Summer's Frost

Chapter 13

       "Stop biting your lip, Kassie," Slick scolds me as I tear off yet another chunk of skin. This time, my lip starts bleeding a little.

       "Sorry, I'm nervous," I mutter. The road is bumpy, and our carriage doesn't absorb much of it. The seats are cushioned, at least.

       Slick sighs. "If we get there and they see you with your mouth all torn up, they won't exactly get a good impression of you." I lick the spot where my lip is no longer bleeding, flinching from the sting.

       We've been riding for quite a while now, and almost no conversation was made. Slick explained what was going to happen once we got there, but that's about it. I let my thoughts drift, and eventually I think about Slick. Or, actually, his name. I suppose it suits him, but I doubt it's his real name. I guess it's something to talk about.

       "What's your name?" I ask. He looks at me strangely.

       "You know my name."

       "I mean what's your real name," I press. He raises an eyebrow at me.

       "How do you know it isn't Slick?"

       "I don't. But I don't think it is." He looks at me for a moment in silence.

       "Jay." He says it so quiet I almost miss it. Now that I know, I'm not sure how to reply.

       "Nice name. You look like a 'Jay'."

       He looks out the window instead of answering. The familiar silence returns. I let out a long breath and stare out the other window. I grow tired from traveling so long and drift off to sleep.

*****

       I wake up to someone shaking my shoulder. I groan in complaint. My back aches as I sit up, popping when I stretch. I rub my eyes before peeling them open. I'm still in the carriage, but we aren't moving. Slick is in front of me. My eyelids move up and down slowly, threatening to close.

       "Hey, stay with me," he says. He pats my cheek lightly. "We're here." I look out one side of the carriage. It's pitch black.

       "What time is it?" I groan.

       "I think around midnight." He opens the door and steps out. He holds out a hand to help me down. I take it and step out. In front of me is another palace this one has light colors, though I can't quite tell what they are in the dark. Three figures step out from the big wooden castle doors, and a light on each side of the doors light up. One is a young man built like Slick, lean, but his muscles are a little bigger. He has black hair that's neatly trimmed. Behind him are two men who don't move unless the young man steps forward; then they step forward with him.

       He bows to me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pine," he greets me.

       I curtsy in the dress that Slick made me wear. Its soft white fabric barely brushes the ground. Thankfully, he let me wear slip-on shoes. "The pleasure is mine,..."

       "Jack. Call me Jack," the young man insists. I smile.

       "The pleasure is mine, Jack." He holds out an arm, and I take it, letting him lead me inside. Slick follows from a distance, careful not to get too close to the guards. Jack leads me to the left down a wide hallway, then turns right. We travel across the castle to the other side, which is full of corridors. He stops at one door and opens it, stepping inside and gesturing for me to enter. Slick follows me in. I had dropped my hand from Jack's arm after we had gotten inside the castle. I wouldn't have known to do so if Slick hadn't explained everything in detail on the way here.

       "This is your room. I will send for someone to get you in the morning."

       I turn to nod, and I notice that he stands with his hands behind his back. I frown. "You can relax, you know. It's the middle of the night, and I won't judge if you aren't up tight for a few seconds." I hear Slick choke back his laughter at the look on Jack's face.

       Jack recovers and a slow smile spreads across his face. "You weren't lying," he turns to Slick.

       I squint my eyes at both of them before settling my gaze on Slick. "Slick, were you spreading rumors about me?" I scold playfully. He shrugs.

       "Just that you are not refrained to being formal every second of the day, and prefer to be.... relaxed," Jack answers for him.

       I laugh. "If I'm reading between the lines, you mean I'm a wild child who doesn't act properly?" Jack laughs, too.

       "Is it wrong?"

       "Not at all." I smile at him.

       "The first time I saw her, she fell out of a tree," Slick puts in.

        My mouth gapes open at him. "You saw that?!" He grins, amused at my blush. "So you know my ridiculous fear of heights?"

       He shakes his head. "No, I wasn't close enough to hear anything. But I know now." I swear his grin can't get any wider. Jack watches us with interest.

       "How do you know Slick?" he asks suddenly.

       "Oh, um... well, he's a friend. He's helped me out a little since I arrived in your world," I reply. Jack raises his eyebrow.

       "That's it?"

       "Yes..." I look at him suspiciously.

       "Good, so you're single." He says it so casually, I actually take a step back from shock. Then I laugh.

       "Oh, I see," I giggle.

       "What?"

       "You are a total flirt when you aren't all up tight and formal." His cheeks turn a light shade of red, but he shrugs.

       "What if I am?" He winks, causing me to blush. This whole time, I notice Slick was quiet. I look over at him, and see him pretending to be interested in something on the floor.

       I nudge his shoulder. "Hey, relax. It isn't like he's going to win my heart and keep me here forever, never to return, never to be seen again," I say dramatically, using my hands to speak. He lightly chuckles, and peeks over at me.

       "I think you need to go to bed," he finishes the conversation. I stand straight and cross my arms.

       "I'm having fun. That hasn't really happened since I got to this world. I'm not moving."

       Slick puts a hand on his hip, and the other hand runs through his hair. "Kassie, as much as I love to hear you're having a good time, you need sleep. You don't need to meet the king with yawns coming out every other word." He grabs my arm and tries to gently drag me to my bed. I don't budge. I guess my stubbornness triples when I'm tired.

       "He's right, Kassie," Jack sighs.

       "But..." I try to argue back, but I got nothing. Finally, Slick is tired of waiting and he scoops me up, carrying me to the bed. Just by the smirk on his face I know what he's going to do. "No! Don't you--" He stops at the bed and drops me onto the mattress, getting an "OOF!"  from me. He and Jack both chuckle.

       Slick reaches down and ruffles my hair. "Goodnight, Kassie." I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

Sorry for the short chapter, guys. The next chapter will be longer :)