A Dance Of Twilight: (A Fae Dark Fantasy Romance Stand-Alone )

Chapter 18

Ifelt dizzy as the world slowly began to fade back into place around me. Nicholas’s arms were still holding me tightly and I was lost in what to do. There was no time to think. The instant his shadows disappeared, he immediately let go, took hold of my hand, and began pulling me behind him.

The sky was dark. A blanket of night and starlight had taken over. It had been a warm, sunny day before his shadows enveloped me.

Where was I?

His speed picked up as he pulled me into a room. The same room I visited that day during a dream. Sitting me down a little bit too forcefully onto the side of a bed, he quickly turned away. I could only silently watch him throw off his jacket then put on another. This time a dark blue with gold trim. He looked frantic and unsure of what he was doing or where we were.

“You need to change. I will send one of my sister”s maids to help you,” he instructed.

“You have a sister?”

“Three. One of them should be the same size as you. They will want to meet you once you are dressed and ready,” he said as he did up his jacket and brushed his fingers through his hair.

Coming back to me, he knelt in front of me and cupped the side of my face before pressing a kiss lightly on my forehead. I was still dazed from everything that happened moments ago. From receiving my first kiss, being stolen, and taken away to another place—another world maybe—I was beyond confused and rattled. Now, I was sitting in what appeared to be his bedroom.

“I will return shortly. I have things to do. Wait here. I won’t be long.”

Leaving me then, he shut the door behind him, and I sat there bewildered. My heart pounded in my chest and a trickle of sweat made its way down my spine. I was still in this ghastly wedding dress. It most certainly was going to be set on fire once I was out of it.

Everything happened quite quickly once a maid entered the room. It had been only minutes after Nicholas left me. She looked just as surprised to see me sitting there as I was to be here.

My eyes drifted over her, taking in her appearance. She was a plump, short woman. Strawberry blonde hair sat in a neat bun atop her head. Her nearly sky blue eyes stood out amongst her features. She wore a simple brown dress with an apron around the waist. She seemed to be slightly frazzled and out of sorts.

“My apologies, mistress, for keeping you.” She curtsied as she surveyed me.

“That’s quite alright,” I mumbled, still in shock.

Her lips drew a hard line as she took hold of my hands and lifted me up from the bed. Circling me, she kept clicking her tongue, possibly wondering where to start with me.

“I’m sure you will fit one of my ladies’ dresses perfectly. Let me go fetch one for you. Please wait right here.”

Again, I was being told to wait—alone. She clicked her fingers and disappeared in a puff of smoke, shocking me to fall backwards onto the bed. Where in the Goddess was I? I knew Nicholas used magic. Did his household staff as well? My eyes widened more as she reappeared seconds later. She gave me a strange look as I gripped the bedpost tightly for support.

“Oh, I do apologise, mistress. I assumed everyone knew magic existed.”

“I know it does. However, where I am from at least, many don’t use it as freely as you just did,” I told her honestly.

Draped over her arm was a black satin gown. Hanging it up onto Nicholas’s wardrobe door, she popped some black heels to match underneath it and then set her eyes back on me.

“Right, well, there will be many more surprises for you while you’re here I’m afraid.”

She spoke very abruptly, as if I just needed to get on with it and suck it up. Which, I would eventually. My nerves were a little shot due to the fact that I couldn’t get the sound of my mother’s voice screaming my name out of my head or the shock on her face.

“Let’s get you out of this eh…dress then shall we?”

Though she asked the question, it was clear it was more of an order as she grabbed both my arms gently. Pulling me up to stand straight again, she spun me around to find out how to remove the hideous garment.

“What do you wish to do with this dress after I get you out of it, mistress?”

“Burn it please,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“Wonderful. We shall see to it tonight. I assume you would like to do the honours.”

The maid took hold of a small knife from her apron pocket and began to slice away at the corset ribbons at my back. My chest opened with each rip of the seams holding the dress together. When the fabric fell to the floor, I felt the air return to my lungs and comfort return to my body.

“Yes, thank you.”

It was strange having a maid speak to me in such an informal manner, but then again I wasn’t a princess here or heir to a throne. If anything, I was most likely seen as a guest. Which made me rather happy.

“When will Nicholas be returning?” I asked as we reached my undergarments.

She rolled the wedding dress into a ball and threw it near the bedroom door in a heap. She then began to take out all the remaining jewels within my hair and placed them neatly onto the vanity.

It was only then I noticed how feminine the room appeared. It was decorated beautifully in light shades of teal and marble. The bed and other furniture were made of sapwood. Whereas the floor was not hard but soft with fur rugs covering most of the stonework.

“My lordship will see you at the welcoming dinner.”

“Whose room is this?”

She lowered her eyes then, wishing not to make eye contact or to reply and a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach appeared.

“Mistress, I’m sure his lordship will be ready to answer all your questions. Will you be alright for me to change your chemise as it will not match the dress I have brought for you.”

Nodding permission, the maid removed the remainder of my clothes, aside from my lower undergarments and replaced it with a more tighter fitting chemise. Then finally, she made me step into the black dress.

It was scandalous to say the least as I tucked my arms into the shoulder hugging sleeves. The neckline of the dress cut into a heart shape and sat neatly on my breasts. The rest of the dress clung to my body like a glove.

Mother would have had a fit if she ever saw me in a dress like this attending a dinner. She proceeded to leave my copper hair resting loosely on my shoulders, with some small braids still mixed in and trailing down my back.

“May I know your name, please? So I can tell his lordship how helpful you have been?”

A blush rushed to her cheeks, and she again lowered her eyes. Shaking her head, she went round to zip the back of the dress and helped me step into the heels.

