Betrothed

by Wanda Wiltshire

  When I heard it was Leif, I hurried to the door, introducing him to my sister as I stood aside to let him in. Ashleigh blushed and mumbled then turned from him, giving me a wide-eyed look as she mouthed, ‘Oh my God!’ before disappearing down the hall. I could understand her reaction. My betrothed was shirtless as usual and utterly spectacular in every way.

  ‘Come in,’ I said, resisting the urge to wrap myself around his body. He started down the hall, but had only gone a few paces before he spied Jason all comfy on the lounge in the living room. He stopped and clasped my arm as he gave Jason a long look before bringing his attention back to me. Then leaning close to my ear, he murmured, ‘Are you well, Marla?’

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ I asked, surprised.

  ‘You called for me.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Not more than two minutes ago,’ he insisted, voice low.

  ‘I think I’d remember that.’

  ‘I was waiting on your beach, watching your ocean and pondering a swim, when I heard you say, “Leif, help!”’ Silent seconds ticked by and then in a flash of insight I realised what he was referring to. My eyes popped open in surprise.

  ‘You can read my mind?’

  ‘No, but if you speak to me from your mind and I am physically close enough, I can hear you. We are betrothed, Marla.’

  ‘All betrothed people can speak to each other like that?’

  He nodded, watching Jason again. I turned to see Jason flicking through a magazine he’d picked up off the coffee table. I wondered if he was really as absorbed in it as he appeared.

  ‘Is that how I met you in my dreams?’

  Leif looked back to me. ‘No, that was a merging of our minds—only possible because I am prince and you were relaxed with sleep.’

  My ‘dreams’ finally made sense. ‘But there were other times too, Leif. There was this one time in the shower . . . Well anyway, I just thought I was going crazy. I definitely heard you at the dance last night when I was . . . you know,’ I finished lamely.

  ‘You heard me last night because I was yelling into your mind. I saw you with . . . ’ Leif glanced over my shoulder, ‘him, from across the room.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ I lowered my face.

  Leif tipped my face to catch my eyes. ‘Please, Marla, think no more of it.’

  I wondered if I could be so forgiving had I found him in a similar position. I couldn’t imagine it.

  Jason appeared beside me. ‘Jason, you remember Leif,’ I said, my insides squirming.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he said slowly, looking Leif up and down.

  ‘He does not,’ Leif confirmed. I wondered how he could be so sure.

  ‘I don’t know what you two are talking about but I’m starting to see how it is,’ Jason said.

  I didn’t know how to respond so I just looked over to Ashleigh—who was leaning against the back of the lounge and watching the whole thing as though it were a piece of theatre—and said, ‘Ashleigh, can you get Jason and Leif a drink, please?’

  Ordinarily she’d ask me what my last slave died of, but she must have been too intrigued to protest because she just disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing a moment later with two glasses of Coke. She handed one each to Jason and Leif, who were now settled on the lounge, before making herself comfortable again. I watched Leif give the glass a long stare.

  ‘It’s black,’ he stated.

  Jason made a snorting noise, which I ignored completely. I said, ‘Try it, Leif; most people seem to like it.’

  He lifted the drink to his mouth and tasted.

  ‘Unusual,’ he said, pressing his lips together before placing the glass onto the coffee table.

  ‘Don’t tell me you haven’t tried Coke before?’ Ashleigh said.

  ‘I have not.’

  ‘That’s just weird. Have you been living under a rock or something?’

  ‘Very close actually,’ Leif said with a grin. I would have asked him what he meant by that if we were alone.

  ‘I don’t drink Coke, it’s no big deal,’ I said instead.

  ‘Yeah but once you nearly died trying.’

  ‘Whatever,’ I said, irritated.

  We sat in silence for several long minutes, the tension palpable. I longed for Jason to go home and Ashleigh to go away. Jason, however, wasn’t going to make it easy. He sat back in his seat like he was settled in for the day.

  Finally I could stand it no longer.

  I stood up and turned to him. ‘I have somewhere I need to be, Jason. I’m sorry, but I need to get ready.’

  ‘You’re kicking me out?’ His emotions were impossible to read, his face closed.

  ‘Don’t, Jason.’

