His mother was in the kitchen dressed in a diaphanous gown of periwinkle silk. Her hair spilled down her back, missing a lot of the frizz it had the first time I'd seen her. She wore a crown of tiny yellow flowers and was busy at the sink washing even more flowers when we stepped in.
"Oh!" she said when she saw us. "I must have lost track of time. Go wash up. Cassidy, I laid out an outfit on your bed. Make sure you put everything on." Her voice brooked no arguments. "When you're finished, come right back out. We need to make sure we get this done before 6 p.m. tonight. Right now we're in the perfect moon phase for it, but it ends soon. We need all the fortune we can get shining down on us for this. I've been trying to pinpoint the location the portal will open, but I can't get it as close as I would like." She frowned. "What I can tell you is that you'll be within three miles of the castle."
"What about my mother?"
Honey shook her head. "I'm sorry, honey. I can only assume she's protected herself against scrying. I wasn't able to locate her by any means. When you get there, try using your magic. Only a little bit. Like calls to like and she might sense you. If she doesn't come soon, I'd start heading directly to the castle." She shooed us away. "Go get ready. Come back as soon as you wash and change." Her gaze landed upon her son. "You're welcome to participate, but you'll have to stay out of my way as best you can. Understand?"
Archer swallowed audibly before he nodded.
"Good, now go away. Come back when I can't smell the chocolate on your breath."
I felt my stomach drop like a stone. Archer blinked a couple of times. "Do I need to bother lying?" he asked sheepishly.
"Nope," his mother said. "You're addicted to those milkshakes. Now scram before I tell your father all about the adventure you two had today."
Archer grabbed my hand and rushed me out of the kitchen.
We started laughing like hyenas after just a few steps. I collapsed against my bedroom door, holding my stomach. "How did she know?" I gasped out.
"It's like that woman is the matrix. Eyes everywhere. I can rarely get away with anything around here."
"Except in your dreams," I said quietly.
His eyes met mine. "Yes. In my dreams." Archer stepped closer to me, close enough to brush a lock of hair from my shoulder. "Cassidy -"
The sound of a throat clearing made us both freeze.
"Am I interrupting something?" Dax drawled.
Regret flashed in Archer's eyes. "Nothing at all, Dad. We'll be right out."
I kept my head down, turned, and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I leaned against it, my breath coming out in a forceful whoosh. Was he about to kiss me? Because it so felt like it. A happy, dumb grin broke out over my face, but it fell away as soon as I realized what was going to happen within the next little while.
That kiss was never going to come. I was leaving Archer. I was leaving his family, my school, the kind of sort of friends I made, and any future friends I might have made.
I was going home to try to pretend I had any idea of what it was to be a queen. I dragged my feet over to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. My wide blue eyes were too bright. My pale yellow hair too crazy. The blue streak had already faded quite a bit just in the few days I'd been here. My cheeks were red with exertion and hormones. I looked... insane. Like I'd just been involved in a crime or something.
I flipped on the cold water, soaked a rag, and wet it. Squeezing it out as well as I could, I shook out the rest of the water and scrubbed my face and the feeling that I would have very much liked for Archer to have kissed me.
"Stupid," I whimpered. "Stupid to think you could have this." I covered my face with my hands and let out a long groan instead of the scream I really wanted to.
I threw down the rag and grabbed a towel to dry off. With a deep sigh, I turned away from the mirror and looked over to see what Honey had left me.
I gasped as I got closer to it. A pair of brown leather pants, and a white flowy shirt with a forest green leather vest lay across my quilt. At the foot of the bed lay a knee-high pair of boots. I reached out to touch them surprised to feel they felt like the softest butter. "Oh," I exclaimed softly. "Amazing." I wondered how Honey knew my size, but I suppose it wasn't too hard to guess. I hadn't been here for very long, but I could tell I'd put on a few pounds. I was still thin as a rail, though, with puny upper body strength and not much endurance. Starving for so long took its toll on my health. My aunt only fed me when I pleased her, but even when I made her happy she still never fed me enough.
I slid out of the old, holy blue jeans and flannel I'd worn today and put on the new clothes. They felt supple and high quality, and I was surprised at how well I could move in them. I caught a glance of myself in the bathroom mirror and couldn't help the smile that crossed my face. I looked different. More confident. More like a child of Resendra. A soft knock came on the bedroom door and my stomach lurched. I wasn't ready for Archer to see me like this.
"Yes?" I called out.
"It's me," Honey called. "I have one more thing for you. I almost forgot about it."
I opened the door and let her in. She held a quiver the same forest green of my vest filled to the brim with arrows and a small burnished mahogany bow. I gasped in surprise when I saw it.
"This is beautiful," I whispered as she held it out to me. "But I don't know how to use it."
"This was your mother's. There were few people who could out hunt her. She left it with me when she left the village, and told me one day I'd have the opportunity to pass it on."
"Did you know my mother didn't belong in the village?"
Honey smiled at that. "We all did," she said softly. "There was something too regal about her. The family she was living with never quite knew what to do with her. None of us did. But she was my friend and I loved her. Even though I knew she wasn't telling me everything."
"How did you find out?"
"Years later, I traveled to a large merchant's festival to sell the brooms I used to make. I saw a wanted sign tacked onto a tree outside the town. As soon as I looked at it, I knew it was your mother." She chuckled then. "She'd somehow managed to give them the slip all those years ago and they still couldn't catch her."
"Sounds like her," I said.
"She was fierce and wild, like the ocean. You couldn't tame her, but if she gave you the gift of her love, it felt like the clouds had opened up and the sun was shining on you."
That was exactly how I felt every time she smiled at me. "I'm glad you loved her."
"I still consider her the best friend I've ever had." She reached over to stroke my hair. "It's a blessing and a joy for me to meet her daughter and send you home to her."
She put the quiver over my head and adjusted it so it lay comfortably across my back. "Take care of this. You might not need to use it. Sometimes just seeing someone armed is enough to make people stay away. But if you do, just do your best and point and shoot. Allow your magic to guide it if you can." She touched my cheek. "Come on out when you're ready. Everything is prepared."
I nodded at her. Honey let herself out and I took a moment to ogle the bow in my hand. I wasn't sure where to put it, but I found a clip at the side of my waist with a fastener. I hooked it there and figured if it were wrong, Honey would fix it for me when I walked out.
I decided to make the bed and pick up the bathroom. Before I stepped out, I grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote Honey and Dax a quick thank you note which I left on the pillow. I also wrote Archer a note that I folded and stuck in my pocket. I would try to give it to him before I left, but if not... well, it was okay. I knew with parents like Dax and Honey he would have a good life.
I stuffed the meager belongings I'd brought from my aunt's house into my pack and slung it over the shoulder without the quiver.
It was time to go.
