Guardian (22 page)

“Young one, it is an absolute wonder that no one in our own court never found the answer to that question, but you being a half human girl, have the courage of a lion.  My real name is Altheon.  Now, wouldn’t you go by something else with a name like that?”

“Well,
MY
name isn’t very original.  At least no one will mistake you for another.  I have no distinctive stand out points.” 

I really hated being left out of her mindful thoughts of others.  I couldn’t sift through them for understanding her reasons for things.  And I scoffed at her numbing humbleness, “Told you she doesn’t see her own beauty.  She doesn’t see herself.”

“My dear green eyed queen, NO one will mistake you for another.  Your glow alone stops one in their tracks.” 

She beamed the way I liked for her too hearing that she stands out like the goddess she was.  She must have been happy because I reasoned that Altheon’s next comment meant she was thinking it too.  “You do my queen.  The beacon that lights you stands beside you now.”  The seer motioned our way, “The two of you, sit!  You have something to ask me?”  He shared his thoughts on the meeting and the binding attempt with Kinsler. 

“He asked permission for the binding, correct?”

Grace and I gave each other a furtive look of confirmation.  “No,” we said together.

“Kind of, but he never got a confirmation back,” she said slowly.

“It’s invalid.” 

“It’s invalid?” we said together, again.

“Yes, it’s that simple, young ones.  Young Prince Kinsler may not know history as he should, but I do.  May I see your arm?” She did. “It’s not valid.  I’m sure of it.  If it was, a defined maple leaf would be edged in the skin.”

“You’re sure?” I wanted surety.

“Yes, young Ian.”

I rolled my eyes at calling me that, just because he’s known me a long time.  “I’m aware of how young I am, but how sure is the validity of the mark on her arm?  Can she still have a marriage binding…to me?”  I swallowed hard.

He knew we were waiting without breathing for fear of missing his answer. “Yes!  Unless she doesn’t want to get married…to you.” He mocked me and maybe he was kidding, but I didn’t care for jokes of that kind here lately.  I took her hand and squeezed, then threw the death glare at Altheon.

“Yes, yes, however, there is the matter of what Kinsler thinks.  It was still a binding from his end.  That’s why it left a mark.  The binding was never finished from the other party involved.  That makes it invalid.  A one way binding.”

I saw the intrigued look in the seer’s aged eyes that gave him a youthful appearance when he thought trouble might be brewing somewhere for him to stick his long nose in.

“He thinks that they are bound.”   Was he trying to make me say it?  “This part is important.  Whatever he is planning and I assure you he’s planning something nasty and vile for the young queen if he’s forcing a binding on her without her permission, it is highly probable that he thinks his plan is in motion.  It will only hinder you to act irresponsibly and inform him of his mishap.”

“Pike and I had two possible motives for doing it.  To keep her from marrying in the Seelie court and bring her to the Unseelie court for his own gain.  He would beg the mercy of his court or destroy us and take both our land and the Nyms land.  Or he could take on both courts by gaining her.  There are several loopholes in each theory that I’m sure you are aware of.” I made the seer see them quietly to not scare her any further.  “It’s all theory.   No evidence.”

“All kinds of hairy beasts to tackle in there, my lady.  Best not!”

At least I could trust Altheon’s motives when reading her so closely.  Her entering his mind at will was definitely scary. 

Grace turned to me inquiring,
“You’ve thought on this…a lot?”

“I have to.  I want to.  I will not lose you.” I replied to her letting my guard down once again. I hated always letting her know the danger she might be in or that I thought about it so often, but the alternative would make me a jacked up mess.

“But yet you’re still hiding things from me.”

Without a doubt.

I didn’t want to answer that, but I was honest or at least with telling her the reasons to understand my fears.  It felt like the atmosphere would swallow me whole for lying to her even if it was just withholding information to keep her safe.  “Only the possible reasons Kinsler could have to take you.  You have to understand I fear the worst and contemplate everything to make sure you are safe.  I can’t let anything happen to you Grace.”

