11. Amelie
Amelie
K iaran’s heavy footsteps were lighter this morning as he came down the stairs to meet me for breakfast.
“Morning, pretty girl. Sleep well?” he asked as he grabbed a piece of toasted bread. I couldn’t help the heat that flooded my cheeks every time he called me, pretty girl . It slipped off his tongue, sweet as honey, and I wasn’t sure he knew how it affected me.
“I did. How ‘bout you, magic man?”
He rolled his eyes and nodded in response, and to avoid talking with a mouth full of food.
“Any prince charmings come to your rescue in your dreams last night?”
I wasn’t sure how to navigate friendship. Everyone in Holleberg was so focused on survival that no one had any real friends. Just a means to an escape. Even the ones my parents talked about from childhood were a distant memory to them.
The closest thing I ever had to a real friend was Wren.
He was the only one of my brothers who remembered a time where I was just his sister.
Hansel and Tildan knew me as a mother figure, the dependable one.
Wren was who I could joke and play with.
We shared secrets and had inside jokes, he asked for advice and didn’t want it from his sister or stand-in mom.
Being friends with Kiaran was nice. It felt natural and safe.
A feeling I wasn’t sure I’d ever had in a man’s presence.
“There was a Prince, but he didn’t come to my rescue.” I tried to hide my smile at the memory of what the Prince and I had done last night. I could still feel his hands on my–
“On your what, Amelie?” Kiaran popped a piece of bacon into his mouth and raised his brows accusingly.
“Oh my god, get out of my mind.” Blood rushed to my cheeks as I bowed my face into my hands.
Kiaran laughed it off and thankfully didn’t try to embarrass me further.
Our relationship shifted the other day after I veiled his curse.
I laid my heart out to him, allowed him to see why this place was so special to me and what his company meant to me.
I knew my words sat well with him when he stopped fighting me on working on the veil further.
We didn’t know how far he could go so we planned to test the boundaries.
He’d been kinder and more talkative. We went back and forth in easy conversation, a stark difference from the unsynchronized dance we’d been doing since I got here nearly a month and a half ago.
He was also very funny. His wit was sharp and efficient. His snarky comments turned to fun banter. Everything was just easy with him.
It was nice having a friend. Especially one that was nice to look at.
His curly black hair was messy from sleep and his bright blue eyes were nearly see-through in the morning glow that painted the cottage.
His soul was lighter too, brighter. It looked amazing on him.
Having his room from home did a number on him in the best way.
We hadn’t tried the veil again since the first attempt.
I didn’t want to tell him that it gave me a terrible headache.
The rest of me felt great, full of adrenaline, but my head, God, the pain.
It was worse than when a guard dragged me by my hair behind Henrik’s store, and that was a bad headache.
If I told Kiaran, I knew he wouldn’t do it again.
The past week, I worked on easier elixirs. One for headaches, stomach aches, and joint pains. Another for softer hair that made my frizzy locks melt into pretty waves. The elixir made it fall so perfectly, not a single hair out of place.
I made another elixir that made you sing your words rather than speak them.
I wasn’t sure what the point of that one was, but it made for great dinner entertainment after I’d poured it into Kiaran’s drink.
The last one was a pheromone elixir. My books said it was arguably the most dangerous elixir that was often used with malice.
I stashed it in my apothecary cabinet, far to the back. Maybe someday I’d be able to use it to play matchmaker.
We both agreed to try it again this afternoon, which allowed plenty of time for me to spend the rest of the day by the pond.
I’d been so busy playing alchemist that I hadn’t visited my Forest friends in a few days.
After we finished breakfast, Kiaran nestled into the nook of the library with one of the romance books he’d picked for me.
I strolled out over the bridge, taking my spot near one of the large oak trees whose roots grew right into the pond.
Dipping my toes into the water, I felt grounded.
It was rare to feel content back home. Even in the comfort of your own bed, in the room that belonged to you, that was built inside the walls of what you were supposed to call home, your edge to survive never dulled.
To sit outside the walls of my new home and feel as connected to the earth as the dirt that covered it, I was so grateful for it.
Entirely unfamiliar, all while being the most comforting feeling I’d ever known.
