Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (15 page)

Syney didn't like the way he was talking. There was an edge to his comments that she hadn't heard before. She stood up, walked up behind him, and placed a hand on his back. He quickly moved away from her but turned to face her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "You need to get dressed."

Syney nodded and headed over to the laid-out dresses. "Which one?"

"Doesn't matter."

She scoffed. "You really are a man."

"I'll be outside," he said, heading for the door.

"Are you coming with me?"

He stopped and glanced at her. "I can."

She nodded. "Please. It'll...make it a little less uncomfortable."

He gave her a curt nod before leaving the room, closing the door solidly behind him.

Noelle

He was a Vampire, she could tell. That didn't mean she was afraid like most Magic Users would be; she was more intrigued than anything else. It had been a long time since she had seen a Vampire, and it was unheard of to let them into the Village. How had Syney gotten herself involved with one? She willed herself not to look over at him—mostly because she knew he was looking directly at her, and had been since she had stepped into the hallway. Instead she put all of her attention on Herb, who finally had caught his breath.

"You OK?" she asked.

Herb nodded and shot a murderous look at Gabe.

"If you're trained to resist compulsion, you should know how fast Vampires can be," Gabe said.

Noelle dared a look at him, only to meet his glowing golden eyes trained on her face. She shivered and looked away quickly.

"I wasn't expecting you to run," Herb grumbled, his fists clenching harder by his sides.

"Are you from the Village?" Gabe asked.

Noelle stiffened at the question. She knew it was directed at her, and she really didn't want to answer it. Her mother, however, hadn't raised a rude girl, so she turned to him and smiled. "No, not originally."

He seemed to already know her answer and nodded as if she were confirming his suspicions. "Norlock?"

She shook her head at the name of an outlying Magic User territory. "Colden Creek."

A smile smoothed out his lips. "Really? I guess I missed the Creek dialect. It's usually pretty strong."

Herb frowned. "Yeah, you're right."

Noelle shrugged. "My mother taught me how to not pick it up. No one wants a handmaiden with a Creek accent."

"I guess that would be the best thing," Gabe said. He looked over at Herb. "It's always better not to have an unique servant, right?"

"Yeah, I guess...I mean, no...I..." Herb stammered.

"It's, OK, Herb. He's just trying to rattle me," Noelle said. She heard her mother's voice in the back of her mind.
Just stay calm and blend in. Don't let your temper flair, little girl
. She plastered on a smile and turned away from him. She wouldn't let a Vampire make her let her guard down.

"Maybe," Gabe said.

Noelle took a deep breath as she felt him step closer to her.

"Or maybe I just find you interesting," he breathed into her ear.

She forced herself not to shiver, an almost impossible task. She didn't have to for long, however. Syney's door opened, and Hunter walked out.

He glared at Gabe. "Syney needs help with the dress," he said, not taking his eyes off Gabe.

Noelle shot forward and closed the door behind her. This could not happen again. She made a note to never get near the Vampire again. She couldn't, not if she wanted to keep her secret.

Syney

Syney looked at herself in the full-length mirror in front of her. She didn't like the dress. It wasn't really the dress's fault. It was pretty enough but too restricting. The collar sat high on her chest, and the back was tied tightly, accentuating her jutting hips. The material—brown wool—was too thick and clawing. She wanted her jeans and sweaters. Screw being royal.

"You look great," Noelle said, coming up behind her.

"No, I don't." Syney walked away from the mirror. "I never realized my hips were this large."

"It's the corset."

Syney looked at her. "You're sweet, but I prefer honesty."

Noelle laughed. "It is the truth."

Syney grumbled.

Hunter was waiting out in the hallway for her, alone. She gave him a questioning look, to which he rolled his eyes. "Finally got him to his room."

"I guess that's a good thing," Syney said.

"I'll take her to see the queen," Hunter said to Noelle, who had moved to lead the way.

She nodded and retreated down the hallway.

"I like her," Syney said, following Hunter down the hall.

"She seems nice."

"You don't know her?"

"No."

It seemed odd to her that there was someone in the Village that Hunter didn't know—although her perspective was probably a little skewed. He was one of the only people she knew there, but that didn't mean he had to know everyone. They walked in silence through the maze of hallways and rooms. Syney was sure she never would remember how to get anywhere in this place. It needed a map with a big red star that said, "You are here," like all the zoos had. It wasn't just that the there were many different rooms and hallways, but they all looked exactly the same.

Finally they reached a room that was decked out in blue. There were blue banners on the walls, blue flags hanging, even blue rugs leading to large wooden double doors. Two men stood guard before the doors.

Hunter nodded to the both of them. "The queen has requested Syney's presence."

"The queen has been detained," one of the men said. "Princess Ariel gave birth an hour ago."

"Thank you." Hunter gave another nod and led Syney to one of the leather benches that lined the walls. "We can wait here."

Syney sat down and looked Hunter over. "Where is she?"

"At a naming ceremony."

"Wouldn't she have known she would be there? Why have me come all the way down here?"

Hunter seemed to hesitate to answer her questions.

"I thought you were going to help me out here?" she pleaded. "No one is telling me anything. I'm all for letting things settle, but I need some basic information about things." She pouted, leaned back against the wall, and crossed her arms. It was a move she had learned as a child. It also worked nine times out of ten—on her parents at least.

