Heart of Silver, Soul of Glass
By Stormlight
Chapter Three
It was deep into night, and the only movement came from the guards patrolling
along the boundaries of the castle walls. Even the scullery maids, usually up
well past dark washing dishes in the kitchen, had retired for the night.
Somewhere, a dog barked, and was answered by a horse whinnying in the stable.
All was at peace.
"OW! Watch it, you dolt! Could you possibly be any clumsier?!"
Well…Almost.
"Well, excuse me, Your Majesty!" another voice hissed back. "Why don’t you
try scaling a wall with a heavy bag hung around your neck!"
"Shhhh! Keep up the noise, and you’re gonna get us all caught!"
"Yeah, and even you aren’t gonna be able to sweet-talk your way out of the
explaining we’ll have to do for this one!"
"We were going for a midnight stroll?"
"Up the side of a castle?!"
"Oh. I see your point."
"Whose crazy idea was this, anyway?" Miaka gasped as she shimmied up the rope
a little further.
"I believe it was our esteemed princess’s," Serena grunted, coming just
behind her. It was she who had the bag around her neck, and it was this bag
that had whacked said princess across the head and nearly knocked her off the
wall.
"Look," Rei assured them smoothly, "just calm down. This will be great! It
will be the prank to end all pranks. All those jokes my brother and his
friends used to play on us when we were children? This will make them look
like…well…like child’s play!"
"I doubt they ever had to climb up a castle to pull it off!" Serena gasped,
blinking sweat out of her eyes. She was as much for pulling a great prank on
Endymion as anyone, but even she had to admit that this was going a little
overboard. "My fingers feel like they’re gonna fall off!" she wailed as
quietly as she could.
"Quit whining!" Rei grunted, pulling herself up further. "We’re almost there!
Now move up!" She gave Serena a light smack on the rear, causing the other
girl to squeal. "Shhhhh!"
Finally, they reached the top of the turret they were attempting to scale,
and climbed over the side, gasping for breath. "If I ever agree to do this
again," Miaka wheezed, "you have my permission to shove me off the top of the
castle!"
"It’s all Endymion’s fault for having his chambers on the very top floor!"
Serena replied, sprawling out on her back. "Can we take an hour break before
we go to the next stage?"
"I never knew you were such a chicken, Serena," Rei teased.
"I’m not afraid. I’m exhausted!" the girl countered. "And we still have to
get back down again!"
"Why didn’t we just take the stairs like normal people?" Miaka asked dryly.
"Because Rei isn’t normal?"
"Very funny, Serena," Rei sniffed. "There are too many guards inside the
castle, and too much light. Outside it’s more spread out, and there are more
shadows to hide in. Now come on. Time is wasting. Have you got the sack?"
"Noooo! I’ve been carrying a dead chicken around my neck all this way!"
Serena retorted, sticking her tongue out at the princess. "Of course I have
it, dummy! Let’s just get this over with so I can go home and get some
sleep!"
Needless to say, Serena was not a night owl.
The three girls stood up and made their way softly to the door leading into
the stairway inside the castle. There was no guard there, thanks to Rei who
had bribed him into taking the night off, so they slipped inside with
relative ease. Rei led them to a doorway, which in turn led them out to a
balcony. "His room is this way," she whispered, tiptoeing over to another
door which hung slightly open to allow the warm spring breeze to blow
through. She opened it further and slipped inside, followed closely by Miaka.
Serena hung back, feeling more and more nervous. She had never been in
Endymion’s chambers before, not even once in her life, and she felt strange
sneaking into them now. It was one thing to sneak into a mere boy’s bedroom,
but Endymion was now nineteen, and far past boyhood. Wouldn’t they get into a
lot of trouble if he caught them?
"Serena, come on!" Rei hissed loudly, making her jump and wince at the same
time. She hoped to high heaven that the crown prince was as heavy a sleeper
as Rei claimed he was…
The room was dark; only the single candle Rei carried gave it any light at
all, and that she kept carefully away from her brother’s face. Serena opened
the sack and reached inside, feeling her skin crawl at the touch of hard,
cool scales against her hand. Shuddering, she withdrew the serpent in the
bottom of the bag and held it up. The candlelight glittered off the smooth,
black scales, the glittering eyes, and the fangs of its wide-open mouth. "It
looks so real," she whispered, examining the coiled snake.
"Yes, the taxidermist did a good job. It will scare the wits out of Endy! He
hates snakes!" Rei gloated. She held the light up so that it shone off the
gold-inlaid posts at each corner of Endymion’s bed. "If we put it over one of
the posts, he’ll be sure to see it," she whispered. "Put it at the one right
above his head!"
"I can’t reach that high," Serena whispered back.
"So stand on his bed and reach it that way," Rei huffed impatiently. "Miaka
and I will keep a lookout for the guards. And for pity’s sake, be quiet! I
couldn’t bribe all the guards to be gone for the night! There are at least
two right outside the room!" She headed out onto the balcony again, while
Miaka went to keep watch near the other door.
