"No, thank you. I'd rather try to be inconspicuous." And I knew I could be if I could just get past his watchful eye.
He shook his head. "You do know that as king you are even more of a target than as the prince. Especially since you have yet to claim the crown. I would feel better knowing that you were safely guarded. The Council and your parents would likely agree."
I shifted my weight from foot to foot and Griswold's movements mimicked mine. Loyalty was his greatest virtue, but right now it was also the biggest pain.
I tossed my hands up in the air and dropped my shoulders in defeat. "All right, go fetch some guards. I guess things around here need to change."
"Very well, sir. I think that is most wise." He scurried down the hall, his head tweaked over his shoulder to watch me until he couldn't any longer. The second Griswold broke contact I ran for the door and slid out into the night. I nodded at the two guards by the main door, slowing my steps to avoid suspicion, then slipped off into the garden.
The moon hung full and bright and cast an eerie blue glow over the slumbering flowers. Not a whisper of wind blew through the trees. Even the stars hid their faces to avoid seeing too much. A perfect night for a perfect plan.
I sat on the edge of the lion fountain and stared down into the water. My handsome features stared back, a hint of apprehension in their glare. I closed my eyes.
"Be inconspicuous."
Looking back down into the pool I watched the change overtake my face. My hair grew three inches, straighter, stringier and hanging limp in my near-black eyes. My nose developed a small upturn as my thick jaw slimmed in the rippled reflection below. In the water, stood a different person. An exciting newcomer. One I might pass on the street without even noticing. The ultimate disguise.
I fidgeted with my cloak, the operation of the clasp odd with my recently adopted more slender fingers then took one last look at my new self. The large white moon ringed this stranger's head like a halo and I chuckled, the sound falling dead in the calm night. I wasn’t anything close to an angel, and a feeling twitched in my bones that tonight would be anything but good.
As I crossed the golden bridge to Mosa, the entire city lay out in front of me, shiny and new through my stranger’s eyes. The lantern lights blazed brighter. The colorful shutters and awnings popped against the rows of stone buildings in a fresh way, the simplistic beauty sinking into my borrowed skin and leaving a tingling sense of awe in my blood.
I walked down the cobblestone streets with my head held high, and not one person cared. Other then the occasional polite wave or nod of recognition, everyone went about their way unfazed by the acting king walking among them.
No one moved out of their way for me to pass or stared when I walked by. Even the reporters, standing vigil near the castle for any glimpse of potential gossip, ignored my presence. This strange magic turned me into a ghost, haunting the city with only a select few able to see me as I floated past. The pressure lifted from my shoulders. A relief. A freedom. A glorious vacation from myself--even if it only lasted one night.
Eventually, my feet led me down a familiar road. The sign for Takka’s Tavern swung above the door as the sounds of music and laughter poured out into the street. I hesitated with my hand on the door handle. The last time I'd cross this threshold I'd run away like a coward. This time needed to be different.
I held my breath and swung the door open, the smell of hops and smoke twisting around me like a charmer’s snake. Bodies packed around the bar, the room already more than half full with still so many hours of night left to drown. It seemed a bit early for the crowd this size, but maybe I'd been roaming the streets longer than I thought. Veda’s regular corner table sat empty. My shoulders dropped a bit as even though she'd gone into hiding part of me hoped I’d look over and see her face scrunched in concentration, pouring over her books. But I didn’t know why I bothered hoping anymore. She wouldn’t appear again until she wanted to be found. Until then, I’d just have to wait.
I squeezed my way up to the bar and waited my turn as Mr. Takka raced around slinging glass mugs to the impatient patrons. Eventually, he made his way to my side of the bar. He pointed at my face, his shirt already rolled up to his elbows with spots of water or ale dotted on the front.
"What can I get you?”
I smiled. The unamused look on his face meant my disguise was still in place and working exactly as it should.
"A pint of ale, please, kind sir.”
