by T. R. Reilly
"No" he said and smirked slightly.
"Have you at any point, read my mind?" she demanded, her face turning pink with embarrassment again.
"Maybe, just a little, once or twice" he said and winked.
"Perhaps you should show me how to block my mind before anything else," she rolled her eyes, pretending to be upset.
CHAPTER FOUR
Several weeks went by, as Leanna settled in to her new life. Each day was filled with studies, practicing with her psychic abilities and enjoying the company of Ash from dawn until bedtime. Leanna was beginning to see that becoming the ruler of a faerie realm was one thing, but trying to get her abilities to work just right were another. They'd been working on telepathic communication for a couple of weeks and Leanna felt sure she was getting better at it. However her ability to see energy around things still needed some work. For most of the morning, Leanna had been trying to see what Ash referred to as Aura's. "You can heal better, once you can see their aura. Now let's try again." Ash instructed. Leanna closed her eyes to center her energy and then slowly opened them. For a brief moment she thought she'd seen some color and then it was gone before she could say anything. Exasperated, she let out a huge sigh, "Gah, I give up! Can we call it a day, please?" she looked over at Ash, who sat calmly with his hands on his thighs. He gazed into Leanna's eyes, "You're trying to hard."
"I just want to be good at this." She said with a frown. And I don't want to let you down, she thought.
"You are good at this and you could never let me down" Ash said reassuringly and placed his hand over Leanna's, stroking it briefly before pulling away and sitting back. Leanna's eyes widened. "I wish you'd stop reading my thoughts. It's unsettling." She said and sat back in her seat as well. "Well, you need to guard them better if you wish that." He smirked.
"Ha ha. Very funny." She made a funny face as Ash got up from the sofa and stretched, before walking toward the door.
"Maybe we need to get some air, want to go for a walk? You've been cooped up inside for a few weeks now, maybe you need to be outside to recharge your batteries." Leanna jumped up from the sofa and quickly joined Ash. "Do I? I can't wait to see this place." She said happily. "Well, since this cottage stands in the shadow of the palace and we don't want to venture there quite yet, I will take you through the gardens and show you some of my favorite places. Please remember what I told you. If anyone asks you any questions..."
"Yes, I know...just look stupid and let you speak for me" she rolled her eyes jokingly. "Very funny, but this is serious. Your life is in danger Leanna. If Girvyn finds out you are here, before we have prepared you for your role, he will imprison you...or worse" his voice took on a serious tone. "Okay, I promise to behave" she pursed her lips in a thin line and furrowed her brow with worry. "I don't see myself being the right kind of person for a dungeon anyhow" she said as she pushed past Ash and went to the front door. Ash reached around and opened the door, motioning for her to step out first. Leanna stepped out onto a cobblestone path that led from the front door, out to a larger dirt path, that weaved out into the distance. She took a deep breath of the warm clean air and smiled. Glancing to her left she saw the palace, its walls towering over the cottages and gardens below, just as Ash had said. Turning to her right, she saw the beds of flowers and the vegetable gardens that grew near the small cottage. The flowers were fragrant and colorful, filling her with energy as she deeply inhaled their delicate fragrance. As they walked around one side of the cottage, she saw the vegetable patches she'd seen from the bedroom window. The workers didn't bother to look up and continued their tasks of weeding and caring for the vegetables. Ash's house felt bigger on the inside than it appeared from the outside, and as she walked with him through the grounds of the royal estate, she noticed several other cottages of roughly the same size. Each with rounded stone rock walls, wooden doors and open, glass-less windows, for light and air. Beautiful flower beds decorated the grounds immediately outside the cottages, so that their fragrances could easily be smelled from within the homes. Aside from huge vegetable patches, there were several large barns and outbuildings. Corralled outside in large pastures were sheep, cows and horses. "Ash, it's like going back in time here. What a beautiful place to live." Leanna beamed, then added, "I'm glad we have plumbing though." They both laughed. "We like to live a nature based life as much as possible, without technology, but some basic essentials, like plumbing have been a way of life here for a long time. Humans aren't the only ones who are inventive" he said with a chuckle. "Come I will show you the stables."