"Now she tells me…" Serena muttered, rolling her eyes. She stepped closer to
the bed and peered down. Endymion lay there, sleeping deeply, with a pale
shaft of moonlight shining through the door and illuminating his face with an
eerie glow. Serena felt her heartbeat quicken as she stared at him. He looked
so different when he was asleep. So…innocent. And very handsome…
She shook herself out of her thoughts, scowling fiercely. Ever since the
night of the Masque—almost a year ago now—things hadn’t been the same between
her and Endymion. They still bickered, of course, but it seemed only half-
hearted on the prince’s part, and sometimes Serena had the oddest feeling
that he was watching her. When she’d look at him, though, his attention was
always elsewhere. Still, she could not shake the feeling that he didn’t look
at her in quite the same way that he used to, and she wasn’t sure if she was
relieved or nervous about that. There were even times when he was almost nice
to her, asking her how she was doing in an almost kind voice, but she acted
so spooked when he spoke to her like that that he didn’t do it very often.
Mostly…he just ignored her.
Serena sighed and allowed her eyes to drift downward…where she discovered a
most interesting fact. Endymion apparently didn’t wear clothes to sleep at
night. He was bare down to his waist, where the silken sheets covered him
from there. Her eyes went wide and a fiery blush crept up her cheeks. "Rei!"
she hissed.
"What?!" the princess hissed back from outside.
"He isn’t wearing anything!" Serena wailed in a whisper, feeling absolutely
mortified. If he should wake up now…
Rei’s head popped around the corner. "What?" she exclaimed, her brow
furrowing.
"I said he…he isn’t wearing…well, look at him!" Serena whispered, pointing.
Rei looked, and then she rolled her eyes. "Don’t be such a baby! My brothers
never wear nightshirts at night this time of year," she replied. "Look." And
she grabbed the sheet and yanked it down before Serena could stop her. "See?
Nothing to worry about!" the princess added before turning to head back to
her post.
Serena peeked out between her fingers and heaved a sigh of relief to see that
Endymion’s lower half was covered with velvet trousers. "I swear I am going
to get her for this," she grumbled, inching forward with the heavy serpent,
and climbing carefully onto the bed. It was a very soft mattress, and she
found it difficult to keep her balance, but she managed to stagger to the
post at the end of the bed and hook the coils of the serpent over the top of
it, so that it hung down as though it was ready to strike. Well, now that was
over, and all she had to do was to jump down and grab her sister and make her
escape. Endymion would never know what hit him. For the first time, she
allowed a grin to spread across her face as she turned to hop down from the
bed.
Unfortunately, her foot had managed to get twisted in the sheets, and as she
raised it to step down, she ended up losing her balance. She gave a gasp of
horror as she fell sideways, barely choking back a startled scream. Luckily
for her, she landed on the bed rather than the floor. Or maybe it wasn’t so
lucky, since Endymion was sleeping in it. She froze, her eyes widening in
terror, her heart stopping for a full thirty seconds as she lay there, too
terrified to even think of attempting to run away. That bouncing jolt would
have shaken a dead person awake. She didn’t see how the crown prince could
sleep through it! Any moment he’d open his eyes and see his worst enemy
sprawled out beside him on his bed, and there were going to be a lot of
questions about that…
She supposed she could be grateful that she hadn’t landed on him…
After a moment, she realized…he was still asleep.
She couldn’t believe it. He was still laying there, with his eyes closed, and
he was still asleep! She shook her head in disbelief. Rei certainly hadn’t
been joking when she said her brother could sleep through a natural disaster!
Which means I’m still alive as long as I get moving right now, Serena
thought, nearly giddy with relief. I swear I will never play another nasty
trick on anyone ever again if I get out of this in one piece! She held her
breath and slowly began to ease herself off the bed.
And that was when Endymion rolled over.
Right onto her.
Well, technically, it was only his arm and one leg that was on her, but the
effect was the same. She froze like a startled rabbit, her breath coming in
short gasps, and waited for him to wake up and realize that there was a
strange woman in his bed. I am never going to live this one down. He will be
telling this story to my children’s children’s children! she silently wailed.
That is…if he didn’t have her banished from the kingdom, first…
"Rei?" she whispered desperately, her voice little more than a breath. She
grimaced. How was she ever gonna get her attention that way? But she didn’t
dare speak any louder, for fear of waking him. "Miaka? A little help…" she
whispered again, hoping her sister was closer. No such luck. She shifted
slightly, and the warm, heavy weight of his arm across her abdomen caused a
swarm of butterflies to take flight in her stomach. His solid leg hooked
around hers wasn’t helping much, either. I am in so much trouble…
She carefully eased her legs out from under him, a sheen of perspiration
breaking out on her brow when he shifted and mumbled in response, his deep
voice rumbling in her ear. She gulped and her eyes widened, turning to find
that his dark head had shifted over closer to her own, only inches away. His
lips were at eye-level with her, and she couldn’t help but notice how soft
and warm they looked…
Okay, I am definitely in trouble here! Think, Serenity! How do I get out of
this mess?