He raced away before I barely finished my order, his hands working quickly to pour the drink from the tap and slide it back down toward me. I slipped a bill on the bar and he quickly stuffed it into his pocket then moved down the line. I lifted my glass and took a deep swig in celebration. I’d become a nobody and it felt amazing.
“Haven't seen you around here before?"
I froze, glass in hand, hovering it just above the wooden bartop. An all-too-familiar voice. Kalmin.
I ran my hand through my long hair and let it fall over my features, masking any possible chinks in my magical armor. "Pardon me?”
Kalmin nudged up next to me at the bar and stuck out his hand. "I don't ever remember seeing you around. Are you new in town or just trying out a new place?”
I took his hand and shook it. No reaction met his face as our skin touched.
"I've been around. I guess I just like to keep to myself."
"Very well. You do look a little bit familiar now that I look at you closer." His face scrunched up as he placed his hand on his chin and narrowed his stare.
I took another drink, masking as much of my face as I could, and stole the last inch of space behind me that I could in these close quarters. "Maybe. But you're always hanging around with that flashy Prince Fallon. When you have friends like that, it's probably harder to notice the other people on the outside."
Kalmin took a step back creating some much-needed space between us, his arms crossed tight over his chest and a faraway look in his eyes. "Yeah. But I don't see the prince very often anymore."
"Oh. Did something happen?"
I bit the inside of my cheek and fought the urge to yell ‘of course, you turned your back on me when I needed you.’ But why would I risk blowing an opportunity like this? This sudden strike of coincidence far too delicious to let it pass by.
"I'm not quite sure. People just change, I guess.”
"I see. But was he the one who changed or was it you?”
Kalmin angled his head down, his stare becoming hooded. "Maybe a bit of both. Where did you say you were from again?”
"I didn't." I grabbed my mug from the bar and bolted into the crowd, leaving Kalmin standing alone with the thought of the real me left to plague him. He didn’t seem to care as confusion twisted with the red anger building over his face.
I took a huge gulp of frosty ale and savored the sensation as it slid down my throat. It'd been too long and I missed the taste, but unless I planned to build a tavern in the castle, I needed to find a new regular spot. I pulled my arms in closer and squeezed through the bodies, heading for the open air on the far side of the tavern.
Oomph!
My arm holding the glass bumped someone beside me. Liquid sloshed over the side of my mug and splashed on my victim’s shirt. Veda’s emerald eyes sparkled up at me, even through her wicked irritated frown.
"I'm sorry, miss,” I said as I stabilized my glass and attempted to brush the spot off her shoulder.
She jerked back out of my reach and rolled her eyes, her attitude about tavern guys still unchanged. “It's fine. Just be more careful next time."
"Of course, I'm sincerely sorry.”
She flipped her hand in dismissal and shook her head, then retreated to her usual corner then arranged her books in her ritualistic way.
I squeezed back into line at the bar and ordered another drink, then slowly, carefully, I maneuvered my way across the crowded tavern. Her head hung down deep in thought already as her left hand scribbled away and she twirled a thi
ck strand of dark hair around her right index finger.
I slid the drink onto her table and she glanced up through her inky black eyelashes.
"What's this?” she asked flatly. No expression to read and see if I'd played things right.
"I wanted you to know that I really am sorry for spilling on you. The people here can be so rude sometimes and I didn't want you to get that impression of me."
Her lips curved into a smile, but I didn’t know whether it be the peace offering, the snipe, or a reflexive reaction to the beaming grin my borrowed mouth gave her.
"Well, in that case, thank you. You’re forgiven."
She turned back to her notebook, all the lines perfectly spaced with a rhythmic slanting cursive. As I stood by waiting for her to say anything else, I glanced back toward the bar. No one seemed to notice us. Glorious.
I slid into the chair opposite her.
She closed the cover of her book and leaned forward on her elbows. "Can I help you with something?”
"No. I was just wondering what you're working on?”
