I fled to my room in hysterics, in repugnance, and I was undisturbed until nightfall. I didn’t see him and I missed out on the celebration and festivities, only to be said that I retired to bed early and that I wasn’t feeling well. When everyone was gone, Sebastian heavily walked up the stairs and fumbled with the door. I sat still as stone until he kicked it open. Of course it was locked. He stood in the doorway staring at me. His large unnatural looking crown was on his head as if it was supposed to stand for something.
“You missed out on the celebration,” he said stiffly.
“I never really liked parties,” I nearly barked back.
“Everyone is gone now.”
“Good.” I stared down at the ring that I held between my fingertips.
“It’s just you and me.”
“Oh, how wonderful,” I said, my eyes still focused on the ring. He took a seat beside me and took my face in his hands.
“Still not warming up to me huh?” he remarked and then chuckled. “I guess people don’t change overnight. But come on, you can’t honestly be angry with me. Just look at me. Go on, tell me you hate me.”
I looked up to him, meeting his golden eyes, his soft concerned look. I became lost, as if his gaze was poison to me. My breathing became shallow. I hated him, I really did and I was so prepared to say it too.
“I…I…,” I started, shaking my head, trying to get it out.
He smiled. “If you can’t tell me you hate me then tell me you love me.”
I wanted to swallow my tongue immediately because my mouth opened, insisting on forming such words as if I had no control. “I…love you.” I wanted to die. He leaned forward, pleased.
“I thought so.” He eyed me closer. “Now, don’t you think that wedding kiss was pathetic? I thought so. Why don’t you make it up to me? I’ll give you a second chance.”
As though I was under some haunting spell, I kissed him. And something inside of me told me not to be infuriated at him. That night I knew it must’ve been the work of his blood. And he must’ve known it too.
In the weeks that followed I made myself comfortable in my new home and the tension miraculously disappeared when Sebastian came over to me. It was strange and I dreaded it. He was also warming up to me even more – even when I thought it wasn’t possible. He even told me that he planned a feast with our Allies. I was shocked, not able to understand why the Allies would even agree to such a thing. They would be having dinner with their enemy.
“When is the feast?”
“Tonight.”
“Who will come?”
“Anyone who can make it.”
“Don’t you mean anyone who’s still alive?”
He shot an icy glare at me and then looked back into the mirror to adjust his coat. “Aren’t you cute?” he said stiffly.
“So, what am I supposed to do while I wait? Should I spend another day cooped up in this palace?” I got up and walked over to one of the windows, drawing aside the curtains. “Look, it’s sunny outside. I think spring is finally on its way. Now, do you want me confined, or would you rather know that I’m out enjoying the sunshine?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I just want to go outside, but no guards.”
“Chenille we need guards.”
“You need guards to watch me?”
“No, to protect you.”
“Protect me? Protect me from what? Do we have enemies after us?”
“I just want to make sure you don’t make any enemies.”
“Where are we anyway?”
“We’re on Alfur.”
“And why did you take me here if you knew there would be enemies?”
“I brought you up here only because most of Inesious was destroyed in the war.”
“Oh, see what your war did?” I hissed. “And did you get what you wanted? Are you happy?”
“Yes I am. I am King of Catastrophe…and I have you. I think that’s enough.”
“You’re not King as long as Pete is alive, you fool. And you don’t even know if he is or not.” I smiled. “And for all of this you told me all you wanted was acceptance. You remember telling me that. You lied then. You only wanted to become King.”
“That’s not true.”
“Your griffin told me so. And for all of the lives your war has cost, you haven’t even confronted your parents.”
“I don’t have to. I proved to them that I could become King and that I could marry you.”
“So the truth does come out.” I smiled.
“I can do anything I want. I can have anything I want. I have been underestimated by too many for too long. My people will not underestimate me now that they’ve seen what I’m capable of. And you,” he smiled, “you should know better.”
I laughed at him. I just loved pushing his buttons. “I know of another egotistical king who said those same words to me. I thought it was influenced by power, but now I know it must be another characteristic of men on Catastrophe.”
His smile faded at my words and he turned away and left, murmuring my insult to himself. I went to the bedroom window and watched him as he met with a servant outside. He was holding a magnificent horse and Sebastian was looking it over. As he tried to get onto her back, she raised her head and moved away. The servant held her tighter, attempting to still her. A chill ran down my spine as I saw her eloquent profile, and with it the side of her long crystalline horn that rested in the middle of her forehead. I bolted from the window, my legs hardly able to keep up with my energy as I sent myself down the stairs and through the doors. I was faced with seeing Sebastian’s frustration as he raised his hand to smack the unicorn.
“That’s my horse!” I yelled, my legs instinctually carrying myself to her.
Sebastian’s hand froze and she reared, sending the servant to the ground. She ran to me, her broken bridle fell from her beautiful face.
“Mother!” she cried instinctually. Her eyes filled with tears and she came to a stop. “You are alive? How long have you been alive? Why didn’t you find me? You didn’t free me when the palace burned! You forgot about me!” I realized now that the tears gathering in her eyes were from rage that was bubbling inside of her.
“Versailles I can explain!”
