Sapphire

by Sarah Olson

  My heart skipped a beat as we approached the cabin. Smoke rose from the chimney and other than the bare garden in front, nothing seemed to have changed. I walked up that same path to the front door I had so many times before. My mind was flooded with memories as I opened the door and walked in.

  Instead of finding Betsy in the kitchen and Robert by the fireplace, I found Charlotte serving two bowls of steaming hot stew.

  “I’m sure you’re hungry!” she exclaimed.

  I looked around the room—it almost looked the same. “I thought someone else was living here.”

  “No,” Charlotte said. “But a family has been watching over the house.”

  “Who?”

  “The town’s physician,” James said, taking a bowl of stew and sitting down. “He and his family use it as a place to get away from town now and then.”

  “They prepared your old room for you,” Charlotte said to me.

  I went up the stairs without another word to see. With every step I was flooded with memories—running up the stairs as a child, trying on my emerald ball gown, the sound of Betsy in the kitchen in the morning—I really missed those days. When I reached my old room, I found that other than a new quilt on the bed everything was the same. On the bed sat a note.

  Dear Guest,

  There is a box underneath the bed for you. It contains everything we felt you would need for your stay. Feel free to take them back with you.

  It was unsigned. I got down and pulled the box out. Dust floated into the air as it plopped down onto the bed. I pried the box open and gasped. Right on top sat my emerald ball gown. The physician’s family had saved it for me. I pulled out the dress finding that the petticoat and corset had also been stuffed into the box. Tears filled my eyes as I ran the fabric through my fingers.

  I sat on the bed and held the gown to my chest. How was it only two and half years before I was an innocent young girl? The simple life I knew in Maplewood Forest felt like a lifetime ago. It was gone the moment I met Richard, the moment I was given the sapphire, the moment Robert was murdered . . .

  I put the gown back in the box and closed it. It was time to move on from the past and face the present.

  ☐☐☐☐

  The Masquerade Ball was two days away. Charlotte and I laid out the outfits everyone attending the ball had to wear. We had a nice shirt, dress pants and a fine doublet for both James and Mitchell. James’ doublet was black and Mitchell’s was dark blue. Charlotte had a violet ball gown she had acquired from a friend in the rebel village before we left. We spent the entire day inside the house while the other members of our group took turns keeping watch. The wagon was kept in the barn with the horses. It also became the place where everyone, except Mitchell, Charlotte, James and I, slept. I had taken my old room, Charlotte and Mitchell stayed in Betsy and Robert’s, and James slept on the canapé sofa.

  On the night before the ball, we all sat on the porch together, talking. It was the first moment during this mission that I felt fairly relaxed. As the moon rose higher behind the trees, some of the rebels started heading to the barn to retire for the night. Charlotte and Mitchell became absorbed in their own conversation leaving me to wander on my own. I walked away from the house taking in the forest around me. This was my last night here, and if I were caught the next day, it would be the last free night of my life.

  I leaned against a tree and stared up at the night sky and the glittering stars spread across it. Laughter from Charlotte and Mitchell drifted toward me and I glanced towards the porch. Mitchell had his arm around Charlotte and was whispering to her. She giggled like a child and pressed her lips to his. Their happiness was refreshing but out of place when it came to the mission that loomed over us. I walked further away and found Sir Alexander sitting by a tree staring up at the moon.

  “Do you know where the general went?” I asked him.

  James had excused himself earlier that night after dinner and I had not seen him or Duke since then.

  “I think he went for a walk with the wolf,” Sir Alexander replied with a smile. “I’d try down by the river.”

  “Thank you.”

  I wandered into the forest, away from the lights of the cabin, and toward the river. As the sound of water reached my ears, I spotted James walking toward me. Duke bolted from his side and came bounding up to me.

  “Hey Duke,” I laughed, as he tried to lick my face.

  “What are you doing out here?” James asked.

  I suddenly realized that his hair was wet and he was not wearing a shirt. He must have been bathing in the river. My cheeks felt hot as he walked closer. His chest was smooth with his skin stretched taught over his muscles. I forced myself to look away but found myself wanting to take another look, not understanding why. I did not like James—but I guess that did not mean I had to find him unattractive. When I glanced back, he was pulling a shirt over his head.

  “You going to tell me why you are out here?” he asked again, seeming oblivious to how uncomfortable he had just made me feel.

  “I—I was looking for you,” I stammered, cursing myself for bothering to look for him. My reasoning to find him suddenly felt ridiculous.

  “Why?”

  I finally found my voice. “Um—well—I wanted to know if you would accompany me somewhere.”

  He eyed me suspiciously. “How far away?”

  “We’d have to ride out to it, but not too far,” I said quickly. “It’s dark, so I don’t think there’d be any danger getting there.”

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Just wait and see, I’m sure you will like it.”

  He sighed. “Lead the way, Princess.”

  I told myself the only reason I asked him to come with me was that I did not want to bother Charlotte and Mitchell and did not really know the other rebels very well.

