DINNER WITH the Clan Leader was just as scary as Andorra expected. She sat rigid across from him and his wife, who were staring at her as though she were some sort of exotic creature. It was the three of them, and a single guard at the door, and the atmosphere was tense.
"That's a lovely dress you have on," The Clan Leader's wife said in a dainty voice, looking as though she were actually kind. The Clan Leader however was watching her with dark, drawn eyes, nothing less than a glare.
"Thank you." The dress was certainly a statement piece, made out of fine silk and jewels that were sewn into the fabric. She felt regal sitting there, with her hair pulled back into an elaborate bun and her dress tightened at the waist, so much so that she struggled to breathe.
"Your time here is growing rather long, don't you think?" The Clan Leader's voice was accusatory and rude, but Andorra didn't flinch. Outwardly, she raised a single eyebrow and continued to cut into the venison on her plate.
"With all due respect, sir, would you like to try to create a gate large enough for your entire clan? It's more time consuming than you would think." She took a bite of the meat, staring right at the Clan Leader, waiting for him to back down. When his scowl deepened, she turned towards his wife. "This dinner is exquisite."
She had never used that word in a sentence before, not once, but she imagined it was what rich, fancy people said over dinner. In fact, her entire facade was that of a rich person out to dinner. She hoped she was hitting the mark.
The Clan Leader's wife looked towards her husband, eyes wide at the blatant disrespect, fear so wide in her eyes that for a moment, Andorra wondered if her words had been too sharp. Just as she was wondering if she should take it back, the double doors to the dining room opened, and in strolled Noah.
He was in a tight, form fitting suit, and his eyes were dark enough to suggest he didn't want to be there. "Mother, father." He said, bowing his head. He looked at Andorra, his face still a mask. "Princess."
His father waved him in, impatiently. "Why are you always late? No one respects tardiness."
Noah said nothing as he slid into the chair beside Andorra, ignoring her completely. "No one respects a ruler who cares not for his people, but rather for his wallet." Noah looked straight at his father while saying that, clearly looking for a fight.
His mother reached out to put her hand atop of his. "Noah, why don't we put away the swords and enjoy dinner for once."
Noah's face was still a mask, stone cold and emotionless, but he offered a fake smile in return. It was obviously sarcastic.
"Why don't we actually act like a family for once?" He continued, digging into the food at his plate. "And by that I mean, why don't we address the elephant in the room? You both think I'm unfit to be a clan leader."
Andorra felt the uncomfortable tension immediately. While she was glad it was taken off of her, she wasn't thrilled it was placed on Noah instead. She longed to reach for his hand, to give it a reassuring squeeze, but she knew better. And after he'd been so rude to her in the kitchen, she didn't really want to see him, anyway.
"I don't think that, son. I know that." His father didn't even offer a look, instead focusing on cutting his dinner. "Time and time again, you fail us. First when you befriended the servant boy. Then when you got into such a fit when the Princess left. And now, when you continue to act like you have a heart. Empathetic people go nowhere in life. It's time you realized that."
Noah narrowed his eyes, the only sign of emotion on his face. "Our clan hates you. They can't wait to see you leave."
His father barked a laugh. "And you think they'll want you in the hot seat? They despise you just as much as they do me. You talk about change, but really, you're a pathetic excuse for a son."
He turned towards Andorra, a glint in his eyes. "You're only important to us if you can get us through the gate, little girl. Keep up the attitude, and I'll see that you never enter Anlithamy."
Andorra stood up, the anger hot beneath her skin. She hated the way he spoke to Noah, and she wouldn't tolerate how he spoke to her. Once a bully, always a bully. "Listen here. You need me to get into Anlithamy. I don't need you. Keep this up and I'll enter Anlithamy alone, without any of you. In fact, that's tempting, considering I could do it right now. You want me to create a gate? Well guess what? I already have, and I didn't need your help to do it." And then, she was gone, in the in-between, traveling to her room before she could spill the tears.
She didn't hate the Snow Clan, but she did hate their leader. Her room was empty when she ripped open the seams of time, falling into her bed in one swift movement. She let the tears flow, not caring about her makeup, or about the mess she was making on her bed. Despite the rush of anger she had felt, she was still an emotional wreck.
Her bedroom door opened, but she didn't turn. "Andy, what the hell?"
She rolled over, glaring at Noah. "Get out!"
He put his hands up in surrender. "My father is pissed."
"And so am I! He's the worst kind of person, and you're just like him! Acting like I'm this fragile little girl who can't do anything on her own. So get out!"
His face fell, the mask from dinner already gone. He looked like her comment had physically hurt him, and for a moment, she felt sorry for what she had said. But, when she thought about his comments in the kitchen, it made her angry all over again.
"Andy, please. I'm sorry about what I said to you. I'm just worried, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt. I should have believed in you more, or put more faith in you. I should have trusted that you knew what you were doing, and I'm sorry."
She hated that her heart lurched for him. She hated that she wanted to be in his arms. She hated that she was undeniably in love with him.
"I need to be alone right now. I need you to leave me alone."
She watched him look at her, for perhaps a beat too long, and then he ducked his head. He clenched his hands into fists. He shook his head, then turned on his heel, clearly wanting to say more. Andorra almost expected it, waiting for him to say something, anything, but he opened the door and left.
