He clearly forgot that we were stuck in his realm for thirteen years. I immediately launch into Bohemian Rhapsody. Jacob’s mouth falls open as I belt it out with as much flair as Freddy Mercury himself. He’s still for all of one verse before he regains his senses and joins in. It’s not exactly a song you can listen to and not sing along.
When we finish, we’re breathless but it feels like the weight of our previous conversation is officially gone.
“I needed that. You are full of surprises, ginger king," he says as he hoists himself up on the counter to catch his breath.
We glance around the immense kitchen. The high ceilings and insanely large room were great for singing acoustics, but now that it was over we realized how awful it smelled. Clearly, he’d let food rot in here and not cared to throw it out.
“We can’t stay here,” Jacob groans, holding his nose and pulling me out of the room.
“Come on,” I agree once he lets go, leading him to the storage room. There’s an entire cupboard full of smaller blankets that would be perfect. “We can grab these blankets and direct the ones who are conscious to the bedrooms. I’m done with this never-ending scavenger hunt.”
We wind our way back through the halls. I’m thankful the king was a pompous asshole for once, the decorations letting us know we’re getting close. When they start to border on gaudy, we know we found the ballroom again.
Maddox strides toward us as soon as we enter the room. He reaches out for blankets and we hand over a portion, before we all distribute them to the still sleeping fae. Our arms were full when we walked in, but now I worry that won’t be enough. Thankfully more are awake now than before.
“Anyone awake can go with Jacob to the bedrooms, the rest can join tomorrow. If anyone unconscious doesn’t have a blanket, we have a few left," I yell over the noise of the crowd. The ones awake who don’t have a loved one sleeping, join us.
“Is anyone a healer?” Maddox asks the crowd. He stops so abruptly that a few almost fall into him and he mumbles a hasty apology. A woman and man step forward without hesitation. I love that the fae trait of helping others isn’t as dead as the land. “I would like you two in the closest rooms, in case one of our pregnant ladies or children need you. Is that alright?” They nod with wide eyes and hurry over to the waiting line.
“Alright ladies and gentle-fae. My name is Jacob and I will be your tour guide," he puts on his best announcer voice and leads the group out of the room. Thankfully the tired crowd doesn’t have far to go. We had to delve deeper to find supplies, but the standard rooms in the surrounding corridors were good enough for now.
“Take your dagger!” Maddox bellows after him as they start to exit the ballroom.
“I like to live dangerously, Dad!” Jacob yells back, laughing loudly.
“He’s a mess," Maddox groans, but there’s no fire in his words. His eyes can’t hide how much he likes Jacob.
“He has a way of lighting up the room, and he makes Bella happy," I counter him, both of us smiling softly and glancing at our sleeping queen. She’d be so proud of how well he’s handling everything. He even has some of the fae laughing along with him as they walk out, their laughter echoing down the hall. And considering the circumstances, that’s quite a feat.
The ballroom falls into a welcome, calming quiet as most of the crowd leaves. It’s definitely a contrast from the chaos and confusion before. Most who stayed behind are still unconscious, the rest the fae who stayed behind to watch over them.
I can’t even count the number of suspicious stares we get as we walk around and check in with them, but it’s alright. No one can blame the survivors after what the king did to them. Countless years of being frozen in place until their minds just shut down. A forced magical coma isn’t an easy thing to forget. But we’ll work our asses off to prove that we’re trustworthy and this is going to be a new era for Faerie.
Emrick, Sebastian, and two other men walk into the room right as we finish our rounds. They’re pulling a large rolling cart behind them full of food and water pitchers. It’s mainly vegetables, apparently the former king actually took care of his personal gardens.
Emrick walks ahead and sets up a table so Sebastian can unload. By the time they’re done it looks like we have a feast. I’ll take it, these poor souls deserve some peace of mind.
“If we can find the kitchens, we could probably get some bread baking. The flour and dry goods shouldn’t be affected either," Emrick says as he joins us.
Sebastian nods at the suggestion, his long silver hair shining in the torchlight. “I agree. I’m not a baker but between all of these people, someone has to be.”
“We actually found the kitchen today. Didn’t you grow up here? You don’t know where it is?” I ask, confused by his lack of knowledge on the castle’s layout.
“I was the prince of a pompous king. Meals were served in our rooms. I can map out the main castle, and I only know where the greenhouse is because I snuck in there occasionally as a kid," he says with an embarrassed shoulder shrug.
“No worries,” I say quickly, not meaning to embarrass him. Sometimes my mouth is faster than my brain, as Maddox likes to remind me.
Emrick is already gazing at Bella, his shoulders tense. He’s already checked out of our conversation.
“Alright, enough of this. I’m taking Bella to the suite. You guys found one, right?”
“Yes, we did. It has three rooms. For us, Andras and Jacob, and Sebastian and Allura. It has a washroom and a common room. I think it was for royal visitors or something," I explain. Emrick nods sharply before stomping over to Bella and lifting her up. I have to practically run to catch up as he stalks to the door. I jog in front of him so I can lead the way, not willing to stop Emrick when he’s on a mission.
Sebastian trails behind us with Allura in his arms. Once they’re both settled in, I return to the ballroom. I’m hoping Andras and Gerwyn get back soon so I can get to the room and relax, bathe and change clothes. I could have stayed, but Emrick was in desperate need of some alone time.
Finally, after another hour of waiting, they return. Before they can even set anything down, I turn them around and lead them back to the room.
“Listen, we found a suite, Bella is already there and we need to clean up and catch-up,” I explain. They don’t even bother to offer a word of protest, both looking dead on their feet.