Yield (24 page)

I knew this was too good to be true.  Walking into her realm, the despair washed over me.  Caydon greeted us being careful with his distance to watch her eyes.  He
’d noticed the difference immediately telling me he’d noticed her green ones before.  Somehow, I didn’t care for that.  And yet my mind told me he was way into Lily and had been for years.

“She is definitely still one hundred percent Jem, but the eyes are stunning as ever.”

I could have broken his jaw.  He did this on purpose.  He got it in his mind years ago he’d have to marry her and even till this day, he didn’t doubt he would.  It was kind of sick.

Emma smiled for him and asked for a private conversation.  When he gestured in my direction, Emma took my hand in hers. 
              “With Ames present.”

Caydon nodded to several guards and they emptied the main room.  When the door closed, she let it all go.

She told him about my grandmother, her grandmother, the treaty, the lift of the curse.  Everything.  

He took it all in stride, but his face mimicked mine and Emma didn
’t miss the reading of it.

“Why do both of you look like it was all for nothing and nothing changed?”

I sighed and tugged at my hair again in nervous habit.  No one knew about the kiss.  “The curse is lifted and we are safe from that.  The treaty is valid still.  I had Caydon check last night with the elders of your realm.  They refuse to let the arranged marriage be invalid as our laws say that any treaty made by a true heir is binding.”

“Where is this law book?” she stomped her foot like a child still staring at my hair. 

“It is there.  I checked with the elders myself,” Caydon offered.

“And these elders all served my father and feel like his word is law too.  No matter what we say, they are not going to listen.”

Caydon politely answered her again.

“There has to be a way,” Emma stomped again.  A new temper act for her I
’ve never seen. 

“I
’ve read everything on the shelves they will allow me.  If it’s there, it’s hidden.”

I told the whole entire fairy tale without the happy ending to Katelyn over ice cream that night.  Mocha chocolate chip ice cream to be exact.  I told it something like this.

Generations ago the goblin king fell in love with a witch, but her people wanted her to leave him.  She was part of a curse that had followed their females for many years as each one fatefully fell in love with a goblin king and moved into their realm.  Destiny gave them a child and that was the only thing that kept her family from ripping her from his clutches. 

Her heritage was tucked away and forgotten for generations to come in the goblin realms.  Only her own family kept records of what she was.

For the goblin king, a realm without an heir would have no one to lead.  The couple’s baby girl would be the princess to a whole world of possibilities.  You see, she was half goblin like her father, and half witch
like her mother.   And the mothers all died before the age of twenty-five.  For the goblin world, that would be a devastation.  Till this day, the line has not been broken unless appointed officials stood–in, for that is the way it has always been. 

Now the child’s grandmother was skipped in the generational curse of every female marrying a goblin and living a short life.  She is indeed over the age of fifty and recently told her granddaughter a strange tale much like this one.  It didn’t end well for even the living, for this grandmother lost her only daughter to the supposed curse she was now trying to uphold for her granddaughter. A curse that can't be proven.

That baby was named Jem.  And her story is never finished though she would like it to be. 

You see, she gave up her magic to severe the curse.  Her grandmother didn’t know yet that she’d given up her witch magic to keep the magic at bay from a destruction of the two of them.  It was her own doing that it was made a problem in the first place when she foretold it.  Now it wasn’t a problem anymore.   Lies lead in every direction, but she couldn’t chance it.   If she was no longer a witch, then she was free to marry a Cahn. 

But when she returned to share her blissful news, she was told that it didn’t matter.  That she couldn’t marry him anyway.  That the old farts of the goblin realm felt that tradition was the only way. 

“Well, I say to hell to tradition.  I’m changing the rules.”  Ack!

I finished my story by returning to first person and saying exactly what I would like to say to the old stalwart farts.

Katelyn laughed forever and vowed to write down my fairy tale in some form or fashion.  The only condition was, she would wait to see how it ended.  I hoped like anything I could have the courage to say my last line directly to the elder, i.e. old farts, and not create a new war or worse.  I just wanted one thing and he was ready, willing and able to be mine. 

Later that night I followed a pacing Emma around her bedroom like a hawk.  I had too many mixed feelings about marrying or not marrying her, Caydon
’s findings, getting Joshlin locked up (she was too close to him I might add), Randor still on the loose, and strangers trying to get at me.  Oh, and those strangers are possible warlocks trying to execute me for a title I never chose.