“And I still looked for you and I was captured and nearly killed! I was sure if you were alive you’d go to the North and despite the savagery that was there – that’s here, I still pushed on to find you. And then finally free from captivity, nearly having my horn cut off, I was captured again. I was put on a block to be sold to other savages so they could get their hands on me again. But that’s when he bought me.” She turned to acknowledge the servant that stood beside Sebastian. “He thought I’d be a worthy gift of the King.” She glared at me. “And how is he the King? And why are you here with him? I know you completed a Ceremony with Pete, everyone knows, but how could you? He killed you!”
“Versailles please, come with me so we can talk.”
“Fine.” She turned back to glare at Sebastian. “But I am not your horse.” She tossed her head. “Men are savages here.”
“Come on Versailles.” She followed me until I was sure we were out of earshot. “What I did was very wrong. As soon as I returned from reincarnation I should have gone to see you and make sure that you were ok. Instead I got wrapped up in other affairs. I had to go meet our Allies. A couple of days later, still recovering, I joined Pete and Fitzray to meet them. Things became complicated between the three of us. Pete went on trial because he was a bad Eternal Mate and he was punished by being turned into a mortal, by the use of Lucian’s heart. I performed the Ceremony with Pete to save him…or rather put him out of his misery. Fitzray died shortly after. When we had our Ceremonial party, Sebastian showed up, challenging Pete’s past events and brought up the Trial. It caused a riot that led to the destruction of our palace. I would have gone to save you but Minx took me away. I knew Sebastian needed to be destroyed, but instead of reasoning with me and maki
ng peace, he took me captive. He took me captive several times, and tortured me with my own Dragon’s Soul. I’m still his captive. I was forced into marriage so he could become King. And Minx was killed. And I don’t know where Pete is now.” My eyes rolled down to the snow and I felt a soft nudge to my shoulder as she touched me with her nose.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry about Fitzray and Minx. They were my friends too.”
When I looked up to meet her blue eyes, she wrapped her neck around me, her chin rested against my back to embrace me. “And now I know it was worth it, nearly being killed, almost ending up like all of the other unicorns that dare to step hoof on this damned place. I love you Mother.” I reached my arms around her neck and clutched her mane. “I know what my job is. I will destroy Sebastian with you or I will die trying.”
For a long time I stood there with my eyes closed; the silence made it feel surreal. I thought of nothing but admiration and gratitude as I felt the power of the creature’s love embrace and overwhelm me. I cried remembering that she was forgotten and I hated myself. I hated myself for putting her through what she went through, that I couldn’t have stopped, but could’ve prevented. At last, I felt her lips nuzzling my back, as if she had hands to comfort me. She stepped back and I stared at her with awe, realizing that I raised her and now she was grown without shame in calling me her mother.
“Let’s go to the stable.” She offered. Her eyes darted to meet the dark storm clouds overhead. I followed her, nearly running, hoping that Sebastian wasn’t watching. She took me to the stable to find it was poorly made with old floorboards and scrap wood that was thrown together to be called a poor excuse for a stable – or shack. Safely inside her stall she was comfortable, sheltered by the elements that daunted her. In the small aisle-way, there was clutter consisting of buckets and old brushes, but I managed to stand in it.
“When are we leaving this place?”
I sighed deeply. “I don’t know yet.” Her eager face pressed me to say more. “But our Allies are coming tonight and I know they will help me. They must know I am his captive because they never would’ve agreed to come and feast with a man who started a war against them.”
“That’s good.” A glint appeared on her eyes. “That means we might be leaving sooner than we think.”
I smiled. “The sooner the better,” I replied. There was a distant rumble and her ears pricked forward.
“You should go so you don’t get caught up in the storm.” I nodded and turned to leave. “Just keep me updated.”
Before I left I turned to her. “What ever happened to the pony that was with you…Fitzray’s horse?”
“Hickory? Well, it seems he wasn’t as young as we all thought he was.”
I faced the door whispering my remorse. I returned to the palace before the storm took its shape. Inside it was frantic. Servants buzzed around carrying plates, going one way and others getting garments for Sebastian. I went to my room to get dressed to find Sebastian was there in his marvelous clothing. The stupid crown was on his head.
“You’ve been out for hours,” he remarked while he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves.
“I know.” I walked nonchalantly to the closet. I wore a beautiful emerald dress and matching cape. Sebastian scoffed at it because bright colors and matching capes were not customary on Alfur, especially northern Alfur. “You don’t like it?”
I let my hair down and brushed it as he gawked rudely at me. “Well, you don’t hear me complaining about that tin hat you call a crown. Kings on Catastrophe were never meant to have crowns. It’s just not customary. But if you want to look like a fool in front of all of our Allies, be my guest.”
His face instantly expressed discomfort and he flexed his hand as if hesitant to take the crown off his head. I looked down at my outfit and slid my gloved hands against my sides.
“At least my Allies understand that I still dress the way I do because I am used to the customs of Inesious.”
He shook his head, his body became tight and he knocked the crown from his head as though my words caused him to do so. “Let’s go to dinner then,” he said stiffly, leaving without me.
