Darkness and Beauty (The Fated Series, #1)

Chapter 27 - Fauna - A Lullaby Or Two

I can't believe it. I'm such a dammed idiot! I keep trying to wrap my head around it. Father would've told us if he set this all up. Right? And why would he need us here? Why would Will need us here?
"Uh, Clarice." I look to Darius finding his face red. I scan him for any signs of injury but find none. "You're kind of strangling my arm."
"Shit. Sorry." I let go of his wrist trying to calm myself down. Saints know I'm not pleasant when I'm all worked up.
We walk through the doors of the Queen's chambers, finding her and my brother once again sitting on the low couches. I want to grab the Queen and shake her until she tells me who told her of our code, but I doubt I'll get within two steps before Lance tackles me. Ten gold coins say he'll be thinking the same thing once I tell him.

*****

I win.
Not five seconds after telling Lance about the code, his head snapped to the Queen who's still sitting in the front room, Darius keeping her company. He took a step in her direction and I had to pull on his ear to keep him from doing something stupid. It's a good thing I pulled us into the sitting room or else the Queen would be having her baby now due to the stress and anxiety we cause her. Not possible, I know, but still.
"Father would've told us."
"Would he?" He gives me a defiant look. "Think about it."
"It doesn't add up, Fey. What reason could father have for two-hand shoving us into the castle?"
"I don't know. Hence why I believe Will was the one to do it."
He falls into silence, his foot tapping a quick beat of impatience. We both look to the royals lounging around, not a clue as to what the effects of the news have. If it's my father, than it's an easier situation to handle. If it's Will, then we need to have a serious conversation with the King and his security measures. Not to mention we'll need to question each and every servant personally.
"You want to take this one? Or should I?" Lance asks quietly.
"We could pull a fire and water." His eyes say no, but his mind says yes.
"I'll do it. Just-"
"Make sure to put out your fire?"
"Brat."
"Prick."
We walk back to Darius and the Queen who both give us concerning looks.
Lance asks the questions as agreed, his voice not even raising a hair. No, our father didn't approach her first. Yes, her servant was the one to deliver the message. No, the girl would never have betrayed the Queen. No, she doesn't know who sent the message. The message was written in her servant's handwriting but she insisted that she heard it while walking in the town. Highly unlikely. All the answers pointed to the servant who had no real, true answer for the message. She, it seems, will be getting a lovely visit from us soon. If she hasn't made a run for it already. Or been killed.
Darius soothed his mother throughout the whole thing. Kept telling her that we wouldn't hurt the young girl, we only wanted answers. It went on for about an hour before Lance and I were satisfied enough to put some of the pieces together. We can't get all the answers, but the closer we get, the better chance we have of making it out of this alive.
The Queen tries to convince Darius to stay and skip his lessons, but he insists on going and promises to return afterward. I don't know why he'd want to go considering how much he likes to whine and complain about them, but he's been acting strange since his first nightmare. Or, stranger. I picked up on his anxiety on the second day after it happened, and on the third I noticed the small flinches or unusual reactions he'd have whenever I'd touch him. For a few days I kept out of his reach, making sure not to touch him or keep enough distance between us so we wouldn't accidentally brush up against each other, but after a while I knew that he'd never get over it if he didn't try to work through it. It's why I took my brother's stupid advice and offered him a hug this morning. He needed to understand that he wouldn't hurt me, and he needed to know that I trusted him enough to be that close to him without fear of what could happen.
The hug wasn't...bad. I mean it was weird being the only one hugging without him hugging me back for a fat minute, but then his arms went around me and I...I don't know. I didn't really know what else to do so I just stayed there. And then I felt him shake a little, as if the realization had finally hit him and it released whatever it was that had him so tense all the time. That made me feel like crying for a second. Knowing that he didn't trust himself to touch me without hurting me, and then finally doing so and being relieved that I was okay, and he was okay, and the Underworld didn't come spouting up from beneath our feet. It hurt to know that he was stuffing it all inside, but it seemed the hug helped. He doesn't seem so...distant anymore.
