Mistfall (22 page)

I narrowed my eyes at him and snapped back.
“Just so you know, I WILL be sleeping alone. Sleep on the floor
outside of the door if you want, but you and I will not be sharing
a bed.”

“I would not suppose to know you so well,”
Rory responded, deadpan in his reply. “I have procured the room
adjoining yours.” He looked to the sky as if he was tiring of my
existence. “I doubt you’ll be much trouble in your sleep,” he
added.

I folded my arms across my chest. “I wasn’t
talking about sex!” I responded irritably to his assumption.

I guess I had been a little too loud because
Phineas appeared from amidst the line of well-wishers who were more
interested in my little tiff with Rory than getting to the front of
the line. Phineas took Rory to the side. No doubt Phineas was
telling him to keep me in line. I probably should’ve been
embarrassed by my overheard outburst, but I was too irritated to
care.

It looked as if Rory was getting a good
dressing down. I strained to hear the conversation between the two.
Oh, if I could be a bird in the tree above them.
I was
disappointed to find I couldn’t hear as much as I would’ve liked
and settled for the visual. As it was, I don’t think I was missing
out on much. Phineas’s face was red and he was fuming. Rory could
only look sheepishly down at the ground while Phineas had his
say.

Someone stepped in front of me, blocking my
view. My attention now turned to whoever was ruining my
entertainment. Abel’s visage scowled down at me. I had been so
distracted by Rory getting ripped a new one that I hadn’t noticed
Abel or the fact that I was now surrounded by his men.

“What the f-,” I began, but was cut off my
Abel putting his index finger against my lips.

“Tut, tut. Do you have any manners at all?”
he admonished. “While your filthy little mouth may go unnoticed by
the ignorant masses, I assure you Queen Aurora and her court will
not ignore such repulsive behavior.”

I wiped my mouth where he had touched me in
disgust. I was repulsed by both him and the fact I had let my guard
down to watch Rory and Phineas.

Enough people were aware of me that, should I
go missing, it would be noticed. Abel too, was aware of the Fae’s
no fighting rule. He was confronting me in public as a scare
tactic. He was not-so-subtly telling me that he could find me
anywhere. I relaxed a little knowing nothing could come of his
ambush.

I shouted as loud as I could so that my voice
would carry to all the wedding attendees. “So the mighty King Abel
is finally accepting of inter-species gay marriage!” Doing this
served two purposes. The first was to alert my friends. The second
reason? Well, I did that just to embarrass him publicly. My inner
self was making silly faces and sticking her tongue out at
Abel.

“How dare you equate me with such
abominations!” he growled, but only loud enough so I could
hear.

I put both hands on my hips. “I dare quite
easily,” I retorted.

Unable to be seen, he grabbed me by the waist
and pulled me to him so forcibly I bounced off his chest. “Make no
mistake,” he seethed, “I will break you as I have any unruly beast
in my kingdom.”

Break me? Like a beast? Was this guy serious?
I maintained my composure, bluffing my true feelings. My sword hand
was getting twitchy but I staid it as I was in no mood to be
incarcerated again so soon.

“Why so silent Magdalene? Don’t tell me
you’ve finally learned to keep your mouth shut. I was looking
forward to teaching you how and when to use your mouth properly.”
He was leering at me, taunting me to attack him. I could only guess
that he wanted me arrested so he could negotiate a trade for me
from the Fae.

“Mags!” Melissa shouted from the outside of
the circle. Abel’s eyes widened in surprise at the sound of
Melissa’s voice. I wasn’t aware that he knew of her and was rather
caught off guard by his reaction.

“Say nothing,” Abel ordered me.

“I’m right here Melissa, with A-bel.” I over
enunciated his name on purpose. I looked at him and shrugged my
shoulders. “I guess I haven’t learned to shut up, jerk wad.”

That did it. It was one thing not to address
him properly. Throw in sarcasm, name calling, and a total lack of
respect and you get one seriously po’d elf. He wanted something
from me, so it was eating at him to not be able to kill me. Instead
he lifted his hand to hit me. I braced myself for the punch. There
was no way I was going to duck and I couldn’t fight back. I would
however, keep my dignity.

