I was babbling, and I knew it. Everything I’d tried to keep inside, spewed up to the surface. Cynder held up a finger to my lips.
“Shhh.” Just that small touch was enough to have my blood burning through my veins.
“I’m an idiot, and I’m sorry. This is too much.”
“You aren’t an idiot…” I began.
“Yes, I am. I should have known how this would affect you. I’ve thought of nothing all week but planning this so I could win you back. I didn’t come back for the Magi, I came back because I wanted to. Being apart from you has been hell. I was so happy when I found out that there was to be another competition. A chance to get you away from Luca. I’ve wanted nothing more than for you to come to me and tell me that it’s over between you and him.”
Tears began to spill over, and I made no attempt to stop them.
“I can’t end things with Luca. I’m the queen. Can you imagine how it will look if the public finds out I’m with you? Yeah, they all think they want that. It makes great television. They love watching us go through these dates as if we are lab rats under scrutiny, but the truth of the matter is, if I really do break my engagement with Luca, they’ll never trust me. Even the Magi. Yeah, they want you as their king, but if I dump Luca for you, they’ll never want me for their queen.”
“I know all that.” He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. We were only inches apart, and yet, it might as well have been hundreds of miles. “That’s not the reason you can’t be with me, though, is it?”
“No,” I admitted. “I can’t do that to Luca. He’s stood by me through the worst time of my life. You weren’t there…” I saw the look on his face and immediately felt bad. “Not that you could have been. I know you were hiding from the law. I’m not blaming you, it’s just this is the way things are. I’ve promised my life to Luca. I can’t go back on that promise.”
Cynder nodded. “You are a true asset to your kingdom, my lucky Charm. Luca is a very lucky man. I wish you both well.”
He stepped back, dropping his hand. I could still feel the warmth on my face.
“Please don’t be like that. I don’t want to hurt you either. I don’t want anyone to hurt.”
He turned and pointed his wand right at me. At first, I thought I’d hurt him so much that he was going to attack me. As I stepped back away from him, I felt something happening around my body. My dress began to move and became lower. What was going on?
When the strange movement finally stopped, I looked down at myself. The beautiful dress and the high heels were gone. Instead was a shabby pair of trousers and a dull brown tunic. Over the top, my beautiful cloak had turned a shoddy brown color and it had holes all over it. On my feet were a pair of brown boots.
When I looked up, I saw that the beautiful suit Cynder had been wearing now matched my own attire. We looked like a couple of street urchins.
“What are you doing?” I asked in shock.
“I’ve been selfish. This date was a date for a queen. Luca can give you that next week.” He took my hand and led me to the stairwell. “Let’s get out of here.”
As we ran down the stairs into the night, I looked behind me. Four rats emerged from four suits and ran off into the darkness, their instruments hitting the ground.
As we got to the bottom floor, I pulled my earrings out. They really didn’t go with my new outfit at all. Slipping them into my tunic pocket, I pulled the cloak hood up, to conceal my face.
“No one will recognize you,” Cynder said, pulling the hood back down. He showed me my reflection in the restaurant window. My hair hung loosely over my shoulders, and my face was now free of make-up and filthy. I barely recognized myself. If Xavi saw me now, she would pitch a fit. I, on the other hand, felt strangely free.
“Come on,” he said, pulling me with him.
“Where are we going?” I laughed as he took me down a street I’d never been down before.
“I’m taking you on the least romantic, most boring date you’ll ever have. You are going to love it!”
The least romantic, most Boring Date
I laughed as we ran through the darkened streets. People passed us, barely giving us a second glance. Since I was a small child, every outing I’d ever been on had people gawping at me as though I was an exhibit in a zoo. The only time I’d managed to walk the streets without being seen was last year when I’d come out with Leo, and even then, I’d had to wear a cloak to cover my face and stick to the shadows. Now, I walked with Cynder through the streets with my face on full show, and not a single person recognized us. Without all the fancy clothes, the woman who had graced the cover of every magazine and paper for the last six months was almost invisible. I’d never felt so free in my life.
We walked for an hour until we came to a pretty little square surrounded by shops. In the center was an ice skating rink. So many people were out, enjoying the evening, eating hot food from the little wooden market stalls dotted around the edge of the square, and dining at the restaurants.
“Let’s skate!” Cynder invited. “Do you have any money?”
“No. I don’t carry money; I’m the queen.” I reminded him, feeling foolish.
“Me neither. Wait here.” I watched as he sneaked in the back entrance of the skate rental place. A second later, he came out carrying two pairs of skates.
“You stole them?” I whispered.
“They are for hire. We’ll take them back. Technically, I only stole time with them. We are street rats now, remember?”
I took my pair and pulled them on my foot, leaving my boots to one side. Street rat or not, I’d make sure I sent one of the palace staff with some money tomorrow. Lacing up both skates, I headed out onto the ice where I promptly fell straight over onto my butt.
“You’ve never done this before, have you?” asked Cynder as he reached down to help me up.
“No,” I admitted. “It looks so easy.”
