Feb 19, 2012

Welcome to another installment of Kuki Enchanted! Fair warning, this may or may not make you depressed…you all had the wrong answer on who Kuki's first kiss would be, except for Game, who got it half correct since he guessed him. I did not want to write it but I wanted to at the same time. This chapter will have some big importance in the future chapters of the story surrounding Wally and Kuki's relationship.

My Disclaimer (since I did not receive any from my reviews, and it was only two, really people? I love reviews!): I really do not own KND, but my father, Mr. Warburton does. But he says only he gets the rights, and maybe when I turn 18 he will give them to me… hahaha, yea write, Mr. Warburton is not my father….

Mr. Warburton: Morgan, I am your father.

Me: YAY!

Hahaha, sorry, I have been in a weird Star Wars mood lately… lol.

Words: 6,560

While the rest of the school and Abba went to the dining hall for dinner, I gave Abba a small smile which she returned with a wink. I was glad that I could be free of Ace in the safety of the girls' dormitories.

A servant led me to a room that was labeled as The Lavender Room. It consisted of a one big common room, painted in various shades of pale and paler lavenders. On each of the sides of the room were two doors that no doubt contained the actual dorms themselves. The common room was made up of lavish sofa's surrounding a fireplace. A few desks were scattered around and a bookshelf lined a free wall. Around the book shelf stood lamps that were currently extinguished that stood proudly next to their arm chairs. Around the room hung beautiful naturalistic pictures of Kyrria.

The servant left me and I sunk into one of the lavender armchairs, If I did not succumb to starvation, I would be here for a long time, with hateful mistresses and Ace ordering me about. I stared out the window at Madam Gallaher's flower garden that she had.

"Kuki…" a voice seeped into my dream about roasted pheasant stuffed with chestnuts. I was vaguely away of my shoulder being shaken. "Wake up. Kuki, wake up." An order. I was awake.

I opened my eyes to see Abba standing next to me, I smiled up at her, "Do you sleep in here too?" I asked her as she nodded her head. "Which room?" I asked her.

Before she could answer, the door opened revealing the two ginger maidens I had seen earlier, the ones who had sneered at me. She was quite tall and pronounced her l's as y's, mocking Abba's accent.

"Ecete iffibensi asura edanse evtame oyjento?" I asked Abba. (Is this how they always behave?)

"Otemso iffibensi asura ippiri." She replied (Sometimes they are much worse.)

"Are you from Ayortha too?" The tall maiden asked me.

"No, but Abba is teaching me the beautiful Ayorthian language. In Ayorthian, you are an 'ibwi unju.'" It only meant "tall girl." I did not know any insults in Ayorthian.

However, Abba was laughing, which made it seem the worst of epithets. I laughed too. Abba had collapsed on top of me, and together we shook the purple chair.

Madam Gallagher, who was the Head Mistress and attended to the affairs of the ladies at school, bustled in. "Young ladies! What is this that I see?" Abba leaped up, but I remained seated, clutching my side in mirth. "My chairs were not made to take this kind of abuse, young maidens do not sit two to a seat! Do you hear me? Stop laughing, Kukihana!" She said, glaring at me and I stopped mid giggle. "That is better. Since it is your first day here, I shall excuse your behaviour and I trust that it will have greatly improved by tomorrow morning." Madam Gallagher turned to the others, "Into your nightdresses, young ladies. The Shores of Sleep are fast approaching." She said before she turned around on the heel of her foot and exited the Lavender Room.

Abba and I exchanged a glance and suppressed a giggle. I was glad I had a friend.

When everyone had gone to their respective rooms, it was only Abba and I that remained in the common room.

Abba and I stayed up for a while, talking about our family, apparently she had heard of my Father's greatness, our fathers had apparently been friends and met at the meetings of the lords of our two countries.

We bid each other goodnight when Abba let out a loud yawn. Our dorms were right next to each other.

I entered my room to find my luggage already placed by a set of drawers. Putting off the task for tomorrow, I changed into a set of green pajama's I had extracted from one of my bags and quickly fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.

