The Amulet (28 page)

The crowd stood in silence as the three of
them walked towards the enormous entrance to the castle. The plants
in the courtyard were budding again, and fresh new shoots of life
were replacing the brown wilted flowers.

The doors opened without Faen rapping on them
this time. They walked through and headed towards the Great Hall.
As they entered the Great Hall, the volume was deafening. It was
still full of people, and their cheers upon seeing the three almost
raised the rafters. The king stood waiting for them at the end of
the room with a warm smile on his face.

Faedra followed etiquette as best she could
before handing him the Book of Anohs. He bowed his head to Faedra
as he took it; the room went silent.

“Our realms owe you all a debt of gratitude,”
he spoke clearly and proudly so that everyone in the hall could
hear. “But for now, I hope you will accept a ball in your honor, to
be held this evening.”

Whispers resonated around the Great Hall,
then the king addressed the crowd.

“Tonight I hold a ball, a celebration of
life,” he stated in his commanding voice. “Everyone is
invited.”

The volume increased to deafening again, then
the king made a gesture with his hands and the crowd fell silent
once more.

“Your Majesty,” Faen spoke with caution.
“There is something more.”

The king nodded and gestured for them to
retire to the library room. Once there, he sat behind his desk and
rested his elbows on the rich mahogany, touching his fingers
together.

“Your Majesty, it is about Vivianna,” Faen
continued.

The king took a deep breath. “She did this,
didn’t she?” he asked with a heavy heart. Faedra and Jocelyn looked
at each other, eyes wide.

“Yes, Sire, how did you know?”

“I had my suspicions, but I tried to deny
them. She is my daughter, after all,” he hung his head. “Where is
she now?”

“We do not know, Sire. She had the ruby
staff,” Faen answered.

The king’s head shot up and he narrowed his
eyes. “Where would she have gotten the ruby staff? I thought it had
been destroyed.”

“I cannot answer that, Sire,” Faen bowed his
head.

“Well, there is nothing we can do about it at
this moment,” he looked at all three intently. “You have done well.
Our realms will be eternally grateful to you all. Unfortunately,
Faedra, your realm will never know how you saved them. I am afraid
most of your kind do not have minds open enough to absorb or
believe what happened, so it is best they never know. Well, you had
better go and prepare for the ball,” he clapped his hands, and the
two fairies that helped them the day before appeared again.

Faen and Jocelyn turned to follow the fairies
who were heading for the door.

“Hold on a moment,” Faedra piped up. She had
some questions and thought she deserved some answers. After all,
his daughter had just got through trying to make mincemeat out of
her. She had some for Faen, too; he was not getting off lightly,
either. She wanted to know what Vivianna had called her that made
Jocelyn and Faen exchange such surprised glances.

Faen could sense the king needed time to
absorb the news about Vivianna, and now would not be the right time
to be asking him questions. He took hold of Faedra’s hand and
started to pull her with him. When she gave him a questioning look,
he subtly shook his head.

“But…” she replaced the questioning look with
one of annoyance.

“Not now, Faedra,” he whispered, and looked
with concern at the king.

Faedra looked at the king, too. He was
holding his head in his hands and was in obvious distress. She
conceded that maybe now wasn’t the right time to start firing
questions at him. It could wait until tomorrow, but she would get
some answers, of that she was determined.

“I’ve got some for you, too,” she warned Faen
as they followed the fairies through the castle.

“I am sure you do,” he replied stoically, but
at that point he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to answer the
one he knew without a doubt she would ask. He was, therefore,
relieved when she didn’t say anything else; they walked in silence
for the rest of the way to their rooms.

Faedra decided her questions could wait until
the next day. She had to admit, she was getting excited about being
the guest of honor at a fae ball.

The fairies escorted them up to the same
rooms they had been given before, and they left them after
announcing that if they needed anything to let them know.