Miaka had always been the thinker in the family, and Serena had always
preferred it that way, but now she was seriously wishing for some extra skill
in that department. Maybe, if she rolled over quickly, she could land on the
floor and roll under the bed before he looked over the side and saw her?
Assuming she didn’t get the wind knocked out of her, that is. But the thump
might bring her sister and Rei into the room, and she didn’t want them to get
caught. Rei would kill her. Well, she’d just have to do it the hard way then…
She gulped, and carefully gripped his arm, trying her hardest not to notice
the smooth, warm skin under her fingers, and began to move it over next to
his body.
He murmured again, and his arm left her grasp. She froze. "Darling," he
whispered in her ear, his arm once more settling over her, pulling her closer
to his side and wrapping his other arm around her so that she was fully in
his embrace, cuddled up against him like a…lover.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head, and her jaw fell open in shock.
DARLING?!
She was just about to give up the ghost and scream bloody murder when she
noticed that his eyes were open…and fixed right on her. She went absolutely
still, her blood freezing in her veins. This was it. This was where he leaped
up, screamed for his guards, and at a grand ceremony bright and early the
next morning, had her beheaded. She wondered if her mother would miss her, or
if she’d be glad to have an extra room in the house. It certainly would cut
back on food costs…
"Beloved…" Endymion whispered again, "I’ve missed you. Where have you been?"
She blinked. Huh? This wasn’t right. Where was the screaming for the guards
and the yelling of "Off with her head!"? "Where have you been?" was not what
she’d had in mind…
And then it came to her…Endymion was dreaming. He was still asleep! She went
limp suddenly, her relief overcoming fear for a moment, before she began to
think again. There was still a chance she could escape, unscathed. "I…um…was
picking strawberries," she blurted, saying the first thing that came to mind.
His brow furrowed slightly. "In the middle of the night?"
She winced. Curse it!
"They…er…always taste fresher that way! The…night air and everything…"
He seemed to accept that statement, and he gazed into her eyes, his own eyes
lidded. "Is that why your lips seem extra rosy tonight?" he murmured, a hand
coming up to trace along her lips. "You’ve been eating strawberries?"
She swallowed audibly. Where the hell is Reeeeiiii?! she wailed in her head.
Then, upon thinking over her current situation, laying there locked in the
prince’s arms, she was suddenly very glad that her sarcastic friend wasn’t in
the room, after all. "Well…uh…you caught me! I was eating strawberries. I
just can’t hide anything from you, can I?" she muttered, squirming against
his strong arms.
He chuckled softly. "So where are they?" he asked.
She blinked. "Where are what?"
"The strawberries, silly goose! I’m suddenly hungry for some."
She groaned and closed her eyes. Well, now what? "I took them to the kitchen
already," she replied on a sudden burst of inspiration. "You’ll have them for
breakfast!"
He looked disappointed for a moment, but then a sly grin spread across his
face, and his eyes took on a certain gleam. "Well, that’s too bad. I was
really looking forward to a taste," he murmured. "Maybe I’ll just have to
taste them some other way, instead…"
She froze, realizing his intent a moment too late as his head dipped toward
hers, and his lips caught hers in a sweet, lingering kiss. Oh yes. His lips
were warm, all right, and they were definitely soft. She squeezed her eyes
shut as the butterflies in her stomach erupted into a flock of extremely
hyper starlings, and did her best not to be affected by the feel of his lips
moving against her own. Of course the battle was over before it had even
begun, and by the time he softly broke the kiss, it felt like her bones had
all melted into jelly. Okay. That was it. She definitely was getting out of
there! "I have to go," she mumbled, trying to slow her breathing. "I…uh…left
some laundry hanging on the line, and…the air will mildew it if I don’t take
it in." She struggled out of his grasp, and he let her go without struggle.
Indeed, it seemed as though he had once again fallen deeper into slumber.
My very first kiss, and he just sleeps through it?! she thought indignantly,
stifling the urge to kick him.
"Serena!" a voice hissed from behind her, making her jump and squeal in
surprise. Miaka’s hand clapped down over her mouth. "Hush! Are you done yet?
It’s been ages!"
"Yes! I’m done! Let’s get out of here," Serena hissed, grabbing her sister by
the hand and pulling her out the door. She had done it. Nobody knew about
that whole scene, and she would carry that secret to her grave! How she would
ever manage to face Endymion again after this night was beyond her, but she
figured she’d face that problem when she came to it. As she shoved Miaka out
onto the balcony, she refused to look back over her shoulder for a last
glimpse of the sleeping prince.
And upon refusing to do this, she was therefore unaware of a pair of
shadowed, blue eyes staring intently at her back until she disappeared from
sight.
(
geocities.com/element_sprite)