The seer watched and made no reply inside or out until we’d at least stopped skirting the truth from each other.  Then Altheon said, “I do not know his intentions, but I know Kinsler’s past transgressions well enough that they are probably not good.  For now, let’s play out the part he wants you to play and maybe you’ll discover what he is plotting.”

“And we can go forward with wedding plans?” she asked unabashedly.

“I believe…if you want to find out Kinsler’s plans, you’ll need to let word fester out that you are incapable of a marriage ceremony at the time until further investigation is completed.”

Will this ever end?  Will everyone talk about us getting married but ourselves?

“You both will bring the Seelie court back to its great splendor of what it once was.  And there are other prophecies at work here.  Sometimes patience brings about glorious things worth waiting for.  If I may be a little more ‘cryptic’ for you,” he eyed Grace smiling sheepishly, “stop dwelling on those things you haven’t yet encountered, leaving the future to unfold on its own, and you may save more than one person’s piece of mind.”  The last part was meant for me.

“Do you regret coming here with me?” I hated to ask, but it always camped out in the back of my mind.

“No!  I miss my family, but I can’t live without you.  I’ve told you before, but I think I’ve always known you were not
human
. You just couldn’t be that perfect and be human.”

“I’m most definitely not perfect. And I don’t deserve you,” I sighed thinking she was intelligent, but sometimes dense in her thinking about me. 

“You’re not taking his advice I see!  Why do you talk that way?  You deserve to be happy too.”

“You
don’t realize
how hard
it is to know I could mess up one time and lose you forever.” I had such a hard time saying things like this. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about why Kinsler might have done all that?” 

“I don’t want you to worry.”

“But we can figure things out better together rather than bearing the burden alone.  It’s not fair to the other one.  We said we are a team.  You can’t protect me from everything.  I’ll have to make some decisions on my own.”  She leaned her head on my shoulder and I kissed the top of her head trying not to make it obvious about my obsession with the scent her flowery shampoo carried.

“I feel well protected.  But I also feel like you’re not free to give me everything you need…and what I need.  You won’t slow down to just enjoy.  I know we’ve been on the run since we finally
found
each other, but, well, I want your full attention sometimes without distractions.”

She is the distraction.

“We used to lay on the trampoline and dream.  I once heard that when one dream comes true, you make another dream.  I want to make the dreams together.  Yes, we have business, struggles, etc.  That’s life.  Yes, we’ll have time to worry.  There’s no avoiding it.  But I think Altheon has a point, let’s just sit back and enjoy life for a little while.  The life part will catch back up to us.”

“Are you finished with another monologue, my love?”  I meant it playfully, but she was offended.  “My turn,” I said fast.

“I will try…
try
not to worry so much.  I have a list if this is going to work.”   Sharing meant revealing myself, a knife that’s hard to heal if I’m hurt.   She needed more, but at this point it needed to come in small doses with the right amount of balance to knowing the wide spectrum of what her life entails.  She needed to know more if she was to be a diplomatic queen.  She’d just have to trust me. 

“First, you promise to wear the green emerald dress again.  You know which one.”  I want what I wanted.  She knew.   “Second, you spend time with the historian learning more about your family from our world.  There is so much you don’t know still.  I’ll tutor you.”

“I like this list so far—

“Shh!” A finger went to her lips and then mimicked on mine.  Two inches away from her was too far.  She dangerously pulled my hand to her lap. 

“Third, you accompany me on the shooting range.  You could use the practice.”  I tried to give her a furtive, sharp look that would make her react.

She huffed and stuck her nose in the air. “You don’t agree?”  I said amused.  Grace squeezed my hand but refused to answer.

“And fourth, you practice your “persuasion mojo” on someone outside of your emotional pool.  You can’t be caught off guard again.”

“Crazy man, it doesn’t work on you so it’s so not worth it.”

“It doesn’t?” Our eyes met. “On the contrary, I think your
mojo
has worked on me for years.” I knew what I wanted.  “Deal?”

