CHAPTER NINETEEN
I was assailed by several ladies of the court the moment I entered the ballroom. They talked and chattered over me, and then I was whisked into a dance with Prince Somebody of the Noble Realm of Somewhere. Three more dances, a long visit with the talkative dowager Fairie Queen of the British Isles, more dancing, meeting a second cousin, a few more dances, and then I could avoid Mensonge no longer. He sidled up to me as soon as I had gotten back to my chair, hoping for a break, and kissed my hand.
"It's good to see you, my dear," he said. I forced as smile.
"Are you enjoying the evening?"
He nodded. "More so, now that I am at your side. I seem to have scarcely seen you of late."
"Yes," I said. "Well, I apologize for that, but preparations for today have been keeping me rather busy."
"Come, I want to show you something." He pulled on my hand, I drew it back.
"I'd really like to just sit here for a while," I said. "I'm exhausted, but the night is still young. I have a great many more social obligations to fulfill before it is over and should like to get whatever rest I can."
"Young? It is nearing midnight."
"And this will go until dawn," I said.
"All the more reason for you to come with me." His voice had taken on an urgent color; I frowned.
"Why? What's the matter?"
A smooth smile replaced the former expression. "Nothing, my dear, I let my feelings get the better of me. It is only that I have been wishing to be in your presence for so long and perhaps find a moment where we could be alone, and the thought of waiting one day longer is almost too much to bear."
Melodramatic much? I sighed.
"Look," I said. "You cannot be at a loss ---" I stopped abruptly. This was not a conversation for a crowded ballroom, but nor did I want to be alone with him. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"No," he said. "Now. Something is not right with us. I cannot rest until I find out what."
I hesitated, then stood, ignored the hand he offered. "Fine," I said. "But I cannot be away long."
"May I have until midnight?"
I glanced at the gold clock high up on a far wall. The hands read a quarter to. I nodded.
"Midnight."
"Thank you."
We walked out onto the same balcony Eran and I had gone to earlier, and Mensonge led me down the same set of stairs. I thought I saw Eran from the corner of my eye as we descended into the dark gardens below, but it might only have been my imagination. We walked in silence for some time, broken only by the occasional pointless observation about the ball, and then Mensonge turned off the main walkway onto a path guarded by high hedges. Only the moon lit our way, but even her rays could not quite penetrate down far enough for me to make out his face clearly.
"Let's go somewhere else," I said. "It's too dark here."
"Not afraid of the dark, are you?"
I paused to make sure I hadn't been making up the taunt in his voice, then said sharply, "I prefer to see where I am going."
"I'm with you."
"I don't trust you." The words slipped out before I could think about them, and I bit my lip. He stopped and spun around. I almost ran into him. Our faces were just inches apart.
"What was that?" he asked. I faltered, but something inside would not gloss it over. I held my ground.
"I do not trust you," I said in a slow, clear voice. "I will not give my reasons at present for you have done nothing to deserve them. Now, either we go back together, or I go back alone. Your choice."
There was a long pause. I could hear him breathing heavily.
"Fine. Lead the way."
I stopped at the first clearing we came to. The shrubbery was low here and interspersed with flowerbeds.
"Is this light enough for you?" Mensonge asked. I glanced towards the balcony we had come from. It was further than I would have liked but would do. I nodded.
"Yes." I sat down on a bench and waited for him to do likewise. "Now, what do you have to say to me that is so important?"
"I thought we came out here because you had something to say to me," he said.
"True enough. Fine, then, I'll go first." My voice threatened to falter but I pushed through. "You can be at no loss as to my intentions in distancing you and myself recently."
"I thought you'd been busy," he said, with the trace of a sneer. The behavior was so unlike him; it made me uneasy. Annoyance soon rushed in to replace the nervousness. I twisted my body to face him.
"Don't act as though I'm a fool," I said. "I have been before but will not be taken for one now. It has recently come to my attention that others saw more in our relationship than I did. I was not comfortable with this, for I have a very difficult time seeing you and I as husband and wife. I hoped that by hinting in such ways as are considered appropriate for those of nobility I might get the message across to you. You obviously didn't take the hint."
What a speech. Pride was added to the blend of fear and irritation. I raised my eyebrows in a rather imperial gesture and waited for his reply.
"Indeed not," he said after a moment. "I wanted to bring you out here to propose to you." He stared at me, as though waiting for this to have some swoon-inducing properties.
"Than I apologize for any pain I might be causing you at this present time, although I have reason to think such tender emotions will not last long if indeed they appear at all."
"You think me so cold?"
"I know you to be so."
"How?"
"That is not your concern. Not at this moment. I have many questions of you but doubt they will be answered honestly; thus I feel no obligation toward answering your own inquiries."
I was starting to talk like a character from a Jane Austen novel. I took a deep breath.
