WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE (13 page)

           
“See.”
 
Raven said.
 
The three sisters held up their right hands, each holding a shimmering
fireball.

           
Sarah
broke for the room to the left as an explosion roared behind her.
 
The shock wave nearly knocked her off her
feet but she kept running.
 
She could
hear yelling.
 
Two of them were after
Daniel and the third, she didn’t know which, was after her.

           
After
dashing through another doorway into a sitting room, and convincing herself
that escape was possible, something warm and heavy tackled her from
behind.
 
Sarah twisted until she was
lying flat on her back with Raven straddling her stomach.
 
They wrestled briefly but though Sarah was stronger,
Raven had the advantage of being on top.
 
Finally the blonde surrendered.

           
“So
what’re you going to do now?”
 
She
panted, still struggling feebly.

           
“I
don’t know.”
 
Raven stuck out her tongue
but she was breathing a little heavy as well.
 
“Maybe I should steal that kiss Daniel was hoping for.”

           
“Oh,
so you want to kiss me?”

           
“You
want to try and stop me?”

           
Yes—No,
Sarah wasn’t sure.
 
Before she could
answer, Raven’s weight shifted slightly.
 
Gentle fingers stroked her cheek and Sarah closed her eyes, still not
sure what was happening.
 
Her lips parted
of their own accord; her nose filled with the scent of boysenberry.

           
“We
caught him Sis!”
 
Bekah stomped through
the door, dragging a pleading Daniel by the scruff of his jacket.
 
Mandy followed, gently admonishing the young
man for not being attracted to redheads.
 
Daniel proclaimed vehemently that redheads were most beautiful creatures
on earth.
 
Raven pulled Sarah up by the arm.

           
The
Furies carefully eyed their captives, trying to decide the best form of
punishment.
  
Sarah and Daniel, both abandoning
any hope of escape, sat meekly on the couch not knowing which sister they
wanted to win.

           
“We
could tie them up naked in front of the court house.”
 
Raven tossed out the first idea.
 
Sarah couldn’t tell if she was joking.

           
“No.
 
Mom said we’d be grounded after last time hit
the papers.
 
Although if we didn’t put up
the sign again.”
 
Bekah was putting a lot
of thought into this.
 
Sarah didn’t think
they were joking.

           
“We
could make him kiss each of us.”
 
Mandy
suggested.
 
Daniel perked up at the
suggestion and even dared voice his approval of the plan.

           
Bekah
shook her head.
 
“I can see where kissing
Sis would be punishment but not us.
 
Isn’t that right Daniel?”
 
She glared
haughtily at the man while he fidgeted with a button on his jacket.

           
“Absolutely
right, Rebekah.”
 
Daniel’s was still
convinced he could charm his way out.
 
Sarah knew he’d just made a life altering mistake but decided on keeping
silent.
 
She had enough money to buy her
own dinner.

           
“So
kissing me is a punishment?”
 
Raven
sounded offended and started fake crying on Mandy’s shoulder.
 
“He’s so mean.”
 
The words were muffled but still clearly
audible.

           
“No,
I mean, I- of course not, Branwyen.
 
I
would love to kiss you.”
 
Daniel was
showing signs of panic.
 
Sarah took a
sudden interest in how lavishly painted the ceiling in this room really was.

           
“So
now you’re saying you don’t agree with me?”
 
The tone matched the curl of Bekah’s lips.
 
“Plus,” She ignored Daniel’s fervent
pleading, “you made Sis cry.
 
Bad, bad
Daniel, we’ll have to punish you.”

           
Holding
up a cord of rope she somehow kept hidden in her pocket, Raven sniffled.
 
“I just happened to have this.
 
Lucky, huh?”

           
Mandy
clapped, Bekah grinned, and Daniel tried begging for mercy.
 
Sarah calmly wondered how hard it was to
paint a ceiling that high.

“Lady Branwyen,”
The maid from earlier stood in the doorway.
 
Sarah didn’t know if it was due to her outstanding professionalism or
simply that she had become used to such sights, but the girl didn’t bat an
eyelash despite walking into a scene where a half-naked man was in the process
of being trussed up by three giggling she-beasts.
 
“Her Grace wishes to see you in the
chambers.”

Raven muttered and
disentangled herself from the pile of limbs.
 
After thanking Daniel for being so fun, she
followed the maid through a door in the back of the room.
 
Bekah and Mandy didn’t like their
entertainment being prematurely ended so decided to cause some more
trouble.
 
After Sarah untied his hands, Daniel
took a seat next to her.
 
She took a
moment to note that he looked even better, if it were possible, without a shirt
on.

“Now where were
we?”
 
He appeared remarkably nonplused
all things considered.

“I believe I was
about to accept your invitation to dinner Wednesday night.”
 