“Deal!  But I can’t help the “persuasion mojo” as you call it.  Sometimes, it just kind of flows out like a river when someone gets me all riled up.” She saw my expression and answered with, “But I’ll try.”  Then her eyes rolled not once, but twice.

“Alright, I have something I need to go do.  I’ll be back in a while.  Will you meet me back here in about an hour?” Heck if she didn’t panic.  I shouldn’t have loved it, but I did.  “Shh!  No worries, remember.  You’ll see me in an hour.  I think Danella has something she’s been dying to tell you anyway.”

“Too many mysteries, mister!”  I kissed her forehead.

“Mr. Mystery will be back soon. I’d walk you to the door, but I need to get going if I’m going to make it in time.” 

***

“I know you’re here.  Where are you?” her words were muffled by her hand. 

“Right here!”  I quietly pulled my words through the air enjoying the hide and seek with her glow lighting up with every second she neared.  There wasn’t any fear of knowing she wanted me.

“Would you join me?” 

“You knew all along.  Why did you get the ring so long ago?”

I didn’t move an inch locked in the place I lay.  “I had to have hope.  I needed something to remind me that keeping silent and not telling you anything would keep you safe and bring you to me one day.”  I wanted her beside me like yesterday.  I patted the place by me and slid my arm out for her to rest her head on. She slid in letting me surround her peacefully. 

We talked about Danella and what she knew now.  See!  She gained secrets that were pleasing, but painful. 

“What about this wedding night.  Am I invited?” I had let my mind wander down paths of torturous delight.

“You!” 

It was a sarcastic response, not love enduring.

I cleared my throat willing a quiet fact, “The day Kinsler tried to take you…at the picnic bench,” I watched her trusting her to listen.  “When I almost lost you...I knew that day I wasn’t just your guardian.  I wanted more.  I knew that day, I loved you.  I couldn’t lose you.  I’m sorry I wasn’t there.  And when you talked in your sleep...my world changed that day.”  I gave her the words she needed to hear feeling weak and itching for some time on the range.  She had made me stronger in many ways, but I would not turn into some pansy emotional crap for any of the guys to see.  She wasn’t into divulging our privacy upon others and it made me want to give her the girly reassurances she needed.  Just...in private.  It was nobody else’s damn business.  And if they asked why, I didn’t have to defend the honor of wanting to protect the most valuable item in the world.  Her.

I gave her a distraction from my less than manly moment wanting to get this back on her.  I reached behind me and grasped the little silver metal box. “Surprise!” 

“What is this?”  She turned it over and over and heard the rattle.

“Not as good as your mom’s but I tried my best.”  A little anxious I pressed her to open it.  Even helped her with my growing impatience.  Her little way of peeking in the little space as if something would jump out was fun to watch.  Her face changed a hundred different ways before it lit up entirely. Even in the darkness.  “Cookies? You made them?”

When the little moan escaped her sweet mouth from the cookie bit, I enjoyed it.  “That good, huh?” 

“Better than awesome.  You made these?”  She ate another yawning into the bite.

“So shocked?”

“Well, yeah.  A little.  These are better than my mom’s.” 

“Really?”  Was she for real?

“No fairy magic involved?” she asked.

She doubted me, “No, I didn’t cheat or drug you or anything else.”  She knew I was pissed.

“No, I didn’t mean that or that or anything else.  I meant the ingredients.”

“Oh!  No, those either, I don’t think.”  She smiled sleepily.  “Happy late Birthday!”  I meant the trampoline.

“But this was already mine.” She copied my motioning to the contraption we laid on, making us both laugh.  We talked about the cookies and stars and music and books.

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘a person’s eyes are the windows to their soul?”

We went back and forth about it.  She asked about my mother’s eyes, what she possessed.  “I think that my mother’s eyes showed how empty inside she was.   I don’t know about mine, but I’ve already assessed what yours possess.”

“You have?” she asked full of curiosity.  Her body inched up and against me, the curve of her hip hitting mine.

I only smiled wanting to give her this. “Your flare for truth and compassion drive you.  You want to see the best in everyone, yet you make them face their own choices.  I admire you in that.”