She knew in that moment she was being unfair, but she couldn't help herself. She ripped off her dress, wanting to scream. She kicked at it, watching it flop into a heap on the floor, and this time, she did scream. She screaming in frustration as she gathered it into her arms and threw it hard onto the floor.
She stormed to her closet and opened the door, letting it slam against the wall. She didn't care as she ruffled through her clothes, grabbing a shirt to sleep in. She slipped it over her head, still huffing as she dug through her pajama pants, grabbing a pair of sweats. She yanked them up, and she tied them at the waist, and then she slammed her closet door shut.
"I don't need them!" She said to herself as she stormed into the bathroom, gathering her hair into a bun, securing it tightly with a scrunchie. "I don't need any of them to get into Anlithamy."
She turned on the sink, then turned to her bathroom cabinet, grabbing the makeup remover. She nearly dumped it all onto a cotton ball, angrily rubbing it over her face. "Wouldn't they just love it if I left tonight. Showed up in Anlithamy without them. Left them all stranded here!"
Once she scrubbed the makeup off, she ran a washcloth through the water, washing her face off for a final time. She let the scalding hot water splash onto her face, but she didn't care. She was so angry, she couldn't feel it at all. All she felt was the burning anger inside of her, pulsing under her skin, itching up her spine and flowing through her heart. She was angry, so angry, and she wanted to get back at the Clan Leader.
She turned the sink off, staring at herself in the mirror. She looked crazy, with her wide eyes and her red skin and her messy hair. She looked like someone who was about to make a bad decision.
The longer she looked though, the more she knew she couldn't leave. She couldn't do that to Oberon, to Melisande, to Noah. To the people that worshipped her in town. The people that waited for her to return, crying with joy just at the thought of being saved.
She cared about those people, perhaps too much. Despite being a sun fae, she felt like these people were her family. Even Lithe, who was more her sister than anything.
She stepped away from the mirror, feeling drained. She wasn't an angry person, but for some reason, her anger was blinding. It took over at the worst times, and when she felt it, she lost control completely.
She wanted to know why, and she knew who would tell her. Or rather, what would tell her.
She pulled on a jacket over her shirt and didn't bother walking there. She didn't want to run into the Clan Leader, or worse, Noah, so she stepped through the in-between. Now, it felt as easy as breathing, and when she stepped out towards the truth pond, she wondered how she'd never accidentally done it before.
The pond was dark in the night, the stars glittering in reflection. She looked down at it, marveling at how still the water was, and she closed her eyes. She felt a tad bit silly, standing there, about to talk to a pond.
When she opened them again, she blew out a long sigh. "Truth pond, I need to know. Do all faeries feel angry like I do? Is that a growing pain, like me maturing into my faerie powers? Is it normal for faeries to feel angry like I do?"
She watched the water shimmer and move, almost in a swirling direction, and she leaned to get a closer look, almost hypnotized.
"Princess!" She stiffened, looking over her shoulder, watching Oberon head towards her. She would know it was him by the white hair alone, but it was his voice that had tipped her off. She sauntered towards her, hands in pockets, a huge grin on his face. "I thought I saw you out here!"
"Hey, Obe." She didn't move, didn't take her eyes off of him as he joined her, grinning. He peered over her shoulder, his eyes furrowing.
"What did you ask? How to pillage a clan?"
"What? No?" She turned back towards the pond, watching the sight of a burning town ripple. It shocked her for a moment, stunning her into silence as she watched the scene unfold. Fire was everywhere, but there in the middle of it all was a young girl. Her dark hair was in two braids, and she looked every bit innocent. She stood there, wringing out the bottom of her dress, her eyes wide and afraid.
The closer it got to her, the more Andorra watched, wondering who she was and why she was so alone in the middle of such chaos.
Oberon stiffened beside her. "Why are you asking questions about the Rabiem Bellua?"
"The what?" Andorra turned to Oberon, a question in her eyes.
Oberon took a step away from the water, shaking his head. He looked terrified for a second, reaching for Andorra with urgency. "What were you searching, Princess?"
The urgency in his words made her shake. She shivered from something far more sinister than the weather, and she looked back at the water. The girl was gone, as was the scene, but it had done its damage already.
"I don't know. Not that. What did you say? Rabiem Bellua? What is that?"
Oberon looked around, his eyes frantic, and he pulled Andorra away from the pond. "How about we go inside? Just... don't go asking questions you don't want the answers to, Princess. It's better you don't know anything about the Rabiem Bellua. Trust me."
She wanted to trust Oberon, but there was a nagging in her chest that something wasn't quite right. Had the truth pond given her the wrong answer? Had it mistaken her question? She felt like she knew the answer to both of those questions was no, but she had no idea what else it would be trying to tell her.
Oberon was shaken enough that she didn't press it further, but she knew exactly what she would be reading about the next time she was in the study. Despite Oberon telling her to stay away, his fear alone told her that she couldn't ignore whatever the Rabiem Bellua was.
Before they snuck back into the building, she cast one last look at the truth pond, swearing that she could still she the flames in the water, burning brighter than the moon. There was something the pond was telling her, and she would figure it out.
* * *
THE SEQUEL IS ALMOST HERE!
Go check it out on my page and leave a vote on the prologue! I'll be picking a random voter to dedicate my first chapter to!
GOLDEN will be released January 1, 2021
See you soon ;)