Chapter 8
"One, two, three, one, two, three." Her instructor counted as Kendra twirled around with her invisible partner. They were practicing in a massive ball room with more than enough space for Kendra to twirl and prance around like an idiot. At least she felt like an idiot. May had dressed her in a simple, but elegant ball gown with a massive hoop skirt underneath, keeping the layers of fabric from getting in her way. She had always considered herself a decent dancer, but they had practiced four different dances already and Kendra was getting them all mixed up.
After a quick and quiet breakfast, she had been introduced to her instructor miss Bachara, who was apparently in charge of event planning and making people feel bad about themselves. Somehow she'd also been awarded the position of dance tutor and she couldn't have been more thrilled about it. Kendra had gotten painfully aware of this after she'd called her a graceless chicken flapping its wings for the tenth time. "Light steps, light! You are stumping around like an elephant, you fool." It was funny how she went from graceless chicken to stomping elephant in less than a minute.
Bachara looked like she was about the same age as Miranda. She was not quite as beautiful though, with long thin red hair that fell down in loose curls. Her small gray eyes were just a bit too far apart lacking even the smallest sliver of sympathy. She was dressed in a simple green dress that did nothing to compliment her plump figure and her perfectly posture made her look more tens than elegant. Kendra had automatically disliked the woman, considering what she'd done to May and that hatred continued to grow as she huffed and muttered to herself, about how hopeless Kendra was and how she wasn't getting payed enough.
"I don't think she's so bad. Both Bachara and Kendra turned to look at the figure leaning on the grand staircase in the middle of the room. Maybe she just needs a different approach and an actual dance partner." Navarog looked at her with his usual smug grin plastered on his face. Kendra felt her cheeks redden. She felt even more embarrassed knowing he'd been watching her. Why did she feel this way? Why would she care what he thought of her?
"Go ahead and try, maybe you can teach that buffoon a thing or two. "Navarog pushed of the railing and came to stand besides her as Kendra added baffoon to the list of things shed been called that day. He bowed slightly before offering her his hand. "May I have this dance?" Kendra didn't know why but she found herself agreeing. She curtsied as elegantly as she knew how and let Navarog lead her to the center of the room. He placed his hand on her waist, pulling her gently towards him.
Bachara was fiddling with the gramophone at her side and soon the beautiful melody filled the ballroom and Kendras ears. Navarog started leading her skillfully around the ballroom. He had been right. Dancing had become significantly easier with a partner who actually knew what he was doing. "I never realized you were such a good dancer. How do you know how to do… whatever this is?" "Let's just say that I've had to deal with more than one of these pointless events in the past."
Suddenly Navarog placed both hands on her waist lifting her off her feet. She gasped in surprise, even though she had known this part was coming next. It had been hard to practice with an invisible partner and Kendra hadn't been expecting Navarog to do it. She landed gracefully on her feet and they kept dancing.
"I would have expected unicorn boy to have taken you to at least one ball by now." "Well he would have, but as it turns out reconstructing the new fairy realm has taken longer than expected. They haven't really had time for balls." "That makes sense. It will take more than a couple of years for them to fix up that dreadful place.
"Why do you even want to be king? I mean you don't exactly seem very enthusiastic." "I have my reasons." He twirled her around again. Kendra noticed Navarogs gaze travelling to her neck line or rather the necklace she was wearing. May had found her a delicate chain to put Brackens ring on, so that Kendra could wear it and have it always with her. Navarog met her gaze and Kendra looked at him wearily.
"Relax I couldn't take it from you even if I wanted to. Besides it wouldn't be much use to me anyway. Kendra let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
They twirled around the room once more before the song was over. "Kendra I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday. You didn't give me a chance to exp…" "Your highness, called a voice from across the room. A young man with white hair stood on the staircase. He was wearing fancy clothing with intricate embroidery. There is an urgent meeting you must attend," He announced hurriedly not daring to meet Navarogs eyes. Navarog sighed. " I'll see you later, he promised as he took Kendras hand in his and kissed it gently. I think you dance wonderfully, by the way." He gave her a quick smile before following the man out of the room.
After her excruciating dance lesson had finally ended, Kendra had gotten a proper chance to go explore the castle. The building was bigger than she'd originally thought and different corridors spread out like a maze. Kendra had gotten lost more than once, but she hadn't minded. So far she'd found the kitchen, the entrance to the garden and the amazing library, that had the most books Kendra had ever seen. It was also the largest, with stacks upon stacks of books everywhere. The bookshelves were so high you needed a ladder to reach the top ones. So far it was definitely Kendra's favorite room in the castle, with the endless maze of bookshelves hiding little reading nooks and study corners. There were books on all kinds of magical creatures, spells and potions. Tanu would probably have loved to get his hands on them.
A spiral stone staircase led to the upper level of the library and all the way up to a high tower, with an amazing view of the city below. A beautiful blue and gold telescope with floral patterns waited next to one of the windows allowing the city to be studied more closely. It looked nothing like Kendra would have expected a demon prison to look like.
The city was quite big, and beyond it Kendra could see the ocean shimmering in the sunlight. At least she thought it was the ocean, judging by the amount of white sailed ships sailing into the horizon. She had no idea how big the old fairy realm had been. On the other side she could see a beautiful forest extending in every direction with mountains far beyond. When she aimed the telescope in that direction she could make out a smaller village in the distance.