A few hours into my sleep, a knock came from my door. I sat up, wondering whom in the world was demanding my presence at 1 o'clock in the morning. I opened my door a crack and saw Abba beaming at me. She gave me a little wave. I ushered her into the room quickly, afraid that the servant who went around at night, checking to see that the students were in their respective rooms, would not open our door to find Abba out of bed.

"Here," she whispered, offering me a loaf of bread, "Abba snuck down to the kitchens; this was all Abba could get." I hugged her impulsively as a thank you. I did not hesitate to wolf it down. I did not even bother to savor the taste, such was my hunger was too great. We sat down on my bed, laying down on the mattress as we began to talk.

"It's Abba's fault you missed dinner, anyway," she confessed, refusing to meet my eyes.

"What? Why?" I asked her.

"The teachers here tend to…look on Abba very unfavorably. Evangeline, Elizabeth, and Naomi never finish their work in sewing class or any other class for that matter, but they have never had to miss a meal do to it. The teachers do not like Abba….because – because Abba is different than they are. It might serve you best not to be friends with Abba."

I stared at her melancholy expression in amazement. "No, do not say that. I do not think it is wise to choose friends based on what others think of them. Besides, what happened today was not your fault. I'm…I'm different, too."

Abba's face lit up, "Really, how come?" she asked. I was thankful that it was not an order, but Father's order of not revealing my obedience made me hold my tongue as I looked into her chocolate eyes.

"I'm part faerie." I decided to say, that was true and different from me being obedient. I had no order from Kami not to speak of my faerie heritage.

"Really? You're a faerie?" Abba asked, her eyes sparkling with insight.

"I only have a drop of faerie blood, it shows in my voice when I sing since I have the ability to sing in high notes, as well as the fact that I have amethyst eyes since faeries have amethyst, hazel, or glazed eyes. It also shows by the fact I have very small feet. I saw her look down at my feet, looking at the smallness of them.

"You said that you could sing?" Abba said, I was glad that Abba was one of those people who did not obsess about faeries.

"Yes, my father told me that I was quite good."

"Really?" her eyes shot upwards in question, "Then you should join Abba's music class.

I contemplated it for a bit, "I guess I will." I said.

"Great!" Abba said happily. We talked for many hours after that, eventually we both fell asleep in the middle of talking about Naomi's horrid cufflinks.

I awoke to an empty room the next morning. The upside of having to miss breakfast was that I could sleep in. Abba must have left some time ago to go and eat breakfast. A part of me hoped that she would sneak me some food later. I took the opportunity of quietness to look at my faerie tale book. It opened to a letter from Kami.

My Dear Kuki,

Last night I made blueberry muffins for Sonya, Lee, Jess, Sallee and myself. We ate them but then I realized I had made two extras. They would have been yours. We decided that Jess and Sallee should have them.

I apologize; I did not want to start off my letter talking about how much I am missing you.

Your friend Matthew from the menagerie stopped by this morning with a beautiful present for you. It is a gorgeous dark amethyst bird that speaks Gnomic and a little bit of Elfin. He says you met him during your last visit and was quite taken to the bird. You know, I think I have a recipe for parrot pot pie somewhere in one of my old cookbooks I have lying around the manor house somewhere.

I am only teasing, Kuki. I would never cook a present. I promise to look after him until you come home, sweetie.

He does not have a name, so I took the liberty of naming him Buddy, in honour of your father. I hope you like the name, the bird surely does.

Yesterday afternoon, you had another visitor, and this one was much more grander than Matthew from the menagerie. He too, came with a gift to give to you. Your father always said that when boys started to bring gifts for you he would have to start sharpening his broadsword. And if desperate enough, recruit Morgan to aid him. I laughed at this.

It was the young prince, and he told me he had captured a centaur colt, and he had promised to give you one. I told him I was not sure where we could keep the handsome little thing, and that you were away at deportment school. I must tell you, he seemed quite indignant at the news. He wanted to know what possible good could come from you attending Gallagher's Deportment School for finishing when there was nothing for you to be finished in. I had no reply, because I would like your mother to explain it to me as well. He had also inquired when you were to be home again, I told him that I myself had no clue.

