by Lola Gabriel
“Now, stop wallowing,” Fiona said. “We’ve only looked at the guest list. We’ve still got a ton to get through. Decorations, food, music, to name a few.”
Ellery nodded and forced herself to smile. She sat there while Fiona began listing options for everything and she made her choices, pretending all of the time like she cared. She told herself to snap out of it and at least plan a party she could try to enjoy.
2
Ellery sat at the table in the restaurant. It was one of only three restaurants in the village and Ellery was starting to feel uncomfortable whenever she visited one of them on one of these dates her parents forced her into. She dreaded to think what the wait staff thought of her, always here with another man, never bringing the same one back twice. She wished she could tell them that none of this was her choice, and the reason she never brought any of the men back a second time was because she found them all insufferably boring.
She shook her head, telling herself to stop thinking like that. She was determined to think positively. Maybe tonight would be different. Maybe this guy—Errol, her mom had told her his name, would be her one true mate. And even if he wasn’t, maybe he would at least be someone fun with whom she could have a good night.
“Miss Flannery?” a voice said from beside her, pulling her out of her thoughts.
She glanced up and smiled at the server who had spoken.
“Yes?” she said.
“Your companion is here,” the server said. “Would you like me to show him to your table?”
I’d like you to tell him to go home, that this is a waste of both of our time, Ellery thought to herself. She smiled at the server.
“Yes, please,” she said.
She watched as the server walked away, hurrying but not looking in the least bit harried. It was a skill Ellery wished she could learn. She either moved slowly or she looked like she was on the point of panic. She was just glad her job wasn’t customer-facing for the most part.
She spotted the server coming back toward the table. Behind her was a man in a long black coat. Ellery tried to get a good look at his face, but the server blocked her view and she didn’t get to see him properly until he reached the table and she stood up to greet him.
He was blond, like her, his hair a mane of messy curls that could have been cute if they were natural but looked fake to Ellery, like the man spent hours trying to make them look naturally messy. He had nice eyes, so pale blue they were almost grey, but when he smiled, they stayed cold and Ellery didn’t like that one little bit.
She resisted the urge to sigh out loud. The next couple of hours were pointless. She knew already that this man wasn’t her one true mate. When she looked at him, she felt nothing. When she shook his hand, she felt nothing. And when he lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across the back of it, still, she felt nothing.
“Pleased to meet you,” Ellery lied as they sat down.
“The pleasure is all mine. I’m Errol, by the way. Errol Rogers,” the man smiled.
“Ellery,” Ellery said.
“I know,” he said and Ellery felt herself blushing slightly.
She never knew how to handle these situations. Of course the fae population knew who she was, but it always felt so arrogant to assume it and not introduce herself. Oh God, Ellery thought to herself, I hope he doesn’t think my blush is because I’m attracted to him.
“Did you have a good flight?” Ellery asked, just for something to say.
“Yes, lovely, thanks,” Errol replied.
Great. That’s the end of that conversation then, Ellery thought.
“Should we order?” she said.
Errol nodded and picked up his menu. Ellery did the same, despite already knowing what she wanted. It was nice to have somewhere to hide for a moment.
The server came back and took their orders. Ellery ordered a large glass of white wine, knowing she was going to need something to get her through this night. Errol ordered the same, and at least after a couple of drinks, his stilted conversation became more open and Ellery told herself he had just been nervous.
Throughout the meal, the conversation flowed easily enough with Errol telling Ellery a little bit about life in Boston where he was from and a bit about his job as a data analyst. The job sounded boring, but Ellery made all of the right noises, just praying for the night to hurry up and end.
Ellery put her spoon down, happy that dessert was finally over and she would soon be able to make her excuses and leave. There was something about Errol that creeped her out a little bit. It was his eyes, she decided. His smiles, his laughs, they never reached his eyes. And the way he looked at her when she talked about her life here in the village was so intense, she felt almost like he could read her mind. She told herself she was being ridiculous, but she’d still be happy when this so-called date was over. Her parents had introduced her to some men she would never have dated, but she thought Errol was a stretch even for them. Her father she could excuse, not knowing what women wanted, she supposed, but how could her mother ever think she could be attracted to Errol?
Ellery drank from her wine glass, her third large glass. She set the glass down and reached for her napkin, but before she could pick it up, Errol put his hand over hers. Ellery had to resist the urge to snatch her hand away. She had to be seen to act a certain way in public, and making a scene in a restaurant wouldn’t cut it.
She glanced up at Errol, hoping he would see the discomfort in her face and release her hand, but if he saw it, he ignored it. He smiled at her, another of those cold smiles that didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ve really enjoyed tonight, Ellery,” he said. “You’re an amazing woman.” He paused for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed. “Oh, what the hell, I might as well just be honest. I have always imagined this moment, Ellery. Always pictured us being together. And now it’s happening.”
Ellery knew she had to shut this down. How could Errol think tonight had gone well? How could he think that anything was happening here? She gently moved her hand away from beneath his.
