Chapter Twenty-One
The next morning I awoke to Darynda tapping on my forehead. She was smiling like an idiot, but she was also holding coffee. I instantly forgave the fact that she was tapping on my noggin, and sat up to take the delicious scented coffee.
I smiled, but managed to hide it behind the rim of the mug. After a few deep sips, I looked up to find Darynda still smiling excitedly. “What’s the smile for?” I asked, straight to the point and not bothering to beat the bushes.
“I get to go with you! The king said you would need someone to tend to your needs should you have any. I told him you were not like the other royalty and that you could handle it, but he said I should travel with you!”
“Um, thanks, I think,” I replied, not sure if she’d actually given me a compliment, or not.
“So, we need to bathe you soon. The men are already gathering in the great hall. He even summoned those he had in the human world back because of the Mages being so close to the borders. Have you ever been on a trial? Because I’ve never been and since we have to actually travel and cannot sift for it, it’s going to take us about a couple of weeks,” she blabbered on, as I emptied the coffee cup and held it out for another absently.
“One cup; you are carrying the king’s heir,” she said with a smile.
Gloves off, I wanted the second cup.
“Two cups won’t hurt us, I promise.”
She sighed and wagged her finger at me. In the end, she filled the cup and started the bath. I sighed as I crawled out from the opulent bed and stretched, before finishing off the second cup with a happy sigh. I was sore, but not sore enough to ask Ryder for help fixing it. The bath would help, anyway.
I slid into it, not caring that I was naked in front of Darynda. I’d grown up in the Guild, and privacy wasn’t something we got a lot of. I’d lived with the other girls, and we’d all shared one shower. The water was hot, but not so hot that it burned my skin; rather, it cured the aches from the previous night.
When I was bathed and finished getting dressed, I smiled at my reflection. I had on tight leather pants, which fit like a glove, with soft suede boots that had slid on like heaven and came up to my knees. The top was a pink long sleeve shirt, and Darynda handed me a hooded faux fur lined winter jacket that was white, long, and beautiful.
“A coat?” I asked.
“The weather can change on the Goddess’s whim in Faery,” she explained. “It’s best to be prepared for anything she can throw at us. I have packed for all weather, and you won’t have any problems with wardrobe. We will not be allowed to use magic once we leave the protection of the castle walls, so if there is anything you can’t live without, I need to know now so that I can obtain it for you before we leave.”
I blinked, trying to imagine a world where weather could change that fast. I hadn’t spent very much time in Faery, and I was putting my trust in her as to what I would need. She smiled as she picked up a large pack and opened the bedroom door and shouted an order to a male servant, who scurried to take the pack from her.
“Okay, Princess! We are ready. We can meet the king and all of his warriors in the courtyard,” she announced, already turning to leave the room.
“All the king’s horses and all the kings’ men…” I mumbled under my breath.
“Yes?”
“Nothing,” I huffed with a grin lighting my lips.
“They will be present,” she continued.
“And Humpty, will he be there?” Oh hell, I was going for it.
“I do not know a Humpty,” she confessed with a frown.
“He’s an egg,” I started to explain, but felt eyes on me from behind. I turned, even as Darynda rambled on.
“He’s an egg? You name eggs in your land?” she asked.
Claire was behind us with a haughty look in her eyes. She was trying to catch up with us, which I could have cared less if she had. She managed it with her long legs and dug her hand into my shoulder.
“Why is she allowed out of the pavilion?” Claire demanded of Darynda.
“The King wishes it so, and so it is,” Darynda said, tilting her head toward Claire, who stood a few inches taller than us. “It’s his choice.”
“We will see about that. The room she is in belongs to my sister!” Claire screeched, as if she was trying to cause a scene, and achieving it.
“Then why don’t you take it up with Ryder? If you are so fucking outraged on your sister’s behalf, talk to the man who placed me there and not Darynda, who can change nothing!” I growled, feeling my brands start to move, which had happened only twice so far since I’d turned into a freaking fairy.