He told me he would raise the colt at the menagerie until you could return. He asked me to tell you that the centaur's name is Apple. I fed the pretty thing his namesake before the young prince took him over to the menageries.

Your mother left the morning after you. I confess, I do not miss her; I hope you will forgive me. She told me she was off to barter with "the Greenies," which I gather is her rude name for the Elves. She said she would not be returning any time in the next while. She went in hopes of attaining an Ashley original, which I doubt she will succeed in.

I long for you to come home soon. Sonya and I send our love, Jess and Sallee wish you well, and I send my nagging: don not forget to drink your Tonic!

With much love,

Kami

I kissed the spine of the book as I closed it, asking it silently not to erase Kami's words to me. I drank my Tonic voluntarily; I had become accustomed to its taste over the past couple of days, as it was my only source of nourishment during Ace confiscating all of my food for himself. I wiped away my tears, glad Kami did not know of my fate, living at the mercy of the abhorrent Ace.

I soon learned that Ace would not be my only source of misery. Granted, he proved to be the reason for a lot of it, but he could not be blamed for the attitudes of others, even if he encouraged them.

It was readily apparent that Abba was at the bottom of the social hierarchy at Gallagher's. The other students largely rejected her because of the color of her skin, and mocked her for her accent. I personally found it beautiful, the rolling "Rs" and slight lisps on the "S" sounds. And the way she talked in third person was my favorite attribute about her. Despite it being part of who she was, I found it one of the many things that made her different from others. Abba confessed to me that she had struck up a reluctant friendship with Lady Rachel. We both rolled our eyes at the necessity of it, and I resigned myself to further interactions with the shrill, severe girl.

Nigel had taken my golden leaf brooch for Rachel, but did not end up giving it to her. He learned very quickly (a feat in itself) that Rachel was not a suitable choice for a maiden to pursue. That boy did not want to hear my opinion about anything.

Nigel instead began to spend time with Elizabeth, one of the redhead's who had laughed at me the first day and was the tall girl's sister, and I shared a dorm with her too. Apparently, she and the other redhead were fraternal twins. I did not know why Nigel chose Elizabeth of Roberts to purse as courtship instead of Evangeline, who was the prettier of the two Roberts girls. Though Nigel would not listen to me when I tried to talk some sense into him. He seemed quite miserable whenever he was around her. She was quite obviously highly intelligent and impatient, but still allowed him to fumble his way through his courtship of her. She often spoke of a rich uncle, whom she and Evangeline hoped would die soon, so that they could inherit the fortune and estate. It seemed that in addition to ignoring Rachel, Nigel had begun ignoring me. I could tell he wanted to be popular, and spending time with the unpopular girl would certainly interfere with that goal.

Elizabeth's sister, Evangeline, had been the girl to laugh at me on the first day, her dark-skinned friend Naomi, I learned, was from one of the Kyrrian islands and enjoyed a creamy drink they had served there. It is said that every week, her parents send a cart of the beverage to Gallagher's for her and her friends' consumption.

Rachel and I began to transition from reluctant acquaintances to friends during one music class. I was singing comfortably in my upper register, and Music Master noticed, smiling widely.

"Kuki, your voice is like a faerie. Who knew such a human could have a voice that hit so high without cracking?"

I smiled sheepishly at Music Master for the kind comment; normally people did not have a well liking to my high and sometimes annoying voice that was coupled with my accent.

After that, music became one of my favorite classes. Rachel, Abba, and I all agreed we were by far the best singers in the class, although we disagreed on which of the three of us had the top spot. The only other class I really enjoyed was language class. Language Mistress was pleased with my aptitude for accents and remembering different dialects. She gave me a book to study at a more advanced level. It covered Ogrese, Elfin, Abdegi, Gnomic, and Trollish. Abba had agreed to tutor me in Ayortha.

