "Not really looking forward to that. Think I can ditch?"
Noelle's eyes widened. "No."
Syney nodded. "Didn't think so."
A knock came at the door, and they both looked up.
"I'll get it," Noelle said, jumping up and heading to the door.
Syney followed close behind and wasn't too surprised to see Gabe.
"Hi," he said with a killer smile. He peered over Noelle's shoulder to look at Syney. "They're very particular about you, my dear."
Syney laughed and stood alongside Noelle. "I'm getting that. Where did they put you?"
"In steerage." He leaned against the doorframe. "They also forbade me from coming here."
"I guess that didn't really work," Syney said, as a kid came running up and stopped next to Gabe.
"They're just too slow," Gabe said, eyeing the red
-faced, breathless kid.
"Are they chasing you?" Noelle asked.
Gabe turned to the blonde and eyed her in that way he did, as if he were analyzing every little thing about the person. "No. He's my chaperone."
"What?" Syney exclaimed. "The queen said you would be a guest, but you have to have a guard and you can't come see me? Well, that's bull."
"It's....the....queen's....orders...Your...Majesty," the kid said, leaning against the wall.
"And who are you?" Syney asked.
He looked up at her, his breath still ragged.
"His name is Herb. He's a member of the Royal Guard," Noelle said. "A new member."
"Obviously," Syney said. She looked at Herb. "Gabe is my guest, so he's going to come into my room now so we can talk. And if anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with me."
Gabe went to step forward but was blocked by a thick arm that shot across the door.
Syney felt annoyed and stomach-flipping happy all at once as she looked at Hunter. None of them had heard him approach, and all jumped as he made his presence known. "He's my guest," she said slowly.
"That's not up for debate," he said in his calm, deep voice.
Syney and Hunter stared each other down for a few moments before he lowered his arm and addressed Noelle. "Would you mind giving us a moment?"
She nodded quickly and slid past him into the hallway.
Hunter walked into Syney's room and closed the door to the three in the hallway. "You can't go against the queen's orders," he said simply.
Syney laughed. "I kinda figured that. She is the queen after all."
"That includes all things relating to Gabe."
Syney sighed and plopped down on one of the couches. "I don't get this place."
A small smile appeared at the corners of Hunter's lips. "There's not too much to get."
"Ha! There's a lot to get! They gave me a handmaiden! Like I need a servant. And they won't let Gabe see me. The next thing you know, they'll be locking me in this room, and I'll have to grow out my hair like Rapunzel."
Hunter sat across from her and leaned forward. "You've only been here for a few hours. You have to let things settle down."
Syney looked him over. He had cleaned up as well, and she could pick up the faint smell of soap when she took a deep breath. She took a few. "What do you think she wants to meet about?"
"I don't know," he said, but his eyes told another story. This was the first time she doubted anything Hunter had said to her. It made her uncomfortable.
Syney nodded. "Is she always that cold?"
He rolled his eyes, a gesture so unlike him. "No, usually she's worse."
She sat forward. "Is she on the 'not trusting' list?"
Hunter balked then stood to walk toward the open archway. "You have to always trust your queen."
Syney didn't like the way he was talking. There was an edge to his comments that she hadn't heard before. She stood up, walked up behind him, and placed a hand on his back. He quickly moved away from her but turned to face her. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said. "You need to get dressed."
Syney nodded and headed over to the laid-out dresses. "Which one?"
"Doesn't matter."
She scoffed. "You really are a man."
"I'll be outside," he said, heading for the door.
"Are you coming with me?"
He stopped and glanced at her. "I can."
She nodded. "Please. It'll...make it a little less uncomfortable."
He gave her a curt nod before leaving the room, closing the door solidly behind him.
Noelle
He was a Vampire, she could tell. That didn't mean she was afraid like most Magic Users would be; she was more intrigued than anything else. It had been a long time since she had seen a Vampire, and it was unheard of to let them into the Village. How had Syney gotten herself involved with one? She willed herself not to look over at him—mostly because she knew he was looking directly at her, and had been since she had stepped into the hallway. Instead she put all of her attention on Herb, who finally had caught his breath.
"You OK?" she asked.
Herb nodded and shot a murderous look at Gabe.
"If you're trained to resist compulsion, you should know how fast Vampires can be," Gabe said.
Noelle dared a look at him, only to meet his glowing golden eyes trained on her face. She shivered and looked away quickly.
"I wasn't expecting you to run," Herb grumbled, his fists clenching harder by his sides.
"Are you from the Village?" Gabe asked.
Noelle stiffened at the question. She knew it was directed at her, and she really didn't want to answer it. Her mother, however, hadn't raised a rude girl, so she turned to him and smiled. "No, not originally."
