Out of the Mountain (12 page)

“Look at them, they are champing at the bit to prove themselves!” Griffin snorted and I focused back in on Malachi. The others were already lining up. We rejoined them to watch from a better angle.

Malachi ran the course at full speed; you could tell this was no longer a simple contest to him or to any of them. They did not want to be showed up by a novice, and a princess at that. People kept underestimating me, and I tried not to feel smug watching them take their turns and give it all they had.

“That was very well done,” Rowan remarked as he walked by me to take his turn. I beamed, practically purring at the compliment. I heard a rough rumbling sound escape my throat and gasped. Had I actually just purred? Do tigers even do that? It didn’t sound like a purr. Rowan turned to me, eyes bright, frozen in place. I guess that answered my question for me. I slapped my hand to my face, mortified, and he turned, continuing on to take his place at the starting line. Briony patted me on the shoulder, and I tried to pretend nothing at all had happened.

When he began, we all stood in awe of the speed with which he split through the course. He moved so fast he almost blurred. There was no doubt who the winner was. All the girls let out a collective sigh, and the boys grumbled at his easy victory. Rowan was a sight to be seen as he sauntered slowly back toward us, covered in mud and his hair falling loose from its tie. I watched, unable to force myself to look away as he loosed his hair and pulled it to the nape of his neck again. His muscles bulging even with the slightest motion. Briony nudged me softly, and I blinked, finally bringing myself back to reality and looking away quickly.

“All right. It was close—with the exception of Rowan, that is—but the rest of you guards finished within milliseconds of one another.” Silas laughed, and I saw them puff their chests out in pride and almost started to pout. I thought I had them. Maybe Master Liung had been right about the humble thing after all . . .

“Too bad that even a second faster than that was our girl Vivienne!” He laughed and the novices cheered loudly. I stood straighter, a smile splitting my face at the collective groan that came from the guards. I met Rowan’s eyes and saw a smile on his lips. My heart almost stopped at the sight of a dimple appearing on his cheek. He was too beautiful. Luca swept me into a hug and the others followed suit, and I lost sight of Rowan for a moment. I was convinced that dimple would be imprinted on my mind forever. The next time I saw him, he was frowning.

“All right, Rowan, Vivienne . . . pick your teams.” I looked at all the novices and felt a sudden surge of emotion toward them. For the first time in my life, I had friends, real and true friends.

“I’ll take the novices, you take the guards?” I asked Rowan, and he agreed.

“If you want to hand it to us on a silver platter, so be it,” he rumbled, and I narrowed my eyes. We all lined up in the field and grabbed a side of the rope. Luca had given us a halfhearted pep talk before taking his place in the front of our line.

“Ready, set . . . go!” Silas yelled and within a matter of seconds my entire team was on the ground being pulled across the line. The guards laughed a little too hard at our expense, but I hadn’t really expected to win this one anyway. It was more of a show of solidarity than anything.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Silas grumbled, seeming disappointed in the unfair and quick fight. We helped each other to our feet, accepting the defeat. I was dusting off my clothes when Farran came running across the field. Everyone turned to see him, dressed to the nines in a fancy suit. He scoffed at the sight of us.

“No, no. This won’t do! We are going to have to scrub you from head to toe, Vivi! It looks as if you have been bathing in mud! Your party starts in an hour!” he complained, pulling me behind him. I turned, eyes wide at Briony and Luca, and they shook their heads. Not their party.

“Wait, what party?” I asked, and he winked.

“Oops, surprise!” He laughed, and I had no doubt that he had warned me on purpose.

“Come along then!” he insisted as he pulled me along after him.

Once I was up in my room and thoroughly clean, Farran conjured me into a giant and frilly ball gown. I gawked at the sight of it. Satin folds of pink fabric piled upon one another with no end in sight.

“You’re joking, right?”

“This is the gown the Six provided for you.” He tried and failed at hiding a grin.

“There is no way I am wearing this,” I whined in defiance.