In extension of becoming friends with Rachel, was the friendship that was gained with Rachel's twin brother, Harvard. He was almost the exact opposite of Rachel. Their relationship reminded me much about the relationship between my Father and Aunt Morgan. He was as ambitious as she was but always took things to the extreme. He had a great talent with jousting and even taught us some of the techniques he learned from Jousting Master.

The constant orders and commands from all my teachers had me improving in every subject against my will. It also made me something of a pet of the teachers, until I began my usual game in classes I did not enjoy. If Dancing Mistress told me to pick up my legs, my knees would shoot into the air, almost knocking Naomi in the chin. In History, History Mistress asked me to recite from a day in Kyrrian history, I would do it very slowly, so that it would take a good amount of the class period to finish one piece of history.

Abba, Rachel, and Harvard were constantly amused by my strange brand of obedience, though they did not know the reason for it.

I hated the rest of my classes that I was forced to spend them with the Ace.

Thankfully, when I was forced to share these classes with Ace, Rachel, Harvard, and Abba would be with me.

After I had Music lessons, I had a break. I spent it outside under the shade of beautiful maple tree with Rachel and Abba as companions. Harvard joined us a while later, wanting to show off his skills with the broadsword. I remembered watching Father demonstrate his skills of the broadsword to me. Aunt Morgan always called him out on his mistakes and then showed him proper technique. It always amazed me how Aunt Morgan became so skilled. I had my theories that she had obtained private lessons so as to outshine her brother's talent.

An hour later, Dancing Mistress told me to step lightly. My partner was Naomi, the dark skinned girl who laughed at me on my first day. I pressed on her arms, using her to support my weight so that I could step lightly.

"Stop that." She pulled away. I fell. I heard giggles.

Dancing Mistress took Naomi's place. I could not lean on her. I pretended my feet were balloons. I pretended the floor would crack if I did not movie lightly. We stepped. We glided. We sprang forward, jumped back. I was not graceful, do to having faerie feet, but I did not shake the ground as much as I did on my first time. My gown was soaked with perspiration.

"That is better." Dancing Mistress told me.

At lunch, Manners Misstress said, "Don't rap your knuckles on the table, Kuki. The King would be ashamed of you. She frequently invoked Kind Xavier in her teaching. Tables were forever safe from me.

A part of me wondered what she would say if I were to tell her that his son, Wally, was one of my best friends. I even imagined telling her that I frequently dinned with the royal family. How the princess would burp so loud at the end of a meal and we would laugh. How her teachings of manners where the exact opposite of those of the royal family. I wondered what her expression would be when I told her of how we would slide down the royal banisters and skate along the titled floor with socks on, gliding in ease and falling all the time, laughing loudly. She would probably call me a liar and say that was not how royalty was to act in the presence of their subjects.

"Take small stitches, Kukihana, and do not yank the thread. It is not a rein, and you are not a coachman." Sewing Mistress said later in the afternoon. I stabbed myself with the needle, but my stitches shrank. It was the same every day. I dreaded new orders. The curse did not make me change easily. I had to concentrate every second. As soon as I was to awake I would have to repeat the commands.

"Hey Kuku." Ace called out to me one day while History Mistress had her back turned.

I looked at my two friends, who rolled their eyes, used to Ace's constant quipping in my direction.

"I order you too mouth off to the teacher." He said. I really did not want to, and I tried to hold back from the command, the feeling of nausea started to creep up on me.

"Kuki." History Mistresses asked me, making me snap my head up from where I was trying to block out Ace's command.

I looked at the board and spoke, "You're wrong." I said bluntly, Ace grinned in triumphant and History Mistresses gave me an appalled look.

"I beg your pardon." She said in an outraged tone.

"You're wrong," I reiterated, "The Great War between the Ogres of Nottingdam and the Giants of Gravewood did not happen in 1605, they began in 1598 and did not cease until 1605." I said, smiling smartly at the teacher as well as Ace, whose mouth was hanging open, ready to catch flies if he were to go outside.

