Switched (11 page)

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You knew there was a chance that she might kill me?” I snapped and stood up. “You knew that I could die but you just left me? You didn’t care what happened to me at all!”

“Don’t be so melodramatic,” Elora rolled her eyes. “This is the way we live. It’s a very small risk, and it rarely happens. And you lived. No harm done.”

“No harm done?” I pulled up my shirt, showing her the scar that stretched across my belly. “I was six-years-old, and I had sixty stitches. You call that no harm done?”

“You’re being disgusting.” Elora stood up and waved me off. “That’s not at all how a Princess should behave.”

I wanted to protest, but nothing came out of my mouth. Her reaction left me feeling dazed and strange. I let my shirt fall back down on my belly, and Elora glided over to the window. She clasped her hands in front of her and stared outside. She never said a single word, but a minute later, Finn appeared in the doorway.

“You need something, Elora?” Finn did a small bow to her back, but she probably had ways of seeing him even when she wasn’t looking.

“Wendy is tired. Set her up in her room,” Elora commanded diffidently. “See that she has everything she needs.”

“Of course.” Finn looked at me. His dark eyes felt comforting, and even though I knew this was just his job, I felt relieved knowing he was there.

He left hastily, and I hurried after him. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trying to steady my nerves. I was reeling from everything, and I couldn’t make sense of how I really fit into it.

Elora was right, though. I probably did need to get cleaned up, and maybe if I slept on it, everything would seem better somehow. But I doubted it.

Finn led me up a winding staircase and down another elaborate hall. At the end, he opened a heavy wooden door, revealing what I assumed was my room. It was massive, with high-vaulted ceilings, and one entirely windowed wall that made it seem even larger.

A gigantic four post bed sat in the center, and everything was rather modernly furnished. A laptop, flat screen, gaming systems, iPod, and every other gadget I could possibly want. Finn opened the closet door, which was already stocked with clothing. He opened another door and flicked on the light, showing my own private bathroom that more closely resembled a spa.

“How do you know where everything is?” I asked. He seemed to know this house very well, and thinking about Finn helped calm me some.

“I stay here from time to time,” Finn replied nonchalantly.

“What? Why?” I felt a terrible pang of jealousy, terrified that he was somehow involved with Elora in a perverse fashion. He did seem to revere here more than I thought he should.

“Protection. Your mother is a very powerful woman, but she’s not all-powerful,” Finn explained vaguely. “Since I’m a tracker, I can get tuned into her. I can sense danger and aid her if it’s required.”

“Is it required?” At that moment, I didn’t particularly care if a band of raging marauders tried to do her in, but if there were frequent attacks on her “castle,” I thought I should know.

“I’ll help you get acclimated. Everybody knows this isn’t a perfect system. Rhys’s room is down the hall. My room, along with Elora’s, is on the other wing.” Finn ignored my question entirely.

I definitely felt better knowing he would be around. I didn’t think I could handle it all if I was left alone in this house with that woman. While clearly stunning and powerful, there wasn’t any warmth to her.

I hadn’t realized that I even wanted that until now. After all the years of rejecting Maggie and even Matt’s attempts at bonding, I hadn’t known how much I craved it.

“So…did you do this?” I gestured to my high tech room.

“No. Rhys decorated it.” Finn didn’t look that interested in any of the expensive gear I had lying about, so that made sense. “The clothes were all Willa, I believe. You’ll meet her later on.”

“Rhys isn’t my brother?” I asked again. I couldn’t figure out how he fit into all of this. We had only met briefly, but he had seemed nice and normal.

“No. He’s mänsklig,” Finn answered, as if I would understand.

“What does that mean?” I furrowed my brow at him.

“It means he’s not your brother,” Finn replied glibly and made a step towards the door. “Is there anything you need before I go?”

His abrupt decision to go made me disappointed, especially when I felt so isolated and confused, but I had no reason to keep him. Still hugging myself tightly, I shook my head and sat back on the bed. Instead of leaving, Finn paused and looked back at me.

