Royal Rules

Part 5

I looked at Jacob with a questioning look, slowly nodding. He took my hand as I stepped off of his feet, my wings slightly lifting me off the ground. Silently he led me around the other dancers and out of the ballroom, pausing to see if anyone was in the halls.

"Come on, I know a place we can go to," I whispered, and without warning I pulled him down the long hallway. I knew the corridors of the castle like the back of my hand, buzzing around corner after corner until we reached our destination. I stopped in front of the dark green door, so covered in vines that it looked impossible to open.

"What is this place?"

"My secret room."

I reached up and touched the only flower present among the greenery, and it shrank back at my touch. I almost laughed at Jacob as his jaw dropped, watching the vines shrink just enough to reveal a tiny keyhole.

"So it's true, the royals can use magic," he said, and I nodded as I fumbled to pull my locket from the pendant on my necklace.

"We choose not to use it because it sort of sets us aside from everyone else."

Finally, my fingers decided to cooperate and I unlocked the pendant, getting the bright red key. Jacob watched as I unlocked the door, swinging it open on its creaky hinges. He hesitated to enter the dark hall, so I pulled him in and closed the door.

"This is the only place where I use magic freely, and no one, not even my parents, can get in unless I open the door. Pretty cool, huh?"

I waved my hand over my head to turn on the lights, which illuminated the massive room. There was a stone pathway in the middle of a huge garden filled with all of my ideas, huge plants, and even some animals. To the left of the path were flower pots filled with plants, some giant enough to fit both of us in them, and some tiny. On the right were my sketches and ideas for magic along with animals and objects I'd concocted from my own mind. Basically everything was of my own creation, except for the nymphs who had taken refuge in the waterfall I had placed in the back of the room.

"Amelia, this is amazing! I've never even seen most of this stuff before in my life!" He left my side to explore, and I sat on my fuzzy couch to watch him. He was jumping around like a little kid in a candy store, examining everything in turn. He was especially mesmerized by the fireflies floating in the air around us, their light a rainbow of color instead of the natural yellow they were supposed to be. To my surprise he didn't pay much attention to the nymphs, who laughed a little too loud and smiled a little too much at him. He merely smiled and nodded politely, coming back to where I was sitting. "You are simply amazing," he laughed, offering me his hands. I took them, and he lifted me from my seat.

"Thank you Jacob."

"Hey, can you show me some... magic?" I almost laughed at his childish excitement, putting a hand out.

"Give me your hand," I ordered, and he obeyed. I turned his hand over so his palm was facing upward, cupping his hand in my palms. He watched with interest as I took a deep breath and held it. I closed my eyes and imagined the object I wanted to make, gently blowing a steady stream of air into his palm. His eyes widened as the air swirling in his hand turned an icy blue, crystallizing into ice, and compressing together to form the shape of a heart with wings. After it had finished the wings started buzzing and coming to life, lifting the tiny ice sculpture into the sky.

"That's amazing... you know I can do magic too?"

"Somehow I don't believe that."

"I can! Do you want me to show you?"

"Okay... show me."

"First, close your eyes." Reluctantly I obeyed, my eyelids twitching nervously as I struggled to keep them closed. It felt awkward just standing there, and I could feel Jacob watching me.