Protected by Emeralds (A Dance with Destiny Book 5) Read online

  Uriel growled. “When I get my hands on that wicked little Angel—”

  “She will just ditch you again.” Daichi crossed his arms. “Tell me. How is it an Archangel continually proves himself to be utterly incompetent?”

  “Watch your words, boy… and your tone.”

  Her sapphire Blessing simply turned, shaking his head, and went back into the palace.

  *****

  “Nilakanta?”

  Yes, little Naga.

  “I need to do something special for Yui.”

  How so?

  “I’m not sure.” She blew out a long breath. “But I need to do something to protect him, see to him… something to ensure his noble heart.”

  The Dragon smiled, inside and out.

  You love him too much. You know that, right?

  “Yes, I know.” She looked up at the passing clouds. “He deserves the world, Dragon. And somehow, some way… I will make sure he is blessed with more happiness than he could ever possibly imagine. I swear it.”

  Do you have something in mind, Little Fire?

  “Not yet. But my heart will dwell upon it continually until I find the answer. It’s out there, Nilakanta. I know it is. I feel it tingling within my wings.”

  Very well, Naga. If you are certain your soul can handle such a thing… I will help you find Yui’s happiness.

  “Gratitude, Brother, always.”

  Chapter 4

  Shaemon

  (SHAE-mon)

  “Did your Death Angel ever find you?”

  Jenevier was surprised when she heard the proper little voice coming from beneath the large weeping cherry tree at the far end of Princess Falls. She smiled softly when she saw Shaemon Green sitting there—leaning against the large trunk, partially hidden by the bloom-laden branches.

  “Well hello, Shae. Life been treating you well these last many years?”

  The little Fairy-man just snorted by way of response.

  “Aww, come on now, Shae,” she said, sitting down next to him in the peaceful shade. “Don’t tell me you are still angry over this being my place.”

  “Of course I’m still angry. How can this be your place? It’s not fair,” he huffed. “Well, it doesn’t truly matter, anyway. I care not for the whole of this place, only the spot I now sit. Does that bother you, Angel? Do you wish to take away the only thing in this rotten world that truly makes me happy?”

  His voice cracked slightly. Shaemon quickly turned his head, but Jenevier had already noticed the tears spilling over from his beady black eyes.

  “Hey… Shaemon…” She took his hands in hers, gently squeezing. “What troubles you, old friend? Did I hurt your feelings? I was only kidding, Shae. Apologies. I should not have teased you so.”

  He sniffed. “It’s not you… it’s me.”

  “Are you not feeling well?”

  “I’ve just had a bad couple of days. Leave it, Angel. I’ll be fine. I just came here to think. That’s all.”

  “As you say, Shaemon, I will leave it. In truth, I am suffering from the same affliction myself.”

  The little Fairy turned to her, wide-eyed. “Affliction?”

  Jenevier nodded. “Yes. I have seen better days, that’s for sure. But these last few have been a real doozie.” She half laughed. “That is why I am here as well—to think. This place is magical. This place… it heals me when my heart knows nothing but trouble.” She leaned over, lightly bumping him with her shoulder. “Let us make a deal, Shaemon. Let us form a pact.”

  He furrowed his brows. “What kind of pact?”

  “Let us share in this place. What do you think?”

  He didn’t answer, only stared blankly at her. She chuckled.

  “I bequeath half of Princess Falls to you, my sour little friend. From this day forth, this place belongs to the both of us. If you can meet the terms.”

  “Terms? What terms?”

  “The terms of our pact.”

  He lifted one haughty eyebrow. “Which are?”

  “The most important part—to keep this place secret from all. You cannot breathe a word of it to your Fairy friends.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve known about this place longer than you have and I’ve never breathed a word of it. So, what other terms do you require?”

  “We must share.”

  “Share? Share what?”

  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “If one of us should happen upon the other… we must share with them the sorrow that brought us back here. Oh yes, and do not try to hide your tears from me anymore. If we are to be friends and partners, we must be open and honest with one another.”

