Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?
A/N: Big thanks to AjAwkwardSauce for editing these past few (and future) chapters for me, because I make the dumbest mistakes sometimes. Thank you so much! You guys should read her stuff if you haven't, it's great!
Tori and Jade stayed in her bed for the rest of the morning, Jade talking about all the things she'd always wished she could do, and what she always imagined her life would be like if her parents hadn't died. Tori held her hand and rubbed the back of it soothingly, listening as the girl rambled on. Her back continued to ache, but she pushed the thought aside.
"I'm going to check on the horses, I'll be back soon." Jade said about an hour after noon. Tori nodded and released the other girl's hand so she could slide off the bed. Once she was out the door Tori stood, stretching her tired limbs. The cat was asleep on her bed, stretched out, bathing in the sun lights warmth.
"Lucky fur ball." Tori commented, running her fingers through his soft fur. He was solid black, but the ends of his fur were almost smoke colored, making him look like he was a cat slipping from the mist in the darkest parts of the forest. She smiled and tickled his ear enough to make his golden eyes blink open. He swatted at her hand with a bare paw and stretched farther out.
Tori sighed and picked up the book and returned it to the shelf. She read a few more of the titles but found nothing that really interested her, so she changed into a dress, tired of the pants, and slumped down on Jade's bed, and finally braided her hair, "So I think we should take the horses on a ride, maybe head up to Pythos, stock up on some last minute food." Jade said, coming back inside. She kicked snow off of her shoes, "come on, let's go, Princess."
Tori stood and grabbed her shoes from the door, shoved them on her feet and tied up the laces before following Jade out the door. She fastened her cloak around her throat and trailed the guard to the stables. She was shocked when Jade stepped into Midnight's stall and pointed at Calypso.
Without question Tori stepped into the other stall, grabbing the blanket she draped it awkwardly over the tall horses back and then heaved the saddle onto her back, fastening it securely. She offered Calypso a carrot and let her eat it before she put on the bridle and led her out of the stables with Midnight. Jade easily mounted Midnight without protest from the horse. Jade had ridden Midnight since the year after she arrived at the castle.
Calypso didn't seem to mind at all and after petting her snout for a few minutes Tori walked beside her and slid on foot in the stirrup. She grabbed the horn of the saddle and pulled herself up carefully, swinging her leg over and settling on the strange saddle. It wasn't as worn in as Midnight's, and she new she wouldn't enjoy this too much, but she liked the higher vantage point the huge horse offered.
They led the horses in a slow walk through the icy forest, when they reached the still dirt patches of the road they picked up their speed. Tori's legs were already aching halfway into the trip, but she kept her mouth shut as they road. When they reached the town Tori ran her hand over her hair again, altering it back to the strange golden brown and green eyed combination.
Jade turned and smiled at her before they led the horses into town, both dismounting when they reached the market. Tori found a goat for a decent price, knowing she could use it for butter and milk and a chicken for eggs while Jade went straight for deer meat. Once they were done Jade tied the goat to Midnight to walk with it and took the chicken. Tori carried the meat and stayed a distance away from Jade to keep Calypso from freaking out.
As they traveled Tori sang under her breath, and soon out loud. It was a song she used to sing during her riding practices because when she was little she was terrified of the huge horse they had for her to ride. Her horse's name was Lady, she was a large horse with a golden coat and amber eyes. She wasn't as large as Calypso, but to tiny five year old Tori she was massive. So she'd sing herself a song to keep her mind away from how high up she was.
Jade stopped and untied the goat and the chicken, taking them to a pen beside the house, "Mind if I keep riding?" Tori asked when they reached the cottage, the center of her back was starting to ache but she wasn't ready to be back in the cottage yet.
Jade looked up, brushing her hair from her face, "Sure, just come back before nightfall. And take this." She passed Tori her sword and Tori handed her the bag of meat. Tori nodded and slipped the swords sheath strap around her so it sat at her back. Then she led Calypso onto a path through the forest. The trees looked beautiful and so did all of the snow on the ground, when she wasn't fleeing from somebody she thought it was the most beautiful place she could be. She sang to Calypso as they went through the forest, thinking of her own mother and father.
