Snow's Lament (15 page)

“That didn’t feel extraordinary,” I grumbled. I took a few deep, cleansing breaths until I was able to stand up straight.

“No, I’m sure it wasn’t. I’ll speak with him later.”

I raised a weak hand in protest. “I’d like those honors.”

She grinned. “Very well then.” Her gaze sharpened as she studied me. “You look completely different. Well done.”

I had no mirror, nor was I clamoring to see what Rumple had done to me, but one thing I noticed right away was my attire and absolutely ginormous breasts. I closed my eyes in horror. I was a Ren Faire wet dream.

“Lass, mind taking a five minute detour behind the tree over there?” Robin’s crisp voice intruded into the horror I felt as I realized I could no longer see my feet. I glared at him, only to see his lips twitching in amusement.

“My darling, now you truly are the perfect specimen of woman,” he continued. He walked around me, tutting appreciatively at all my new womanly assets.

Gone were my slim curves and small bodice area. In their place were soft, lush hips, a small waist, and massive cans. I sighed and adjusted the top of my peasant shirt. “Watch it, Robin. My trigger finger is mighty itchy right now.”

Belle and Cyndi stood together, both of their hands over their mouth and eyes wide.

“Don’t. Say. A. Word,” I growled. I patted the thigh area around my skirt for my weapon and realized, with horror, it was gone. I knelt to the ground, looking frantically for the Sig.

“You can’t go into the castle armed while you’re dressed like that,” Maleficent said quietly.

I didn’t look at her. I ran my fingers through the dewy grass, searching in vain for my gun. “I’d better get it back or Rumple will be wishing for death by the time I get through with him.”

Robin took me by the elbow and helped me up. “He did you a favor, love. You’re going in as a maid—a wench.”

I stared at him, confused. “And?”

Robin looked at me like I was completely dense. “You have been gone far too long. In a castle, a maid is one of the least respected people inside. They’re groped and manhandled most times a male passes them by.”

I blinked. “That’s…that’s awful!”

“I don’t disagree, but the last thing you want is to get cornered by some horny schmuck and get your gun discovered when he delves between your thighs for a taste.”

“Crude,” Belle murmured.

“True,” Robin retorted.

Cyndi spoke. “He’s not wrong. I know from experience.”

My heart skipped and sympathy flooded my body. “Shit,” I said with feeling.

So, no gun and with groping a strong possibility, I had to delve into Naomi’s castle. “Next time, I’d like a full briefing,” I said with displeasure.

“You’ve been away for a long time,” Maleficent said, although not unkindly.

“Perhaps when you take your throne back, you can make some changes.”

My mouth twisted. “You bet I will.”

I pulled up the offending neckline and cursed under my breath. “What about a knife?” I lifted up the long skirts to see the knee-length, worn leather boots underneath.

“That, I can do, love.” Robin pulled a dagger from the leather vest he wore and handed it over. It was small, but wicked looking. It would do the job if I needed it.

“Thanks.” I tucked it into the boot next to my calf.

“My pleasure. Now, go in there and see if we can get Giles to work with us.”

I nodded my head, adjusted the damn bodice again, and strode for the castle opening. As I strode away, I heard Cyndi murmur, “Snow finally has bigger boobs than me. So. Jealous.”

I snorted and kept walking, the boots making little noise across the grass. I wasn’t literally going to walk in the front door since maids and service people normally used the side entrances. I frowned as I realized I was empty handed and would probably get some strange looks if I suddenly appeared at the door with nothing to show for it. I looked around at the grounds and noticed a small patch of thyme and tarragon growing tangled together. I gathered my skirts around me and hurried over to the herbs, taking care to remember to gather them carefully. It should be enough to get me inside the castle with few raised eyebrows. The smell of the herbs hit me and I took a deep whiff, the earthiness and beauty of the plants in deep contrast to the darkness of Naomi’s world. And I pause. Because these herbs need sunshine.

A lot of it.

A frown curves my mouth and a deep discomfort settles down into the pit of my stomach. I’d much prefer not to think of Naomi as human or someone who has some care over the lives she controls. But, as I touch the leaves of the herbs and feel the health vibrating within the plants, I know better. Someone has taken care to cultivate this patch, and considering Naomi isn’t one to allow other magic users in her realm, it had to be her. There was little sunshine anywhere within the lands and these plants never would have flourished without some kind of intervention.

I tried to stop over thinking things as I quickly snapped off enough herbs for the castle kitchen staff and tucked them into the apron tied around my skirts. I stood, grimacing as the popping in my knees reminded me I needed to start my nightly Akido routine again.