History Mistress looked back at the board, "OH!" She exclaimed, "You are right, silly me, 1605 was when the Treaty of Farglewood was enacted between the Elves of Fargle and the Giants of Gravewood."

"It is also when the Equal Treatment of Nations was enacted under King Matthew II for the equal treatment of all nations and race that were around our country when they entered." I said, remembering when Aunt Morgan was giving me history lessons that I had begged her to give to me when she visited us.

"I'm impressed Kuki, I was going to discuss that with my next class, they are a few years ahead of you." History Mistress was ecstatic, she turned around and I stuck my tongue out at Ace's fuming face.

In my first month I did little right, in my second I did little wrong. And gradually, it all became natural: light steps, small stitches, quiet voice, ramrod straight back, deep curtsies without creaking knees, no yawns, soup tilted away from me, and no slurping.

However, in bed, before I became a victim to the comforting and sound Shores of Sleep, I would imagine what I would do if I were free of Henrietta's curse. At dinner, I would paint lines of brown gravy on my face and hurl meat pastries at Manners Mistress. I would pile Headmistress' best Elvin pottery on my head and walk with a wobble and a swagger and jump around maniacally until every piece was smashed into nice size shards of clay. Then I would collect the smashed pottery and the mashed up meat pastries and grind them all into my perfect little stitchery.

After a while, Rachel and Abba and on some level, Harvard, became my only true friends. Harvard use to hang out with Ace, but after he defended me when Ace was speaking bad about me, he was vanished from the group.

I found myself telling them about Wally and our relationship with each other.

"You are so lucky." Rachel said with a sad smile. "I wish the person I loved would love me back, like you and Wally." She said, and we all notice her eyes shift over to where Nigel and Elizabeth were sitting in the shade of an oak tree. Nigel with his back resting against the trunk of a tree and Elizabeth sitting in between his legs, twirling a primrose in her hand while one laid above her ear. While Elizabeth looked ecstatic and twirled her hair with her freed hand that was covered in a white glove, Nigel looked absolutely miserable being in her presence. He looked up, and I wondered if he could feel the four pairs of eyes staring daggers or stares of longing in his direction. I watched as his eyes met those of Rachel's. He gave her a big smile, which Rachel returned half heartedly.

"I do not know why you bother with Uno." Harvard stated with such vile in his voice. "If he cannot see how you are such a wonderful person and how lucky he would be to have someone like you to court, then he does not deserve you at all. All he is doing is stringing you along and you are going to end up with a broken heart. You will never be together because he can't stand the thought of being unpopular. And being unpopular only comes with dating one of the unpopular, mainly us." He said. And that is when things got ugly. I watched as Rachel snapped on her brother.

It was the maddest I had ever seen her. She leaned forward towards her brother, her arm brought behind her, and before Harvard could react, her hand came stingingly across his face in a deafening slapping noise. The once clattery atmosphere had gone quiet, except for the tweeting of the birds overhead, as they all stared at the McKenzie twins. No one had seen Rachel act like this before, and before Abba or myself could call out to her, she ran away with tears in her eyes.

I willed my eyes not to stray over to where Nigel was, but they did so anyways, seeing the horror-stuck look on his face, he looked like he was trying to get Elizabeth off of him. But she wouldn't have and pinned Nigel down, kissing him full on the lips. And that was when I ran after Rachel.

"Rach!" I yelled, running after her into the building, she had not made it far, I heard sobbing from the girls lavatory.

"Rach?" I said questioningly as I entered the bright pink lavatory.

"Go away!" I heard her shout from a stall before she broke down into more tears.

I entered the lavatory fully to see her slumped against the farthest wall, her head hanging on her arms as she continued to cry.

I knelt down next to her just as Abba walked in. She came over and together, we embraced Rachel, rubbing her back as she continued to cry her eyes out.

"Rachel?" came the voice of Harvard from behind the lavatory door.

"Go away, Harvard!" She screeched at her brother, breaking down crying again.

"I will send him away." I told her, getting up from the cold ground and exiting the lavatory.

"Go away, Harvey." I told him in a kind voice.

