A Crown of Clouds

Chapter 33

The morning light was soft, calm, and soothing. The breeze that wafted through the room was scented with sweet florals; something like peonies and jasmine. Jaz... the cabin... Alex... the sweet scent seemed to fade as the memory of the night before washed over me like the wind lifting the sheer curtains with quick, jolting movements. I could sit up today with far greater ease, one relief, I thought. We were in a different room now, a different place I assumed, a room with high ceilings and windows halfway up the sides of the walls. There was a bed to the right of me, I could see the chestnut hair spilling over the side, finding comfort that Jazminda was there. I had so many questions, too many questions. I looked at her body not moving, the steady rise and fall of her back, she was asleep.

I looked for a moment, wondering whether or not to wake her, or to shake her and demand answers. "Don't... even think about it." Jazminda's morning voice croaked. Oh thank God, she was already awake. I went to stand up and walk to her bed, my feet collapsed underneath me, my elbow cracking on the floor as I crumpled to the ground. I seethed and swore. "Take it slow Hal, your legs haven't moved for a week, let them find their feet first." I braced my hands on my knees, moving slower this time. When I got to my feet, Jaz was sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I know, I know, you have questions, can we at least eat breakfast first?" The sass of Jaz and her forwardness was abnormally comforting. I was about to refuse, when my stomach let out a long moan, making me weak at the knees. I nodded, swiftly sitting back down on the bed before my head spun again.

The remnants of creamy coffee lingered on my lips, I swished the last sip around in my cup before gulping it to wash down the enormous portion of eggs, bacon and toast I'd practically inhaled. I could feel Jaz looking at me with a mixture of shock and humour, but I didn't care, my stomach was in control and it wanted food and it wanted it now!

We'd walked down two flights of stairs to a large open alfresco, it seemed to have no roof over it, and the sky threatened with rain, smudged with grey clouds. Jaz had said even she wasn't allowed to know the name of this place or what it was called. "So, let me get this straight, Alex... is from Brynth?" Jaz had been trying to explain to me how she knew Alex, how they'd conspired, how they'd conjured up Niall. "Not just from Brynth, soon to be King... Hal... another type of King too...his father is dying," she said, toying with her scrambled eggs. "What do you mean? oh... and why did you bow, are you not royalty too?"

"I am, but I am not a Queen... there is a certain amount of respect due their title that even we are obligated to show. There is also a certain order of realms as there are countries on your planet in a sense and Brynth is of the highest order. As for how... I'm not sure how much I can say and can assure Xander would rather tell you in person." 

"Xander?" 

"Yes, sorry, I assumed you knew his name, I actually have a distinct memory of Xander telling Cole and I if we ever called him Alex he'd fry us with lightning." Jaz giggled momentarily at the memory.

My head spun to think that Alex was Xander; the Prince of Brynth, that Niall had been Alex all along, how long had he been there? How had he gotten there, and why... the questions were never-ending, circling around like a murder of crows. "So, we're in a halfway house of sorts?" I asked, looking around, the house was covered in vines and silence filled each particle in the atmosphere, there were definitely no housekeepers here. Jazminda shrugged, "sort of." If it weren't for my guilty secret, I'd have flipped those tables and demanded answers from Jaz and her surreptitious avoidance of my eyes. I remained cool as possible, it seemed my life was a never-ending circle of looking for answers and finding them, only to have them morph and mortify me simultaneously.

"Anyhow, Xander has requested to meet with you in private an hour from now, I best get you cleaned up and ready to meet him." Jaz stood, motioning me to follow her. I followed her trail through the gardens and rows of lime trees, I struggled to keep up with her, my legs feeling frail. In the middle of the garden was a hexagonal cut out of a hedge and low-lying clouds. Jazminda sat on one, patting next to her, "rest on one before we continue back to the house, I went to question her why we hadn't just walked the way we'd come, or just transported back, but I was too out of breath, desperately sucking in any air, my throat wheezing as I barely made it to the cloud where she sat. It took me a moment to regain control over my breathing. "Why... am I this tired from transporting realms and you and Alex... sorry, Xander, are fine and dandy?"