I rushed over to the side door only to stop mid-stride. A man—a tall, imposing man—sat outside the door, his knees loose and posture casual.

But he was way too handsome, and dressed too well to belong here. I shook off the bad feeling and put my chambermaid persona on.

“Milord,” I said and tried not to wince as I wondered if maybe my Americanized television habits had already screwed me. Did people really say milord or milady? I thought back to my younger days and realized just how entitled I was. I couldn’t remember ever talking to anyone besides the lady-in-waiting. And even now, I couldn’t remember any of our conversations.

I swallowed down the deep fear taking root in my belly, plastered a polite but vacant smile on my face, looked away, and pretended like I was merely a young, large-breasted lady bringing back herbs for the kitchen.

He studied me, his intense gaze on me. A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck.

He was…different, foreign—something other.

I kept walking. I was almost there. Just a few steps away. I didn’t care what he was doing here—he was not my concern.

“Snow.”

I froze for a split second and reached my hand out to the door, my heart thick and heavy in my chest. Terror lit my veins and my skin broke out into goose bumps. Every single cell in my body was telling me to run.

But I didn’t. I ignored him and twisted the knob.

“Snow,” the man said again, in a honeyed velvet voice that was doing funny things to my insides.

I exhaled deeply and turned to face him, the vacant smile still plastered upon my face. “Milord, Snow hasn’t lived here in many years. The queen may be able to help you.”

I curtsied awkwardly, completely ignoring the amused look on his ridiculously handsome face. But he also felt familiar to me in some way. I knew we’d never met, but there was something about his wavy chestnut hair and the stubborn set of his chin that had my alarm bells ringing. My gaze sharpened and I gasped. I spun and frantically tried to open the door, but I was frozen into place.

The man sighed. “You made me do it,” he said casually.

My body twisted into an awkward angle and I was facing away from him, unable to pin him in place with my withering glare. “Milord,” I said, in a panicky, high-pitched feminine voice, “please spare me.”

His deep chuckle slid across my skin. “Can it, Snow. I merely wish to talk.”

I said nothing for a moment, but I sensed no malice in his tone. If he was who I suspected he was, he could have killed me with barely a flick of a hand, so I relented. “Truly?” I said in what was hopefully a normal voice.

“Truly.” he replied and released the binding. I finished the spin and thudded against the brick of the castle. I slowly turned to him. He was still sitting in the casual pose he had been when I first passed him, which was a little unfair. No one should have been able to terrify you from a seated position. He motioned for me to sit and I did, but scooted as far away from him as I could.

I scanned the area, looking for any signs of Robin and the rest of my friends in the darkness, but I saw no one.

He noticed me looking and smiled. “Sleeping spell. They’ll be up in ten minutes.” He studied his meticulous nails. “Or when I release them.”

My gaze slid against the trees and I knew he was right. I was here. Alone.

And I suspected the handsome devil sitting beside me was Merlin.

“What brings you to my neck of the woods?” I asked casually. It wasn’t every day Merlin made an appearance. In fact, I couldn’t recall a single incident or story where he just popped up for casual conversation.

Lucky me.

“You’ve made quite a stir lately, haven’t you?”

I shrugged. There was no use denying it. He was Merlin. And I was completely, royally screwed.

“I suppose I’ve been busy lately.” I felt completely powerless. The only thing I had for protection was the small dagger in my boot. Perfect to perforate the liver of a horny foot soldier, not so perfect for a legendary sorcerer.

“It wouldn’t help you.”

Aaaannd, of course he was a mind reader.

“I’m not a mind reader,” he said, echoing my thoughts. “I’m just much, much older than you. And,” he pointed to my boot, then at his nose, “I can smell the metal.”

I frowned and turned to fully study him. I could see the resemblances between him and Belle. Their hair was the same color and they had the same stubborn jut to their chin. I had a feeling he also liked getting his way. But where Belle was possessed of mostly normal soft brown eyes, Merlin’s were anything but normal. The more I hung around with magicians, the more I wondered if the freaky eye colors were something they all had in common. Whereas Rumple’s swirled like his magic barely lay latent on the surface, Merlin’s changed with his expressions. When I first stumbled upon him, they seemed a friendly enough dark brown. Now that I’d managed to amuse him, they sparkled like an aged cognac, a warm honey tone.

“What do you want?” I pointed my thumb behind me. “I need to get inside.”

“The entire castle is frozen in time. They will not hear us, nor will they ever know I was here. It is safe enough for now.”

I swallowed once, hard, at the thought of how much magic it took to do that and the fact that he was just sitting here with me, no signs of exertion whatsoever, basically holding an entire castle hostage in time. “All right,” I said instead, and hoped to the goddess I was able to escape this unscathed.

