Riley

 

Like a stone gargoyle belonging to the castle, my fingers digging into the marble balustrade behind me where I stand out on the patio, I watch the scene unfold inside the ballroom. Jaccomo Casanova is not a gentleman. He’s a heartbreaker.

“Riley?”

I feel a tender caress on my bare upper arm.

“It won’t get easier if you continue watching this.”

Jacob’s soft voice finally rips me out of my stupor. My gaze skates across the place, frantically looking for an escape. Because going back inside is definitely not an option after seeing the prince who I thought might play a role in my new ever after kissing another girl. I swing around to Jacob. “You’re right. It’s just that I…” Don’t know where to go or what to do now.

He searches my eyes for a moment. As if reading my thoughts, he offers me his elbow and a caring, soft smile along with it. “Would you like to take a walk through the garden?”

Walking sounds good. Garden sounds good. Away from this cursed stage of misery sounds awesome.

Straightening my spine and inhaling deeply, I slip my hand into the crook of his arm. When he starts walking, I hold him back, though. “Wait.” I rip the rose out of my hair and bang it on the banister right where Jaccomo Casanova left me standing. “Okay, now we can go.”

A tiny, pleased smirk appears on Jacob’s face as he watches me a second longer before we finally stroll off.

Our steps crunch on the pebbled path leading away from the patio. The farther down we head into the garden, the more intense the lovely scent of the blooming trees and rosebushes grows. I find I can breathe again.

The ball was another failure in my prince hunt…so what? I went through a whole darn week of fails. This one won’t kill me either. And for the little time I was a princess at Briar-Rose and Phillip’s ball, I really had fun.

“It’s amazing, the multitude of emotions your face can shift through in less than two minutes.”

When I turn my head toward Jacob, I notice that he’s looking at me with a mix of wonder and amusement, and he’s probably done that since we left the terrace.

Smirking right back, I drop a curtsy. “Glad I could entertain you, my lord.”

“You never cease to, Riley.” Now he laughs softly, but I throw him a confused look.

“You’ve only known me for an hour.” Surely, I haven’t entertained him with too many surprises in that short time, have I?

“Really?” He makes a funny, quirky face and presses the arm I'm holding tighter against his side, probably so I don’t pull away as he kids me. “Felt like at least a week to me.”

Ahead on the stone bridge over the Timeless Brook that takes a loop through Rory’s garden, Hercules and Megara stroll toward us. No matter what kind of masks they wear, their Greek god outfits totally give them away. At the foot of the bridge, we nod in greeting, and they smile back at us, even if Meg looks like she has no idea who we are. Well, I can’t speak for Prince Jacob, but I regularly drop into her gift shop of mythological things to chat with her.

Silence lingers between Jacob and me when we’re alone again. We leave the brook behind, ambling on in the starlight. Soon, another type of sprinkling water sound drifts to us. Nearby is the duck pond with its ivory fountain in the middle. At the small junction, we take the path that runs down toward it. Lanterns still light the way this far out in the garden. Boy, once Rory gets started on something, she certainly doesn’t do things by halves.

The dripping gets louder as we reach the pond surrounded by an old, belly-height stone wall. Resting my hands loosely on the ledge, I stop and watch the moonlight break like a heap of diamonds in the seven thin streams of water arching from the fountain spout.

Jacob stands beside me. He dips his finger into the pond and slowly stirs the water in small circles. I wonder what he’s thinking about as he stares blankly into the swirl. Would he rather be somewhere else? Back in the ballroom with his friends perhaps?

With his mind elsewhere, I rub my upper arms because, suddenly, I feel alone, even though I'm standing right next to him. It only takes seconds before he looks up with a worried face, glancing at my arms then into my eyes. “Are you cold? Would you like my jacket?”

“No, thank you, I’m fine. It’s a lovely night.” It’s nice to have him back from wherever he’d just gone, though. I drop my hands to grip my skirt instead of rubbing a non-existent chill from my skin. “But maybe we should go back. I don’t want to keep you away from the feast for too long.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Jacob gives me a sad smile that couldn’t be more honest. “Actually, I didn’t want to come to this ball at all.”

Now that is a surprise. “Why not?”

“Mostly because of the company.” He turns around and hoists himself backward onto the wall ledge. Hands braced on the stone, he lets his feet dangle and looks at me sideways with a somewhat sheepish expression. “Crowded places make me nervous. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of royal show-offs.”

