Powder Keg
Chapter Two
Damn girl. Why did she have to make him feel so many…feelings? It wasn't like he needed to feel those types of emotions. He didn't need her around! After all, what he said wasn't necessarily wrong. When she was around he never got any work done. Not that he had a whole lot to do to begin with. Even so! She didn't need to sit there…distracting him.
Ugh!
But if that was all said and true, why was he feeling a bit guilty about it? Sure, he wasn't feeling that bad about it but the fact that he was even thinking about it at all was, again, nothing but a distraction! It was just the look on her face when he told her off. And the way she stormed off. Sure, he'd seen it before but it never stung the way it had when she did this time around.
"Fine then. Forget it, I won't bother you again."
Why did he snap at her to begin with? He wasn't even sure. He did have a bad habit of letting people closest to him, like Sofia; get the brunt of his grumpiness. The night before when they were sharing some alone time was nothing out of the ordinary just as heated as usual. Maybe it was the fact that he was feeling…too attached?
Could that be possible?! No! No way! He had feelings for the maid girl but that didn't mean anything. He had feelings for everything and anyone; it didn't mean it was romantic or special by any means. It was just a feeling. That was all.
Cedric passed through the castle hall with his hands tucked away in his oversized sleeves. Cuffed in front of his flat chest and trusty raven on his shoulder, he scouted the hall. Why? It wasn't like he wanted to see anyone in particular. No one.
Yep, no one in particular.
"Oh Cedric, there you are!"
Ugh that voice. As if he didn't need any other reason to be stressed? The magic man flinched, looked up from the ground he'd been so intently staring at only to see the king himself standing before him, Sofia at his side. What was this about? He hadn't done anything…wrong in the past few days, had he?
Almost as if he were a schoolboy caught in the middle of a scandal, he froze up. "Y-yes?"
"We have something to ask of you, if you're free." Roland said with a rather wide smile on his face.
For a brief moment, the sorcerer paused and looked to his partner who rested on his shoulder. In reply Wormwood retuned the glance before they both turned their focus back to the king and his daughter. "I'm free for whatever you need, your majesty."
"Oh wonderful." Roland looked down to Sofia and placed his flat palm on her back, pushing her forward just an inch or two. "Sofia here has something she would like to ask of you."
Sofia, who wore a smile just as large as her father, opened her arms up. "Would it be okay if you were to help us host a party tomorrow night? Maybe help us set up a few things and preform a small show?"
His heart and breathing hitched. Oh no, not in public. Ugh, great. "That sounds…" He resisted the urge to roll his dark eyes. "Fine, princess. I would be happy to oblige."
"That would be really helpful!" She clapped her hands together.
"And whatever is this party for if I may be so bold?" He asked, his palms sweating just a bit.
"You see, we were planning a small dinner for king Magnus and his court." The lord of Enchancia spoke with as much confidence as usual. "But something came up."
Oh joy! Did that mean his services weren't needed?
"It seems we have a birthday dinner to plan that night. And while I can't exactly cancel this dinner with king Magnus, we thought," He looked down to his step-daughter with a grin. "That we would combine the two!"
A birthday? Whose—?
"Heather told me earlier that her birthday happened to be today!" Sofia added.
Heather? Her birthday? Today?!
"For whatever reason she didn't tell any of us that today was a special day." The king continued, his pitch going a bit higher for a moment. "Sofia informed me after speaking with her, that she was relatively upset about the whole situation. So, we thought we'd have a party in her honor."
She was upset? It couldn't have been because no one knew about her birthday; it had to be about…
"And just what 'relationship' are you talking about? We don't share anything in common."
Oh.
"She was upset you say?" He asked, his voice dropping several octaves.
"I've never seen her cry before but it looked like she'd been crying for a while before I talked to her." Sofia said, her comment stabbing him where it hurt the most.
She was crying? Over him? No, this had to be about her birthday, it couldn't have anything to do with him! She was a strong woman, she didn't cry over things that were this silly. Besides what he said wasn't that hurtful. After all, he was just trying to…
Trying to what?