I can tell The Dozen have noticed too, and their shoulders have slackened with their own relief .
We go to the library, finding Aracely surprisingly calm. She says she's coming down with something and isn't in the mood to throw her chancla at us for being late. I doubt a sickness would stop her, but I don't argue. I leave Darius to his lessons and take my designated seat in the corner. Since his nightmares I've moved the table and chair that was outside the room inside to keep an eye on Darius. And when I say an eye, I really mean half of an ear. You can't very well read and watch someone at the same time. So instead, I faintly listen to his awful Avyanan and try not to cringe when he uses the wrong words or tense.
I'm just getting to the juicy part of the book when Darius's finger pops up over the edge of the book and pulls it away from my face. "Time to go, Waterlily."
Thanks to the glorious book, I'm in too good of a mood to argue and slam my book shut with a thunk, already looking forward to tomorrow just so I can get back to reading. I could bring the book with me, but I'd rather not have Darius rummaging through it and judging me based on the things I read.
The lovely nickname in which he so graciously calls me, surprisingly, doesn't bother me. I've been called many things, attained many nicknames throughout my years of living, so it's not weird. If I'm honest, the name does make me strangely...happy - in a non-romantic way. Every name I've been called has been to either tear me down or make my shell tougher. Even the small ones Lance calls me are to push my buttons. Being called something that is meant to make me feel better rather than to beat me up...I haven't had that in years.
I take Darius's arm, a sudden skip in my step making me feel like I can run for miles on end. I'd blame it on my monthly cycle, but that just passed again.
Books really do wonders. They're educational, downright beautiful, and when it comes down to it, they're damn good weapons. If you're in a library and you're being chased, all you have to do is grab some hardcover books and chuck it at your idiot of an attacker. Problem solved.
"Are you alright?" Darius asks as we walk through the halls.
"I'm fine. Why?"
"Because a while ago you were close to punching a pillar, and now you're practically floating in the clouds."
"I'm just...I don't know." I shrug a light shoulder and glance back at the spiraling library. "Books make me happy."
He smiles that soft, secretive smile of his that makes my stomach feel warm, and I smile right back. "Well, I'm glad to see that it's not just killing that has that effect on you."
I give him a hard glare, but no matter what he does I can't seem to get rid of the light feeling. It's rare that I feel like this, and most of the time it's right before-
A bright and high-pitched laugh comes from behind us. I know that voice, and I know now why I'm having an adrenaline rush.
Elea-snore.
We all turn to the sound, The Dozen all moving their hands within easy reach of their weapons. Eleanor is in a tight and revealing yellow gown, her hair falling just over her breasts in small curls. Talk about a costume change and a persistence to annoy the shit out of us two times in one day. She's pretty, but I've seen better in a broken mirror.
At her side is Charles who's actually looking...happy.
Oh no. Oh nononono...no. Eleanor and Charles? Together? Forget what I said earlier, I think I'm going to hurl. I'm not kidding, my stomach really does feel like it's doing flips after chugging a barrel of kidzra. I can feel my eyes start to water and I have to put my hand over my mouth to keep me from gaging. Good Gods.
Darius notices my disembowelment and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. It's just that picturing those two separately makes me sick, but together..." I mimic a gagging noise, making sure to keep it quiet enough so they don't hear.
Alister behind us snorts but quickly bites the inside of his lip to keep himself from laughing. Darius pointedly rolls his eyes before pulling my hand from my mouth and keeping it tucked within his own. Damn prick won't let me have my fun - and I hate how small my hand feels in his. I hadn't noticed before, but mine look like newborns when he's holding them. An annoying fact I wish I could fix.
Eleanor and Charles approach us, The Dozen not moving to let them through. Makes me want to laugh maniacally.