If she was home she would be wed now, to Beckett. She scowled; she would be preparing to take the throne with Beckett as her King. What was he doing now? Surely he'd returned to his own Kingdom, awaiting a new bride. Suddenly Calypso stopped, Tori's eyes snapped into focus as the horse snorted and looked around, and suddenly two of the three men from before emerged from the trees. Tori gripped the reins and pulled them to turn the horse around but Calypso reared back and made the most terrifying sound Tori had ever heard.
The men rushed at them and Calypso bolted. All Tori could do was hold on and pray she would make it home, but Calypso was running in the opposite direction, hooves pounding against the ground. Tori ducked her head and gripped the horse around the neck as she squeezed with her calves. The men were behind her, panting with the exertion. And Calypso suddenly turned left and took off away from the path, through some water and the men had to slow down. Calypso ran until they were deep in the forest and then she slowed. Tori dismounted, standing on wobbly legs, she leaned back against a tree.
"Thanks, girl." Tori murmured, reaching out to stroke Calypso's cheek, taking off her reins. She reached up to a low branch and waited for the apples to appear. She gave one to Calypso and kept the other for herself, taking vicious bites to calm her nerves, "we have to keep moving." So they walked and Tori ate her apple, annoyed at herself for changing into the dress as the cold of winter bit at her calves. She rolled her shoulders to try and relieve the pain in her back,
The men never catch up with her and the sun set before she could figure out which way was the right way back. She didn't mind, instead she wandered with Calypso and hoped Jade wasn't too worried. Her back started aching more as the next day approached. The way Tori calculated it she had two more days until the dawn of her 17th birthday, "well I think you and I should find a way back, okay? Want me to walk?" Calypso halted and waited. Tori slipped the bridle back on and mounted. Calypso walked without direction, ignoring it even if it came, and soon Tori gave up. She covered herself with the cloak and as much of Calypso as she could manage.
It was darker than ever, the night was nearly pitch black and only the glow from the full yellow moon directed the horse. Tori's back was starting to feel worse and her legs ached from all of the riding. Worry started eating at her mixed with guilt, would Jade go out to look for her? Was Jade okay? What if the men had found her? She sat up, suddenly very worried. Calypso sped up and soon she was galloping through the trees with ease.
The hours dragged on and they didn't get any closer, she couldn't imagine that they had gone that far, but dawn was going to be here any moment and she was exhausted. She pulled Calypso to a halt and dismount, "I have to sleep." Tori told the horse when it protested, so she stopped and swung around, standing in front of Tori where she slumped against the base of a tree, wrapped in her cloak.
Birds woke her up some time later, the sun was high in the sky and Calypso was grazing on a small patch of grass. Tori groaned as she stood, catching the horses attention, and when she was fully standing she dusted the snow off of her and shook her hair clean. The braid she had put it in smacked her in the face. She tossed it back over her shoulder, "Ready to go home, Calypso?" the horse made a nickering sound and Tori settled herself on the saddle. Fixing the sword over her back again, "we'll be home soon and you can rest with Midnight, I've got some apples and carrots for you if you get me home."
Tori's entire body should have been aching, she assumed, from almost a full day and a half of riding, but she felt fine except for the pain between her shoulders. She sagged with relief when the cabin came into view in the dim afternoon light; the only thing on her mind was a warm bath to thaw out her body. She dismounted and unbridled and unsaddled Calypso, leaving the blanket on her back. She filled the feeding trough with feed Jade made and some cut up apples and carrots.
She noticed Midnight was gone, and when she walked around the front of the cabin she was disappointed to find Jade had not taken him out for a brushing. She pushed open the cabin door and peered around. Everything seemed okay, and then she found the note on the counter.
Stay put, please. I'll be back. –J.
Tori smiled at the note and folded it, tossing it onto her bed. She turned up the oil lamp and walked to the tub, filling it with warm water. Steam curled through the cold air and she smiled happily. Stripping off her dress and folding it at the end of the bed she slipped into the warm water. It burned against her cold skin, but dulled the aching in her back. She sighed and carefully undid her braid, letting her hair soak up the warm water as she slipped beneath the surface.
When she emerged she grabbed a bar of soap and cleaned her skin before rinsing off and stepping out. The towel she used to dry off was rough and scratchy but it did the job and then she pulled on a new dress and sat down on the edge of her bed, brushing out and braiding her hair, leaving half of it hanging down around her face. She tied off the end of the braid and stood up again, walking around the small cottage. None of the books looked interesting enough for her, so she continued her path around the cottage until she found a small table tucked in a corner with a dusty music box.