“That’s what I thought you might say, so I took the liberty of getting you this.” He waved his hand and on my body was the complete opposite of what I had just been wearing.

Black and sleek, this dress hugged tightly to my curves. The neckline was high, covering to my throat where it connected behind my neck in a metal clasp. My back was mostly bare, showing more skin than I had ever dared in public. There was a slit that came just above my knee on the right side. I felt sexy, and that was new for me.

“The Six would like to introduce you to the public as soft and sweet. An innocent and young princess who can be molded into a queen. I have other ideas,” he said, retrieving my mother’s dagger and sheath from my desk and handing it to me.

“The public?” I asked as he turned to fix his hair in the mirror while I strapped the dagger to my thigh.

“Yes, you see, they have invited all to come and see our princess and celebrate her coming of age! They want to put on a real show, make the people love you and want to keep you safe . . . much like your father did when you were young. I don’t think this will work as well this time. Anyone can see that you aren’t a child . . . especially in that dress. I imagine that’s what you want though, isn’t it?” he quipped, and I smiled, nodding.

“I want to be taken seriously,” I said firmly, and his smile grew.

“Yes, I know you do. You are very much like my mother, your grandmother. She would have adored you. I can see the tigress behind your eyes more firmly each day, asserting herself now that the block is gone. Most Shuni go through this at the same time as puberty, unfortunately your tiger has been repressed long past that. You are going to have to tread lightly, Vivi. A caged tiger is not a happy one, and until you are finally able to shift and let her out, I imagine she’s going to get feisty,” he quipped, holding his hands out like claws and hissing. I laughed, but I knew he was right. I had been feeling the changes already.

“Hence the dress and the dagger?” I asked, gesturing to my attire.

“Yes, I want everyone to see that my little kitten has claws. Look, but don’t touch or you might lose a hand . . . that kind of thing,” he jested, and I laughed again.

“Sounds good to me, I like feeling fierce,” I replied honestly, looking into the mirror and arranging my hair into a braided bun. I looked myself over once more and felt great.
This is who I am
, I thought, and my eyes flashed bright blue in the mirror. My smiled widened.

“Come on, kitten, your party awaits.” Farran said taking my arm and leading the way.

***

When we entered the gardens, there were crowds of people gathered. A platform sat in the front, and music was being played by a local band. Tables were lining the side of the crowd and guests were being served bubbly drinks and a spread of finger sandwiches. The people were murmuring with excitement, dancing and eating.

“Vivi!” I heard Briony yell from across the crowd. I smiled and made my way over to her, Farran following along.

“Wow, you look amazing!” she said eyes wide at my dress. I did a little turn for her, feeling happy, and she clapped.

“Absolutely stunning,” Luca agreed from behind her, and I blushed when the others nodded in agreement. I saw they were wearing informal clothes, and I immediately felt overdressed. I looked around noticing that everyone was dressed normally. Their clothes were nice, but certainly not formal.

People started noticing me, and I felt the weight of their stares as the crowd slowly grew silent.

“Princess Vivienne?” A large man with tan, leathery skin pulled the cap off his head and bowed to me, inviting the others to follow suit. I gasped at the gesture and turned to Farran eyes wide. There were shocked and surprised murmurs going through the crowd. Had they not expected to see me at my own party?

“No, you don’t have to do that,” I intoned, touching the man’s shoulder, and he rose reaching out a hand to me. I shook it; his skin was rough and worn, the hands of a working man.

“It’s an honor to meet you,” he said quickly, and then others followed suit. I was shaking so many hands that the faces were a blur as they ushered me through the crowd with Farran at my back. When I stumbled into someone, I righted myself, apologizing before I looked up into Rowan’s furious gaze. This time it was directed at Farran.

“What do you think you are doing?” he growled at him as he placed a hand around my arm in a secure grip, the touch sending tingles radiating through my body. Farran just shrugged as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

“Escorting the princess to her party.”

“Her party is within the palace walls,” Rowan droned, narrowing his eyes.

“We took the scenic route.”

“This isn’t my party?” I asked, looking at the crowd gathered around us in confusion.

