White Roses - ReVamped

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Flowers in the Magical Waterfalls

He has to say something.

"That's wonderful!" The princess clapped her hands together before rushing over and hugging me tightly. I glared at Drake from over her shoulder as he glared at me and shook his head.

Drake, say something.

Correct her.

She pulled back, still beaming. "I'll have to go tell mama, you should take a bath and sleep."

I opened my mouth, but Drake grabbed me by wrapping his arm around me and making it look like he was pulling me in for a loving kiss when in reality he was keeping me quiet. The princess squealed and Drake kissed the corner of my mouth. He smelled like fire and burning wood. Maybe that shouldn't be so surprising.

"I better go, have fun you two at the royal baths." 

Drake stood straight up immediately. "The royal-"

"Have fun!" She repeated as I looked at Drake to see his eyes softening. She ran away into the crowd. I shook my head and stood in front of him.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" I asked.

Drake narrowed his eyes on me. He lowered his head over me, his mouth was close enough to kiss me.

"Matty, do you know where you are?"

Drake leaned back and let me really see. Faeries danced and I could hear laughter turning into a high pitch squeal. The heavy scent of wine and sweat lingered in the air. I watched as a woman threw her arms around a knight, laughing, as she leaned back, arching her back and her exposed breasts. The knight gently tugged on the knot that kept her skirt up. A pretty, green pixie making music with a harp before breaking out into a fit of giggles. The man with a lion head roared, showing off his teeth as a small female faeries danced above him. He danced around them, clumsily swinging his sword around with his fur stained with wine. Trees hummed along to the song as the drums sped up.

"You are fragile. Think for a moment," Drake whispered, "my queen would rightly be furious at me for bringing you here unless I had a good reason."

"Saving Lowell isn't enough?" I whispered back at him, puffing up my chest.

"A insignificant human?" Drake said and I felt my body go cold. "No."

Sometimes, Drake made it easy to hate him. 

"He's important to me," I said. 

"You are the human with sight," Drake said, "you are valuable and value is...dangerous here."

I wasn't sure if he was right after watching a bunch of drunk faeries make dumbasses out of themselves.

"So what did you want me to tell my queen? That I brought the most valuable asset here to court because she was chasing after a boy? She'd throw you out of here and send a new protector so quickly you'd be sick with movement."

Drake pulled me toward him and walked toward what looked like a Greek temple that sat on top of rows and rows and rows of steps.

"But how long can you keep up the lie?" I asked. 

Drake looked down at me and pulled me closer to him. Faeries crowded around us and the music grew high and tense. Laughter turned into shrieks. They didn't sound very pleasant. The scent of wine made my head dizzy. Drums overpowered the shrieks. Drake pulled me so close. On top one of the stairs, it was a bit wider so a few faeries danced on it.