Unlocking Adeline (Skeleton Key) (17 page)

“Oh, thank you, but you don’t have to call me princess. Addie will be fine,” I say, as Locke dismounts his horse, reaching to help me down. Grabbing for my waist, I swear he takes his time allowing me to slide down. Dropping my feet to the ground, he grabs my hand and turns me to properly introduce me.

“Adeline, this is Maria Bishop of Ferrow. She runs all of our schools across the surrounding villages.”

I step forward, reaching out my hand, but she bows instead. “Oh wait, no. Please don’t do that.”

Maria looks confused, standing back to her proper stature. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to displease ye—”

“Oh my God, no! You are totally fine, but you don’t need to bow or curtsey or whatever you are doing. Just a handshake is fine. Really, we are friends. No need to bow.”

She looks confused, but brushes it off, “I understand. Well, Locke, the children are very excited to see ye and yer special guest. If ye don’t require rest or food, I suggest we head to the school.”

Locke places his hand on my lower back, guiding me into the large dome just ahead. Once inside, the boisterous sounds of little children fill my ears. From all sizes, the room is filled. “I am sorry for the noise, ye caught us at recess. The children have been wound up since hearing of yer visit,” Maria says to us as she turns back, walking farther into the room. She whistles loudly, and all the children halt and turn toward her. It takes mere seconds for them to acknowledge who is standing next to her and they take off running.

Straight at us.

“Um, are they going to stop?” I ask, feeling a bit nervous at the herd of children coming at us.

“Most likely not. I would brace yerself if I were ye.” He smiles, and then it’s straight impact. Child after child, each one runs and jumps onto Locke, every single one calling his name, the beautiful sound of excitement in their voices filling the room.

“Locke! Locke!”

“Did ye bring us anything, Locke?”

“Do ye have a story for us, Locke?”

Question after question the little ones ask, each one getting the much needed hug, and stepping aside for another one to get their turn. I’m frozen in place at the affection Locke is showing these kids. The roguish beast I’m so used to gone, and this tender man, who has a soft spot for these children, is before me. While I am admiring this new side of him, I notice everyone clear the room as a little girl with pigtails, dressed in a pink fluffy dress walks up to Locke. I watch as he bends down to meet her.

“Hello, my little Eva. How have ye faired since my last visit?” Locke inquires, brushing a loose curl away from her face.

“I learned how to spell me name, Locke.”

“That amazing, little one. I’m proud of ye.”

The little girl blushes trying to hide her smile. Lifting her chin back up. “Did ye find her, Locke? Is that why ye have returned? Did ye find yer very own princess?” I gasp, covering my lips, as Locke looks to the little girl and slowly takes his eyes off her to me. “I just may have, Eva. But we will have to see if she wants me. She kind of thinks I’m a big meanie, so we will have to show her how soft I can be.” He takes his eyes off me, turning back to the child.

What the heck?

I’m beyond shocked at this turn of events! I mean my brain is complete mush at even trying to figure this out. This big oaf of a man, who has been tormenting me since I got here,
now
has a soft side!?!? A huge one actually! He didn’t address the little girl’s question any further. She gave him a hug and whispered something in his ear as he smiled and nodded. Then it was time to get back to class. Maria was amazing with the kids, as well. I sat and admired how she weaved in and out of the rows of children, helping them with their math. Next was spelling, and as I saw a younger little boy struggle, I went and kneeled down next to him asking if he needed help.

“Want some help?”

“I want to. I weally want to spell me name, but I can’t.” The boy frowns, putting his pencil down in defeat. I offer him a gentle smile, pulling up a chair next to him. “What is your name?”

“Tis Ewan.”

“Well hello, Ewan, my name is Addie. I would love to help you spell your name. And we can make it fun, so you will never forget.” I smile, and as he sees the promise in my eyes, he nods and picks up his pencil.

“Alright Ewan. Let’s start with the E. First off, can you pronounce the letter ‘E’?” The little boy, with all his might, pronounces the vowel. “Great! That’s great. Now, can you tell me anything that starts with the letter ‘E’?”

“Me! I do.” At that, I laugh. “You sure do, kiddo. Alright, well let’s get started. If I was a stick, and I needed to stand
super
tall, what would I look like?” He seems puzzled, but shortly figures it out.

“I would be a line. Like this.” He draws a straight vertical line for the base.

“Fantastic! Now, an E has three branches. It needs one on the bottom to hold the tree up. One in the middle to balance, and one on top so if anyone wants to climb up, they will be so so tall! So where would the branches on your E-Tree go?”

