Tainted (13 page)

“Be careful, Miss Grace.”  Danella pushed her hand underneath my rear end to keep me from sitting.   

“What in the world are you doing Danella?” My eyes were wide no doubt.

“Keeping you from breaking your heart.  Now where did it go?”

“WHAT are you talking about?” I looked down to see Danella searching for something under the bed after pushing me out of the way to do it.  She was back to standing in seconds, righted her apron, and held out a small box with a tiny emerald green bow on top. 

“Where did that come from?”

“Held to secrecy!”  Danella batted her eyes.

“You know I’ll find out.  And I knew it was coming.”

“You did?” she pouted.  Danella didn’t say anything else, but moved her hands meaning to open the box.

Inside was a delicate leaf patterned bracelet with a maple leaf charm hanging from the chain that looked like Ian’s pendant he had on, thinner than the one from my mom.  I was afraid I’d break it the silver was so thin.  Inside the little velvet cardboard slats of a very human store bought looking box, I freed the chain and untwisted the tie that held it down.   Holding it up and watching the way it sparkled in the sunshine from the trellis patterns above the bath area, I was startled when Danella spoke.

“Are you going to put it on?”

“Yes, will you help me?”

Danella fastened the clip and told me to follow her.  She put two tiny braids tied at the top of the back of my head, and fastened them with a red maple leaf on top.  Danella chose a red gown that was way more comfortable than most lately and covered more body parts with folds in the fabric.  Lace of the same hue covered my arms all the way down to my wrists and up to my neck line and halfway down my back.  Some of the gowns had been too tightly fitted for comfort.  This one felt almost like a sundress, but floor length.  And red!  Dancing with Ian was the first thought to surface after swinging the skirt out.

I headed out the door to find Ian at the range fingering my new bracelet and matching leaf necklace combo. The fishy part was they’d coordinated. I risked thought exposure without more practice, but I wanted to show my gifts off to Ian.  He was expected to be teaching today which only excited me more.  I’d become accustomed to watching him teach and even was asked once or twice to demonstrate a left-handed bow shot. 
Yeah me!

I’m meeting Cyly and her friend who have found an interest in learning the bow a couple of nights each week to practice.  I already did this once with Cyly and found out that it’s hard without help and resulted to asking Ian if he could give up a few men to show us.  He volunteered himself and when I told him no, he sulked. I was forced to tell him that I have no intentions of letting him teach anyone of the female nature how to do that, especially knowing the way he taught me so intimately and close up.  Let Pike or some others, I told him.  He chuckled at my jealousy but I won either way!  And he knew I was right. 

Of course, that also meant letting Pike back on the range.  But I told Ian if he was there, Pike wouldn’t bother me.   He didn’t like the reference to the fact that he, nor I, could trust Pike with something right before his eyes.  But, it is what it is.

Ian had his back turned so I immediately rubbed my bracelet and concentrated more than I ever have. Before he could notice my entrance, I put my fingers to my lips and silenced all the guards and nearby onlookers and sauntered up beside him hoping he couldn’t read my thoughts because I had them well blocked.  I had to be fast to pull it off.  A shorter, insecure looking guard was opposite of him listening to Ian show him how to hold the bow.  I’d watched Robin Hood many times growing up.  Maid Marion’s role modeled this perfectly. 

“Bend your arm leaning it against your waist, arrow against your cheek, and…”  I stepped up close to him keeping my mind blocked with the touch of my pendant between my fingers for extra defense, blew in his ear just enough to affect him, and watched him jumped into me, grab the railing, and turn to see the arrow spinning up to hit the wooden trellis-like roof above them in a perfect spot that would keep it from bouncing back on us.

He wanted to be angry until he turned a 180 and found me smiling sheepishly up at him.  He was…freaking speechless! 
Yeah me!

The whole range was full of open mouthed Fey guards who knew well to stay silenced.  And they did!  I think he stood there close to forever and stared at me, never blinking an eye.  Then, he turned to the shorter guardsman he’d been teaching only to glare in an unreadable expression and tell him, “Tomorrow.  And next time, do not guard your thoughts concerning my queen when I am present or otherwise unless she is in harm’s way and the need be.”  He saluted him nervously with his hand to his heart like the guards always did when he gave them a direction.  His eyes meandered everywhere but me, and said, “Tomorrow.  We continue tomorrow.”

“I…I didn't guard them,” the young guard said nervously.

Everyone filed out like the fast lane with obvious murmuring of objections. That wasn’t what I wanted.

He turned to stare at me with little expression.  Mad or not, I couldn’t be sure yet.  His mood, judged by his face, had the unearthly ability to go either way.  He looked me up and down giving a small window of what could be termed the very opposite of hatred. His eyes were smoldering with a tinge of what looked like anger or awe, I wasn’t sure what to wager or if I should. The silver glint was growing making me decide this was a good sign so I stayed quiet until he reacted. 

