The Second Life of Magnolia Mae (9 page)

With his face so close to hers, she could see him much more clearly. He had a few days growth on his face, causing a dark shadow that merely enhanced the strong lines of his jaw. His blue eyes shone, and in the depths of them was something she could not describe. It was something that she had only ever seen once before: the night the ring had been brought to her at the diner. Could it be that this was the same man? It seemed highly probable. After all, she had just travelled through time and woken inside of a girl who was supposed to be dead.

Hope flickered in his eyes as they searched her face.

A small smile flirted across her lips before she closed her eyes again.

“She needs a hot bath. She needs to wash so her wounds do not fester. I cleaned the dirt out of the larger ones before I stitched them shut. She will need to wash the smaller wounds, however. She’ll rest better once the mud and grime is off.”

Jaceson stepped forward as Nonna finished speaking. “I will have a bath brought up for her.” His footsteps crossed the floor. “Do you think she will ever remember it all?” Anguish filled his voice.

“In time, my boy. In time.”

Magnolia was emotionally drained, and she found herself wondering what happened to her brother before she allowed herself to drift off to sleep once again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

H
OT WATER
SLOSHED DOWN
over her head, rinsing out the soap that had been lathered in for the third time. The scent of roses filled the room.

Jaceson had ordered two tubs brought and filled with hot water so she could wash the filth off in the one then relax and soak in the other, keeping her wounds from the muddy water. He’d left Nonna and Railynn the young servant, to care for her. She wondered why Jaceson was so attentive here. In this time, in this place, he was not her brother. So why did he look after her?

“What of Jaceson?” She finally broke the silence to ask.

Railynn was across the room changing the bedding to something fresh. Magnolia had left the sheets bloody and muddy. “He’s very handsome.”

Magnolia glanced in the girl’s direction to see a blush creeping up her cheeks.

“I know that I should not be looking at Alistair’s brother like that, but he is certainly easy on the eyes.”

“That he is,” was the soft response given. She could not recall a brother being mentioned in the books. She was certain that the King and Queen of Marcello had only born one child.

“He has always been Prince Alistair’s favorite companion. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that they don’t share the same mother. Jaceson is not treated with ill-regards by any, except the queen. They say she is afraid that he will try to take the throne someday.”

“Would he?”

“Never! He is loyal to all he cares for. Most loyal to his brother and now to you, m’lady.” Railynn turned back to the bed.

With the help of Nonna, Magnolia was able to get out of the tub, dried, and then into some clothing. She stood there in a white, lightweight, very loose-fitting dress, what she could only assume were nightclothes. Dragoste nuzzled her hand as he came to her side, having left the fireside where he had been sleeping.

“Railynn, I need you to please bring some boiling water.” Nonna watched her closely for a few minutes after the young girl had left the room. “Magnolia?”

She lifted her eyes to the old woman who was before her.

“My dear Magnolia, you have been through much.”

“Why do you call me that?” An eyebrow raised as she asked the question while being led over to the bed.

“Child, it is your name. Do you truly not remember?” Worry filled the kind old eyes that searched her face. “Your father and mother could not agree on a suitable name for you, so you were Christened Daciana Magnolia. Only I call you Magnolia, but now, Jaceson and Alistair have taken to calling you Mag at times, though not often.”

The two of them walked over to the window. They overlooked the sea, and Magnolia gazed at the rocky shoreline meeting with the expanse of blue water. The setting sun glinted off of the water, causing it to sparkle. It turned the distant clouds pink and purple, painting the sky just for her, it seemed.

“I don’t remember,” she finally whispered. She would have to relearn everything, put Magnolia behind her and become Daciana. She knew the memories were there, waiting to surface. Waiting for something to bring them crashing to the front of her mind. Perhaps if she began to think of this as her home, it would make everything easier. Because this was her home now; there was no going back to how things were.

Dragoste crossed the floor in one quick silent leap and nudged her softly as if he sensed her distress.

“I want to be left alone.”

Just then Railynn returned with the water that Nonna had requested. Nonna went to the table by the bed and picked up a small pouch. She poured a bit of its contents into a clean bowl then mixed it with water, making paste of some sort. “Come, let me put this on your wounds to take away the pain. Then you may rest.

Magnolia crossed the room and allowed the now incredibly warm mixture to be spread over the stiches that Nonna had already given her to close the knife wound. The pain stopped throbbing, diminishing to only a dull ache.

When Nonna finished, she and Railynn left her alone. Magnolia picked up the brush. She sat and pulled it through her long, damp, knotted hair. Once done detangling, she pulled her hair back into a tight fishtail and used a ribbon to tie it. She looked in the mirror to see that her neck had purple imprints of Gordon’s fingers. That explained why the men seemed so angry when she’d reached for her neck earlier.

She crossed the room to her bed, yanked back the covers, then lay down with Dragoste at her side. Although she was cold, she did not bother to pull the blanket back around her. She was no longer Magnolia Mae Romo. Now she was Daciana Magnolia Dietrex. Her people, the people of Avengar, needed her.

But she needed Jace. Tears slipped down her face. Was her brother waiting for her back on the farm? What did he think happened to her? Did he think she was dead? She was dead — Magnolia Mae no longer existed, and she had given her life so that Daciana could live. She had to remember that. When she thought of herself, she would have to think of Daciana. After all, that is who she had been her entire life. Her parents had known that, and a part of her believed that Jace had even known it all along. They had all accepted it; now it was time that she do the same. By coming back here, she had already altered history as she had known it. It was time for Magnolia to accept her true fate, to start ensuring that her people were taken care of.