  I went into the house and packed two candlesticks with holders and flint. James saddled the horses and we rode out into the forest. I had taken this path so many times that even as clouds began to veil the moon and stars, I found my way easily. After a while, the dark shadow of the old castle loomed up in front of us as we broke through the tree line.

  “Is this what I think it is?” James asked

  “The old castle of Asteria,” I said. “I used to come and explore it with Charlotte and Tristan.”

  I slid off my saddle and tied Dusk to a tree.

  “This way,” I said to James when he tied up his horse.

  Slowly, I felt my way over the crumbled section of the wall.

  Once James had climbed over it, I led him to the broken window of the cellar.

  “Are you telling me as a child you broke into this castle?” he asked.

  “I was ten,” I replied, curtly. “Come on.”

  I went to step in, but James’s hand caught me. His touch sent a tingling down my spine and pulled my arm away.

  “Let me go first,” he said.

  “As you wish,” I said sarcastically, bowing out of his way. I could not let him know how much his presence suddenly unnerved me.

  James stepped in carefully and disappeared into the inky blackness. “Okay,” he said. “Come on down.”

  I turned around and started going down backwards, trying to find the barrel Tristan had put there to get in and out. My foot found it but as I put pressure on it, the barrel trembled and I lost my footing. With a scream, I fell backwards and James grabbed me before I hit the floor.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, his face inches from mine

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly, as he put me down. I put space between us quickly and dusted myself off. “I’m fine.”

  The cellar smelled the same and the still air sent goose bumps up my arms. I pulled out my bag, feeling around for the candles and flint and lit them.

  “Come on,” I said, trying to hide my embarrassment.

  I led James up the stairs to the kitchen area. It was strange to be here again and actually know this was my first home.

 
“Is there a reason you wanted to come here?” James asked, running the light from his candle over the room.

  “I guess I just really wanted to see it again,” I said. “I knew you’d never let me come alone.”

  “So I’m just being used?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” I replied with a smile as we entered the dining room.

  The table had gathered much more dust than I remembered. More cobwebs hung from the ceiling and chandeliers.

  “I haven’t been here in almost twenty years,” James said.

  “You’ve been here before?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Since my father was the army’s general, he’d be called to business here sometimes. My mother had died when I was two, so I usually accompanied him. The last time I remember being here was when I was five, and that was just a year before Luther took over.”

  “Does that mean you met my parents?” I asked.

  “I know I did, but only briefly,” James said. “I really don’t remember them much, only images.”

  “It’s hard to remember a lot from when you were younger,” I said, wishing I could remember something from my first year of life.

  A thought occurred to me. “Remember when you told me your father liked ships?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “When was the last time you saw the ocean?” I asked.

  “When my father died,” he replied. “But even then, it was just in the distance.”

  “This way,” I said. “I want to show you something.”

  I led him through the halls and upstairs until I reached the king and queen’s—my parents’—chambers.

  “Follow me,” I said, bringing him to the doors that led to the balcony.

  I opened them and the two of us stepped out into the ocean breeze that blew out our candles. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw the reflection of the moon on the dark waters as it peeked through the clouds. The sound of the waves crashing onto the rocks below sent a feeling of ease up my spine as I let it wash away my worries of tomorrow. How many times had my parents stood here looking out to the ocean?

  “My mother lived by the sea,” James said after a while. “She grew up on a beach in the south. That is how she met my father. He was a sailor when he had time off from the army. They met when one of the ships he was on had stopped at the port near her home,” he paused for a moment. “My father told me she loved sitting on the shore at night until she couldn’t tell where the sky stopped and the ocean began.”

  “I’ve been to the beaches in the south,” I said, “but only once when I was much younger. Maybe when this war is over I can go again. It sounds beautiful.”

  “It is,” James said. He seemed to get lost in thought and stayed silent.

  We stood there awhile longer and then headed back to the dining room.

  “What does this place mean to you now that you know who you are?” James asked as we walked over the creaking floor.

  “It’s a strange feeling,” I admitted. “When I used to come here with Tristan and Charlotte, it was just a place to explore. I would try to imagine what it looked like before it was all boarded up and what it would be like to be a princess. But now I am a princess, and this was my family’s home.”

  We entered the dining room and I stopped in front of the painting of my parent’s wedding.

  “I look at this painting and think to myself this is the closest I’ll ever get to knowing them,” I said. “I’ll never know what their voices sounded like and what they loved to do. The only thing left now is an artist’s rendition.”

  James watched me closely. “I may not remember your parents well, but I can tell you that through the stories I’ve heard and these paintings, you look like your mother.”

  “You really think so?”

  He nodded, and a look I had never seen crossed his face. “Especially with your eyes,” he said so quietly, that I wondered if he had actually spoken the words. “They are beautiful, captivating . . .”

  James moved in closer, his blue eyes blazing as they met mine, and I found myself leaning toward him and not wanting to fight it. It was as if we were suddenly drawn together.