His eyes found the bracelet which fostered me to touch the charm unintentionally, but unable to pry my hands off.  He was still just staring. 

Releasing the spell, he touched just the silver and twirled it around in his fingers forcing my own to let go of the grip I had on it.  His eyes lingered on my dress for a while too tracing the line of the curve the way it sat on my hips and up to my arms...chest...neck.
  Thunderstruck! 
That’s the look I was getting from him.  It’s what I’ve being going for right?  I had his full attention like I’d asked for.

“Someone once told me that whiplash could be fatal.”  His voice was raspy, not at all like I’d heard before his guards left.

I smiled with my inner sigh letting my breath out.  “I’ve heard that too.”

“Grace, it’s probably best not to commit torture in front of the guards.  I can’t have them guarding their thoughts.  It’s not a safe thing to do.”  He was serious, but smiling on one side of his mouth.

“Yes dear,” I pouted.

“But I liked it just the same.”  His arms wrapped around me.

  I held up my hand to halt our bodies touching and me losing mind enough to make a comeback when needed, “I’ll not sneak up on you...in the range.”

“You should never lie to me.”

“I’ll not sneak up on you again today.”

“Better.  But just to be sure….” He swiftly bound my hands together, swung me around and pulled my back against his chest.  I could feel every part of him and his heat against me. 
Oh my!
  Granted, I didn’t fancy the sweaty man smell, but it did have a certain appeal. 

“I’ll have to change again.”

“Do you want me to let you go?”

I paused, “No!”

He kissed the back of my neck, my jaw, and then dipped me into his hold.  His tallness allowed him to kiss me just enough on the mouth to lose my balance wherefore he caught me with my hands still bound.

“I am bending you to my will, love.  You caused that guard to close his thoughts, did you know you were?”

“No.”  I felt challenged so I elbowed his ribcage, stomped his foot, and flipped into a defensive stance.  I knew I had to look way too “dainty” in this get up to look like a fighter.

“Ow!  Is that how you return affection to the man you love?”

“I’ll not be a weak kneed easily seduced girl who falls at your every kiss.”

“Really?” he exaggerated the word.

“Well, yes, but no one else has to know.  Besides, I don’t seem to be able to bend you to my will.”

“Really?” The word didn’t stretch quite as far the second time. He reached out and smoothed my dress where it had wrinkled at the arm very slowly,  moved the black strap that had escaped down to my shoulder and tucked it back under the rim of my dress.  “And it’s just a habit of wearing clingy dresses and extra lavender perfumes, as well as black lace--”

I reached up and kissed him before he could finish.   When we released, he kissed my forehead and told me, “My will was broken long ago.  You could wear sweatpants and I’d still know what’s underneath belongs to only me.”

I smiled and blushed.

“Let’s get to noontime meal.  They will all start wondering, if not already.”

The next day I didn’t interrupt his range lessons, but was reassured he was probably thinking of me every time he arched an arrow. Satisfied with my performance, I’d even whispered something about it into his ear at lunch.

The next day, I went to work in the records rooms organizing recent events into the books having taken to helping with the library as of late.  I’d requested a human book library and was confronted with a room of fear at first, but Ian, Lazyra, and Altheon assured the court council it would be chosen carefully.  Ian had seemed genuinely excited to be able to read more of my favorites and even requested Dracula at the top of the list proving he was beyond wonderful.

After logging in the records  the disaster at my own human house that I caused, as well as the human loss incident in New York Central Park from the same night caused by Nyms acting stupid.  Apparently, an exiled Unseelie Court Fey and two Nyms cornered a college girl walking home.  Not Kin, he was with me.  The Fey revealed himself to her hoping who knows what, and killed her by “accident”.  Some of the Seelie court locals were seen helping the girl.  The court had to handle police, newspapers, etcetera to clean a mess like that up.  Some of this new otherworldly knowledge was unbelievably callous and had little regard for human life.  I was learning fast how hard it was to share a world with humans and go unnoticed.  Glamour was the best defense even if it was disturbing to be looked through and be treated as not there.

I didn’t see Ian again until nighttime meal.  He looked exhausted.

“The dozen or so new guards are coming together, but not without pain and hard work.”  He was almost shoveling his food and noticed me watching him eat. I’d never seen the mountain man bear driven side of him.  It wasn’t flattering.

“Sorry, I skipped morning and noon meals.”

“I know.”  I let him eat.  “How do you tire, but not sleep much?”

“Our bodies “regenerate” after food and rest.  Little rest leaves room for other activities.”

He may be tired, but his man ego was wide awake.  I hadn’t noticed the endurance the Fey had except in thought.  “Where will you sleep?”

“Grace, I have a bed.”  He ate another bite.

What?  Where?
   My face asked in three different ways.  Where had
that
memo been filed?

