Legend of the Book Keeper (42 page)

“
Oooff!
” cried the gangly man as the papers in his hands flew like confetti into the air. “Watch where you’re . . . Madam Jade? Well, well, this is a pleasant surprise. A very pleasant surprise, indeed. And, alone I see?” he said smoothly, his hungry eyes devouring her.

“Just stay out of my way, Finch. I’m busy,” snapped Jade, pushing Tople away.

The toad-faced man grinned. “Feisty, aren’t you? Here, take one, as a token of my admiration.” He handed Jade one of the papers, pressing his hands around hers as he did so. Jade shook him off and briskly set off toward her destination; her advantage of stealth had been compromised, but there was still time. She brought the paper up to cover her face. The front page had a picture of Prince Kantan and the headline:
“BETRAYAL! THE SHOCKING TRUTH BEHIND OUR BELOVED PRINCE’S SINISTER ACTIONS! WHAT MORE ABOUT OUR ROYAL FAMILY DO WE NOT KNOW?”
Jade flipped through the rest and saw that the King’s funeral occupied much of the pages as did El Dorado’s imminent attack. She flipped another page and flushed; the headline read: “
UNDER-EARTH’S MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR—TAKEN?”

“Several evenings ago Atlantis was treated to the touching birth of romance. Newly proclaimed Book Keeper, Cody Clemenson, was spotted wooing the lovely Tiana Hubrisa. Why can’t these two lovebirds keep their lips apart? Read more juicy details on the next page . . .”

Jade crumbled the paper into a ball and flung it away.
It’s just silly gossip anyways, right?
Jade reached the end of the clearing and stopped. She stood staring into the open door of the building in front of her.
This is stupid. I should turn back
. She glanced around again to make sure no one was looking. It was now or never. She stepped into the building. The minute she did so she felt exceedingly out of place.
What are you doing? Who are you fooling?
Just as she was turning to leave, a smiling young lady came around the corner.

“Welcome to Aunty Flora’s Beauty Shop, can I help you find anything?”

Jade could feel her face burn red. She kept her eyes to the floor. “Um . . . I’m just looking for . . . some stuff for my face . . . and maybe something to make my lips look red,” she muttered shyly.

“Is there any product in particular? Any tones or textures you prefer?” asked the lady.

Jade felt her heart beating against her temples, “I’m . . . well . . . I’m kind of new to this sort of thing.”

The young lady smiled and put her arm around Jade’s shoulders. “No problem, darling. Just follow me; I’ll get you what you need. You’ll be absolutely radiant b
y the time I’m through with you. I promise.”

Jade pressed her face closer to the mirror, she was sure there was some sort of trickery in the works. There had to be. How else could she explain the dazzling princess staring back from the mirror.

The lady at the beauty shop had spoken the truth—Jade was absolutely radiant. Her cheeks had been powdered; her wretched freckles had been covered. Her eyelashes were dark as they shaded her green eyes. Her puffy lips looked brilliant in dark red. Her hair had been put into an up-do, which was, as far as she could remember, the first time in her entire life she had ever worn it any way other than straight down. Jade smiled, Cinderella had nothing on her; she felt gorgeous.
What will Cody think?
Thinking of Cody made her nervous. She didn’t know if she was ready for people to see her like this—especially not Cody. Would he just laugh? Was she trying to be something she wasn’t?

No
. Jade smiled, allowing her face to shine.
I’m not letting that ditz steal my best friend without a fight. This is war. I’ve been an ugly duck for far too long . . . I’m ready to be a swan.

The cool shade of the garden foliage comforted Cody as he went over his idea in his head for the thirteenth time. He had been asked by Foz to perform a special act of creation at the funeral to honor the King. Cody realized he only had one shot at it and that there would be no better time to win the much-needed confidence of the disoriented citizens. He picked up a wet cloth and pressed it against the side of his face. The soreness had decreased, but there was still a solid bump reminding him of the colossal failure that was his landing. He took a deep sniff, sucking the comforting scents of the garden through his nose. Randilin’s words outside Sally’s diner had finally sunk in; Cody, too, missed the feeling of fresh nighttime air and seeing real stars. He even missed the awful smell of horses that permeated Havenwood in the spring. How many rainy days had he complained and been miserable? Thousands of miles underground, he would welcome a bit of rain, or
any
weather for that matter. It was odd how some of the most wonderful things in life had been right in front of his nose.

