Cliff put his arm around me. "I have no doubt that Alexis can handle anything that comes her way." He turned to me. "Would you like to dance again?"
"I'd love to," I said, taking his hand. "Talk to you guys later."
We danced the night away and just when I thought that I couldn't dance another moment longer, the music stopped and someone announced that the tickets had been counted for the royalty court.
"My sister will be sophomore class princess," I told Cliff.
"From the sounds of it you could be crowned for the junior class." His mouth curved upward.
"Doubtful." I shrugged.
"I'm glad you don't concern yourself with what others think," he said. "That's an important trait for a leader."
"Leader?" I asked. "I'm not looking to be a leader, unless I become a judge. I'm more interested in being a CSI or maybe an attorney."
They were about to make the royalty announcements, so we turned our attention to the stage. First, they announced the freshman royalty.
When they announced the sophomore royalty, I wasn't surprised to hear my sister's name, but I clapped really loud for her anyway. She'd worked hard for the votes.
"We have an interesting turn of events for the junior class royalty," the announcer said. "There's a tie. I'm told that this has never happened before. There's only one tiara so we'll have to figure out a way to break the tie, what do you say?"
The crowd yelled and cheered. I laughed, unable to believe anyone could get worked up over something so trivial.
He called Hailey Adams, which came as no surprise.
"Now for the other winner. Alexis Ferguson, come on up!" The crowd went wild again.
"Go on up," Cliff whispered. It wasn't until that moment that I realized the announcer had said my name. I didn't want to go on stage and my feet were glued to the floor.
"Come on up, Alexis!" shouted the announcer again.
Cliff linked his arm through mine and walked me to the stage. He helped me up the first step and then I was on my own. I walked up the stairs and to the middle of the stage, next to the announcer and a very irritated Hailey. The lights were insanely bright and everyone was screaming like crazy.
The announcer did a double take when he saw me. "I think we have a winner here! But it's not up to me. It's up to you guys. Applaud and scream to choose the winner."
"I don't know who you think you are, Alexis," Hailey hissed. "I've worked my whole life for this. You're not going to steal it from me."
"Believe me, none of this was my idea."
"You'd better hope that you don't win." Hailey scowled.
"Yell and clap as loud as you can for the nominee of your choice," the announcer told the crowd.
"You're nothing." Hailey glared at me.
"You definitely live up to your reputation," I muttered, loud enough for her to hear.
"Watch your back, biotch."
A single light above the stage shattered. I knew then and there, with full certainty, that I was caused the exploding light bulbs. She needed to watch her back. I would learn to control this strange superpower.
"What was that all about?" the announcer asked, laughing. "Get your clappers and screamers ready, kids. Let's hear it for Hailey Adams!"
The room exploded with noise of clapping and cheering. She smirked at me and then turned to the crowd and waved, encouraging them to bring up the volume.
When the noise died down, the announcer told the crowd to cheer for me and the noise level was noticeably louder than it had been for Hailey. I couldn't help but return her smirk.
She said something I couldn't hear over the noise. I laughed.
The crowd continued. The announcer tried to get them to calm down, but even with the microphone, he couldn't be heard. He backed away from the mic until the noise finally died down.
"We have a clear winner here. The beautiful Alexis Ferguson is your new junior class princess!" He walked to the table of tiaras and crowns and picked up mine.
"You're going to pay." Hailey looked ready to throw a fit.
The announcer placed the tiara on my head and handed me a bouquet of flowers. I stood next to Natalie, who congratulated me. Hailey stormed off the stage.
"This is so exciting," Natalie squealed. "Both of us are winners."
"Who would've guessed?"
She giggled. "Nobody before tonight. You guys were awesome on the dance floor too. Oh, and you're going to have to tell me why threw yourself into his arms."
Before I could answer, the announcer called up the next winners. After they had received their crowns and flowers, we all went up to have pictures taken, followed by an exclusive royalty-only dance. I made small talk with my dance partner.
When the dance was over, I made a beeline for Cliff and my friends. They congratulated me, speaking at once.
Hailey showed up with a scowl. "Since you stole my tiara and dance, I'm stealing a dance with your date."
"She didn't steal anything, Hailey," Emma said. "The crowd picked."
Hailey's face turned red. "Emma, you'll never be popular—or skinny."
"At least she's smart and she'll make something of herself beyond high school," I said, glaring at Hailey.
People around us laughed. I hadn't even noticed anyone paying attention to us.
"Look," I said to Hailey, "if you want to dance with my date, that's fine. But you'll have to ask him if he's willing to dance with you. Otherwise, you need to leave my friends and me alone."
"I'll leave you alone when I'm good and ready."
A couple light bulbs exploded nearby. I could feel a connection between myself and the lights.
"Would you like to dance?" Cliff asked Hailey. "Perhaps I can convince you that Alexis meant no harm."
She glared at me and then barked at Cliff, "Let's go."
As they danced, Emma asked, "How can you let her dance with Cliff?"
"He's smart enough to see that she's shallow and evil."
Emma laughed. "True."