She brushed the dust off and looked at the name inscribed on it 'Queen Jasmine Weston'. It belonged to Jade's mother. Carefully she lifted the lid, a soft melody slipped from inside, she closed her eyes. She knew this song, she learned how to dance to this song. She closed her eyes and let the box remain open as she danced, holding her arms up as if she was dancing with somebody else.
She loved to dance, it was her favorite thing about the palace life. All of the balls that were held meant she got to dance. She loved the feeling of being pulled around a dance floor, as if she were floating through the air, lost in another world with her partner. The cottage was small but she had enough room to dance, a grin on her face. She tripped over the cat and went tumbling forward, eyes open and hands out. Fear pushed her heart into her throat until suddenly somebody caught her and lifted her back into position before dragging her around in the dance.
"Jade." Tori smiled at her, Jade returned the smile. They danced until the song started over and Jade gave Tori one final spin before pulling her back flush against her. Tori's breath hitched in her throat as she stared into Jade's green eyes, "Your eyes are so beautiful." Tori whispered, leaning forward a few inches. She felt Jade's breath fan across her lips, she stomach twisted, and she thought she should pull away, but she didn't try to move. Jade leaned in closer, there lips almost touching, just small breaths between them, and then the cat yowled loudly, the girls blinked and hastily stepped apart, Tori looking toward her feet while Jade looked toward the cat.
"What do you want, fur ball?" Jade grumbled. Tori sighed and moved closer to her bed, "You okay?"
"Mmm. My back." She mumbled.
"You've got a few more hours." Jade commented, "I found out the date finally, December 18th. Tomorrow is your birthday. When the sun starts to rise…" Tori nodded and curled up on her bed.
Jade was by her side instantly lying opposite her, knees touching, she distracted Tori with stories she made up out of nowhere, but soon Tori was clenching her teeth as her bones started to ache and nothing was comfortable, "water." Tori asked softly, Jade jumped up and got her water and then kneeled in front of the bed, helping Tori drink. Tori's skin looked paler and she was sweating, her face burning hot.
Jade continued to tell Tori stories while helping her drink water to try and combat the burning skin. Tori tried her hardest not to fall out during the stories, so she watched Jade's face and enjoyed how animated her guard was telling the tales. It was nearly day break when Tori cried out, fists clenching in the sheets. Bright light swallowed her body and she lifted from the bed. It got brighter and brighter and soon Tori was screaming loudly. And then the light went out and her body plummeted back toward the bed, Jade caught her before she rolled off the edge of it.
Golden wisps filled the air coming out of her back like drops of sun to frame wings and soon a pair of golden wings flapped testingly on her back. Tori was curled up on her bed, face buried in the pillow, "Jade…" she whimpered.
"I'm right here, Tori." Jade lifted her small frame and tucked onto the bed beneath, lifting the canteen to her lips, "Drink some water." Tori did as she was told and then pulled her knees to her chest and fell asleep against Jade, one hand twisted in Jade's shirt, the other tucked beneath her cheek. Jade held her through the day and into the next night, sleeping on and off while listening out for anybody approaching the house.
Tori woke the next day, her wings gone, curled up in Jade's lap with the cat warming their feet. Jade was singing softly. She pretended her was still asleep until Jade stopped singing, "how are you feeling, Princess?" Jade asked, Tori turned her head up toward Jade and carefully rolled over onto the bed to stretch out her limbs.
"I'm a little sore." She mumbled, rubbing her lower back, "how long was I out?"
"For a day." Jade replied with a shrug, "I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I found something out. I was minding my own business checking around Pythos for you when those men walked in, they were talking about the bid on our heads and said it was placed by Cynthia Oliver, Queen of Trace." The amount of hatred in those words made Tori's stomach twist nervously.
"So what now?" Tori asked, "do we go back to Vallestia?"
"I think so." Jade replied, "in a few days. There is a snow storm coming, so we're going to be stuck. I'm going to stock the horses up on feed and give their stalls one last mucking out. Get up and drink some water, eat some bread." Tori nodded and Jade walked out, wrapping her cloak around her body.
Slowly, Tori lifted herself out of bed and walked across the house to grab the canteen. She filled it with water and took careful sips while taking a piece of bread from the loaves. She nibbled on it slowly sitting in the chair by the window. Her back ached dully, but nothing like the way it felt the night before. She leaned back against the chair and winced a little.
