by Kelly Napoli
***
They left the house together at sunset, which casted the sea into a bronze hue and lit the torches once again all over Redawn. In her opinion, it was the most beautiful time of day for this kingdom, where the white stones of the buildings were painted gold.
The walked together alongside the docks for a bit, until the sun had completely set, and then turned left, down a cobbled road. The noise level increased as they made a beeline towards a small square where a crowd had gathered. The noise was that of what had played from her now lost locket—music—but it was livelier. Laughter echoed and voices rang out as they approached. Towards the center of the square, people were dancing with one another. A group of people were lined up on the outskirts of the mob, each playing an instrument with a great amount of skill while everyone clapped along.
“Come on,” Navadar said eagerly, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the center.
“Navadar,” she gasped, trying to dig her bare feet into the cobblestone. “I can’t! I’ve never—”
“Don’t worry,” he soothed, laughing. “It’s easy, and I’ve got you.”
He ignored the rest of her protests and continued to drag her through the thick crowd. Without her magic, he was stronger, and she didn’t stand a chance.
At least he didn’t drag her all the way to the center. He put his hand on her waist and took her right hand in his. She rested her other hand on his shoulder, mimicking the other girls surrounding them. She listened hard to the music…
And then she was spinning.
She followed Navadar’s pushes and pulls, concentrating on moving her feet in the opposite direction of his own. The folds of her skirts flew out with her movement, ribbons streaming out behind her. She looked up quickly to peek at the couples around them, hoping she wouldn’t run into them.
“See? It’s not that hard,” Navadar called over the music.
“Don’t let go of me,” she warned. He laughed.
Soon they were both laughing as they spun through the crowd, stomping their feet on cue; shouting and clapping their hands along with everyone else. Kiethara was out of breath, but she didn’t feel like stopping or resting. She wasn’t going to let the bloody corset ruin her fun.
It wasn’t until a tap on her shoulder caused her to look back and Navadar to bring them to a stop.
It was Mallkin, but this time he was accompanied by another young man of the same age. His sandy colored curls bounced in tune to the movement around them, with watery, light blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he grinned at them.
“Mallkin! Randall!” Navadar called, surprised.
“Navadar, Kiethara,” Mallkin responded with his usual grin, bending low to take her hand and kiss it. She reddened.
“Kiethara, I’d like you to meet a good friend of mine, Randall,” Navadar introduced.
“A pleasure, I’m sure,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it as well.
“Let’s talk over there,” Mallkin said, beckoning down the street.
The four of them squeezed through the crowd of dancers. Kiethara fell behind them, but this time Navadar took a firm grip on her hand as he led her in a wild weave through the people.
All of a sudden, something grabbed her bottom. However, this did not feel as though something had accidentally bumped into her. No, this was deliberate. She felt it…squeeze.
Kiethara spun around, ripping her hand from Navadar’s. She instantly spotted a young man of a tall, lean demeanor staring at her, thick black locks carelessly swept from his forehead, away from his eyes. As their eyes met above his dancing partner, he winked.
Arrogant fool! Kiethara felt her anger reach boiling point and, before she could put a lid on it, her fist was balled and her arm was reaching back.
Wham!
Her knuckles made contact with his jaw and he was sent staggering back. The girl he had been dancing with screamed, tripping over her long dress in attempt to get away from Kiethara. Kiethara cocked an eyebrow at the boy, shaking her hand in the air to relieve it of the pain. He was staring up at her in shock, massaging his jaw.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
Everything around her had gone silent; even the music had stopped playing. She felt every single pair of eyes upon her, but she did not care any longer. She was focused on the man she had sent to the ground in front of her, who was now spluttering incoherent sentences with an expression that promised violence.
From behind her, Navadar grabbed her upper arm. Keeping his head low, he dragged her through the silent throng of people, all of them too stunned to move or stop them. He hurried her down the street and then yanked her into a deserted alley.
Mallkin and Randall had followed their swift escape and as soon as they entered the deserted passage, they both burst into hysterical laughter. Mallkin slide down the wall, clutching his stomach, while Randall had to brace himself on his knees. Even Navadar was soon gasping for breath. Kiethara found herself smiling, despite her anger.