With a curious tilt of my head, and my eyes narrowed on him, I walk backward a few steps to a projecting maple tree. My hands at my back as a buffer, I lean against the massive, knobby trunk. “Then why did you come?”

“I’m here because of a friend.” He doesn’t take his eyes off me, either, following my every move with his gaze. A shrug follows. “And of course, it’s Phillip’s birthday.”

“Right. Your cousin.” I almost forgot. “But the company clinging to your arm earlier didn’t look too bad.” Until she went for a drink with Jaccomo, of course.

His grimace makes me feel as if he read my last thought. “Scheherazade and her sister Sheila are just additional proof why I don’t like princesses around me.” He snorts. “They hang on to me. No doubt, some of them are really funny and nice. But mostly, there’s something important missing from those girls, and they usually can’t hold my attention for longer than five minutes.”

I begin to nervously peel the bark from the trunk behind my bottom. “And what is that…something important?”

“I don’t know.” Briefly, he lowers his gaze to the path between us and then raises it back to my face. As he speaks again, his voice is lower than before. “A certain spark maybe.”

We stare into each other’s eyes for several quiet seconds. “If you detest princesses so much,” I whisper eventually, “then why did you want to dance with me?”

Closing his eyes, he laughs softly. They gleam with amusement as he opens them again. “You aren’t a princess, Riley.”

I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth. “How can you say that?”

He takes his time to answer, putting me on edge. “Because you’re different.”

Okay, that could mean a thousand things. With wide eyes, I keep staring at him, my throat thickening too much to say anything yet. Jacob slides off the banister. With a slow prowl, he comes under the shelter of the overhanging branches speckled with a million reddish leaves. “Do you want to know what really made me walk up to you in the hallway?”

Pressing a little harder against the trunk, I raise my gaze the closer he draws until he’s standing right in front of me with only a foot of space separating us. He braces his hand next to my head on the trunk and inches even closer. I can feel my heart knocking against the base of my throat.

“Any other girl in such a striking dress,” he whispers, “wouldn’t have waited a second to walk down the stairs. She would have been dying to show off to all the people in the hall.” Gently, he places his other hand on my hip and really, I can’t move, no matter how light his touch is. “But you hesitated. I saw how nervous you were. How you held on to the curtains for support. You looked intimidated by the thought of facing the ball.”

Panic freezes me to the spot, and I swallow. What do I say now? Do I lie? Do I tell him the truth?

Do I kick his shin and run away without explanation?

His expression turns even softer. “Am I wrong?”

I inhale deeply, but my breath trembles as I slowly blink at him twice. “No, you’re right. I’m not a princess.” I sound as if a cheese grater has worked my throat. “I don’t belong here. It was a stupid idea to come in the first place.”

Jacob doesn’t seem to judge me, he only appears curious and…caring. “Where do you belong?”

It’s hard to hold his insistent gaze. Impossible. I break out of his spell, sidestep him, and take a few quick strides down the path. Then I stop and whirl around. “In the woods. It’s the only place I’ve ever known as home.”

There has never been a time in my life when I longed for my red cloak more than in this moment. If Jacob heads off now, knowing the truth, and leaves me behind just like Jaccomo did earlier, I could hide in it and wouldn’t feel so lost again.

But the prince doesn’t run away. On the contrary, he walks toward me, but for every step he takes closer, I take one away. I stumble backward until he smiles, and I realize how stupid I must look. My feet grow roots, and I finally let him come closer.

Jacob takes both of my hands in his and tugs me over to the duck pond where he leans against the wall again. “You seem like you have an interesting story to tell.” He doesn’t free my hands but keeps me there right before him, almost between his spread legs. Underneath that silver mask, the marvelous night sky reflects off his gorgeous eyes. He blinks and gives me the softest of smiles. “What’s your tale, Riley?”

His genuine interest coaxes a sigh from me, and I lower my lashes. “There’s not much to tell, really. I just spend a lot of time in the forest.”

“What do you do there?”

I shrug. “Talk to someone and try to save my family from an attack.”

Jacob reaches out and, with a finger under my chin, he lifts my gaze back to his warm eyes. “Do you get a happy ending?”

“I do…but not the way I wish.”

His curiosity is obviously growing as he cocks his head. “What way would that be?”

