I knew she was right, but the problem was nothing in my mind made sense anymore. It’s like down was up and left was right. I didn’t know who I loved, or why I loved them. I had a feeling I was in for a long day.
Chapter 24
“Are you ready?
Liam stood in front of me looking incredibly handsome, yet still bashful and cute. My heart raced. This was what I wanted, but I couldn’t shake the feeling something was amiss. His glow had almost completely faded, leaving me confident the effects of the ambrosia were fading. Maybe if I stalled long enough it would be out of my system and I could go into this with a clear head.
“I guess. What do we do first?”
“We go out there and mingle. Let everyone see us. I will introduce you to some important people. Then we will sit down for a formal dinner, during which time my father will make the announcement.”
I chewed nervously on my lower lip.
“Don’t worry, Kylie. Everyone will be drinking. They probably won’t even know what is going on,” he teased.
It didn’t calm my nerves, though. I wasn’t worried about everyone else. I worried I was the one who wouldn’t know what was going on. “I guess I can handle that.”
“Are you sure about this? It’s not too late to back out.”
“No, it’s fine. There are lots of people out there waiting for us. Let’s go.”
* * * *
Walking around meeting new people wasn’t as difficult as I expected. What I did find challenging–sorting through my emotions. I smiled politely and made conversation here and there, but my mind remained miles away. On more than one occasion, I caught Liam staring at me with concern. He seemed to sense my shifting moods. I tried to hide it behind a smile but I suspect he saw through that. When I saw Cara across the room, I excused myself to talk to her.
“How you holding up?” She seemed to pick up on my discomfort.
“That’s the problem. I’m not.” I frowned. “I just can’t figure things out, and I feel like this party is a ticking time bomb. Any minute the clock is going to strike midnight and this little wall of happiness I built is going to come crashing down.”
Cara looked concerned, and I hated bringing her spirit down with mine. This was a party after all.
I changed the subject. “On the plus side, I’ve received a ton of compliments on my fantastic dress.” With a grin, I spread my arms out and swayed the skirt from side to side. “It’s exquisite. Only you could make me this beautiful when I’m actually a complete mess. You’re like my faery godmother,” I said, getting a chuckle out of her.
“My design wouldn’t be nearly as gorgeous if it wasn’t on such a perfect model.”
I tsked. “Too modest.”
I did love the dress, though. It was matted silver with a strapless bodice and a full skirt composed of small strips of tulle layered on top of each other. I loved the way it swished when I walked. I felt like a princess, which was ironic considering I second guessed the whole faery princess thing. I was pulled from my thoughts as we were notified to find our seats for dinner service. I looked at Cara and fear gripped me.
“I guess you should go find Liam.” She looked almost as nervous as me.
“Cara, I know it’s wrong to run away from your problems, but really is that such a bad thing?” I said only half-joking as my heart hammered in my chest.
She leaned in and hugged me. “You just do what you need to do,” she whispered, quietly enough for only me to hear, then gestured over my shoulder. “Looks like he found you.”
“I thought I lost you.” Liam laced his fingers through mine.
I let out a nervous laugh. “Still here.”
He escorted me to the table where we were to sit. It was much more formal than our normal dining. I stood next to my chair and scanned the crowd. I didn’t know what I looked for, an exit maybe? Then, off in a corner, I saw him.
Grant leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me intently. I had a feeling he’d been there for a while. Our gazes locked in an endless stare as memories flooded my mind. The first time I ever laid eyes on him, the thousand volts of electricity his nearness brought, him swooping me into his arms on Lexie’s staircase, the flowers for my birthday– One after another the memories filled my mind and they didn’t stop there.
My body flushed remembering the hotel room, the kissing and last night. Last night.
My hand slowly crept to my lips. I told Grant I loved him and he kissed me. Did that mean he loved me too?
Just then Liam pulled out my chair. I looked at him and, while still sweet and cute, I didn’t have that relentless desire to be with him. Grant was right, it had been the ambrosia.
I looked back in his direction, but he was gone. My gaze swept the room trying to find him. I found Cara instead. I don’t know what my expression told her but it earned me a nod, and I knew she figured out what I was thinking. Just run away.
I looked back at Liam. His eyebrows were knitted with concern, then slowly his face fell.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. He nodded in response, seemingly knowing what my next words would be. “I can’t.”
If it was possible to physically see someone’s heart breaking, I was pretty sure I just did. Looking into Liam’s eyes right then pained me. I hated myself for what I was about to do. He just stood there, his eyes full of understanding. His reaction making it all that much harder. I wanted him to yell at me or at least look at me like the horrible person I was, but he didn’t. He simply watched as I walked away.
The room was still pretty chaotic as people found their seats, and I prayed Alastar wouldn’t notice and Liam would be okay. But I didn’t turn around. If I did I might lose my nerve for I was about to do. As soon as I stepped out of the dining room, I rushed through the halls looking for Grant. Everything stood quiet minus the soft rustling of my dress. I noticed the back door cracked open. Hoping he’d been the one to do that, I ran outside. I tore off my heels–they didn’t exactly make the best running shoes–and held them in my hand.