And it did. Couples skated around hand in hand, children chased each other at frightening speed across the slippery ice. No one but me seemed to have any problem with it.
“Hold my hand,” instructed Cynder. “We’ll take it slowly.” I held onto him as he pulled me out onto the ice. Nerves about being in love with him were completely overshadowed by the fear of falling on my face and breaking my teeth. Ice skating, it seemed was a good choice.
I was never going to be a great skater, but with Cynder helping me, I managed to stay upright for the rest of the session. Speeding around on the ice left me feeling exhilarated and the cool night air colored my cheeks.
Even though it was early spring, the weather was still colder than average, and my hands were freezing by the time we dropped the skates off and put our boots back on.
Cynder took me to one of the small wooden huts that lined the picturesque square. The smell of cinnamon and chocolate filled the air.
“Cynder!” Greeted the rotund man in the window of the hut as if they were old friends. “Long time no see. I’ve been watching you on the news. Crazy times, my friend.” He glanced at me and whispered something in Cynder’s ear that I didn’t quite catch. Cynder grinned. “Can you spare us a couple of your finest doughnuts?”
“For you, my friend, anything. Here’s a hot chocolate each too.”
He handed us both a cup of thick creamy chocolate and a cinnamon doughnut each. I was still full from dinner, but it smelled so good, I wolfed it down anyway, licking the sugar from my lips for good measure.
“What did he whisper to you?” I asked as we walked away from the square, our hot chocolates still in hand.
“He said I should be careful stepping out with a pretty young thing like yourself when I am supposed to be courting the queen.”
I snorted, blowing hot chocolate everywhere. It was amazing how people could look but not see what was right in front of them.
We walked until we came to a canal which was lit up prettily, not with the magic fireflies that Cynder had produced earlier, but with fairy lig
hts. A boat was moored to the side, waiting for passengers to fill it for a short pleasure cruise.
“Don’t worry. I’m not taking you on anything as romantic as that. This is a boring date. I’ve got something much more appropriate in mind.” He handed me a pair of oars. “You can row.”
I followed him down to a tiny rowboat that was tied to the canal’s edge with a thick rope. I stepped in and put the oars in the correct position, but he took them out of my hands.
“I’ll row there. You can row back,” he said, pulling the oars through the black water.
“Where exactly are we going?” I wondered aloud.
“Nowhere.”
The oars cut through the glasslike surface of the water, sending ripples all around us. The fairy lights continued all along the banks. I watched the people we passed. Couples out on a romantic nighttime stroll, a couple of teens walking their dog.
“Is this what life is like?” I asked, trailing my fingers through the frigid water.
“What do you mean?” replied Cynder.
“The freedom to walk along the canal, to eat a doughnut without being hounded by the press. Is this what life is like for people?”
“Some people. It’s not like this for the Magi, or at least it hasn’t been for a good many years.”
“What’s it like for the Magi?” I asked.
“You know how unsteady it’s been for the last year, but before that, it wasn’t much better. The Magi lived in squalor, unable to feed themselves.”
I remembered back to when Leo had brought me out with him. He’d taken me to a house that was barely more than a few bits of wood thrown together. Its occupants weren’t allowed to use magic and so were forced to rely on handouts. I wondered if I could make a difference.
As if they had known what we were saying, a couple of older teens started shouting from the side of the bank.
“Oy Magi! Show us some magic.”
At first, I thought they were talking about Cynder, but as I watched, they pushed a small boy to the ground. He couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven and was dressed worse than Cynder and I were.
“I can’t!” the boy cried. “You took my wand. I can’t do magic without it.”
“Turn the boat,” I said quietly, but I didn’t need to. Cynder was already steering it in the direction of the boys.
We’d not quite reached the bank when there was a splash in the water right next to us. It was dark, but I clearly saw the blond hair of the child as he disappeared under the surface. Thinking, he’d swim right back up, we both waited a couple of seconds before we realized he wasn’t going to. Without thinking, I dived into the pitch black water. A thousand needles hit me as I plunged beneath the icy surface. Opening my eyes, I tried to see the boy, but it was no use. It was too dark to see anything, so I dived down deeper with my arms out in front of me trying to feel my way to finding the boy. The water next to me moved, shocking me. I’d not thought to ask if any creatures inhabited the murky canal. Someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me back up to the surface. As we broke through the glassy surface, I saw it was Cynder who had pulled me back up. In his other arm was the boy. He coughed up some of the black water as we helped him into the boat. Cynder helped me back in and then pulled the boat to the side with the rope, before pulling himself out onto the bank. I had nothing to give the shivering boy to warm him up, so I pulled him close to me and wrapped him up in my arms. I’d been wrong, he was younger than I’d originally thought, roughly six or seven and he looked malnourished.
I looked around me, desperate to find anything that could warm him up while Cynder tied the boat to the bank. The poor kid was shivering so violently, he couldn’t speak. My own teeth chattered in unison with his.
Spotting a police officer on duty, I called him over to us.
He came running over, but when he saw the pair of us, I saw his attitude change. His body stiffened.
