One Black Rose (18 page)

She leaned in closer so that our noses were only inches apart. “You should have listened to Leslie and Lydia when they told you to stay away from Holt Roth, but you didn’t. You were stubborn. That was a mistake, so now I’m telling you. If you fail to head my warning, you will not like the consequences.” She whispered the last part in my ear.

I expected her to pull away and leave after that, but she only drew back far enough to give herself room to glare into my eyes. What I saw there sent shivers coursing through me.

I’d never seen so much rage and hate before. I had a hard time believing that this was Samuel’s mother. Just when I thought I would crack from the pressure of her gaze, she turned on her heel and left.

She left...the door swinging open and the driving rain coming in. It took me several minutes to start breathing normally again.

I stood stock still, staring after the swinging door until Mrs. Fritters came out and said, “Autumn, dear what are you still doing here? Your shift ended fifteen minutes ago.”

Oh.

I slowly took off my apron, hung it on its peg, and headed for the door, dreading going outside. For all I knew she was waiting for me and would turn the rain to small bullets of ice falling from the sky that would pound me to the ground. I didn’t even know if Winter Fairies could do that, but that was the trouble with having an overactive imagination coupled with not enough information. Disaster lurked around every corner.

I stood right outside the door under the small canopy. It offered little protection. My feet were already getting wet. I sighed. I was going to get drenched. I had just accepted the fact that I would have to make a run for it when a familiar silver car pulled up in front of me.

For a breath I didn’t move, but even as I hesitated for a fraction of a second I knew that my body would move regardless of what my mind decided. It understood what my mind couldn’t accept, that I wanted to see him.

I ran to the car, feeling the water hit me like someone was following me and dumping buckets of it right over my head. The passenger door popped open and I jumped in, closing it behind me. In the driver’s seat was Holt. He was dressed casually, in a light blue rain jacket and jeans. He looked wonderful with his hair a little damp and a huge smile on his face for me.

“Good thing you did that,” I said breathlessly, pulling the door shut behind me.

“Did what?”

“Opened the door from the driver’s seat. Smart Guy Thinking. It’s important,” I said. “That’s what Carley would say.”

“Well, we should definitely listen to Carley,” said Holt drily. “Thought you might want a lift,” he explained. “It’s misting out.”

“Actually, it’s a downpour,” I corrected. I couldn’t help myself anymore. I smiled back.

“Want to go to my place for a bit? At least until the rain lets up?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said. It’d be nice to see his house again.

“Everyone’s home,” Holt added as he guided the car through the street. “My mom would love to meet you.” At the mention of his mother I must have looked petrified (well, if she was anything like Samuel’s mom I should, right?), and Holt frowned.

I thought about telling him what had just happened, but decided against it. I didn’t want him to worry and I didn’t want him to stop talking to me again.

Desperate to change the subject so that Holt wouldn’t keep asking what was wrong, I asked, “Does she know that I know?” I didn’t even have to say that I was talking about Fairies, and his mother. Holt could laugh and joke, but this was serious. If his mother didn’t want him telling people who he was, he might be in big trouble for telling me.

To my surprise Holt answered me quickly. “She does. She can’t order me not to tell you what we are, not when you are….” He stopped. I could see he was distressed. “So important,” he finished. But he didn’t say to what. Was I so important to him? I clearly wasn’t important to Samuel, but Samuel’s mother seemed to disagree with her son.

“I talked to Samuel,” I said. He was pulling into his driveway now. It hadn’t taken long to get to his house since he was only a couple of blocks away from UP UP and Away. This time he pulled into the attached garage instead of parking in the rain, not that it mattered to me because I was already sopping wet.

“What did Samuel have to say?” asked Holt. He tried and failed to sound relaxed.

As I followed him around three other gorgeous cars and into the house, I told him everything that Samuel had told me. Basically, Samuel didn’t want me and he was angry that Holt did, because the other Cheshires were angry.

The garage led into the kitchen, where Holt offered me a chair while he prepared tea. He was quiet for a long time. He hadn’t asked me if I wanted any, but I could tell he was upset and needed something to do.

“Is there anything I can do?” I offered, pointing so that he knew I meant help with the tea.

He turned around and said slowly, “You can. You have to be sure.” He wasn’t talking about the tea. “Before you accept the Rose you have to be sure it’s what you want.”

I rocked back on my heels. The intensity of his words made my body turn to mush and I had to sit down. “I can’t hurt you,” he said. “I can’t do that again, that’s why I tried to stay away from you. I didn’t want Lily to get hurt either but look what happened. Samuel told you it’s his turn and really it is. It’s very important to his family that he find a bride who can become queen.”

But he doesn’t want me, I wanted to scream in frustration. Samuel was gorgeous and cold and now that I knew he was a Fairy prince and he was my destiny I knew why it had bothered me so much that he hated me, but I had never experienced a physical reaction to anyone the way I had with Holt. And wouldn’t my body know what was right? Damn these polite Fairies and their turn-taking.

“My point is,” said Holt, “if we were free to do as we wished this wouldn’t be an issue, but we aren’t. There’s my family to consider and the Cheshires, so I don’t want you to rush. I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to you. I’ve known that you were meant for the Rose since the second I laid eyes on you. At the airport you knew right away that something was going on and you handled it so well.”

“So, give me the Rose,” I said. I knew it sounded demanding, but Holt had to know this was driving me crazy. “I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to have to decide. I just want to be here. I just want to be with you. If we do it that way then your parents and Samuel’s parents won’t be able to do anything, because it will already have happened.” I knew what I was saying was foolish. I knew it was because I was confused and scared of the Winter Queen, but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t like making decisions and I thought this would take away any questions, then all I had to do was live with the consequences.