Those three little faces I missed so much popped back into my head every time happiness dared to fill my heart.
I wished they were here. I hoped they were okay.
Knowing it would never be safe enough to return, I sent hopeless prayers up to God and asked him to relay the messages to my brothers.
I miss you, boys.
Be nice to the little ones, Wren.
I love you.
Tears pricked my eyes as I watched the frogs float around on the lily pads.
The gentle breeze from the trees pulled and pushed them with no set direction and the creatures didn’t protest. The strange dragonflies showed up today, normally only coming around for the light show, but in the light of day, I saw they weren’t dragonflies at all.
As if the Forest couldn’t come up with any more things to add to the madness, I saw Fairies. Little wings fluttering them through the Forest.
My breathing picked up as two of the braver ones landed on a rock in the pond to my right. Trying to avoid staring, I looked at my toes in the water and eavesdropped on their tiny voices talking amongst each other.
“She’s so pretty,” the black haired one said.
“Of course the gorgeous Witch found a girlfriend after two hundred years alone here.”
That one got my attention.
“Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but he’s not my boyfriend.” Winking at the two small, magical creatures and enjoying the pink flush covering their cheeks. At least they didn’t make fun of my wink.
The braver one of the two zipped my way hovering just in front of my face. Her hair mirrored the summer sun as it fell around her body in loose curls. She wore a baby blue top and matching skirt, and her wings were sparkling against the water behind her.
“Why? Have you ever seen a prettier man?” she swooned and I had to agree with her.
“No, I guess I haven’t,” I relented and gave her a small smile, then glanced at her dark haired friend shyly approaching the conversation.
“I’m Poppy, this is Naida.” Naida tucked a piece of her dark hair behind her ear as her friend introduced them.
“Nice to meet you girls. I’m Amelie.” I instinctively went to shake her hand but stopped when I noticed that both of their bodies would fit in my palm.
“We know.” Poppy came even closer, inspecting each pore on my face. Her hands, which couldn’t be much bigger than a pea, tingled against my skin as she studied me.
“What’s the Prince like?” Poppy asked, giggling back toward her friend.
“He’s kind of grumpy, but funny.”
“And those eyes…” Poppy crashed into her friend as if the thought of Kiaran’s bright blue eyes was killing her. Naida laughed at her friend, snorting as she tried to catch her breath.
“He does have pretty eyes, huh?”
The brush behind me came to life and Poppy noticed our company first. Turning to greet whoever it was, I saw my friend.
“Ethel!” Poppy flew over to Ethel and Ethel greeted the Fairy happily. Naida stayed near me, still undecided on the human in front of her.
“You’re close with Ethel?” I asked her quietly, hoping to earn her trust.
Naida nodded. “Everyone is.” That sounded about right for my friend who seemed to have no enemies, only people who caused her a great deal of anxiety.
“Amelie, I see you’ve met Poppy and Naida.” Ethel plopped down next to me, Poppy rested her behind on Ethel’s shoulder, and leaned forward on her palms to smile at me.
“I have. Seems my new friends have a crush on my roommate.”
Ethel threw her head back laughing, Naida’s cheeks were beet red and Poppy joined Ethel in the humor of it all. “That makes three of ya then, right?” Ethel gave me a knowing look and now the flush filled my cheeks.
The Fae were much like I’d dreamed of them many nights before. Poppy especially. The unshakable joy that exuded from her was contagious. I felt it nestling into the broken parts of my soul, like an immediate cure to an illness, reaping straight through my skin. Naida was different, though.
She held herself with such precariousness.
As if she might crumble at any given moment.
I was drawn to her. I wanted to protect her.
The way I protected my brothers. Give her space to say what she wanted to say, unburdened by whatever weight was plaguing her.
Poppy seemed to be what kept her spirit alive.
Naida tried to keep her laughter in during Poppy’s dramatics with each story, but she always broke.
The pair were total opposites. But I already loved them.
Ethel sat with me by the pond once the girls left. Her white hair was perfectly styled with a curl at the ends framing her face. She always wore a patterned dress and little clogs, she was straight out of a storybook.