Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) (15 page)

I didn’t know what to say, I had never thought of Kafkus as anything but an obligation, but now I saw him in a whole new light.  Yes, I did like him.  I liked that he liked me for who I really was and for his tenderness even though it wasn’t very often.  I wasn’t sure what had changed, but something had.  Kafkus had loved me for countless years, but I was just now starting to see him for who he was.

“I see,” Clifton sighed when I didn’t answer.  He sounded devastated.  I didn’t want him to feel like that, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Clifton, I love you.”  I hesitated for a second, unsure of how to word what I needed to say without hurting him further.  “But, I do not think that I am ready to be with only one man for the rest of my life.”  I didn’t look at him as I spoke, I couldn’t.  I knew that I had hurt him, and it killed me a little.  “I still want you by my side.  I always will.”

“In our culture it is not uncommon to have multiple lovers, especially among royalty,” Kafkus unhelpfully added.

He stood up and I saw tears streaming down his cheeks.  “I am going for a walk.”  He slammed the front door behind him.  I winced at the sound.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence that filled the room after Clifton had left.  Feeling no urge to look at Kafkus, I stared at my knees.  I felt horrible about hurting Clifton when all I ever wanted was for him to be happy.  I hated that he left, and I hated myself for pushing him out that door.  I wished that I were ready for marriage, then, I would never have hurt Clifton like I had.

I felt the couch move under me and I knew that Kafkus had sat down, but I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him.  A surprisingly soft hand grazed my cheek as Kafkus brushed the hair out of my face.  I felt his steamy breath on my neck, before he kissed it.  It was wrong, but so hard to ignore.

“I have dreamed about you every night for many years, Quartessa.  I love every bit of you: your strong, independent mind, your soft, voluptuous body, and your warm, loving heart.”  He ran a finger down my exposed arm.

“Please stop.”  I didn’t really want him to stop so there was no real conviction in my voice.  He knew it.   I didn’t trust myself at the moment and I didn’t want to be unfaithful to Clifton.

He placed his hand on my thigh.  My skin tingled from his touch.  “You know that it is customary to take on many lovers before choosing a husband.”

“It feels like cheating.”

“You have lived amongst the humans for too long.”  He moved his hand higher.  “One kiss.  That is all I ask of you.  If you would like me to stop after that, I will.  I promise.”

“Just one kiss and you will leave me alone?”

“Just,”—he moved closer—“One”—he moved even closer—“Kiss.”  His lips touched mine, they were soft, oh so soft.  He flicked his tongue across my upper lip, begging for me to open for him, and I did.  His kiss was very tender, not what I had expected it to be.  There was certain sweetness to it that I just couldn’t resist.

My blood raced and my body grew tense, unable or unwilling to stop him.  I began kissing him back.  He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me on his lap, his fingertips digging hard into my flesh.  I detached myself from him long enough to pull my dress up and over my head.

“You are even lovelier than I could have ever imagined, my Princess,” he whispered before finding my lips once more.

I couldn’t pull away from him now if I wanted to, and a part of me did.  The part that loved Clifton cried out for me to stop, but the voice seemed distant, like someone shouting at me from across a vast ocean.  I ignored it.

The front door crashed open and Kafkus pulled me against him to shield my nakedness.

Quino entered and looked rather embarrassed at the scene he’d walked in on.  He averted his eyes, focusing instead on the dining table.  “I, I am sorry.”  I didn’t move.  “We found something.”

“What did you find?”

“We found a Yaro.”

“You found a Yaro?  Here?”

As far as I knew, no Yaro had ever left Kortis.  This was mostly because they had no powers of concealment, and they looked far from human.  They couldn’t blend in with a simple color change like we could.

He nodded.

“What did he have to say?”

“We have not had a chance to talk to him yet, though he did put up one hell of a fight.”

“Does that mean that he got away?”

“No, we caught him.  Violet is working on getting him up the stairs as we speak.”

A second later I saw a large sphere roll through the doorframe.  It stopped when it was in plain view.  The ball was a transparent ruby color, allowing me to clearly make out the occupant inside.

He was short, probably only four feet in height.  He was nude, red and orange flames covering his body, shielding what mattered.  His eyes were rather large and took up most of his ugly, demonesque face.  They were jet black, with no whites, protruding a little from his face, reminding me of a rat.

He was shaking, looking like a lost little boy, but I knew better.  His build and size were about average for his kind.  Though they were small, the Yaro were very powerful beings capable of things that I couldn’t even fathom.  However, it was very uncharacteristic for them to show fear as this one was doing.  The Yaro were experts when it came to hiding their emotions.  Emotion was a weakness that they didn’t have.

Violet entered a moment later, looking startled when she saw me.

I had momentarily forgotten that I was naked and sitting on Kafkus’ lap.  In a hurry, I threw on my dress and approached her.

“What are you doing, Quartessa?  I thought that you hated Kafkus?”

“I don’t know.  We just got caught up in a moment.”  I was ashamed of myself and rightly so.

“Where is Clifton?” she asked, more to Kafkus than to me.

“He went for a walk.”

“I hope for your sake that he comes back in one piece!”

He sprung to his feet.  “Are you threatening me?”

She raised a careless hand and Kafkus fell back onto the sofa.  “I mean that if Clifton ends up dead, I will hold you accountable.”

I placed myself between them.  “Can we please focus on the matter at hand?”  I was more interested in this Yaro. 
Why had he come here?

Everyone’s attention became focused on the creature trapped in Violet’s bubble-like cage.

I sat on the ground in front of it so I could see him better.  “What is your name, Yaro?”

