The Archer's Selection, page 2
Me, on the other hand…
Don’t do that. You know he cares for you.
I did. The crew took me in when I wandered by myself. I could come and go freely. I had made a lot of headway in regards to my brothers’ case.
At the same time, I didn’t like that I was a pawn and Maryanne was a queen on this board of chess. I glanced over at her, chestnut brown hair swept up into one of those fashionably messy buns with tendrils of hair caressing her neck. How she could do that, I had no idea. Whenever I tried to put my hair in a fashionably messy bun, chunks of hair rested unevenly on top of my head, long locks of hair stuck out, and I pulled too much hair out of the bun instead of tiny little tendrils to frame my face. It was so impossible that I didn’t even try to make it cute anymore, utilizing the hairstyle as something like a tool and not as a way to draw any attention to my face.
I plucked the last bit of targets from the thick trunk of trees. The strong scent of metal overwhelmed my senses and made my mouth water, but not in the way where my stomach was ready to devour it. Instead, it was more like I was ready to throw up. This was another thing I hated when it came to eating food from the forest; it was difficult for me to get rid of this scent even when the meat had been seasoned and roasted over the fire.
“I heard you and Robin spoke about the lottery.”
Little John was not little at all, but he could make his voice surprisingly quiet if he didn’t want anyone to overhear it. Without saying anything specific, he took the targets from my hands and began to make his way to a supply shed Alexander and Phillip built six months ago, arguing the entire time. I found myself following him even though I had no obligation to. It wasn’t like he asked me the question.
“Well?” He looked over his burly shoulder at me, arching a bushy brow as he opened the door to the shed. A couple of weapons dipped out, including my bow, but Little John had surprisingly fast reflexes for someone so big and managed to catch them before they fell.
“He did,” I said.
“You don’t sound terribly enthusiastic,” he replied as he righted the weapons and put the targets inside.
“I’m not sure what you expect me to say,” I said. “I don’t know why you guys think I could kill anyone, and even if I wanted to, I’m nowhere near ready.”
Maybe I didn’t want to admit that I wanted to kill him. Maybe by admitting that, I was one step away from turning into a vindictive monster. But every time I hesitated, a flash of my brothers’ faces turned up in my mind, and I was consumed by such anger, it was difficult for me to see straight.
“Why don’t you think you’re ready?” Little John asked as he shut the shed door. “You’re the best archer in our band of merry misfits, save for Robin, and I highly doubt anyone could surpass him.”
“I don’t know why we’re even discussing this,” I said. “The fact is, there’s no way I’m going to win some lottery, okay?”
“And what makes you say that, darling?” Without warning, The Imp suddenly appeared, and with him, Alice Wynter.
A strange sensation of confusion bubbled up in my system, as it usually did when I saw the pair. They were both extremely attractive, so it wasn’t like I didn’t know that the two of them could see the other was aesthetically pleasing; it was difficult for me to wrap my head around so much power within one union. Alice was the daughter of the Mad Mage. To this day, no one knew where he disappeared to, though I was certain Rumpelstiltskin and Alice herself knew. On top of that, her mother was the former mayor of Wonderland, the Red Queen. Everyone initially thought Alice was some kind of magicless human adopted by Chief James Wynter, but the truth was, she had power that rivaled the Fae.
And Rumpelstiltskin was the most powerful Fae within his glass kingdom of Neverland. His brother, Pan, was less charming, more chaotic, and just as cold. And the daughter, Rapunzel, had disappeared. No one knew what had happened to her even today.
“Rumpel–”
The Imp wagged a long graceful finger back and forth. “Uh uh uh,” he said, shooting Little John a warning with merely his dark eyes. “You know not to say my name, even if we do have a tentative alliance. I’ve come here to address your little group.”
“And what do you want?” Little John asked suspiciously. He pocketed the shed key before crossing his arms over his chest. “We already cracked the Never Glass with the dagger you provided. Phillip still had the scar on the side where one guard nicked his skin. What else could you want us to do?”
