Chapter 10-3
1947 Words
I heard a knock at my door and said, “Come in.”
Jeremiah walked in and could not hide the surprise on his face at seeing Henri by my bedside. “Are you injured?”
“She will be fine.” Henri waved his hand dismissively at him. “Go back to bed and you will see her in the morning.”
A mix of emotions crossed Jeremiah’s face. “I did not ask you of your opinion.” He came to my bedside and looked at the marks on my throat and saw the scratches on my arm. “I could get some warm water and clean that for you.”
“No, I am fine. Please, go back to bed and I will talk with you in the morning.” I pushed him away.
“Have a good night.” He dropped my arm back onto the bed and walked quickly out of the room. He appeared dejected and wroth with me.
When the door had shut, Henri asked, “Is he always so wound up?”
“He has helped me and brought me back here.” I looked at Henri and did not wish for him to go.
“It is so good to see you again.” He smiled at me, taking a different route with our conversation. “You have not changed much.”
“Thank you.” I blushed a bit at his words and hoped that it did not show much by candlelight.
“Before I go to bed, tell me why you have come back.” He folded his hands in his lap and sat waiting for me to reply.
And, like a young girl, my heart opened full to him and I did not want him to go. “I have missed you so and have longed to talk with you.”
“I have missed you as well.” He could not stop smiling.
“To see you again after so many years brings such happiness to my heart. I lack the words to say how I feel.” Fearing I said too much, I quieted.
He stood up and came to my bed and sat down on it. “I think of you when I am with her. Do you know that?”
His face had such an intense look on it and he leaned closer to me.
“When I am spent in her, I say your name in my head and she does not know. I have longed for you to come back so that I could see you again. I will have you again. I will.”
He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I did not resist. How could I have? I had waited a long time for him to kiss me and I savored his tenderness and returned it to him. He pulled away first and smiled. Then he kissed me again with great passion and I felt a fire ignite within. My arms wrapped around him and I did not care any longer. I wanted him and could not believe what we did. I allowed him to kiss me and his hand brushed against my breast and I kissed him harder. His hands held my face and he kissed my forehead, my ears, cheeks and then mouth again. I raised myself up into his embrace and I sighed in pleasure.
Then his hands went for my neck and he squeezed with all his might. A wicked smile broke out on his face and I punched at him and then rolled off the bed, pulling him with me. We fell soundly onto the floor and his grip loosened and with as much voice as I could muster I called for help. But still he tried to come at me and I scrambled away, kicking at him and pulling the nightstand over in my attempt to hinder him.
All the while the wicked grin on his face remained and he tried to grab at me, holding onto my leg. “Come here. I want to embrace you and give you a long kiss.” His voice sounded foreign and I pulled away from him.
My power refocused and I locked it away for fear that my strength would only be used against me as it had been when the king had attacked me. I had successfully skirted away from Henri and he pulled himself up from the floor and then ran at me. His strength, so much greater than mine, knocked me back into a wall and his hands went for my neck, but I dodged and then heard a crash.
Jeremiah stood behind Henri with the remains of the nightstand shattered in his hands. He had smashed the wooden table against Henri’s back, knocking him into me and I pushed him off and watched him slump to the ground. Jeremiah pulled me away and stood in front of me, protecting me. Henri paused and in an animated way slowly stood back up and turned toward us. He stopped and then listened for a moment, turning his head to the side in an oddly animated way and then said, “You will have no further warning. If you try to follow, your daughter will be next.”
“Who are you?” Jeremiah asked.
I lit my left hand with magic and held it up, reading the room. The shadows fell back and my light told me more than I had expected. Henri turned his head again, listening, and then turned back to us. “Good-bye.”
Henri’s face went passive and then he dropped to the ground. All life appeared to have left him. I ran to his side and could hear him breathing and gently tapped the side of his face. “Henri, Henri, can you hear me?”
Jeremiah held him down, uncertain of what might happen when he awoke.
Henri’s eyes fluttered and as though awaking from a dream he asked, “Where am I?”
“You are in my room.” I looked up at Jeremiah and together we pulled him up and rested him on my bed.
“Why does my back hurt so much?”
Jeremiah patted him on the hand. “Get some rest, my friend. It has been a long night.”
