'What does the dog want?' Nnelg sounded a little alarmed.
'Just to be friends,' Cat said as she watched Audi continue in her commando crawl. Nnelg regarded the dog suspiciously for a moment then leaned forward when she was within reach and the two touched noses. He jerked back and cocked his head while regarding Audi with a curiously playful look and swish of his tail.
'Catch me if you can.' Nnelg’s voice flashed out then he vanished again.
Audrey let out a yelp of excitement and shot out of the room. The silence after the piecing bark from Audrey was striking, and we stood motionless for a moment.
Then Sabyn said with a teasing smile, 'So apart from meeting Nnelg did you girls want something?'
'You boys are supposed to be showing us the castle for the next couple of days,' Sian smiled sweetly at the men, who all blanched at the term boys. Daron feigned annoyance as he stared at her but an adoring smile quickly spread on his face.
Yep, thought Sian with pleasure. All mine, and she beamed back.
There was a momentary silence as Daron and Sian gave each other mushy smiles. I rolled my eyes at Kassie and Loi. Kassie raised hers to the ceiling then winked at Rumal and Loi just wrinkled her nose at me. I suddenly remembered something.
'Oh! Where are my manners?' I cried and I bowed elaborately to Alek.
'Your Royal Highness.'
Alek winced at the tone of Cat’s voice and closed his eyes for a moment.
Damn it. He’d meant to mention it to her. A little voice in his head sang out "you’re lying".
Alek opened his eyes, Cat was still in her deep bow, and now the other three girls were too. He sighed and the four of them looked up, eyes alight with mischief, while his so called friends gave him "I told you so" looks as they stood back.
Alek stepped toward me so I straightened up and widened my eyes into a look of vacant idolization. Alek stopped short at the expression and his eyes narrowed, he snapped, 'Cat, I’m sorry. I should have told you.'
Matching his tone I replied.
'Yes, you should have,' and returned the annoyed look.
The others in the room drifted off with mumbled words, and we were left glaring at each other.
'Really, what did you think I would do,' I demanded, feeling more annoyed now. 'Fawn over you because of your title? I’m a Kiwi, Alek. Titles have little meaning to us.'
Alek looked confused.
Oops, he won’t have a clue what that means. Oh well, I’m sure the inference is the same.
I crossed my arms as I waited for his response. Those dark blue eyes stared down at me with little expression.
Alek continued to study Cat, while berating himself for acting like a child. Then he noticed her eyes looked red. Forgetting the silly argument in an instant, he stepped closer and caught her chin with his fingers, tipping her face up.
'Cat, have you been crying?'
Oh man, why did he have to say it like that? I went to turn away but he kept a firm yet gentle hold on my chin.
'Cat.'
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. Dammit!
A tear escaped and slid down my cheek.
'No.' Gulp, 'A little.'
Alek pulled me into his arms.
'Why? What’s wrong?'
Tears began to pour down her cheeks and he hurriedly grabbed a seat with her cradled in his arms.
'Cat, tell me. What’s wrong?'
She gave a big sigh and shifted on his lap, her forehead pressed to his chest. In a choked quiet voice she replied, 'Elena told us we can’t go home. It’s not possible.'
Alek froze unsure of what to say.
Two conflicting feelings flooded through him; relief that she wouldn’t leave, but this was quickly followed by guilt. How could he be so selfish when she’d just lost her world, literally. Not wanting to put his foot in his mouth with the wrong response, he hugged her close pressing a kiss to her head.
'I’m sorry, Cat.' The words felt wholly incompetent.
It brought him back to losing his father and the useless comments people had made. Remembering what she’d said to him before he changed the subject.
'What’s a Kiwi?'
Cat blinked and looked up in surprise.
'Oh. Umm, a Kiwi is a little brown bird that can’t fly and has feathers that are long and hair like. And they lay enormous eggs in comparison to their body weight.'
Huh? Whatever answer he’d expected it wasn’t that.
'Why did you say you’re a Kiwi?'
