-----
Katie
"So you killed him?" He asks me, his voice monotone.
I stand there, blushes coming to my cheeks every time I speak. "Yes," I answer as my fingers continue to fidget in front of me, my thumbs twirling around each other.
"What were your reasons for killing him? Was it self defense?" The man asks me. I try not to cringe as I stand there, everyone's eyes on me. Everyone taking in my body movements and my facial expressions.
"I did it as self-defense," I answer him honestly.
The man's eyes seem to be judging me, as though it was my fault. As though him attacking me was my fault. "From what? Your Highness, I'm sorry if I'm coming off rude, but we just want to know what happened that night." The man says in a more calming voice. I look at the man more remembering the first time I met him. From the first time he saw me, I could tell he didn't like me. Just like his son, Tony.
I take a deep breath, "I was sleeping and-"
"Why were you sleeping? It was your coronation!" His fist slams into the table, shaking every object on the platform. "Now folks I don't know much about coronations but I'm pretty sure the one being crowned doesn't go off to fall asleep without even saying goodbye to their guests."
"I was drugged!" I practically yell, making some people flinch. "And when I woke up he was there and he-he-" I take a deep breath, "He told me he was being told to..."
"To what!" The man yells at me, frustrated.
I close my eyes, wanting so badly to not have to talk about what happened...what could have happened. Especially in front of all these people. "To kiss me! To touch me! To take advantage of me!" I yell back. I look down, "I want to go. I'm tired, and I don't want to be here."
"You can't run away from your problems, your Highness." The man mutters.
I glare at him, "Well this isn't really a problem, it's more so unnecessary. I did not kill him to just kill him, I killed him so he wouldn't hurt me. I killed him to protect myself as self-defense. Now I could stand here all day and prove to you that I'm not lying but I have a country to run." I turn to the left, ready to run out of this room.
"Wait, there is one more thing I want to know." He asks.
I look up at him, "What?"
"Where did the dagger come from? The weapon you used to kill the victim?" My eyes widen and my mouth dries.
"I found the dagger in the capital," I say, lying. I try to hide my poker face.
His face shows that he doesn't believe me, "Where did you find it?" He asks again.
"I found it in-"
"Where did you find it!" He yells. I flinch, my hands gripping the pedestal as he stands from his chair.
"It's a dagger, why does it matter?"
"There is no way you could have found a dagger in the capitol. There are no weapons of that sort in the capitol. So, either you tell me where you found the weapon, or we'll have to arrest you." His voice rises for every word he says.
I'm screwed. I can't tell him the truth. I can't tell him that I ate a strawberry and that I can now make daggers appear in my hands out of nothing. I'll sound even crazier than I already do. "I-"
"Your Highness you are wanted in the meeting room." A loud voice calls from the door. Relief flooding me, I look across the room to see Tony watching me, his hands keeping the large double doors open.
I give a calm smile, "I'm sorry but we'll have to continue this another day." I walk off the stairs and make my way to Tony, not bothering to say good day to that man. Tony and I rush out the room and into the hallway. "You really saved me there," I say.
I look over at him, seeing him blush, "Yeah my dad can get really intense sometimes." He says quickly.
I can't help but blush as I see him begin to act all shy, my mind going to the thoughts of 'what did I do?' 'Did I say something to make him like this?'
"Did you have fun at the dance?" I ask him. "I don't really remember much of the coronation. I remember talking and introducing myself to other politically important people" And dancing with Jace. "But that's all I really remember. Oh and...um...the uh Scott thing." I pause, my mind looking back into the moment I woke up. The lights were turned on and him being there. I cringe as goosebumps form on my arms.
"Are you serious?" He asks me. "That's all you remember from that night?" His voice cracks, making me even more concerned.
"Yeah, I probably got really drunk-"
"Huh, yeah." I hear him mumble.
"Are you OK? You're acting like a child-"
His hands grab hold my wrists as he corners me against the wall, his touch sending little shivers up and down my arms. "Are you playing me right now Katie?" He asks.
"I don't-" His gaze makes me stop talking. His eyes scanning every inch of my face.
