Spellbound: COMPLETE

Chapter Twenty-Two: Ariadne

Ariadne's POV

It took all my willpower not to cry out as I crawled over to Iris as fast as I could and grabbed her little ankle.

She turned to me with a wicked grin as if to say, I'm hungry, and you're not going to stop me. I gave her a warning look but her five-year-old brain didn't seem to care and she quickly pulled her foot out of my grasp and scurried away.

"Fiddlesticks," I whispered and hurried after her.

I was too late, by the time I reached her again she was reaching for a small powdered pastry at the same time as one of the boys; but she couldn't see him from her angle. I watched the scene play out in slow motion: Iris reached the pastry first and the boy cried out to see a hand on his food. Then all his brothers laughed until they also saw the hand, and it was too small to be any of theirs. Then they ran over and peered over the railing to see Iris shoving the thing into her mouth before anyone could take it from her.

"You feared a little girl?" One of the boys teased.

"Where did she come from?" Another asked. "I don't recognize her."

"Me neither."

"Well don't just stare at her, bring her up here," Estevan said.

One of the other boys went down the stairs and I knew I would be seen as well, and there were no bushes on this side.

"Well lookey here," he said and grabbed my arm roughly. "I found another one," he called out to the others who turned to look at me.

"Let her go!" I heard Bell call out and I groaned. Way to be quiet. It would be much harder to sneak everyone out if they knew they were all here.

The boys turned to look at eleven girls in dirt-covered nightgowns coming towards me and the boy grabbing my arm. I smiled, we were a sight to be seen.

"Where did they all come from?" Someone asked.

"We're lost," El told him.

The boy who spoke strode up to her. "And where are you from?"

El pursed her lips. "Far away, you probably wouldn't know it."

"I know every single tree in this land; try me."

"Well, we're not from this land."

The boys gasped and started muttering amongst themselves, probably trying to figure out if they should believe us.

"If you're not from here, then how'd you get here?"

"The staircase," El said as if it was the most common way to travel.

"The glass staircase?" He asked. "Why that doesn't lead anywhere."

"If you don't believe me then-"

"We believe you, my dear," Estevan said and approached El. "Don't we, brothers?" He asked and got several "Yes's" in reply.

"It's nice to see you have kept your promise, your highness." He said, kissing my hand.

"You know him?" Bell asked.

"In a way," I said glaring at him as he smiled politely at me.

"My name is Estevan," he said bowing to the rest of my sisters. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Iris!" A voice squeaked and then she began pointing at each sister, "That's Ariadne, Bell, Charities, Diana, El, Fortuna, Galene, Harmonia, Juno, Khione, and Leto."

"Forgive me if I don't remember all of your names, though they are all beautiful," Estevan said. "This is Myron," he said, pointing at the boy who had grabbed my arm. "This is Titus, and that's Donavon," he pointed at the boy who talked to El. "That's Aldis, Anatello, Darren, Harwell, Byran, and Rafe."