Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (21 page)

After almost a half-hour of walking endless halls and large rooms Syney finally gave up and sat down on a set of stairs.

"You look lost."

Syney looked up and met the most amazing blue eyes she ever had seen. And from there, her view only got better. She smiled as she looked him over. His dark-brown hair was on the longer side, falling just below his ears, and his face had to have been modeled after a Greek god. He was the most handsome man she ever had laid eyes on, but the gleam in his eyes made her believe that he also knew that and played it up as much as he could. "I am very, very lost," Syney said, standing up.

He smiled, and the room lit up. "This place can get pretty confusing. Where were you heading?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I do know I'm hungry, and there has to be food somewhere around here."

He laughed. "Yes, and you were actually pretty close. Come on."

"I'm Syney, by the way," she said, falling into step with him as they headed up the stairs where she had been sitting.

He shot her a smile. "I know."

"Oh, yeah, of course you do. Sorry. I'm not used to everyone knowing who I am."

They reached the top of the stairs and headed to a door on the left. "This is the dining hall. They serve food three times a day," he said, pulling the handle and leading the way into an expansive room filled with long wooden tables. There was a large opening in the center of the room that looked down into another large room below, with a grand circular staircase descending into it. On either side of the room were two areas filled with all different kinds of food. There were people milling about, eating with one another other, grabbing food, and chatting relentlessly. On the exact opposite was a small table with only four chairs. Queen Mellisandrianna sat in one of the center ones with Adanna to her right. The two were the only silent ones in the whole room.

Syney turned to her mystery man. "You found me food. I think you're my new hero."

He laughed. "I've never been a hero before." He leaned closer to the point where Syney could feel his breath on her ear. "I think I like it." He gave her one more million-dollar smile before walking away from her.

Syney smiled after him and didn't realize until he had joined a few other men sitting at the end of a nearby table that she didn't even get his name. But she did get a warm fuzzy feeling when she looked at him. He was absolutely
gorgeous, and those types of guys never had noticed her before. Now this was the type of attention she could get used to. Yet now she was standing alone in a large room filled with people watching her, almost waiting for her to make a move. She scanned the room but didn't see Noelle or Cass anywhere. It felt like the first day of high school—the only difference being she was pretty sure these cliques were way harder to get into. Avoiding the food (all she needed was that awkward moment with a tray of food), she walked around the tables, waiting for a friendly face or smile to call her over. By the time she reached the center of the room, the looks and whispering had picked up. Syney sighed as she gripped the marble railing and she looked down into the lower room. It was also filled with long wooden tables, although they seemed much less polished, and instead of chairs, they had benches. There also seemed to be less food out along the walls, even though there were more people. It seemed wrong, and then she caught sight of some familiar faces and it felt even more wrong. She sent a wave down to Noelle when they caught looks. The blonde smiled brightly and got up from her table.

"Thought you might sleep for days," Noelle said when Syney met her at the bottom of the stairs.

"I was thinking about it, but hunger won out. The food looks good."

Noelle smiled and nodded. "Um...but you should eat upstairs. Down here is for...non-royals and Royal Guards."

"Is that a rule?"

Noelle took a deep breath and looked up to the room above. Syney followed her gaze to see a few dozen people staring down at them, still waiting for her move.

"Come on. I'm hungry," Syney said, walking over to one of the displays of food. She grabbed a plate and heaped food onto it. She wasn't sure what most of it was, but it looked like food she was used to: chicken, fruit, and potatoes. Once her plate was full, she followed Noelle back to the table where she had been. "Hi, everyone," she said, sitting down on the bench. The girls at the table, all handmaidens Syney guessed, looked back at her with a mixture of emotions. They seemed happy, probably because she was there in the Village, but also scared to death, probably because she had chosen to sit at their table.

There was a pick-up in the murmuring around them and then an almost deafening silence. Syney looked around, finally settling her gaze on Queen Mellisandrianna, who was now looking down on her. Syney shot her a smile and took a bite out of a blue potato. The queen's eyes squinted, and she turned and walked away.

Syney snickered internally and looked at Noelle, whose eyes were wide. "What?"

Noelle gave her a small smile and turned away.

Syney shrugged and noticed they were mysteriously alone at their table. "Where did they all go?"

"Away."

"That much I got. Why? Do I...do I smell or something?"

Noelle's lips thinned out into a straight line. "They're scared to get in trouble." She shifted to face Syney. "Royals don't mix with us down here. They don't want to get caught in the crossfire of anything."

Syney sighed. "Well, that's just stupid. There's no difference between me and you."

"Yes, there is."

"OK, you happen to have been born not royal, and I happen to have been raised human. But that doesn't make me better than you. And please don't ever treat me like I'm better than you." Syney stopped noticing that her voice had been rising. "I don't care what they do," she said, gesturing upstairs. "I'm not like them. Got it?"

Noelle stared at her for a moment before turning back to her food.

"We cool?" Syney asked.

"I'm still sitting here, aren't I?"

Syney smiled. Small victories.

Leaf

Standing next the door to the lower dining hall, Leaf watched the silent exchange between Syney and Mellisandrianna. She was a unique girl, but he was starting to see why Hunter was so apprehensive about her different attitude. This was an old Village with an old way of life. But maybe her new way of thinking and acting was what she was meant to bring to this place, he thought.

"Anything interesting tonight?"

Leaf turned to Hunter, who had just walked in. "Just your princess making waves."

Hunter immediately stiffened and scanned the room for Syney. He sighed heavily when he saw her sitting with her handmaiden. "Has she been see—"

"The queen's already seen her."