She rambled on for over an hour with me on her heels when suddenly she flipped around and pushed against my chest with her hands. 

“I’ve got it.”             

Yeah, she has a hold of my chest hairs and it
’s painful.  “What?” I ask.

“I know what to do.”

I am thinking she is way too excited when she says her next words.  “I will set a date for a wedding and marry Caydon.”

I was thinking this was a joke, a very bad joke, and that she had a punch line, but she didn
’t follow it up with anything of the sort.

“Is there something I need to know?”

“If we put on a wedding, everyone will come.  I can invite both realms and the whole of both groups will be there.  It’s perfect.”

I was missing something and I didn
’t like it.  I had the urge to scream something distasteful, but I was going to hear her out.

“Would you care to enlighten me on why you
’re saying with such a happy attitude that you’re going to marry Morrow right here in front of me?”  I bit back the foul language going off anyway in my head.

With this admission, she turned stark white in the face and dropped her mouth.

“Oh, Ames.” She wrapped her soft curves around me.  I couldn’t take her leaving me.  I was already gearing up for a war if that’s what it would take to keep her.  I haven’t told her this, but I made it very clear with Caydon on the phone the other night that my mind was made up.  He wouldn’t take her from me.  All that time in the car alone was not wasted.  I had several heart-to-hearts with several people.

She was leaving me hanging still when she pulled back to look at my face.  A very non-happy face.

“I have the greatest idea.”

“Emma, either spit out the damn idea or tell me why you just announced you want to marry Caydon Morrow.”

“If we play along,” she led in.  I tuned out for the next few words.  I was standing stiff in the saddest case of wussville man nerves a guy would never admit to.  She really didn’t get the kind of power she held over me.

I tuned back in.  “...the wedding will be what the people want and that
’s what they will get.  But right as it looks like all is great, I will slam them with some tears and choice words.  I will tell the people how it is unfair.  I will tell them that what’s always been done isn’t always the best.  I am living proof of that.  I’m alive for one.  And we broke the curse that broke a cycle that had been “done” all these years over and over again.  If I tell them like you said they have to see reason in that.”

I wasn
’t as sure.  “I don’t know.”

“I know you
’re not.  But I have to do this.  The people are not going to back down and there aren’t any other obvious answers.  If they are all gathered there, we can show them we mean what we say and that they are hurting us both.  You said yourself they just need to see me take a stand.  Well, I intend to do it.”

“What if it doesn
’t work?”

“What do I have to lose?” She challenged me.

“What if this turns into another war because you challenge their laws?”

“
Then...I...I don’t know Ames.  I just want to make everyone happy.”  She drew her head in her hands.  I put my arms around her and held her. 

“I just want you to be happy.”

“Then help me do this.”

If this works, I will be more than happy to help her all night long.  This waiting is killing me.  I keep telling myself if I just make her mine in body
now,
then no one can challenge me.  But I know that it would make life harder than it already is.  Restraint was a killjoy.

Plans were made and the right people were told what their respective jobs entailed.  Katelyn was ecstatic at first, but changed her mind when I told her the disadvantages.  Brooks, Wicker, Trigger, and even Caydon said the same.  They were all in favor of adopting a different plan, but when I told them the realms would never come together otherwise, they agreed.  Dubiously.

Days went by and things were coming together.  My realm was way too merry about the whole thing.  Ames’ realm sulked like it was my funeral coming and not a wedding.  Ames and I withstood many sad faces and talks about fairness, not to mention he hated to refrain from kissing me in public.  I felt sure the people of this realm were on my side. 

I charged Ames with circulating through the elders of his realm to be sure they were upset with the match.  It wasn
’t hard to convince them even though their were some of the ones claiming heir ordained traditions.  All that was left were the elders of my realm.

Ames, of course, was a grumpy bear of a man not being able to act like we were together.  He stole into my room at night for chaste kisses and lots of holding each other, but he
’d always leave when his restraint was beyond control.  I felt good that I made him that crazy about me, but for the life of me, I didn’t get why guys were such horndogs.  I was far from unaffected, even a little too warm and fluttery, but I could keep myself from going over the edge.  I wanted to, believe me.  But I didn’t have to leave the room to cool off.