I checked each garden alcove I passed. Tears threatened as the gravity of what I’d just done set in. I needed to find Grant. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place. I feared I might run into Alastar or Liam if I went back inside. So, I kept moving. As I silently prayed I would find him, I rounded a corner and there he was. He stood in the gazebo, the very one in which Liam and I once stood.
Grant must have sensed my arrival because immediately he spun around. He was speechless as if deciding if I really stood there. “Kylie?” I rushed up the gazebo steps. “What are you doing out here?”
“Do you love me, Grant?”
“What?”
“Do you love me? You have kissed me. You have told me you think about me. You have told me you think we should be together, but you have never told me you love me. Do you love me?”
“I can’t even put into words what I feel for you. I guess I’ve never said it because the word love didn’t seem adequate. Love gets tossed around, given and taken like some cheap possession. That’s not real love.” He shortened the distance between us.
“Kylie, I gave you my heart a long time ago, and I never want it back. No matter what you choose to do with your life, I will never stop feeling this way about you. If you want to hear those words then, yes, I love you more than I ever thought possible.”
He reached out, looping his fingers through mine. “I love your laugh. I love the way your eyes brighten when you’re happy. I love when you get so frustrated, you pout. I love the way you bite your bottom lip when you’re nervous. I love holding you. I love kissing you.” He pulled me closer and moved his hands to my hips. “I’m sorry I never said it sooner, but I do love you, every part of you.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” I said, and kissed him. I pressed my body against his as if I couldn’t get close enough. He kissed me back and held me tightly, and I never wanted him to let go.
His hand came to my cheek and gently wiped away the tears tha
t streamed down my face. “Why are you crying, Kylie?”
“I don’t know. Everything, I guess. I wanted so badly to hear you say those words. I think I gave up hope on that ever happening and then, of course, there is this whole Liam situation. I messed up big time, Grant. I don’t know what to do. I’ve hurt him, probably embarrassed him, and now he has to deal with the wrath of his father. As long as I’m here, Alastar will never accept me turning down Liam. No matter what, I will be forced into it. I don’t know what he has planned, but this seems pretty important to him.”
“Then you won’t live here anymore.”
“Where would I go? There is no place safe for me.”
“I can keep you safe.”
“But if you and I leave together, then you will also be in trouble. I can’t do that to you. This is my mess. You can’t lose this,” I gestured toward the castle, “and jeopardize your friendship with Liam.”
“I don’t care. The only thing I want is standing right in front of me.” He brushed my cheek with his thumb. “You are the only thing that matters to me, and even if I stuck around here, it would be pretty challenging being friends with the guy who’s marrying the girl I love.” He smiled with affection.
I chewed on my bottom lip.
“Do you have any idea how crazy that makes me?” He looked at my mouth. My forehead creased in confusion. “Every time you do that, I can’t help but stare at your mouth, and every time I look at your mouth, I want to kiss you. It’s a vicious cycle. I bet you have no idea how often you do it, either.” He wore a devious grin.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His lips found mine again. It was easy to get lost in those kisses, as if it was just he and I and nothing was wrong, but I knew that wasn’t true.
“Grant, it’s just a matter of time before they come looking for me. Whatever we are going to do, we need to do now.” Just then we heard a sound. We both glanced around but saw nothing.
In a hushed voice Grant spoke, “we should get out of here.”
We stepped off the gazebo and headed back to the main trail. We cautiously checked both directions before stepping out.
“Isn’t that your bag?”
I looked down and right next to the trail sat my messenger bag. I picked it up and opened it. It had my clothes and much better getaway shoes than the heels I held in my hand. I pulled them out and slipped them on, then tucked my other shoes under a bush, hoping they would stay hidden. When I stood, I could have sworn I saw a woman with long blonde hair turning the corner, then disappearing. My mother.
I blinked hard as if seeing things, but my eyes played no tricks. It was her. Shocked, I stared at Grant, who wore a similar expression.
“She did say she wanted to help find a way out of this,” I said to him.
But, what were her intentions? I wasn’t sure if she approved of me running or if she just blamed herself so much for my unhappiness she did this in an attempt to right her wrong. I wanted to be touched by her willingness to help me, but somewhere inside of me I still just couldn’t connect with her. Although the lack of bond between us was apparent to me, I still appreciated her effort.
“I guess this in her contribution,” I said.
“I guess.”
“How do we get out of here without going back through the main house?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve worked here long enough to know every way in and out of this place.”
He led me down various twists and turns, my dress billowing out behind me as we ran. I kept checking over my shoulder, expecting to find someone following us, but no one ever did. We made it to a wall. Grant felt around looking for something, then finally gave a large stone a push and a door opened.
“Just like the movies.” I grinned.
