“What do you want with me?” Before the smug voice could answer, I heard Jestin call out from the other side of the door.

  “Violet are you well? I heard a scream.” The prince leaned forward into the moonlight so that I could see his face. He raised one finger to his lips to gesture that I should not tell Jestin of his presence.

  “Oh sorry if I woke you, it was nothing just a bad dream.” I thought I sounded as convincingly calm.

  “Do you want me to come and sit with you?” The prince shook his head from left to right.

  “Erm no, no thank you I’m just going to go back to sleep, I’ll see you in the morning.” I faked a yawn, it seemed to be enough for Jestin, I could hear his footsteps as he ascended the stairs to his room further up the tower. Every step he took away from me was heavier than the last. The smug prince chuckled quietly as he sat back into the darkness.

  “You are more intelligent than most of your kind Violet, you would do well to remain so.” After a few intimidating minutes of silence, he got up quietly and left the room closing the door behind him. I didn’t sleep again during my time in Thistlewick Castle without a bolt firmly securing my door.

  The next morning I immediately went to find Dahlia, she was my closest confidant for all of my teenage years and I needed someone to talk to about my experience with the prince last night. I practically sprinted towards the royal quarters where Queen Evangelista had given Dahlia the room adjacent to her own. I found her sat on a four-poster bed, silk curtains draped across the rafters, with her head tucked under her arms, she was sobbing gently. The sound made my ears ache not only because she was half Banshee but because I had never heard her cry so much before.

  “Dahlia what’s wrong?” I asked sympathetically. Dahlia, who hadn’t even noticed that I’d entered the room, lifted her head and wiped her tears on the elongated sleeve of her shimmering silver dress.

  “I was just thinking about my mother, and what she had to go through. She didn’t want to leave me you know. She had no choice. The treaty that your stupid wizard made meant that humans and magical being aren’t supposed to interact, never mind have children. When I was born to a queen no less, I had to be left with my father for my own safety, so that other magical beings wouldn’t destroy me to keep the treaty intact. The Worlen in particular seem to want things to be left the way they were, apparently they are not so happy about the way werewolves are regarded as monsters by the human race. Do you know what that did to her? A mother having to abandon her child like that? To surrender her own happiness for the good of her people?”

  I didn’t know how to answer Dahlia. Her usual façade, the strong-headed quick-witted young woman she had become, all melted away. She had been replaced by the vulnerable and confused girl I had only ever known Dahlia to be when things got really bad for her. I didn’t have any answers for her. I couldn’t imagine the sacrifice the queen had made giving up her daughter, so instead I went and sat beside her, placing my arm around her shoulders.

  “You’re together now though Dahlia. Merl says Ambrose is flying to your home with a letter to your father explaining that you’ve found your mother and you’re spending a couple of months together.” Dahlia managed a weak smile at the thought of spending time at Thistle Castle. I could see why, she was certainly going to be treated like the princess she was judging by the size of her room. She put her arm over my shoulder in return,

  “Hey Vi, remember when Rachel Dunstun wanted to fight me that day after school in year seven?” I was perplexed as to where this was leading but I was happy to go with it.

  “Yeah Dahlia, well you did pinch her boyfriend if I’m not mistaken.” I laughed, Dahlia faked a look of indignation

  “They had been broken up a full two hours thank you very much and that’s not the point. She wanted to fight me and I’ll admit I was scared. I mean she was about twice my height and her arms were huge but you Vi, you came with me you said it was me and you. If she hit me she hit you, you gave me the strength to leave school that day and stand up for myself because I was standing up for you too.”

  I laughed at the memory.

  “Yeah she wasn’t there though was she? I’m glad to be honest. She did have really muscular arms.” We looked at each other and laughed together. I decided that now was a good time to ask what she thought about last night’s intrusion.

  “Look Dahlia I need your opinion about something…” Before I could finish the sentence, a deliberately loud and fake cough interrupted me.