“Gather round the fire, Jonathan, and I’ll gladly inform you,” the Imp instructed. He squeezed Alice’s hand as he led her toward the fire itself, and I could swear I heard Alice murmur something about how dramatic the Imp could be.
I didn’t want to smile because I didn’t like the Imp and I didn’t know Alice enough to know whether I liked her, but it amused me nonetheless.
“I guess we should do as he says,” Little John muttered, but it was clear he wasn’t happy with this.
I wasn’t either. I had planned to go home with some Chinese food I picked up on the way. Maybe I would look at my wall filled with cut outs of newspapers or internet clippings, anything that mentioned my brothers even in passing.
Being a Darling was being a Royal until John and Michael disappeared. That had been three years ago, and someone went to prison for it. Mr. Jones, the PE teacher at their middle school. It was something I still wasn’t sure what to believe. They were still missing, and if he knew where the bodies were, he wasn’t talking.
I was determined to find the truth, no matter where that rabbit hole led me. Because there were no bodies, I found myself doing something as stupid as hoping that they might still be alive, even after all this time. But then I would steel myself from such a feeling because the likelihood that they were was incredibly slim, and grew worse with each passing day.
All I knew was there was a good chance their mysterious disappearance had to do with Fairy Dust, a new drug introduced to the Marooner’s Bay, a club which Pan owned. And Pan was a Fae, a royal one at that, and it was a known secret he had a hand in introducing and distributing the drug in Wonderland. For that, I wanted him dead. There was no other way to describe it. And I wanted to be the one to kill him, to get answers and then watch him suffer the way I had, but I wasn’t sure if I could actually…do it.
“Hello, Merry Men and women,” Rumpelstiltskin said as he reached the fire.
I glanced around again, hoping Robin would show up. I wasn’t sure if the Imp was going to tell us what to do again, but if that was the case, it was important that we had our leader so he could make the decision on whether we agreed to whatever the Imp wanted. It was always a dangerous thing, to enter into a bargain with him, but there wasn’t much else to do. Pan had been sitting mayor for a couple of months, and nothing had changed. Wonderland’s magic wasn’t returned to the population, even though the Red Queen had collected it under false pretenses.
Not that I expected him to do such a thing. Why would he? He didn’t want any threat to his claim over ruling us. This was probably the closest to a crown he would get. The Imp was still heir to Neverland, though whether he wanted it or whether his parents would bequeath it to him thanks to his alliance and romantic relationship with Alice, the daughter of their enemy, I didn’t know.
Pan finally had power. I highly doubted he would do anything that might squander it.
“I’ve come bearing good tidings,” he said.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Phillip asked as he roasted the skinned rabbit on a skewer.
“It means, I’ve a plan to take down my brother and remove the Fae from Wonderland,” he said, clapping his hands together like we were a group of unruly preschoolers and he was trying to get us excited about naptime.
“And how do you propose we do that?” Alexander asked, leaning against a nearby tree. He was much more difficult to read out of everyone in the crew because he could school his features into a stoic mask of indifference.
“We can’t just storm the place and kill the mayor,” Little John said.
I shifted beside him, trying to read the Imp. Unfortunately, it was trying to read a book written in ruins. I just couldn’t understand the language.
Would Rumpelstiltskin actually kill his brother? I wasn’t sure what the two felt for each other, but I knew he had no love loss for his parents. Did that extend to Pan?
“No,” the Imp agreed. “You can’t. But that isn’t to say there are other ways to take the power back.”
“And give it to who?” Maryanne asked. That she had the courage to even question the Imp made me respect her even more. Along with her beauty and intellect, her gentleness and grace, I wanted her bravery too. “You can’t remove one power without assigning it to another. Then, the entirety of Wonderland would collapse.”