Oh, Merlin's mushrooms, he wasn't sure what he was trying to do! But whatever it was, he certainly got the job done. How did he expect her to react after all he said? Sure, he wasn't exactly confident in himself, especially after all they had been through together but did that warrant him messing with her head like that?
It wasn't like she hadn't said some mean and rude things to him in the past. Perhaps this was just all payback for the things she'd done to him?
"See you around."
"So, would you mind doing a few things for the party for us?" Sofia brought him out of his thoughts. "You wouldn't mind, right?"
He cleared his throat. "Not at all, princess Sofia." He said and for the first time in what felt like forever, his chest ached. "It's the least I could do."
"We do intend for this event to be just that," Roland spoke again. "We want Heather to have tonight as well as tomorrow night off. And because we're also expecting the company of king Magnus and his court, we want this to be quite the feast."
"Yes, your majesty." Cedric dipped his head a single time, all the while his stomach tossed and turned.
"I'm telling you this because Heather was ordered to clean out your chamber this afternoon," The alpha male moved his arm out in his direction. "But because she's going to have the day off, I wanted you to know that we'll have someone else do the job for her."
Just how large was this 'event' going to be? Sure, the usual feast when king Magnus came about was rather extravagant but this didn't mean that tomorrow evenings party was going to be that exaggerated, was it? Then again, his highness did mention that Magnus would be coming with his court which of course meant that his former classmate from sorcery school would be there.
Wonderful.
"Yes, of course." The magic man retorted with a grunt.
"After all of the details are taken care of I want to formally invite you the party as well." King Roland retracted his arm and offered a welcoming smile in his direction.
"Everyone's invited." Sofia released a sweet giggle that sent shivers down his spine. "Baileywick, Greylock and Rye too! We want everyone together when Heather arrives."
"I can do that."
"Thanks mister Seedrick! We really appreciate it!"
"I bet you do," He released a deep breath and slumped forward. "I bet you do."
XoXoX
Just wouldn't you fucking know it, changing his bedsheets was on her list of things to do. Could it be Wednesday already? Time sure does fly when you have nothing better to do than spoon with your dream guy. Ah.
But after this morning…after their squabble, if you can call it that, were those times over? Sure, it was a fight end all fights and they have had worse skirmishes in the past but did that mean that this 'relationship' was over? In some ways she was over this, done with the fact that he showed little to no affection toward her but in most ways, she wasn't finished. She wanted to keep feeling safe with him, even if that meant her love was unrequited. Even if it meant that she was being used.
She wasn't done; her heart wasn't over him just yet.
You're being over dramatic as usual.
Maybe give him a second chance? Talk to him; find out what was bothering him before kissing and making up. But if her plan was going to be that easy to execute then why was she so nervous over the whole deal?
Gah! Stupid girly emotions!
Heather felt her fingers clench to the bedsheets she held in her arms. Fresh linen that smelled so familiar. Ah, now she was being sentimental, something no one needed. Oh well, she had a job to do right?! Best take care of that and forget this whole mess. Besides, she could always vent to Rye when she was on break.
Half way down the hall that lead to Cedric's chambers, the sound of feet scattering against the floor made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight. Freezing mid-step, she watched as a trio of children rounded the corner about twenty feet ahead of her.
"Heather!" James shouted, being the first of the three royal kids to approach her. "Heather, guess what?!"
Oh geez, now what? "Hey kiddo, what's going on?" She asked, her wall of fake confidence growing with each social interaction.
Amber, the slowest of the bunch, came to a stop first. "Heather, you didn't tell us your birthday was today!"
She blanched. Oh no! Sofia squealed about her birthday. Ah, then again it was just a matter of time before they knew. She did, after all, request her own b-day dinner. God, she just wasn't expecting that everyone would know so soon.
"Oh, so you know." She managed to joke, even if her hands were beginning to sweat.
"You should have told us!" James, who was closest to her at this point, said in a cheery tone. "We would have planned you a better party! Now you have to share it with king Magnus!"
Wait, what?! What was this about a party? She didn't ask for a party, she asked for a simple dinner! Nothing special, just the royal family, herself plus Rye. Now it was a party?! And sure, all the staff was aware that king Magnus was invited to the castle as of the next day but nothing about a party was mentioned. This wasn't all for her was it?! If so, they could cancel ASAP!
