A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress (The Alpha Huntress Series Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 11

“I said, may I have this dance, my lady?”

A handsome young man with deep blue eyes and long black hair stood before Red with his white-gloved hand extended. He was finely dressed in a tuxedo with a purple cummerbund and a bow tie. A silver-handled rapier sword hung from his belt.

Red couldn’t help but swoon a little because he was charming in every way possible. It took her a few seconds to come to her senses enough to speak. “Sorry. I was just looking for my friend.”

“I see. Perhaps I can help you to search for him,” the handsome man slyly offered.

“Oh, it’s not a he, more like a she,” Red was quick to note.

“Then you are not here with a gentleman companion?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then fortune has indeed smiled upon me, for I am without a lovely lady to join me in this dance.”

Red giggled like a giddy schoolgirl. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“I understand. I am but a mere stranger to you. My manners have escaped me. I have failed to give myself proper introduction. My name is Prince De’Mere.”

“You’re a prince?”

“Not exactly. My parents were rather ostentatious when they named me.”

Red smiled and nodded, having no idea what ostentatious meant. “Well, I’m sure they meant well.”

Prince chuckled. “That is an accurate assessment of my parents.”

They stood for an awkward moment, both unsure what to say next.

Prince finally cleared his throat. “Now that you know who I am, please bestow on me the sweet melody that is your name.”

Red rolled her eyes in amusement. “Okay, I’m liking this prince charming thing you’re doing, but that sounded a little silly.”

“Me? Silly?”

“A little bit.”

“But all I said was …” Prince stopped and considered this. “You’re right. It did sound quite ridiculous.”

“Totally.”

Prince bowed his head. “You have my deepest and most sincere apology.”

“And there you go again.”

“I’m doing the best I can here, my lady.”

“It’s endearing.”

“I have a suspicion that I’m not going to be able to win with you,” Prince said.

“Probably not.”

“All I ask is a name and a dance.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

“My lady, I’m quite certain I did.”

“Why don’t we skip the name game for now and just dance?”

Prince shrugged. “Isn’t that what I asked you to do in the first place?”

“You did. Now I’m asking you.”

“If that is the way it must be, then I graciously accept your invitation.” Prince put an arm around Red’s waist and pulled her close. “I will have to insist upon leading.”

“I can deal with that.” Red gasped as his muscular chest pressed up against her own. She had never danced before, and certainly not under such lavish circumstances. “Shouldn’t we move to the dance floor?”

“I only dance in the moment, and the moment is here and now,” Prince said.

The orchestra began playing a rather lively symphony. A rush of nervous excitement overcame Red as Prince led her around in a formal waltz. The idea of a fairytale princess being swept off her feet by a handsome prince had always seemed a bit sickening to her, but at the moment, she had to admit that it felt extraordinary.

“The music is getting faster,” Prince said.

“Then we’ll have to try to keep up,” Red said.

As Prince led Red through the crowd, they nudged aside anybody who was in their way. The more it annoyed the other guests, the more amused they both became. It turned into a playful game where they danced their way through the middle of groups involved in conversations. Prince even dipped Red backwards into the lap of an elderly man sitting at a dining table.

By the time the song ended, they had caused quite a scene and held the attention of much of the room.

“Thank you. Thank you.” Red gave a playful wave to the crowd as they retreated from the area.

“My lady, I must confess, that was the most fun I’ve ever had at one of these stuffy balls.”

Red blissfully twirled around. “I confess that goes double for me.”

“First ball?”

“How’d you guess?”

“You’re the only one in the room that doesn’t look exceedingly bored,” Prince said.

“You don’t look bored,” Red said.

“I’m not now.” Prince gave Red a passionate stare as he moved in for a kiss.

Red turned away. “A dance is about all I can handle tonight.”

“Then you will leave me longing?”

“It’s looking that way.”

Prince sighed. “Then at least give me your name, so I will know who it is I’ll be pining over.”

Red struck a playfully pretentious pose. “Since you’ve been such a gentleman, my name is Red Riding.”