"Katie...you kissed me." He whispers. My eyes flutter from his breath lightly brushing my face. "After dancing with Jace you started to cough and you seemed pretty weak. As I was bringing you to your room you started acting all silly, saying weird things. You were definitely on something." His eyes meet mine, "And I brought you to your bed so you could get some rest." Then, the blue eyes slowly go down my face to my lips, "And you kissed me." He lets go of my wrist and his hand lightly goes down my face, skimming my cheek and stopping right before my lips. I try not to shiver, try to make my face neutral, but it doesn't work.
"Did you not want me to kiss you?" I ask, my voice sounding scratchy.
"Yes." He says, "And I don't want to now but-" His lips take me in, stopping everything. His lips are not as soft as I thought they'd be, but they taste like maple syrup. Both his arms grab hold my hips, pulling me close to him. I don't know what to do. Do I move my arms? Last second, my hands travel up his arms and up to his hair. His hair isn't that soft but I grab onto it and he gasps. And not a satisfied gasp. He pulls away and looks at me, confusion written all over his face, "What the heck?" He says.
"I'm sorry, I was trying to do what I read about in make out scenes where the girl like clings onto the guys' hair." My eyes look everywhere but him. "I'm really sorry if that hurt. We should probably go to the meeting-"
"Katie." He says sounding out of breath.
"What?" I ask him.
"There is no meeting. I said that to get you out of there."
I frown, "So you lied?"
He grins, "Yeah."
I smile and grab his face in my hands and smash my lips on his.
---
"Why are you blushing?" Kallan asks me.
"I'm not blushing. Why would I be blushing?"
"I don't know, that's why I asked you. You've been blushing for the past hour. It's strange."
"Strange that I've been blushing, or strange that it's gone on for an hour?"
"Both." Is all he says, his eyes going back to the book in his hands. For the past week of meeting my brother, we've gotten really close. He already seemed to know a lot about me which gave him more time to talk a bit about himself. I learned his favorite color is green and he loves swimming. I also learned he was born in the 17th century. He's hundreds of years old but yet he still looks like he's 16.
"Well, I don't find it weird. It's just a sunburn-"
"It's the middle of winter-"
"But have you seen how crazy the weather has been-"
"You never go outside-"
"I'm parched I'll go get some water."
"I'll come with you."
"Gosh! Do you really want to know?" I say, my face even redder.
"Well after all those excuses, I was starting to believe it was nothing but go ahead. I'm listening." A large grin shows on his face.
I roll my eyes, feeling cold all a sudden in the large room. "I kissed Tony,"
His eyes almost come out of their sockets as he jumps up from his seat, losing the page in his book. He runs over to me where I sit on the bed and he tackles me. "Katelan!" He yells as he practically sits on top me. "Aubrey!" He takes a deep breath in, "MAXWELL!"
"I can't breath-"
"Hush, child! You did the exact thing you weren't supposed to do. This completely destroys our hole plan. Now we'll have to tell your friends. Tell everyone. I'll go right now to tell Jenna-" He gets off and begins walking towards the door.
"No, you don't!" I yell. "I don't think Jenna really wants to talk to you right now. She's mad, betrayed-"
"I guess I will have to talk to her about that too then-"
"No, she's my best friend!"
"Well-" A loud knock on the door interrupts our conversation.
"Your Highness!" A voice says loudly. I get up from the bed and open the door.
"Spencer?" I say as my eyes meet hers.
"Katie the capitol is under attack." She says, taking my hand.
I look over at Kallan and quickly give him a frantic look, "She can see you, Kallan!" I mouth quietly.
He smiles, "I made a spell only people with fae blood can see me". He says.
I look back at Spencer, "By the Smurfs?" I ask.
"Yes, we need to get everyone to safety and bring out our soldiers." She pulls on my arm and I follow her, knowing that Kallan is right behind us.
"What about my friends?" I ask her.
"As far as I know they're already in the safe room." My heartbeat goes faster till I can barely breathe and my head starts to ache.
"Where is the safe room?"
"In the capital, there are secret passageways used for these reasons." She answers as she starts to sprint.