The huge royal stables were immaculately kept, in spite of being a home for the royal horses. There were about twenty stalls in the first building they entered. The man inside feeding the horses turned to smile at them both as they approached.
"Hello, good sir, and to what do I owe the pleasure?" he smiled, his eyes sparkling.
"Hi Jack, just showing my friend our lovely village. She's just visiting," Ash stepped forward to introduce Leanna and as she put out her hand toward Jack, he glanced at the glowing amulet that was slightly visible through the top of her dress. Her hand immediately went to it to obscure it.
"Oh, is that right now...visiting you say?" he pretended not to have noticed and reached a hand out with a smile.
"Best keep her close to you my dear young man. You never know who is about..." He stepped back and bowed his head slightly, Ash's eyes grew slightly larger when Jack made a nodding motion toward the back of the stables. Ash quickly turned to Leanna and putting his hands to her shoulders, he turned her away from Jack, looking back long enough to whisper, "thank you" to him. "Ash, what's going on?" she asked, suddenly feeling afraid as Ash was giving off an energy she hadn't felt from him before. "Is everything okay?"
"Shh, we have to get out of here," he said, moving to place an arm around Leanna's shoulder, he quickened his pace.
Leanna almost had to jog to keep up with Ash's long strides, as he pulled her along the dirt path, away from the stables. As they hurried past another out building, they turned left and entered a wooded area. Ash ducked down and pulled Leanna with him, placing his hand gently on her head. Crouched amongst the trees Leanna whispered."What's going on?"
Ash remained silent for a few moments and appeared to be listening to something. Leanna tried to listen as well, but there were too many sounds to pinpoint any one thing standing out. She could hear voices talking, animals rustling around, as well as random thoughts from the other townsfolk.
Then one voice seemed to drown out the rest. It was a male voice, an angry male voice and when she heard it she gasped and shrunk even further toward the ground. Her stomach tied in knots, she felt a great fear rise in her chest.
'Is that Girvyn?' She sent her thought to Ash. He nodded, 'He was in the stable' his own thoughts responded.
"Does he know I am here?" Leanna whispered. Ash leaned closer to Leanna, his breath hot and moist against her hair,
"I think he may, yes. Jack tipped me off that Girvyn was there. He only realized who you were when he saw the amulet. We need to get back to the cottage. It isn't safe yet though. I need to go and see if Girvyn has left." He stood tall and then sent out the thought, 'stay here and don't move. I will come back for you.'
"Ash wait!..." but he was gone before she could finish her sentence. Leanna plopped her bottom down onto the forest floor and hugged her knees to her chest, hoping no one would see her, or hear her thoughts as she hid from her uncle.
Ash returned to the forest about fifteen minutes later, looking much calmer than he had when he left. He put his hand out to help Leanna up off the ground. Taking his warm hand in hers she didn't want to let it go once she was standing, so she grasped it firmly and looked up at him. "What happened?" she asked, watching as his strong jaw flexed slightly before breaking into a smile. He took her other hand so he was holding both together and he gazed into her eyes.
"Jack knows you are our queen, but he's on our side. He doesn't think Girvyn should be ruler
, so he won't say anything. He told me he doesn't think that Girvyn saw you, but I am not so sure. Girvyn's gone out on his horse, with some men, he is not expected back for several hours. We have to get home." He let go of Leanna's hands and turned to lead the way out of the woods. As they made their way quickly back down the cobblestone path to Ash's cottage, Leanna noticed some of the townsfolk looking in their direction, talking to each other as they did so. Quickening her pace she grabbed Ash's arm with both hands and pulled in close to him. He looked down at her, as he reached to open the door of the cottage, his lips a thin line, his face showing concern. Once inside they walked into the sitting room. Leanna sat on her favorite sofa facing the unused fireplace and Ash paced back and forth in front of her.
