Unlocking Adeline (Skeleton Key) (23 page)

“So what? She is a hussy, what happened when he left?” she says, putting another cake pop in front of me. I pick it up and take a hefty bite. “I went to meet Christof and we had the best chat ever. He helped me realize that I truly
had
chosen to stay. And it was before I even realized it. I chose to stay with Locke. I went to find him. To tell him that I wanted to stay, and see if where whatever was happening between us could go.” I stop to eat the remainder of the cake pop, knowing I need to stuff my mouth and eat down my emotions, so I don’t start to cry.

“Sounds fantastic, so why are ye here? And not knockin’ the boots?”

“Because when I went to go find him, I saw him walking out of the hussy’s house, shirtless. And to make matters worse, she kissed him, and he didn’t stop her.” I take the next cake pop she hands me and stuff the whole thing into my mouth, while closing my eyes
. I don’t want to cry, I don’t want to cry.

Then, I start to cry.

“He didn’t even wait a whole day before running into someone else’s bed,” I cry, grabbing a fourth cake pop. “How coowd he dooo his to me?” Greta is barely able to understand me between my stuffed mouth and sobs. She makes a wise decision and takes the remaining cake pop out of my hand and pours me a glass of milk. Because
nothing
is better with a pound of rolled up cake, than milk.

“Thwang you,” I mumble, as I try and swallow a cheek full.

“So, I am not a mind reader, but… I think ye may have misread what ye saw.”

I spit out the un-chewed cake pop and gape at Greta. “Greta, you’re a sorcerer, you can see the future! How are you not a mind reader?”
Ugh, she is not helping.
I should have kept what happened to myself.

“Not everything I do or say has to be about magic, honey bunny. It’s about common sense. I don’t think Locke would jump the bones of that weasel, even if ye weren’t around. She has been chasing after that boy for years. I believe he made a bad judgment call here and there, when they were younger, but we’re all human. Too bad for him, she took it to the moon. She read between those lines to mean he loved her. And that if he wasn’t bound to a tradition, he would be with her.”

“But if he doesn’t marry me, then he isn’t bound. He is more than capable of being with her,” I sniffle, taking my sleeve and wiping at my nose.

“Sweet girl, for someone who is so fierce, ye sure are blind sometimes.” Her name calling doesn’t sit well with me and I stand to leave. “Oh sit down. I made homemade gummy bears, and if ye run off now, ye won’t get any,” she lectures me.

“Gummy bears? Those are my favorite.”

“I know, so sit down.” Feeling like she has me trapped by her magical house of sweets, I sit, keeping my pout face in full affect. “Addie sweetie, sometimes things are closer than they appear.”

At that, my eyebrows raise.

“Greta, you just recited the warning sign on the side view mirror of cars, seriously?”

“Ah well, sometimes the best advice is right in front of our faces then. Locke feels what ye feel. He just doesn’t understand it. I heard what he did the past three days. Hell, practically the whole kingdom has heard how he’s whisked ye away, showing all the greatness of what ye can do if, and when, ye decide to stay. Have ye ever thought about those things that he showed ye? They have nothing to do with things ye would do if ye were with Christof? Those aren’t his brother’s passions. Those are his. He showed ye a piece of
him
.”

“He did?”
He did!
Why didn’t I see it then?

“What if he took ye to see the children and ye hated it. Hated everything that he believed in? It would have proved to him that the marriage wasn’t a good fit. He doesn’t want a wife who will pull him away from doing good. He saw ye melt for those children. Debate with the townspeople over wages and save that child during the construction mishap. I think Lockelan fell even more in love with ye than he already secretly had been.”

He’s in love with me?
I don’t know what to say. I never thought about it that way. I always thought that he was showing me stuff because that’s what was expected of
me
or what Christof was involved in. There was always that small hope that Locke was finally letting me in, but then he would turn at the drop of a hat, shutting down on me. It wasn’t until the third day that I started to feel like he was hiding something. “Why didn’t I put it together then?” I say, more to myself. How the kids melted when they saw Locke, how he knew all the horses names when we met with Oliver. How Fredrick even told me Locke’s mark on Drumberg.

“Why? Why wouldn’t he just be honest with me?”

“Because he was testing ye maybe. Locke is very guarded as ye can see. He doesn’t trust well. I also don’t think he wants all the pressure of becoming King. He wants to do what he loves and live his life.”

I’m in a state of sugar high and shock right now. I don’t even know what to say, how to feel. Does he feel the way Greta claims he does? Can he? Shit, do
I
feel that way? Can something happen this quick? My wrist begins to heat at the thought of us becoming a family.

“What do I do, Greta? I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do.” And I don’t. It’s been a constant roller-coaster since the day he took me. He is so intense that I don’t know whether to ride the wave with him or jump ship to safer ground.

I don’t know if I love Locke. I don’t know that he can love
me
. But I know that something gravitates us together. And when I’m with him, truly with him, my body wants nothing more than to be wrapped around his, and never let go.

“Honey bunny, I think ye know what ye want, but I also think ye need to give it some time. Say, possibly until tonight, because I have a bunch more recipes to make and I need yer help. Then it’s sangria and
The
Bachelor
time.”

I just shake my head at her. “Fine, you have a deal. I kind of promised Christof a date with Maria, so I need to lay low until dark. You have yourself a Sous Chef. What’s first?”

“Cookie monster cookies.”

Go figure.