Maybe it’s a bad idea to tell him this. But since he already figured out that I’m not a princess, I can probably tell him everything now. Also, it strangely feels as if I can be honest with him, and he won’t laugh. After a long moment with my lips pressed into a hard line, the quiet words finally slip out. “I never get kissed.”

His hand still rests lightly against my neck, but now his thumb skims gently along my jaw. His fingers are warm and tender, his touch amazingly pleasant. “What a shame…and a waste.” The next moment, his hand drops as if he just realized that he’d gone too far. Bracing himself on the stone barrier with his hands on either side of his hips, he frowns and clears his throat. “Isn’t there a guy in your story?”

At the memory of my time with Jack this past week, my heart glows unexpectedly, and my grin widens. “Oh, sure there is.” Even if he’s a Wolf most of the time.

Jacob narrows his eyes. A cynical snort escapes him. “So he’s an idiot?”

His joke makes me snicker. “No. Jack isn’t an idiot. He’s smart and funny.” My thoughts drift off to the night when he locked himself in Phillip’s dungeon to keep me safe from the beast. “And caring…” I add in a strangely hoarse voice. And suddenly, I really miss him. “In fact, he’s one of the best men I know.”

“Sounds as if you like this guy a lot,” he taunts, throwing me yet another sideways glance and a lopsided grin. “Do I have a rival?”

“A rival?” A surprised laugh escapes me as I back away. “Why, Jacob? Are you fighting for my heart?”

He pushes himself off the stone wall. Slowly, like a wolf on the prowl, he comes forward, licking his lips. His blue eyes take on a darker gleam in the night with each step he takes toward me. I didn’t realize I was drawing away until the knobby trunk of the maple tree is suddenly at my back again, stopping my escape.

With my mouth slightly parted, I completely forget to breathe as he shapes his palms to my cheeks. We look into each other’s eyes for an endless moment. I think my heart disappeared because I can’t feel it beating anymore. Tilting his head down a little, Jacob strokes his thumb across my bottom lip. His gaze drops to my mouth and then moves back to my eyes. One second later, his lashes lower, and my eyes fall shut, too.

“Fighting for your heart, I am. Didn’t you notice that yet?” he whispers.

And then he catches my upper lip in a tender, sweet kiss. My mouth shapes against his out of instinct. It only lasts for two seconds, but a thousand little pinpricks of pleasure race through me at the touch. His lips leave mine, only to come right back for another soft caress and this time, he puts a little more pressure in the embrace. The third time he does it, my mouth opens, and his tongue delves in. It sweeps against my own, once, slowly. Then he ends our kiss the same way it began, with a gentle catch of my upper lip.

For the past half-minute, I’ve been melting between him and the tree. Everything around me feels like a bed of cozy clouds. I want to stay in this dreamy moment forever and never wake again. But when his lips detach and I can only feel his warm breath on my skin, my eyes flutter open.

Sparkling sapphires linger before me.

Still in a daze, I blink up at him. So this is what I’ve been missing out on all these years. My princess friends get kissed every day—inside their stories and out. They found people to give their hearts to from the moment their tales began.

For me, it took forever.

Jacob’s eyes soften behind the silver mask as he smiles. He brushes his hands down my gloved arms and then laces our fingers together, keeping us close. Blissfully smiling back at him, I draw in a deep breath.

A single, light breeze wafts around us, stirring the skirt of my dress. My skin rises in goosebumps and, all of a sudden, there’s a shift. I can’t even say if it’s just inside my body or around us, but it feels as if something…cracked. Like a rift in polar ice.

The sensation is gone as fast as it appeared, taking the tingle from my skin with it. I wonder if Jacob felt it, too. He has become very still. His gaze hasn’t left mine in the past three seconds, but his hands tightened around mine in an almost worrisome way.

When I try to flex my fingers, he releases me immediately, obviously realizing what he’s doing. And that it hurt. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly shakes his head and clears his throat. Apparently, it wasn’t just me who felt…whatever that was.

I open my mouth to ask him about it, but the words never come. My eyes shoot up, and I stiffen. Behind his shoulder, right there on the duck pond, the Fairy Godmother appears. She levitates a few inches above the water, tapping her index finger on her left wrist.

The time? Yeah, yeah… I promised not to crash at Rory’s castle, and I won’t. But the night has only just begun, and it has turned into something so beautiful. She can’t expect me to go home right now. If she’s tired, no one’s asking her to stay.