"Glad to see you two happy and enjoying each other's company," Darius says by way of greeting.
"Never a dull moment with this one," Eleanor replies with a toothy grin.
"Well, I'm equally grateful for your company, Eleanor." Darius and I watch as they stare into each other's eyes.
Who's making lovey-dovey eyes now, asshole?
"Well..." Darius breaks the silence. He looks like he might hurl now. "I'm happy for your happiness, but if you'll excuse us, we're off to join my mother for dinner."
It's weird hearing him switch from lazy to formal talk. One second he's cursing or telling me to fuck off, the next he's drinking tea with his pinkie in the air like it's reaching for more sugar. He kicked me in the shin when I mimicked him and then gave myself an annoying accent to further annoy him yesterday.
"She hates to be kept waiting," I add with a massively wide grin of my own. It's hurting my face.
"Well with Darius's tendency to be late, I can see why," Charles retorts in a formal snide. I squeeze Darius's arm a little, begging him to let me kick Charles into next year.
"I'd hate to impose," Eleanor says taking a step closer. My eyes pin on her hands, waiting for the knife. "But do you think your mother would mind if we tag along?"
Yes. She would loath it entirely if your presumptuous ass-
"Why of course not, my dear." An all too familiar voice comes from behind us.
Why is everyone coming up behind us!
We all turn, finding the Queen and my brother already halfway through the hall. That little weed knew very well that the Queen could hear us. Well played, Eleanor. Stupid to piss me off, but well played. I see Charles and Eleanor bow and curtsy as she approaches out of the corner of my eye. Remembering my persona, I fall into a low curtsy myself. She better not get used to that.
"Mother," Darius greets as I rise on stable legs. Those tower stairs pay off let me tell ya. "I pray you haven't been out long with you being so near your expectant date."
"Oh hush your fussing, I was only up to speak to your father." she shares. She stops beside him and The Dozen instantly move aside.
I catch Eleanor's slight scrunch of her nose.
Darius doesn't look too happy about his mother's recent activity, so I make quick eye contact with Lance and find that nothing out of the ordinary happened. If he found out something even remotely relevant, he'd have this stone-hard look in his eyes. Now his eyes are soft, but they harden slightly when he looks to Eleanor.
When I told my father and Lance about that night at the party, Lance's mouth hit the floor and my father was surprisingly calm about it. I tried asking him if there was any chance that she could've been there that night mother died, but he simply said all our assailants were killed and burned. I gently pointed out that not everyone could've been dealt with, but he waved it off with a scowl to his desk and turned to the next subject. Though he did tell us to look into it and keep an eye on her. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from commenting on that last part. I don't want to even want to see her blurry figure from across the kingdom.
She looks harmless now, but then again so do I. I'm tempted to punch her on a daily basis just to see what she'll do. Not dressed like this or using this alias, of course. No, I'd dress in my suit, sly foot my way into her room, and sock her before slipping back out and returning the next night. I've got about six other options to choose from in my back pocket if I ditch that one. No doubt Lance has a few as well. My father definitely already has five mapped out and waiting on his desk to be put into action.
Forcing myself to stop staring at her, I focus on the Queen and my brother.
"Of course you can join, Eleanor," Claritia states happily. I don't think I've ever wanted to hit the Queen before. "In fact, I believe tonight is the night in which Lily promised a song after dinner."
I definitely want to hit the Queen.
On the upside, the hormone levels haven't yet messed with her memory. Downside? The hormone levels haven't yet messed with her memory. I was really hoping that she'd forget by now. I know I made a deal with Lance to play the piano to help get over mom, but I really don't want to do it. Maybe if I start off with something easy. Like my father's favorite song. Drink 'Tis This My Friends.
Rather than punch a pregnant woman, I give her my best fake smile and dip my chin. "I never go back on my promises, my Queen."
"Wonderful! Now let's get moving before the meat grows cold."