“Why must she go to live among them, father!,” the boy exploded in anger. “They are so, well, stupid! And ignorant, and weak. I hate those little mortals.” His dad only shook his head slowly.
“You know the responsibilities leaders have,” he chastised. “They must what is best for the people, and not merely themselves. As it is,” he added sternly, “You are not to mention your displeasure to the Queen. It would upset her unnecessarily.”
The boy ranted on, ignoring his father`s chastising. “Don`t they only grow to, like, 6 feet or something? I`d have to get on my stomach to talk face to face to her friends there. Those Mundanes are even smaller than baby griffins. I bet I could fit them all in my hand!” “And the boys are so much weaker. How is she going to be protected without any warriors? And how am I supposed to visit her when I can`t pass through the barrier yet?” he protested.
“Son, if you had applied yourself more in your studies you would be able to move through the barrier as easily and often as your little brother.” The boy blushed at this admonishment.
“Besides, you know that we only choose faeries for our consorts to balance out the powers in our world. It would cause a war to choose a Seelie court member, worse would be one of those devilish nymphs or an irresponsible vampire bride.” He paused. “Or even one of our own clan for that matter,” he added. “But that does not mean that we should allow our feelings and expectations to get in the way of the needs of our people. Your friend has an important job, and she must take care of it.”
“But we`re married,” the boy cut in desperately.
His father only shook his head in denial. “The joining of children can not be a permanent union,” he said. “We`ll remove that pesky mark off your hand someday. In the meantime, you must be patient. You`ll be allowed to pick her up in ten years or so. She`ll be perfectly happy without you until then,” he added. The boy stomped out of the room. It was clear that no changes were going to be made to the order of things at this point. But he had other plans.
He heard the ticking of the clock in his office, drawn back to the present by that small noise.
The memory came to him, swirling and haunting. With a scowl he stood up once more. The black fire consumed him, and he was gone back through the veil to Earth. A clock in the corner ticked on to its beat, steadily awaiting its master`s return.
Jackie sighed, long abandoned by Aeron to the room and still trapped there without the ability to leave herself. “It`s such a pity the transportation spell can only work so smoothly on the castor himself.” She looked askance at the man beside her. “You, however, have a lot more important things to explain right now,” she said, poking him in the chest. “Like what you really have up your sleeves. And none of this innocent victim nonsense, either,” she chastised.
He looked at her sheepishly. “I, uh, guess I kind of forgot to mention a thing or two to you,” he said.
She humphed. “Now is as good a time as any, so spill the beans.”
An unnoticed attendant walked by in the hall, gossiping with her friend. “He didn`t tell the lady Jaqueline that he hasn`t gone to sleep since her sister has gone missing,” she whispered. “How will he gain any more allies to his side when he is always stays quiet about all his good points?” Her friend saw the two still talking in the parlor, and dragged the other further down the hallway. “Outsiders never really understand anything,” she said. “That`s why there are some fans of that devil Richard,” she hissed. Jackie drifted towards the entrance and kept half her mind on the maids even while she nodded along to the excuses Richard gave her.
“But that`s part of his charm,” her friend sighed. “His always polite and gentlemanly, but you know if you dig a little under that cool veneer he`ll eat you alive.” She smiled dreamily. “I want him to eat me!”
“That`s why I`m team Aeron all the way,” the other returned. “He`s handsome and rugged, but he`ll tell you straight out if he`s annoying you. You’ll never worry he’ll be all smiles one day but kill you in your sleep. Even when he is angered he gives such lenient punishments considering his position.”
“Yes,” her friend hesitated. “But who`s got him so excited lately? He hasn`t been like this for a century or two!”
Jackie shuffled closer into the room again and continued to listen to Richard. He explained that he wanted more power, he wanted more recognition, more more more. She couldn’t help but see him as whining away at her, and her view of his charisma started to dim. Meanwhile she had to think about the glowing review of the servants and consider how much more reliable their support was than all the support of the back stabbing courtesans for the younger prince.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Warnings and Wariness
Jackie shook herself and interrupted his tirade to ask Richard to send her back to her job in Fayetteville. It was clear things were only going to get worse and she needed to get back to work regardless of how worried she was over her sister. She materialized in the far side of town and ended up striding over to Alyssa`s home. They ran into each other at the front gate, making a game up pushing through first. They both managed to push each other over and topple onto the ground. Giggling, Jackie extracted herself and stood up. “Want to go grab a cone at Bruster’s,” she asked, though she was obviously barely holding onto a composure that had worn to threads. Alyss took one good look at her, then patted her on the back.
“You seem