"Let's dance, the three of us," I said. "We'll show her that we can have fun despite her."
We made our way to the dance floor and danced together. We had fun, and it was obvious that it irritated Hailey.
Cliff and I danced together again when a new song played. Cliff raised an eyebrow. "She's very, uh, interesting."
"What did she say?" I asked.
"She was trying to convince me that you're a beast," he said. "Though all she did was convince me of what a horrible person she is."
We danced for a while longer until people began leaving. Our group made its way to the limo—without any winged visitors. Once inside, everyone decided to go for coffee since nobody wanted to go home just yet.
Once inside the coffee shop, we all sat together at the tables that we pulled together. We laughed about Hailey and talked about all the events of the night.
When Cliff and I were dropped off at Brooke's house, he walked me to my car. He stared into my eyes. "I had a wonderful time, Alexis. I would really like to get to know you better. Will you allow me the pleasure of taking you out for dinner tomorrow?"
My heart sped up. "I'd love that."
"Perfect," he said. "I'll call you tomorrow to work out the details." He opened my door, and I climbed in for the short drive home.
SIX
My dreams were of being a princess in a faraway castle. It felt like I was experiencing them as a small child, but at the same time as if I was observing the scenes as my current self.
I found myself in the middle of a flower garden, on one side of an immense castle. I ran through the dirt, chasing a boy who was about nine or ten. He was significantly taller than me, so I must have been pretty young.
His clothes were fairly modern, given that we were at a castle. I would've expected different attire. I was wearing a dress that was also more current than I would have expected.
The boy turned around and looked at me…with the same eyes that I'd been staring at all evening at the dance.
>
He grinned wide. "Marguerite, now it's my turn to chase you."
Marguerite?
I giggled, sounding like a toddler, and turned around. I ran in the other direction taking paths along the enormous garden. I looked back to see that he was close behind. Those were eyes that loved me deeply.
As I tired of running, I dove onto a pile of leaves and he jumped in next to me. He piled them over me. I shrieked and threw some at him.
I heard adult voices not too far away.
"He would go to the ends of the earth for her."
"She's devoted to him. Already, everything she does is for him."
"They're going to lead with a strength that hasn't been seen in thousands of years."
"They are exactly what our kingdom needs."
"I hope that they're able to bring peace."
"According to the prophecies, that's exactly what will happen. It looks like Clifford and Marguerite will be the ones."
I turned to the boy. "What are the grownups talking about?"
He jumped up and held an invisible sword. "Someday we're going to fight battles and beat all the bad guys. Pow!"
"Really? How are we going to do that?"
"We'll spend years training and we'll develop our special powers." He swung his invisible sword at imaginary people all around him.
"What are our special powers?"
"Nobody knows yet," he told me. "The powers will start coming out when—"
"Children! Time to come inside."
"Oh," I complained. I got up from the pile of leaves anyway. The beautiful, brown eyed boy and I walked out of the garden to where the adults were. They were beyond gorgeous.
"Alexis. Alexis!" My sister's voice pulled me from the beautiful castle scene.
"Go away." I pulled the covers over my head.
"Alexis. You have to wake up—I think Hailey did something to your car."
I forced myself out of bed and looked out the window. Something was all over my car, but I couldn't tell from so far away. "What's that?"
"Let's go down so you can see for yourself," Natalie said.
As we were about to leave my room, I stopped in my tracks. My homecoming dress had the exact pattern as the dress in the dream. The dress itself was completely different, but the pattern was identical.
"What's wrong?" Natalie asked.
I shook my head. "Nothing. Let's see the damage to my car."
Dried raw eggs and shaving cream covered my car. It would take several washings to get it clean.
"Can you believe her?" Natalie exclaimed. "She has some nerve. We've got to get back at her. Maybe we could TP her house or stuff something gross in her locker."
"I have something better in mind."
Her eyes lit up. "What?"
"It'll be good. But first I need to figure out how I'm going to clean this car."
"I'm sure Dad has some good cleaners in the garage."
"Right," I said. "Hey Natalie, can I borrow an outfit tonight? Cliff's taking me out for dinner."
"He is?" she squealed. "I have the perfect outfit. I can help you with your makeup and hair if you want."
"That would be perfect." I headed for the garage to get supplies to clean my car.
After I finally finished, I was sore from the combination of dancing the night before and washing the gunk off my car. I decided to go lay down for a while before studying.
I fell back to sleep and found myself back at the castle. This time it was night and I was lying in a luxurious bed. I'd been awakened by some noise followed by hushed conversation. I pretended to be asleep.
"We've got to be extremely careful. No mistakes."
"I won't make any mistakes. Are you sure the people will be where you say?"
"It's all set. Don't worry about my end of things."
"What if she wakes up?"
"She trusts me, it'll be flawless."
There were some shuffling noises and then someone picked me up out of the bed. I didn't know what was going on, but I did know one of the people and I trusted her. I was scared, but didn't say anything.
Before I knew it, we were outside and I could hear the sounds of the leaves rustling below and twigs snapping. I heard some animals in the distance and birds nearby.