She grinned at him green eyes dancing in amusement at his confusion. He felt a thrill of delight at the smile.
'The Kiwi only lives in New Zealand which is the country, or realm, as you call it, that we come from on Earth. So I’m a New Zealander, but we are known as Kiwi’s for short,' she announced proudly.
Alek gave me a funny look after my explanation, so I just gave him a wide, cheesy smile. He chuckled and the sound pleased me. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled his head down to mine.
Might as well distract myself in the best way possible.
Alek was happy to oblige and pressed his lips to hers, felt her tiny sigh of pleasure and tightened his arms around her. Finally, with no one around to disturb them he was able to kiss her thoroughly.
My head did some serious spins by the time Alek pulled away, and I’m pretty sure I had one of those silly grins plastered over my face. He chuckled at the expression and stroked my cheek.
'I’ve been waiting for a good moment to do that.'
I laughed and felt my cheeks flush, 'Worth the wait.'
'What was it you came here for?' Alek asked.
'Oh. You’re supposed to give me the grand tour, and we only have two days 'cause then Elena is setting us to work,' I announced, feeling a twinge of nervousness at the idea of ‘work’.
Again though, it would be a distraction from reality. I swallowed hard as a feeling of despair threatened to loom, and gave my head a quick shake, forcing a smile as Alek stared at me with penetrating eyes.
Alek watched as she made herself smile and his own emotions swung back and forth. She was being so brave.
Distractions are a good idea at the moment.
'The grand tour,' he mused over that and lifted Cat, setting her on her feet. Grabbing his cloak off the table, he fastened it and turned to Cat who’d straightened her hair and clothes. The thought of mussing her clothes again was appealing.
Alek gave me a sexy, crooked smile and I couldn’t help but blush. Trying to get my thoughts to an appropriate place I pointed at his cloak.
'Why the cloak? I didn’t see the others wearing one.'
He turned to show me the back, his family shield was embroidered onto the heavy purple fabric in gold thread.
'It’s to show my rank. Elena effectively runs the kingdom for me, and this is the only thing she asks of me while I’m here, so I can’t complain.'
He shrugged, 'When I do succeed in my task to rid the world of the DeNaga’s and I’m crowned I’ll have a heap more responsibilities on my plate. Not that I mind but it’s nice to be able to come and go as I please. I’ll enjoy it while I can.'
'Where are we going first?'
I looked forward to seeing more of the castle.
Alek was about to answer when Audrey pelted into the room. Something had her excited. Her ears were up, her tail high, and she spun as though hunting for something. Nnelg blinked into the room and landed on the table, his wings half spread and he growled at Audi. My jaw dropped in astonishment and I went to leap between them, when Alek placed a restraining hand on my arm.
'Wait,' he murmured in my ear. 'Just watch.'
Audrey snarled fiercely at Nnelg but her tail and ears were still high. I just began to realize it was all play, when Nnelg launched himself at her. The two rolled past us, a blur of fur, wings and a wildly thrashing blue tail. Alek started to laugh at the sight of it. He stopped short when the two rioters crashed into a tall lamp and he had to lunge to steady it.
&nbs
p; 'ENOUGH!' he bellowed.
They both froze.
I started to giggle. It was such a comical and unexpected sight. Audrey had Nnelg’s long tail in her mouth while he appeared to be chewing on her ear.
'Nnelg, I’m glad you have a new friend but don’t you think you should take her outside?' Alek crossed his arms while giving the dragon a stern look.
'Elena sent me.' Nnelg replied defensively, 'This dog creature is funny. Where is she from? I can’t understand her at all.'
'She’s not from this world Nnelg. What did Elena want?'
'To remind you to have the women back in time for tea, I’ve got to go tell the others too, bye.'
Nnelg vanished again. Audi yelped and shot out the room.
'What does Nnelg mean he can’t understand her?' Cat looked perplexed.
'Dragons usually can use their telepathy on other creatures too. Obviously he can’t with Audi.'