“I…love…her!” Mallkin managed to get out between gasps.
“What?” Kiethara asked indignantly. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Right in the face, oh!” Randall chortled.
“And she punched him,” Mallkin said in an awed voice. He barked another laugh. “Not even a slap, an actual punch!”
“Navadar, where in the world did you find her?” Randall asked him, shaking his head.
“That’s a long story,” Navadar replied, suddenly looking at her with an unfathomable expression.
“Who was he?” she asked him.
“Narsis, the kingdom’s ass,” Mallkin explained.
“What made you punch him?” Navadar asked. Kiethara felt her cheeks go pink.
“Well, he grabbed my bum…”
“That scoundrel,” Randall growled. “Gets himself into trouble every other day. I can’t believe he hasn’t been sent to the gallows yet.”
“What does he do?” she asked.
“Everything,” Navadar spat angrily. “He lies, he cheats, and he steals. He acts very inappropriate, in very public places.”
“And no one does anything?”
“He’s rich,” Mallkin said with a shrug. “His father has one of the highest positions in the king’s army. He can weasel himself out of anything.”
“No one likes him,” Navadar added.
“Except for other rich women,” Randall said. “Trinnia’s family allows him to escort her all over the place.
“Ah, yes, the kingdom slut,” Mallkin said. “They’re perfect for each other…”
“That’s a bit harsh,” Navadar reasoned.
“Maybe,” Randall allowed. “Her parents most likely force her.”
“Right, because it’s hard to find her a match that’s richer than she is,” Mallkin agreed.
“Why does everything revolve around money in these kingdoms?” Kiethara asked, shaking her head as she listened to them.
“Well, surely it’s the same from where you come from, no?” Mallkin asked, surprised.
“Where do you come from?” Randall asked.
Kiethara opened her mouth and then looked up at Navadar. He gave her a reassuring look. Obviously, he trusted them.
“I come from the forest,” she told them.
Their reactions were what she had expected, but instead of treating her as Trinnia did when they learned her origins, they looked upon her with a new interest.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“So this is where you’ve been running off to!” Mallkin exclaimed, turning to Navadar.
“Yes,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.
“Should have known! You were always looking for an adventure!”
“Looks like he returned victorious, too,” Randall observed with a playful wink at him.
Kiethara’s cheeks flamed.
“So, is your father a guardian?” Mallkin asked.
“No, my mother is.”
“Does that mean…y
ou use magic?” Randall asked tentatively, as though he was asking her something very personal.
“Yes, of course,” she laughed.
“Why haven’t you told us about her before?” Mallkin demanded.
“Would you have believed me?” Navadar asked, taking her by the waist and pulling her closer.
“No, not in the slightest!” they said in unison, grinning ear to ear.
“Still, the daughter of the guardian, in a kingdom such as this one? A little rebellious of you, no?”
“Oh, because you’re such the perfect child.”
“But Randall was born with those mental deficiencies, Navadar; you can’t blame the poor fellow…”
Randall knocked himself into Mallkin as they all laughed. She listened to her own sounds of amusement, surprised to find that she was enjoying herself so much.
“What brings you to the kingdoms, then, Kiethara?” Mallkin asked. “I thought the guardians were not supposed to leave.”
“I was kind of forced to,” she said.
“Forced to?” Randall asked. “That’s absurd. Who would do something as foolish as that?”
“Men from Nikkoi, that’s who,” Navadar said grimly.
“Nikkoi?” Mallkin repeated. “Of course, what else were we to expect from those people?”
“What do you mean?” Randall demanded. “It’s not like you were walking around, explaining to people how you just knew that someday the trash from Nikkoi would kidnap the guardian’s daughter…”
“Shut up, Randall.”
“Don’t you two go spreading this around,” Navadar warned.
“Don’t worry, the princess’s secret is safe with us,” they promised.
“Princess?” she asked.
“Yes, we’re tired of Princess Trinnia the Hag bossing us around all the time. We dun you the new princess, Kiethara,” Mallkin proclaimed.
“At least you don’t rip people’s heads off,” Randall added.