He came as close to me as he could and pressed his tiny hand against the bubble.  “Loach.”

“Hello, Loach, my name is Quartessa.”  I wanted this being to trust me.  He might be able to help us.

“Princess, Quartessa?”  I nodded.  He broke out in tears and began sobbing like a child.  “Please do not kill me.  I never meant for this to happen.”

“For what to happen?”

“I know that you wear the ring, and it is my fault.”

“How did this ring come to exist in the human world, Loach?”

“I, I,” he started, trying to talk between sobs, “I stole it and escaped my homeland.”

“Escaped?  Why did you have to escape?” asked Quino.

“King Reyka was going to have me killed.”

Kafkus was beside me now.  “Why would he have you killed?”

“Because I fell in love with Princess Tizania, his daughter.  My King saw me unfit to be with her, so he ordered me dead.”

“He was going to kill you for that?  That’s not fair.”

“I am sure that you have heard of the terror of Reyka’s reign,” Kafkus said to me though he was still staring at Loach.  “He is unfair, and often cruel.  He is a dictator who rules his people by fear rather than fairness as your father does.  But why steal the ring?”

“I stole it to keep them from gaining more power, and from hurting others.  I have never approved of its use.”

“Why didn’t you destroy it then?” I asked.

“That was my intention.  But I was ambushed by a group of Boru before I could.”  He held up his other hand to show that he was missing three fingers.  All he had left on his right hand were his pointer finger and thumb.  “They tortured me until I told them how the ring worked, and the binding spell that makes it more effective.”  He looked at me with that sad, shameful face.  “I am truly sorry, Princess.”

“Violet, will you please release him?”

“Quartessa, I do not think it wise.”

“He means us no harm, please release him.”

She sighed deeply.  I knew that she didn’t want to let him out, but she obeyed my orders.  I watched the bubble fade in color until it vanished completely.

Even though he was free to move now, he stayed quite motionless.

“Loach, will you help us to find the Boru hideout?” I asked, hopeful that he could aid us with that at least.

He looked horrified at the thought and shook his head.  “I do not think I can.”

“You will have the protection of my group if you will agree to help.”

His gaze swept across the room, glancing from face to face.  “If they each promise not to hurt me, and offer me protection in return, I will agree to help.”

I glanced around at all of them and noticed that they were all averting their eyes from mine.  “I command you all to do this for me.  Unless you all want me dead, you will accept his help, and offer him protection.”

Quino spoke first.  “I do not trust him, but I do trust your judgment, Princess.”  He bowed.  “I will follow orders.”

“Thank you Quino.”  I shifted my gaze to Kafkus.  “And you?”

He stared at me for a moment before speaking.  “Of course, my beautiful Princess,” he answered, with a slight bow.

My face grew hot.  “Thank you, Kafkus.  Violet?”

“
Fine
!”

“I am going to need more than a
fine
to think that you will not hurt him.”

She crossed her arms across her chest.  “Can we talk in private,
Princess
?”  She overemphasized the word
Princess
, making it sound condescending rather than formal. 

“Fine.  Let’s go out on the balcony.  I could use some fresh air anyway.”

She followed me out of the sliding glass door and closed it hard behind her.  “I think that you are making foolish choices that are going to get you and everyone around you killed.”  She didn’t bother to keep her voice down.

I was surprised by her tone, but recovered fast.  “I do not think that he is like the other Yaro.  He seems weaker, less inclined to violence.”

“You did not see him while we were trying to capture him.  He is strong, very strong.”

“He was scared, what did you expect him to do?  He had just left his home to avoid being killed by his King.  Then, the Boru tortured him.  He is missing three fingers.  I still think that he means us no harm, and we could really use his help.”

“I guess so,” she said after some thought.  “Ok, I will accept his help, and, as long as he cooperates, I will not hurt him.”

“Thank you, Violet.”

“Loach is not all that I am concerned about though.”

“Then what else are you being all bitchy about?”

“Clifton is a good man.  I do not want to see him hurt by your foolish choices.”

I stared at her.  Her body looked stiff and uncomfortable.  There was something off about what her body was saying and what her mouth was telling me.  “You like Clifton!”

“Of course I do.  I think that he is perfect for
you
.”

“No, I mean you
really
like him, you wish him for yourself.”

She said nothing.  She just stood there looking snooty and that was answer enough for me.

We had never fought over a man before, and Violet’s newfound temper was a trait that I didn’t especially care for either.  I remembered her personality as being quiet and passive.  I liked the old Violet better.

“What has changed between us?” I asked miserably.  “It does not feel like old times, you seem…different.”

She shrugged.  “I have been without you for four long years.  I guess we both have changed.  Time does that to people, they simply grow apart.”

“I am not sure that I like the new, hot tempered, resentful Violet that you have become.”

“Maybe I do not like the new loose Quartessa that you have become.”

“I am not loose!”

“You could have fooled me!”

“You’re just jealous!”

She swung her arm quickly and slapped me hard across my cheek.

I grabbed her by the hair, spun her around by it and then let go, sending her flying backwards.  She hit the side of the balcony hard and toppled to the ground.

She stood up and just glared at me.  There was hatred etched in every line of her beautiful face.  She ran at me fast and caught me around the middle.  We both flew backwards, smashing right through the sliding glass door and landed on the carpet in the center of the room.

Violet was right on top of me now and she was panting and as out of breath as I was.    My fist caught her shoulder and I flipped us around to hold her down.  I cocked my fist back and it was then that I realized everyone’s eyes were on me.