The door to my room burst open and two royal guards rushed in, searching for further trouble. The queen followed in behind them. She was dressed in her nightgown but brandished a short sword. Seeing that all had returned to normal, she motioned for the guards to watch Henri and then came to me. She saw the red marks on my throat and touched them with gentleness. “Are you well, my dear?”
I smoothed down my nightgown and said, “I will be fine, but I am not certain what happened.”
Warily the queen looked around the room. “La petite Reine has attacked us. That is what has happened.”
“Your Majesty, this was not the work of Queen Mab.”
Jeremiah came forward and bowed before the queen. “I would agree. The power here was different and calculated in a way that la petite Reine has never been before. She has always been more erratic and whimsical in her dealings with people. What happened here tonight was anything but.”
The queen surveyed the room and saw the broken furniture. “We will discuss more on this in the morning. For the rest of tonight, I will place my guards around each of us.”
“And what if the guards are attacked as were the king and Henri?”
I turned to Jeremiah and answered his question. “We will do the best we can to protect ourselves. What attacks us is unlike anything I have seen before. It defies magic, resisting my power.”
The queen came closer and said, “Speak no more of this. Keep your thoughts to yourself until the daylight. We appear to still be mostly safe during the day. Try to get some rest.”
“Rest? My daughter has been threatened and I will not sleep peacefully through the rest of tonight. I must plan to cross the dreamline tomorrow and get back to Phoebe.”
The queen put her hand on my arm. “We will discuss more in the morning. I would not attempt to hold you back from protecting your own. Yet I would caution you to plan with us before you make a decision. Would you do that?”
I looked at her and at Henri tired and injured on my bed and then at Jeremiah. No response could be made tonight. I would need more time to think and to rest. She was right. “Yes, I agree.”
The queen motioned to her guards and they pulled Henri from my bed and carried him away. She then spoke to one of her attendants and left without saying more.
A tall and thin man came to stand before me and said, “Her Majesty has asked that you follow me. Your quarters will be changed for this evening.”
I nodded and followed him to my new room. Jeremiah came with me and once settled in, he asked, “Might I have a few words with you before you retire?”
“Yes, I would not mind that.”
The attendant left but two royal guards stood out in the hall prepared for any trouble. Jeremiah sat down in a chair and I sat across from him. His hair was disheveled and yet he did not wear nightclothes. He had not yet prepared for bed before the chaos began.
“We are not safe here now that we have been found.”
“That is why I cannot stay. I must leave soon.”
“Will you wait to talk with the queen in the morning or when I leave your room will I return in the morning to find you gone?” His frankness surprised me.
“I have never traveled so far on the dreamline on my own and would need your help to start the journey.” I took him in and then asked, “Would you help me if I asked?”
He did not answer at once and ran his hands through his curly hair. He looked tired. “I do not know, so do not ask me.”
“I cannot stay here if we are being hunted during the night. If we are taken, then we will not be able to be of much use to help. But I am not sure what help I can offer right now.” I leaned forward and said with clear distinction, “It is not Queen Mab who we are dealing with. I have tasted faerie magic before and this does not feel the same. It is as though magic is not even being used. I cannot explain it.”
Jeremiah stood up abruptly and, for a moment, I thought he had suddenly been controlled as well. “I am tired and if we debate what happened for the rest of the night I will only be more tired in the morning. We can talk more in a few hours.” He reached down and touched my hands, covering them with his own. “Please, consider staying and do not try to run off. I understand that you are your own woman and will not be told what to do, but I do have concerns for Phoebe and you. I would advise caution. Please.”
“I promise that I will wait.” I went to turn away and I stopped him, holding his arm. “Thank you for helping me. I’m sorry I tried to dismiss you so quickly when Henri was here.”
He nodded and then he took his leave. I could see him troubled, but he kept his thoughts to himself. After he left, I quickly went to bed, climbed in, and tried my best to rest. I had not the knowledge to travel so far on the dreamline by myself and did not wish to leave the castle in the middle of the night. And if I did not try to attempt a journey on the dreamline, I would need horses, supplies, and a plan. I had none of that now and thought, for once in my life, caution would prove best. In moments, I felt sleep coming to me quickly and hoped that in the morning I would have more answers.
- Writer