“Faen,” Faedra whispered with a tinge of
embarrassment. “I have no clothes to wear to a ball.” She opened
her arms and looked down at her filthy, torn clothing that was
still slightly damp from the downpour she had created just a short
while ago in her world. Even if they were clean, jeans were
definitely not suitable attire for a fae ball. She knew Faen and
Jocelyn could just magic themselves a wardrobe at the flick of a
wrist.

“Do not worry, Faedra. I have a feeling the
king would have thought of that,” he gave her a warm smile.

Faedra’s eyes widened with excitement. “See
you later then,” she said as she ran into her room and made a
beeline for the bed.

Faen raised his eyes heavenward and shook his
head, a big smile curving his lips as he headed to his room.

“Oh, wow, it’s beautiful,” Faedra gasped as
she picked up the dress that had been laid out for her on the bed
and held it out in front of her.

The dress was made of luscious silk damask in
the most beautiful color of green Faedra had ever seen. The pattern
woven into the fabric shimmered as she moved it under the light.
The dress was full length. The bodice was laced in the front and
had a square neckline with a panel of gold silk running down the
front to the floor. The bodice nipped in at the waist, and the
dress fell from there into a full, flowing skirt that was heavily
petticoated. The sleeves were long and wide, shaped into a point
that hung down from the wrists. Faedra held it up to her and ran to
the mirror. She admired the dress for a moment twisting from side
to side, causing the skirt to rustle as it swung with her
movement.

She returned the dress to the bed, making
extra care to lay it out neatly so that it didn’t wrinkle. She
looked on the floor beside the bed to find a pair of silk slippers
that matched the color of the dress to perfection and were trimmed
with gold braid. At first glance, Faedra thought she saw what
looked like a tiara, beside the dress. But when she picked it up to
examine it, it was the wrong shape to fit on top of her head. She
considered it carefully for a while, not quite sure where it should
go.

It was beautiful, a band of delicate gold
with a filigree pattern, which was open at the back and curved into
a ‘v’ in the center from which a delicate gold pendant hung in a
design that she recognized instantly. It was the same design as the
center of Faen’s talisman that hung around his neck.

She stared at it in awe for a moment, and
then it occurred to her where she would wear it. This piece of
jewelry was to be worn on her forehead. She replaced it carefully
on the bed next to the dress.

Faedra peeled out of her dirty torn clothes,
folded them up and laid them on the chair. She was not looking
forward to having to put them back on in the morning. A bath was
waiting for her, just as before. She soaked in its soothing hot
water for a while before getting ready for the ball. She was
astounded by what had been laid out for her. Beneath the mirror,
was an array of things she may need. There were clips and pins for
her hair. The exact shades and types of makeup she used, and the
brushes to apply them with.

“How do they know all this stuff?” she
whispered to herself as she happily went about her usual routine of
applying her makeup. She decided to pile her thick, curly red hair
high on her head. Leaving the odd tendril to fall around her face
and neck, which left her ‘fairy’ birthmark proudly on display. The
dress and slippers fit her perfectly; she had no doubt that they
would. She checked her appearance in the full-length mirror, and it
surprised even her.

She chuckled at the corniness of it; she
looked nothing short of a fairy princess.

“Finishing touch,” she told herself as she
picked up the piece of jewelry off the bed and walked over to the
mirror. She slid it onto her forehead, the ends nestled securely in
her hair, and it rested comfortably above her eyebrows.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she called and turned just as Faen
entered.

He stopped dead upon seeing her, and she
heard a definite catch in his breath. He had exactly the same
affect on her. They stared at each other for a moment in
silence.

He was wearing a cream shirt under an
overcoat that was made of the same material as her dress. The
sleeves of his overcoat were slit almost from the shoulder and fell
behind his arms. The collarless front came down in a ‘v’ and had
one clasp holding it closed at the center. The overcoat came
halfway down his thighs and the entire garment was edged with gold
trim, as were the cuff and collar of his shirt.

He smiled and it took her breath away. “You
look beautiful,” he said.