Jade came back in a few minutes later, dusting snow off of her shoulders, she smiled at Tori and hung her cloak on a hook, shutting and locking the door, "snows already coming down pretty hard. We're stuck now." She leaned down and scooped the cat up, "just me, you and the fur ball." She set the cat on her bed and it quickly curled up on the end of the bed, watching Tori.
"Should be a fun few days."
"Should be." Jade smiled. Tori stood and walked around, rolling her shoulders, "why don't you lay down? I'll massage your back for you." Jade offered, standing from her spot next to the cat and pointing at Tori's bed Tori obliged and stretched out across her bed. Jade sat down beside her and gently massaged the spot between her shoulder blades. Tori sighed and flattened against the mattress.
Jade continued to massage Tori's back every so often, her mind working on a plan to get back into the palace if Beckett was still there, which she suspected he was. Tori rolled over and settled between Jade's legs with her head on Jade's stomach. Neither of them said anything.
Tori started to feel cold, her body shaking the darker it got. Jade lifted herself and Tori up and dragged the blankets over her body, holding Tori at her side, "so what exactly happened to you that you got lost?"
Tori launched into the story of the men coming up on her and what happened with Calypso. Jade listened quietly and rubbed Tori's shoulder under the covers absently while she talked, "so where were you?"
"Went through the forest and down to Pythos to see if anybody has captured you. Came back here once I was sure you weren't caught and here you were, dancing. I didn't know you knew that dance."
"I know lots of dances, West. I'm a trained Princess." Tori puffed up her chest with pride. Jade smiled softly, and then grinned.
"We'll have to see about that." Jade said, and she slid out of the bed, dragging Tori with her. She opened the music box and pulled Tori to her. It started out as a typical dance, and then Jade changed styles, Tori kept up effortlessly. It surprised Jade, so she kept switching styles. And Tori kept up effortlessly.
The music box stopped playing but the pair kept dancing. Soon they slowed down, Jade holding Tori close; one hand splayed across her lower back, the other holding Tori's hand. Tori had her free hand resting on Jade's shoulder. They stopped dancing and Tori looked up at Jade.
The oil lamps light flickered across Jade's face, catching her green eyes, it looked as if a fire was burning in her irises. This time Tori didn't speak, she leaned in and moved her hand from Jade's shoulder, up her neck, and cupped her cheek. Jade's eyes locked with hers and she held her breath. Tori leaned forward on her toes, she looked from Jade's eyes to her lips and back. Jade's lips parted slightly and she licked them, but she didn't pull away. Tori closed her eyes and closed the space, pressing her lips gently to Jade's. Her heart hammered in her chest; Jade let go of her hand and put both of her arms around Tori's back, hoisting her up.
Tori held the other side of Jade's face and deepened the kiss, biting down gently on Jade's lower lip. Jade dug her fingers into Tori's back. Tori gasped and Jade's tongue slipped between her parted lips, dancing with Tori's tongue. Tori dug her fingers into Jade's shirt sleeves and pressed her body closer.
Jade walked backwards and broke the kiss briefly before reclaiming Tori's mouth in a deep kiss. She stumbled back until she fell against the bed, Tori tumbling on top of her, lips still locked, limbs tangled. She slipped her fingers into Tori's hair, tangling in the braided part. Using her other hand Jade undid Tori's hair and slipped her fingers through it. Tori broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Jade's, breathing heavily.
Jade continued to run her fingers through Tori's silky hair. Tori opened her eyes slowly and smiled at Jade, Jade smiled back and smoothed out Tori's hair before cupping her cheek, bringing her mouth back for a quick kiss, that turned into multiple kisses. When the cat yowled Jade finally moved away from Tori, resting on her arm to glare at the cat, "keep your mouth shut, useless feline."
"Be nice." Tori chided, reaching up and cupping Jade's face, rubbing her thumb across Jade's cheek with a smile. Jade closed her eyes and smiled, settling back down against the bed, "I'm pretty tired, I think it's time to sleep."
"Alright." Jade sat up and leaned against Tori, turning down the oil lamp before she settled down beside Tori, draping her arm over Tori's hip. Tori tucked herself next to Jade and closed her eyes, yawning softly. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, and Jade followed shortly after.