  “I hope you ladies can forgive the imposition. I heard a rumour that a beautiful princess had arrived at the castle and I couldn’t help but wonder if it were true. I am pleased to say I’m not disappointed. I was hoping I may have the pleasure of getting better acquainted with you princess.” I followed the smooth, smug voice from the night before to the doorway. In the light of day, I could see the prince was stunningly handsome. His medium length brown hair had a natural neat spike to it, his eyes were the same green as Jestin’s but they were made less intense by his thickly curled lashes. His face was well chiselled and clean-shaven, apart from a thin line of beard that framed the lower half of his face. His regal attire and delicate mannerisms made him seem more refined than his younger brother. He was taller than Jestin and slightly less muscular. Dahlias mouth was agape. My frustration at not being able to speak to my friend turned to anger at her obvious attraction to this arrogant creep.

  “If you don’t mind, we were having a private conversation.” I tried to remain cordial but something about the prince instantly got under my skin. Dahlia winked at me cheekily

  “It can wait cant it Vi? I think I should get a firmer handle on Worlen culture, what with Prince Idris here being a guest of my mothers.” Dahlia developing a crush on Prince Weirdo was the last thing I wanted but how could I explain that to her when he was right there in the room. I decided the best course of action was to let them spend time together, Dahlia was a little vain at times but even she would not have been immune to the eeriness of Prince Idris’s unsettling presence. Devilishly handsome or not, there was no way he was going to manipulate her.

  After meeting Bettery and Merl for breakfast in the main hall, I decided to seek out the communal bathroom. Bettery mentioned that Banshees skin is repellent to dirt and mud, so it was very rare that anyone ever used it. I set off, confident that I would be alone and desperate for a chance to bathe the smell of moss and damp woodland off my skin. I wondered around the twisting corridors for a while, finally finding the marble door with a thistle emblem that Bettery had described around half an hour earlier. As I pushed open the huge marble slab door, I chuckled inwardly at the idea of Dahlia trying to think of excuses to get away from Prince Idris.

  The largely ignored bathroom was as breathtaking as the rest of the castle. White marble covered the stone walls, giving the room a brilliant light. My eyes adjusted to this easily enough. Underneath a magnificent blazing sun sky light, a tall rose shaped fountain drizzled out warm water into a dip in the marble that created a large circular pool. An almost translucent red mist floated delicately above the waters giving the pool a more ethereal character.

  I folded my clothes and left them at the edge of the pool. Wading into the warm water, I breathed in the pleasant smells of floral bouquets and strawberry that escaped from the misty vapours as they rose towards the sky light. I spent a while bathing. The feel of the fresh fountain water, renewing the softness of my skin and banishing the dirt of the forest, was invigorating. I began rinsing my hair underneath one of the many showers of water that tricked from the crumples in the petals and leaves of the rose. I looked over towards the edge of the water noticing that my pile of clothes seemed to have moved. The bundle looked larger than when I walked away and different, duller colours were present making up the bulk of the pile. My tranquil relaxation now turned to panic, someone else was in the water and now here I stood, utterly exposed. If I was going to make my escape without being completely humiliated, I needed to know where the other bather was.

  As I gazed around the fountain base, my answer stood at the opposite side of the pool. Jestin, who was bathing in the drizzling water was equally as surprised to see me, as I was to see him. If I had not been devastatingly embarrassed that, here I stood exposed in the water with nothing but the fountain to hide me, I may have experienced my usual happiness at his presence. His curled black hair had not lost its corkscrew vibrancy in the water, which dripped from his face down his muscular chest. I didn’t want to embarrass either of us by staring any longer so instead I chose to hide directly behind the fountain.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise you were in here, I would never..” My voice was shaking. Jestin laughed lightly

  “Don’t apologise, I was coming to find you after I’d finished anyway. These tranquil waters are as good a place as any for us to talk in private.” Jestin didn’t look around the fountain as he talked, which I was grateful for.

