Her grandmother had always said she had warm eyes. That was just figuratively though also literally. Her eyes were kind and friendly and hid no malice behind them as Isaiah’s often did. Her eyes reflected her soul; her heart. Her nose was the perfect button shape, matching with her somewhat diamond shaped faced. She had a nice face, right? She had a fine face. That’s what her father had always said.
“Heidi has a fine face. Her features are soft and youthful. She’s beautiful and soon I will be chasing the boys away with fireballs.”
She smiled from that memory. She missed her father so much. She often wondered what was going on back home. What had happened and why her had her father not yet sent word for her return? How long did she really have to stay in this world? How long did she have to stay around him?
She wanted to go home. That’s where she belonged. So what if she was young? She could fight just as well as anyone else! She was not some helpless little princess who would cower away in her tower (which she didn’t even have one) while everyone else risked their lives to protect her. She had read the books Earth offered. She knew about the fairy tales and how princesses depended on their princes to save them from whatever misfortune had fell upon them.
That wasn’t her. She did not need a prince to rescue her. She did not need to be protected. She was her father’s only child and she was frustrated that he did not have more faith in her. If she was to take over for him one day, why did he not allow her to be at his side and fight with the rest of her kind?
It was one of the many questions she wished she could ask, but she would not receive answers. Not until this war was over. But what if it didn’t end? Heidi did not have a previous war to compare it to. The Elements, Seasons, and everyone involved had always lived harmoniously. Everyone had always known their place and their duty and had done so without complaint. Why was this happening now?
Heidi was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced away from the mirror, frowning. Who on earth would be knocking on the door at this hour? Five o’clock was normally the time in which most students were already at their party destination for the night, and Heidi always counted on that so she could have peace and quiet to do her studying.
There is no studying to do tonight though, thanks to –somebody.-
She rolled her eyes, deciding that she should answer the door because that’s what a human girl would do. Maybe it was just another club trying to recruit new members, or maybe even someone who needed to borrow a phone to call someone else. She wouldn’t know until she opened the door.
She didn’t expect to see him standing there. He had some real nerve to show up after what he’d put her through.
Her eyes narrowed immediately as she stared at him. He seemed unaffected as he leaned against the doorway, that smug smirk upon his lips as he gazed down at her.
“She lives,” He commented, “I was beginning to worry about you. Have you even left this room in a week?”
“No,” She replied as she moved away from the door and headed back to her closet. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable to be dressed in a pair of pajamas while he was around. Why was he even here? Didn’t he have a party or five to go to?
“Well that’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” He asked, stepping into her room and shutting the door behind himself. He glanced at the nearby dresser, seemingly interested in a CD that was laying there. He picked it up, examining it for a moment before he put it back down. His eyes moved to Heidi’s back and he lifted a brow. “Oh, so you’re not speaking to me? Is that it?”
“I am trying to get dressed,” She replied, turning her head to glance at him briefly. “I do not wish to have you ogle me while I’m in my pajamas.”
He smirked, both brows shooting up on his forehead as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, I see,” He nodded. “So your solution for that is to undress before me and tease me with whatever lovely blossoming body you’ve got beneath that hideous zebra print design?”
She turned with a fresh sweater in hand, her eyes flashing with anger as she stared at him.
“You will see no such thing,” She replied. “But if you insist on staying to torment me, then I’d rather you do so while I am dressed appropriately and not in my slumber clothes.”
“Slumber clothes?” He repeated, rolling his eyes. “You don’t even talk like you’re from this century, Heidikin. You’ve really got to watch some youtube videos or something.”
Youtube? Heidi blinked, shaking her head before she moved towards the dressing screen that stood in her corner of the room. Heidi could barely tolerate sharing a public toiletry with other people, let alone changing in one of those rooms. She had given up the option of a desk and computer just to have the tall room divider.
“I don’t want to watch YouTube videos,” She replied, tossing her pajama top onto the top of the screen.
Isaiah remained where he was, his eyes moving over her silhouette as she changed her clothes. He watched her every move with a look of amusement upon his handsome face.
“It would do you some good,” He replied. “Considering you went and allowed your feelings to get hurt over one little piece of truth.”
Heidi appeared from behind the screen, brows furrowed as she stared at him. “And what is that supposed to mean? You did not hurt my feelings!”
“Did I not?” He replied. “You’ve become a hermit, Heidikin, and might I add there is no reason to resort to hermitage unless there is someone around to have sex with.”
Heidi felt as if she would vomit on the spot when he said that. He was so disgusting. He was the last person she would have sex with! She rolled her eyes, pulling her brown locks from beneath the collar of her burgundy sweater as she moved back to her closet to retrieve a pair of boots.
“And now you’re giving me the silent treatment, which means it’s true. I hurt your feelings,” He rolled his eyes. “I would say I’m sorry but we both know that isn’t necessarily true. The truth hurts, little toaster. If you want to be a convincing human, you need to start acting like one.”
Heidi was ignoring him as she seated herself on her bed, tugging one boot on at a time as she saw him moving towards her from the corner of her eye. How dare he sit down on her bed!