"Kendra hadn't seen anyone during her little expedition except for the occasional guard and kitchen worker, but as she came down the stairs, she couldn't help but hear a familiar voice echoing through the library: "Must we discuss this right now, I have my duties to attend to." Kendra recognized the speaker as Orogoro. "There are more important things to be concerned with. What news of the unicorn prince?"
Kendra stopped in her tracks hoping her footsteps hadn't been heard by the pair. She got no sign of having been detected and as their voices faded she dared to descend the last few steps. They had been talking about Bracken. But wasn't he supposed to be safely back at Fablehaven? Wasn't that what Navarog had promised her? She took off in the direction of the still receding voices trying to keep her steps as light as possible. They had turned a corner and Kendra stalked as close as she dared in the hopes of hearing their conversation.
"He's definitely aware of being watched, and so far he's been quite successful at eluding my men. I don't however think he suspects the real reason as to why we are keeping such a close eye on him. Why is it that I'm tasked with keeping track of him anyway." "The unicorn prince is resourceful and quite a capable adversary. You really shouldn't underestimate him. As long as he's here we can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't disturb our plans." "What about the girl?" "She won't be a problem. I have a way to make her more… open to suggestion."
More open to suggestion? What on earth were they talking about? All of a sudden she felt it. The slight tingling in her nose. She tried to contain it, but a silent tchih escaped her before she could completely suppress the sneeze. She pressed her hand to her mouth desperately trying to stop any other noises from escaping, but it was too late. A hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her out of her hiding place.
"Looks like our conversation isn't quite as private as we thought," Orogoro stated, still squeezing Kendras arm with unnecessary force. "Let me go." "foolish girl. You should learn not to stick your nose into matters that do not concern you, Miranda said." "That might be so, except in this case the matter does concern me, She spat. Where's Bracken?" ""Take her to the dungeon. I'll take care of our little problem later, Miranda instructed, ignoring Kendras question. Looks like we're going to have to move up our plans a bit."
Orogoro did as he was told and half dragged half carried Kendra out of the library. Kendra fought the whole way, but Orogoros grip on her was firm and no matter how she tried she couldn't free her arm. "Honestly, you have the strength of a kitten, he mocked. Are all humans this weak, or is it just you?" "Let me go," Kendra ordered again, but to no avail." "Why do you still keep fighting? You know you can't defeat me and even if you could what then? You're still stuck here, with no way to get home. Nobody's going to save you. Definitely not your pathetic hornless unicorn." "I don't need him to save me." "Oh?" "Because this time I'm going to save him." Orogoro laughed. "How were you planning on doing that exactly, when you can't even save yourself." "I'll figure it out," She promised as Orogoro nudged her forward again.
When they finally reached the cell Orogoro pushed her inside and she landed on her knees. "Rude." He ignored her comment and bent down next to her. He found the chain on the floor and secured the shackle around Kendras ankle. "Some time down here with the rats, will probably do you some good. Make you a little less mouthy I hope." He got up and left the room banging the door as he went. Kendra heard a key turn in the lock and then footsteps fading away.
The small bobby pin slipped from her grasp once more, falling on the floor and making Kendra swear under her breath. She had been trying to pick the lock on her shackle for what felt like hours now, but had gotten nowhere. Bracken had once given her and Seth a crash course on lock picking, but her brother had ultimately been better at it than her. After all mischief was his area of expertise. What might he be doing right now? What about her grandparents? Were they looking for her? Even if they were, how would they ever find her here? Mom and Dad must be so worried.
It had only been a couple of days since shed been taken, but it already felt like she hadn't seen her family for weeks. She would have done anything for one of Seths stupid comments right now. He'd probably tell her to think of it as a cool adventure. After all not everyone can say they've been to Zyzzx. What would her brother do in her position? Well for starters he'd be better at picking locks.
The rattle of the key in the lock woke her from her thoughts. She had hardly enough time to hide the bobby pin in her messy head of curls (courtesy of May of course), before Miranda stepped into the cell.
"I trust you've had a pleasant time." She smiled kindly at her. "More pleasant than the time I've spent with you," Kendra answered smiling just as sweetly. The dark damp cell was cold and dirty and even the smallest sounds had made her jump, but at least she hadn't seen any rats. "So brave yet frightened at the same time. Tell me, is this attitude of yours simply a way to mask your fear?"
Miranda came closer to her and panic rose inside Kendra. She had tried not to think what the demon queen would do to her, but she couldn't stop the horrible thoughts from filling her mind now, as Miranda grabbed her chin lifting it up harshly. "Because if it is you're not doing a very good job of hiding it," She finished her sentence sending a shiver down Kendras spine. "What are you going to do to me?" Kendra whispered, not able to stop the fear from creeping into her voice. Miranda laughed lightly. "Don't you worry my dear, after I'm done with you, you won't remember a thing."
Just as she'd said the words, the world started to spin around her. Suddenly Kendra felt more tired than she'd ever been before. Her eyes fluttered shut and before she knew it she had already drifted off into unconsciousness.