  “I wasn’t crying. And if I felt like sharing, it certainly wouldn’t be with a sassy Death Angel.”

  “Come now, Shae. What good will it do to come all the way here and then just hold on to all the pain we brought with us? We both came because our hearts are heavy. Keeping it all bottled up will drive you mad.” She softly snorted. “That has proven true with me, more than once. You and I, well, we know nothing of the other. We do not share the same friends, run with the same crowd, or even live on the same layer. Who better to share your burdens with than someone you do not have to see on a regular basis? Sometimes… it just feels good to say it out loud, get it off your chest, share the heavy burden with another.”

  The little Fairy-man only grumbled under his breath.

  “Very well, then.” She gently patted his hand as she released it. “I offered. Sometimes… that’s all you can do.”

  “I want this half,” he snapped.

  “What?”

  Shaemon cleared his throat and continued in a much softer tone. “If we are to share this place, I want this half.”

  Jenevier smiled. “Very well. I prefer the waterfall anyway. If we are having to actually pick a physical side to our shared paradise, the other side would have been my choice from the beginning.”

  He let out a tiny sigh and relaxed his shoulders. “Do you wanna go first?”

  “Do you wish me to go first?”

  “I was just asking,” he snapped, then sighed again. “Apologies. I'm not used to this kind of thing.”

  “What? Talking civilly to another creature?”

  Shaemon blushed and turned his head.

  “Fear not, Shae. Do not waste your energy on trying to be anything other than who you truly are. In truth, I kind of enjoy your company. And… if you happen to cross a line, I’ll be more than happy to knock you back over it.”

  She bumped him again with her shoulder. He actually smiled. It was a tiny one, yes, but a smile all the same.

  “So… you gonna say what’s bothering you or not?”

  “To be completely honest with you, Shaemon, I already talked it all out with my Dragon.” She pointed toward Nilakanta resting atop one of the mountains. “But if you like, I will share it with you as well.”

  “You don’t have to. I just offered.”

  “Very well, then. I will take you up on that offer.”

  Jenevier leaned her head back against the tree and confided in the small man a condensed version of her time on Val Hal. To her shock, Shaemon actually seemed quite interested. He asked a couple questions, and even tenderly patted her knee a few times during the harder bits.

  “The loss of a loved one is the heaviest burden a heart can bear,” he whispered softly, after she had finished her sad tale. “I too know this pain.”

  Jenevier quietly waited.

  Shaemon took a deep breath and then began confiding in his own sorrows…

  “Vanilla. That’s what the tiny clumps of flowers growing by the water’s edge smelled like that day—vanilla.” He wiped away a silent tear. “I hate her—my Queen. I didn’t want to go. And… I hate her.”

  Jenevier did not speak, only waited for him to tell his tale in his own way, in his own time. She squeezed his tiny hand in hers.

  “Alas, I had no choice. I wanted to wait on Garoth. We had promised to meet
by the water, same as always. But then the dove had brought the Queen’s summons… and I couldn’t find him anywhere. Still, I waited another two hours before I headed to the old Bat’s chambers. I mean, Garoth doesn’t lie. He had always kept his word. I had hoped he was simply delayed. So, I waited. Much more is required of Garoth’s day than of mine. He has many more responsibilities than I do. I waited until I knew she would punish me for hours. But I didn’t care. I would suffer through anything for him—Garoth.”

  “You loved him.”

  Shaemon nodded. “Yes, I loved him. We were best friends from our youth.” He chuckled softly. “We stumbled across each other by the water where the vanilla flowers grow. That was back when we were both too young to actually strike out on our own, but way too big to be bossed around by other people. At least, that’s what we told ourselves.”

  She shared in his gentle smile.

  “My family has served the Royal Fairy Throne for over a hundred generations. Did you know that?”

  Jenevier shook her head.