"P-party?" She stammered.
"Yes!" Amber released her trademark high pitched squeak that made her eardrums ring. "Daddy said it's going to be an 'event'!"
Dare she protest after all the trouble they were going through…just for her?
"You guys don't have to go to all this trouble just for me." Heather felt her fingernails almost rip against the thin fabric of the sheets in her hands.
"You mean you don't want a party?" James' smile flipped almost in an instant. "Who doesn't like to party?"
"It's not that," More sweat trickled down, this time around her sideburns. "I just…don't want everyone to go too much trouble just for me…"
"It's no trouble, really." Sofia came in, ever the voice of reason. "We want to do this. We think you deserve it! Besides we thought king Magnus might enjoy a free feast." She giggled.
"Oh, okay." Heather shrunk while most of the blood from her brain hit her cheeks. "But for this 'event' what will I have to do? Exactly?"
"Nothing at all!" Amber flung her delicate wrist in her direction. "All the guest of honor will have to do is show up. And of course…look stunning. You do have a dress, right?"
Dress? She didn't have a fancy dress to wear! And where was she supposed to get one on such short notice!? Ugh, and if they wanted her to wear a fancy dress that probably meant she would have to be dolled up too. With her hair done and make up caked on. She didn't know anything about how to do those things.
"I don't have a nice dress, if that's what you mean." She laughed while plastering an embarrassed smile across her features.
"Oh well, we can fix that no problem." Amber said, her voice sounded so much more reassuring that it should. "We can get your hair done, make up too! You'll look amazing!"
"It'll be fun, promise." James sent a wink her way.
"Of course, you'll need a date." Amber cut in once again, pouting her bottom lip. She lifted her index finger to her mouth and hummed. "Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Amber," Sofia called to her sister at the left side of the hall. "Heather doesn't need a date."
"Of course, she does."
"You can't force a date on her, Amber!" Her brother fought alongside Sofia.
"And why not?" The feisty blonde princess jerked her fists to her hips and leaned in toward her siblings with vigor. "I promise you that Rye is going to have one! I just don't want Heather to be left out! It'd look so strange if her sister had one and she didn't!"
A date? Oh god. Not only did she not need a date but she was already (kinda) in a relationship. Then again it wasn't like the kids knew anything about that. Or anyone else for that matter. Dare she tell anyone about her and Cedric at this point? Maybe if she did she wouldn't have to have a date! Or maybe…he could even be her date.
A girl can dream.
But then again. Who said anything about him wanting to go with her? Parties weren't really his thing anyway, why make him go to something like that if he hated it? Besides, he probably didn't want to see her anyway.
"And just what 'relationship' are you talking about? We don't share anything in common."
"It's okay; I don't really need a date." Heather was sure to send a smile toward the kids she'd grown so attached to. "I'll be fine alone."
"Oh!" Amber clenched both of her fists at her tiny bust. "No! We have to do something!"
"She said 'no', Amber!" Her brother fought back.
The oldest of the royal children puffed her cheeks full of oxygen and crossed her tiny arms over her chest. "We'll just see about that."
James hissed, "Amber."
"Anyway," Sofia grunted, her eyes shifting between both brother and sister. "Dad said that you have the rest of today and tomorrow off. So, try and relax. We can look for your dress later but for now, you should go see Rye."
Did that mean she didn't have to go see Cedric? That was…kind of a good thing, right? At least it saved her the shame of having to show her sorry face. Ah! If that was all true and good, why was she still feeling bad about not seeing him now?
She sighed.
"I can do that." Heather, again, sent a false smile toward the trio.
"Okay! Be sure to come around my room when you have time." Amber placed her right hand to her cheek. "We'll get you perfect."
"And king Magnus and his court should be here by tonight. So, don't worry about cleaning any rooms for them today or tomorrow, okay?" Sofia said in a soft tone. "Try to relax."
"And happy birthday!" James exclaimed, arms shooting into the air.
"Thanks guys." Her fake smile suddenly turned into a legit one, and it made her cheeks ache. "That means a lot to me."
Chapter End.