“The first piece of advice I can give you is to actually attend a party. It’s not normal for a girl your age not to. You should be out there, socializing,” He paused for a moment, giving her an opportunity to reply. She didn’t.
“C’mon, Heidi. This is exhausting. When my father said I had to look out for you, I didn’t realize he meant in every aspect of living!”
Heidi’s head snapped up, her foot hitting the floor with a heavy thud as she stared at him. “I’ll have you know that I do not need anyone to look out for me,” She replied angrily. “I am not a child. Do not speak to me as if I am one.”
“Touchy,” He muttered before he stood from the bed. As he moved his hand through his hair, Heidi imagined herself punching him the face. He frustrated her to unbelievable levels.
“Come to the party I’m throwing,” He insisted. “Have a few drinks, make some new friends. It’s not going to kill you.”
Heidi heaved a heavy sigh. Deep down, she knew he was right, and she hated that. She was very comfortable with just staying in her dorm room and studying. She didn’t have an issue with cuddling into her blankets and reading a good book-but she knew she wasn’t being a very convincing human being by holing herself up, away from civilization.
One night wouldn’t hurt, would it? She most certainly hoped not.
5
How. Annoying.
Heidi was immediately regretting her decision of letting Isaiah convince her to attend this party. Maybe she could get by with using loneliness as an excuse; or the pesky cabin fever she had been feeling for the last two days. The weekends were always hard to get through if she didn’t have anything to do anyway.
She had been very serious when she told him she didn’t need to
have a party lifestyle like their peers, and he called her ridiculous. He told her that she shouldn’t take college so seriously. No one actually went to learn.
Princesses didn’t behave like this. Parties such as this were beneath her. A Fire Princess did not engage in such activities. An Ice Prince only attended lavish balls that had been coordinated by his parents in an effort to find his future wife. Their kind did not behave this way back home.
Isaiah’s argument had been that they weren’t home and she was going to blow their cover if she didn’t start acting human. She tried to argue back. She insisted that a lot of young people between the ages of eighteen and twenty four preferred seclusion compared to their party-obsessed classmates.
Isaiah didn’t buy it, and that’s how she finally ended up in this noisy environment. She kept her back pressed to the wall, watching as various people walked by. How did anyone stand this noise? That’s all it was. Noise!
Heidi couldn’t help but to wonder why the young beings of this world desired facial piercings. Some of them looked pretty; but why on earth would anyone desire a nose piercing that made them resemble a bull?
Why had she allowed Isaiah to talk her into this? This wasn’t where she belonged. She was attempting to have a nice time, truly, but she was completely out of her element—no pun intended. She wasn’t comfortable being here. It wasn’t anything against the humans; she just preferred being home so she could help her father with whatever war was taking place.
Why was there even a war? She was digging up the haunting questions Isaiah had temporarily pushed away. She was defeating the purpose of attending this shindig. Then again, Isaiah had wandered away with a girl who was barely clothed and she was left here to think of these things.
What was she thinking?! She didn’t need Isaiah to keep her focused. She didn’t need any man. She would be just fine. She was independent. She was strong. She was her father’s daughter.
“Now why is a pretty girl standing alone at a party?”
Heidi didn’t have to turn her head to know that it was Brison. His accent gave him away. She liked his accent.
“Well,” She started, turning her head to glance at him. “I thought I would try my hand at being a wallflower,” She replied with a small smile. Why did she always feel the need to smile around him?
“You are indeed a flower,” He said with a gentle smile, “But you do not belong on the wall.”
As he moved closer to her, Heidi could feel her heart speeding up. His lips were close to her ear as he whispered.
“You should be out on the dance floor, so you can put the weeds to shame.”
Oh sweet sapphires. If he only knew what the sensation of his hot breath against her ear was doing! Her legs were starting to feel like jelly as she felt Brison’s arm sliding around her waist. Was he flirting with her? She was certain no one had ever flirted with her before.
She wasn’t ignorant to how males and females interacted with one another. She understood how this worked. Sort of. But what worried her most was when he began to pull her away from the wall, into the crowd of dancing bodies. No. She couldn’t dance!
“Um…” She stiffened slightly, but Brison easily tugged her along with him. This was going to be a disaster. It was only a few moments later that Heidi found herself in the center of the crowd. Brison was grinning as he moved his hands to rest against her waist.
Heidi was very different from Isaiah. He had experienced everything Earth had to offer, and she did mean everything. Icers and Warmers weren’t entirely different from humans. Heidi was fully capable of feeling emotions. She knew what sorrow felt like from losing her mother as a small girl. She knew happiness from laughter and joy from her childhood. She knew love from her father.
She did love him very much. Her father had done the best he could despite not having his wife there to teach Heidi everything a young woman should know. She may not have been raised in the conventional way, but Heidi didn’t regret a moment of her life. Her father had loved her, protected her, and he always ensured she had the absolute best he could provide.
