Chapter 13 New Bed, New Day, New Life #2
“Thanks.” She touched her hand to her hair, then she walked to the door—a silent gesture that it was time for him to go. Her eyes were downcast; she couldn’t bear to see the look of rejection in his eyes. She knew if he stayed a second longer, her will would break, and she would be all over him.
He rose, his hands brushing against her arms as he walked by. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can still give you everything you want.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what I want.”
Luna wanted to see her family, to have her old life back. But did that include him? Could she get past what he’d done? What he’d said?
The rest of the day passed slowly. At the back of the wardrobe, she had found some of her old books and silently thanked the servants for bringing her something to do.
She briefly wondered if the servant who grabbed her belongings had seen the robe Damien had given her, but if she hadn’t been reprimanded for it by now . . . Probably not.
She spent the next few hours rereading some of her favourite books and pacing around her room. Anything to keep her mind off her inevitable doom. It was doubtful the king would keep her in the palace for long; soon, she’d be moved to the dungeons for disobeying.
What would be Grythorn’s future without a unicorn to continue the protection ceremony? Luna’s throat went dry. She didn’t want to think about the innocent people whose lives she would endanger by not transforming.
She looked down at her hands—her human hands—and folded them together. She could try to call forth her magic. If she were a good person, she’d do the right thing, or at least attempt to.
It was then that she realized she had a choice—that everyone, no matter their circumstance, had a choice. They could choose to follow fate’s path . . . or they could resist and endure the consequences of that decision.
She drifted to the mirror, gazing at the hardness she found in her eyes and decided she’d resist fate’s hand; even if it meant death, she would not allow anyone to force her to act in a way she opposed.
Sacrificing oneself for the greater good seemed overrated.
Though, in the back of her mind, she wondered if she could truly be so selfish as to turn her back on the kingdom she called home.
It was nearly dinner time when a knock sounded on the door. Luna swung it open, and a short red-headed servant stood there. “Good evening, King Hendrix has invited you as his guest to the banquet tonight. Are you ready to go, or do you need a moment?”
His guest? That must mean she was supposed to sit in the glass dome with him and the prince. Seriously, could her luck get any worse? She sighed, a long drawn out exhale before she said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Breathless, Luna reached the main levels of the palace, where Clyde immediately relayed the king’s strict instructions: No socializing with the court, and impeccable behavior was demanded.
He warned that any misstep would embarrass her family.
Luna frowned at his monotonous lecture, finding it peculiar that the king would invite her to this banquet while suspecting she might transform into her unicorn form at any moment.
Despite his assurances to keep her secret, his actions suggested otherwise.
Perhaps he anticipated her transformation would provide entertainment at the banquet.
Regardless, he would be disappointed—Luna found even the dungeons preferable to the thought of performing for him, or anyone, as a unicorn.
Once in the foyer, a servant directed her to wait in a hallway adorned with artwork for the royal family’s arrival.
Clyde stayed behind at the staircase while William accompanied her.
Although her initial resentment towards Clyde had softened, her emotions remained tumultuous, and she was grateful for the respite from his constant presence.
The hum of conversation echoing off the walls made her heart sink. Being the royal family’s invited guest meant walking in with them, but she wanted nothing more than to be attending with her family. Arriving without them solidified how different her life was now.
Prince Kieran strolled into the room, and upon seeing him, Luna curtsied, but he quickly waved her off.
It was an honour to be their invited guest, she reminded herself—all would look at her with envy.
However, the thought of all those eyes staring her down made Luna queasy.
High skies above, she wished she could have somehow turned down the king’s invite. Not only would it feel like she was in a spotlight to sit there, but having any kind of conversation with the king sounded like a nightmare.
The prince glanced up at the painting she had been admiring and nudged her with his elbow. “It’s just a meal.”
“I know that.”
“Then quit looking like you’re about to walk to your death. This meal is bound to be better than your breakfast was . . . and I heard you gobbled that right up.”
Her jaw went slack. “How do you know about that?”
Was he spying on her?
She spun around and confronted him, their noses nearly touching as she glared into his eyes. “I swear to god if you’re why my food was so salty.”
He brushed away an invisible speck of dust from his shoulder, unbothered by her aggressive stance. “You’ll what? Have me thrown in the dungeons? Please. You should be thanking me. I was just being helpful.”
If he was anyone else, she might have slapped him. She whisper-yelled, “Explain to me how poisoning someone’s food is helpful!”
“Thought I’d help you feel a little less sour about your new residences.”
“By making my food salty?” For a prince, he sure was immature. Her glare deepened to the point that she almost couldn’t see.
Prince Kieran laughed, the sound grating against her ears. In between fits of chuckles, he managed to say, “Can’t be sour if you’re salty.”
Oh, he just thought he was so clever. So funny.
Did he even realize how heartless he’d been? Not only had she been thrown in the dungeons, but she hadn’t had a proper meal in twenty-four hours and the first good meal she got he decided to use to pull a prank on her. She put her hands on her hip. “Sweet would have been the better option.”
He shrugged and lazily slung an arm across her shoulders, pulling her to him. “Yeah, but much less funny.”