  “It’s true. That is the Green family’s sworn duty—our service to the Fairy Kingdom.” He puffed his tiny chest out a little. “But Garoth, heh, Garoth was even more special than that. He was the first grandson of the Mountain King. In truth, my family wasn’t special. We were bound… bound with no hope of breaking away. He could no more escape his future as ruler of the Dwarves than I could veer from my fated path of loyal servitude. Yet… we tried—stayed hidden for nearly a fortnight… before our supplies ran out and our bellies began to rumble.”

  Jenevier snickered, but quickly clamped her hand over her mouth. Shaemon sent her a sideways glance, then smiled.

  “It’s all right. We were just kids. Looking back on it now…” He sighed. “Our premature bolt for freedom was foolhardy. Laugh all you want. We did… when we got older.”

  “I did not laugh at your escape attempt, Shaemon. I just couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute the two of you must have been—proud as peacocks, running away from home. It was destiny that you met up like you did. It warms my heart.”

  “Yeah… destiny.” He sighed again before going on. “Anyway, when it became clear that we weren’t quite ready to make it all on our own, we swore to meet back at that same spot on the first full moon of each month. Our pledge—one day, we would escape our predetermined fates… together. And that was the way of it—month after month, year after year. We never missed a promised meeting time, never.”

  Jenevier placed her hand on his little knee and waited for him to turn and face her fully.

  “You never told him, did you?”

  Shaemon didn’t answer.

  “You never told him that you were in love with him.”

  Bitter tears spilled down his thin cheeks, but Shaemon never broke their locked gaze.

  “No,” he whispered. “I never found the nerve.”

  Shaemon’s thoughts drifted back to the very day he knew he had fallen in love with the Dwarf Prince. It had happened quite by accident. At least, Shaemon hadn’t been looking for love, didn’t even yet know what the word truly meant.

  On their third day as accidental partners in an intentional run-a-way plan, Shaemon had stepped on a bee as he neared the water’s edge. The pain was so sharp and sudden, he had dropped their only pail into the lake as he yelled out in pain. Garoth made it to him before his tiny little Fairy butt had even hit the ground. His tears had the Dwarf’s face blurred from vision, but his new friend’s voice was kind and gentle and calming. Shaemon whimpered softly when the Dwarf Prince sucked the stinger out of his foot. Yet his crying didn’t cease entirely until Garoth chewed up some of the leaves from those vanilla-scented flowers and placed the cool poultice over the swollen red spot.

  “That should help,” Garoth whispered, lifting the tiny Fairy as if he was nothing but air.

  Shaemon’s heart was smitten, then and there, and his feelings toward Garoth Stonebrok had never changed.

  No one’s laugh is as warm, no one’s smile is as bright, no one’s voice is as deep as is Garoth’s, Shaemon thought.

  “Hey. Shae? You still with me?” Jenevier whispered, squeezing the Fairy-man’s tiny hand.

  “…Yes.” He sniffed. “I was just thinking… just remembering.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, we met as children, yes. Alas, all too soon, we grew into men. So too did our responsibilities. Our monthly meetings were eventually replaced with bi-monthly outings, or even postponed a bit longer… for duty’s sake. Yet not once in all those years did we go longer than three months without greeting one another in our secret place.”

  Jenevier smiled softly as he turned to face her.

  “I can remember everything about that day, everything—the way the flowers smelled, the direction the wind was blowing. Every single word spoken from sunrise until dusk… it haunts me, plays about in my mind always.”

  “Would you like to share it with me?”

  He chewed on his bottom lip as he stared into her ethereal pink eyes.

  “I will not force you, Shae. I just wanted you to know you had a friendly ear, if you wished to speak.”

  “…I do,” he whispered.

  “Will it relax you if I braid your hair?”

  The Fairy pulled away. “W-what?”

  “That always relaxes Vittorio.”

  “Vittorio? The Death Angel?”

  Jenevier chuckled. “Yes.”

  “You tame a creature such as him by merely running your fingers through his hair?”

  “No. Not just that. We match our breathing and join our hearts. Here, let me show you.”