“No, this is a party for the people of Alaris in celebration of your birthday,” Rowan said, pulling me toward the palace steps.

“So wait, I’m not allowed to attend my own party? That doesn’t even make sense.” I grumbled at the way my skin still tingled with the contact of his, even though he was being annoying.

“The Six are giving you a party in the ballroom. High-ranking members of the society are invited to attend as well,” Rowan said simply when we entered the palace doors. He stopped to look me over, his eyes lingering a little longer than needed. I felt satisfaction light in my belly.

“What are you wearing?” he scoffed, and I frowned.

“A dress.”

“That is not a dress for a princess.”

“I like it,” I said indignantly as he walked behind me and hissed.

“It is missing the entire back. You cannot be presented to these people dressed in this manner. You must change.”

“This is what I am wearing,” I said firmly, leaving no room for discussion. Who was he to tell me what I could wear? He looked at Farran for help, and when he received none he let out an exasperated sigh.

“So be it,” he growled, walking off. Farran and I exchanged a smile before we followed.

My arrival was announced so that everyone could take a good look at me as I walked through the crowd. The guests were all dressed in extravagant suits and enormous ball gowns. Unlike the people outside, they parted the way, leaving me a path to the front of the room. I tried to remain calm, smiling and nodding as I walked. The air felt stuffy, and I already wished I was back outside with the others. Each of the Six looked me over, trying to hide their surprise at my attire. I caught a smile on Dahlia’s face and grinned back at her. Mauve pulled me up on the stage where the band was set up and began her speech.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As you might have discerned, our princess has returned to us,” she quipped, and the crowd chuckled.

“She has been under the protection of the twelve monks of the mountain and remained hidden until her maturity. They taught and trained her in their arts and customs well past the point of mastery, and even then she has graciously agreed to train alongside the other novices her age. I have it on good authority that her abilities surpass even those of our fully trained guard, and that is no easy feat.” She gestured to the wall where the guard was posted. They stiffened with scowls on their faces. I paled. She was exaggerating quite a bit. I could run, climb, balance, and jump in a fun competition as well. I didn’t have any of the skills or experience that the fully trained guards possessed.

“With that knowledge, It is our hope that you will donate to our cause to ensure the welfare of the people of this city. Now, with that out of the way, let the party begin!” She clapped her hands, and music began. Everyone branched off onto the dance floor and began spinning gracefully. Mauve paraded me around, introducing me to people whose names I didn’t even bother committing to memory. Stuffy and entitled, that’s what these people were, and they all looked me over as if I were a piece of meat they were thinking of buying at market. I felt ill.

I looked around in a panic for Farran, and he was at my side quickly, excusing me from the others and pulling me away.

“What was that?” I hissed. This was most definitely not a party for me. This was a political move.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Farran growled, and I understood. They wanted to show proof that they had me and I was all that I was supposed to be, a descendent of great bloodlines and power. Bragging and begging at the same time. These were people they wanted to secure as allies. I was tired of being paraded around and sat on display. I felt a growl of agitation building in my throat. I didn’t want to be here.

“May I be the first to ask you to dance?” I looked up into Malachi’s face before turning to Farran, who shrugged, leaving it up to me. I nodded and let him take my hand and lead me out on the floor. The guards were all wearing matching black suits, tailored to perfection. I tried to concentrate as Malachi effortlessly began the dance. I had never danced like this before, but the steps were easy enough to follow, and all I really had to do was follow Malachi’s lead.

“That was some introduction you got.” He chuckled in my ear, and I grimaced, embarrassed.

“I didn’t know she was going to say those things,” I said honestly, looking him square in the eye. It was hard not to admire Malachi’s handsome face, especially when it was this close. I held his stare and after a moment he nodded, deciding to believe me. He twirled me around before pulling me closer, my body flush with his. I stiffened and he chuckled again.

“So uptight, Vivi. Why don’t you let loose a little?” He challenged me, and I forced myself to relax into his hold, following his lead and pulling a devilish grin to his full lips.