"Look. I'm not interested in marrying you. I'm dumping you. The end."
"Dumping?"
"Whatever you want to call it."
He stared at me. "Is this about that sea shephard who's always following you around?"
"Eran?"
"Yes."
"No," I said. "Though it would be easier if it were. This is about you. I've said everything I want to say. Please excuse me."
I stood; he took my arm and jerked me back down. I wrenched it away.
"Don't touch me."
He stood. He towered over me; I drew myself up to my fullest high-heeled height.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked. Fear flared in my stomach; he was blocking my way out. We were almost out of earshot of the balcony and were far too secluded. Rochelle was probably close by; I'd been an idiot to come out here alone.
"You're staying right here."
"I am not." I tried to dodge him to no avail; finally, I stomped as hard as I could on his foot. He was taken aback, but not for long enough. In seconds I was in his arms, this time not a clingy caress but a crushing grip. I screamed; a hand clamped over my mouth. I bit him, but he only squeezed me tighter. My kicking and thrashing did nothing. He dragged us back into the dark of the shrubbery.
A shout broke through the chaos in my head.
Where are you?
The gardens, I thought back, willing my voice to come through despite my panic. Right inside the hedge walks. It's Mensonge. Hurry. Get Ryne.
No answer but a sense that help was coming. I held still, and after a moment, Mensonge's grip slackened. I spun around in his arms. In reflex he tightened them again, but now at least he couldn't get so easily at my mouth.
"What are you doing?" I said.
"This was going to be a lot easier than you're making it." I elbowed him; he grunted but made no other reply.
"What was easier?"
"You'll find out," he said. "It's not midnight yet."
Marina. It was Ryne.
I'm here, I thought. Where are you?
Courtyard just beyond the central walkway.
Keep going. We're right inside the tall bushes.
There was a moment of nothing, and then a figure dove from the sky and landed on top of us. The three of us tumbled to the ground. I broke from Mensonge's grip and scrambled to my feet just as Ryne rose and came down again for another attack. It was like watching the shadow of a bird of prey; he rose and fell until he was certain he had the advantage, and then ordered me to stand back. Cords leapt from his hands and he tied Mensonge's hands and feet together, leaving him lying on the ground.
I pressed my back against the wall just outside the hedges. My knees were shaking.
"Are you all right?" Ryne asked, coming back to me. Once in the moonlight I could see on his face an expression of deep concern. "Did he hurt you?"
"No," I said. He took a deep breath and pulled me to him. I sank into the warm strength, but even it was not enough to soothe the way my heart was pounding. He told me to sit down on a bench and then went back to make sure Mensonge was under control. A few moments later Eran arrived, followed closely by Pearl, Lisette, and Orion. The latter knelt down in front of me, looking odd in his formal court clothing, and peered into my eyes.
"She's all right," he said. "A little shaken, that's all."
Lisette hugged me, and Pearl found a place on the bench and started fussing with my hair and gown, asking if I was really all right. It was first reassuring, and then suffocating.
"I'm fine," I said finally, shaking them off. "Really. He didn't do anything to me."
Eran shushed me sharply. He listened for a moment, and then I felt something in his emotions, the sort of fear you get when you miss a step and the bottom of your stomach falls out. His eyes were wide.
"We need to get out of here, now," he said. He spoke a few words in a tongue I didn't know, and Orion nodded and pulled Pearl and I none too gently to our feet. He shoved us toward the path that would lead back to the palace.
"Go," he said. "The king and I will take care of the prisoner."
"What's going on?" Pearl asked. Lisette was already hurrying me away. I twisted and looked behind to hear the answer.
"Rochelle," Orion said. "She's close. It's nearing the midnight minute. The princess needs to be in the palace, now."
Lisette and I were almost out of earshot by the last word. We had reached a fountain set into the main path. Lisette dragged me around it and I almost fell over; I could focus on nothing more than running on the cobblestones without twisting an ankle.
"Hurry," she hissed. I tried to kick off a shoe but it refused to budge. We were only twenty feet from the balcony, and then, we stopped.
I couldn't move. Every fiber in my body was frozen. I pushed and pulled and tried to break whatever invisible casing was on us, but to no avail. Our forms were lifted into the air and dragged back the way we had come. I tried to scream but nothing came out.
"You were very close," said a silky voice. We stopped, back near the hedges again. We were facing towards the path we'd been pulled from and I couldn't tell if anyone else was all right. My eyes wouldn't move. "But it would have taken skill and speed far beyond your own to escape this late in the game." She clicked her tongue. "Didn't you learn, princess, the magic of midnight? All the really great spells are cast then. It's not wise to be away from all your protectors so late."
The spell broke; Lisette and I tumbled to the ground. I spun around. Mensonge had been untied, and Ryne, Orion, Pearl, and Eran were all standing behind Rochelle, hands bound. Without warning, the cords on their wrists snapped apart and fell to the ground.