“Yes, well, that’s not something I particularly care about,” the Imp said, flicking off lint from his expensive tailored suit. “If you have someone in mind, by all means, ask. But removing the cancer before it spreads is my primary goal. Which means we need to act quickly.”
“What do you mean, before it spreads?” Alexander asked.
“The lottery is tomorrow,” the Imp pointed out. “We all know it’s a farce. They’re going to pretend to enter the eligible women of Wonderland—human, those that aren’t Fae, but we all know they won’t. However, if I can finagle the results, they’ll have to abide by them. They’ve created these rules; they must follow them if they want to earn the town’s support. And because the town is still reeling from the truth of the Mad Mage and the Red Queen, I’m sure they’re slowly plotting but won’t make any moves yet because they don’t want to stir the pot and risk any sort of rebellion.”
“The Fae are coming,” Alice said. “Pan is planning to marry in order to strengthen his claim to Wonderland. The more that are present, the more difficult it’ll be to overthrow him.”
“So, what’s the point if it’s impossible?” Phillip asked around a large chunk of the rabbit.
“She said difficult, not impossible,” the Imp pointed out. “I think we should enter a human into the mix of names, force my brother to entertain the notion of marrying her. This way, there’s access to the ostentatious palace he’s built as well as information.” He smiled charmingly. “And I think one of you lovely ladies should be the one to do it.”
3
“Absolutely not.”
I jumped at the sound of Robin’s voice. I hadn't realized he had returned from wherever he had gotten off to. No one really knew where that was, and no one questioned him. We just assumed he needed the break from his group just like everyone else did and left it at that.
“Maryanne isn’t going to go in there,” he continued.
I didn’t know why I was so surprised at hearing this. If I could feel a heartbreak, it just happened. My heart just cracked open, and I was bleeding out. The fact that I was still standing was a miracle unto itself. But if I could collapse, I would have.
“I won’t risk her,” Robin finished.
Alice’s piercing blue eyes were on me. I shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with her presence. I thought only the Imp could be this unnerving, but the truth was, she could be as well. In fact, she was just as much as discomfiting as he was. The only difference was, she was Fae, and she didn’t have a reputation to fear…yet. She would, given the time. She was daughter to two most powerful creatures in Wonderland and had powerful magic coursing through her veins. And the crazy part was, all of that power was wrapped in a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, petite frame.
“But you’ll risk Wendy?” She jutted her finger in my direction.
My cheeks turned red. The last thing I wanted was attention from anyone. If I could blend in with the shadows and trees that made up the Blood Forest, I would gladly do just that. As it was, I was forced to stay exactly where I was and endure everyone’s scrutiny.
“Wendy is a warrior,” Robin said. There was no malice in his tone, and I could tell he genuinely believed what he said. He wasn’t trying to insult me; I didn’t think he even realized his blunder in the first place.
I shouldn’t be angry. I shouldn’t.
But I couldn't help it.
“She’s trained for this.” He continued walking over until he finally reached the group. He was in no hurry, even though two of the most powerful magical beings were in our encampment. “She can shoot a bow and arrow almost as well as I can.”
“And, what, I’m incapable?” Maryanne asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Her dark eyes narrowed on Robin.
At least I wasn’t the only one angry at the situation. There was a difference, though. Robin was trying to protect her. She was petite like Alice, more slender than I was. I was petite in my own way, but through my time working on the bow and arrow, walking everywhere I went, and doing yoga every night before bed to help me ease into slumber instead of staying up all night thinking about my brothers, I was left with lean muscle and strong thighs. I still had curves, and I wasn’t any taller than Alice, so I didn’t understand how Robin could see me any differently than Maryanne.
“Of course you aren’t incapable,” he said softly, though there was a hint of exasperation at having to explain himself in front of the Imp. “But that doesn't mean I want to send you into a snake’s nest. You know Pan. You know what he’s capable of. He’s a silver-tongued bastard who only cares about slithering into Wonderland and taking things that don’t belong to him.”