“Are you going to be alright with all of this?” Finn asked, looking at me very seriously.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “This wasn’t at all what I had expected.” It was far grander and far worse than anything I had envisioned. “I just… I feel like I’m in the
Princess Diaries
, if Julie Andrews had been a thief.”

“Mmm,” Finn murmured knowingly and walked back over towards me. He sat on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I know this way of life is a hard concept for some.”

“They’re grifters, Finn.” I swallowed hard. “That’s all they are. I’m just a means to swindling money out of rich people. Joke’s on her, though. My family’s not that rich.”

“I can assure you that you are much more than that to her, much more,” Finn told me, looking at me intently. “Elora is a complicated woman, and showing emotion doesn’t come easy for her. But she is a good woman. Regardless of whether you have money or not, you will have a place here.”

“Do you know how much money they have?” I asked.

“Yes,” Finn said almost hesitantly. “Elora had me checking your finances while I tracked you.”

“How much?” I asked.

“Do you want to know your trust and what you stand to inherit, or your guardian and brother’s total wealth?” Finn had gone expressionless. “Do you want net worth? Liquid assets? Are you including real estate, like the house they still own in the Hamptons? Dollar amount?”

“I don’t really care,” I shook my head. “I was just… Elora was convinced that we really did have a lot of money, and I was just curious.”

“Yes. You really do have a lot of money,” Finn said. “More than even Elora had originally thought.” I nodded and looked at my feet. “You lived well below your means.”

“I think Maggie thought it would be better for me, and Matt and I never really cared that much about money.” I kept staring at my feet, and then finally I looked up at Finn. “They would give me anything. They would give me all of it if I asked. But I’m never taking any money from them, not for myself and certainly not for Elora. Make sure you tell her that when you go back to her.”

I had expected him to protest in some way, but Finn surprised me. His lips curled into the edge of a smile, and if anything, he looked almost proud of me. I was condemning their way of life, so I had thought he would defend it, but he approved of it.

“I will,” he promised with small smile. “But right now, you should shower. You’ll feel better after.”

Finn helped me settle into my room. My closet was massive and over-stocked, but he knew exactly where my pajamas were. He taught me how to close the blinds for my windows, which were run by remote control, and how to turn on my overly complicated shower. 

Once he left, I sat on the edge of the tub and tried not to let this all get to me. I was starting to think that Matt and Maggie might have been the only people that loved me for me, and now I was supposed to steal from them. Even if it wasn’t really stealing. I knew they would freely give me anything I asked for, and that hurt worse.

9. Homesick

When I came out of my shower, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, I was surprised to find Rhys sitting on my bed. He had my iPod, the one that had come with the room, and he was scrolling through it. I cleared my throat loudly, since he apparently hadn’t heard me exit the bathroom.

“Oh, hey!” Rhys set aside the iPod and got to his feet, grinning at me in a way that made his eyes sparkle. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to see how you were doing, how you liked it here.”

“I don’t know.” My hair had to be terrible mess, and I ran a finger through my wet tangles. “It’s too soon to tell yet.”

“You like the stuff?” Rhys asked, gesturing around the room. “I picked out everything that I liked, which I know sounds kind of vain. I asked for some input from Rhiannon, because she’s a girl, but it’s still so hard to pick out stuff for someone you’ve never met.”

“No, it all looks really good. You did a good job.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

“Oh sorry. You’re probably exhausted.” Rhys stood up. “Sorry. I just got done with school, and I didn’t have a chance to talk to you earlier. But… yeah. I’ll leave you be.”

“Wait. You just got done with school?” I furrowed my brow, trying to understand. “Does that mean you’re a tracker?”

“No.” It was his turn to look confused. “I’m mänks.” When he saw the perplexed look on my face, he corrected himself. “Sorry. It’s just short for mänsklig.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I demanded, growing exasperated.

“They’ll explain it to you later,” Rhys shrugged. “Anyway, I should let you wake up. If I’m not in my room, I’ll be downstairs, getting some food.”

“Are you happy here?” I blurted out before I could think about how rude that sounded. His eyes met mine, just for a second, revealing something more than that, but then he quickly dropped them.

“Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Rhys asked wryly. He ran his fingers along my silk sheets, staring at the bedspread intently. “I have everything a kid could want. Video games, cars, toys, money, clothes, servants…” He trailed off, but then a slow smile returned to his face and he looked up at me. “And now I have a Princess living across the hall from me. I’m ecstatic.”

“I’m not really a Princess,” I shook my head and tucked my hair behind my ears. “Not in the real sense of the word. I mean… I just got here.”

“You look like a Princess to me.” The way he smiled at me made me want to blush, so I looked down, unsure of what else to do.

“So what about you?” I kept my head down, but I raised my eyes up to meet his. The smile playing on my lips felt oddly flirtatious, but I didn’t mind it. “Are you some kind of Prince?”

“Hardly,” Rhys laughed. He ran a hand through his sandy hair, looking rather sheepish. “I should probably let you finish getting dressed. The chef is off tonight, so supper is on me.”

Rhys turned and walked down the hall, whistling a song I didn’t recognize. I shut my door, wishing I could understand this all better. I was a Trylle Princess to a grifter empire, and I had a mänsklig living across the hall from me, whatever the hell that meant.

I lived in this amazing stunning house with these cold, indifferent people, and the price of admission was stealing from the only people that cared about me. Sure, Finn was here, but he had made it perfectly clear that his only interest in me was business.

I went through my closet, looking for something to wear. Most of the clothes seemed too fancy for me. Not that I had grown up wearing rags or anything. In fact, if my mother… er, Kim hadn’t gone crazy and left, these would be exactly the kind of clothes I’d be expected to wear now. All high class fashion pieces. Eventually, I managed to dig up a simple skirt and shirt that resembled something I’d actually wear.

I was starving, so I decided to take Rhys up on his offer and head to the kitchen. The floors were cold tile under my feet, and strangely, I had yet so see any rugs or carpet in the entire house.

I had never been fond of the feel of carpet on my feet, or really the feel of anything on them. When I thought back to my closet, as large and full as it had been, there hadn’t been any shoes. It must be a Trylle thing, and that thought was oddly comforting. I was part of something.

The bottom of the stairs led directly into the entryway, but to the left, below the wing where I lived, was the living room. A fire place filled the partial wall separating it from an elegant dining room. The furniture appeared to be hand crafted wood and upholstered with white. In here, the floors were all smooth golden wood, and the colors were in earth tones. Everything was aimed towards the glass wall, forcing you to admire the view.

“Nice digs, right?” Rhys said, and I whirled around to find him standing behind me, smiling.

“Yeah.” I looked around the room appreciatively. “Elora definitely has good taste.”

“Yeah,” Rhys shrugged. “You gotta be hungry, though. Come on. I’ll whip you up something in the kitchen.” He started walking out of the room, and I followed him. “You’ll probably hate what I make, though. You’re into all that health food junk like everybody else, right?”

“I don’t know.” I had never thought of myself as a health nut, but the things I preferred tended to be organic and vegan. “I like natural things, I guess.”

He nodded knowingly as he led me past the ornate dining room into a massive kitchen. There were two professional grade stoves, two massive stainless-steel fridges, a gigantic island in the center, and more cupboards than they could possibly use. Rhys went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of water.

“Water, right?” Rhys held it out to me, and I took it from him. “I’m really not the best cook, but you’ll have to settle for my cooking. The chef is off today.”

“How often do you have a chef?” I asked. In a place like this, they definitely had some kind of staff.

“Part-time.” Rhys took a drink from his Mountain Dew, then set it on the island and went to the other fridge to start rooting around. “Just weekends, but that’s because it’s usually when we entertain. I don’t know what Elora eats during the week, but I’m on a fend-for-yourself basis.”

I leaned on the island, drinking my water. This kitchen reminded me of the one in our house in the Hamptons, the one Kim had attempted filicide in, but that one had been smaller. If she hadn’t left, this is probably how I would’ve been raised. In fact, I’m sure this is how she had been brought up.

Maggie easily could’ve lived like this. A beautiful house somewhere with a nanny raising Matt and me. She could’ve had the best cars, and paid off every school that tried to expel me. As it was, she had never really fought any of my punishments because she thought they were fair and I needed to learn something.