She scoffed. “Glad I could be your source of entertainment.”
“Me too.” He slapped a hand to his knee and let out one last chuckle before his face turned serious.
“I didn’t do it just for my own kicks. Well, maybe a little .
. . but, like I told your sister, you seemed so upset to be moving into the palace, and I thought some humour might break the ice .
. .” His voice trailed off, and his attention moved to something behind her.
Luna turned to see the king had arrived.
Immediately, she curtsied, causing the prince’s arm to fall off her shoulder.
Prince Kieran dipped his chin ever so slightly towards his father, who returned the gesture, ignoring Luna as he headed towards the Grand Hall.
If this was a sign of how well dinner was about to go, Luna would have preferred the gallows.
The prince extended his arm towards Luna, who responded with a frown.
Did he really expect her to link arms with him and stroll by his side after his admission of the prank?
Noticing her reaction, he let his arm fall to his side and chuckled.
With a haughty tilt of his head, he turned and followed his father inside.
Trumpets announced their entrance and everyone stopped talking to turn and watch them walk in.
King Hendrix entered the Grand Hall first, followed by Prince Kieran and then Luna.
She gulped; so many people were eyeing her down.
Whispers filled the room, but she couldn’t hear anything above the pounding in her ears.
They were all looking at her—all silently judging. She was going to be sick.
Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath, fighting the urge to flee as she forced herself to take a step forward.
Clyde had warned her to be on her best behaviour, so she needed to follow the prince.
Needed to show compliance. Walking is easy, she reminded herself.
Just one step in front of the other. Her limbs shook as she moved, but somehow, she managed not to trip over her own feet.
Prince Kieran slowed his pace to walk alongside her. “Smile. Everyone is watching,” he said as if she needed the reminder. She only glared at him.
The prince offered his arm, and this time, she accepted it, welcoming any nugget of comfort he offered. He then placed his opposite hand over the top of hers and guided her the rest of the way.
The king sat at the head of the table inside the glass dome, facing out towards the two log tables where everyone else was seated.
Prince Kieran escorted Luna to her seat, which was positioned right next to the king.
As she sat down, he leaned in and whispered, “I promise, no more jokes.” A statement that would have been reassuring if someone else had said it, but now, Luna wondered if the prince was going to ruin this meal as well.
Prince Kieran seated himself on the opposite side of the king, across from her, and after he was settled, the king snapped his fingers, prompting a servant to reach for the king’s wine glass and take a sip.
Luna’s brows furrowed together. The king had never been one to check for poisons before.
Had the protection ceremony failed? Was the kingdom now in danger?
The servant nodded to the king, who then lifted his glass of wine.
As the crowd began to lift their glasses, Luna quickly grabbed her own and raised it high.
With his goblet raised, the king said, “I am thankful to be sharing a meal with all of you tonight, and we have our knights to thank for that. They acted quickly yesterday and are still working on annihilating the unicorn threat. There is no doubt in my mind that we will be triumphant!” He then brought the goblet up to his lips and drank deeply; the rest of the room followed suit.
As servants began to deliver food, Luna scanned the crowd for her family.
Emily was sitting with Cecil and her normal crowd gossiping away; she didn’t even seem to realize Luna was in the room.
How typical of Emily to be absorbed in her own world.
Annoyed, Luna rolled her eyes and scanned the crowd for her parents, but they were nowhere to be seen.
It felt like every whisper and laugh in the court was directed at her. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Luna could have sworn she heard her name punctuated by snickering from the gathered nobles.
A servant placed a plate full of roasted chicken and seasonal vegetables before her and the prince cleared his throat.
Luna hadn’t said anything since they sat down, and the silence was more than awkward.
Desperately, she tried to think of something to discuss, but her brain failed to function. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.
King Hendrix turned to her and asked, “How are you progressing on your task?”
She shifted the food around with her fork, finding she wasn’t hungry after all.
Blurting out the first thing that came to mind, she said, “Not well.” Quickly, she tried to think of something else to add.
“I was thinking it might be helpful to have access to the library to look up information on the subject.”
“There’s nothing about this in the library.” King Hendrix rubbed his chin. “Though I may have some old texts lying around collecting dust . . . I suppose you could look at those, see if they are of any relevance. I’ll have them sent to your suite later.”
He placed his silverware down, signalling he was done.
Luna took one last bite before the servants scooped up her plate.
The musicians began playing their instruments, their song sombre.
She looked past the glass dome to see if she could see her family as everyone stood and started pairing with dancing partners.
Over in the corner, she saw her mother and father huddled together.
Their eyes met; her father was stone-faced, but her mother had tears in her eyes.
Luna wanted nothing more than to run over and sink into their arms. But, Clyde’s lecture stopped her.
Causing a scene would not be considered the finest manners, and the last thing she wanted to do was risk getting her parents in trouble.
When she spotted Emily, her sister was in Prince Kieran’s arms. Luna hadn’t even seen him leave the table.
Her sister looked so happy, and he looked completely smitten by her.
A twinge of pain vibrated in Luna’s chest, remembering how she’d felt that way with Clyde.
Not able to stand watching everyone continue with their lives when hers was turned upside down, she got up and left the hall.