'Is Nnelg communicating with us by telepathy?' I was astonished, 'I thought he was just speaking. We can all hear him as though he is? It isn’t like with Loushka.'
Alek offered me his arm and explained as we wandered down the corridor.
'Loushka can’t be heard by creatures other than griffons and those she links with. Usually it’s just one creature. That’s why we were so impressed when you could hear her,' he winked at me. 'Dragons have different abilities and are able to link with most creatures minds. They’re born with the skill.'
Alek pointed out various rooms as we passed them and stopped to show me the ballroom that linked to the Great Hall. Like the throne room the floor was polished to a mirror finish; the gemstones embedded within sparkled. The walls were lined with ornate, silver framed mirrors. It was like a modern take on the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, very beautiful.
'This is where smaller formal events are held. For the ball we’ll open this room and the second ballroom that links with the throne room.' he explained as he led me through it.
'Do you like dancing?'
I nodded enthusiastically.
He arched an eyebrow.
'We have casual dancing in the Great Hall most evenings after dinner until late?'
I laughed then, and shook my head.
'I’m usually in bed early, so I can get up early for my run.'
'Of course. Do you go often?'
'Most mornings, if possible.'
'If you like, I can meet you at your room prior to breakfast and we can go for one. Unless the weather’s really awful.'
'Wouldn’t want to mess up that hair,' I teased.
As we turned down another corridor two women in richly embroidered clothes walked toward us at a stately pace. Stopping as soon as we were within a couple of feet, they both dipped into graceful curtsies. Alek greeted them while I stood back, observing.
I don’t know how to curtsy, I thought and considered the fluid looking move. Bowing was easier.
Maybe I’ll just stick to that.
Both women ignored me as they chatted to Alek and it dawned on me. This must be what the Guard was talking about. These had to be some of those women. They were making such an effort to avoid me. One, a tall slim brunette, wore a lovely dress in dark blue. Clinched tight at the waist to show off her cleavage, she leaned forward just enough to show it to better advantage. I chomped on the inside of my cheek to stop the laughter that bubbled up. These two just screamed high maintenance.
God I wish the others were here, they would have loved to have seen this. The other one, a plump blond in clinging fuchsia, hung off Alek’s every word, with an expression very like the vacant one I’d given him earlier.
Alek forced his smile as he answered the inane questions the women here loved to ask. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Cat watching in amusement.
Right then, he thought, let’s include you.
'May I introduce Catherine to you both.' he gave them a charming smile and indicated Cat. 'Catherine, may I introduce the Countess Stranson, and her good friend Lady Kelanor. Catherine is here with her friends at the Archduchess’s invitation.'
While Lady Kelanor looked impressed and gave Cat a tentative smile, the Countess shot Cat a barely veiled look of contempt.
'Are you one of the women the Griffon Guard rescued?'
I returned a bland smile while maintaining strong eye contact. The brunette, sorry, the Countess, flinched, which was mildly satisfying.
Let’s see if we can turn her green with envy, I thought, resisting a smirk and instead put on my best dumb blond smile, learned from Sian, of course.
'Yes we were exceptionally lucky. Alek and the others arrived just in the knick of time.' I beamed at Alek; his blue eyes twinkled at me.
Fighting off the giggles, I used the feeling of hilarity to smile at the women while fluttering my lashes.
If looks could kill I’d be fried on the spot. Yeouch. That woman had an evil stare. The Countess went to say something but Alek beat her to it.
'If you’ll excuse us,' Alek gave them a polite smile. 'I have two days in which to show off the castle and Elion to Catherine, and I don’t want to miss out anything.'
He swept Cat along until they were out of sight.
'The Countess appears exceedingly fond of you,' Cat suggested with a wicked look.
He gave a short laugh and rolled his eyes.
'That woman has been my nemesis for years now, not that she appears to know it. She has been openly telling the high court since I was fifteen that she would marry me.'
'Not tempted?' I teased, 'I’m sure she’d look lovely draped over your arm and she probably has her coronation gown already designed.'
As well as the invitations and place-settings and if there’s a chopping block list I’ll bet my name’s at the top. I smirked.