Jacob studies my face for a split second. Then he turns around, his forehead creasing in suspicion, but the fairy popped out and vanished seconds before he saw her. When he turns his head back to me, the furrows on his brows deepen. “Is everything okay?”

Shutting off my short irritation, I smile at him, which actually feels more like a cramping grimace. “Yes, everything’s perfect.”

Except the fairy lady has just reappeared between the bushes, frantically waving her arms as if she’s mad.

I sling my hand through Jacob’s arm and pull him away from the tree, casting him a pleading look. “Can we walk a bit?”

He hesitates a second, but then he bends his arm and tucks the other hand into his pocket. “Sure…”

I throw a glance over my shoulder, morosely narrowing my gaze at the brash woman. It can’t hurt to just stay another hour or two, right? Dawn is far away, and I swear I’ll be lying in my bed before the sun creeps over the horizon.

We stroll toward the wide stone bridge across the Timeless Brook that we crossed to get here. The reverse flow of the water has a soothing effect on me. I dare another short look behind us and exhale in relief when I see that the Fairy Godmother is gone.

Jacob’s puzzled eyes try to find mine when I turn forward again, but I’m quick to escape his gaze. He doesn’t need to know that a crazy, tired chaperone is weaseling around.

“Riley, did I do something wrong?”

My gaze is fastened on the ground, my steps slowing to match his reluctant pace. “No. No, you didn’t. That was…what you did…” I look at him, and a deep sigh leaves me, bringing back all the dreamy feelings of earlier when we kissed. “It was beautiful.”

“Then why are you being so evasive now?”

“I’m not. I just…” Freeze.

My expression derails as the fairy lady appears again behind him, hovering over the little river. This time, she brought a grandfather clock and pushes it down onto the water as if the surface is made of concrete—which maybe it is because, after a quick splash, the clock keeps standing there. What is her darn problem? Is it her mission now to ruin my perfect night with the Prince from the Snow Plains?

“You…what?” Jacob prompts me with a worried frown.

“Nothing.” Tense and angry, I stride faster, trying hard to ignore the fairy on the water. “We should go back to the feast.” Hopefully, the crowd will keep her away.

His hand snatches my wrist, and he hauls me back. “Stop!”

I gasp as I nearly bump into his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he demands, the lines around his mouth hardening.

I remain silent because I really don’t know what to say when the Fairy Godmother is acting like a maniac behind him, floundering and pedaling in the air. She doggedly slaps her wand against the glass of the clock face. Behind it, the minute hand just begins to bridge the last minute to midnight.

Wait! Midnight? There was something happening at midnight, right? What was it? What was it?!

The fairy grabs a fistful of her skirt, shaking it. Oh crap, my gown!

FIRST STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

My mouth drops open. Ugh!

SECOND STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

“If the kiss was a mistake, then tell me.” Jacob doesn’t let go of my hand, but the silver-framed sapphires turn soft as they plead with me. “Don’t just run away.”

THIRD STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

Dang, I might have no other choice!

FOURTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

“I’m so sorry, but it’s late. I need to leave!” Really, really fast!

FIFTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

My hand is caught. I can’t get away, and my heart starts to flutter against my throat like a lunatic canary in a cage. “Please, Prince Jacob, you must let me go. I can’t stay here.”

SIXTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

“Only for a few more minutes, I beg you.”

SEVENTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

Not even for a few more seconds.

I tug harder at my hand, whining in panic as I do a funky version of the potty dance.

EIGHTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

My wailing stirs his mercy, and he finally lets me go. But his torn look breaks my heart. I hitch up my skirt, ready to run. “I don’t want to go. Really. I wish I could stay the entire night out here in the garden with you, but I can’t.”

NINTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

I dash off the bridge.

“I need to tell you something. It’s important,” his desperate voice follows me.

TENTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

I swirl around and run back, but not because of his pleading. I just realized I was heading deeper into the garden. With my dress disappearing in two more seconds, I should probably head for the exit instead.

ELEVENTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

Trembling in terror, I skitter to a stop in front of Jacob once more. His expression is hopeful now. I grimace. Holy broken glass slipper, he can’t see me pop into my underwear. It will be the death of me. There must be another way out.

Oh, wait! Did I say slipper? Heck, the shoes I’m wearing are from Kansas!

TWELFTH STRIKE OF THE CLOCK.

I click my heels together.

 

To be continued…