I begin running after her. I'm not a runner and already as I try to pump my legs as fast as her my lungs begin to burn. "Come on Katie!" I hear Kallan yell behind me. I push harder, already feeling my face turn red. And then, at the end of the hallway, I see a weird knob on the wall, almost completely hidden by the wallpaper. I let out a breath of relief. We're so close and right as we're about there, the whole building shakes. The marble ground below me makes me lose my balance and I fall feeling something in my leg snap. I let out a scream as I hit the ground. "Katie-" Arms pick me up with unnatural strength. Kallan's scent fills my senses as he carries me the rest the way. The pain spreads through my leg, making its way till my whole body hurts.
I hear a heavy metal door close and suddenly all I see is black. Lights flicker on as I'm set down on a large couch. My arms wrap around my leg as the pain continues to intensify every second. I let out another scream. "It hurts!" I say through gritted teeth. Blue eyes stare back at me.
"Your Highness I'll need you to let go of your leg." Her voice says, calming me. I let go and feel the cold air hit my skin. I flinch as her fingers lightly touch my skin. A loud bang hits the door making everyone but Kallan jump. His teal eyes look over at me worriedly.
"What happened?" He asks.
"She may have broken her leg."
"Is there much you can do now?" My brother asks. I hear Spencer opening and closing drawers.
"I found a first aid kit, it'll be helpful to help ease some of the pain, but not all of it." She says. She walks close to me, her hand brushing my shoulder, "Hold still, I have to give you a shot on the hurt area." She opens the kit and her hands move fast and as she takes out a syringe another explosion shakes the building and this time the sound of men screaming follows like an echo. My hands cover my ears. Spencer's hand takes one of mine, helping prepare me for the shot. "This is a five-inch needle, OK?" I nod my head, "Sometimes the serum is so strong it makes the person pass out but it's just to numb the pain for the time being." Again, I numbly nod my head and wait for the pinch.
One second there is pain all over my body, and the next the needle pokes through my skin and the serum is injected into my skin. The serum burns my blood as it flows through my body. My hand shoots out for Spencer's shoulder and I can barely sit. "It's not helping." I choke out.
"It's not going to at first, give it a minute." She whispers into my ear. My skin tingled from her breath on my skin and my whole body relaxes a bit.
I feel my eyes begin to burn and I can barely keep them open. "Can I got to sleep?" I ask.
Spencer's grasp on my shoulder tightens, "No, don't. We need you awake to see if the pain goes away."
"I don't want to go to sleep but my eyes..." The last word sounds like a mumble as it escapes my lips.
The building shakes again and along with that, another knock on the door. "Someone's out there," I say, wanting this to end. As if on queue, something in my ankle tingles, overpowering the pain and I can feel my bone come back together. I try not to scream as I feel everything on my body heal until I feel like a newborn baby.
"Katie!" Spencer's voice squeals. All around me I can see a strange purple hue.
"She's finding her power," Kallan says to no one in particular.
"Power?"
As my legs heal itself I lay down on the couch as my arms wrapping around my leg in pain. "Shit! It hurts so bad, Kallan." I say without thinking. Right away I close my mouth and pretend I didn't say anything.
"Kallan? Zane, what's going on? Her heartbeat is going faster by the second at an unhealthy rate. And her...her leg is healing!" My whole body lifts from the cushions on the couch and I'm in the air. Something warm drizzles down my nose. And everything goes black.
---
My body is awakened by the feel of two eyes staring at me. "You're awake." A voice whispers onto my face. Confused I open my eyes more to find two round eyes looking back at me.
I sit up quickly, pillows bunching up against my back as my nightgown rides up my legs from the sudden movement. "What the-"
"Don't!" The voice says. A warm hand overlaps mine, giving me a small source of warmth. My eyes focus more and I realize it's Spencer. Her face looks at me worriedly.
I give her an even more confused look, "What are you doing? Where even am I?" I ask.
"We were in the hidden hideouts and you broke your leg. It's was pretty bad and all of a sudden you were glowing this light silvery purple hue and your eyes!"
"My eyes?"
"They were purple! Everything, your hair your skin was all purple! As we were bringing you here I asked Kallan about what happened, and he told me everything! He said you were purple because if you were a full fairy and in your fairy world then your eyes would appear purple." I look at her, not understanding anything she's saying.