Darkness surrounded her.
She could hear him calling out,
begging her to come to him. The more she moved,
the harder it was to get anywhere. Tangled in the briars and brush, her body ached as she tried to move forward. Pain echoed in his voice as he called her name. A light shone ahead of her so that she could see his face.
His golden brown eyes locked on hers,
and a smile began to cross his face,
only to be erased when Gordon stepped in front of him. She struggled
urgently
when she saw the glint of the blade going
toward
him. “Jace!” The scream left her,
and she fell forward hitting the ground…

She opened her eyes when she hit the stone floor. Tears poured out of them. The door to her room flung open, and there was Jaceson. He crossed the room in four long strides and picked her up from the floor. He set her back on the bed, pulled the blanket up over her, then sat down, leaning his head against the edge of the bed.

She angled herself so that her head was closer to his. Loneliness tried to engulf her, but it was not so bad when Jaceson was near. A strand of hair had come out of the fishtail and hung over the edge of the bed. Jaceson tugged on it playfully.

“Nightmare.” The soothing quality of his voice washed over her.

A small sigh escaped her as she muttered a yes to his question which sounded more like a statement now that she thought about it.

“Gordon.” Again, a statement not a question.

Another muttered response was all she gave.

“It will get better. I will make him pay for what he did to you.”

“It wasn’t me, not in the nightmare.” Magnolia’s voice sounded small and fragile.

The fire was dying out, and a chill was creeping into the room. Jaceson moved to toss a few logs onto the fire, restoring it to life. He filled the cup with water then went back to where he had been sitting just a moment before.

“Who then? Do you think he will go after this person?”

She listened intently to his voice, such familiar soothing qualities.

“The man looked like you.” It was not a lie, since he did look a lot him. “I couldn’t move. I was stuck. I couldn’t stop him. It all happened only a few feet in front of me, and I was helpless, trapped.” A single tear rolled down the side of her face to her ear.

“Ah, it was just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about.” He trained his golden eyes on the door that he had left slightly open. “You should have let me go after him. Then you wouldn’t have to be worrying if he came back or not.”

“I am not worried for myself.” Her voice grew stronger. “If you had killed him, then whoever sent him after me simply would have sent someone else in his place. No, it is better that he not even know that I am alive. Do you think he would have gone back to Marcello?”

“I am certain that is where he’s heading. Whoever he was working for would want to know if the deed was done. He’s probably on his way to collect his bounty.”

Suddenly it hit her. She sat up, causing Jaceson to look at her. “We need to send men to follow him. One or two — more than that would be noticeable. It cannot be any of my people. It would seem curious that they would leave their new home so quickly.” She found his golden eyes searching her green ones. “Don’t you see? If someone follows him, and he’s on his way to collect his bounty, then we can discover who’s truly behind this.” She nearly exclaimed the last part.

“That may work. I will send two of my men at first light. Get some rest m’lady.”

He turned so that he was facing the door. Across the room in less than a second, he flung the door open to reveal an infuriated Alistair on the other side of the door. “Why are you standing there?” he asked as he turned away and took up his self-appointed sentry post next to the bed.

“I should be asking why you are in Princess Daciana’s bedchambers alone.” Alistair stepped into the room. Shadows fell over his handsome face, concealing it from her eyes.

“I had a nightmare and called out in my sleep as I fell from the bed. Jaceson helped me. I needed someone to speak to. To chase away the nightmare.”

“I could have done that, or better yet, Nonna.” There was a softness in his voice. He sat in the high-backed chair next to the bed that Nonna had been sitting in earlier that day. His gaze fell to her face. “Do you need anything? Something to eat?”

She shook her head no. She really just wanted to sleep. She felt more at peace now with them all in the same room. It somehow felt normal.

Magnolia closed her eyes as she listened to Jaceson relay the plan to follow Gordon. The two brothers talked in low whispers to try to allow her to get some rest. They had been told by Nonna that she would need to stay in bed for a few days, that she would need to stay warm so as to not catch a chill. Sleep was approaching slowly as she listened to them discuss how they could best protect her until she was well again. It was decided that at least one of them or Nonna would stay with her at all times.

CHAPTER TWELVE

D
AYS PASSED
WITH HER
stuck in that room. Restlessness drove her near crazy. When Jaceson entered the room, he found her sitting at the window, longingly looking out of it, gazing toward the sea and, just off to the side, to the mountains in the distance. The beauty of the land did not escape her. “Are the winters here harsh?” Her voice sounded small and weak.

“They can be. We brought plenty of supplies to see everyone through the winter season.” He crossed the room to the small table by the fireplace.

“Are the houses prepared for the cold? When was the last time someone spent a winter here?”

“I believe that everything has been done that needs to be done. Though it has been years since anyone has stayed here for the winter, it’s my belief that the houses are sturdy enough to handle it.”

“But will they be warm enough?” She finally turned her green gaze from the outside world and looked upon him. “Will the people stay warm in their homes? Is there enough firewood? We cannot have anyone losing their lives because they get caught in a snowstorm while trying to get more wood.”

“Unfortunately, those things do happen. You cannot protect everyone.”

“I will do my best!” Her voice rose with anger. She was sick of losing people that she cared about. She may not know these people, but she was now responsible for them. She would ensure that they had what they needed. That was why she’d left her home, her family. To make sure that her people did not lose their new home.