Finding Eden (19 page)

I stretch in bed. It's
still early in the day and I hear a few birds chirping outside of my
window. There's a loud thumping noise on my door and before I can
answer, the door is thrown open and Tobi comes crashing into my room.

“
You're up! You're
up! You're up!” Tobi screams as he runs into the room, jumping
happily onto my bed and almost kneeing me in the process.

“
Oi, Tobi, you're
going to kill me one of these days by jumping on me like this.”

“
No I won't,”
he says, “you're strong.”

I laugh at his optimism
and ruffle his hair.

“
I'm not that
strong.”

“
Yes you are.”

“
Why do you say
that?” I ask.

“
Because you saved
me when no one else was able to,” he says, “so you're
stronger than everyone!”

I chuckle at his
obviously infallible logic. I hope I can be this optimistic.

“
Plus,” he
says, “You can make people feel happy, or sad, or angry
whenever you want! That's pretty cool.”

There's a timid knock on
my door and I look up. Tobi's teacher, Avaria, slowly walks in.

“
Oh! My Queen! I'm
so sorry he's come in here again,” she says, bowing slightly,
“I'll try to keep him from disturbing you.”

“
Don't worry about
it,” I say, “he doesn't bother me.”

I ruffle Tobi's hair
again as he slides off my bed and bounds up to Avaria. She smiles
meekly at me and excuses them both from the room. My smile fades as I
stare at my feet, wondering when I was going to be able to get my
powers under control. At least the colors don't overwhelm me anymore
and really only show if I concentrate on it.

I sigh as I climb out of
bed and try not to trip over myself while walking to my bathroom as
my fists rub sleep from my eyes. I draw the hot water into the bath,
rub my temples, and slip into the water dreading the paperwork that I
know that's waiting for me.

I've been queen for
little over two months and so far, aside from meeting my family and
the whole thing with Tobi, it's been relatively uneventful (save for
the war) and full of paperwork. I slink water up my arms and watch it
drip back into the tub.

Am I doing everything
alright? Gods, I hope I am.

I quickly wash my hair,
scrub down my arms and legs and get out of the tub before I shirk any
of my duties off. Even if there is a war, there still a city to run
and it's my job to do it. I dress as simply and as quickly as I can.
I'm about to step out the door when I realize I've forgotten
something. I sigh, reach over, and plunk the familiar weight on top
of my head.

There is barely anyone in
the hallway, which I'm immeasurably glad for. I don't particularly
feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Turning the corner though,
I have no choice. There is someone walking toward me.

I look around and try to
see if there is an escape, but there isn't. Awesome. I sigh and start
walking down the hall again, hoping that I wouldn't be stopped for
too long. But halfway down the hall I see it's someone that I
wouldn't mind being interrupted by.

“
Hello my lady,”
Marius bows, “how are you doing this morning?”

“
I'm doing well,”
I say, “just dreading the pile of paperwork that I know is
waiting for me.”

He smiles knowingly at
me, “I don't think anyone really looks forward to paperwork.”

“
If someone did
then those people are insane. I just wish there was some way I could
put off actually doing it.”

As if I had magically
called upon it, my stomach growls. My face burns with embarrassment.

“
Okay, I swear I
didn't know that was going to happen.”

Marius chuckles and
motions for me to follow him. He and I have been bumping into each
other a lot after that first meeting. At first it was a little
awkward, but the more we saw each other, the conversations came
easier. Now I've come to see him as a friend. A very charming blue
eyed friend.

“
So,” I say
after a few minutes of walking in silence, “are you planning on
telling me where you're taking me or are you kidnapping me?”

“
Kidnapping implies
that I'm taking you against your will,” he says, “and I'm
pretty sure you'd like some food.”

“
Ah, you're right.
I promise not to press charges.”

“
Besides,”
Marius says, “I don't think I'd ever want to kidnap you, and
even if I did, I wouldn't be able to get away with it.”

“
Yeah. I am the
queen.”

“
Not that,”
he shakes his head, “you're very – what's the word –
protected?”

He leads me through a
series of doors and hallways until we come to a stop at a very
nondescript door. He motions for me not to make a sound as he
silently opens it and motions for me to walk in. I throw a
questioning glance at him as I walk in front of him, attempting to
look regal while sneaking around my own castle and trying to be quiet
in this not-so-sneaky attire.

“
Where are we?”
I ask.

He's closed the door and
the room is pitch black. I blink in an attempt to make my eyes see
any light, but it's no use. Marius brushes against my arm and I
twitch away from him, surprised more than anything by the contact. No
one had dared to touch me since I had arrived, accept for Sahariel. I
forgot what it was like.

“
Sorry,” he
mumbles.

He moves around me and I
know exactly where he is even though I can't see him. He is one of my
subjects and I can feel his loyalty to me like a string of blue yarn
connecting him to my heart. I know this man will never betray me and
that knowledge makes me smile.

“
Okay,” he
says, “close your eyes.”