“Thank you. I have to admit, I feel like a
princess in this dress.”

“It is not the dress that makes you a
princess,” he stated as he walked over to where Faedra was
standing.

She gave him a questioning look, thinking
that was an odd thing for him to say, but he didn’t respond to her
puzzled expression, so she thought no more of it.

When he reached her, she looked up at him and
pointed to the jewelry on her forehead. “This was you, not the
king, wasn’t it?”

“You do not mind do you?” he asked
sheepishly.

“Mind?” she was surprised at his question.
“No, why ever would I mind, Faen? It’s beautiful.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Is this design like some kind of family
crest?”

“Yes, I believe you could call it that.”

“Well, then, I’m honored that you think
highly enough of me to allow me to wear it,” she said brimming with
pride.

“Shall we?” he asked as he held out his arm
for her to take. “Jocelyn is waiting for us in the corridor.”

Faedra took his arm and they walked out of
her room.

“Wow, Jocelyn you look fantastic,” Faedra
gasped as she caught sight of her friend. Jocelyn had traded her
usual black and white dress for one that was a sumptuous purple
velvet with a panel of shimmering lilac silk down the front. It
also had a fitted bodice that laced at the front with a square
neckline and a full skirt that flowed to the floor, but her dress
was sleeveless.

“Why, thank you, Faedra, as do you.”

They could hear the music playing as they
approached the Great Hall. They got to the doors and were announced
by a very austere looking fairy. The music stopped and people
ceased their dancing to turn and look at them. Faedra could feel
her cheeks heat up. Faen took hold of her hand and they continued
into the hall. Everyone they passed either bowed or curtsied.
Faedra wasn’t quite sure how to react, so she kept nodding her head
and smiling at everyone as they continued to where the king was
sitting. When they got there, the king clapped his hands twice and
the music started again.

The Great Hall had been decorated
extravagantly. Lots of silver and gold banners with the royal crest
emblazoned upon them hung from the ceiling. Twinkling lights were
wrapped around the columns. Faedra’s attention turned to where the
music was coming from. There was a group of musicians sitting to
one side of the raised platform where the throne sat. A couple of
older looking fairies with silver gray hair and neatly trimmed
silver beards were playing mandolins. There was a younger fairy
playing what looked like a flute and a beautiful lady fairy playing
a harp. The music they were creating was truly enchanting. She then
turned her attention to the people dancing. There were lots of
different kinds of people dancing, probably from other realms, and
they were doing a very good job of it. It was nothing like the
dancing she had ever done. It involved at lot more movement and
looked much more complicated as they twirled and stepped and
twirled again.

“May I have this dance?” Faen interrupted
Faedra’s thoughts.

“Oh, um…” She chewed on her lip as she
watched the dancers swirling around with confidence and ease in
front of them. “Faen, I can’t dance like that.”

The dancer’s timing and accuracy was
something to behold. To be honest, she’d rather take her chances
with a sword and Vivianna than make a complete fool of herself in
front of all these people and the king.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“That’s a silly question, you know I do, with
my life,” she replied with a panicked look on her face. She knew
where this was leading, straight onto the dance floor.

“Well, in that case,” he held his arm for her
again.

“I’m not going to get out of this am I?” she
said with a disgruntled look in her eyes.

He just smiled.

Faedra grimaced, and after taking a deep
breath, took his arm. She needn’t have worried, as soon as they
stepped onto the dance floor, he made a movement with his head
towards the musicians and they stopped the lively music they were
playing, and started playing something soft and lilting. Everyone
stopped dancing mid-stride and paired up to continue dancing to the
slower tune without even skipping a beat.

Faen led Faedra around the dance floor with
so much confidence, that she soon forgot her nerves and could only
focus on the face smiling down at her. She didn’t even know how her
feet were making their way around, nor did she care. The dance came
to an end all too soon, and, for a moment, they stood in silence in
the center looking at one another, completely oblivious of the
people who were dancing around them.