Just before Abel brought his hand down, a
rather large Hailz snake plowed her way through two of Abel’s men.
She wrapped herself around Abel’s body, restraining him.

Abel’s men bristled in anger but made no
move. They too were aware of the laws of the Fae awaited their
king’s orders before attacking. Finding none, they returned to
their statuesque stance.

“Why are you trying to ruin my wedding day
Abel?” Hailz asked lazily.

He spit in her face. “What you do goes
against the gods and the very laws of nature. You should be put to
death for your transgressions.”

“Enough!” boomed Queen Aurora as she strolled
through the middle of the elf circle.

The woman was a vision in purple. Between the
amethysts at her neck, the soft lavender silk that clothed her, and
the heliotrope ribbons that were woven through her wig, she gave
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince a run for his money over the
love of the color.

She stopped short of Abel and turned to me.
“I don’t believe we have been properly introduced.”

I curtseyed out of respect. “No my lady, we
haven’t.”

Abel’s face turned three different shades of
purple when he saw that my irreverence for royalty only extended to
him. Then again, maybe Hailz was squeezing too hard. I’m pretty
sure though that it was the former.

“I am familiar with the situation that has
brought you to one of my villages,” Aurora informed me while
staring Abel down. “I assure you Magdalene, that while you stay
here, you will be safe from harm.”

“Thank you for the kindness. Your hospitality
is quite generous,” I placated her.

“You’re welcome my dear,” she replied warmly.
The warm and motherly face I had just been shown was quickly turned
into that of a sour disciplinarian as she addressed Abel. “I am
correct in believing you weren’t about to hit this young lady,
aren’t I?”

Hailz loosened her grip on Abel to allow him
to speak. “No Aurora, I was not,” he fumed.

Aurora clapped her hands together.
“Wonderful,” she chimed. “Let’s break up this commotion and enjoy
the festivities then.”

I curtseyed again to Aurora, out of respect.
Flipping Abel the bird crossed my mind, but I didn’t want to
overstay my welcome with the Fae. Aurora touched my arm as I turned
to walk away. She wanted to speak to me and took me to the side as
Abel and his men dispersed.

She dove into the subject head first. “I
understand, from my new daughter-in-law, that Abel had you
kidnapped.”

“Yes ma’am,” I replied.

She shook her head in distaste. “Nasty
business. I apologize for Abel’s intrusion. Usually he does not
step foot in my kingdom. There’s not much I can do to him unless he
breaks the rules. Even then, as a sovereign of another people, the
best I can do is have him escorted off my land. Anything else would
be inciting war. As it is, he’s broken no rules.”

“My lady, you do not need to explain yourself
to me,” I replied to her ramblings.

“Yes Magdalene, I do. I was hoping to have a
long conversation with you at a later time, but now will have to
do,” she said, speaking more to herself than me.

“Come, let us sit and talk.” Aurora pointed
to two empty chairs at the back of the aisle where we had been
sitting for the ceremony. Aurora had chosen the location for its
privacy so the curious would not be able to eavesdrop.

I looked back to the other party goers trying
to find Melissa and John. The queen, noticing my hesitation to
follow, answered my unspoken question. “My daughter escorted your
friends somewhere private.”

She continued to walk towards our seats, this
time with me following behind. “I understand your one friend is an
elf?”

“Yes ma’am, he is.”

“Then it would not bode well if Abel saw him
then. They’ll be safe until Abel leaves, which I suspect will be
soon.” She then took her seat with much more finesse than I could
in a hoop skirt. “He is not a tolerant man,” she stated a
matter-of-factly in regards to Abel.”

I laughed a little. “That is true your
highness.”

“Please, you may call me Aurora,” she offered
and I smiled in return.

“We should have met at my village in the
Wildwood a few weeks ago,” she scolded in a joking tone.

“I apologize, I was held up indefinitely,” I
joked back.

Aurora put me at ease with her mild manner.
Unlike most royalty, she was warm and welcoming. The stress I was
feeling from Abel’s ambush was gone, replaced with the feeling of
being a loved family member. It was weird. Fae hospitality aside,
they weren’t exactly welcoming of outsiders.