This happened to Gabby..."And was my nose bleeding?" I ask her.
"Yeah, a little trail of blood from your nose." I only nod my head.
I look closer at her, taking in how blue her eyes look in the morning light from the window. My hand twitches for a colored pencil, wanting so badly to try and find that color. "What about the Smurfs attacking? Is everyone OK?"
"Yes, everyone is OK...but there was a lot of damage done to the building. We had to relocate."
My eyes widen and look around the room closer, "So we're not in the Capitol right now?" I ask.
"Yes. And we also found out the Smurfs have made a poisonous fog and are letting it out around the world. So far the fog has taken over a large portion of the Pacific Ocean but people have said it is moving towards Asia."
"So it's not here yet?"
"Correct."
"So where are we right now?" I ask her.
"The White House."
"Where are my friends?"
"In their separate rooms." She says, walking across the room. I watch as she takes a glass of water and brings it to me.
"We have our own rooms?"
"Yeah, there are enough rooms now since many other people went to the Pentagon and other places around the district."
"Where is my sister?" I ask.
"She also has her own room."
"No, my sister and I will share a room."
"Katie, these are your private chambers, only for you. I mean, there is a room that is kinda connected to your chambers that could be her room."
"That's good, can I see her?" I ask. "And Kallan?"
"I'll go get them." Just as she goes to the door, I hear a knock on the door before she was about to open it. "Hello?" She says.
"Its Kallan and Alli, can we see her?" He asks from the other side of the door.
Spencer opens the door and standing there is Kallan and Alli. My heart hurts as I take in Alli's large under eye bags and her unnaturally pale skin. I watch Kallan as he takes Alli's hand and leads her into the room, treating her as though she is also his sister.
"I'll give you guys some privacy," Spencer says as she walks out the room quietly. Once the door closes, Alli begins sobbing and rushes to me on the bed. I take her into my arms and rock her slowly.
"It's OK, Alli. You are OK."
"I saw them, Katie. They were outside the window. They almost got me."
"You saw the Smurfs?" My eyes meet Kallans.
"They weren't Smurfs that attacked us."
"But Spencer said that the Smurfs are the reason for all this, there's a poisonous fog clouding the earth because of the Smurfs," I say as my breath quickens.
"Katie."
"The books said it was Smurf's-"
"Katie-"
"What if they are all wrong? I'm not made to be the Empress-"
"Katelan!"
"This is too much, I'm only human! I can't take all of this, Alli can't take all of this and neither can my friends. Can you just ask dad to help us?"
"Dad doesn't care enough about the humans to do much." He says solemnly.
"But I'm his daughter, who's a human! He should care at least a little!"
"Dad wants you to come home. After all this, he doesn't want you to stay here. He wants you to be a princess and meet all our siblings."
My eyebrows raise, "I have more siblings?"
"Yes, and they're so excited to meet you." He walks over to the bed and sits next to me and Alli.
"No, I'm sorry but I can't. I've been on this Earth for my whole life, it's my home. I can't just leave everyone."
"Katie, we can bring the humans to the faerie world. But there will be major difficulties." He says, his long fingers wrapping around mine.
"What type of difficulties?" I ask.
"Most faeries think they are superior to humans." He answers. I shake my head, already tired from what is already going to be a long war. I look down at my sister, wishing there was some way I could lock everyone I love in some utopia, one filled with flowers that will grow peacefully in a garden that we make ourselves. I can at least hope that'll be our future.
A knock on the door takes out attention. Kallan gets up from the bed and walks toward the door. He turns the knob, revealing Jace. His dark eyes look at me warily. "We're having a meeting, and you're needed."
I nod, getting up from the bed. "Let me change," I say, going towards a door in my chambers, glad to see it's my closet. My eyes roam around the different clothes, finding that everything in the closet is some type of dress.
As everyone leaves the room to give me some privacy I frown. My least favorite thing in the world...dresses. My fingers go through some of the more plain dresses. I find a bland beige dress, but still, it's too much. I put it back and continue that process with about five more times till I give up. My eyes roam more around the large closet which is bigger than my living room back at home. I find some drawers that open up, some showing undergarments and others filled with nightgowns. Almost drained of hope, my fingers touch the last of the drawers in the closet. My fingers curl over the smooth metal handle and let it slide open gracefully. A smile appears on my face. Dark suit pants lay nicely in rows along with shirts and vests. I take them out, finding that they are more muscular than feminine, but I ignore it, grateful I found pants that look comfortable.