“What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem?” I replied. “Can’t you see what the problem is? This boy is freezing. I’m freezing, and the two boys who threw this young man into the canal have run away, taking his wand with them.”
The policeman looked down on us. “There’s nothing I can do to help you. I suggest you go home and get dry, that’s if you have a home to go to.”
“Look here, Mr.,” I said, letting go of the little boy and facing up to the policeman. “We need to go to the police station, and you need to write a statement. Those boys need to be caught and charged with attempted murder. While we are there, we all need a shower and a change of clothes. I’d also like a doctor brought in to give us all a checkup. Goodness only knows what germs are in that water. Then, I’d like you to provide a warm meal for this young man and find out where his parents live so that he can be reunited with them, do you understand?”
“Now, who do you think you are talking to?” barked the officer. “I’ll arrest you if you talk to me like that again.” He grabbed my arm and pulled out a set of handcuffs.
Cynder, having tied up the boat ran over to us. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He pulled his wand out and suddenly I wasn’t cold or wet anymore. Looking down, my drab clothes had magically turned themselves back into the beautiful dress I’d been wearing earlier. The small boy’s eyes widened as he took in my magical change of appearance, but it was nothing compared to the shock in the police officer’s eyes as he finally realized who I was.
“Your Highness! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize…”
“Can you take us to the station before you start apologizing for treating people like scum? It’s freezing out here.”
He nodded and beckoned us to follow him.
“Nicely done,” whispered Cynder as we followed the officer through the night.
The small station was only a few blocks away, so it didn’t take us long to get there. When the other officers saw me, they did everything I asked. Within an hour, we had all been offered a shower and a hot meal. The young lad had wolfed it down like there was no tomorrow. Cynder and I, already full, declined the meal although we both had a cup of coffee.
I was just about to sit down with a police officer to give my statement when I was asked to go into the back room. Following one of the female officers, I was surprised to see a familiar figure.
“Monty,” I said, slipping into the seat in front of him.
“Your Majesty. I was called here to take your statement. The officers thought having a senior officer might make you feel more comfortable.”
While Monty did little to make me feel comfortable, he was right that I wanted someone high up to deal with this.
“Thank you. A young boy was thrown into the canal just a couple of blocks from here—” I began
Monty cut me off.
“May I inquire as to what you were doing out by the canal at this hour?”
I looked at the clock on the wall. The time was eleven forty-five. I was never going to be able to get home by the time I promised.
“That’s not really any concern of yours,” I replied brusquely. “What should concern you is that a couple of anti-Magi thugs threw an innocent child into the water.”
“Innocent? If they were anti-Magi, does that mean the boy in question is a Mage? Maybe he was doing magic on them, and they were defending themselves?”
“They were twice his size! The innocence of the child is not in question. However, the guilt of the older two boys is. I want them found and charged with attempted murder.”
Monty’s mustache twitched. “Now that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? It was just a prank.”
“The boy nearly drowned. If I’d not been there to save him, he would surely have perished.”
“But he’s just a…”
“A what?” I knew exactly what he was going to say, but I wanted to hear him say it. I wanted to hear him say the word Mage because then I could fire his sorry ass for flouting the law on prejudice.”
“I know what you are thinking, Your
Majesty, but the truth of the matter is, I can’t arrest two young boys because they happen to throw a vagabond in the water. He’s a Mage. He can fend for himself.”
“I’m so glad you said that, Mr. Grenfall. Please take your things and leave.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m firing you. I said I was going to find a Mage to help you, but it seems to me that if you can’t remember your own laws, then I‘ll just have to find someone to replace you.”
“What law exactly do you think I’ve broken?”
“I made it quite clear that I would have no discrimination against the Magi. If you refuse to look for these boys because their victim is a Mage, then that is blatantly flouting that law.”
“You can’t do that. Your own father hired me. I’ve been on the force for over thirty years.”
“Well, you’ll be able to have a nice rest then, won’t you?”
“If you replace me with a Mage, that’s discrimination against the non-Magi. You are breaking your own law!” He crossed his arms and glared at me with a self-satisfied grin on his face.
“I actually said I was going to bring a Mage in to help you. I said nothing about a Mage replacing you. I’ll hire the best person for the job, be they Mage or non-Mage.”
I stood up, leaving him to simmer in his own outrage. Having him in charge of all the police in Silverwood was no good. It was about time we had some new blood. Some new magical blood.
By the time we finally left the police station, it was about two o’clock in the morning. Our statements had been taken, and the young boy’s mother had been found and brought to the station. The earliness of the hour hadn’t stopped the paparazzi from being out in force. Someone, I suspected Grenfall, had tipped them off and now there were hundreds of them camped outside the station waiting for us.
As Cynder and I walked down the station steps, hundreds of flashes from all the cameras dazzled us.
“Move aside!” A voice boomed out, causing them to part. In front of us stood Luca. Daniel was by his side. He took my hand, and we followed him to the pumpkin carriage Daniel had magicked up earlier. As we closed the carriage doors behind us, Luca wrapped his arms around me. His warmth filled me.
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