The following morning was eventful.  The wedding dress was finished and Ames was a ball of knots at seeing it.  He mumbled all manner of un-nice words about how it wasn
’t supposed to be like this, was too low in the front, showed too much back.  I giggled more than once at his caring so much about it.  He couldn’t say he was all rugged and hollow without a romantic bone in his body. 

Agreeing with him on the charade of it all, I didn
’t like that it wasn’t meant for him.  Which is why I wanted him to see me in it before.  I told him I wanted him to see me
before
the real day because I wanted him to know I’d only be thinking of him taking it off.

That did just the trick.  Dimples flared and he was a happy man.  Till that afternoon.

Her in that dress was just terrifying.  I wanted to tear it off her and it had nothing to do with anything sexual.  It had everything to do with the fact that it was a dress for another man.

I let her say the one thing that would make me feel better, even if it didn
’t fix it.  She didn’t need to know that I could take off every bead of that damn dress and throw them at the elders of her realms until they were mauled and begging for mercy.

I kissed her goodbye in a hurry before the crew of females came back to finish fitting her.   She said they would wonder why I was there.  Then
she told me she refused to wear the undergarments they chose.  I wasn’t sure if that meant something or not but it seemed important enough to make me leave.

Food was being prepared to take to her realm and flowers were being put together with green and white ribbons.  I wasn
’t happy with the green.  More than once, one of the girls of the realm commented on how her eyes weren’t as pretty anymore.

I had just left her and went to check on the gruesome sight for a suit they were putting me in.  Starving to death, I stopped to grab something to eat at the kitchen off the main hall room.

“Hi, Ames.”

I ignored the greeting.  It was trouble waiting to happen. 

“Aren’t you going to talk to me?”

“
No, Sydney.  I’m not.  I’m busy.”

“It
’s not like you will be after tomorrow.  Free as a bird.”

Her voice hurt my ears.  Her snaky hands slithered over my forearm.  I would have never thought I could be repulsed to be touched by a girl, but her scaly fingernails were giving me the chills.  I didn
’t want to be touched by anyone but Emma. 

Sure enough, things got worse.

“Why don’t you spend the night with me?  Celebrate your freedom.”

This girl was the total opposite of Emma.  And I hated everything about her.  Her voice.  Her hair.  Her fingernails.

“Like I said, I’m busy.”

She didn
’t take no well.  Sydney moved her feet to face mine.

I felt her jealousy hit me before she said anything.

“I wonder if I could talk to you a minute, Ames.  Alone.”  Emma accented the last word carefully.

“As I said before Sydney, I
’m busy.”

Sydney didn
’t acknowledge Emma, but Emma sure gave attention to her.

“It
’s nice to see you again.  Sydney is it.”  She took my arm in hers and circled my waist ignoring the no touch arrangement
she
came up with.  Her fingers squeezed my hand.  It wasn’t anything like what Sydney just did.  Emma’s hands made my skin burn with want.

Sydney still didn
’t answer her. 

“
I don’t believe Ames here is available, like, for the rest of his life.”

“
You can’t keep your hold on him.  He’s not the kind.”

Emma
’s other hand dug into my side.  My shirt was halfway out of my jeans. 

“He is now.”

“Not after tomorrow.”  Sydney was on a roll.

This had to end now.  Chick fights were not my thing.

“We have to go, Sydney.  Feel free to help the other girls make the flower bouquets or something.”

I waved her off and literally carried Emma to the sofa in my room. 

I asked the guard outside my door to get her a tea.  She spoke up saying to make sure it was Earl Gray.  At least she was speaking like I was there.

“Are you okay?” I asked.  I kind felt like I was stuck in a drama episode of some soap opera.  I couldn
’t change the past, but it sure crept up on me a lot.  Reminded again and again I wasn’t worthy of her.

“You said the word
bouquets
.  I didn’t even know you knew the word.”

What?  This was her reaction.  “Sorry.”  That was all I could manage.

“I knew you were hot and would have been surrounded by girls when I met you.  I am just at the point I don’t want to share.  Not even the flirting.”

That I could handle.  “Don
’t worry, babe.  You already had me wrapped that first day you got so worked up on my hot bod in front of the cheerbots.  I was completely under your spell.”

She might have rolled her eyes at the first part, but she was completely smitten with the other.

“You called me babe.”

She was well focused on vocabulary today.