I smiled to myself, feeling my wit return and conquer. I hastily put on my shoes and went to the dining room where my Allies waited. Sebastian was at the end of the table when I arrived. My Allies rose in silence. Sebastian remained seated to show me he wouldn’t stand to greet me. I looked among the faces of my Allies, reciting their names in my head, checking each one of them off silently and then I noticed an empty chair. I searched the faces again and then I was startled and embraced.
“I’m so sorry Chenille. We came to make things right.” Rasha’s voice whispered softly into my ear and I returned the hug with relief. Boy did I want to hear those words. She moved back to look at me and once she saw my face she was taken back. Her grip tightened around my arm and she touched my face with sympathy. “What has he done to you?” Her eyes became watery. “Has he not fed you?”
“Come and have a seat before the meal gets cold.” Sebastian said. Rasha’s eyes moved to me and widened when she realized that I fought hunger every moment we stood there. “Go, go,” she said quickly and allowed me to go to the feast.
When I sat, everyone started on their food. I found my plate was empty, unlike everyone else’s. Sebastian didn’t even have a thought to put a slab of meat on my plate, even when he knew I hadn’t eaten in days. Even Rasha’s plate was stacked high with food, for Rallen filled it while she was away.
I launched myself at the food without thinking. It wasn’t even reaching my plate – I ate it as fast as I scooped up a forkful. My Allies stopped eating to stare at me, baffled by my behavior. Even Rasha stopped. Her concerned glance fell on me. At first Sebastian was oblivious to the whole thing and then when he casually looked up I saw him do a double-take. He stood up furiously and reached over, grabbing my wrist, forcing me to drop my forkful of food.
“Chenille what has gotten into you? Why are you behaving like this?”
Now stopped, my breathing turned into gasping. Rasha and Rallen stood up while I stared at my plate realizing that I ate too much too fast. I swallowed hard, felt my stomach turn. Rasha ran around the table and softly held me upright. Her glare settled on Sebastian and she reached for a glass, but stopped herself from raging out on him and helped me out of the room instead. She found the bathroom and I ran inside, giving in to my sick stomach. From behind the bathroom door I managed to speak to her.
“I was so hungry…I couldn’t stop.”
“It’s ok Chenille. I would have done the same.” She paused. “Don’t worry, we’re going to get you out of here.”
“How?”
“A few of Sebastian’s friends work for us. They’re sort of like our spies.”
“Is Baloo one of them?”
“Yes, he is. We know Baloo very well. It wouldn’t be a problem if he helped, would it?”
“No.”
I allowed the silence to settle since she refused to tell me more of her plan.
“Are you feeling any better? Do you want me to get you some water?”
“No water. I feel ok, but I want to know the rest of the plan.”
“Baloo will tell you the rest when we all leave. Rallen and I will be waiting at Inesious for you. Baloo will be responsible for getting you to us safe and sound.”
“Why can’t I go with you to Inesious?”
“It will be too risky to travel together. Trust me, Baloo will get you to us safely.”
I opened the bathroom door and met her calm eyes. She knew I didn’t want to go back to the table and face consequences so she led me outside into the fresh air. We stood, sheltered from the pouring rain by an overhang. The icy rain turned the snow into slush, the smells of spring refreshing me. Rasha looked at me, her lips pressed together. Her face was soft and thoughtful.
“Is Pete alive?” I asked finally. Her eyes moved away to focus on something in the distance, avoiding my anxious face.
/> She slowly nodded her head and took a breath. “Pete is alive but he is not well. Even though he is a breed of vampire that will not face reincarnation and even though he had a Ceremony-,” she stopped herself from saying more and turned her face in my direction. “Since he has Lucian’s heart there is no telling what could happen to him. We’re not really sure what the heart is capable of. You see, when it was decided that Pete’s punishment was to have Lucian’s heart, becoming a mortal was only a part of it. A Ceremony turned him into a vampire, but Lucian’s heart is still active. It is the mystery of the heart itself that makes it so dangerous and scares us. Putting a half-blood’s heart into a vampire as a punishment has never been attempted before. So Pete’s real punishment was becoming a guinea pig and he is suffering now. There’s no telling if Lucian’s heart will kill him. I know I’m telling you that he’s alive now, but he might not be by the time we reach Inesious.”
“What is the heart doing to him?”
“The heart is weakening him. As I said before, we don’t know what it’s capable of. Its intention could be to kill him, but there could be more to it.”
She put a hand to my shoulder once she saw my anguish. “But right now Pete is the least of your problems. We have to get you away from Sebastian. Once he finds out that Pete is alive and was never dead and that he was never King it will spell trouble for you. Right now it is our duty to protect you from him. So for now we must make him believe that he is King.”
“But if Pete was dead…wouldn’t he be King?”
Rasha smiled. “Of course not. He’s not a vampire is he? No, he’s an immortal. Vampires are the dominant species and only those of royal blood can be King with their chosen Eternal Mate as his Queen. If the King is in the process of reincarnation or dies for good, their Eternal Mate will hold the title as Queen. If she remarries, he will hold his title if he has one. If the Queen chooses a new Eternal Mate, it will be her eldest son that becomes King.”
Candescent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) Page 20