“That’s funny!”

“What is?” I folded against her more trying like heck to remain a gentleman. 

“That’s just what I’d say about you, but with protector labeled on top.  Maybe we are a perfect match and our eyes show it.  Like I can see inside your soul and you in mine.”

“We were matched before
WE
existed.  We just had to have lots and lots of patience.”   I sighed heavily.  I half hoped she couldn’t read into that sigh. 

“Being patient is hard sometimes?” She did know.

“You have no idea!” Fine.  I’d be bluntly honest.  Well, kind of blunt. 

“What does that mean?” she elbowed me. 

“I’ve waited over a hundred years for you.”

“Oh!  I forgot.”  She wiggled her body.  Lord!

“And you never loved another?” 

“No!  Fey women aren’t known for their compassion.  That’s why your light shines so bright to me.  Others see it to.”  I wasn’t surprised she asked. “And you are
mine
.  No one else can have you.”  I enunciated slowly.

“I don’t want anyone else.”

“I know!  And that scares most Fey men.  That you could show that much love for one.” 
              “That’s strange?” 

“No, you’ll see with time.”

She missed her mom and told me so.  She compared herself to her with knowing her mother wasn’t human.   “You are braver than any woman I’ve known.”

“How?”  

“You came with me that fateful night.”  I held up a finger.  And then another, “you fought me…” I chuckled remembering it well.  Loved it even.  I could protect her too. 

“That doesn’t count.”

“You went where my mother never tried.”  Finger number three went in the air.  “You stood up to Kinsler, your worst enemy and tormentor.”

Finger number four opened and closed over her heart, “You gave me your heart.”

Girls love that junk, but it wasn’t as full of mush if it was true, right?

“Did I choose this or did the prophecy make me?  I mean, do I have free will here or is there some magic making me bound to all this…”  she waved her hands, “…court of the Fey and…everything?” 

“You chose.  Remember when I revealed my true nature?” I watched her nod.  “You could’ve turned and run, and I would have erased your memory of who I really was.  You had an obsession with what is normal and not and redefined it daily.  And yet somehow, you knew.”

“I would’ve never known you?”  I was glad it hurt her to say it. 

“You would have the memories of our friendship.”

“That’s why you were always just a friend?”

“That long and deep of a relationship, cannot be erased Grace.  If I’d been more to you, you’d remember it either way.  And the other court, as well as mine, wouldn’t allow that, for fear of a compromise on our existence.  Others have lost the link to the Fey world because of it.”

We talked more.  Just details.  Nothing else mattered but her.  Here.  Now.

She asked about debts.  I missed what she said, lost in her for a moment and didn’t hear her.  “What?  In whose debt?” I wondered aloud.

“Your debt.  I am well beyond my debt limit, I’m sure.”

“Seriously?”  She meant all the times I’d saved her.  Heck yeah! “Well, um, somewhere around three hundred seventy-two."  Gulp! She didn’t take that well.  “Give or take a few, depending on Kinsler’s intentions at the given time."

“Do I have to make good on…all of them?” 

Oh yeah, my sweet.  Every single one of them.  “Never forget a debt.”

“O...kay!” she was nervous and I ran with it.  I narrowed the distance to prove my taking.

“Right now!” I took a shot at catching her off guard zipping through the air.  Her lips would be wet from her biting it in three...two... 

“Now?  How?”  She bit her bottom lip.  Yes!

“Oh I can think of something!”  I collected.

  Smooth and sweet.  Her kisses.  Then, she giggled.  I loved that giggle so I stopped to find the source of it.  “How many more to go?” she asked.

“You have a long, long way to go!” my voice shook with wanting.  Finally, she noticed the glow around us.  Our emotions were speaking as loud as our hands...and our mouths, lips, all of it.  I couldn’t wait to claim her as completely
mine
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now a special add on scene from Betrayal.  It is told from Pike’s point of view as seen in chapter twelve with the first actual clues to Pike’s equality to Ian in relation to the prophecy.