Prince’s eyes lit up with amazement. “Oh, my. This is indeed a most honored occasion.” He kneeled down on one knee and bowed his head. “Alpha Huntress, I pledge my life and service to your clan.”

“Whoa.” Red took a big step back away from Prince. “What are you doing?”

Prince raced to Red’s side. “My huntress, please believe that I meant no disrespect with my advances.”

“Well, I liked that part. It’s just this Alpha Huntress business that’s freaking me out.”

Prince stood at attention. “You have little to fear with me by your side. The men of my line served as the Alpha’s personal guards during the last war against Ragnarok. I came to Wayward to seek you out. I had no idea I would find you here of all places.”

A thundering gong rang out.

Red turned to see the crowd was coming to order and looking toward the grand staircase. At the top, a dozen royal knights marched out and formed a line. Two chefs rolled out a towering multi-layered birthday cake with sixteen burning candles, each over a foot in height.

A guard with a trumpet played an ear-piercing song of salute. When he was done, he addressed the crowd. “Now presenting your host for the evening, her Royal Highness, Ice Seether.”

The crowd cheered with somewhat fake enthusiasm as Ice marched by the line of knights, waving her arms around and blowing kisses to the crowd. She wore a purple fur robe and a sparkling crown atop her head. In her hand she clutched a gold scepter, studded to the brim with sparkling jewels of every color in the rainbow.

“Thank you. Thank you.” Ice said with melodramatic graciousness.

Red rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Is this for real?”

Prince grinned. “Oh, it’s only just begun.”

Ice raised her scepter, and the crowd again came to order. “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.” Ice chuckled. “Okay, that was just a little joke.”

The crowd gave a halfhearted laugh.

Red looked to Prince and stuck her tongue out like she was gagging. Prince snickered, but then did his best to maintain proper composure.

Ice cleared her throat. “Now seriously, I cannot thank you all enough for being so gracious as to share with me, this grand day of all days, my birthday.”

The crowd again applauded without much sincerity.

Ice held up a glass of champagne. “I do hope you are all enjoying the food and drink provided to you at no cost by yours very truly.”

Red looked to Prince. “Very truly?”

“And she’s just getting going.”

Ice picked up a finely gift-wrapped box. “Now, I did see the room downstairs overflowing with the plethora of gifts. While I know you would enjoy more than anything to see me open each and every one of them, I’m afraid you would be here watching until my next birthday.”

The crowd laughed politely.

"I know, I know. I can be a jokester when I get on a roll." Ice giggled for a long moment. “So, moving on, it is time to get to the occasion at hand. We have a special guest among us tonight. She and I were born on the very same day, only seconds apart, from what I have come to learn. For this reason, I have a deep feeling of sisterhood with her.”

Red’s face turned ghost-white in a heartbeat.

Ice raised her scepter high. “Join me in welcoming her not only to my home on this night of nights, but in welcoming her foretold return to Wayward. The one that I regard as sister, her royal highness, Red Riding.”

Before Red could manage to sneak away, a spotlight blared right onto her face. The entire crowd looked to her and broke into a roar of applause. Prince took Red’s arm to steady her as she stumbled, a little off-balance from the shock of it all.

“Come, my sister,” Ice said. “Step forward and stand by my side.”

Red shook her head in a near panic. “No way. I cannot go up there.”

“Do not fear, my Huntress. I will assist you.” Prince placed Red’s arm on his own and nudged her forward. As they made the long trek through the applauding crowd, Red felt as if the world was spinning around her. By the time they reached the bottom of the staircase, she was nearly hyperventilating. It was far too much attention for her nerves to endure in one night.

Just as she was going to make a break for the nearest exit, Dote approached her with a gushing smile and a big clump of chocolate cake stuck to her dress. “This is the greatest thing to ever happen,” Dote said.

A sensation of vertigo overcame Red as she looked up to Ice at the top of the staircase. It was nearly enough to make her throw up right then and there.

“Shall I carry you up?” Prince asked.

Red took a deep breath and held on tight to the polished brass banister. The agonizing climb to the top was only thirty steps, but with the eyes of the crowd glaring on her back, the steps looked as if they stretched into infinity.