His eyes shifted again to an emerald green and his gaze sharpened. “You are afraid of me.” His tone was unsure, and, if I didn’t know better, a little disappointed.

I tilted my head. “I would wonder about my mental faculties if I weren’t afraid.”

He smiled slightly. “And judging from your lack of surprise, you know who I am.”

It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.

He waved a hand and I felt the glamour surrounding me fall away. I gasped in shock.

“I didn’t like talking to that…farce.” A gun. No,
my
gun appeared in his hand, and he handed it to me.

I was still gaping like a fishwife, but I took the gift he offered.

“Your friends are trying to make you pretend to be something you are not,” he said and watched intently as I stroked the barrel of my Sig.

“Just for a little while,” I said.

“Even for a little while, it’s wrong.”

I exhaled in annoyance. “So, I’m just supposed to walk straight into the castle gates and ask Naomi very nicely for my castle back?”

“Have you tried it?”

My mouth fell open again, but at his rich chuckle, I reluctantly smiled. “She’s not really known for negotiating.”

“Don’t I know it.” He settled back against the brick and studied me. “I’m here to ask for your assistance, Snow.”

I swallowed the rock in my throat down. Someone like him asking for assistance from me could not end well.

“Don’t look so terrified. I have a proposal.”

I forgot my righteous anger about his complete dismissal of Rumple’s magic and my frantic thoughts about trying to secure access inside, and focused completely on Merlin.

“I’m listening.”

A few minutes later, I was staring at him in slack-jawed surprise, but I was also infuriated on a cellular level. He was worse than Rumple in some ways.

“You’ve had the capability to help us all this time and you’ve stood idly by while we’ve almost lost our lives!” I put a hand to the bridge of my nose and squeezed. “Multiple times. And now, you want me to help you?” I shook my head. “This
proposal
,” I spat the word in distaste, “is insanity.”

He spread his hands out in front of him and my breath was taken away at the tightly coiled power I could sense within him. I was not always attuned to magic, but this man was a presence who could not be ignored. Magic crackled against his skin and every word he spoke was controlled and thought of in advance. He was careful, even with me—a person who had almost no guile and little ambition.

I laughed at the craziness of it. “So, you literally want me to walk through the front door?”

He nodded.

“And what if she pounds me into sand before I even get a word out?”

“I have faith in you. You have a wicked intelligence, Snow. I sense a cunning, ruthless brain inside of you.” He gestured to Naomi’s castle. “I know you don’t really want to kill her. And I know about the little pack you’re holding and its little secret. It’s an alternative you’re considering. And wouldn’t it be easier for you if this were to end in little bloodshed? So you can move on and get your life back?”

Why would he care about that? I schooled my face into blankness. “What makes you think that?”

“I sense there is someone inside you care for deeply.”

I sit up straighter, my heart threatening to pound out of its chest. “Is he alive?”

A thoughtful expression crossed his face. “You know not?”

I wanted to curse for showing my hand, but it was too late to retract. “No. I—” I rubbed a hand over my face.

Merlin took my hand and held it in his large, calloused one. “Look.”

My world fell away.

Max lay in a chamber, his body suspended in a viscous fluid. There were no cords or wires or anything holding it in suspension, it merely floated above the floor in the middle of the room. His stillness took my breath away. Naomi’s thin back came into view, her red hair spilling around her. She stood stiff and silent as she studied him.

Merlin shifted the view, allowing me to see her face. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched him, lifeless inside the tube. Several thoughts occurred to me at once, none of them good. None of them things I wanted to think about.

“Max,” she whispered and held one pale hand up to touch the glass.

The betrayal cut fast and furious, straight to my core. I inhaled a sharp breath and choked with the shame of it. Had this all been a ruse?

Had Max and Naomi played me from the beginning?

Questions swirled as I watched her, the pain of her loss evident on her face. I didn’t think Max was dead, but I could tell from the scene he was in terrible shape and Naomi’s magic was possibly not enough to save him.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

The words of Martin Luther King Jr. played through my head as some of the scenes from the last few months played through my head. Max finding me when no one else ever had. Our incident in the elevator. His profession of love.

Me surrendering to him.

“Oh Gods,” I whispered. “Enough, Merlin.”

The scene fell away and I collapsed against Merlin’s lean frame.

“How long?” I croaked.

“Years.” A thin strand of magic trailed from his fingers across the tree line. “Naomi is in it for the long game, Snow.”

“Was any of it real?” I buried my face in my hands, my thoughts spinning. Could any of it be real? Was I just a young, naive girl taken by the first handsome face she saw?