  “You were coming to find me? What for? I thought now we had reached Thistlewick you’d be on your way home to Forge Gate?” I found it difficult to hide the discontent I felt at the prospect of having to part with him.

  “I believe you may have already encountered my brother Prince Idris?” I was glad that he hadn’t seemed to notice the disappointed tone in my voice.

  “If you mean the handsome creep who seems to have designs on my friend, then yes I have had the misfortune of meeting him.” I had already made the decision not to tell Jestin about Idris coming to my bedroom. I didn’t want to overcomplicate a situation when I wasn’t even sure what the situation was yet. We were due to meet in the throne room soon to discuss the important business that Bettery had mentioned earlier in the day.

  “Stay away from him Violet, promise me. He maybe handsome but he’s not as harmless as he appears. You cannot trust him,” Jestin was almost pleading with me.

  “Jestin I’m not interested in him, he’s conceited and arrogant. He’s nothing like you.” The direct comparison coupled with my outburst on the way to Thistlewick Forest was giving slightly more of me away than I had intended. The heat that returned to my cheeks had nothing to do with anger. Rather it came from the crippling embarrassment to which I was now subjecting myself. I heard a sigh escape from Jestin’s mouth.

  “I feel the same about you Violet.” My heart was thumping in my chest at the words I never imagined I would hear. “I know you feel uncomfortable when I talk to Dahlia, but she isn’t you. Your kind, honest and brave and it’s you I feel for, even if nothing can happen between us for both our sakes.” My heart stopped completely and then sunk into the pit of my stomach.

  “I have promised to protect you and I will uphold that promise till I draw my final breath.” He drew a long deep breath. Even without looking at him, I could tell this conversation was just as difficult for Jestin as it was for me. “Forgive me Violet but as General of the Worlen army I also have an oath to uphold to my people, even if that entails sacrificing my own personal happiness to do so.” I didn’t want to be the stereotypical teenage girl crying at the rejection of a handsome boy but I couldn’t help the tears as they fell into the red mist. I drew some water up to my face and washed the emotional evidence of my heartbreak away.

  Chapter Seven - Politics

  WHEN WE FINALLY reached Queen Evangelista’s throne room, I was relieved to see that there was only space for one person left at the side of Merl and Bettery on the silver benches. They were assembled in a rectangle shape around the throne for maximum exposure. After the awkward silence of the walk there, I didn’t want to have to endure sitting so close to Jestin, the electric atmosphere between us was amplified by the new sense of awkwardness. Knowing that nothing could ever become of us was something I simply didn’t want to dwell on. Adjusting to this strange new world I had found myself in was enough of a strain for me at the moment. Dahlia it seemed didn’t have the same problem. She was sitting on the opposite side of the rectangle next to Prince Idris. They were perched on the Worlen bench, sitting remarkably close for two people who had only just met and worse, she was actually laughing at something he was whispering to her. I was so angry at myself for leaving them alone together. I should have realised that he would win her over somehow. It seemed the smiling spider had caught Dahlia in his sticky web. I didn’t know what he wanted with her but I had to try and protect her from him, especially after his own brother warned me about how dangerous he was. I had to tell her about his visit to my room after the meeting concluded, before he had the chance to manipulate her any further.

  As the last of the assembly gathered, Jestin took a seat next to his brother and directly across from me. He was staring at me, his intense eyes pleading with me to understand and accept his decision. I smiled and looked away desperately wanting this meeting to be over as soon as possible. Rosamaylind and another blonde-haired female Banshee, who I didn’t recognise, were followed into the room by two bald-headed, muscular males and a silver-haired Bobbin woman. The Banshees, who were last to be seated, took their places on the bench facing Queen Evangelista. I noticed the queen swiftly glance towards the Worlen bench at her daughter, concern distorting her radiant features but not long enough for anyone other than myself to observe.