I give his aura a weird
look and close my eyes. Behind my eyelids I can see that a light has
come on in the room. Marius comes closer to me, but I still jump when
his hands land on my shoulders and start guiding me somewhere.

“
Can I open my eyes
now?” I ask once he's pushed me down into a seat of some sort.

“
Sure can.”
So I do.

We are in a small room
and I'm seated on a couch with a low coffee table in front of me. On
the other side of the room there is an archway, but the next room is
dark, so I can't see where it leads.

“
I thought you were
bringing me to food,” I say.

Marius chuckles. It's a
nice sound. The blue around him swirls with yellow, pink and violet.
He's a very nice man and I can tell that just from concentrating on
his aura. He walks around the small space, pulling containers from
random areas and I have no idea what he's doing. He sets the
containers on the table then walks to the next room. When he comes
back he sets a plate in front of me and one across from me.

“
Are you ready for
the ultimate meal experience?”

I laugh and say yes.

He pops open the
containers and spoons food onto my plate. After mine is full, he does
the same to his and sits down across from me. I stab something that
looks oddly like a potato, but probably isn't, and pop it into my
mouth. There's an explosion of what tastes like butter and garlic on
my tongue and I can help but smile.

I look across the table
at him and take in his raven black hair as he looks across the table
at me with his dark, sapphire blue eyes. He's really cute, and I
can't help it when my face flushes when he looks up at me.

“
How's everything?”

“
Delicious,”
I gush, “but that could be because I'm starved.”

“
True,” he
says, “very true.”

After a few minutes of
silence and me trying not to stare at him I decide to ask a question
that's been nagging at me.

“
How old are you?”

Marius almost chokes on
his food after the question bursts out of my mouth. He wipes his
mouth and looks at me with wide eyes.

“
That's a bit
personal, don't you think?”

“
Not particularly.
Everyone knows how old I am. You don't look that old, but I've
learned that looks can be deceiving.”

“
That's a wise
thing to think. But do you really want to know exactly how old I am?”

I stare at him for a
moment, contemplating whether or not I really want to know the
answer. But my curiosity wins.

“
Yes, I do.”

“
Well,” he
says, “let me think. I was born around when the television was
invented.”

“
You were born when
the television was invented?”

“
Too old?”

I sputter, “No, no.
Not too old I suppose.”

Marius laughs.

“
You know Sahariel
is older, right?”

“
What do you mean?”

“
He hasn't told you
how old he is?”

“
No.”

“
I believe he was
in his mid-twenties during the Victorian era.”

My fork drops from my
fingers and clangs on the plate. In my mind I immediately picture
Sahariel in a luxurious, high-end pin-striped suit. And coat tails.
And maybe even a monocle. And that's when I lose it. I start laughing
and Marius looks at me like I'm a crazy woman.

“
Sorry,” I
say, wiping tears from my eyes, “I was just picturing Sahariel
with coat tails and a monocle.”

“
Well, I do suppose
that would be a funny image.”

There's a loud noise
outside of the door, like someone is shouting. A few moments later a
knock sounds on the door.

“
I'll get that,”
he says to me, then a little louder, “One moment.”

He walks over to the door
and opens it. There is a guard on the other side with a worried
expression on his face.

“
Marius, have you
seen her? She was due in her office over an hour ago. We can't find
her anywhere.”

“
Find who?”

“
The Queen.”

“
Oh,” he
says, “I might have seen her.”

“
Where?”

“
Right here,”
Marius opens the door wider.

The guard peers inside
the room and I wave at him. I watch as the worry washes away and
relief floods his features.

“
My lady, I wish
you would have told someone where you were. We've been looking
everywhere for you for the last hour.”

“
That's my fault,”
Marius says, “I kidnapped her and brought her here to over-feed
her.”

I barely cover a laugh as
the guard looks horrified when Marius mentions kidnapping. Marius
chuckles but apologizes to the man. I stand up and excuse myself.

“
Oh, no, my lady,
you don't have to leave,” the guard says, waving his hands in
front of himself, “we were just very worried about you.”

“
No, it's fine,”
I say, “I was just leaving anyway. That paperwork on my desk
won't do itself now will it?”

Marius smiles at me and I
smile back, enjoying the simple exchange. I can feel my skin sort of
tingle when he looks at me. I look down at the floor shyly. I excuse
myself quietly and leave the room, the guard closing the door as I
leave the room. I can feel Marius' eyes on me, and it makes me feel
giddy, but I also feel bad.

“
There you are!”

I turn around and I see
Kal running up to me. He was worried about me, which makes me feel
even worse about leaving without informing him.

“
How's Lelaine?”
I ask.

“
She's good,”
he says, “and don't change the subject. If you do that again
Sahariel will have my head.”

I frown and feel even
worse. Why did he have to bring Sahariel up? Why did I have to get
these feelings around Marius? Don't I like Sahariel? Like,
really
like him? Stupid tingly sensation.

I rub my face with the
palm of my hands and try not to show my frustration.