40. Nelle In His Arms
Nelle: In His Arms
Everything ached. That was the first thing Nelle was aware of. Her chest hurt, her head pounded, her arms and legs felt like they’d been stretched on the rack…And that was just with her laying still. She couldn’t imagine how badly she’d hurt if she’d tried to move.
Then she heard the voices. “…wasn’t her fault. She was under a dominance spell.” She knew that voice. That was Kit’s voice, wasn’t it? She struggled to open her eyes, trying to see whether she was right.
An unfamiliar voice responded. “There were rumors of a daughter, but when her majesty never presented her heir, we assumed that they were just that—rumors. When she’s well, she’ll have to appear before the council of kings?—”
“No.” Even though it was just one word, she was almost certain that it was Kit’s. She struggled to smile, imagining him standing there.
The second voice was back. “Kit, be reasonable. She needs to?—”
“Dad, I will not put the woman I love through that. She’s been through enough already.” This time, her surprise allowed Nelle to pry her eyes open. She saw Kit standing there, human once again, facing Robin and an older man who looked a great deal like Kit.
With her mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton, she tried to speak. “K…Kit?”
All three men whirled to look at her. Faster than her eyes could track, Kit was at her side. “Snowdrop. You’re awake,” he breathed, pressing a kiss against her forehead.
Nelle shifted slightly so she could see him better. The miniscule movement sent pain shooting through every part of her body. She winced and whispered, “Where…where…”
“It’s okay. Just rest. Don’t speak,” Kit said. He glanced at Robin. “Can you go find Oliver or Elodie?”
“Of course,” Robin said, marching from the room.
“I should leave,” the older man said. “Clearly you two?—”
“No, Dad,” Kit said, squeezing Nelle’s hand. “I want you to meet the woman who helped me rescue Robin and the others. Nelle, this is my father, King Edmund of Hopka. Dad, this is Princess Lolienna of Coleur. But she prefers to go by Nelle.” He smiled.
“Er…pleased to meet you,” the king said, looking nonplussed. She managed a nod as the door opened once more and Robin returned, followed by a man with scars covering most of his visible skin. The king nodded at his approach. “Lord Khone. A pleasure to see you again.”
“Likewise,” the man said with a slight bow before he focused on Nelle. “Hello, Lady Nelle. I’m Oliver.”
Nelle squinted, a memory pricking at her. “You were here with me when…”
Oliver smiled as he approached the bedside. “I’m surprised you remember that. You were in pretty terrible shape.”
“It’s fuzzy,” she mumbled. “I remember nothing but your face.”
“That’s more than I expected,” Oliver said.
“Granted, I haven’t treated as many traumatic injuries as Elodie—a side-effect of her living in the nearby village for several years, whereas I spent most of my time here or at school.
Still, she warned Kit and me you probably wouldn’t have much memory of the time leading up to your… er…injury.”
At his words, a flood of images bombarded Nelle’s mind. The Ice Keep. Her mother’s attempt to put her back under the dominance spell. The spike she sent toward Kit’s—Nelle closed her eyes, trying to escape the memories.
Kit sat down on the bed, still holding her hand. “It’s okay, love. We’re here. We’re safe.”
“Where is here, exactly?” Nelle mumbled.
“The royal palace of Moyar,” Oliver said. “Home to King Alistair and Princess…no, I suppose Joanna doesn’t live here anymore.”
Kit’s voice was tense, as he said, “Did something happen to the princess? Last I heard, she’d fallen ill, but I hadn’t heard?—”
“No, no, Jo’s fine. Better than fine, actually.
Elodie and her mother were able to save her and perform the Great Exchange, with her help,” Oliver assured him.
“But she’s traveling Afeyra now and has abdicated the crown to…
well, me and my wife Elodie.” Nelle cracked her eyes open to see that the man was blushing furiously.
“It’s rather a recent development, so I’m sure the news hadn’t quite reached Sherwood Forest.” He cleared his throat.
“But that’s neither here nor there. How are you feeling, princess? ”
Nelle scowled. “I’m not a prin…”
“You are,” Kit insisted. “Even if you weren’t the daughter of Queen Snow White, you would be once you married me.”
Nelle was certain her face was even redder than Oliver’s. “I’m…I’m not sure I remember you asking me?—”
Now Kit’s face was as red as a rose. “Er…we hadn’t gotten that far yet, but I assumed…”
“You know what they say about assuming things, Kit,” King Edmund chortled. “Regardless, I think Robin and I had better let you talk with the grand duke. We’ll see you at dinner, Kit.”
“Er, okay,” the prince said, though the look on his face told Nelle that going to a formal dinner was one of the last thing he wanted to do.
“I’ll let you talk to the healer and rest, but, rest assured, I’ll be back later. I’d like to get to know the woman who has stolen my son’s heart,” King Edmund said, winking as he strolled out the door.
For a moment, no one in the sick room spoke. At last, Oliver said, “Shall we agree not to speak of what just happened?”
“Please,” Kit begged, and Nelle couldn’t help but smile at his eagerness.
“Excellent. Now, back to the question at hand,” Oliver said, his focus now on his patient, and, for the moment, the entire interaction faded from Nelle’s mind.