  The ramble of the visitors turned to silence as the queen rose and took position in the middle of the room to address the assembly. Bettery delivered a short elbow blow to a snoring Merl’s ribs. The queen continued, politely ignoring Merl’s cursing at the rude awakening.

  “I would like to begin by extending my thanks to all of the peoples who have travelled across the island in order to convene at this meeting, Prince Idris and General Jestin of Forge Gate. Huk and Darrik of the Selkies” the queen turned her attention from the Worlen bench towards the bald males. “And of course Mayor Wilmot of Blossomdown and the Bobbins.” The queen now regarded the silver-haired female Bobbin who smiled in return. “I have a matter of great urgency brought to my attention by my most trusted advisor and infallible seer Rosamaylind.” Rosamaylind nodded her head graciously at the queen’s acknowledgement of her. “She has recently experienced a series of alarming visions, an old enemy will return to our shores. With an heir currently on the island of Falinn Galdur, I felt I had no choice but to bring this worrying information to your attention.” The word ‘heir’ broke the silence and now the people on the benches were whispering amongst themselves and looking toward me. I remembered that the first time I met Jestin, he too had referred to me as an heir but in the confusion of his arrival, I forgot to ask Bettery what he meant. The queen continued as the room plunged back into a different, more serious kind of silence.

  “This information is not to be shared with anyone outside of this room and everyone will drink from the enchanted chalice on their way out under the watch of my guards. The punishment for the impartation of the information that I am about to convey is instant death. Merrydian, who has kindly brewed the potion himself, suggested this. This may seem severe but due to the seriousness of the possible consequences, we believe it to be an unwelcome necessity.” The largest of the bald males rose from his seat pointing accusingly at Merl, his voice was strange, almost too low to be human

  “Death, ha! You expect us to drink a poison potion because an heir is here on the island, death…death to protect your family. I WILL NOT!” The last words were an angry shout. Merl stood to face the irate male

  “I’m rather afraid Huk you always have been and always will be of astoundingly subnormal intelligence. However, even a nincompoop such as yourself must recognise the obvious danger in allowing the knowledge of an heir on the island to be divulged willy ruddy nilly.” Merl was now the one becoming incensed, in an unexpected way there was an ominous quality about this seemingly fragile old wizard. Even the muscular male, who was at least twice the size and probably double the weight of Merl, sat back in his place. Queen Evangelista cut in before Merl could continue

  “It is not merely the heir’s arrival that has caused the concern. I’m afraid the situation is much more serious.” Queen Evangelista took Rosamaylind’s hand and led her into the middle of the circle.

  “Show them,” she directed to her sister. Rosamaylind took in a deep breath, filling her lungs, she reminded me of a little sparrow with her small frame and overly pronounced chest, and she slowly exhaled.

  The air she respired was visible and twisting around the centre of the chamber. An unearthly whisper, entangled with the breath itself, followed the same path into the centre. I couldn’t decipher any words from within the sound but I was reminded of the forest when the poison had taken hold of my mind. It was as if Rosamaylind’s innermost thoughts had escaped and were now telling their story to the stunned witnesses in the chamber. The mist danced before us, twisting one way and then the other until it settled in the shape of a tall woman, accompanied on either side by two snarling Gnarls, crouched in animalistic positions at her feet. The woman was tall and young. Her tightly curled red hair tumbled over her shoulders reaching the small of her back. Her mouth was curved upwards into a smile but it didn’t touch her cool blue eyes which were blank and uncaring. Her dress was the darkest shade midnight black with the middle plunged all the way to her naval. The ends of the sleeves were huge oval shapes that covered her hands. The two Gnarls gripped the long train at the back of the dress like obedient yet feral children. Mayor Wilmot the silver-haired Bobbin, covered her eyes with her hands, she was trembling with fear. The mist continued to form the shape of the redheaded woman, who was now walking towards something, reaching out her hand in greeting. The pathetic Gnarls grovelling on the ground behind her.

 

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