“Let’s hope so, they always make perfect getaways.” We stepped through the door and he repeated the process to close it from the other side. “Before we go, are you sure you want to do this? No matter what the consequences?”
“Yes, of course. The alternative is marrying Liam and losing you. I don’t see how any consequence could be worse.” Grant let out a heavy sigh, and I had a feeling I was very wrong about that. “What about you? You have more to lose than me.”
“The only thing I’m worried about losing is you.” He took my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we going?”
“For starters, to Nanny’s and from there, I’m not sure yet. It will be okay though, we will figure this out.”
And like that we left behind the castle–me in my princess dress and Grant holding my hand–never once looking back.
* * * *
The next morning the two of us stood on Nanny’s back porch looking out into the heavily treed forest. I had a feeling that’s where we were headed. I turned to Grant. “They are going to come after us, aren’t they?”
His crystal blue eyes briefly met mine, then he looked back at the trees and nodded.
My eyes teared. “Grant?” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “How does it all end?”
He remained quiet for a long time. The only sound around us was the gentle rustling of trees as the wind blew.
His hand found mine and finally he spoke, “I don’t know, Kylie. I just don’t know.” He gazed up at the blue sky, back into the forest and finally to me. “But I do know, this is your faery tale, and I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it has a happy ending.”
With that he pulled me into his arms and kissed me softly on the lips.
Epilogue
Alastar stood in the gardens. The morning sun shone down on him in what should have been a perfect day. His brows were creased together, his jaw clenched and in his hand he held a shoe. Behind him Liam stood quietly observing his father. He didn’t want to be here or be a part of this. He just wanted to be alone, but he had no choice and was dragged along.
Alastar called to his awaiting guards. “Find her.” His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the shoe. “Bring her back and bring her soon. I don’t know who this girl thinks she is, but she will marry my son.”
The guards nodded. “Sire,” one guard cautiously spoke up. Alastar looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Grant is missing as well.”
Liam’s eyes widened, surprised by this new information. He refused to believe the events were connected. He wasn’t sure how Kylie left last night, but surely Grant wouldn’t betray him like that.
Alastar closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, slowly exhaling. “Find him and get rid of him.” Liam flinched, hearing the venomous words ooze off his father’s lips.
“Sire, you want us to– “
Alastar’s voice was like ice. “I said get rid of him. You have my orders. Now go.”
The guards scrambled away, leaving Liam and Alastar standing alone. Alastar handed the shoe to Liam, his voice cool as he spoke, “I don’t know what happened to make her run out on her own party, but don’t worry, we will find her.” Liam tensed, there was no question about it. Alastar did not offer comfort, it was a threat.
As Alastar walked away, Liam stood there thinking about the way Kylie looked at him right before she left and the pain that sliced through him as he watched her departing figure. She was a sight to behold as the dim lighting danced off her silver dress.
If he hadn’t held her in his own arms only minutes before, he may have believed she never really existed, just a dream. A beautiful dream, so beautiful it hurt.
Liam suspected she wasn’t ready, maybe got cold feet, but he never expected her to vanish altogether. He had hoped time would help, and he wanted to give her that. Give her space, slow things down and let her choose him on her own. He cared too much for her not to, but running away? That wasn’t in his plan. But she could come back.
His chest tightened and he took a painful, deep breath. He really hoped she came back, but then he remembered what the guard had said. Grant was missing as well.
Liam had never known betrayal. He’d
never had any friends to betray him. But Grant was his friend. Was this betrayal? He couldn’t accept that. Maybe Grant saw her leave and went after her. That had to be it. He followed her for her own safety and for Liam.
He swallowed the hard lump in his throat. Grant was his friend. His friend who was now being hunted down by his father’s guards.
And Kylie– What about her? She was being hunted as well. He would like to think his father looked for her out of concern, but Liam knew that had nothing to do with this. His father wanted them married, nothing more. But why even that? Why was his marriage to Kylie so important? Why didn’t his father just let her go? He could rescind his offer of safety and be done with it. Was it merely because no one ever disobeyed the king and she’d gone against his wishes? Or was there something more?
Knowing his father, there was always something more.
Liam looked back down at his hand, staring at the only evidence Kylie had been there the night before and wondered if his father’s guards would find the girl who fit this shoe, but more importantly did she even want to be found?
About Renita Pizzitola
Finding happily-ever-after isn't always easy. Sometimes there are moments in life when we realize we've been chasing someone else's faerytale and decide it's time to create our own.
Kylie's story is a testament to that. The life of a faery princess isn't her dream, and though the simplest things seem the hardest to obtain, she will not stop seeking a happy ending.
While, Renita Pizzitola's characters may live in a world of fantasy, they still face the struggles of life–from heartache to first love, promises to betrayal, and questions to answers–but one thing remains certain, they will come out stronger on the other side.
When not writing, Renita enjoys reading and spending time with her family and friends. She also loves a good laugh and always tries to appreciate the lighter side of life. And as for her happily-ever-after, well, she found that the moment she pursued her dream of becoming a writer.
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