“I think you need to examine that later.” He picked up a heavy hank of hair and pushed it across my neck gently. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way, but it needed to be done.”

“And you were just the guy to do it, weren’t you?” I said bitterly.

“No one else had the power. No one else could see the truth. Maleficent is incredibly powerful, but time and events have shaken her. She trusted Max at times she probably shouldn’t have.” He took my chin in his hand and tilted it to force me to look at him. His eyes morphed into a clear sky blue. They were sincere and concerned. “She is my daughter. And she knows it. Her power has had time to grow and change. She’s had years to plan how to take you down.”

“And now, all of a sudden, you’re here to help me. Why?”

He released my chin and stroked a stray strand of hair away from my face. “Because she is not the person I believed her to be. And neither are you. Your paths have always been destined to collide.” His hands dropped. “But you have the choice to determine the collateral damage of the collision.”

My thoughts drifted back to Max’s daughter. “Does he even have a little girl?” I shook my head, sick at the thought of it.

Merlin sighed. “Nay. But this is something you should ask him about. I will elaborate no further.”

“I’d rather shoot him in his stupid, lying face,” I said.

“Well, yes, I can imagine you would.” Merlin patted me on the knee. “This is your choice, Snow. You can kill her and I would not stop you. She deserves it and so much more. But, I ask that you offer me this one boon, and, in return, you will have my gratitude and assistance in the future.”

“What about Belle?” The elephant in the room I’d been avoiding.

He smiled sadly. “This is
for
Belle. And for me. There is a much greater darkness coming than Naomi. Be sure of that.” He stood and stepped away from me. “This is not the last you will see of me, but I ask, for now, you keep my visit close to your heart and your lips sealed.”

“Who would be brave enough to break a promise to the great Merlin?”

“You would be surprised.” His lips curved downward. “Max cared about you, Snow. Think about all the times he could have killed you and ended it once and for all, but never took that step. Both he and Naomi have done regrettable things in their pasts, but this is the chance for closure. For amends.”

A thin, white trail of sparks flowed from his fingers and surrounded me. “A blessing from me, and a balm to your heart. It won’t always be broken.” The magic flowed through me, soothing my aching heart and swirling thoughts. “Until we meet again, dear one.” He lifted his hand in farewell and left me with the words, “Beware the cursed one.”

A quick burst of wind and he was gone, leaving me devastated, unglamoured, and thoroughly confused about my next step. My world had never been perfect, but it had been steady and calming.

Until Max walked back in and fucked everything up, and I was naive and green enough to let him. Cyndi and Belle were initially wary of him, but none of us thought he was hardcore evil. And I still couldn’t make myself think he was. Ten minutes with Merlin and my entire world had caved down upon me.

I stood and began to tuck my skirts around me, only to realize I was no longer wearing skirts. I was back in familiar black leather pants, a snug bright blue shirt, soft black leather boots, and, best of all, a loaded gun holster and a pack full of bullets. I sighed in delight. I opened my other pack just to check the contents and blew out a breath of relief. I was whole, unviolated, unbruised, and I had guns.

After a meeting with Merlin, too. I put a mental check in the win category.

Rustling and muffled curses came to me through the light breeze flowing. I chuckled and made my way to the imposing doors of my castle. The wind picked up my hair and ruffled it against my neck. I smiled at the coolness of it in the dark night.

It was possible I was walking straight into my death, but Merlin had managed to free me of something—my doubt. I’d wasted too much time scrambling around, trying to stay one step in front of Naomi, trying to prove myself, my worth, my heritage—but in the end, it didn’t matter.

Naomi and I both wanted the same thing.

Max.

I wasn’t prone to believe every single thing Merlin had told me, mostly because I wasn’t the trustful type, but there was something about him that told me he was inherently good. Deadly, no doubt, but I didn’t sense or feel any malice or malcontent.

The bargain he’d tried to strike with me benefited him in some ways, but it helped us all out. Doing what he wanted would result in me getting my castle back and my people out from under her rule.

Doing what he wanted would result in me losing Max. But now, I had doubts he was ever mine. From the look on Naomi’s face, there was more to their relationship than mistress and slave. On her part, at least, there was genuine love.

I stood at the massive doors, steeling myself for the confrontation to come. Perhaps Max was the reason she’d stepped up her game. A grin spread across my face as the next thought occurred to me. Or she knew I was gaining on her. She’d underestimated me multiple times now, and if Merlin’s knowledge meant anything, she was smart enough to realize it and try to stay one step ahead of us.

The doors swung open.

Stepmommy dearest was ready to receive me.