“Hey, Cody,” came Jade’s soft voice from behind him. Cody turned his head around to greet his friend—and froze. Jade was standing at the entrance to the garden. At least he thought it was Jade. She was wearing a long flowing white dress that sparkled like stars. Cody felt an odd sensation come over him. He stood up slowly and took a step toward her. He was speechless. Jade’s eyelashes fluttered up and down as her eyes gazed deeply into his. For a moment they both stood still, silently staring at each other. Jade’s glossy lips rose into a smile. When Cody finally spoke his voice was flustered, “Jade, you look . . . I never thought . . . I mean . . .”

Jade giggled. “You mean what, Cody?” she asked teasingly, “go on . . .”

Cody shook his head, rubbing his eyes, “I mean . . . what’s wrong with
you?”

Jade shoulders fell and her face turned light red. “What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong with me,” she stammered, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her face darkened. “You don’t like it?”

“You just look so . . . strange,” said Cody as he reached his hand to her face and rubbed his fingers across her cheek. “What’s all this on your face? It looks like you fell into a jar of cake icing.”

Jade opened her mouth to speak but no words came out; her lips quivered as she fought to control her breath.

“And your hair,” continued Cody, “Why isn’t it down like it always is? I like it down. It looks like a beehive all scrunched up like that. Here, you can use my cloth; let’s get you cleaned up.”

Jade grabbed the cloth and threw it in Cody’s face before turning and running out of the garden. Cody looked with confusion to the cloth and back to the door where Jade had exited.
What’s gotten into her?
He shrugged.
Girls can act so strangely.

Jade pulled the clips from her hair and threw them out the window. She looked in the mirror; her tear-stained face was smeared with make-up. Who was she kidding? She was no princess. She was just Jade. Ugly ol’ Jade. The one no boys ever noticed; not even her best friend. She grabbed the leftover make-up bottles and dropped them into the garbage. Did she really think she could compete with a girl like Tiana? Her mother was right; she really was nothing more than an ugly duckling.

Jade crawled into her bed. She wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. She didn’t want to face Cody, not after tonight. He was right after all; she
did
just look weird.

She pulled her blankets over her head; she didn’t want Cody to hear her sobbing.

Randilin Stormberger’s Secrets

T
he crowd expanded like rising bread. The number of grievers arriving from other parts of Under-Earth increased tenfold. Cody wondered how they would manage to house such a growing crowd. As the elevator brought Cody back to ground level, he spotted Tiana. “About time, hero, I’ve been waiting,” she teased, gracefully gliding toward him and wrapping her hand around his. Cody’s pulse picked up speed. He felt slightly awkward. After their sunset experience, Tiana acted like nothing had changed between them.
Was it not a big deal to her? Did she have other boyfriends? Was I just a really bad kisser?
All these thoughts filled Cody’s head.

The truth was that Tiana had given Cody his first kiss; although he would always brag to the boys at school about other kisses he supposedly had shared with make-believe girls. Cody had been a late bloomer. He had never really differentiated between boys and girls growing up, which was perhaps why he and Jade had struck up such a quick and easy friendship. With Tiana, everything was different.

She was free-spirited. She was dangerous even. Every time she spoke to him he felt exhilarated, never sure what to expect. In his mind, a kiss represented a relationship; although Tiana seemed in no rush to declare commitment. “Tiana . . . am I your boyfriend?” he asked awkwardly, hardly aware that he had verbalized his thoughts.

Tiana laughed and squeezed his hand. “Oh, you silly boy; you’re a darling.” With another laugh, she continued walking.

A darling? A yes or no would have been appreciated!

“So, where are you off to today? As the Book Keeper I assume y
ou have been put to important work?” she asked as though the previous conversation had never occurred.

“Actually, with the funeral tomorrow I’ve been pretty much left alone. I was going to go talk to Randilin; haven’t seen him since they hauled him away from the gallows. It’s probably not a good idea for you to come, but I can meet up with you after and . . .”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. I’m coming with you.” It was not a suggestion. The two walked hand-in-hand to Randilin’s original cell where he had been returned following the arrest of Kantan and Levenworth. Stepping into the cell Cody sensed that he was not alone.

“Oh, hey, Cody . . . Tiana” said Jade with free-falling enthusiasm.

Cody quickly let go of Tiana’s hand. “Hi, Jade . . . didn’t know you’d be here . . . just wanted to check on Randilin,” Cody stuttered dumbly.