Crossover 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book One' (24 page)

I leaned my cheek against his and
thought about a future that, until recently, had never crossed my
mind. Having kids had never occurred to me, mostly because I had
never found someone I would want them with. But watching Jasper
with Luke and Mel’s twins, seeing how happy he was with them made
me see how much it meant to him. And now, he was stuck with me and
chances that we were even remotely genetically close enough to
reproduce weren’t very good.

But then again, if there was one thing
I had learned while living here so far, it was that things were
able to happen, no matter how impossible it seemed.

I took a deep breath. “You’re right. As
usual.” I felt him smile. “We’ll come to it when we come to it.”
Not for the first time since we had met, it amazed me how calm and
objective he was.

“So, are you excited for next week?” he
asked, changing the subject.

I nodded. “I can’t wait to see it. You
make it sound amazing.” Time had flown by since I had gotten here
and the week of Wellfore was almost here. I had spent hours upon
hours making braided rope halters at Tara’s urging.

“Do you really think people will like
my halters?”

“Of course. Look at how many people
comment on the ones you made for Peena and Goop. Did you find
enough of the gin berries to dye the last of them?”

“Not quite. But I found a patch of
those blue colored berries that you can’t eat and I mixed those in
there. What are they called again?”

“Derk berries.”

“Right. Well, anyway, with the pink
from the gin berries and the blue from these ones, the dye turned
into a great purple color. Almost like a dark lavender.”

“Did you write out the portions, so you
remember?”

I nodded. “You think purple will be a
hit?”

He shrugged. “Purple isn’t my favorite,
but I’m sure someone out there likes it.” He grinned. “Yan ist
surpen, by the way.” He squeezed me tightly.

I laughed. “And why am I
amazing?”

“Well, from what you tell me, and what
Tara and Ben tell me, where you come from is completely different
than here. And yet, you take it all in stride, like nothing is out
of place, and act like you have been here forever.”

“Oh. It is. Completely different, that
is. I’m not going to lie. There are some things I miss. Hot showers
would be at the top of the list. But now that I can heat water
instantly without setting everything else around the tub on fire, I
don’t mind so much.”

He chuckled and I elbowed him, knowing
he was remembering my mishap with trying to heat water. It had been
a good thing I had had the sense to try it outside.

Jasper was thinking the same thing.
“I’m just glad you were outside. I don’t think Tara and Ben would
have wanted to rebuild their house after just acquiring
it.”

“I mean really, I was never the kind of
person to want much, or do much. I had a few good friends, I went
to school, and I rode. Now that I’m here, I still ride and it is a
hundred times better because my horse can talk.

My best friend from there is here as
well.

As for school, well, how more perfect
could this be? I wanted to be a vet. To heal sick and hurting
things. And here, I’m a healer.

And now that I am here, I have the one
thing that I couldn’t find there.”

“Oh?”

I smiled. “The most sought after
bachelor on the queen’s guard.”

He laughed.

Thinking about home made me think about
my parents. A small lump formed in my throat.

Jasper’s arms tightened around me.
“What’s wrong?”

I shrugged. “Nothing, really. I
just...it sounds so childish. Especially after hearing your
story.”

“What?”

“I miss my mom and dad.” The tears I
had been holding back ran down my face. “I miss them so
much.”

Jasper turned me so that I was cradled
in his arms and held me against his chest. He waited until I was
done crying before he spoke.

“Would you like to go see them?” he
asked softly.

I looked up at him. “Do you think I’m
allowed?”

He laughed. “Who is going to stop
you?”

I sat quietly, not sure what to think.
“I never even thought that was an option. I just assumed that now
that I was here, I had to stay.”

He shook his head. “It’s not like they
can take your cross stone away from you to keep you here. You don’t
need one to cross over.”

“Hmm.” I started to get excited. “That
would be great!”

He smiled at me. “When do you want to
go?”

“Oh. Well, after Wellfore. I would hate
to miss it. That and I don’t want the shed full of halters all
winter long. Plus, I want to see Tara and Ben race, and Fillian is
going to take me to the healers’ booths so I can get some of the
rarer herbs and roots that don’t grow around here. Oh, and then I
have a surprise for you that I hope you’ll like for the night of
the ball...” I was so excited about the fact that I was going to
see my parents again that I was talking a mile a minute.

Jasper laughed.

“Speaking of the ball, you have to get
me your jacket so I can put the new buttons on it.” A few days a
week now, I would ride to Fillian’s and help her with her patients.
I was having a great time learning from her, and in return for my
help, she had started to pay me for my time. I had taken some of
that money to buy Jasper new pants and a jacket. The pants were a
beautiful dark brown color and the jacket a dark blue. On my way
home with my purchase, I had come across a vendor who sold a
variety of buttons. My eyes had been drawn to a set of silver
buttons with dark blue and brown veining. I wanted to replace the
existing buttons on the jacket with these new ones.

“I still don’t see why you went and
spent your hard earned money on me,” he complained.

“Because. Tara told me that everyone
dresses up to the nines for the ball, and all you had to wear were
your buckskin pants and one of your tunics. You are one of the
queen’s captains. Don’t tell me you didn’t have the proper clothes
before giving everything up because of me.”

He shrugged. “I’ve told you more than
once. If there was a ball, I usually made sure I was on patrols.
And I didn’t give it all up because of you. I love our life here. I
could have tried to get you to move to Pinsaber, you
know.”

I smiled at him. “I know. And I love
our life here, too. I also love how you look in your new
jacket.”