  ‘What about him?’ he said, pointing to Leif.

  ‘I have somewhere I need to be with Leif.’

  ‘Right,’ he said and stood. Then he turned and walked out the front door without another word. I sat down and, with a long sigh, put my face into my hands.

  Leif came close and put an arm around me. ‘It’s all right.’

  I leaned into him. ‘No, it’s not, he’s so angry.’

  ‘His pride is hurt, he’ll get past it.’

  I sighed. ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘Yes, now come, we’re going to the beach.’

  Ashleigh’s ears pricked up. ‘Can I come too?’ she asked.

  I glanced at Leif. He hesitated for a moment and then smiled as he said, ‘Oh, why not?’

  ‘Um, how are we getting there?’ I asked. ‘I don’t suppose you have a car parked out the front.’

  ‘A car?’ He looked at me like it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.

  ‘How then?’ I couldn’t believe he was planning on flying.

  He grinned and replied, ‘The usual way.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ I said, glancing in Ashleigh’s direction.

  ‘She’s your sister.’

  ‘What are you two on about?’ Ashleigh asked with a frown.

  ‘Go get ready,’ I said, then went to get changed myself. I chose my cutest bikini and after tying a slinky wrap around my hips, went back to Leif. He was sitting on the lounge where I’d left him, flicking through a magazine. He glanced up when he heard me and his eyes opened wide. It was the most flattering thing. I smiled and walked to him slowly, loving him looking. When I reached him, he stood and caught me in his arms.

  ‘Do you know how lovely you are, Marla?’

  His words were a warm caress inside and out. I turned my face up to his. ‘You sure know how to make me feel it. And Leif, that poster you left for me—I love it.’

  ‘I thought you might need a token.’

  It was all too perfect. I lay my cheek against his chest.

  ‘Are we going?’ Ashleigh said, coming into the living room.

  My sister was completely unaware that her sense of reality was about to be forever altered.

  ‘Yes,’ Leif said, releasing me. He strode towards the balcony door, motioned us ahead of him and closed the door behind him.

  ‘Oh very funny,’ Ashleigh smirked. ‘Are we like, abseiling down the outside wall or something?’

  One corner of Leif’s mouth lifted in amusement. He held out his hands, one to each of us. I took one, Ashleigh stared at the other.

  I said, ‘You wanted to come with us, Ashleigh, so take his hand . . . unless you want to stay behind.’ She did as she was told, giving each of us a curious look, and in a heartbeat Leif had scooped us both up and into his arms. I giggled at the stunned look on my sister’s face.

  ‘Argh, what are you doing? Put me down,’ she squealed, after the shock of being so manhandled had passed. ‘This is so embarrassing. I weigh a tonne—put me down, Leif, I’ll break your back!’

  Leif laughed and held tight to both of us. ‘Stop squirming, Ashleigh, you’ve no more weight than a bird.’ His wings appeared with a rush of air that blew hair into our faces and we were in the air. Our journey, which took no more than a minute, was accompanied by a high-pi
tched wail from Ashleigh. We landed at the water’s edge and Leif’s wings vanished. He set us both on our feet.

  Ashleigh was shivering and shaking and had gone so white that her freckles stood out like pebbles on pale sand.

  ‘What just happened? We did not just fly here! Oh my God . . . What are you?’ she cried, staring up at Leif. Then she crumpled to her knees.

  Leif crouched beside her, lifted her face so he could look into her eyes. ‘I am Fae, Ashleigh.’

  My sister could not speak. She just knelt where she’d fallen, frozen with shock, her eyes glued to Leif.

  ‘A faery,’ Leif clarified.

  ‘Impossible,’ Ashleigh whispered.

  ‘And yet, here you are—after arriving in my arms.’

  A wave rushed up the sand and over their legs. Leif stood and offered Ashleigh his hand. But she didn’t take it. She just stayed where she was, staring at him, her mouth agape. Leif crouched down beside her again and reached for her hand. He said, ‘We are not so different are we, Ashleigh?’

  Ashleigh watched their joined hands for a moment, and then in a whisper, said, ‘There’s no such thing as fairies . . . This isn’t real.’