Oliver asked Nelle more questions than she could keep track of until he finally offered a pain relief potion. That done, he left, giving her orders to continue resting.
At this order, Kit shifted uncomfortably. “Is there anything I can do to speed her recovery?”
“Just let her rest. She’s been through a traumatic injury. Her body will need time to recover,” Oliver said, shaking his head.
“She is in the room and would prefer not to be spoken about as if she couldn’t hear you. Thank you very much,” Nelle said, smiling sweetly.
“My apologies, Princess. You’re absolutely right, and Elodie would put me on herb crushing duty if she heard my misstep,” Oliver said. He grinned at Kit. “I can see that you both are well-suited to each other.”
“We are indeed,” Kit said.
“Alright. I’ll send some food up for you and let the others know you’re awake.”
“The others?” Nelle questioned.
“Oh yes, there are about two dozen people in the castle who have been asking about you nonstop. If you want to see them, that’s fine with me, but I would strongly encourage you to limit your visitors,” Oliver said.
“Thank you,” Kit said, a smile gracing his face.
Oliver nodded firmly before bowing once more and backing out of the room.
“He seems nice,” Nelle mumbled.
“He is. And he’s a lot more confident than he was the last time we met,” Kit mused. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. After a moment’s silence, he ventured, “Are there any…side effects from the Cracked Mirror?”
Nelle closed her eyes, looking inward. “No. I feel better than I have since the Snow Queen brought the Cracked Mirror into the castle.”
Kit froze. “You…you remember…”
Nelle nodded. “I remember everything. Even the day I…” She couldn’t make herself meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Kit. I never meant to hurt you, not even when I transformed you. It really was just to keep you safe.”
“I believe you,” Kit assured her, sitting down on the bed next to her.
“You told me you were trying to protect me, and you did, even if it took a little longer than I wanted it to.” He offered a smirk.
“And now I have the power to transform into a dragon at will. It will make for an interesting story for the history books.”
Nelle winced. “Oh. They’re probably going to give you a horrible nickname.”
“I don’t care. All I care about is you getting better. The last few days…” Kit swallowed hard, not meeting her eyes. “Oliver and Elodie kept saying that you would be fine, but you were so…so still, I wasn’t…I didn’t…”
“You didn’t believe them,” Nelle murmured, squeezing his hand weakly. After a moment’s hesitation, Kit nodded. “Do you believe them now?”
Once again, he paused before answering. “Mostly. I just think…what if this is some sort of dream? Or what if?—”
“Does this feel like a dream?” Nelle interrupted.
This time, his answer was immediate. “No.” His gaze softened. “No, of course not.”
Nelle gave a mischievous smile. “It feels like one to me.”
Confusion marred the prince’s face. “It does?”
Nelle nodded. “I woke up to hear you say that you loved me. That sure feels like the stuff dreams are made of.”
Kit brought her hand to his lips. “I meant it. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Not even...” His face grew red once more. “Well, I’ve never felt this way.”
“I haven’t either,” Nelle confessed. “That’s not as big a surprise, I know. But it’s true.” She tore her eyes away from his. “It’s why your spell broke.”
Kit stared at her. “What do you mean?”
Nelle stared down at the quilt, picking at a loose thread.
“The last conscious thought I had before I lost my memories was that I needed to put in a fail-safe—a way to break the spell once it wasn’t necessary anymore.
Before I came to live in the castle, Kai used to tell me my mother’s story.
You know, the one about how her step-mother attempted to kill her.
Except he told me how my father broke her spell. ”
Kit’s grip on her tightened. “And? What was the big secret?”
Nelle forced herself to look at him. He already told me he loved me. He deserves to know the truth. “My father broke the spell with true love’s kiss.”
Kit blinked once, twice, three times. “True love’s kiss? But that’s supposed to be a myth.”
Nelle shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. It worked for them. And it worked for us.”
Kit stared at her. “Us?”
Nelle swallowed hard and continued, “I’d heard the story so many times, I suppose it left an impression.
So, when I cast the spell, I told the magic that it would only break with true love’s kiss.
” She winced. “It was risky, I realize now, but, at the time, I was trying to fight my mother’s hold on me and hold back her magic and finish the protection spell.
That fail-safe was the only thing I could think of.
Unfortunately, the rebound magic erased it from my memory, so I couldn’t tell you about how to break it.
It was sheer luck that I…” Now, she felt her cheeks heat.
“Keep going,” Kit said, running his hand up and down her arm. He forced her to meet his eyes. “How did you break the spell?”
“I knew I was going to hand myself over to Will and Guy and that we would probably never see each other again,” Nelle whispered. “But I couldn’t leave without…without telling you how I felt. And kissing you.”
“On the forehead.” Kit nodded.
Nelle stared at him. “How did you?—”
“I thought it was just a dream,” Kit confessed.
“But now it all makes sense. You told me you loved me and you kissed me. That’s what broke the spell.
” He pressed his forehead to Nelle’s as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Gently, he used his thumbs to wipe them away.
“No more tears, love. This is a happy moment. I am so in awe of you right now.”
Nelle sniffled. “I did nothing. Nothing heroic, really.”
Kit shook his head. “No, snowdrop. You did it all. You broke your spell and then saved the frozen…you saved me. And even if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have to do any. I already couldn’t be more in love with you.”