I take off the plain white silk nightgown that was almost plastered to my sticky skin from sweat. I slide on the white pants and button the white shirt. I look in the mirror and see to much white. Going back into the drawer, I take out a deep purple vest. My favorite color. I put it on and as I do my eyes catch a glimpse of something shiny on the other side of the closest I've yet to explore. Different crowns line perfectly on mannequin heads. I cringe, already not liking many of the crowns. All of them are either too shiny or just too much. Finally, my eyes find a simple crown that I already know will look amazing with my outfit.
Alexandrite fills in tiny gaps on the crown, still making it quite nice looking, but also fitting with my look. I place it on my head, my curls already getting stuck in the little gaps on the crown, but I ignore that.
I walk out the closet and go into the hallway, finding that only Jace stands there, his kind eyes taking me in. I stop, memories from the other night filling my head. His hands on my bare skin. The feeling of his breath on my skin that made me shiver. Those images cloud in my vision, then being replaced with Tony. Tony carrying me up the stairs. Tony kissing me.
I feel a hand around mine, taking me away from the remaining sensation of Tony kissing me, filling me with a new sensation. I look down to see Jaces' hand in mine. "Are you OK?" He asks all of a sudden his sent is all over me as he wraps me in his arms.
"Yeah," I say, shocked into place.
"I was so scared." He says against my neck. I suppress a shudder, trying to get out of his grip.
"I think we should get to that meeting," I say. He nods his head, leading the way. My throat closes up at what I think could come from this meeting. The memory of Tony's dad interrogating me floats in my eyes for a second and I cringe.
"I was really scared that you might get hurt in the attack," Jace says.
I tense, "Why?" I ask him.
He looks back at me, his dark eyes filled with so much emotion it chills my skin. "I care about you, Katie." He says. "And when I found out what Scott did to you...I was so mad and I wanted to go see you." His eyes shine with rage, "Should've known the bastards intentions from the first time I saw him."
I only nod my head, walking the fastest my legs will take me without looking too suspicious, wanting away from Jace. "It's OK, Jace." I say, "I wasn't hurt."
"I don't care." He mumbles so quietly I'm sure he didn't intend me to hear it.
I choose to ignore it. Finally, a large door appears ahead, and I practically run to it, relieved as I hear peoples voices from the other side. I open the door and my eyes shoot right to my friends. I almost sob as I run to them, ignoring everyone's eyes as I take all four of them into my arms. "Thank goodness you guys are safe," I say as I feel Jessica hug my torso. The sound of something hard knocking against wood echoes through the large room, taking our attention.
The eyes of many different people stare back at me. Some look at me in awe, others in disgust. In the light of so many harsh expressions, I see a kind one. The princess from my coronation smiles back. Princess Isabel. I give her a slight nod and her smile grows.
"The other day we were attacked," I say as my friends let go of me, leaving me cold.
"No dip, those darn Smurfs got us good!" A man says loudly.
I frown, "Our attackers were not Smurfs." I take in a large breath, "From what it seems, the Smurfs have allied with another different species. Aliens." I hear a man laugh at me. I frown, hating the way I look in front of all these grown men. To them, I probably look like a stupid little girl with no idea of what I'm talking about. "Quiet!" I bark, feeling my blood begin to boil. "If they've already become allies, this means that we are screwed," I say flatly. "Now we need to fight back. We need to begin training everyone who's able to fight. We need to think of ways to beat not only the Smurfs but now also the Aliens."
I look, at everyone now, seeing none of their faces filled with humor. "I know what happens. I've read the books. Tony knows what happens, he's read the books too." Without even thinking about it, my feet take me to the front of the room, giving me a good view of everyone. "We may have survived this first attack, but they're only getting started. They are not here just to take our lands." I try to make eye contact with everyone in the room. Anyone who doesn't look away from my intense gaze. "They are here to destroy us."