"Fleur! Come along!" Delilah's shrill voice made Fleur jump. It startled a couple of seagulls who had already begun to roost on the mast above their heads and they quickly took to the sky, a couple of feathers narrowly missing Delilah as they fluttered down onto the deck. "Urgh...I have had more than enough of this ship!"
Before Fleur could reach her, Delilah stumbled up onto the gangway that was little more than a plank of wood. She walked precariously and Fleur held her breath, hoping that seasickness hadn't dulled her lady's senses too much. Going so long on a ship without stretching one's wings wouldn't have helped the situation either.
"Relax, your lady is fine," Captain Seamus assured her as Delilah's feet hit the end of the gangway and she made it safely onto shore. "Though I do believe you shouldn't keep her waiting."
Fleur realized in that moment that her feet were frozen to the wooden deck. The moment she stepped off the ship she would reach journey's end. She would be on the Summer Isle, his Isle and she wouldn't be able to turn back.
For just a second she allowed herself to imagine her options if she asked Captain Seamus to allow her to remain on the ship.
She could return to the mainland with him but what then? Would a week be enough to make the captain fall in love with her? Could she possibly bring herself to love a man who spent most of his life out at sea? If the answer to both those questions was no, where would she be? Stuck on the mainland with no position, no title and no form of income. She would be destitute and forced into all manner of desperate situations.
"Fleur! Come on!"
"Are you well, Miss Fleur?" Captain Seamus asked. He placed a hand at the small of her back, just beneath her wings, causing them to flutter slightly. "Are you sure you don't need an escort?"
Was he this charming with all his passengers or just her? Fleur decided that it was probably best not to find out. She already had enough trouble on her plate when it came to fae men.
"I am fine, thank you, Captain." She gave him a curt nod and a smile before she began to quickly follow her mistress from the ship.
As she stepped out onto the gangway she could see the royal palace guards awaiting beyond Delilah. They were easily distinguished from the other dock goers by their matching forest green uniforms and their tall hats, not to mention the herd of unicorns they had ridden in on. The beautiful creatures were attached to a large carriage, really more of a wheelhouse than a carriage, and it was clear they had expected a large party to be accompanying Lady Delilah.
Fleur gulped at the sight of it all. She suddenly felt as though she were in limbo, standing between the ship and her old life on the mainland and the wheelhouse and her new life. And him…
"We must be allowed to freshen up before we are taken before the king." Delilah's insistent voice broke through Fleur's thoughts. "I must be perfect when I am brought before my husband."
Fleur cringed at those words. Of course, King Theo was not Delilah's husband yet but one day he would be and that day would be the day when Fleur's heart shattered once and for all.
Guilt gripped Fleur at the realization that she could not face watching such a wedding. She turned, half prepared to hurry back onto the ship, only to realize she was too late. The gangway was already being drawn back. She would have had to leap to make it and as soon as she beat her wings to aid her, the palace guards would have been all over her. Though Delilah was not yet married to Theo, the rule of no flying in the royals’ presence had already been extended to her the moment the agreement for their marriage had been struck.
Despair threatened to engulf Fleur and all she could do was follow Delilah as they were guided into the wheelhouse where they were told they had everything they needed to freshen up.
I'll never feel fresh again, Fleur realized now that her sickness hadn't just been down to the ship. She was more nauseous than ever before.
Chapter 5 - Theo
Maximus had been right. Practically every member of the court had piled themselves into the throne room, awaiting him and the party of newcomers who had been rumored to be arriving shortly.
Time seemed to tick by increasingly slowly but the king's heart beat ever faster, threatening to go so fast that it might miss a beat and stop all together. His palms were sweaty and he was sure his brow was moist with perspiration.
Soon he would have his answer, soon he would know whether she had followed her mistress across the sea.
Did she follow because of me? he wondered. His heart skipped a beat and was now pounding as the first thought was followed by another. Perhaps she remained on the mainland because she did not wish to be here because of me?
Disturbed, he remembered how she had reacted the moment he had kissed her. For just a second she had kissed him back. Then the spark that had erupted between them had changed everything.
How can it be the kiss of fated mates if all it has done is ruin everything? he asked himself.
"My Lord, you appear to be brooding." Maximus's warning tone sounded in his ear and Theo quickly straightened up in his throne, making an effort to try and appear less like he had a storm cloud hanging over his head. He could feel his subjects watching him through veiled lashes, peeking at him out of the corner of their eyes as though they wished to get a glimpse of what he might be thinking or how he might be feeling.
"Is there word of their progress?" Theo asked, not wishing to ask directly where the hell his guests were. He felt as though he had been waiting for hours although when he glanced at the clock above the ornate doors at the other end of the throne room, he knew he had only been sat on his throne for half an hour.
Several nobles and other subjects had come forward to offer him their well wishes and some of them had even asked for solutions to problems. He had answered them all absentmindedly, sure that if a peasant had asked him for his crown he would have nodded, too distracted. Only the steadying presence of his advisor would do him any good now to be sure he did not royally mess up.
"I am sure they shall be here s…" Maximus began but he did not get to finish the sentence. The sound of the royal horns sounded from the other side of the double doors and a moment later the huge slabs of marble were forced open with great effort by four guards on each door.
The court instantly grew silent, all turning to witness the arrival of Lady Delilah and her household.
Theo remained in his seat, the only one not standing to attention. He watched from beneath his lashes, determined not to look too apprehensive or relieved at their arrival. He wasn't at all sure what he felt in that moment.