“Errol, I don’t think anything is happening between us. I mean, do you? Really?” she said.
“It sometimes takes a while for the sacred bond to start to form, you know,” he said.
Oh great, Ellery thought. Now he’s lecturing me on an enchantment I’ve been told about for years.
“I know that,” she said, a little harsher than she had meant to. She made an effort to keep her voice level as she went on. “But there is always some attraction in the beginning.”
“And there is. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, too,” Errol said. “I knew from the moment I first saw you three years ago that we were meant for each other.”
Ellery raised her eyebrow. She had no recollection of ever meeting Errol before and she had a good memory for faces.
“I don’t recall us meeting three years ago,” she said, ignoring the more disturbing part of his statement for now.
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Errol said, not elaborating further.
Ellery shrugged her shoulders, accepting this. She did meet a lot of people in her official line of work, and it was possible she had briefly met Errol and just couldn’t place him.
“You know, Ellery, if we made love, I’m certain the sacred bond would start to form,” Errol said.
“Whoa!” Ellery exclaimed, raising her hands from the table and shaking her head. “You can get that idea out of your head right now.”
“Shit,” Errol muttered, looking uncomfortable. “I shouldn’t have said that. I knew I shouldn’t. God, I’m so sorry. You must think I’m such a creep.”
He paused, clearly waiting for Ellery to jump in and tell him she didn’t think that at all. The thing was, though, she did. She had thought it even before he announced he wanted to bed her and that statement had confirmed it for her.
“I just really like you, Ellery, and I thought if there was even a chance you felt the same way…well, only a
fool would let you go in that scenario,” Errol added.
“Look, Errol, I’ve had a nice time tonight, but this is as far as it goes. I’m sorry. I just don’t feel the same way,” she said carefully.
Errol nodded and gave a soft laugh.
“Of course you don’t,” he said. “As if someone like you could ever like someone like me. It was a dream. A stupid, unattainable dream. And now I have ruined the whole evening by blurting out something stupid. I really am sorry.”
Ellery felt herself soften slightly. Errol looked genuinely mortified about what he had said and she didn’t want him to leave here thinking he had offended her.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Really. You haven’t ruined anything.”
Errol looked up at her and gave her a little smile.
“You’re just saying that to be nice,” he said.
Yup, Ellery thought.
“No, honestly,” she said. She smiled and nodded to her wine glass. “I blame the wine. I’ve had some experience at blurting out things I probably shouldn’t have said after a glass or two of vino myself.”
Errol laughed and he seemed to relax a little bit. Ellery was considering trying to flag down their server and ask for the check when Errol spoke again.
“Look, I’m not going to ask for another date. I’ve made enough of a fool of myself for one night. But please have one more drink with me. I would hate this to be the conversation we end the night with.”
Ellery wanted to say no, but Errol was looking at her with a pleading expression on his face, so she relented.
“Okay. One more glass of wine,” she said. “And then I really must go. I have to work tomorrow. So watch what you say, alright? Because this is the only do-over.”
They both laughed and Errol flagged down the server and asked for two more drinks. He turned back to Ellery.
“Did you say you had work tomorrow?” he asked.
Ellery nodded.
“Yes. I know it’s not exactly traditional for someone in my position to have a job, but I hate just hanging around feeling useless, so I took on a part-time job as an admin assistant at a local office,” she explained.
Errol asked her a few more questions about her job and then they moved onto their favorite movies and books. By the time Ellery had finished her drink, she had pretty much let the awkward moment go, but she was still relieved when she announced that she had to call it a night and Errol didn’t object. And she was really relieved when he made no attempt to kiss her goodbye or ask for a second date.
By the time she got home and fell into bed, the awkward encounter had already become an amusing story to tell Fiona the next time she saw her.
3
Max Lewisham was walking along the street heading toward work when his cell phone rang. He almost ignored it, his focus on what would happen once he got to work that morning. Max had spent the last fifteen years away from Bowles, training hard to become a part of the royal guard. He had finally completed the rigorous training, and today, he would be receiving his first active assignment.
He was excited and nervous in equal measure, wondering what he would be assigned to do. He didn’t mind which role he was given. It had been made clear in his years of training that all of the jobs of the royal guard were equally important and he was just excited to be able to serve the ruling couple. The royal guard was pretty elite, and only the best of the best got through the training at all.
He knew he was early, though, and so he took his cell phone out of his pocket, deciding to take the call to try to stop himself from being so nervous. He didn’t recognize the number, but he shrugged and took the call anyway.
“Yeah,” he said into the cell phone.
“Is that any way to answer a phone call, Maxen?” the caller said.
It was a male voice, soft and well spoken. It was a voice Max vaguely recognized, but couldn’t quite place.
“Who is this?” he asked.
“Faust Flannery,” the caller said.
Fuck, Max thought, his face falling and his stomach instantly in knots. He had answered a call from the Fae King with the word “yeah” and then not even recognized his voice.
