Cinderella vs. the Fairy Godmother (sequel)

Chapter 46

             Faces gone white made the dark bags under their eyes seem all the harsher. They exchanged looks, Asterria, Brendis and Tolsten’s eyes and lips wide with horror, Valerie and Isaac looking green, and Griffson and Darren glaring. The king had to take several deep breaths before he could speak. “Well…well. Well now we know that our preparations for war were not in vain.”

            Valerie made a choking noise while the prince turned his icy gaze on his father. “What are we going to do?”

            She choked again, the inhaled, her breath coming in raggedly. She could hear her heart slamming against her chest and there was a faint ringing in her ears. But still, Val knew she only had one choice. “I’ll go. To the godmother.”

            Asterria gasped, the only sound any of them made for a long moment. Then Darren stalked over to glare into Valerie’s wide eyes. “That is out of the question,” he growled.

            Her gaze narrowed and heated up, a faint flush creeping up her cheeks. “No. I will not have people die on my behalf. Not now, not ever. What kind of monster do you think I am?”

            His eyes didn’t budge. “I am not going to lose you.”

            She felt her chin tremble for a second before she clenched her teeth. “There is no other choice. If it comes to war how many people are going to die? And what will happen to the land afterwards? We studied wars in school. I’ve seen photos of the aftermath and heard how long it took for the battlefields to recover. If they recovered at all. I will not have that here, not if I can stop it.”

            “Your departure will not change things,” Lord Deepharbour said quietly.

            Darren froze for a moment before slowly, so slowly, turning a glare so filled with cold anger that Tolsten actually flinched. “I am referring to Prince Amorrt’s letter. He spoke of those countries who wish to annex our lands into their own,” he continued, eyes on the floor unable to take the prince’s stare. “I do not believe the alliance will be stopped with Lady Valerie’s surrender.”

            The prickling feeling in her eyes made Val blink rapidly even as her chin began trembling again. She took in one ragged breath, then another, one fist clenched around her sword, the other hanging at her side. Darren noticed and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin lightly on her head. She released her fists to clutch at his shirt, her whole body shaking for a minute.

            But she wouldn’t give into weakness for long and before any of the others could do more than shift uncomfortably she was again facing them. No one mentioned the sudden redness of her eyes, the slight wet patch on Darren’s shirt or the fact she was clutching one of his hands. “So,” she said after accepting the comforting squeeze of her hand from the prince. “It will be war no matter what then.”

            The king bowed his head. “It seems we have no other options. I will send out messages to our allies. Perhaps we can gather enough troops to make this alliance hesitate.”

           Griffson nodded. “We’ve got them new recruits in training in the woods east of here. They’re so far in the only one finding them that they don’t want would be one of the Fae. And I’m doubting if one of their lot, even that godmother, would lower themselves to that kind of common work. I’ll send out messages and their training will be hurried. Our seasoned troops have been gathering and we’ve called in the reserves. They were supposed to meet here before being sent out to the borders so they’re already on their way. They won’t catch us with our-” the general seemed to realize suddenly that there were women present and continued with “eyes closed.”

            “It shouldn’t take me more than a day to get Valerie settled,” Darren said, bringing her hand up so he could kiss the back.

            She frowned at him. “What do you mean, get me settled?”

            His expression changed until it mirrored hers. “I’m taking you home of course. It’s not safe here and there’s a fairy godmother after you. You’ll be safer with your family.”

            “What?” she screeched, dropping his hand and spinning so she faced him properly. “I am not running away! This happened because of me so I’m staying to fight.”

            His face hardened and he shook his head. “No, you’re leaving. It’s too dangerous. I will not have you in danger.”

            “Then what the hell was the point in me learning to fight? And it’s not like I haven’t been in danger since getting here. How many times have I fought beside you so far? When you were being targeted by the assassins did you once hear me telling you to run away? No! I will not have you treat me differently. If you think I will just sit and allow you to treat me like some kind of damsel in distress, then you are stupider than I thought.”

            He met her glare with one of his own. “You could be killed or worse. You heard what Amorrt wrote! She could turn you into a puppet.”

            “And waiting at home while you risk your life is somehow better?”

            Darren gritted his teeth so hard he could hear them creak. He inhaled, ready to continue their argument when he focused on her expression. Her eyes were light brown and blazing under contracted brows. Her cheeks had gone red and her lips were pulled sharply down while the muscles in her jaw twitched. Her arms were crossed over her chest and he could see that her hands balled into fists. He knew what that meant. Nothing he said was going to get through to her. She was never going to agree with him. He released his breath in a long sigh. “Fine,” he said, voice dropping into an almost whisper. “Fine.”

            “Hmph,” she snorted, her arms dropping down to her sides, still watching him. She was a little surprised that he’d already given in.

            “Now that the lover’s quarrel is out of the way we can move on to the important things,” Isaac remarked. Valerie flushed and glared while Darren shrugged.

            Griffson nodded. “We need to start with the deployment of our troops. What do you think of…”