They sounded like crows.
"How much longer?"
"It won't be long. We're nearing the edge of the woods at this speed."
"Shouldn't we change her memories?"
"Have you forgotten? She's a descendant of the Fyrsturae."
"Right. It's impossible to tamper with her mind."
"She also has the mark of the Sonnast. Who knows what could happen if we tried to control her mind. It could backfire on us."
"Let's hurry. We only have a short time to drop her off and to change the memories of her new family."
I woke up in a cold sweat. The dreams were so real. It was as if I had actually been there as a little girl. I got into the shower to get my mind off the dreams.
After getting dressed and having a late breakfast, I got into my sparkly clean car and drove to an abandoned field. I had a box of burned out light bulbs.
Once in the field, I laid out several light bulbs in a row. I hoped they didn't have to be plugged in to explode.
I looked at one and willed it to explode. Nothing happened. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the light bulb.
Nothing.
"What am I doing wrong?"
I stared at it with such a concentration that I felt my face turn red.
Nothing.
Every time I made a light bulb shatter, it was when I was raging mad. I wasn't mad—that was why it wasn't working.
I thought about times my parents had favored Natalie. Images passed through one by one. Soon I was ready to punch someone. I focused all of my energy on the middle light bulb. I took all of my anger and tried to use my eyes as a laser to make it explode.
It didn't even budge.
"Dang it." Then I heard two explosions from the box of light bulbs. "Are you mocking me?"
I turned my attention back to that middle light bulb. "Explode. Explode!"
Nothing happened. "This is ridiculous. Why can't I control it? It's obvious that I'm causing it."
I tried again, and this time a different light bulb in the row shattered. I wasn't happy, but at least it was progress.
***
I looked at the red sports car. I couldn't believe that it was Cliff's. I was even more embarrassed by my ugly, old car.
He looked at me and smiled. "Do you think it's a bit much?"
"No, not at all. Was it imported? I've never seen anything like it."
"Yes, I had it imported. Would you like to drive?"
The blood drained from my face. "Are you kidding? I'd be afraid to."
He looked into my eyes. "I trust you. Besides, you strike me as a safe driver."
"I am. I've never even been pulled over. But I don't want to drive it." I couldn't make a fool of myself in front of him.
Cliff held up a key chain. "I want you to drive it. You'll love it."
My heart raced. He threw the keys at me, and I nearly missed them. He opened driver's side door, and then waited for me to sit down behind the wheel. I shook my head and sat down. He closed the door and I looked around the inside of the car and adjusted the seat.
"How do you like it?" he asked, already sitting next to me. I jumped in surprise. I hadn't even heard him sit down.
"It's extraordinary." I cringed at my choice of words. My level of nerdiness knew no bounds.
"Start it." He actually looked excited.
I put the key in and turned it. The car came to life without a sound. "Whoa." I pushed the gas pedal and nearly gave us both a case of whiplash. "Sorry."
He laughed. "Take it easy. It doesn't take much."
"Are you sure you want me to drive?"
"It just takes a minute to get used to. I did the same thing when I first got it."
"Really? Where to?"
&
nbsp; "Anywhere you want. Show me some of your favorite places in Delphic Cove."
"There's not a whole lot."
"Then take me to the park where you met up with Brooke. That sounds nice."
"You mean the lake. That's one of my favorite places to go." I managed to drive to the lake without killing anyone. We got out of the car and walked toward the lake in a comfortable silence.
"You look like you're in your element here," he said, breaking the silence.
"I am. I love how peaceful it is. It really helps me to relax, and forget about everything."
He reached toward me, pulled a strand of hair from my face and placed it gently behind my ear. His hand lingered there and my heart nearly stopped. I looked into his eyes and my pulse raced.
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "You smell amazing."
"I'm wearing new perfume." I squirmed, not knowing how else to respond.
He looked deep into my eyes. He shook his head. "No, it's you that smells incredible."
I tilted my head looking deeper into his eyes, trying to figure out what he meant by that.
He cupped my chin with his hand. "Do you realize how stunning you are?"
I opened my mouth but couldn't find any words. I put my hand on his arm and noticed how unbelievably smooth his skin was. "You're many times more remarkable than I am."
He took my hand and kissed it. There was a tear in his eye. "I've dreamed of this for so many years. You've been gone too long." He pulled me close and held me in a strong embrace.
I knew that what he spoke of was as real as the lake next to us, but I didn't know where or when we had known each other. Unless my dreams were real. Was it even possible that he was the boy from my dreams? Had we grown up in that castle together before I was adopted?
It couldn't be…or could it?
***
We were in the back corner of a fancy restaurant that I'd never been to before, and again I'd had Cliff order for me.
"How did you get the crows to obey?"
"You probably won't believe that I'm the crow whisperer?"
I nearly choked on my iced tea. "The crow whisperer? No way. Who would want to get inside the mind of those gross birds?"
His face showed hurt and disappointment.
"Oh please don't tell me that you're serious."
The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5 Page 5