I
can’t remember the last time I had so much fun baking. My mom didn’t bake much, so we never got the true effect of making homemade anything. Greta put me to work while we made peanut butter cup brownies, blueberry cobbler, followed by a glazed lemon pound cake. The final thing on her menu was sangria. I tried to object, since I wasn’t a fan of wine, but she waved me off saying it wasn’t wine. It was
magical
wine.

To my surprise, it was fantastic. We sat down and watched three episodes of
The Bachelor.
I wasn’t going to be shocked if she told me she had a DVR, but instead, she threw me for another loop, with “Duh, I can see the future, two of the three episodes haven’t happened yet.”
Of course, they haven’t.

Every time a girl cried, Greta forced us to drink. Since that show is filled with a bunch of babies, I was pretty toasted by the time I hugged her goodbye and went on my merry way.

I stepped off her porch into the dark night and nearly biffed it, laughing at myself the whole way down the path. I mean seriously, who cries because she was placed next to a taller girl than her? Chicks are nuts, man! I stumble again over a rock this time, almost smacking my face into the ground. Thankfully, I catch myself and land on my butt. As I sit on the ground, trying to shake off this drunkenness, a boy approaches me. “Miss, are ye Lady Adeline?” he inquires.

“That I might be kind, Sir, what can I trouble you with this fine evening?” I giggle. I kind of like my new slang. He hands me a note and runs away. “Wait! What is this?!” But the boy doesn’t stop to answer. I look at the paper while turning it over. Finally using my brain, I unfold it to see that it’s a written note, addressed to me.

My Dearest Adeline,

Please meet me in the wood shed. I must talk to ye. It’s important.

Lockelan

I hiccup as I try and read the letter again; making sure I read it correctly. The way the letter started out, I was thinking it was from Christof, until I see Locke’s name signed at the bottom. Both anger and excitement run through my mind as I pull myself up from the ground. Maybe Greta was right. He’s going to confess his feelings for me. But then he
better
confess what the hell he was doing with Farah. I turn directions and head toward the wood shed, stomping my feet like I mean business, or more like trying not to fall over. I’m seriously starting to question if Greta roofied me.

I make it to the shed and the door is open. He must already be inside. I walk into the darkness, trying to force my eyes to adjust. “Locke?” I call out his name and I am met with silence.

“Locke, are you in here?” I call again, as I hear the door slam shut. I turn, “Hey!” It’s now completely pitch-black. I stick my hands out, trying to reach for anything in front of me. “Open the door! I can’t see!” I yell to whoever shut the door. Three more steps and I feel a wall, working my fingers alongside the wooden surface, I finally feel the doorknob. It’s when I try and turn it that it doesn’t budge. “Hey! Someone let me out of here!” I bang on the door. “Locke, this isn’t funny! Let me out!” I’m starting to get a little nervous. I don’t particularly like the dark and I’m beginning to panic. The room is small and who knows what sort of animals are hiding away in here. As I pull at the knob once more, I begin to smell smoke. Turning around in the dark space, I glance at my feet and that’s when I notice the colorful flames of fire.

“Oh, you have to be kidding me. Help!” I turn back banging on the door with more power until the heat from the flames make it too hot to stay close to the door. I’m forced to back away into the darkness of the shed. I’ve never been in here, so I’m not sure if there is a back way out. I continue to back up when I hit a pile and trip backwards. Hitting my head, I try and sit up, but the smoke has taken up a good portion of the room and I begin to cough. Pulling up my dress, I try to cover my mouth, needing to get back on my feet. I force myself up, reaching out to feel what’s around me. Wood,
clearly
. I work my way to the back of the hut, hoping to escape the nearing flames. I scream once more for help, but the smoke sucks into my lungs and instead I burst into a fit of coughing spasms.

“Oh God,” I cry. I’m going to die in here. “Help! Please,” I beg once more when a log slips from under my feet and I go tumbling down, knocking the wind out of me. I lay helpless on the floor, the flames crawling closer to me and no one to hear my screams. I start to cry some more, but the smoke burns my eyes. I cover my mouth, but it’s pointless because no matter what, I’m starting to struggle to breathe.

The fire lets out a loud crackle and a small explosion sounds by the door. I roll, trying not to get hit, but I also smack my head on another log, dizzying myself.

It’s then I hear screams above the sounds of wood breaking, and finally light, besides the glaring fires, shining through. “Adeline!” I hear my name being shouted, and I want to call back, but the burning in my throat denies me.

“Adeline!” There it is again.

“Help,” I call, just above a whisper, exhausting the rest of my energy. Laying my head on the dirt floor, I give in to my fate.

“What do ye mean the door was sealed shut!?” The booming voice belonging to Locke rattles me awake. I open one eye, but shut it because it feels drier than the Sahara Desert.

“Sir, when we saw the flames, we tried to enter the shed, but it was secured with a post. As if someone had sealed it shut.”

“I want to know who did this, and I want to know NOW!” Locke’s voice rattles my brain.

“Can you please stop yelling,” I groan, his loud voice not helping my headache.

Locke is instantly by my side, brushing away at my burnt smelling hair. “Adeline, are ye alright? Jesus, please say something.”

“Is my hair burnt off?” I ask, since it’s important to know if I’m bald, for one. I open an eye again to an angry, but confused Locke. “No, Addie, yer hair is fine. What were ye doing in the wood shed?”

“I was meeting you there,” I rasp, starting to cough.

“Shhh. Take yer time. Meeting me there, why were ye meeting me there?” he asks, petting my hair away from my face.