She glanced down at the notebook, then back to me, then the book again. "You might think it's dumb, but there is a writing competition coming up and I’m hoping to enter."
"Why would that be dumb?” I stretched my legs out and tried to make myself comfortable in the hard wooden chair. “If it's something you want, then I say you need to go for it before you talk yourself out of it. Do you think you stand a chance of winning?”
She sighed, her posture curving forward as her body deflated. "I don't know. Some days I do, but I've been really distracted lately. Too many things going on in my head to get words down on the page.”
"I get that.”
She perked up and her voice raised an octave. "Are you a writer too?”
"No," I stared down at the beer in my hand. Maybe that's what she needed, a smarter, more intellectual type to challenge her. "I just know what it's like for other things to get in the way of what you want. Kind of feels like you’re trapped in a cage, but too afraid to check the lock.”
Her left eyebrow crooked up, as if it triggered her brain to process my words, then she wrinkled her nose and took a drink of her ale. “Kind of. Yeah.”
I leaned back and watched. Every insignificant movement stirred something within me. The way her fingers laced through the handle of the mug, made me want to tangle them in mine. Her hair falling over her shoulder ached for me to brush it back and trace the sensitive skin around her ear. Her neck stretched so my lips could kiss the delicate spot where it met her shoulder. And as her eyes blinked slow and slack, I pictured us in the dark, dreaming beside each other.
“...and you are?”
I shook my head as her voice cut through my imagination. “Sorry, what?”
“I said, my name is Veda, and you are? Did you just drift off on me?”
“No...I...just thinking about something. My name’s--” Think. Think. Think. “--Amir.”
Hopefully, the Captain wouldn’t be too upset that I stole his name. I tipped my head forward and my hair fell over my face. I tucked it behind my ear, but it dropped down again. Next time I picked a new face I’d have to remember to conjure a shorter hairstyle, or at least tie it back.
“Well, Amir, what are you doing here in Mosa?”
“Living life.” I laughed. “But what do you mean. I’m an Aborian. I’ve always been here.”
“Oh.” She jerked up straighter and wrinkled her nose. “ I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here. I have a bad habit of watching people and I don’t think I’ve ever crossed your path before.”
“You watch people?”
She leaned back in her chair and shrugged. “Nothing creepy. I just prefer to observe rather than participate. Maybe it’s the writer in me.”
“Maybe. But I’m not surprised. It happens a lot where people don’t know who I am. I kind of like it. It’s freeing. Being a mystery. Being a nobody.”
“Yeah, I’m a nobody too.” Her voice dropped low as a pained expression clouded her face.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No,” she sighed. “I understand what you mean. The anonymity of it all. But I never realized what being a nobody meant until recently. That apparently it does matter. I wish I’d paid more attention to that earlier.”
I leaned across the table and tried to hold her gaze, but she looked away. “Why? I don’t know you all that well, but you seem like you’re above all that nonsense.”
“It’s nothing. There was just someone...this guy.”
Me. She was talking about me and how stupid I’d been to open my mouth that day by the forest. The hurt pinched at her smile and stabbed me in the gut. That uncertainty. That pain. It was all my fault.
“Hey. Look at me.”
She listened as miles of distance unfolded in her eyes.
“Whoever this guy is, he probably didn’t mean it or he’d quickly learn that he’d made a huge mistake. Anyone who really knows you at all wouldn’t ask you to change who you were. He’d be a fool to do that, and I’m sure wherever he is he’s beating himself up over hurting you.”
“Maybe.” She nodded then rested her elbow on the table, her chin in her hand. “You’re very sweet, Amir. Very insightful too. Thank you.”
“No problem. You’re a very easy person to just be yourself around.” Even if I didn’t really look like myself she still drew it out of me. Like cracking open an oyster and pulling out the pearl inside. “Besides, you’re smart, you’re beautiful--”
Veda tipped her head back and laughed. Hard enough to shake the table, the ale shimmying in our glasses.
