Betrayals of Spring (5 page)

“I’m going to go fetch my things and
I’ll meet you downstairs, OK?” she says, trying to sound cheerful. I smile at
her again before her retreating form leaves me to a room full of silence.
Finally, I get a chance to have some peace and quiet before making this journey
to the dreaded Winter Court. I look down at my packed clothes and for this trip
I have traded my usual Summer clothes and replaced them with pants,
long-sleeved shirts, and jackets. My gown for the ball, however, is not
long-sleeved, so I’m sure I’ll be freezing the whole time. I’m going for a
daring look this year. I unzip the garment bag to take a look at the one thing
that is going to set me apart from the others. The ball is supposed to be a
black and white affair, but there is nothing white or black in my bag. My
parents are going to be none too pleased to see what I have in store for the
ball.

My dress is a bright, fire red with an
empire waist. The top is formed in a halter top style that wraps around the
back of my neck. Red rubies are fastened across the top half of the dress with
gold threading. They stop mid-stomach where the dress then flows gracefully
down to the floor. The top fits a little snug and pushes my breasts together
showing off the cleavage I now have. This is definitely going to get everyone
talking, and I can’t wait to see their faces when I show up. Not even the
people close to me know that I have this dress. With a big smile on my face, I
begin zipping my dress back up in the garment bag when in walks Ashur, my
Guardian.

He stops mid-step and stares at me
wide-eyed.

“What do you think you are doing?” he
exclaims in my mind.

I burst out laughing hearing his
exasperation in my mind. I’m in my warrior leathers with my gold armor
breastplate and greaves. I have my brown leather vambraces tightly secured
around my forearms, and my thick, auburn hair is pulled into a tight braid that
hangs down my back. My bow and arrows are strapped and secure on my back as
well. Not only does Ashur carry our special Guardian dagger, but I also carry
some special weapons of my own. My arrows have been fortified with both mine
and Ashur’s blood making them just as lethal as the dagger. I have planned to
ride to the Winter Court on horseback instead of riding in a carriage. I have
no intentions of letting anyone stop me from doing this, not even my guardian.

“What do you think?”
I ask
sarcastically.

“I think you need to change, Meliantha.
You are a princess and you should act like one.”

“Oh, by being the helpless pretty girl
that relies on everyone to take care of her? No, thanks. I plan on changing
into a gown before the ball, so get the sword out of your ass and calm down,” I
tease.

He lets out an annoyed breath and speaks
aloud, “I do not have a sword up my ass, but it’s my job to make sure you’re
protected, and by the way you’re dressed, I’m assuming you plan on riding with
the warriors?”

“That’s the plan, and I promise to stay
right by your side…Achilles,” I laugh.

I give him a huge smile and he shakes
his head and rolls his eyes. He hates it when I call him that, but he does look
like the actor who played Achilles in the movie Troy. Calista and I had watched
that movie in the mortal realm a while back. Ashur is very tall with his
six-foot four frame and warrior body. His dark blond hair touches down below his
shoulders and his eyes are the greenest I have ever seen, they’re almost as
bright as Calista’s. He’s a very good-looking man and I mean it as a compliment
when I tell him he looks like Achilles. He happens to be over two centuries
old, but his body only looks to be in his late twenties. That’s one of the
advantages to being a faerie. Thankfully, he has no romantic feelings for me,
but I have seen in his mind how he feels about my friend, Elissa. Needless to
say, I have seen my friend unclothed in his mind one too many times.

“You know I hate it when you call me
Achilles,” he groans.

“And I will keep calling you that until
you give in to me. Either way, this is how I’m going to the Winter Court, end
of discussion,” I argue.

He throws his hands up in the air and
relents, “Fine, Princess, but when the king decides to scold me I’ll happily
point him in your direction. Are we clear?”

I give Ashur a huge smile and say,
“Thank you, and don’t you worry, I can handle my father.”

Ashur looks around at my bags and begins
to pick them up. I help him with the remaining bags and we head down to the
foyer of the palace where everyone will be waiting. On the way down, Ashur
speaks silently,
“Are you going to be OK going to the Winter Court,
Princess?”

This stops me cold, and he must notice
because he shifts around hesitantly before meeting my eyes. He continues, “I
only ask because I’ve felt the torment inside of you all these years, but I’ve
never said anything about it. I just want to know what Kalen did to you that
made you close your heart. I know you’re with Finn now, but you still keep your
heart guarded.”

“That’s the thing, Ashur. Nothing
happened between me and Kalen,” I say aloud. He gives me a disbelieving look,
so I continue more forcefully. “I’ll be fine. I’m strong now and nothing and no
one is going to hurt me anymore.”

His eyes go gentle when he murmurs, “I
know you’re strong, but you are mine to protect, and I don’t want to see you
get hurt.” Hearing his words softens my heart a little, and I can feel a slight
burn behind my eyes; however, I quickly brush it away and smile. He’ll make
someone very happy someday, maybe even Elissa.

“Thank you, Ashur. Elissa would be very
lucky to have you,” I respond, waiting for a reaction.

He just smiles and shakes his head. I was
expecting him to say something, but instead he leads me on our way. We make it
to the grand staircase and I see everyone down below standing around waiting on
me. I did take a little extra time in preparing for departure, but I’m not
exactly in a hurry to get to the Winter Court. I look at each one individually
as I make my way down the marble steps. I see Elissa giving Ashur a timid
smile, and I sneak a peek to my side to see Ashur return it with one of his
own.

