Flower. That bastard.
I wore a grin the whole way home.
Chapter Five
“Thatguywasatotal flirt,” I told Mother while washing the dishes. I had just strolled in moments before, struggling not to show amusement.
“Why do you sound annoyed by that?” Mother questioned as she wiped down our kitchen countertop with a damp rag. “I thought he was handsome—and my, was he sweet!”
I paused, soap dripping down my hands.
Yes. Yes, he was.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mildly fascinated by him. No one from the Inner Ring had ever shown us kindness, save for Gerald and Guinevere, and that was because we were of use to them. Everyone else looked at us like we were a total other species.
They wouldn’t be entirely incorrect about that.
“Well,” I said as I resumed my dish cleaning. “I guess he’s just not my type,” I lied.
Mother chuckled. “Please, I think he is everyone’s type.”
I gave her a raised brow. “Oh, really?”
She swatted me with the rag, and I chuckled softly. I then mentioned how we planned to hang out again, and through Mother’s excitement, I could tell she believed it was a date, despite me denying it. I purposely left out the training part.
The day went by quickly. After helping clean the disaster left in the kitchen after Mother’s frantic cooking, I went to tend the garden, the sun providing precious heat.
The rest of the afternoon was for my studies. Mother was willing to let me go to the public school in the Outer Ring, but we determined that it was less of a risk for me to be homeschooled…less of a chance to get close to anyone.
If I were different, I would want that. I saw kids my age walking from school most afternoons, hearing their chatter as if they had not a care in the world. I couldn’t imagine what that was like.
After dinner, my body was weary. I crawled into bed, trying my hardest not to think about Quill. His lazy smile was the last thing I thought of before I drifted to sleep.
I felt a cold presence over me, but I couldn’t move my body. I couldn’t even open my eyes. I just lay there, paralyzed.
Something was whispering, but it was so faint I couldn’t decipher it. I wanted to scream, ask it what it wanted, but I just lay there, hearing its soft murmur, unable to move a muscle.
My eyes flung upon, and sunlight had begun to shine through the gossamer curtains in my bedroom. I was covered in sweat.
What the hell was that last night? Surely a dream?
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and flung my quilt off me; the coinciding breeze felt terrific. Sitting on the edge of the stiff bed, I kept trying to recall what that voice was trying to say. It must have been a dream, but I always believed dreams had a deeper meaning. That presence was similar to what I felt in the forest yesterday.
I wonder if Quill had the same dream.
I ran my hand through my hair. My copper coils were more defined since I washed my hair last night.
I heard a knock on my door, and Mother scurried in, excitedly clenching her teeth.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense! What is it?”
She proceeded to tell me, while lightly bouncing up and down, that the Queen was visiting today. Had the news been about the King, that bouncing would be trembling. But Queen Ryia was as kind as they come. She came down last year and seeing her dazzling attire and hairstyle had left me both star-struck and annoyed.
Quickly, we got ourselves ready to avoid missing her appearance. Yet again, I did my signature half-up hairstyle and opted for my prettiest dress, if you could call it pretty. It was a deep navy blue, and its length almost reached the ground. My favorite part was the petal sleeves, but though the dress was lovely, it was a tad too large for me. I wore a black bustier over it, which gave a slightly more flattering look.
I met Mother in her room, where she was fussing over a piece of hair that was not cooperating. She huffed, slumped her arms down, and blew up on a stray piece of hair in front of her face. She turned to face me after noticing my presence and looked me up and down.
“You look beautiful, Lena.” She smiled with tears in her eyes. “You look so much…older than last we saw the Queen. Like a woman.”