"I was foolish to take you outside. I let my guard down." He said admonishing himself.
"Ash, it's okay. I'm okay" Leanna said reassuringly.
"It's not. It's too soon for people to know you are here. If you are asked to retake the throne before you are ready, it will not be safe," his face looked strained, as he stopped to stand in front of Leanna looking down at her.
Leanna looked up into the handsome face that she was quickly growing to love, "but if Jack saw my amulet, don't you think people are going to find out that I'm here?"
"Perhaps. But so long as you are in my home, you're safe."
"I can't stay inside forever Ash. At some point I'm going to have to face Girvyn"
Ash sat down on the sofa beside Leanna and turned slightly to face her. "You will face him...when you are ready...and not a moment before. Princess, I need you to stay inside for now. I must go and speak to some of the other knights who are on our side."
Leanna pushed herself up off the sofa and stood to face Ash, frustration and fear setting in. "I don't want to be a prisoner here Ash. I love to be outside, I have to...I can't stand to be cooped up." Her lower lip trembled slightly.
Ash rose from the sofa and stood close to Leanna reaching out to touch her face with both hands.
"I promise you won't be trapped inside for long. I just need you to wait a couple more days...a week at most. Please." He said softly as his thumb moved across her cheek comforting her with his touch. Leanna nodded and felt the warmth from Ash that she had come to love and expect from him. He clearly cared about her, greatly and she wanted to fall into his arms and have him tell her everything was going to be okay. Ash moved his hands down to her shoulders and kept them there for a moment as he looked into her eyes, his brow furrowing.
"I am your sworn knight... your protector...I will not let anything happen to you and I won't take anymore chances with your safety," he said somberly, before releasing his hands and turning away from Leanna. She had been hopeful for a moment, that he might kiss her and tell her how much he loved her. Instead he headed for the door, leaving her hopes dashed once again. She looked down at the spot where he'd just sat next to her moments earlier. Way to go Leanna, she thought as she headed to her room.
Closing the door to her room she went to the window to gaze outside, where the townsfolk were working in the gardens. Leaning against the window ledge to smell the crisp clean air, she heard a female voice say her name. She moved her head back into the room so she wouldn't be seen at the window, but could still listen to the conversation.
"I heard Freya speak of her, then I saw her with Ash last week. I just heard that he has been seen with her near the stables, only a little while ago." A familiar female voice said.
"How do you know it's her?" An older male voice asked.
"He said she wore the Amulet of Burana" The female seemed to be enjoying the juicy gossip.
"Where did she come from? I thought the queens daughter died?" The male voice sounded unconvinced.
"Clearly not! I saw her with my own eyes and after what I've heard today, Girvyn is going to force Ash and Freya to turn her over to him."
Leanna gasped and pulled even further back from the window, pressing her back against the wall for support. Her mind raced. Then suddenly it hit her, the familiar female voice, it was the woman whose son Ash had saved. She must have put two and two together after talking to Jack in the stables. Leanna stood beside the window cocking her head slightly, to hear anything else the pair might be gossiping about. She heard the male voice clear his throat before saying rather loudly, "What do you think will happen if she tries to take back the throne?"
"I'm not sure, but I think we've lived under the darkness of Girvyn for long enough. It's time a woman ruled the lands again and I mean to stand and fight with her...if that's what she wants!" the female voice said with pride.