She couldn’t understand why Ice was making such a big deal over her return to Wayward. Red thought perhaps Ice was so eccentric that she made a big deal over things just for the sake of doing it. With this thought, she realized what Prince meant when he called his parents ostentatious.

“Isn’t she just magnificent?” Ice greeted Red at the top of the grand staircase, with a hug and a kiss on each cheek.

“Ice, you shouldn’t have done this.” Red looked out at the applauding crowd and again had to fight the urge to throw up. She could only hope that whatever Ice was planning would be done and over with as quickly as possible.

“Don’t be silly, darling Red. We are royals and deserve to be adored as such.” Ice raised her scepter to silence the crowd. “Now, if you would all be so kind as to indulge me for a moment longer. Please join me in singing a birthday salute to my dearest sister.”

“Ice, please don’t …”

“Dear Red, stop being so modest.”

The trumpet player blew a single note. The crowd began singing a birthday salute in Red’s honor.

Trembling like a twig in a windstorm, Red looked out over the crowd. Among the finely dressed guests, one face stood out in the very back of the room. He was wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket. Red was fairly certain it was the mysterious rider. The sound around her faded away as their eyes connected across the crowd.

“You shouldn’t be here, Red Riding. You’re in major danger,” the voice of the mysterious rider spoke out like an echo in the wind.

Ice tapped Red on the back of the shoulder. The sound of the applauding crowd came back like a smack to Red’s face. She looked over to see there were sixteen candles burning on the cake. Ice gestured for Red to join her in blowing them out.

Red looked back to the crowd, but the rider was nowhere to be seen. The whole experience was so odd that she wasn’t sure it had really happened. As overwhelmed as she was at the moment, it could have been a hallucination.

“Make a wish, birthday sister,” Ice said.

When Red joined Ice in blowing out the candles, the only thing she could think to wish for was that she could be anywhere other than there.

Again, the crowd cheered.

Ice picked up a small gift-wrapped box and offered it to Red. “A birthday gift, from one sister to another.”

“Ice, this is all too much.”

“Red Riding, there is no such thing as too much when it comes to women of our elevated status,” Ice said.

Red reluctantly accepted the gift and proceeded to rip away the shiny purple wrapping paper. Underneath was a wooden box with fine carvings of the moon in its eight phases and the Earth in the center. She recalled seeing this same image on the ceiling of the Moon Temple. “Ice, it’s beautiful.”

“Just wait until you see what’s inside, Red Riding.”

It occurred to Red that this was the first birthday gift she had ever received, or the first she could remember. The only significant gift she could recall was her beloved motorcycle, which came from a kindly old man that she had befriended during a brief stay in a foster home. He told her that one day she would need it for a special purpose. If he had not insisted she promise never to part with it, she would have traded it away for money to buy food and clothes. She certainly would not have had it to carry her away from the city and into her new life in Wayward.

Ice stepped up behind Red. “Don’t make us wait all night.”

“Sorry. I’m just trying to savor the moment.” Red opened the box, revealing a golden choker with a purple amulet that glimmered in the light. “It’s magnificent.”

“Isn’t it though?” Ice took the choker from the box and proceeded to hook it around Red’s throat. “Perfection.”

“Ice, I don’t know how to thank you.”

“It’s my deepest pleasure,” Ice said. “Now where’s my gift?”

Red grimaced as she searched for an answer.

“Just teasing.” Ice giggled and hugged Red.

Red faked a grin. “You’re too much, Ice Seether.”

“You don’t have to tell me, birthday sister. Now, if you don’t mind, I have some pressing matters to tend to.” Ice took off in a dash, again leaving Red standing alone in a crowd of strangers.

The chef approached Red and held out a large knife. “Please honor us by cutting the first piece of cake, your highness.”

“If I must.” Red took the knife and was about to cut the cake, but stopped short when a thought came that brought a devious grin to her face. She looked down the stairs to where Dote was watching through eyes gushing with pure joy.

Before she could even gesture for her to come up, Dote shrieked and raced up the stairs in a frenzy of excitement. The chef watched with speechless dread as Red placed the knife into Dote’s waiting hands.