Two Worlds, One Heart

Chapter Three

"Lena! Be careful up there!"

 Selena smiled, and waved down at her college friends. They were all clustered around the base of the tree she was climbing, watching as she made her way up it. One of the boys-named Alex, he was tall, dark skinned, black haired and incredibly sweet to her and the rest of the girls in their class-had dared her to climb it when she'd told them that she'd never climbed a tree before. Not one to turn down a challenge, Selena had promptly dumped her bag and started climbing, and was now close on half way up the tree. The challenge had been to get three quarters of the way up, and she smiled as she looked up at her goal. Almost there!

 Reaching upwards, she grabbed hold of the next branch and carefully stood on her current one. She was about to swing up onto the new one when the breeze picked up, sending the bit of string that she used to tie her hair back loosely flying away-and her hair tumbling all over the place. She huffed. "You again. Can't you leave my hair alone just once? This will be much easier for me if you do."

 Turning, she pressed her back to the trunk of the tree as she dug in her jeans pocket for another piece of string. Deft fingers separated the strands of hair, braiding it quickly and tying it off, despite the length of the thick, silky strands. With that done, she reached for the branch again, only this time, she was distracted by thoughts of the male causing the disruption. It was because of him and his antics that she'd given up on hair bands-every time he took them out, they disappeared, and it had started getting expensive to buy them. Better to use cheaper twine than proper hair bands, and, in the end, she'd found that she preferred the string to the hair bands, anyway.

 Hauling herself up onto another branch, she eyed the distance she still had to go, assessing which branches she could reach-and which ones could hold her weight, too. She didn't have far to go, now, and she smiled as she reached for another branch. The breeze picked up, knocking her hand away from it, and she frowned-until she spotted the crack near where the limb grew from the trunk of the tree. Her eyes widened as she pulled back- if she'd tried to put her weight on the branch, she'd have been sent tumbling to the ground. And I can't use my magic here-I could die from a fall like that. The realization shook her a little, but she was still determined to keep going.

 Taking a deep breath, she reached for another branch, waiting to see if the breeze would stop her. It didn't-instead, when she went to climb up onto it, the breeze helped her get a bit of extra strength behind the movement, as if knowing-and understanding-her determination. That made her smile. Most males of her world were highly protective of the women in their families-climbing trees was often done by younger, less well off girls, but a woman of Selena's status was usually not allowed anywhere near such activities. With no one to watch her behaviour in this world, Selena had finally found the freedom she'd yearned for throughout her life. She'd even taken up fencing as a hobby, and her teachers were always saying how she always looked like a dancer when she held the fencing foil.

 That memory made her smile. Because I am a dancer. As a Princess, she'd been required to be step perfect at all times-if she'd stepped on the foot of a visiting Ambassador, it could have been ruinous, after all.

 "Hey, Selena! Don't go any further up-the dare was only to go three quarters of the way!"

 Jerked out of her thoughts, Selena looked around. Alex was right-she was even closer to the top than she'd thought possible. It wasn't safe for her to go any higher, and she stopped immediately, gripping her current perch with both hands so she could try and plot her way back down. She soon regretted it-looking down had caused her to realize just how high up she actually was, and her face paled at the sight. Her stomach rolled, but she controlled the nausea, pulling her gaze away as her hands tightened on the branch.

 The breeze was immediately there again, swirling gently around her. A feeling of being safe settled over Selena, and she smiled. "Thank you." The words were whispered, almost imperceptible even to her own ears, and her grip on the branch eased off a little. She could feel disapproval from the man over her actions, and she managed a small smile before starting to climb down the tree again-much more slowly than when she'd been climbing up the tree, but still, at least she was able to climb down-with the breeze guiding her feet to the most secure places possible as she went. On reaching the lowest branch, she hesitated, trying to figure out how she was going to get the rest of the way down-it was a good eleven feet to the ground, and she knew for a fact that her mate's breeze wouldn't be able to support her weight. Her problem was solved by Alex as he smiled up at her.

 "Jump down, Selena-we'll catch you." He and the two other guys in her group of friends had all gathered under the branch she was sat on, waiting for her to slip off of the wood and fall towards them. She tilted her head a moment as the breeze picked up in protest of any men touching her in any way, and she smiled confidently. If only they knew what she was capable of!

 "No need, guys. Thanks anyway, though." Planting her left hand on the wood next to her, she shifted so that she could jump down on the other side of the branch away from the men and into a crouch before grabbing her rucksack and running off, laughing at the looks on their faces. The breeze whirled around her again-checking her over for injuries, she knew-and then left, once again making off with the string from her hair as it did. Now loose from its braid, her hair rapidly unravelled, leaving her friends, following behind her, stunned at the length and colour of it as she disappeared from sight.

Later that day, Selena hummed happily as she opened the front door of Lucrezia's house. Turning, she picked up the shopping bags, and was about to walk into the house when Jade appeared in the doorway. The cat stared up at her a moment, eyes narrowed, then flicked her tail and walked off again. Selena blinked. "I don't, do I?" Reaching up to her hair, she found a piece of twig that she had missed earlier, and she laughed. "I guess I do. Thanks, Jade!" 

 Smiling, she stepped into the house and closed the door behind her. She was about to head for the kitchen with the shopping when Lucrezia appeared. "Selena, the college called. What on earth did you think you were doing?! If you had fallen from that height, you could have died!"

 Selena's smile disappeared. With a sigh, she made her way past Lucrezia. "I was thinking that I wanted to climb a tree for the first time in my life, Lucrezia. I wanted to have fun." Setting the bags down on the worktop, she began pulling ingredients for that night's meal out of them, then paused, looking down at them. "I wanted to know what it's like to be a normal person for once."

 Lucrezia frowned. "Well, you may be a 'normal' person here, Selena, but you still have your duties back home to think of. If you had tried to climb onto a branch that couldn't hold your weight-"

 "I didn't, though, because he was there! The whole time, he kept me safe by showing me which branch I should go for next. And he was right every time!" Selena snapped, whirling around to face Lucrezia as she did, one arm thrown out to the side. "He kept me safe, and I don't even know his name! I can't say thank you for understanding, or for helping me stay safe. I can't even warn him about the assa-!" Realizing what she was about to say, Selena covered her mouth, shocked at herself. Lucrezia's eyes widened.

 "That's why you came here. You were running from assasins, not from your duties. Who is it that wants you dead, Selena...?"

 "I don't know." The words were quiet, barely more than a whisper, as Selena's hands lifted up to her head and her knees buckled. She sat on the floor heavily, her fingers now buried in her hair as she curled up tightly. "I don't know. But... three times in the month before I decided to leave, I tasted poison in my food..."

 Lucrezia was there instantly, her arms wrapped tightly around Selena. "No wonder you left, Lena... No wonder you were so jumpy for the first few weeks you were here..."

 Selena sobbed as the older woman gently stroked her hair, rocking slightly-and never knowing that the one man that could protect her was already on his way to find her...