"I want to talk to my sister." He said defiantly.

"I will make sure she gets the message." I said, knowing that seeing Harvey would be the last thing that Rachel would want to see.

"I was just stating my mind." He said.

"And sometimes you are not always in the right mindset." I replied to him.

"I am never good with that." He confessed.

"Then try, give her some time to cool off. You are her brother, you should know better than all of us to leave her alone when she is mad or upset." I said.

"You are right." Harvey said, "But please tell her that I want to talk to her when she is cooled off." He said.

I nodded, "I will." I said, and he turned around and walked back to his room, that he shared with Nigel and Ace. I only prayed that there would be no blood spilt during the night.

It was agreed upon by us that Abba and I would spend the night with Rachel, since we shared a dorm with Elizabeth and the last thing Rachel would want was to be in the same dorm as her.

Abba was able to sneak down to the kitchens and get some ice cream, apparently the cooks were Ayorthians and they had some agreement to aid each other whenever possible. Also, because the head cook was Abba's aunt, Aliana (pronounced A lee a na).

The next day, I carried a plate of freshly baked brownies down to the jousting arena. It was well after dinner, and Ace had commanded me to meet him there with something for him to have as dessert when History Class was finished.

Apparently he did not know that I was a goddaughter to a faerie cook and had been taught in magical herbs. Before I baked the brownies, I went down to Madam Gallagher's garden in search for a herb. I was searching for Effelworth, if I found it, it would give him a nasty illness that would succumb him to bed for a week for it to pass through his system. Most of the herbs were the ordinary sory, but as I turned to leave, I spotted a sprig of bogweed. Taking care not to breath in its sent, I plucked it and placed it in a basket I had brought with me and headed towards the kitchen.

I smiled at Aliana as I entered the kitchens. Abba had told her that I would be coming to do some baking. She told me that I was baking brownies for them as another pick me up for Rachel.

"Ashona, Kuki." Aliana greeted me as I entered the kitchen.

"Ashona, Aliana. Ubensu igenki?" I said, asking her how she was doing.

"Ebene." She replied, saying she was good, "ubensu igenki?" she replied, asking how I was.

"Abensa aytana." I replied, saying I've been better.

"Rachel still upset?" She replied, switching to back to Kyrrian.

"Yes, I learned that Rachel is very fond of chocolate and likes to eat it when she is sad, so I thought I would make her some brownies.

"You are a very good friend." Aliana told me.

I made two batches of brownies, one of them for Rachel, the other for Ace.

I smirked down at the second batch of brownie batter I was making. Carefully taking a mallet, I grounded the leaves of the bogweed into a paste. After it had the right consistency, I poured it into the batter and stirred, making sure the paste was well blended into the batter. I poured the brownie mix into a bowl and spat it in. (I have always wanted to spit into someone's food.)

After the brownies were done and placed on a plate, I had baked the normal ones earlier and had eaten them with Abba and Rachel. I had returned to make the second batch after the kitchens were abandoned.

I took the second batch and walked out of the room to the training room the boys used for jousting.

I spotted Ace tucked into the couple of feet of space between a stone wall of the school and the wooden paneling of the jousting area. I frowned at his odd choice of location and wondered where his usual pack of friends were. I had made enough brownies for several boys, assuming he wanted me to feed his lackeys.

"Here you are," I said, extending my arms forward as I approached him.

"About time," he replied, grabbing a brownie and stuffing it in his mouth. He stared at me with some odd expression I could not name while he chewed slowly. Suddenly, I could see his eyes gloss over and slide out of focus in the dim light.

I began asking questions at once. "What would make you stop giving me commands?"

"Nothing," was his blank reply. A pause, then, "If I died. Or if you had found a way to stop obeying my commands."

Of course. I cursed my foolish waste of time.

"What are you going to order me to do in the future?"

"I make it up as I go."

"Why do you hate me?"

"I do not hate you, Kuki. I-I-I think I'm in love with you." he said, a dopey smile crossing his face.