His eagerness warms me. He starts at the bottom, just as I said, drawing a line. He makes it to the middle and once he is done with the top branch, he has a perfect uppercase E. “You did it Ewan! You drew an E. Now whenever you think about the first letter in your name, you will think of the tree.” I smile. His eyes light up and he turns to me. Then he tackles me off my chair.

We are both now laying on the floor, laughing as little Ewan thanks me over and over. “Oh my goodness, is everything okay?” I peek over the boy to see Maria and Locke standing over us, a look of concern covering both their faces.

“Ms. Maria, Addie taught me how to spell E! She did it! I can do it now!” The little boy squeals as he hugs me tighter.

“Ewan, I only taught you how to write one letter,” I remind him. This would all be worth it if we got the whole name down.

“But he has never even written the first one. He has word blindness, so his mind has trouble processing. We have been at this for months. This is the first time he has done it.” Maria looks astonished, almost in tears with happiness. I, on the other hand, am. I look at the little boy who has his whole life to strive. “Thank ye,” he says softly.

“How about you thank me after we get your whole name down, huh?” He nods his head and jumps off me. Locke helps me up and before he has a chance to say anything, Ewan grabs my hand, tugging me back to my chair.

“Sorry, Locke, she’s mine. Ye have to get yer own princess.”

“How are ye fairing so far?” Locke asks, assessing my current mood.

“Oh, just great. This is wonderful! Did you see the little girl, Olivia? She is so smart! She says she is going to be an animal surgeon when she grows up. Little does she know, she can be something so much bigger! She can be anything she wants to be. And did you see Benjamin? He wants to be a builder. Which is totally possible, because they have so many architecture schools now and with all the latest books and technology… These kids, they have dreams that are so doable!” I stumble over my own tongue, excited for the children.

“Well. I think ye made a great impression on them,” he replies, that unfamiliar smile still on his face.

Without thought, I jump into his arms, giving him the biggest hug I can. I pull away, still smiling, “Thank you, Locke, for today. It was really amazing. I really needed something good to come out of this horrible experience.” I regret my words instantly.
Dammit.
A moment that was building between us, is now suddenly gone.

“Yes, well we should be going.” He doesn’t stick around to allow me time to fix what I said. He turns quickly, instructing the stable boys to gather our horses. We ride back, conversation slim to none. He seems deep in thought, and anytime I ask a question just to radiate an exchange of words between us, his answers are short with no emotion. Without conversation, the weight of the day hits me. I have been fighting tooth and nail with my eyelids to stay open, but every few seconds, I lose and my head bobs forward. It’s during bob number three, maybe five, that Locke’s voice startles me awake.

“Stop yer horse.”

“Hmm? What? Why, are we lost?” I shake my brain awake. He stops his horse and grabs for my reins, pulling my horse closer to his. “No, ye are falling asleep. It does not bode well if I bring back the horse with no princess on top of it. Ye will ride with me, so I can make sure ye don’t fall off.”

“Like, as in, on the same horse?”

“No, on a different horse.
Yes, on the same horse
.” He throws my banter back at me. He sticks out his hand for me to take. Still feeling a bit unsure, I reach out and our hands connect. Something happens in that moment. A feeling I’m not familiar with. As if electricity just shot up my arm and warmed my entire body. I look at Locke and I know he felt it too, because his eyes are blazing.

“Sooner would be better than later here,” he says, breaking the moment. I pretend I didn’t just feel a blast of electricity from his touch, and I allow him to guide me off my horse and onto his.

“Lift up yer dress and raise yer leg over. That’s it.” Now straddling the horse, feeling Locke’s body pressed behind mine, I know one thing is for certain, I will have no problem falling asleep. Because the feel of his body this close to mine is sending electronic volts of lightening to my brain and lower region.

It’s when we start moving that I pass right out.

I wake up while we are dislodging the horse. Locke has managed to dismount and still cradle me in his arms. It’s when we enter the castle that I open an eye. “Are we home?” I whisper, my voice groggy.

“Yes, Princess, we’re home.” He holds me tighter to his chest as he carries me through the corridor.

“I can walk; you don’t have to carry me.” I say, as I snuggle more into his shirt and inhale his scent. It’s then I fall back asleep.

I wake again, when I hear the sound of Ellie as we enter my room. “Oh dear, is she alright?”

“Shh. Quiet now. She is fine. Just tired. I am going to lay her in her bed. Please have something set up for her in case she wakes and is hungry.”

“Yes, right away, Sir.” I hear her feet patter across the wooden floor and out the door. Locke walks toward my bed and gently places me down, bringing the cover up and over me. I turn to my side, facing him.

“Good night, Princess,” the softness of his voice warming me. Snuggling farther into the warm blanket, I want to ask him to stay. To hold me. To make me feel safe. But I don’t.

“Goodnight, my prince.” And with that, I allow myself back into sleep.