“What’s troubling you Magdalene?” Aurora
asked, noticing my slight discomfort.

I felt my forehead wrinkling and realized I
was wearing my thoughts on my face again. “I don’t understand why
you treat me with such familiarity and kindness,” I admitted.

She chuckled at my honesty before she
enlightened me to the reason for her warm reception of me. “I’ve
kept tabs on you for so long, I feel as if I know you well.”

“You’ve been spying on me?” I asked, shocked
at her confession.

Aurora was amused by my assumption and
laughed heartily. “Oh my dear no, not at all,” she said putting me
at ease. “I’ve only known of you, as have many Otherworlders.”

“I thought I was supposed to be a big
secret,” I lamented at the new information. I knew the trees had
blabbed and some had taught their children I wasn’t the bad guy,
but I really hadn’t known that I was the only one that believed no
one knew about me.

“Ha!” Aurora blurted, so forcefully I thought
I heard some of the seams in her corset tear. “The only secret is
that we kept your existence from Iblis and Abel for so long.”

“Why has no one ever told me that?” I asked
her.

“It was only my story to tell now that
Willa’s gone,” Aurora explained. “Willa let you think that to keep
you vigilant. Don’t hate her for it. Everything Willa did was for
your benefit.”

Aurora didn’t give me too much time to get
hung up on the minor details of Willa’s decision. “You were to meet
the leader of the Fae village in the Wildwood,” she began. “What
you didn’t know is that’s where I currently reside making me the
village leader.” She smiled, pleased with what she thought was an
intelligent ploy.

I toyed with the ribbons on the cuff of my
sleeve. “Why was I supposed to meet you?”

“For the same reason we are sitting here
now,” Aurora replied. “To talk.”

“Talk about what?” I asked.

“Your future Magdalene.” The warm and caring
queen now grew serious. “There are things you need to know.
Firstly, it’s important that you never-.”

“Your majesty, my apologies,” a man
interrupted, bowing to her.

The fierce scowl Aurora gave the man made me
think he was going to lose his head. “What is so important enough
to interrupt me Flynn?” she demanded of the man, her icy cold queen
demeanor rearing its head.

I would hate to be Flynn right now. Short of
someone important dying, Aurora didn’t look like she was going to
take his interruption lightly. They spoke in hushed tones, low
enough that I couldn’t overhear them. I sat there, twiddling my
thumbs, waiting for Aurora and Flynn to finish up.

Aurora broke away from her exchange to
address me. “My apologies Magdalene. We won’t be able to continue
our talk. I will find you before you return home tomorrow and we
will pick up where we left off.”

I stood and curtseyed to Aurora as she took
off with Flynn in a hurry.
I guess someone important did
die
, I thought. Dismissed, I made my way to the large gathering
of people.
Safety in numbers.
I was hoping to find Hailz or
Fiona so they could show me to John and Melissa.

Rory, the bloodhound, found me first. “I
apologize for my oversight. I shouldn’t have left your side.” His
eyes darted around the area, scoping out potential new
problems.

“Well, it’s not like you were given a choice
in the matter, I consoled.

“Regardless, I assure you it will not happen
again,” Rory promised.

What do you say to that? I didn’t blame him;
I blamed myself for getting distracted. One thing was for sure, the
Fae formality would NOT be missed by yours truly.

“I’m sure it won’t,” I responded, hoping I
said the right thing.

Rory seemed to relax with my acceptance of
his apology, even as reluctant as it was. Unfortunately, because of
Abel’s intrusion, Rory planned on being my conjoined twin for the
rest of my stay.

The line of people wishing to congratulate
the newlyweds was nearing the end. Other guests were spread
throughout the area. Some mulled around while others sat down in
the now empty seats. I looked around the various groups for any
sign of my friends.

Finding none, I thought to inquire of their
whereabouts to Rory.

“They will join us shortly,” he informed me.
“It seems that King Abel and his men have left the village. Your
friends will be escorted back to the celebration.”

I hoped that was going to be soon. Rory
wasn’t exactly the greatest company in the world.

Curious as to where we would be led next I
asked, “Rory, where is the celebration?”

He grinned, amused by something I was
missing.