  Another wave rushed up the sand and wet them both to their waists. Ashleigh was oblivious—closed in with shock.

  Leif said, ‘There are faeries who believe there is no such thing as humans.’

  ‘Really?’ she asked, looking back to him again.

  Leif smiled and squeezed her hand. ‘No, not really.’

  My sister returned Leif’s smile with a watery one of her own. But she was pale and trembling and overwhelmed.

  After another long moment, she said, ‘Are you . . . from Fairyland or something?’

  ‘We are,’ Leif said.

  Ashleigh’s eyes grew impossibly wide. She looked up to me, shock all over her face. After a long period of staring, she whispered, ‘You’re one too, aren’t you? That’s why he’s here. You’re a . . . a . . . ’ She couldn’t finish the sentence.

  ‘I’m your sister, that’s what I am, but . . . yeah, I’m one too.’

  ‘That’s why you’ve got pointy ears . . . and allergies . . . and why your skin’s so weird.’ She blinked twice, staring at me like she was seeing me for the first time.

  ‘I suppose it is,’ I said after a moment.

  Another wave rolled over them. They were pretty much soaked now.

  Again Leif stood and this time he lifted my sister with him. She was trembling still and her eyes were darting from one to the other of us, but Leif just got back to business. He said, ‘Come, I’ve brought my four-times grandfather to meet you.’

  ‘Your what?’

  Leif didn’t reply right away. He just tucked my sister’s arm through his and started strolling along the shoreline—slowly—using the time to explain to her the reason his four-times grandfather, King Aren, would look so young. Ashleigh took it all in, her whole expression incredulous. I had never seen her so silent in my life.

  I knew him before Leif pointed him out: he was sitting on the sand looking out to sea. From a distance he appeared to be just any well-built guy enjoying the beach. But as we came close, I could see he was much more. He was blond, his eyes the same blue-green as the ocean and, like Leif, he was dressed in jeans and nothing else. I wondered if faded denim and spectacular bare chests were some kind of uniform for Fae royalty. Not that the casual clothing deceived—his presence was nothing short of regal. He sat with back straight and head high like he owned the world, and when he rose to greet us, I began to tremble. He radiated power. I stood before him awed into silence, wanting to touch, wanting to take his hand and bring it to my lips. I was kind of horrified at myself for all this wanting and glanced in Leif’s direction to see if he’d noticed. But my betrothed just inclined his head to his four-times grandfather and then introduced us, after which King Aren looked at me and smiled.

  And then he offered me his hand.

  I took the hand into both of mine and was appalled to realise I had to kiss it. I lowered my face and pressed my lips to his fingers. I lost myself for a while and all that mattered was the connection to this Fae king. It was similar to the sensation I’d experienced with Leif—heat, euphoria, the taking in of something indefinable and exquisite. But it was different too—unique to this king and perhaps not quite so intense. But still, it was like a little bit of King Aren was pouring into me and taking me straight to heaven. I was blushing when I released him. But he just smiled like there was nothing bizarre about it. It had to be a Fae thing, because Ashleigh had no impulse to kiss him. She just stood watching me and then watching him and then watching me again, confusion all over her face.

  ‘My wife sends her greetings,’ King Aren told me. ‘She has made a gift for you.’ He handed me a small silk bag decorated with fresh flowers. I thanked him and glanced at Leif, who prompted me to open the gift.

  It was a dress, the palest sky blue—the fabric a cross between cotton and silk. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen and so fine that it slid through my fingers like a breeze, slippery and soft, shimmering subtly. The little stones on the straps were lovely, translucent—perhaps a kind of quartz. They were cool and smooth. I ran my fingers along the gathering at the hip and lifted the hem to reveal the sheer layer beneath. Gorgeous thing! I turned the dress around and was surprised to see how low it was cut at the back; it had been made with my wings in mind. I looked at Leif’s grandfather and smiled.

  ‘It’s beautiful.’

  ‘You have no excuse now, Marla,’ Leif said, smiling at my pleasure.

  ‘So not necessary,’ I whispered.

  We sat on the sand and talked for a while. The king asked us about our lives on Earth, our family and friends. He seemed to know how things worked. But Leif didn’t, and when he learned that we spent five days out of seven at school, he was shocked.

