14. Nelle A Moment of Truth
Nelle: A Moment of Truth
For the second time in less than a day, Nelle found herself letting Kit carry her through the castle gates, muttering darkly under his breath the entire time.
“You know…” She coughed. “I can walk. You know that, right?”
“Ordinarily, I’d agree with you,” Kit grumbled. “But given the fact you were just about to pass out from smoke inhalation when I got you out of there, I’m going to reserve judgement for a moment.”
“I was not about to pass out from smoke inhalation,” Nelle argued, before falling into an intense coughing fit.
“You’re right. That doesn’t sound like smoke inhalation at all,” Kit deadpanned. “Stubborn woman.”
“Ridiculous man,” Nelle shot back.
Something that might have been a smile played about Kit’s lips. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and then you can tell me all about how ridiculous I am.”
Nelle opened her mouth, ready to shoot off another sarcastic comment—but nothing came to mind. Instead, she simply nodded. “Alright.”
A beautiful, low bird’s song pierced the air, and, suddenly, a bird with brilliant red, gold, and orange feathers landed on Kit’s shoulders. It gave another call and rubbed its head against one of his ridges.
“Hello, Ember. Thanks for your help,” Kit murmured.
Nelle stared at him. “Ember?”
“That was the name I gave the bird I trained as a child,” Kit explained. “I’m not sure if he’s the same bird, but he certainly looks like it.”
“You trained a phoenix as a child?” Admiration pricked at Nelle. “That must have been incredibly difficult.”
Kit stopped so suddenly he almost dropped her and stared. “Er, what?”
“Phoenixes are known to be incredibly stubborn and don’t adapt well to change. It must have taken a lot of patience for you to work with him.”
“Ember is a phoenix?” Confusion warped Kit’s brow. “But that doesn’t make sense. Aren’t phoenixes supposed to be on fire? That’s how the books I read as a child described them.”
“Sure, if they’re Talonian phoenixes. But a Hopkan phoenix looks…
well, he looks exactly like Ember. The only time you’d actually see him on fire would be if you met him at the end of his life cycle.
Right before rebirth, their feathers catch fire.
That’s when they’re at their most powerful,” Nelle explained.
Kit frowned at her. “You know a lot about this.”
“I think your friend here liked Robin Hood, our leader. A few times when he came to camp, he would always be swooping overhead. Once or twice, Robin was able to entice him down to feed him. The kids loved Ember, so, naturally, Robin taught them all about him. He didn’t use his name, though,” Nelle explained, her words coming out in a rush.
A look a shock crossed Kit’s face. “I never knew that Rober—Robin knew about Ember.”
Nelle cocked her head. “You know Robin?”
Kit gave a mirthless laugh. “You could say that. He’s my brother.”
Nelle’s eyes widened. “Your brother? But that’s impossible. That would make Robin Hood?—”
“A prince. I know.” Kit smiled, his face lighting up for a moment.
“Robin was…is the best of men. Growing up, I tried to fit into all the boxes my parents tried to force me into, but Robin was different. From the time he was born, I could tell that he would never fit in at court. He spent far too much time with the kids from the village, helping farmers in whatever ways he could. It made my father laugh but our mother—” He blanched.
“Let’s just say she wasn’t happy with who her son was becoming.
Fortunately, he was only about four when she… ” He hung his head.
Nelle was silent for a moment, then timidly asked, “Did you really kill your mother?” Kit’s hold on her tightened ever so slightly and she hurriedly continued, “The voice—whoever it is that controls me—can sometimes see into my thoughts, but I can’t see into theirs.
I wouldn’t have known anything about it if she…
I’m assuming it’s a she; the voice sounds feminine… if she hadn’t mentioned it.”
Kit studied her face before answering. “The situation was…complicated. I?—”
The castle door slammed open, and Hansel dashed out, pulling Gretyl with him.
Kemma fluttered behind them nervously, bringing up the rear.
Kit put Nelle down just in time for Hansel threw his arms around her, squeezing her so hard, it kick-started another coughing fit.
“I thought those wolves were going to eat you!” the little boy said into her stomach.
“I would never have let that happen,” Kit rumbled. Nelle stared at him over Hansel’s head. He wouldn’t have let that happen? Why?
She didn’t have the opportunity to ask the question before Gretyl started tugging on Kit’s trousers. “Hansel says you look like a dragon man. Is that true?” she demanded.
Kit ducked his head, his mouth opening and closing for a moment before answering. “Yes, little one.” He glanced at Nelle before returning his gaze to the child. “But I haven’t always been one. I used to look quite a lot like you and your brother.”
“Can I touch your face?” Gretyl asked. “So I can see you?”
Kit once again shot a look at Nelle, who murmured, “It’s okay. She does this to almost everyone she meets. It just gives her an idea of what you look like.” She remembered how the child had made the same request when Kai had first introduced them.
With one more hesitant glance towards her, Kit crouched down next to Gretyl and carefully guided her hand to his face. Nelle hovered nearby, praying that the little girl wouldn’t cry out when she felt his scaley face, but Gretyl didn’t even flinch. Instead, she giggled. “Your face feels funny.”