Perfectly playing the part of the blushing
damsel, Sarah dropped her eyes and gave a half smile.

“Then I shall pick
you up at seven.”
 
Daniel stood.
 
“Now I must be going.
 
Unfortunately those three always manage to
make me late somehow.”
 
He bowed and
kissed her hand for the second time.
 
After watching him leave, Sarah threw herself backwards onto the couch
with a satisfied grin.

           
“What
do you want Elspeth?”
 
Raven was not
happy because they had decided to put Daniel on the 5 o’clock train, but would
never make it in time now.

           
Elspeth
and Stephen looked up, not even bothering to fuss at the pale girl for her
rudeness as she took a seat in front of the desk.

           
“We
want to invite Sarah to receive the mark of the White Rose.”
 
Elspeth hoped to shock her adopted daughter
by this announcement.

           
“Already?
 
You’ve barely known her a month.
 
How do the others feel?”
 
Raven jerked up bolt straight in her chair,
feelings of worry and pride fighting for position in her face.

           
Elspeth
smiled.
 
Raven was rarely caught by
surprise and it was when people were surprised that they were easiest to
read.
 
“Sarah is a co-owner of a
Chandlish business and a good friend to Valentria’s royal family.”
 
The Duchess explained.
 
“Her safety is very important.”

           
“As
for your sisters,” Raven mentally noted that Els didn’t refer to them as ‘my
daughters’ and that meant she was being nice, “they haven’t been told yet.
 
You know her best so let me ask you this; do
you trust Sarah Petty enough to allow her into our family and to bear our
mark?”

           
She’d
been expecting this, had counted on it in fact, but Raven made a show of
thinking it over, not wanting to appear too anxious.
 
“Yes ma’am.
 
I believe Sarah to be above reproach in every way.
 
She is both honest and honorable.”

           
“Very
well, I shall put it to a vote to the rest of our family.”
 
Elspeth peeked at Stephen who voiced his
concurrence.

           
“Petty
was one of the most honest men I have ever met.
 
I find it hard to believe Sarah to be dissimilar from her father.
 
I vote yes.”

           
Elspeth
patted her step-daughter’s shoulder affectionately.
 
“I’m proud to see how well you’re doing,
Branwyen.
 
If your mother and father were
here they would say the same thing.”

           
“Thank
you Elspeth.
 
And you too Stephen.”
 
Raven hugged the large man who accepted it
despite rarely allowing anyone to touch him.
 
“Let me know as soon as you can, please.”

           
Elspeth
smiled warmly, “Of course I will, Branwyen.”

           
When
she left the office, Raven warily trudged up the stairs to the room she and
Bekah shared.
 
Her older sister was
already waiting and looked up as Raven closed the door.
 
With a swipe of her hand, a hidden rune was
activated that made the room soundproof.

           
“We
were right.
 
They asked Sarah to receive
the mark.”
 
Raven told her, sitting down
on the bed.

           
Bekah’s
jaw clenched.
 
“That was quicker than I
expected.
 
They must’ve realized you
can’t be tracked anymore.”

           
“Yeah,
and that’s going to make things trickier but now we can make sure Lil’bit can’t
be blamed in any way.”

           
“It’s
about to get very dangerous, Sis.”
 
Bekah
placed her hand on top of Raven’s. “We can always call the whole thing off.”

           
Raven
tried putting on a brave front.
 
“No, we
have to find out who the spy is.
 
I’ll be
fine.”

           
“And
your little problem?”
 
Bekah stared at
her little sister, her best friend, with real worry.

           
“We
have the congreve crystals only we know about.
 
I’ll call you and make sure we take care of it before there are any
emergencies.”

           
Bekah
pulled Raven closer and the two sat alone in the world.

CHAPTER
11:
 
JUST A LIL’BIT

           
“COME
BACK HERE YOU FURRY LITTLE THIEF!”
 
Raven
barreled through the doorway into the living room, chasing Snuffles who held a
large purple pillow in his mouth.
 
The prairie-thumper
ducked behind the couch.
 
Raven feinted
right; Snuffles took off to the left.

           
“Sarah,
make him give it back.”
 
Raven
cried.
 
Snuffles backed into a corner and
shook the pillow vigorously.

           
Sarah
was having none of it.
 
Daniel would be
here in a few minutes for their date and she’d be damned if anything was going to
ruin her makeover.
 
She and Liz had gone
shopping that morning and Sarah was happy to discover the money they were
making from the shop made it easy to buy something nice to wear.
 
She wasn’t going to be buying more clothes
from Lafitte’s anytime soon, but for someone who had been shifting through
bargain bins a few months ago just buying something new was extremely
gratifying.

Still the two were
an amusing distraction that helped pass the time, and it was an epic battle.
 
Snuffles dove under the couch.
 