“My goodness, sir, I am so sorry. What can I do for you?” Max asked, trying to calm his racing heart.
“Not to worry,” Faust replied. “I appreciate you had no idea who was calling. Listen, I need you to come to my place. Now.”
“Okay,” Max agreed. “I’m just on my way to receive my first assignment. I’ll let my officer know you need to see me and then I’ll be right along.”
“I have informed your officer of the change of plans. Please come now,” Faust said.
He ended the call before Max could say anything else. Max pulled his cell phone away from his ear and stared at it for a moment as if it could somehow give him the answers as to what Faust Flannery wanted with him personally.
He shoved the cell phone away, turned around, and began hurrying toward Faust’s house. His heart was slamming so hard he was sure the people he passed on the streets as he walked would be able to hear it. From what he knew, Faust wasn’t in the habit of calling new guards personally, and none of them ever got summoned to the house, unless it was for something extremely serious. Max had no idea what he might have done to warrant this, but he knew it had to mean trouble.
God, what if I’m being kicked out of the royal guard before I even really got started? Max thought to himself. All of those years of training for nothing. And the shame it will bring on my family.
Max tried to remind himself that he knew he hadn’t done anything to warrant such a fate, but it was hard to think of anything else Faust could want from him. He had met the man once, very briefly. On the first day of training for new recruits, Faust and his wife, the Fae Queen, Freya, visited the camp and introduced themselves. They each said a few words and then went along the line of recruits, shaking hands with them. And that was the end of their contact with the guard. Unless there was a problem.
Max could see Faust’s house looming in the distance as he walked. He forced himself to speed up as he approached the house, although in truth, he would have much preferred to slow down and not have to face his fate quite so quickly. He figured that taking too long to arrive and making Faust wait would only make him angrier, though, and so he forced himself to hurry.
He looked at the house as he approached it. Set in its own grounds, the house was quite spectacular. A modern building, it seemed to be all glass, although the glass was tinted, allowing the people inside to see out, but no passing strangers to see in. Max came to a large, metal gate and pushed it. It didn’t open and he looked around, wondering how he was meant to get in. He saw a small intercom on the fence post beside the gate and he thumbed the button.
“Hello,” a voice said almost instantly. “Can I help you?”
“Yes. Hi,” Max said. “My name is Maxen Lewisham. I believe Mr. Flannery is expecting me.”
“Indeed he is. Come on in,” the voice said.
Max heard a click and then an electronic buzzing sound as the gate slowly opened. He stepped through it and walked along the long driveway toward the house. The man he had spoken to on the intercom didn’t sound like he was pissed off with Max, but Max reasoned that didn’t mean anything; it was unlikely Faust told his household staff his business with visitors.
Just as Max reached the front door, it opened and a man stood smiling out at him.
“Please come in,” the man said, giving Max a half-bow and turning away. “Follow me, please. Mr. Flannery will see you in his office.”
It was definitely official business, then. Definitely trouble. Max tried to ignore the dread building inside of himself as he followed the man down the hallway. This had to be some sort of mistake, and Max told himself that Faust was a reasonable man. He would surely give him a chance to explain that whatever he was being accused of wasn’t true. The thought made him feel a little bit better, although not by much.
The man stopped in
front of a large, brown door. He knocked and a voice shouted for him to come in. The man pushed the door open and bowed again, a full bow this time.
“A Mister Lewisham for you, sir,” he said.
“Ah yes. Send him in, Peter. Thank you,” Faust said from inside the office.
Peter stepped back and gestured for Max to enter the office. He stepped inside and flinched slightly as Peter closed the door behind him. Faust’s office was huge, more like an office for a full company. It was all dark wood paneling and mahogany desks. The sort of place that told a story of someone important, someone with understated good taste.
Max remembered his manners and bowed to Faust.
“Good morning, sir,” he said.
“Well, that was a better greeting than the one I got on the phone,” Faust said.
Max cringed inside and nodded.
“Yes, sir. I’m so sorry about that,” he stuttered.
Faust laughed and shook his head.
“Relax, Maxen, I’m just joking. Now, come and sit down. We have much to discuss.” Max walked toward Faust’s desk and sat down in one the comfortable leather chairs. “Do you have any idea what this is about?”
“No, sir,” Max replied honestly. “To my knowledge, I have followed all of the rules to the letter.”
“Oh, indeed you have,” Faust said. He gave a little frown and then he laughed. “You assume you’re here because you’re in some sort of trouble?”
Max nodded, unable to quite meet Faust’s eyes.
“Relax, Maxen,” Faust said. “It’s nothing like that, I can assure you.”
Max finally found he was able to look up and meet Faust’s eyes as relief flooded his body. Faust looked serious, but now that Max thought about it, he didn’t look angry.
“In fact,” Faust went on, “the reason you’re here is the exact opposite of you being in trouble. I had a meeting with the officers last night about finding a member of the new class of royal guards for a very special assignment and you were the unanimous recommendation. You have done extremely well in your training and we’re all confident you are the right man for this job.”