“Oh, his lordship will not care as it is my duty to help and do as I am ordered,” she admitted meekly.

“Even still, your name please,” I said desperately.

“April, mistress.”

“Thank you for your help, April. And thank you for welcoming me.”

April left me once again, in a more natural way this time, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. I settled down on the chair at the vanity, wondering what my life was about to become and what I had agreed to. A marriage to the man who injured my brother and maybe someone who planned this all from the start. But now he agreed to heal him.

Did I really know Nicholas before? He said we’d known each other a long time, but I couldn’t remember who he was. As far as I was aware we’d met in the forest, was that also by chance? Maybe there was a bigger thing going on? Or maybe, he just took a liking to me, and an opportunity arose in front of him.

Catching a glimpse of another door, hidden discreetly down the one side of the room, I felt my inner explorer beg me to go see where it would lead. It wasn’t a room I would have ever expected. Pushing the door open, a gasp escaped my lips.

From the floor to the ceiling were bookcases, filled to the brim with books. There were more books than I ever thought imaginable. My breath caught as I stepped into the middle of the marble room. Small gas lamps lit the area, casting it into a soft glow. The light accentuated the decorative stars and crescent moons along the walls and ceiling, making them appear to shimmer with each flicker of the lamps.

I rubbed at my wrist then. I’d forgotten about the mark Nichols had left me. I glanced down, staring at the mark and reminded myself to ask him about it when I got a chance.

“So, you’re the Fae my brother has decided to call his wife.”

A feminine voice startled me as I had been so engrossed in the books. I had not noticed the female sitting in one of the comfortable chairs. She had her legs crossed, one left exposed by the long slit in her skirt.

She wore a silk pink dress that hugged her frame with a low neckline exposing the shape of her breasts. Clearly the fashion was very different here than my home. Her long brown hair reached just below her elbows and on the top of her head was a small diadem.

“I’m Vanessa, Nicholas’s sister. He calls me Ness and only he is allowed,” she clipped with finality, bowing her head as she stepped forward and closed the gap between us. “What do they call you, then?”

She seemed very standoffish and blunt to the point of almost rude. I would not like to get on the wrong side of her. She was beautiful and looked the part of a dark goddess. At her hip in a baldric held two small daggers, each with handles of gold. She Clearly wasn’t someone to mess with.

“I’m Ornella Light of the Crystal Fae.”

Her eyes widened at my name then a black mist began to sprout from her fingertips and snake around me. Fear and panic flooded my veins as the mist wrapped around me. It was similar to Nicholas’s shadows, but his had always made me feel safe and secure. The library faded around me.

In a flash, I was taken over by the mist. Not even a heartbeat passed before I was dropped onto the ground. The sudden hardness of the cold floor beneath me had me letting out a cry of surprise. The sound echoed around me as the mist began to quickly disappear.

Lifting my head up, I saw I was surrounded by strangers, Fae I did not recognise. My eyes searched until they fell on Nicholas, who sat at the top a black Obsidian stoned throne.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, NIC?!” Vanessa’s voice echoed throughout the room.

Struggling to gather my bearings, I felt Nicholas’s eyes drifting towards me. Vanessa wrapped one hand around my forearm and forced me up onto my feet. Her look of disgust and anger was enough to make me shake in my core.

“DO YOU WISH TO brING WAR TO OUR DOOR?! DID YOU LEARN NOTHING FROM OUR PARENTS, YOU IDIOT!”

Looking up towards Nicholas, I couldn”t help but notice he sat a bit too comfortably on the throne while his sister shouted venomous words towards him. Unbothered and without a care in the world. His eyes landed on me, or rather where my arm was clutched, and I swore I heard him growl under his breath.

Instantly Vanessa released me, causing me to lose my balance and stagger forward. Nicholas’s eyes landed on a guard beside him. The guard was quick to move, helping to steady me before guiding me to a seat near the foot of the throne.

“Vanessa, dear sister, I trust you will listen to these words only once as you know how much I despise repeating myself.”

He finally stood then and every single Fae within the large hall bowed or curtsied. It was then I noticed on top of his head was a crown made of that same obsidian stone as his throne. My heart began to sink into my stomach.

“Do you wish to end up like Lord Baron? Banished to the shadow realms when he disobeyed me for the final time?”

His voice shook the room as it bellowed out and Vanessa dropped to her knees. The woman who I thought could take out her enemies with a quick flick of her hand, was now begging for her life as she lowered her head.

“No, my king, I apologise for speaking out of place.”

“King?!”My inner voice shouted as panic washed over me. He was not a lord as April addressed him. More lies, more deceits.

“I will discuss everything with you later on, my princess.”His voice entered my mind and I wanted to shout at him in front of everyone—in front of his court.

“Get up. No princess of ours shall stay on her knees. But know this, question my judgement again and you will pay.”

He looked at Vanessa as she rose, before turning his dark gaze on everyone else in the room. Clearly this message was not just directed at his sister but his entire court.

“As for Princess Ornella, she is here of her own free will. By making our deal, she has agreed to become my wife.”

He held out his hand to me, just as he did before. Urging me to take it and stand beside him. Except my feet would not move. My body was frozen from anxiety and mistrust. What else was he not telling me?

“I believe my bride may be a little overwhelmed by today’s events. You may all leave us and head into the dining hall. We will join you momentarily.”

The room cleared out within seconds, most of the court disappearing into their own puffs of smoke, while others walked out followed by the guards. Nicholas and I were left alone, making my body shake with adrenaline and fear.

What did she mean by starting another war? What had I really agreed to other than to save my brother? There was definitely more to this than what meets the eye.