He seemed to already know her answer and nodded as if she were confirming his suspicions. "Norlock?"
She shook her head at the name of an outlying Magic User territory. "Colden Creek."
A smile smoothed out his lips. "Really? I guess I missed the Creek dialect. It's usually pretty strong."
Herb frowned. "Yeah, you're right."
Noelle shrugged. "My mother taught me how to not pick it up. No one wants a handmaiden with a Creek accent."
"I guess that would be the best thing," Gabe said. He looked over at Herb. "It's always better not to have an unique servant, right?"
"Yeah, I guess...I mean, no...I..." Herb stammered.
"It's, OK, Herb. He's just trying to rattle me," Noelle said. She heard her mother's voice in the back of her mind. Just stay calm and blend in. Don't let your temper flair, little girl. She plastered on a smile and turned away from him. She wouldn't let a Vampire make her let her guard down.
"Maybe," Gabe said.
Noelle took a deep breath as she felt him step closer to her.
"Or maybe I just find you interesting," he breathed into her ear.
She forced herself not to shiver, an almost impossible task. She didn't have to for long, however. Syney's door opened, and Hunter walked out.
He glared at Gabe. "Syney needs help with the dress," he said, not taking his eyes off Gabe.
Noelle shot forward and closed the door behind her. This could not happen again. She made a note to never get near the Vampire again. She couldn't, not if she wanted to keep her secret.
Syney
Syney looked at herself in the full-length mirror in front of her. She didn't like the dress. It wasn't really the dress's fault. It was pretty enough but too restricting. The collar sat high on her chest, and the back was tied tightly, accentuating her jutting hips. The material—brown wool—was too thick and clawing. She wanted her jeans and sweaters. Screw being royal.
"You look great," Noelle said, coming up behind her.
"No, I don't." Syney walked away from the mirror. "I never realized my hips were this large."
"It's the corset."
Syney looked at her. "You're sweet, but I prefer honesty."
Noelle laughed. "It is the truth."
Syney grumbled.
Hunter was waiting out in the hallway for her, alone. She gave him a questioning look, to which he rolled his eyes. "Finally got him to his room."
"I guess that's a good thing," Syney said.
"I'll take her to see the queen," Hunter said to Noelle, who had moved to lead the way.
She nodded and retreated down the hallway.
"I like her," Syney said, following Hunter down the hall.
"She seems nice."
"You don't know her?"
"No."
It seemed odd to her that there was someone in the Village that Hunter didn't know—although her perspective was probably a little skewed. He was one of the only people she knew there, but that didn't mean he had to know everyone. They walked in silence through the maze of hallways and rooms. Syney was sure she never would remember how to get anywhere in this place. It needed a map with a big red star that said, "You are here," l
ike all the zoos had. It wasn't just that the there were many different rooms and hallways, but they all looked exactly the same.
Finally they reached a room that was decked out in blue. There were blue banners on the walls, blue flags hanging, even blue rugs leading to large wooden double doors. Two men stood guard before the doors.
Hunter nodded to the both of them. "The queen has requested Syney's presence."
"The queen has been detained," one of the men said. "Princess Ariel gave birth an hour ago."
"Thank you." Hunter gave another nod and led Syney to one of the leather benches that lined the walls. "We can wait here."
Syney sat down and looked Hunter over. "Where is she?"
"At a naming ceremony."
"Wouldn't she have known she would be there? Why have me come all the way down here?"
Hunter seemed to hesitate to answer her questions.
"I thought you were going to help me out here?" she pleaded. "No one is telling me anything. I'm all for letting things settle, but I need some basic information about things." She pouted, leaned back against the wall, and crossed her arms. It was a move she had learned as a child. It also worked nine times out of ten—on her parents at least.
Hunter stood and paced a few times before finally waving her forward. "Come on."
She jumped up and followed Hunter again through the weaving halls.
Hundreds of people were loitering in another large room, not far from the queen's room. They were all talking among themselves, chatter filling the air. Hunter seemed to visibly become more comfortable as they weaved through the crowds. He even stopped a few times to greet several men and women. Syney smiled to them all, receiving awed and revered looks in return. They reached a set of stairs at the back of the room. Before they started to climb, a boy, maybe around fifteen, ran up to them and placed a hand on Hunter's arm.
"Hunter! Is it true you spent two whole days in the Human Realm?" he asked in a rush of words.
A genuine smile filled Hunter's face as he ruffled the kid's blond hair. "It's true. And I lived to tell the tale."
The kid laughed and looked at Syney. His eyes quickly grew wide. He leaned closer to Hunter and whispered, "Is that her?"
Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy Page 10