Hunter stood and paced a few times before finally waving her forward. "Come on."

She jumped up and followed Hunter again through the weaving halls.

Hundreds of people were loitering in another large room, not far from the queen's room. They were all talking among themselves, chatter filling the air. Hunter seemed to visibly become more comfortable as they weaved through the crowds. He even stopped a few times to greet several men and women. Syney smiled to them all, receiving awed and revered looks in return. They reached a set of stairs at the back of the room. Before they started to climb, a boy, maybe around fifteen, ran up to them and placed a hand on Hunter's arm.

"Hunter! Is it true you spent two whole days in the Human Realm?" he asked in a rush of words.

A genuine smile filled Hunter's face as he ruffled the kid's blond hair. "It's true. And I lived to tell the tale."

The kid laughed and looked at Syney. His eyes quickly grew wide. He leaned closer to Hunter and whispered, "Is that her?"

Hunter laughed and pulled the young man to face Syney. "This is my cousin, Roc. Roc, this is Syney."

"Wow," Roc said, his mouth as wide as his eyes.

Syney smiled and reached out her hand. "Hi, Roc. It's nice to meet you."

He looked at her hand. "Is this how you greet?" he asked.

She nodded. "Um, it's called a handshake."

The young man shook her hand. "Can I greet you the way we Lycins do?"

"Oh, um, OK,"

Quickly the boy leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips before backing off and running into the crowd.

Syney stared after him for a moment before looking at Hunter, who could hardly contain his laughter. "That kid just got a kiss out of me!" She paused. "And I totally fell for it."

Hunter nodded. "Yes, yes, you did."

Syney laughed. "I guess teenagers are the same everywhere you go."

"He's older than you think," Hunter said, heading up the stairs.

"He can't be much older than fifteen."

"Try thirty."

"No way," she said, as they reached a landing.

Hunter looked down at her. "Lycins age differently."

"So how old are you?"

"Old enough," he said with a smirk and turned to continue up the stairs.

Once at the top, Hunter led her to the middle of a balcony that overlooked an expansive room. The queen was there, along with several official-looking Magic Users. There was also a younger woman and man. The woman, her black hair pulled pack hurriedly and dark skin moist with sweat, sat in a golden wingchair, a small baby in her lap; the man stood behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder. At the center of the room was a large white basin with a fire raging inside it.

Hunter leaned down onto the marble railing and gestured to the young couple. "That's Princess Ariel, Prince Lazure, and their new baby," he whispered.

Syney mimicked the way he was leaning. "I thought that guy said she was only born an hour ago?"

"She was. The naming ceremony happens very quickly. It's a tradition. There are very few instances when it's all right to wait on it."

"So there must be more to it than just naming the kid, right? I mean, that chick must be in pain sitting there. There's no way I would do that, unless there was something important going on."

"There is."

Syney looked at him, waiting for more of an answer but realized quickly she wasn't going to get one. She did, however, get a good view of the look of complete and utter awe on Hunter's face. It wasn't an "Oh, crap, I just saw a ghost" or even a "You are the most beautiful person I have ever met" look—more like a man going to church for the first time and finally finding that feeling that only deep religion can give someone. This ceremony was about much more than just giving a kid a name.

He looked over at her. "You're going to miss it."

Syney looked back at the ceremony. A man, one who had been in the hall when they had come in, now stood by the fire.

"That's Leaf. You met him earlier. He's the head of the Royal Guard," Hunter said.

"Since the Allegiance, when our two races came together to live harmoniously, the naming ceremony has been a great and honorable tradition. It is our honor today to welcome this young royal into the world and to protect her until the end of time," Leaf said, striding over to the young couple.

"So this has to do with the Protectors?" Syney asked.

Hunter nodded. "Back when the originals were alive—the first Magic Users, Lycins, Vampires, so on—the races didn't interact much. But one day the youngest pup of the first Lycin was playing by a cliff and tumbled over the side. He would have died if a Magic User hadn't happened to be walking by. She quickly put up a net—made of magic—and saved the pup from the rocks. The Lycins vowed to repay the debt. A few years or so later, when the Allegiance of the Great Races was made, the Lycins pledged their lives in protection of the Magic Users. And thus the Royal Guard and Protectors were born."

"Wow. So an entire race is bearing the burden of one incident."

Hunter looked at her. "Being in service is an honorable way of life."

"Oh, I don't...I don't doubt that. I was just...talking. Sorry." Syney looked out at the ceremony, feeling uncomfortable under Hunter's critical stare.

Queen Mellisandrianna joined the young couple and took the baby out of her mother's arms. The babe gave an ear-piercing wail. The queen laughed. "The words of babes."

The audience laughed too. The young mother handed a piece of paper to Leaf. He bowed to her and went to stand next to the queen. Then he unfolded the paper and showed it to her.

Queen Mellisandrianna nodded. "Welcome, Princess Amerianna Graciella, daughter of Ariel of House Grendalin."

Everyone clapped as the baby began to whine again.

Leaf took the paper and tossed it into the fire, which responded by flaring up and turning green.