Something Found - Book 2

Chapter 24: Smoke Signals

Berthold's Grand Ballroom
Berthold
Late Afternoon

   Alanis studied the box in her hand a quick moment before giving it a shake. It was jewelry, the soft metallic twinkle was a dead give-away. Before she could stop, Alexander's hand forced her rude display to end. Her eyes lifted to his gray ones expecting a glare of some sort, but what she found was a smile. It was beautiful, one of his more attractive features, although there were many others she liked how his kindness could be worn in such a simple fashion. She soon found herself smiling back, unable to resist his unearthly charms.

   She dropped her eyes and turned her head to the giant doors that towered beside them. If she wasn't careful she'd mistakenly give him the wrong idea and make him think everything was okay between them, and it most certainly was not. She was still angry with him regarding his wish to relieve her of duty. No one else knew about it, not yet at least, and she figured it would be soon seeing that he was trying to make nice with her.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she stated flatly while stepping away from the prince.

"Why wouldn't I? We've been friends for a long time now, Alanis." He stopped her from walking further, forcing her to turn around and face him again. "Do you expect me to ignore that and let some little fight ruin your birthday? We'll get through this in time, but your eighteenth comes but only once and I don't want to miss sharing it with you."

"Well, thank you," she replied avoiding eye contact. He was right, there was no point in arguing it with him, knowing he was going to do whatever he felt was right regardless. In the end, it would only make her resent him more, and quite frankly, that was something she didn't want. "We should get in there before they start questioning our whereabouts."

"You haven't even opened your gift."

She fumbled the box in her hands and twisted the forming smirk from her face. Knowing him it was going to be some sort of embarrassing, heartfelt gift, that was meant to make her gush. He should have known better, she wasn't that type of girl.

Boy, is he going to be disappointed, Alanis thought while opening the box, but as the torch-light hit the emerald ring her heart tightened, and she succumbed to the feeling she swore she'd never feel.

"This is--" she stopped, her eyes began to glisten with tears.

"I know how hard you looked for it, so I knew it meant more to you than you let on."

"I spent a day combing through the rocks and grass—I looked everywhere." She picked up the ring, pinching it between her fingers while she looked it over. It was definitely her lost ring, she knew each silver swirl that graced the filigree band like the back of her hand. She hastily tugged on the glove that dressed her left hand, removing it.

"Not everywhere." He smiled.

"Where was it?"

"In the pocket of the cloak I lent you that day."

She laughed while wiping the tears from her eyes, remembering she had placed it in one of his hidden cloak pockets for safe keeping before she went for a swim that day. Looking back on it, it seemed silly that they didn't think to check there.

"Thank you," she said slipping the ring on her finger.

She let out a soft sigh while she examined it on her hand. It felt as if a missing piece of her heart was returned, it was so relieving she almost forgot everything that was going on between Alexander and her.

When she was younger, she'd spin the emerald-stoned band around her finger and get lost in thought, day-dreaming of the person who'd left it behind for her to find. She had found it in the old tower that her good friend Anna and her had played in as children, hidden in one of the spots she would run to while fighting make-believe monsters with her friend. To this day, she could still recall how she felt when she found it, how the light reflected from its emerald crown causing the stone to glow ethereally, like it held magic.