“No.” Holt let out a strangled cry and backed away from me, bumping into the stove. He said, “You have to be sure and I know you’re supposed to be with Samuel. So, how could you possibly be sure? He needs a queen just as much as I do. He would probably come around to you being the one. Plus, if I take a bride first there will be issues between the Courts, and there has to be something to the fact that you’re supposed to be with him.”

I looked at Holt. I had known him less than two weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. I literally couldn’t imagine my life without him. My parents back home seemed like a far off and distant memory. This felt right. The idea of Fairies felt right. It felt like there was nothing else. “He doesn’t want me,” I pointed out.

“No,” said Holt. “He doesn’t want you if you don’t want him, which is completely different. And that’s not clear to anyone yet.”

“Fine,” I said, though I didn’t feel like it was fine at all. I was too worn out to keep arguing, but I didn’t think Samuel would ever want me. Ever was a long time, and the thought of it filled me with a dry ache.

Holt took a shaky breath and fiddled with the tea for a while.

I wasn’t sure whether to be glad or not that we’d gotten that conversation out of the way. I had known it was coming, but I’d had only a little sleep and I’d just been threatened by the Winter Queen. I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and upset. Why couldn’t everyone just leave me alone?

Finally Holt looked up and said, “Okay. Come meet my family. My mom is dying to meet you.”

He started to tell me about all the of the places she had traveled to. Talking about his family seemed to calm him down, and I relaxed more when he relaxed, knowing that we were leaving the uncomfortable conversation behind for now.

He led me into a different room than the library I’d been in the day before. This one was all light wood paneling and floral carpets. Flowers were placed everywhere around the room and the white furniture gave it an even brighter feel. This house was the residence of the Fairy Summer Court, after all.

Sitting in one of the chairs was a woman who could only be Holt’s mother. I don’t know whose mother I had thought she was going to look like, but she definitely didn’t look like mine or any of my friends’. Her skin was perfectly smooth, her hair, almost the exact same blond color as her son’s, was pulled back neatly in a bun, and the skin around her green eyes had no lines. She was tall and slender and as we entered she rose more gracefully than I ever could have. I was relieved to realize that she looked nothing like Samuel’s mother. Somehow I was worried that all Fairy queens would look alike.

“Holt, dear,” she said. Her voice was lighter than Holt’s and she spoke clearly and warmly.

For the first time this summer I felt very shy. I had already caused a lot of trouble, and if I had to guess I’d say she knew about all of it.

“This must be Autumn,” she said, extending a hand.

I took the offered hand while Holt made introductions. “This is my mother, Sarah Roth,” he said formally. “Mom, this is Autumn.”

“Nice to meet you,” I murmured. Normally I wasn’t timid, but this was Holt’s mom and I knew I was blushing.

“Call me Sarah. Would you like anything?” she offered, smiling.

No way I could call her by her first name!

“I’m fine, thank you,” I said. I felt awkward and didn’t know where to look.

She invited me to sit, and Holt and I sat on a couch opposite the chair she gracefully slid into.

 “How are you holding up, dear?” she asked. She reached one long perfectly manicured hand towards me.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled. I wasn’t sure how to handle all of this attention. “It’s kind of a lot to take in.”

“Yes, well I’m sure it is, which is why my darling son here should give us a few minutes to talk privately.” She gave Holt a look that would have sent me scurrying to the other side of Castleton, but Holt only nodded. Apparently he was used to his mother’s withering looks.

“If it’s okay with Autumn” -- he looked at me and I nodded -- “I’ll be back in a few minutes then. Maybe I’ll actually finish the tea this time.” He pushed himself off the sofa.

After the door closed behind him I wondered if his mother was really that formidable or if he was just worried about me.

“Now that he’s gone,” she said, settling more comfortably into her seat, “really, how are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. Really, I’m not in a bad position. I’m actually worried about Holt,” I said.

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” she said. I didn’t know if she said it because she believed it or because she was trying to make me feel better.

I decided to get straight to the point and ask the question that no one had been able to answer for me yet.

Taking a deep breath I said, “How is it possible that both Holt and Samuel could give me a Rose? Shouldn’t it just be one of them? And really, shouldn’t it just be Samuel?”

Mrs. Roth sighed. “I don’t know, honestly. No one seems to. I asked my sister about it. She’s really the expert on such things. Of course she doesn’t live close by, but she said she wasn’t sure either. There is one other person to ask, but it is not my place.”

“Who is that?” I was holding my breath and tried to let it out slowly.

“Mrs. Cheshire,” said Mrs. Roth grimly. “I believe she may have had a similar experience.”

My first reaction was to wonder why one person would want to marry Mrs. Cheshire, let alone two.

She must have seen something cross my face, because she said, “Uh oh. You’ve already met Mrs. Cheshire then? I was afraid of that. Well, we will just have to wait and see what happens.”

“I’m just confused,” I muttered.

“It will be alright dear,” she said, rising. I could see she looked worried, but was trying to hide it. I wondered what she had to worry about. “Now, lets go find that son of mine. I know Susan is anxious to talk to you too, but please, if there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiled reassuringly at me, but I could tell she was bothered. Just because she had met me didn’t mean anything was settled. It was just the opposite, in fact.

I followed her into the kitchen. Holt was sitting at the table across from Susan and both were drinking tea out of mugs.

As soon as Susan saw me she leaped out of her chair and rushed over to me and crushed me against herself in a massive hug. I could see Holt over her shoulder laughing.

“If there’s anything you need you just let me know, okay?” she asked, staring me in the eyes. I nodded, noticing the silver designs of foliage under her skin. They weren’t everywhere, just in certain places, and every time I focused on them they shifted and disappeared. I thought back to the afternoon at the lake and realized that Susan felt comfortable enough around me now to let her designs show.