“I belong to myself,” Maryanne snapped. “As does Wendy. So, it’s just so easy for you to sacrifice her?”
“That’s not –”
“That’s exactly what this is,” she said with a glare. Maryanne was always kind, but every now and then, someone infuriated her to the point where she couldn’t hold back her temper any longer and needed to rip into whomever made a mistake. No one liked it when Maryanne was angry, especially not Robin, but he was usually the culprit of why she was upset in the first place. “You’ll give up one but not the other.”
“Do you know how to use a weapon?” Robin asked her, his voice flat. Rarely did I see him so combative with her, especially since his goal was to placate her at all times. He must truly believe that Maryanne shouldn’t enter the lottery. “What happens if Pan discovers what you really are, hmm? What then?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I leave.”
“You can’t.”
“Then, I fight.”
“With what?” Robin picked up her hands. “These? I could break your bones just by squeezing them too hard.”
“You could do the same to Wendy’s,” Alice pointed out.
Robin ignored her—a dangerous thing to do. “You don’t understand,” he said.
“No, I think I do.” Maryanne gently pulled her hands away from Robin’s light grasp. “You just don’t take me seriously. You don’t think I can defend myself. You don’t think I can help. Wendy has earned your respect, and with good reason.” She caught my eyes, her gaze softening. “I hope you don’t think I’m trying to say that I’m better than you because I don’t think that at all.” She looked back at Robin. “But I am tired of being treated like I can’t do anything worthwhile except cook for the boys. I can. You’ve just never believed in me enough to give me the chance.”
She clenched her teeth together and stiffly turned, walking back to the fire.
Robin didn’t seem embarrassed in the least. He believed what he said with every fiber of his being. Nothing and no one was going to change his mind. However, he was at least smart enough to realize placating Maryanne was now a requirement so he moved from the group to where Maryanne stood. While I couldn’t see her face, I was positive she was glaring at the cackling fire.
“Do you think you can handle it?” the Imp asked.
His voice was loud, though it didn’t scatter the birds. My shoulders jumped. I must have been staring, but that wasn’t entirely my fault. Robin had his hand on Maryanne’s shoulder, and his face was close to hers, and I was positive he was going to kiss her just because of how close they were standing. I didn’t know why I had to watch it, but I did. It must be because I was a secret masochist who needed to hurt in order to heal.
Except, I didn’t think there was any way I was getting over Robin.
“I’m sorry?” I asked. I hadn’t actually heard the Imp’s question, only that he had asked one in the first place.
“Do you think you can handle being in the lottery?” the Imp asked seriously. His black eyes pinned me in place, and I was suddenly grateful he was on our side. I didn’t care if he was because of his feelings for Alice or if it was because he genuinely believed that what his family was doing wasn’t right.
“I…I don’t know.” The truth was, I didn’t think I could. Not with my brothers lingering in the back of my mind. I was too focused on them and my heart was too focused on Robin. Anything else didn’t matter.
“Of course you are,” Alice said without hesitating.
My eyes widened slightly. That someone as strong and as capable as she was could believe in me made me realize maybe I was being too hard on myself. Maybe I needed to shift my priorities slightly and allow myself to consider the possibility that I could actually do this.
“Before you ask, you don’t have to marry my brother,” the Imp put in. “I highly doubt he’d consider you as in the running anyway. I believe that by drawing your name, he’ll be forced to show he’s considering you if he wants to win the town of Wonderland over. Knowing my mother, she’d believe the same thing. She won’t fight it either.”
“How can you be so sure?” Alexander asked. I wasn’t sure where he got the rabbit, but it was in his hands and he had already consumed half of it. His perfect face didn’t have any hint of it on him, though.
“Because she wants this coup to be as seamless as possible,” she said. “She wants to rule over both kingdoms.”
“Yes, but why?” Phillip said.