“I’ll show you sometime.  Not now.”               

Why not?
  I pouted.  “What will you do after were married if you don’t need a bed?”  I smiled wide and innocently. 

His fork was in midair.  Ian’s gaze drifted around the table at some of the faces staring now waiting for his response.  I then realized what I’d just said. 
Darn! 
I forgot where I was too.  Detonation!  Sizzle!  Explosion!

“We’ll talk later.”  I quickly looked back at my soup and continued to ladle it into my mouth whether I was hungry or not. 

He did too looking quite pale.

***

“Danella, can I ask you something?” 

“Of course, my dear.”

“What does the Firebearer do exactly?  Summer will be here soon and I haven’t learned much about it or if mom will come or if I will do it and…” I was talking too fast knowing it was nervousness left over from my outburst at the table and asking the questions I’d put off asking for weeks.

“Slow down.”

She answered my questions saying that I would be the one to do it but still didn’t tell me the step by step.  I asked for one more question giving her my best give-me-what-I-want face.

Danella gave as she always did.  “One.”

I asked about the actual ceremony and this is what she revealed, “The Firebearer comes forth in a ceremony in front of both courts under the stressful eye of both court royals and, one in this case but much like your ceremony night, you will walk down the path with a light.”

I pictured a flashlight like a dork. Wouldn’t that be hilarious? “What kind of light?”

“A torch.  Small one.  You meet the Seelie and Unseelie kings and queens at the end, light the top of the stone wall that represents the separation and agreed alliance between the courts, and cast yourself to the court you are bound to.  The Firebearer then sacrifices something of great significance to the courts, but in this case you are one in the same, queen and Firebearer.”

“No pressure I see.  What exactly did they sacrifice in the past?”

“Queen Lazyra sacrificed her many gifts given freely from King Ikan.”

“Like what?”  I never noticed the offering plate there before and Ian had never said his father’s name, but heard it at the ceremony.

“Jewelry mostly.  Many gasped when she let go of the pendant from the first hundred years go.  It was a devastation in most eyes.  You used the offering plate to dip your hands in at your ceremony.”

I went through a list of possibilities but decided I didn’t bring much to sacrifice and the one thing that means the most to me will not be sacrificed.  Their future king. 

It would have to be something significant.  Possessions that I’d acquired from Ian and my mother and now handed down from Queen Lazyra to me at my birth crossed my mind.  I had a few ways more than just your ordinary trinket, items collected in the short time since I arrived.  And suddenly, I knew what the people of my court would appreciate from a human dipped queen. I’m sure of it. 

Then, I tackled with the fear of how Ian would see it.  I mentioned it to Danella but she got off on a tangent about jewelry and forgot what I was asking her to reassure me with.  “Ian and Altheon both seem to know how I wore the charm necklace amulets when I was growing up.  They said block with them if I didn’t know how to with my mind.  I didn’t know why I was wearing them so I didn’t know to touch them then.  I thought mom gave them to me because of some weird fascination with gaudy jewelry.”

Danella pursed her almost purple more than pink from biting so hard. 

“What?  Spit it out.  You know you gotta tell me.”

“Master Ian made you touch them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kinsler tried something new all the time, Miss Grace.  Ian had to protect you after they altered your dreams so he gave you and your mom amulets of protection that would create a kind of magical shield for your mind.  He cares about you
so much
, Miss Grace.”

“I know that.  How did he make me touch the amulet?”

“He would tell you in your thoughts.  You call it persuasion.”

“He can do that too?”  I remember he said something about making me let Pike in my bedroom when Kin busted in.  My man just did the mind mojo on me when he wanted.  That would make me really mad except my mind immediately started its own devil Grace fantasy of mind mojoing him back. 
Oh, the possibilities.

“I shouldn’t have told you,” she fretted.

“But I
should
know.  Danella, I should know that.”

“Well, maybe you are right.”  She looked away from me.

“I know I am.  I’m marrying the guy.” I can’t believe he could do that and never told me.  Perhaps it is time he knew…what else I know.   The devilish side of me that likes to hide started to make a plan even as my polar opposite shouted to be reasonable.  Reasonableness flew the coupe and never looked back.

“What did he use as an amulet?”  I knew about his pendant.  And he didn’t have any idea just how strong I was getting.  Practicing on Danella had been a great idea.

“His ring or chained leaf pendant you used.  You’ve seen them both.”

“Why couldn’t I have a ring?  That’s a lot less gaudy.”

“He was worried you’d figure out the similarities and he couldn’t risk it.  And it was larger than he thought you’d want to wear.” 

“Hmm!”  I touched my bracelet charm.  Blocking was the easy part now.  I just needed control of my emotions so I can block and read at the same time. That’s how it worked with Pike without me knowing but Pike
had
still noticed.   My mind reading blocking idea will work if I…