Perhaps she had been a little sheltered, but Heidi was not dumb. She may have never experienced certain emotions, but she knew what events would lead to them. Romance was one of those emotions. For a long time, she had been certain that feeling butterflies in the stomach was something that needed immediate medical attention.
Needless to say, Heidi was pure. She had never ‘fornicated’ as Isaiah said often-and did often. Yes, Earth had many pleasures to offer, but Heidi had only been interested in two of them thus far; literature and knowledge.
As her eyes lifted to meet Brison’s sparkling aqua ones, she began to wonder if she desired to experience a third.
The answer was yes.
Heidi was enjoying herself, listening to the music as it progressively got better. Brison didn’t seem to mind that she was a terrible dancer. In fact, Heidi was nearly certain that he enjoyed how bad her moves were.
As the night continued, Heidi was beginning to think that maybe this party nonsense wasn’t so silly after all. She was having a nice time, much to her own surprise. Brison was nothing short of a gentleman; and he was funny. She couldn’t recall having laughed so much since her arrival to Earth.
“You have two left feet, did you know?” Brison asked as he offered her a red plastic cup filled with a dark yellow liquid.
Heidi gave a small shrug, smiling at him as she lifted the cup to her lips. “I never claimed to have anything other,” She stated, a little confused from the comment. She had a right and a left foot, but apparently it seemed they both looked like left feet?
She took a sip from the cup, immediately spitting it back out. Brison lifted a brow as he watched her and then he tilted his head to the side.
“I’m gonna assume you’ve never had a beer before.”
Beer? Is that what this putrid drink was called? Making a face that was probably the least bit attractive-Heidi put the cup down and then reached for a napkin to wipe at her tongue.
“I’m sorry, Love,” He laughed lightly. “I didn’t realize you’d never had a beer before.”
Heidi shook her head, a bit frustrated with herself in that very moment for being so sheltered and inexperienced. “It’s not your fault,” She replied, glancing up at him. “It’s mine. There are a lot of things I’ve never had before. It’s silly.”
The look of amusement on Brison’s face slowly faded away as he stared at her. “So wait just a jiff there, Love,” He started, speaking a little louder so she could hear him over the next song that began playing. “What exactly is it you’ve never done before? I thought that having a beer was pretty much a rite of passage for any average American girl?”
Oh crap. Oh crap. She really didn’t know what a ‘rite of passage’ was for anyone in this place. How did she keep getting into these situations?
Allowing herself to worry over the current thoughts in her mind only reminded her of what Isaiah had said and how right he was. She didn’t want to think about him being right! She wanted to think about how stupid and annoying he was and how she wished he would just get out of her life.
“Heidi, Love?”
Blinking a few times, Heidi felt her face heating up. How long had she been lost in her own thoughts?
“I’m sorry,” She started, glancing up to see that Brison was staring at her with concern written all over his face. “I guess I was in a daze. What were you saying?”
His seemingly natural charming smile returned to his face as he lifted a brow. “I was just curious as to what else you’ve never experienced before,” He replied.
“Oh,” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth and gnawing lightly at it for a moment as she thought. “A lot of things,” She shrugged.
“Well, can you elaborate on these things?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.
It felt as if he were staring a hole right through her and Heidi felt her face ge
tting hotter. She was positive that it wasn’t because of her natural powers. Embarrassment, perhaps; she would know considering Isaiah caused that often.
“Just lots of things,” She repeated as she finally lifted her eyes to meet his.
Please don’t put me through this torture, Brison.
He chuckled then, and Heidi was relieved when he seemingly busied himself with getting another cup of beer. Disgusting. How could he tolerate that foul taste?
“A lot of things,” He echoed thoughtfully. “Such as what though? If you’ve never even tasted beer before, I’m nearly afraid to ask what else you’ve never got to experience, such as a first kiss.”
She knew that when her eyes met the floor, it was an immediate give away from the sound of his gasp.
“Crikey,” He started, baffled. “You’ve never been kissed, have you?”
Well, that was just lovely. How was she supposed to explain that she was nearing her twentieth birthday and she’d never so much as pecked a boy on the cheek? She was aware that her father didn’t count. She had made a habit of kissing his cheek every night before going to sleep as a child.
I’m a Fire Princess and we don’t necessarily worry about snogging boys, she thought as she felt a finger hooking beneath her chin. Her head was lifted, coaxing her to gaze at Brison as she met his rather serious expression.
“A man has never kissed you?” He questioned quietly.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Heidi sighed, and then she shook her head in response.
“Well, why the hell not?” He asked. “You’re gorgeous. You should have been kissed loads of times by now.”
That didn’t make her feel any better. She didn’t know how she was supposed to explain it to him. She couldn’t, really. She couldn’t expose who or what she was to him. In his eyes, she was just a normal human girl who had possibly been sheltered from life for far too long.
A sudden panic rose in her throat in the form of a painful lump as she moved her hand up to push her hair away from her face. Again, she found herself thinking about how right Isaiah had been. She really hadn’t thought any of this through.
The Fire King's Daughter Page 3