  ‘The young of this world are not raised by their parents?’ he asked.

  ‘We’re raised by our parents but taught by our teachers.’

  ‘How can that be? If you spend the majority of your days in school, then surely it is your teachers who raise you.’

  He had a point. ‘Didn’t you go to school?’ I asked.

  ‘We have no such place in Faera.’

  ‘Then how do you learn?’

  ‘We learn from others as we spend time with them. As far as my father is concerned, I stayed with my grandfather last night to learn something of the ways of his kingdom.’

  ‘So it’s like you’re home schooled. That actually explains a few things,’ I said.

  ‘What does it explain?’

  ‘The way you talk for one thing. Your language hasn’t been messed up by being surrounded by a bunch of other kids every day.’

  Leif smiled. ‘But you have a sweet way of speaking. I enjoy listening to you very much.’

  I smiled adoringly right back at him.

  Ashleigh rolled her eyes and started going on about how unfair life was. That’s when I knew my sister would be just fine.

  ‘Did you like my grandfather?’ Leif asked when we arrived home a short time later.

  I looked at him to see if there was any innuendo behind his words. There wasn’t a hint so I didn’t mention the whole weird hand kissing thing. ‘He’s nice.’

  ‘Really nice,’ Ashleigh agreed, flopping into Dad’s recliner and flipping the footrest out.

  Leif looked at her and smiled. ‘He would be pleased you think so,’ he said, before turning his attention back to me and adding, ‘Of all my grandfathers, I am closest to Aren.’

  ‘How many do you have?’ I asked as I took a seat on the lounge and pulled him down beside me.

  ‘Many—the longest lived is 367 times great.’

  ‘Geez, how old is he?’

  ‘Ancient,’ Leif replied, lifting my hand into his lap. ‘We lose track of age after a while and count generations instead.’

  ‘How do you remember how many times great each grandfather is?’ I watched him c
oax each of my fingers straight with his own.

  Leif smiled. ‘It is just something one commits to memory. It hardly matters though. Except for the father–son relationship we all refer to each other as grandfather or grandson.’ He was playing with my fingertips now, smoothing each nail with his thumb.

  ‘So you have 367 grandfathers?’

  ‘Not close to that number. Elrin just happens to be the oldest living; many who came both before and after him have passed to the next world. He no longer possesses a kingdom of his own, claims he lost the will when his queen died—long ago now. He now sees his role as provider of history and imparter of wisdom to his many grandsons.’

  ‘Wow.’

  ‘Yes . . . But I have become distracted.’ He closed my hand in his. ‘I meant to speak to you of my grandfather, Aren, and the plans he and I have been making.’

  My hand flew to my mouth. ‘Oh, Leif, wait. I almost forgot. My friends will be here soon and I need to know if it’s okay to tell them about . . . us.’

  ‘Do you trust them?’

  ‘I would trust Jack and Hilary with my life.’

  ‘Then I don’t see that it would be a problem.’ He began stroking my fingers again.

  I caught his eyes and smiled. ‘Do you want to come into my room until they get here?’

  He raised one dark eyebrow. ‘I think not.’

  ‘You don’t like my bedroom, Leif?’

  He watched me, his eyes narrowing. ‘I like your bedroom well enough,’ he said finally.

  Ashleigh made a noise like a chuckle combined with a snort. ‘If you’re worried about me, don’t be, I’m going to Kate’s place. I’ve got heaps to tell her.’

  ‘Ashleigh!’

  ‘OMG, can’t you take a joke?’

  ‘If it’s funny.’

  ‘Geez, as if I’d tell her . . . She’d think I was psycho.’ She went silent for a while then seemed to shake herself back to normal, after which she looked at Leif and said, ‘How about a lift, Leif?’

  ‘Just walk, Ashleigh, it’ll do you good,’ I said before he could answer.

  ‘Okay, Mum,’ my sister said, shooting me a dirty look before looking back to Leif with begging eyes.

  But it wasn’t necessary because Leif—conned by her sucking up—had already freed his hand from mine. ‘It will take me but a moment,’ he told me as he made for the balcony door, my sister right behind him. Like a two-year-old, she turned and stuck her tongue out at me.