“Do not say a word, Meliantha,” he warns
silently.

“I’m not Ashur, but I think you need to
tell her how you feel.”

His reply is a grunt so I just laugh and
continue on down the steps. My sister, Ariella, is in her own world checking
over her bags. Training with the warriors has changed her in a good way. She
still likes to play her tricks and cause mischief, but the past five years have
turned her from a self-centered girl to a woman. In a few months she will be
twenty-one and everything will change for her once she gets her guardian. I
know there are plenty of warriors that are dying for the chance to be her
protector. I take my eyes away from my beautiful blonde sister to my brother
Drake. His fire red eyebrows are raised and he’s smirking at me with a quirk to
his lip. I know he’s not surprised to see me in my warrior attire, but I think
he is waiting to see how I handle our parents. Finn is standing off to the side
and he has a huge smile on his face. His glowing amber eyes are feasting on my
body with pride and it makes me smile. He always says he loves me in my
leathers and that the way it hugs my body turns him on. I normally just roll my
eyes at him when he says stuff like that, but it’s nice to be admired. I spent
years with the warriors never noticing me, and now it’s like they can’t get enough.
It’s been very interesting the past couple of years. I take a deep breath
before looking at my parents, and when I see them their shocked expressions are
just what I am expecting. Leave it to my mother to make an outburst.

“Meliantha! Just where do you think you
are going looking like that?” my mother, Queen Tatiana, argues.

I was expecting her hostility, but to
avoid a screaming match, I say nonchalantly, “I’m going to the Winter Court and
I’m going to ride with the warriors alongside Finn and Ashur. I’m no longer a
child or a frilly little princess that has to hide inside of a carriage. I am
proud to be who I am, and this is
my
decision.”

My mother looks at Ashur and he gives
her an apologetic look. She huffs in aggravation before walking out the front
doors. Drake gives me a grin and a thumbs up before walking out after my
mother. Ariella just shakes her head and smiles before leaving the room. Finn
and Elissa decide to hang back with Ashur and me; meanwhile, my father comes up
to me and takes my face in his hands.

“We’re just worried about you, dear. The
dark sorcerer will come after you one day and we need to be careful. This is
the first time you’re venturing out, so you can’t blame us for wanting to keep
you safe. You’re an excellent fighter, but that doesn’t mean you’re
invincible.” He looks back and forth between Ashur and Finn and commands,
“Watch her, both of you. I don’t think you want to know what I’ll do to you if
something bad happens to her.”

They both look like they’re trying to
swallow a brick and it takes everything in me to keep from smiling. They bow
their heads and reply together, “Yes, Your Highness.”

My father turns around and makes his way
out the door. The servants are milling about gathering my family’s things to
load them into the carriages. Ashur gives a quick glance to Elissa and then
turns to me.

“I am going to get your horse ready. I
will see you out there,” he says silently.

He nods to both Finn and Elissa and then
strides toward the front doors.

Elissa watches him saunter away and
quickly exclaims, “I’m going to go, too. See you out there!” She runs off to
catch up with Ashur and trails beside him on the way out the door. I can’t help
but smile as I watch. Ashur needs to find someone that will love him, and
Elissa would be the perfect woman.

Finn leans down to kiss my cheek and
whispers, “You look amazing, Mel. You and leather go together perfectly.”

I smile and give him a wink while
looking appreciatively down his body. He has his long hair pulled back and he’s
wearing his complete warrior gear. Tonight he’ll be in a tuxedo and on my arm
the whole night. He’s my date for the evening so wearing his warrior gear will
not be needed. Hopefully, he can keep my mind off of a certain Winter Prince.

I reach up to run his long, silky hair
through my fingers before asking, “Will you wear your hair down for me
tonight?”

He smiles and moves closer to me, “I
will do whatever you wish for me to do, Mel.” Giving me a wolfish grin he
continues, “That way it’ll already be down the way you like it when I take you
to bed tonight.”

He leans down to quickly kiss my lips
before gathering his things to exit out the front doors. He’s such a good man,
and he deserves someone so much better than me. Thankfully, he’s never told me
he loves me, which I’m glad about. I want to keep our relationship
uncomp-licated. He doesn’t seem to mind the arrangement we have now. My family
knows that I am seeing him, but they keep their thoughts silent from me. They
know that once I find the one I am drawn to it’ll be over between me and Finn.
The thought makes my heart ache with the loss of one day losing him. He’s been
an amazing friend and a passionate lover to me for the past five years. I do
have my heart guarded by a thick wall, but I still feel enough to know that
I’ll miss him when the time comes.

I guess my time of procrastinating is
over since I’m now standing alone in the foyer. I walk to the front doors of
the palace and I look around at the land that doesn’t feel like a home to me
anymore. The sense of belonging just isn’t there, and I don’t know where I
belong. I really hope to figure it out someday
.

I have never been to the Winter Court
before, but I have been through parts of the Mystical Forest. My horse, Prince
Ashe, has been my riding companion ever since I was a little girl. I remember
being little and trying to tie a purple ribbon in his hair. He didn’t like what
I was doing and made sure to let me know by nipping my hand. It hurt and I
remember crying like a baby. I never tried to tie ribbons in his hair again.
Prince Ashe is a midnight black fae horse with sparkly silver eyes. He’s a
little bigger than a mortal horse and his life longevity is five times as long
as one, too. He’s all dark with his black saddle and reigns, and boots that are
black as night with silver spikes. He looks like a menacing creature, but he is
as gentle as can be.