"Oh, nicely done," said Rochelle, sounding amused. She looked at Lisette. There was a flash of motion from Ryne and a blue beam of light shot at her. She held up a hand and the magic dissipated. "Parlor tricks, but they can be useful sometimes, can they not?" She glanced back. "Mensonge, if any of them start causing trouble, kill them." He nodded.
"Do you really think you have any power here?" Lisette said. "You are outnumbered."
"True," said Rochelle. "But preparation is on my side."
She snapped a finger and Mensonge picked up a stone bowl that had been hidden behind a bush. He brought it to Rochelle; inside was a silver knife. Lisette's breath caught.
"What is it?" I asked. Rochelle raised here eyebrows, tossed her hair, and laughed.
"What is it? What is it? Oh, my dear, your education is sorely lacking. Perhaps it's best that you won't be princess after tonight; what sort of trouble would you get your people into? This, child, is a bowl of rough-hewn marble from the mountains of Desviado, and this ---" she picked up the knife and twirled it slowly between her long fingers "--- is of the finest silver, made from the same material as the crown of my great-great-grandfather, Eudward, known for his, ah, creativity in magic and greatness in battle. They're essential parts of all the great life spells. The term 'life spells,' for future reference, not that you have much of a future, is a bit misleading. They mostly end in death. I get your life."
I stepped back. "What are you talking about?"
"Your life, dear," she said. "Surely you're not so dense that you misunderstand me. You see, you have certain powers, abilities, and rights, and I want them. So I'm going to kill you. It's not complicated."
"Stop," Ryne said. "Name your price. Anything."
"Ransom? Ryne, darling, I wouldn't go through all the trouble of setting up a life spell if I could have gotten what I wanted simply through the threat of one. But no. I've stewed the brews, said the spells at midnight for months, bathed in blood, all of it. It's far too late to back out now."
"No," Lisette said. Her voice cracked. I glanced at her; she was terrified. I wasn't afraid, though I knew I should be; I felt nothing.
As one, Ryne, Orion, and Pearl sent spells toward Rochelle. She turned and sent them back, brought up shields, and after a moment filled with multicolored lights and haze, it all faded out.
"You're all very good," she said, "but I've been practicing. Now, your cooperation would be appreciated. Then again, I don't expect you'll give it. Mensonge, take care of them."
"Of course, my lady," he said. He turned toward them, but there was further scuffle. Rochelle started muttering odd phrases and ignored the chaos behind us, but I watched, scarcely daring to breathe. The four of them worked as a good team; it was not long before Mensonge was once again bound.
"My lady," he said. Rochelle didn't react. He twisted. "Rochelle!"
She turned slowly, surveyed him, and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were good at dueling."
"My lady!"
"Do try not to die. It would be most inconvenient right now."
She turned back to her bowl and began muttering again, ignoring all his cries for help. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Not quite. Lisette's fingers were digging into my arm; behind Rochelle, Pearl and Ryne were looking at one another, Orion was looking calmly at the ground, and Eran was looking at me. I had no doubt they were talking amongst themselves, trying to come up with a plan. I couldn't tap into the conversation, but of course they would try to keep it as far from Rochelle as possible.
Rochelle looked up. "Almost done," she said. "Just your part, darling. Hold out your arm."
And the air behind her exploded in a shower of sparks. She screamed, dropped the bowl --- but not the knife --- and turned. She couldn't fight against it; she threw up a shield and grabbed my arm. There was a flash of reflected light, and she brought the knife down.
A/N: Dun-dun-DUUUUUN!
And THAT, ladies and... um, duchesses and she-knights and queens and whatever all you prefer, 'cause I think all my lovely readers are female, was one of the Fastest Updates In The History of the World, about which I am Very Proud. And I'm not sure how well the whole Mensonge/Marina thing worked... comments/questions/critiques all very welcome.
InChrist-Billios: Glad it's working, and glad the coronation worked! Will continue to write in between classes... And yup, Eran's protective. About which I say, and I quote, "Aw!"
teenchic2004: Their relationship is totally blossoming. Y'know, as long as she doesn't die (see above). Mwahah.
Audra Laudargue: Yes! Emotion! Don't worry, Eran's going to show a LOT more emotion coming up here soon. Well, sorta. It's complicated. But yeah, you'll see. ;)
Bingo7: Oh, they've already started to feel a bit of attraction... but yes, when WILL it really start? I'm afraid I don't actually know the answer to that, lol. And Spongeman and Rochelle are cousins.
Gnomie022: Lol, yeah, pretty much.
Allyp: Not sure when you'll get this... but anyway, my e-mail's not working. I think it might be a firewall thing so hopefully it'll be cleared up, but if you don't hear from my soon... that's why. Yup-yup.