Chapter 10

FREYA Twelve. He has sent me twelve chests of something. Even if these are all books it is too expensive! Is he crazy? Or did I misjudged him and he is not that poor?   “This is too much”, I say to Jason and he looks pale when I say that.   “Please, my lady,” he bows “These are gifts that you have to accept according to the tradition.”   “But…”   “You don’t want to insult sir Drake, do you?” he asks with a trembling voice. It almost looks comical considering that he is a huge block that consists mainly of muscles.   “Of course not,” I sigh, “Please, tell your master that I am beyond amazed with his generosity.”   “I will, my lady,” Jason bows again and hurries to leave. I freeze the passage and sit on one of the chests. Well, this was unexpected. But if he bought me books about magic then this has worked out great!   I open the first chest – one of the bigger ones – and to my surprise find out that there are no books inside. Just the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen! So much fabric that it takes up all of the places inside the chest. Unbelievable!   It’s in very pale blue. The front of the dress is decorated with sewn-on pearls and so is the skirt. The puffy sleeves are off-shoulder and the light airy fabric reminds me of chiffon. But it is something else. The whole dress looks like a delicate flower. This is something celebrities would wear to the red carpet. And the thought that I will be able to wear it makes me smile in spite of everything.    I find more dresses in the next chest. Some of them are day dresses, some for travel and a few intended for outings although nothing is as beautiful as the first one.    The third chest has a few shoeboxes, the fourth has something unexpected – furs. I mean, it’s strange, right? Why would he give me huge pieces of fur? Poor animals! As someone from the 21st century, I just don’t approve!   An yet I end up putting them on my “bed” to make it softer and more comfortable. The previous night still reminds me of itself with a backache so maybe it’s for the best. Hmm, maybe Jason saw my pathetic “bed” and advised this Drake guy to give me something like that?   My suspicion is confirmed with the next chest – where I find a few beautifully embroidered pillows. Ah! This is what I call luxury! And now I suspect that Jason played a role in all this…   The next few chests are full of exactly what  I asked for. Books. So many of them! An embarrassment of riches as they say!   This solves so many problems for me that I can’t help but smile.    And the smallest box contains a beautiful pearl necklace with a huge sapphire pendant attached to it. This will match the first dress perfectly! Not to mention that when I sell it I can make good bucks! This tournament gets better and better!    That’s when I realize the time and hurry to get ready for the ball.   It’s also hard getting into a dress like the one I received without help, but I am already used to it. I finish the last button at the back when I hear a knocking sound on my door and see a black figure behind my slightly transparent door.   “One second!” I shout, putting on blue shoes on the way while jumping on one foot. I unfreeze the passage as soon as I am done and gasp as I see the man from the tournament, wearing a black outfit with high shiny boots and a cape draped over his shoulders, silver embroidery that is definitely crazy expensive in this world from what I have learned after my one and only shopping trip here. And a huge silver pin (or maybe its white gold or platinum?) with black diamonds and rubies in the shape of some beast with wings that holds his cape in place also screams that the guy in front of me is not poor and I have completely misjudged him on our first encounter.    We stand like this and just look at each other like that for a few good minutes without saying a word. His perfect features seem tense and I think to myself that it should be illegal for men to look this good. It just should!   “Sir Drake,” I curtsy when I remember my manners. Honestly, I need to find a book in etiquette as well. There only so much one can get away with!   “Lady Winter,” he bows to me, “I am sorry, I am probably early. You are not yet ready.”   Shoot. Why does he say that I am not ready? Shoot, shoot, shoot!   “Not ready?” I look at him questioningly. Give me a clue, give me a clue! Give it to me!   “Pardon me,” he coughs, “I am sure I have sent you a necklace to…”   “Oh!” I splash my hands at him, “That! Yes, yes! It completely slipped off my mind! Give me a second! Come in!”    I run to the box with the necklace, getting it out with trembling fingers. Nerves are getting to me. This all is too much pressure! I try to clasp the damn necklace at the back of my neck unsuccessfully a few times almost ready to swear when hot fingers help me do it, brushing casually over my skin and sending shivers over my spine.    “You have no maids,” he states the fact that we both already know.   “I am aware,” I chuckle and turn to him, fixing the necklace on me. It feels so heavy. I have never worn jewellery this expensive before. When I sell it, it may be enough for a few treatments for Rickie…   “And your tent is,” he chooses his words carefully, “Original.”   “Thanks,” I bite my lip, “My original one malfunctioned and I had to think fast. This is the best that I have come up with!”   He walks slowly around the room, touching the walls and I can swear I see them melting! What the actual hell? When Kai was attacking my door he couldn’t do any kind of significant damage. And yet when this guy just touches my ice, it turns into puddles. I hurry to fix the damage he has caused.   “I am sorry,” he says, watching me work, “I didn’t mean to…”   “That’s fine,” I force a smile on my face. Don’t be the big bad wolf blowing up my beautiful icy house!   “My main power is fire,” he says lazily, “Sometimes it’s hard to control it.”   “You seemed to be controlling yourself just fine at the tournament,” I add, “You were very impressive.”   “Oh, so you were paying attention after all?” he snorts, looking at me playfully. I remember how he caught me by surprise with the crown while I was reading a book during his final fight. Although I was supposed to cheer for him and all. Great job, Freya.   “Of course I did!” I say firmly and then confess, “Especially at first! But it was so long and…”   “Boring,” he interjects, smirking.   “Never-ending”, I mimic him, “And I just got this amazing new book! I thought I’d just take a peak and…”   “Ended up reading instead of cheering for your knight”, he chuckles.   “I am sorry,” I squeak, turning red once again.   “Don’t be,” he grins at me, raising his hand and I notice that my ribbon is still on him, “This was enough to make me want to win. But you owe me one, my lady.”   “Oh,” I flinch at his words, “And what is it that you want from me then?”  Somehow all this starts to get awkward. I realize that I am alone with this incredibly strong man and this is probably inappropriate by local standards. And who knows what his intentions really are…   “All your dances tonight,” he smirks and I want to laugh out loud. Here I am worrying about inappropriate behaviour when all he wants is just to dance with me.    Aww. This is adorable!   “Sure, fine!” I agree happily, “Done and done. All the dances are yours.”   “Good,” for a second there his eyes flash red and I swallow. Did I just see that? Or am I hallucinating? The dress is too tight, maybe I need some air…   He offers me his hand and I slide my right in, giving him a charming smile. My first ever ball! I haven’t even dreamed of something like that! And here I am! Cinderella, no less. Beautiful dress, handsome guy for the evening, and no pumpkins or mice. After the last couple of weeks, I deserve at least one night of good fun.    After all, what could go wrong at a ball? Right?