Raven leapt on top thinking to corner
him.
 
Snuffles darted for safety but
Raven timed her jump and caught a corner of the pillow.
 
A fierce tug-of-war ensued with neither
combatant willing to give ground.

           
Before
she could decide who deserved the victory, Sarah heard a knock at the
door.
 
Happily ignoring the two growling creatures
in her living room, she opened it with a smile.

           
Positively
radiating charm, Daniel bowed his head in greeting.
 
Sarah invited him in and instantly regretted
it.
 
There was a loud ripping sound followed
by hundreds of downy feathers filling the room.
 
Buoyed by the ceiling fan they danced like snow.
 

Raven felt the
effects of gravity much more severely.
 
With a surprised squeak she fell into a high back chair which tumbled over
with a resounding crash.
 
The irate
redhead stared upside down at Daniel and Sarah.

           
“I
hate that damned critter.”
 
She
muttered.
 
The critter in question
proudly sauntered over to Sarah, the torn pillow case held in its mouth like a
trophy.
 

The blonde bent
over to pick up the soggy material and patted Snuffles affectionately.
 
“Good boy.
 
Did you steal that from the mean ol’ redhead?
 
You’re mommy’s good boy, yes you are.”

“Hey Raven.”
 
Daniel waved.

Raven grunted and
rolled over.

“Don’t wait
up.”
 
Sarah closed the door but before it
latched heard Raven saying something about wombat stew.

           
Sarah
watched as Daniel refilled her wine glass and remembered that it hadn’t been
too long ago she was worried about how to pay for groceries.
 
Now here she was, having dinner at the nicest
restaurant she’d ever seen.
 
Things had
definitely worked out for the best since she’d moved to Valentria.

Still, work at the
shop was exhausting so she was thankful for the brief rest today provided.
 
She was also happy about getting a chance to
really get to know Daniel.
 
Considering
how frustratingly excited Raven became with an audience, this was first
opportunity they had for a civil conversation.

           
“How
was it?”
 
Daniel’s blue eyes twinkled in
the candle light.

Sarah took a small
sip of wine to wash down the last savory bite of lobster.
 
Wonderful, amazing, the greatest food in the
history of the world, she wanted to say.
 
Instead she just smiled. “It’s delicious.”

The flickering
candle moved a shadow across the cleft in her handsome date’s chin and Sarah
nearly melted.
 
She didn’t have a lot of
experience with dates, only a couple back in school, and neither of them
compared to this.
 
They were sitting in a
corner booth, mostly hidden from view.
 
A
young woman plucked the strings of a harp, and notes as soft and rich as
vintage wine wafted through the dusky room.
 
Sarah caught her mind wandering how expensive all this was, and chided
herself.
 
She wasn’t poor, anymore, but
the habit of stretching every bit of money to the breaking point was deeply
embedded by years of poverty.
 
 

“So are your
wounds healing?”
 
It had been three days
since Raven and her two hench-witches had assaulted this absolutely gorgeous
man.
 
Sarah was afraid he’d never want to
talk to her again but he just laughed off the vicious attack.

Daniel motioned
for a waiter.
 
After ordering dessert,
which Sarah half-heartedly claimed to not want, he answered.
 
“They’re healing just fine.
 
Those three never leave actual scars and this
time I got to remain mostly clothed.”

Darn it all, Sarah
thought to herself.

Quickly she tried
to think of another topic they hadn’t covered.
 
“Where is your practice?”

The waiter sat
down slices of cheesecake for them.
 
Daniel relished the first taste before saying he was the Head of
Medicine at Orson
Medical Center.

Sarah was
impressed, more so than she had been before.
 
That was one of the largest hospitals in the country, and even she,
living in the slums of Vestavia, had heard of it.
 
“Wow.
 
That’s pretty good for someone so young.”
 
She took a bite of her dessert and a part of
her thought how much Raven would like it.

“First in my class
from medical school and I have a masters in business.
 
Her Grace hired me right out of college and
had me training for the position from day one.”

Rich doctor.
 
Handsome doctor.
 
Rich and incredibly handsome doctor!
 
Sarah’s mind sang the words over and over.

Then Daniel
winked, “Not to brag or anything.”

Sarah snorted into
her wine glass.
 
Normally guys who said
that were bragging and being pains about it but with Daniel it didn’t feel like
that at all.
 
He was comfortable with
himself and made everyone else around him feel at ease.

The beautiful
couple finished their dessert, and Daniel held her hand over the table.
 
Sarah didn’t have a depth of knowledge to
draw on but felt that as far as first dates went, this one was turning into a
rousing success.

Too quickly Sarah
found herself standing outside the door to the apartment.
 
She had invited her date up for a night cap
but he declined, saying he didn’t want to wake Raven.
 