“And what about you? If I’m to be all
dressed up, shouldn’t you be as well?”

I shrugged. “Tara said she has
something that might fit me.”

He frowned but left it at
that.

I gave him a kiss and got up off of the
floor.

“You are looking very pleased with
yourself, Hayden.” Jasper was trying not to smile.

I tried to look shocked. “Now, why
would you say that?”

He laughed. “You are just as bad a liar
as me. Now tell me what you did.”

I shook my head. “Nope. It’s a
secret.”

He got up off the floor in one fluid
motion.

I looked around, trying to find the
quickest escape and started to laugh as he slowly walked in my
direction. “You can’t make me tell.”

He grinned and shrugged. “We’ll see
about that.”

I ran towards the door as fast as I
could. I made it outside, but my success was short lived. I felt
his arms go around me and I was lifted off the ground.

Jasper put me over his shoulder like a
sack of potatoes.

“Put me down!” I was laughing so hard I
was finding it hard to breathe.

He quickly did as he was told but
smothered my thoughts of victory by laying me on my back and
straddling me.

“Don’t make me do it, Shlova
.”

“I won’t tell!”

He shrugged and laughed. “I think you
will.”

I squealed then sucked in a breath as
his fingers found my sides. If I had one weakness, Jasper knew it.
I was extremely ticklish. I tried to wiggle out from underneath
him.

“Just tell me and I’ll stop.” He was
laughing almost as hard as I was.

Tears were running down my face and I
thought my sides were going to split. “Ok! Ok! I’ll
tell!”

He stopped tickling but stayed on
me.

“I bought something else. But it’s a
surprise. I want to show you later.”

He looked at me, trying to see if I was
blocking the fact that I was lying. Seeing and sensing that I
wasn’t, he smiled. “Ok, then. I won’t tickle it out of
you.”

I laughed. “Thank god! I almost peed my
pants!”

He got off of me and helped me up, his
laughter shaking his whole frame. “Well, we can’t have that now,
can we.” He took my hand and we made our way back to the
house.

Jasper stopped when we reached the
door. He turned me so he was holding both of my hands and
smiled.

“Venurn mairen, Shlova .” He bent down
and gave me a long, soft kiss.

I melted into him. He wrapped his arms
around me and held me close.

I looked up and lost myself in his
eyes. My smile grew and I stood on my tip toes to kiss him again.
“Welcome home,” I whispered back. I took his hand and together we
walked into our own little house.

*****

The next day we went to Luke and Mel’s
to help them finish up the last of the renovations they were doing
on a cave they had found not too far from our clearing.

Zane and Dawn picked the pond to settle
down. When they couldn’t agree on whether they wanted a house or a
den, Shanus had suggested they compromise. Everyone grabbed a
shovel and began to dig. When we were done, half of the house was
underground, the other half above. To anyone who didn’t know any
better it would look like dwarves lived there.

Shanus, Prense and Phlann went to stay
with Dodge and the Winged Ones.

“Won’t they get cold with no house?” I
asked Jasper.

He shook his head. “They are more like
horses than humans when it comes to braving the
elements.”

Brice was invited to stay with Fillian
and Brinnan. They had extra rooms for when sick beings came to be
treated.

Before we could blink, Wellfore was
upon us.

Dodge had offered to help carry all of
the halters I had made back into town. He stood patiently while we
harnessed him and hooked him to the wagon Jasper and Ben had
made.

“It was great that Ben remembered he
had this harness. This will save us about three trips!”

Jasper threw another of the bags of
halters into the wagon. “Definitely. It will be great to bring
everything back, too, once the week is done. If you don’t mind
doing this again, Dodge.”

Dodge snorted and shook out his
mane.

I gave him a hug. “Thanks,
buddy.”

“Aunt Hayden, can we ride in the
wagon?” Tyler was running out of the woods, his brother trotting
after him in wolf form.

“Do you mind?” I whispered to Dodge
before answering.

He shook his head.

“Of course you can,” I answered him.
Trent shifted back and both of them proceeded to give me a
hug.

“Thanks, Auntie!”

“Don’t thank me, boys. Thank Dodge.
He’s the one pulling.” I laughed.

Dodge was then assaulted by a wave of
thank yous and hugs.

Luke grabbed a bag of halters and threw
it into the wagon. “How many did you get done, Hayden?”

“I made twenty of each color. Blue,
red, pink, purple, orange, brown and green. But I don’t really like
the green ones, so I’m not sure if I’ll put those out. I swear I
followed the measurement you gave me, Mel, but the color I got was
all wrong.”

She grinned. “Using gin berry leaves to
dye is tricky. You’ll get the hang of it.”

Tyler and Trent jumped into the
wagon.

“Zane and Dawn are still meeting us at
Tara’s?” asked Jasper.

Mel nodded. “Yes. They should be there
already. Dawn wanted to go get more supplies to make more pies.
She’s sure we’re going to run out.” Mel and Dawn had made pies to
sell at the street fair.

Luke looked a bit green.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

Mel laughed. “Serves you right for
trying to eat a whole gin berry pie.”

He smiled. “But they’re so
good.”

Jasper came back from in the house with
our bag of clothes for the week.

“You made sure you packed your things
for the ball, right?” I asked him.

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Shlova.
Though I still haven’t figured out why I have to be dressed up if
you’re not going to be.”

“I told you. Tara said she has
something I can wear. She’s great at stuff like that, so I’m not
worried.”