My mouth dropped, what did he say! That he was in love with me! HOW! He hated my very existing, every molecule of my being he despised.

"You can't love me." I told him.

"But I do. I do." he said. "But I would never tell you because I am afraid too." he said.

"What are you afraid of?"

"The way I feel about you. Death. Being alone. Spiders. Bats. Being ugly. Ogres…"

I interrupted him, knowing he would just keep going. I could see his eyes beginning to clear.

"What are your secrets?" I asked desperately. Ace did not answer; instead, he shook his head slightly as if to pull himself out of a daze, and grabbed the front of my blouse. He yanked me forward so that our bodies were pressed flush against each other. My heart was hammering in my throat. What on earth was he doing?

Ace's vision came completely into focus and he noticed how he had pulled me against him. He shoved me away roughly and I winced as my back hit the wooden paneling of the jousting arena.

"What did you do to me?" he growled, advancing towards me, closing in on the small distance between us.

"I-I…you pulled me against you, I –"

"Shut up," he hissed. My mouth clamped closed. I was shaking violently. I was sure that the satisfaction he derived from ordering me about would not be enough this time. I closed my eyes, unable to say anything, ready for him to strike me.

"Kiss me." He ordered, his face leering closer to me.

My eyes flew open. "Wh-what? No!" I could feel the nausea building, but it was not entirely from the curse.

"Do it, Kuki. I command you to kiss me." A part of my brain registered the use of my name.

I strained against the pain, shaking my hand as I pressed against the wooden paneling. It did not matter. Ace lurched forward, trapping my face with his hands, his nails digging hard into my scalp, his palms pressing hard enough to bruise against my hollow cheekbones. Then, his lips were mashed against mine, moving sloppily. I was completely frozen, except for my lips, which were moving against his as little as was required by the curse. I felt something wet wedge between them, realizing with a kind of numb horror that he was jamming his tongue into my mouth. The curse did not let up; this was apparently still considered kissing. Ace seemed to know it would hold me in place, because he let go of my face, his hands raking down my back possessively. My eyes stung with tears as he gripped my backside roughly, pulling me against him completely and grinding his hips against mine. I could feel something hard pressing against me, and as soon as it occurred to me that this was no longer just kissing, I felt the spell release its hold.

With all the strength I could muster, I brought up my hands, which were previously balled into fists at my sides, and shoved against his chest, while I yanked my head back, breaking our lips apart. Ace stumbled back a little ways. I shook with fear and disgust as I stared at his stunned and panicked expression. I turned and began to scramble back towards the entrance to the school, tripping over my own quaking limbs.

"Kuki, stop!" I managed a few more steps before I fell to my knees, panting at the effort, trembling in terror and doubled over in pain. I forced myself to stand, frozen in place, listening to Ace's feet scuff slowly against the ground as he approached me. I flinched when he circled around to face me. Gone was the look of alarm; now, he looked at me with pure rage and hatred.

"You don't…you don't tell anyone about this. About what you did to me. I'm ordering you not to tell Abbagalia or Rachel." He leaned towards me; I stopped breathing. "In fact, I forbid you to even be friends with them anymore. Now go back and pick up the brownies you dropped." And without another word, he walked out of the room.

After I had disposed of the soiled brownies, I slid numbly down the stone wall of the school building. I pulled my knees to my chest and pressed my forehead to them, just holding my whole body as tight as I could, so the shaking would cease.

I told you Kuki would not have it easy. Not exactly the first kiss everyone had in mind, was it? In an earlier version of the chapter, I thought of having Wally ride up to Gallagher on his beautiful White Horse and demand to see Kuki. Manners Mistress would be astounded at the thought of the prince demanding to see one of her students who could do nothing right. How he would break through a thong of love crazed girls to get to her. And then, when he had reached her, he would caress her cheek and pull her close to him and they would kiss. But alas, that did not happen, did it? So sad, told you it would b a wee bit depressing, did I not? Oh well, please, please, please review! If I do not get reviews then I think people will no longer read my story. Thanks!

Love,

LatinMagicWriter