"Great. I think she's trying to make my job harder. Gets up from sleeping and thinks,
Hey, how can I get the queen to hate Hunter a little more?"

"You done self-loathing?"

"It's more of a pity party."

"It's annoying." Leaf patted Hunter on the back. "Now let's eat."

"You're not going to actually sit with her, are you?"

Leaf gave a stiff smile and walked over to get some food. He headed to Syney and gave a short bow. "May I join you?"

Syney lit up a little and nodded. "This is Noelle."

"Leaf. It's a pleasure," he said, nodding to the young blonde and taking the seat across from her.

"Hi," she said quietly.

They all ate in silence for a few moments before Hunter placed his plate down across from Syney and sat down. Leaf felt the side of his lips twitch into a small smile.

"Hey, there," Syney said, smiling at her Protector.

He nodded a hello. "Did you get some sleep?"

"Uh-huh," she said around a mouthful of pullum.

"I'm impressed that you found your way to the dining halls," Noelle said, her voice still quiet and a bit uncomfortable.

"I almost didn't. Some guy helped me once I gave up." She downed a good amount of liquid from the large brown mug she had grabbed with her food.

"Did you get a name?"

"Um, no. But he's up there, so I'm guessing that he's royal." Syney gestured to the upper dining room. "And pretty hot too. Kinda like a knight in shining armor mixed with Prince Charming, including the cocky smile."

"That's probably Prince Brian."

"Cocky smile give it away?"

Noelle nodded. "He's...pretty easy...to pick out, you know...um."

Both wolves scoffed at the "easy" part, and Syney laughed at their reaction. "I guess he has a reputation. And you're too nice to admit it," she said to Noelle.

She shrugged. "Is it bad to not spread gossip? I don't really know him personally, so I can't make a judgment."

Leaf glanced up. There were only a few royals still looking down, interested. Noelle seemed like a nice girl, but nice never lasted long in the palace. He wasn't sure whether nice would work for Syney either. She needed someone to help her within the court. He actually had helped pick Noelle for Syney. Most of the girls chosen for the pool had been in the palace since they were children, but Noelle had been here only for a few years. She had lived outside of the Village even. Leaf felt that would benefit Syney, help her understand things even outside of the Village, but Noelle seemed too scared to give much information. He needed to push her a little.

"Do you know many handmaidens?" Leaf asked.

Noelle looked up at him and nodded. "A few."

Leaf gave her a kind look, one he didn't give often. "And how many of the ones you know have had some kind of relationship with the prince?"

Noelle visibly swallowed. "A few."

"Then it's not gossip, now is it?"

She bit her lip. "I guess not." She took a breath and looked at Syney. "He's a whore."

Syney laughed. "Got it."

"Got what? I do hope it's not contagious," Gabe said, sliding into the seat next to Syney.

"Just keeping up to date on my reputations. What are you doing here?" Syney asked.

The Vampire shrugged. "It's boring in my room. What are you doing sitting with the common folk?"

"It's boring up there," Syney said, matching Gabe's lazy tone of voice.

"You're all they have on their minds."

"That I can tell without reading them. Are they ever going to stop staring?"

Leaf suppressed a laugh. Attention was what a Magic User craved. It was a welcome change.

"Once they're used to you being here," Noelle said.

"I hope so," Syney said, stuffing food into her mouth. "This stuff is good," she mumbled around the food.

They all watched as Syney shoved food into her mouth and swallowed quickly. She looked like a starved dog eating anything in sight and gulping it down. Leaf was almost glad she had chosen to eat down here, now that he saw her here. She was too raw for the palace. Hunter was right; she would be run out if she didn't start accepting the ways of the royals. He made a mental note to speak with Noelle about some palace-edict education for Syney.

"Hello, everyone. Syney, we haven't been properly introduced." They all looked up at the oldest princess, who was flanked by her Protector, Ember. "I'm Helen. Cass's older sister."

Syney took her outstretched hand and gave her a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Helen. Would you like to join us?"

Hesitation filled Helen's blue eyes. Leaf understood her apprehension. Syney was new to the Village, and it was understandable for her to make the mistake of eating below her, but Helen knew the way things were. Finally Helen smiled and sat next to Leaf. "I would be honored." Ember left and returned with two plates of food.

Leaf stiffened at the closeness of the oldest princess. He and Helen had shared some conversations—nothing too personal—and he had a great respect for her. When she was a young girl, no older than eleven, she had been out with a group of Magic Users on a trip to the great lake, outside of the palace walls. They didn't see the attack coming, and several children lost their lives. Ember had grabbed Helen and taken off, only to be struck down by a black bear. The two fought, Ember being triumphant with two broken legs as his reward. Ember had yelled and screamed at Helen to leave and find shelter, but she refused and even tried to set his legs. They were found an hour later, Helen
still caring for her fallen Protector. When Leaf had heard the story—and about Helen's punishment from her mother (never being allowed to leave the palace walls until she turned eighteen)—he had made up his mind about the girl. She wasn't like this place and deserved more respect than the others. But he still wasn't entirely comfortable with such a close proximity to her. He always softened when she was this close, and that wasn't something he should do, or be allowed to do.

"I've never eaten down here before. I think I might like it better," Helen said. "It's not so...uptight."

"That's what I think, and I was only up there for, like, five minutes," Syney said, drinking up whatever was left in her brown mug. "This stuff is amazing. Like candy apples." She licked her lips and then the rim of the mug.

Hunter gave her a look before grabbing the mug and smelling it. "No more of this."