Alek gave me a long look then detached my arm from his and drew my hand to his mouth, gently kissing it, then led us on. The hairs on my arms went stiff and butterflies pinged about in my stomach. We’d wandered along a bit more before I felt steady enough to speak without stuttering.
'Where are we going?'
'To the kitchen.'
Not what I expected, but my stomach gave an approving growl making us chuckle. We passed lots of doorways and Alek explained they were various court rooms.
'Are they all in use?'
How many people did I see at breakfast? I didn’t think it was this many.
He shook his head.
'No, most are empty. The majority of the Courtiers won’t return to the castle until I’m established on the throne, as there’s no reason to be here without a ruling monarch.'
'Will the castle be full then? When you’re crowned?'
'Actually there won’t be enough rooms then.'
Alek chuckled at my surprise.
'A whole new life is injected into Elion when the monarch returns, and it creates a huge amount of jobs. Nnelg won’t have as much time to play then.'
I’d forgotten about Nnelg.
'What’s his role in the castle?'
We rounded the corner to the kitchen, I could hear the noise of pots and pans and general cooking sounds.
'Nnelg is employed as the castle’s fire dragon. It’s his job to keep the fireplaces and lamps burning.'
I wanted to ask more about that, but we’d reached the kitchen and Alek ushered me in.
It was a bit of a shock to come from the quietness of the corridors, to the sudden noise and organized chaos of the kitchen, and they stood for a moment, observing. Then a kitchen worker spotted him and let loose a yell. Everyone stopped and turned to stare at them in surprise. At the realization that the Prince was there, they bowed and a man rushed over.
'Your Highness,' he stuttered. 'What a surprise, how can we help?'
Alek smiled and indicated Cat.
'Hiranes, may I introduce you to Catherine, one of the women the Archduchess is working with.'
'A pleasure. What can I do for you both?'
Alek drew him to the side while Cat wandered off aroun
d the kitchen.
It kept surprising me how modern things were here. The huge ovens could have been found in a restaurant on Earth, and it all seemed as clean and pristine as a kitchen should. I was fascinated when I noticed a row of five giant mixers all steadily mixing away.
What did they run on? I snuck a little closer listening, and peering at them. I couldn't hear an engine of any kind and there was nothing that appeared to attach it to a power source. I turned to look for Alek, but he was still deep in conversation with Hiranes, so I snagged a worker.
'Excuse me, but how are those mixers turning?'
The boy, a waif like blond thing, stared at me like I was stupid then answered cautiously, 'Hiranes is turning them.'
He gave me another fishy stare then ducked off. I stared at the mixers, more puzzled now.
How could Hiranes be turning them? He was nowhere near them. I went back to Alek who’d finished his conversation. He reached out to draw me close.
'Are you okay? You’re frowning,' he murmured in my ear.
'Oh. I was confused as to how the mixers are turning by themselves,' I spoke quietly so none of the staff would overhear me. 'A kitchen boy said Hiranes is doing it?'
Alek smiled at Cat. He was pleased she seemed distracted from her current predicament.
I’ll have to have a word to Elena tonight. Before he could answer her question Hiranes presented them with a basket, and Alek thanked him then led Cat out of the room. He explained as they walked down another corridor, 'Hiranes is Gifted. He can make things move. It’s a gift that can open up many opportunities as it’s useful in most professions. He’s very lucky.'
That would be a cool gift. I wonder what ours might be like? Alek led us out a door into the courtyard and I stopped short when the sun hit me.
'Wow. What a lovely day.'
The garden was beautiful. Neat paths, paved with glistening stones, meandered all over the place. The vegetation varied between, big, beautiful, maple like trees, and then shrubs and flowers. Tucked in niches were statues of faeries, goblins and other mythical (to me anyway) creatures, many I didn’t have names for. Alek chose a spot for us under a tree and I helped him set out the blanket and food. It looked great. As we ate I gazed around, admiring it all.
The Arrival (Birthright Trilogy #1) Page 20