  When Jenevier picked the little Fairy man up by his waist and plopped him down between her outstretched legs, he was too startled to even struggle. She gently pulled him back against her, resting her chin on his tiny shoulder.

  “Feel me,” she whispered. “Blend your breathing with mine, Shaemon. Match our heartbeats. Borrow my strength, little one.”

  “This feels so… strange. So… comforting. So… perfect.”

  He slowly melted back against her, closing his eyes and releasing his anxiety.

  “That’s right, Shae. Let it all go. Let the memory come without reservation or fear. Give in to it. I will protect you. Trust in me, little one. That Dragon up there… there’s not a creature within all the realms who can pass his guard. We are safe. You are safe.”

  Shaemon sighed softly, a tiny smile turning up the corners of his usually pursed lips.

  “I knew something bad must have happened to him,” he whispered. “But I tried to keep those dark thoughts from running rampant. I knew… if he couldn’t come to me, he would send word. He always had. I just had to wait. As soon as his duties would permit it, Garoth would dispatch a blue jay, just like always before. I would see him. I was certain of it. Perhaps I would just have to wait a couple more days. That’s all. But I would see him.”

  Jenevier lightly stroked his hair as the scenes from his past vividly played out in his mind…

  When he made it to the edge of the great green expanse, Shaemon closed his gossamer wings and walked the rest of the way back home.

  “What does that old Bat want with me, anyway?” He snapped off another weed and began chewing on it. “She knows this is my day off. But does she care? Noooo. No one is as important as the Queen. No one’s needs matter as much as hers.” His voice went mockingly high. “All you measly vermin shall cater to my every whim. My life is the only important life. My loyal subjects should know this. You live to serve me. That is all.” He waved his tiny hands as if he were shooing away the kneeling masses. “Ugh! I hate that old witch.”

  As he reached for the veil to her chambers, all the tiny butterflies that covered it fluttered and shimmered, but they didn’t fly away. Shaemon flinched. That always made him flinch. Every. Single. Time. He rolled his eyes as he stepped through the living curtain and into her room.

  “And why have I been summoned to your private chambers, Your Grace? What could be so impor�
�”

  His words froze in his throat when he looked up and realized they were not alone. Prince Garoth lay motionless atop the Queen’s lounge, his head resting still upon her lap as she tenderly stroked his thick brown hair.

  “What is it, Shaemon? Did the Mermaids steal your voice?”

  He met her icy glare, but the devilish smile now parting her thin lips sent a cold shiver down his spine.

  “Don’t just stand there gawking, Shae. Make yourself useful. It’s past time for tea and I didn’t wish to wake my sleeping little friend here.” She lightly ran her fingertips down his cheek as she spoke. “He was exhausted.” She smiled. “But he did such a good job, I made him do it again… and again.”

  Shaemon tried to swallow down the bile building in the back of his throat, and the sickening feeling that accompanied it. He already knew the handsome Dwarf Prince was loved by many women. Of course he was. Shaemon had quietly listened to all the sordid tales his royal friend had enlightened him with throughout the years. He knew Garoth enjoyed sex, knew he was good at it, had heard his play-by-play concerning multiple partners in a single night… all female. But as long as he never actually saw Garoth with a woman, they could remain just that—sordid tales.

  “Well don’t just stand there, Shae. Tea. Tea. Oh, and if you’re going to be sick… take it outside. You are turning as green as a gourd.”

  “Wh-why would I be sick, Your Grace?”

  The teacup sounded a loud ringing noise when the teapot banged shakily against its side. Shaemon gripped it tighter, trying to halt the trembling in his hands.

  “Why indeed,” the Queen said as she took her first sip.

  When she purposefully cleared her throat, Shaemon looked up from the gentle sleeping face of his Dwarf friend and met her knowing gaze.

  “Why are you fretting so, Shae? Is it because your beloved Queen has spent these last few hours in the arms of a filthy Dwarf? Or… is it this particular Dwarf that gives you pause?”

  “I am certain I have no idea what you mean, Milady.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. It is.”