  A loud rumble shook the castle interrupting our gaze offering me a chance to turn away.

  “Thunder,” James said, looking away. “We should really go before the storm moves in.”

  “Yes,” I said uncomfortably as I wracked my brain for an explanation to what had just happened. I had never felt anything for James in the way I did for Richard—yet, here I was, ready to kiss him.

  Did I have feelings for James?

  Questions bounced around in my head making it difficult to sleep when we returned to the house. For once in my life, I thought I had everything under control and had been hit in the gut with something completely unexpected. Ever since I came to the village, I hated James. I tried to tolerate him enough to let him train me and even travel over the mountains with me. But here I was, now caught completely unaware on a crossroads, afraid to pick a path, afraid of the pain that could come with either. When I was a child, Betsy would tell me good things come when you least expect it. On the mountain, James told me that some things just happen.

  Was this one of those things?

  I got up and walked over to the window, pulling open the curtains. The trees became dark silhouettes every time lightening split the sky. The thunder rumbled through the land in answer, vibrating the cabin walls. I pulled a chair to the window and sat there watching the rain pound the earth hoping its lullaby would put me to sleep.

  Chapter 39

  THE NEXT MORNING I was woken by a knock on the bedroom door.

  My eyes flew open and I was blinded by sunlight pouring into the room. It had felt like I had been asleep for only minutes. Sometime in the night, I had moved back to the bed.

  “Layla?” Charlotte’s voice called through the door. “Are you up?”

  I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “I am now.”

  Charlotte pushed the door open smiling. “My, you slept in today!”

  “Is it really that late?” I asked. “It felt like I didn’t sleep at all!”

  “It’s a few hours before noon,” Charlotte said. “I figured since you hadn’t gotten up earlier you needed the sleep.”

  “I guess I did,” I said still feeling exhausted. I ran a hand through my tangled hair.

  “So,” Charlotte said with a smirk creeping across her face, “where did you go with James last night?”

  I had not realized she had noticed. “Just to the old castle,” I said, casually.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there,” Charlotte said. “Why did you take James?”

  “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug, trying to make it seem like it was nothing. “I needed someone to go with.”

  “Whatever you say,” Charlotte said, still not convinced. “I think you’re hiding something from me.”

  “I’m not,” I said. “I promise.”

  “Oh, please!” Charlotte exclaimed. “You can’t tell me after three days of traveling together alone there isn’t anything there between you two.”

  “There isn’t!” I insisted.

  Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Everyone is outside if you’re afraid they can hear.”

  I gave a sigh of resignation. “Fine. I think . . .”

  “You think . . .?” she prodded when I did not finish.

  “I think James tried to kiss me last night,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

  Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Really?” she gasped. “But what do you mean think?”

  “I mean it was dark and he said something about my eyes and he leaned in—you know what I mean,” I said, standing up and looking away from her.

  “But he didn’t,” Charlotte said. “Why?”

  “There was thunder that gave me a chance to look away.”

  “So you didn’t want to kiss him?” Charlotte asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve been so caug
ht up with Aria and the training—this mission—that I haven’t ever thought about it. But now I’m beginning to think he sees me as more than a princess and I was missing all the signs!”

  “Do you fancy him?” Charlotte asked.

  “I don’t know!” I exclaimed. “All I know is had there not been thunder, I probably would have let him kiss me. It was weird though, it felt like I was being drawn towards him and didn’t want to fight it,” my mind drifted and I pictured myself letting him kiss me.

  “It wouldn’t be a bad thing if the two of you were together,” Charlotte said, snapping me out of my daydreams.

  “Perhaps,” I said. “I’m just not sure I’d want anything between us. I’ve hated him forever.”

  “Maybe somewhere deep inside you always knew you liked him and mistook that for hate so you could protect your heart.”

  “It’s not hard to hate him,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

  “All I can say is maybe you should follow your feelings.”

  “Like I did with Richard?” I asked sarcastically. “Look where that got me.”

  “I know, Layla. But you’ve moved on from that and you’ve learned things. You are going to have to trust yourself sometime. How long are you going to keep your heart locked away?”

  “I don’t think I’m ready to open it again,” I whispered. “At least not yet.”

  Charlotte walked over and wrapped her arms around me. “One day you will.”

  ☐☐☐☐

  Sir Alexander had given us news that carriages were being provided for all the guests invited to the ball as long as they had an invitation. When it had been planned, the four of us would be attending the ball, a letter had been sent to Tristan requesting four invitations with fake names. I was to assume the identity of Lady Katherine Darrow. Charlotte was Lady Victoria Collins married to Sir Charles Collins, and James was Sir Patrick Norwood.

  “It is extremely important that you introduce yourselves as these people,” James said after handing out the invitations. “You must also respond to them to avoid suspicion. Your names will not be checked on a list when you come into the ball. All that is needed is the invitation. Carriages will leave Eagle’s Nest at half past five. Do not get on the same carriages together. We cannot let them suspect we are together in case any of us are caught. Once at the ball, do everything according to plan.