Then Daniel kissed her softly good-night and
she could still feel his lips on hers.
 
The gentle stubble of his cheek still pricked her skin like Cupid’s
arrow.
 
She leaned her back against the
door and smiled happily.
 
That had been a
really good kiss.

With a wistful
sigh for what could have been, she opened the door.
 
On the refrigerator hung a note describing,
in minute detail, how one should prepare roasted prairie-thumper.
 
It might have worried her if she couldn’t see
two figures lying on the couch, cuddled up and fast asleep.

Sarah took a quilt
out of the spare bedroom and covered Raven and Snuffles with it.
 
The wombat snuggled closer to Raven, who
shifted slightly in her sleep to give him room.
 
Sarah watched them for a minute before whispering goodnight and going to
bed herself.
 
Tonight’s dreams promised
to be a lot of fun.

           
After
a brief discussion, Sarah accepted the invitation to be marked as a member of
the inner circle of the Chandlish family and Raven was now standing in the door
holding a dress.
 
“Okay Sarah you have to
put this on.”
   

           
Wincing
at the hideous garment Raven was holding up, Sarah shook her head.
 
The old fashioned dress with lace ruffles on
the large skirt was… some color she couldn’t really be sure of… a horrible
cross between pink and green maybe?
 
She
could kind of understand the yellow stars that, for some reason, circled front
of the dress from smaller to larger.
 
There
was a sneaking suspicion that there was a final, giant star on the back but she
really didn’t want to think about it.
 
The purple bow was a tad confusing but since it was supposed to be a
formal event there would be formal attire.
 
But tassels?
 
Seriously,
tassels!
 
This wasn’t a window curtain
and she damned sure wasn’t going to be making the thing go up and down so why
in the name of The Five were there BLUE FREAKING TASSELS!?

           
“Oh,
and the hat.”

           
Sarah
decided right then that she wasn’t going.
 
To hell with being a member in good standing with this family of
nutcases, and to hell with being rich.
 
There was no way in the world she would be putting on that abomination
of a cone shaped horror.
 
It was about
two feet high, bright garish orange with a white rose that looked like it had
been drawn by a toddler in the middle.
 
The addition of a piece of gossamer ribbon hanging off the top some how
made it all worse.
 
Either piece of
clothing by itself would be bad enough but if she put both on at the same time
she’d wind up looking like a deranged princess.

           
“I’m
not wearing that!”
 
Sarah crossed her
arms, glaring contemptuously at the fashion disaster that some how escaped the
fevered dreams of a lunatic.
 
“Plus I
have to receive the mark in front of the most influential people in Valentria!”

           
“It’s
tradition.”
 
Raven cajoled.

           
“I
don’t care.
 
I’m not wearing that.”

           
Sarah
expected another argument but was surprised when Raven simply nodded her head.

           
“I
understand.”
 
There was a slight hitch in
Raven’s voice and the redhead’s eyes looked to the ground.
 
Sarah thought she might be crying when Raven
turned for the door.

           
“Wait!”
 
Sarah jumped up and grabbed the dress.
 
Raven and her family had been so generous
that she didn’t feel right not accepting this honor, even if it was a terrible
eyesore.
 
“I’ll wear it.
 
I’m sorry but it just caught me by surprise.”

           
Raven
looked up, her eyes welling with un-fallen tears.
 
“Thanks Lil’bit.”
 
She smiled brightly and hugged Sarah.
 
“Put it on and I’ll wait for you in the car.”

           
After
she was gone, Sarah held the dress up in front of the mirror, eyeing the giant
star that was indeed on the back.
 
It was
even worse than she first thought but she couldn’t go back on her word.

           
The
car ride was thankfully uneventful, though the driver nearly ran into a cart
because he was staring in the rearview mirror trying not to laugh.
 
The walk to the castle throne room was a bit
worse.
 
The help, who Sarah had grown
accustomed to not making a sound, whispered and giggled behind her back.
 
Raven ignored the chatter and pushed open the
door to the throne room where a small crowd of people were gathered.

           
If
she were expecting a polite reception, Sarah was sorely disappointed.
 
The entire room, consisting of about twenty
people she didn’t know, plus the united Chandlish clan, burst into
laughter.
 
Raven calmly strolled over to
a chair just to the side of the raised dais and plopped down next to Bekah, who
seemed furious about something.
 
Liz,
Mandy, and Brian were sitting with them.
 
Raven would explain later that only members of the nobility, by blood or
marriage, were allowed to sit at the head of court.

           
Sarah
stood in the door way, letting them have a good laugh at her expense before
sashaying in.
 
She saw Daniel and gave
him a little smile and wave, then shot a glance at Raven that would’ve troubled
the redhead if she weren’t busily devouring a gallon of ice cream she had
somehow procured.