“You’re feeling his scales,” Nelle told her softly. “Dragons have a different type of skin than humans do, but it’s also a lot tougher. Two of the wolves?—”
“Wargs,” Kit interrupted.
“Wargs then,” Nelle agreed. “Two of the wargs tried to bite him and their teeth couldn’t cut through the scales.”
“Awesome,” Hansel said, his eyes wide with admiration.
Gretyl spent a few more minutes brushing her tiny hands over Kit’s scaley face.
Nelle let her do what she wanted until she noticed how he trembled with the effort of keeping still.
“Gret,” she said, at last pulling the little girl away.
“Let’s give Kit a break. If he’s alright with it, maybe you can examine him again later. ”
“Okay,” Gretyl said. Before Kit could get to his feet, she threw her arms around his waist. “Thank you for saving Nelle. And for finding me again.”
“It was my pleasure, little one,” Kit rumbled, hesitating for a moment before wrapping his arms around her.
After a moment, he released the child and stood.
Then he cleared his throat. “Well, then. I believe I heard something about hot chocolate. Let’s see if the kitchens can conjure us up some, and maybe we’ll get some cookies in the bargain. ”
“Oooh, cookies!” Gretyl said, clapping her hands.
Hansel shrugged and crossed his arms, hunching in on himself. “They won’t be as good as Nelle’s.”
“Of course they will, silly,” Gretyl said. “All cookies are good!”
“Yeah, they’re good, but they won’t be as good as Nelle’s,” Hansel insisted, taking his sister’s hand and leading her inside. Nelle and Kit followed behind at a sedate pace, listening to the siblings bicker amicably.
“They’re good kids,” Kit said in a low voice. “I’m glad you were able to find them.”
“Me, too,” Nelle admitted. “I was so worried when you came back without them. I thought?—”
“Believe me, I know.” Kit ran his hand over his rigged head.
“It was odd. I couldn’t find a single hint of them out there, not even close to the camp.
Even when I used a tracking spell, I didn’t find a trace.
I wouldn’t have known they were so close to the castle if I hadn’t seen them coming straight for me.
I’ve only experienced that once before.”
“When?” Nelle breathed.
Kit was silent for a moment, then said, “Back when I was still…me, I was courting a queen of a distant land.” Nelle felt a rush of something she couldn’t quite name when he mentioned courting the queen.
For some reason, she disliked the thought of Kit courting someone.
Seeing her face, he hurriedly explained, “It was a purely diplomatic relationship—my father wanted to strengthen our relations, and she was looking for a husband. But I wanted to get to know my future bride, so once or twice, we went out together. The first time I took her out, we went for a picnic.”
“A picnic?” Nelle said, raising an eyebrow.
Kit shrugged. “I got the idea from one of the old romance novels my father’s second wife, Lady Quinn, left in the palace library.
I thought a picnic would be romantic.” He ducked his head, embarrassed, and cleared his throat.
“Anyway, it wasn’t well thought-out, though.
I accidentally took her to a place with some… very unhappy memories.”
“What kind of unhappy memories?” Nelle wondered.
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. All I know is that she was terrified, ran screaming from me.
Within a few minutes, I’d lost her. I cast a tracking spell…
but it didn’t work. It got me lost instead, so I chased ghosts for three hours before I found my way out of the woods.
By that time, she’d taken her horse, my horse, and the picnic basket and left me stranded.
The only reason I knew I was in the right place is that she left the picnic blanket for me.
It took another two hours to get back to her palace.
I wasn’t entirely sure she’d made it back, and I was fully prepared to go back to the woods with her men to search for her, so you can imagine my surprise when she greeted me, calm as could be, at the gates. ”
“Wow,” Nelle said. “Did she say why she’d left you behind?”
Kit shook his head. “She barely spoke to me. She just said that she’d see me at a ball she was throwing the following week, and sent me on my way. It was quite odd.”
“It sounds like it,” Nelle agreed. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Did you end up marrying the queen?”
Kit wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Er, no. No, diplomatic relations got complicated. In fact, I broke the engagement the night before I met you.”
Nelle narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
Kit stared at the ground. “It’s complicated, but I couldn’t go through with it. I’d known that for a while, but she eventually did something that gave me an official reason.”
“What?” Nelle didn’t know why she was pressing. It really was no business of hers, and, besides, wasn’t she technically still his prisoner? He could make good on his promise to lock her up if she pushed too hard. Somehow, she didn’t think she’d do well with being locked up.
Kit’s head shot up and he swallowed hard.
“She…her soldiers attacked some of our people. Brutally. Then they sent them back to us in pieces. Officially, the attackers thought the victims were soldiers, but, really, they were merely travelers. A family who was on their way to visit loved ones. There were children in the group. And the queen issued no apology.”
Nelle’s stomach flipped. “That’s horrible.”
Kit gave a jerky nod. “I have no idea if she gave the order or not, but she was the one who sent us the bodies. I said, and my father agreed, that it gave us grounds to end the engagement. I was on my way home when you…” He cut himself off as they reached the kitchens.
“Never mind. I don’t think my stomach can handle hot chocolate tonight.
I’m going to bed.” Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Nelle watched him go with a heavy heart.