"Me too! Never made any sense to me, to change what has been tradition for thousands of years. I miss our queen and I am damn sure not going to see her daughter destroyed, like her mother was. So when do we fight?" he said trying to sound as brave as possible. Leanna smiled to herself and felt a feeling of pride wash over her. These people didn't even know her, yet they were prepared to fight for her. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all. Then she remembered what the female had said, that Girvyn was going to force Ash and Freya to turn her over. She hugged herself and closed her eyes. There has to be something I can do. She knew Ash wouldn't give her up freely and she didn't want to see them get hurt because of her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ash returned to the cottage with several other men, all tall and muscle bound knights just like Ash. Leanna had come out of her room to get herself a drink, when they returned. When Ash saw her, he smiled briefly, "Would you mind joining us in the sitting room please?" Leanna nodded, grabbed her glass and followed the men into the sitting room. Each man remained standing, as she moved around the sofa to what she now considered, her spot. She sat down as eight Fae knights stood in a straight line, two men deep, staring at her curiously. Raising her glass to her lips, she looked at the floor to avoid their eyes, feeling self conscious, she held the glass to her lips a few minutes longer than necessary. Ash spoke in a strong deep voice, "Princess Leanna, these men are your knights..." waving an arm in their direction, one by one each Fae stood before her, bowed and spoke his name. The first to introduce himself stood about an inch shorter than Ash. His dark blond hair tied back, pale blue eyes sparkling with kindness, he bowed his head, as he knelt before Leanna,
"I am Roderick, I will follow you as my future queen." She smiled and nodded back, placing her glass on the table next to her and sitting up straight. Roderick took a step back and the next knight came forward, doing much the same thing as the first. "I am Tarrin, my queen. I pledge my sword and life to you." Tarrin had brown hair, blue eyes and a long thin face. Leanna nodded as he got up off his knee and returned to the back of the group. As she smiled and nodded to each knight's introduction, she noticed their clothing was more what she would expect of a knight, each wearing dark colored trousers, breast and arm plates made of polished metal, over dark colored sleeveless tunics. Each of them were furnished with sword and shield. Each shield emblazoned with a pair of angelic like wings. These men had the presence of true warriors. Though she had seen Ash with his sword, he had not yet worn armor around Leanna, so it was easy for her to forget sometimes that he was a knight. When the introductions were finished, Ash stepped forward again and looked down at Leanna on the sofa. "Most of these knights work in the palace, but are not loyal to the king. We are not sure of the intentions of some of the other guards. However, you can trust these eight men. We have come up with a plan. Tarrin will stand guard outside the house and accompany you if I cannot." He said firmly. Before he had a chance to continue, Leanna put her hand up and spoke, "I overheard a conversation earlier. Two of the towns folk were discussing the fact that I am here."
Ash raised his eyebrows "Who were they, how did you hear the conversation?"
"Relax, I was at my..er..your bedroom window and I overheard them. I think the woman was the one whose son you saved when I first arrived here. The male voice...I don't know. They didn't know I was there, within earshot. I heard them say
they would fight for me to become queen," she said as she raised her chin in the air with a sense of pride. Ash's face relaxed then and he put his hands on his hips. "Well that's good news. I told you that people would side with you taking over the throne." The other men nodded and smiled as well. "So what's this plan to make it happen?" Leanna asked with interest.
"We know that Girvyn now suspects you've returned. We know he will seek to discredit you, but since you have the amulet of Burana in your possession, the people will not side with him for long. We must prepare you though, proving your heritage will not be as easy as just showing the amulet. You must provide evidence of your power to be queen, as well as your knowledge of the Fae realm. If people know you haven't been living in our realm, you may have some resistance to your taking back the throne. Your training begins tomorrow. We will teach you how to protect yourself. Our biggest concern is Girvyn's use of magic and we want to keep you safe."
"I don't think the people I overheard know I haven't been in the Fae realm, in fact they thought I had died...at least that's what I gathered from their conversation." Leanna said.
"Good, but there will be some who will doubt... not the older ones, they will know...or they will suspect you've been hidden in the human realm, for the years you've been gone. Only a handful of people know we sent you to live with the humans, many of the townspeople have no idea what really happened. These men," Ash motioned to the knights in the room, "will follow you and as your personal guards we will see to it that you are restored to the throne and reclaim your birthright."
"I don't know about that Ash. There is still so much I don't know about this world and I don't know the first thing about being a queen."