“What?”
“Um. Nice line, but you should take a look around. If you came here looking for beautiful, I’m definitely not it. Why don’t you try her?” She pointed toward a gorgeous redhead near the bar. “Or her?” A mysterious brunette a few tables over.
“But I didn’t come here looking for anything, I just found you by a stroke of luck.”
She rolled her eyes.
“And you’re wrong about them. They look beautiful, but I have no idea if they are beautiful.”
“Really? Don’t they mean the same thing?”
“I thought so too, but they don’t.” I pulled my chair forward, the legs scraping on the tavern floor as I closed the gap between us. “A gorgeous face doesn’t make a smile beautiful, it’s the warmth and spirit of the person that gives it a glow. True beauty makes others beautiful. It grabs ahold of you and attracts the positive like a magnet, pulling it to the surface. Beautiful people are a force of nature, not just pretty pictures to hang on a wall.”
“Oh.” Her lips parted and I thought I heard her gasp over the noise of the room, but maybe I was being hopeful. I watched her lips move. The deep, red lips I regretted not kissing so many times over the last few days.
“How did a nobody like you get so perceptive, Amir?”
The world stopped moving, no other sounds but her and me.
I inched closer, my hands trembling and threatening to drop me onto the tabletop. “Because one day I found a true beauty and I’ve never been the same.”
My lips grazed hers. A second. A whisper. Then she pulled back and I fell forward. Her books knocked to the floor with a loud thud.
People stared. The world spun again, faster than before. I dropped back into my chair and swept up the books in my left hand, then stacked them on the table. Veda’s face flushed bright red.
“I’m sorry. But we’ve just met. I’m not--”
“No. I’m sorry. I just got into the moment and I thought, that you thought, that...never mind. I’m sorry.”
I grabbed the back of my neck and tipped my head to stare at the ceiling. I’d blown it. Of course, I did. She had no idea who I really was. I considered dropping the mask, but in the room of crowded people, it would not go unnoticed. Besides, even though I hadn’t planned on coming here to trick her, she’d likely feel even more betrayed if she knew the truth.
She slid her books toward her and started piling them in her bag. “I think I should probably go.”
“No.” I stood up and pushed in my chair. “It’s my fault. I should go.”
She continued collecting her books. “No really. This whole thing just reminded me of something else, and now I just want to leave.”
“Of someone, you mean?”
She nodded.
“Do you love him? This someone?”
She stopped and wrapped her hand into a fist, knocking it on the tabletop. “I don’t know. I might. I’m still mad at him, but I think I might.”
I stepped around the side of the table, closer, but with as much personal space as I could manage. “Then if he were here right now, standing in front of you instead of me, what would you say to him?”
“I’d tell him...I’d tell him he’s an idiot.” She laughed, even though her eyes started to fill with tears. “And then I’d tell him that I miss him, and I can’t stop thinking about him even though I try so hard not to. And that I understand what happened, but it doesn’t mean it still didn’t hurt.”
She wiped her eyes and tried to smile, the glassy tears still falling down her cheeks.
“I think you need to find this guy and talk to him. I’m sure he feels awful too.”
She blinked and looked up to the ceiling. “I’ll think about it.”
“Can you do me one favor though? Can you please just wait here for a few minutes? Keep working on your writing, pretend I was never here, but just wait.”
She collapsed back into her chair. “Fine.”
I ran for the door. No more games. She needed to know how I felt. That I was sorry. That I felt the same way about her. I disappeared into the dark alleyway and faced the wall.
“Be me again.”
The tingle rose through my body as the fringe of hair covering my eyes disappeared from view. I looked at my hands and felt around my face. Seemed right. No time to check, but no time to lose either. I pulled my hood over my head and bolted back into the tavern.
Fallon: Son of Beauty and the Beast (Kingdom of Fairytales Boxset Book 6) Page 18