I See Faeries

~chapter two~

I Fly a Little

~

He gave me ten minutes to pack my things. Ten minutes.

"I'll answer your questions when we're far away from here," Roman said when I tried to ask what he was planning and why I was in danger. I wanted to press him, but I could hear the urgency in his voice, and see the anxiety that flickered beneath his cool facade. The fact that the strange man was genuinely worried settled the matter. I started packing.

"Where were your parents this morning?" He asked as I started flipping through my wardrobe.

I bit my lip to keep the tears at bay. There wasn't much lost love between my parents at I. They were overbearing and showed me little affection; I was raised to be a lady like my mother and to someday be lady of this manor, and that was my value to them.

But they were still my parents, and I felt lost without them. "I believe they went into town with Lilia to purchase meats and produce for a dinner that they're - I mean, they were - hosting tomorrow evening," I said after a moment.

Roman nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. So the lucine must've attacked them on their way home from the market. Your cook would have seen it happen, and escaped with the horses and carriage to end up back here."

I winced. Poor Lilia. Little wonder she'd been so upset. She'd seen my parents murdered by... "Lucine?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I'd never heard the word. "What is that?"

He swallowed, abruptly uneasy. "Well, do you know who Soran is?"

I thought for a moment, then remembered a passage from the A Færye Gÿde, about demons. "He's the demon king, isn't he?"

Roman nodded.

"Mother of Mythla," I murmured, realizing the significance of what I'd just said. "The king of demons is hunting me."

"Wish I could give you better news, princess," Roman sighed. "But you're right. And the lucine are his henchmen. You've never heard of them, because they're . . . special. They do all of Soran's dirty work, and have done the same for every king before him for as long as anyone can remember. They're a bit of a taboo subject, especially in the human realm."

"And they killed my parents, and are going to kill me next." I felt sick.

Roman frowned, and strode forward until he stood between me and the wardrobe. "They did kill your parents, Cassaundra," he said. I blinked at him, surprised. He'd used my full name for the first time since introducing himself. "But you're wrong. They're not going to kill you." He gripped me by the shoulders and looked directly into my eyes. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I was frozen by his stare. "I just need you to trust me," he said. "I'm here to protect you. I'll explain more when we're somewhere safe, but there just isn't time now." He released me, and the intensity in his gaze seemed to soften. "Do you trust me?"

I swallowed, hard. "I don't have much choice," was my honest response.

He seemed to accept that. "Then pack your things, and quickly. Only the essentials. We can buy you more clothes later."

I nodded mutely. I grabbed the first dress my hands landed on, and told him to leave the bedchamber.

"Why?" He asked in irritation.

"Because I'm still in my nightgown, and I have to change." I pushed him toward the door. "I can't dress myself with a man in the room."

He planted his feet solidly on the floor, and frowned down at me as I pushed uselessly against his hard chest. "You're going to have to, belle," he said. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until we are gone from here."