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Peeking around the corner, I could see the people gathered around the stairwell. The men were dressed in tuxedos, the women in brightly colored gowns. A little girl spotted me and began to point, so I ducked back into the hallway. This was supposed to be my big day, something I’d remember for the rest of my life they’d told me; even if it was more about soothing people’s fears than about of my coming of age, in my case.
But I couldn’t stop myself from worrying.
Someone with a microphone cued my entrance. “I present to you, Anastasia Aleksandra Adams, princess of Brighton and rightful heir to Merline, the first.”
I took a deep breath and stepped into view, just as we’d rehearsed a thousand times before. Applause filled the room and I took the stairs slowly, trying not to think about how I’d never made it the entire way down without stumbling at least once. I put on a smile and waved to the people gathered below, scanning the smiling faces until my eyes settled on Darren at the bottom of the stairs.
Warmth stirred up inside me, combating the worry that lay siege to my thoughts. I wanted to be down these stairs already, to have him holding me, but I was supposed to be refined tonight, the model princess. But I couldn’t get Tristan off my brain—had he called to me with his final breath?
I ran to Darren, falling into his embrace. I heard the people around us gasp.
“It’s alright,” Darren whispered in my ear. “I’m here for you. Tell me what’s wrong.”
I leaned back and looked up into those concerned blue eyes and felt at ease, even now—like things really were going to be all right. However, there was something even more profound about this moment, something that I would remember for the rest of my life. I was feeling it again; that same unyielding flood of emotion that usually accompanied thoughts of Tristan. Only this time, it was Darren that was causing it. Our spark had taken hold, becoming something more in these last two months, something white hot.
Darren and I were the toast of Heathwood when we got back to school the week following that nightmare two months ago. I was eager to get back into the swing of things and school provided a welcome escape from the overly concerned adults back at home—and from worrying about Tristan. The interview that Darren had given after the football game had apparently done wonders for our “adorable” factor and people seemed genuinely happy to see us together. And not a day passed when we weren’t. Thankfully, Darren’s promotion to full guardian meant that Corinne and Amelie weren’t necessary when I was with him.
Taylor and I went to football practices together now (and though she swore it wasn’t to see Chris, we all knew it was) and afterwards we’d jump in Darren’s car and set out for nowhere in particular and just enjoy each other’s company. Other times Darren and I would curl up in front of his television watching old movies; you wouldn’t believe how much I came to love Katharine Hepburn. Darren’s Spencer Tracey impersonations were always dead-on. We’d act out scenes and somehow, even if we were supposed to be arguing in that scene, we’d always end up kissing. It was the easiest not to think about Tristan during these times, in fact, all of my worries tended to fade when I was with Darren. The world seemed so bright and wonderful during those moments, incapable of the things that had transpired over the last two months.
It was talking to Darren that made me fall for him so completely. He was always making me laugh, and going out of his way to do so. “It’s the one thing I never get tired of hearing,” he said to me once. Other times he would show me such depth that he awed me. I mean, sometimes he would just get this thoughtful look and share something intensely personal with me, like how he felt during his mother’s losing battle with cancer. Or he’d speak about how different he wished things were at times, what he’d do to change them if he could. And sometimes, when he spoke like that, I think even the part of me that was Aleksandra smiled too.
I don’t know when it happened exactly—when “falling” for him became “fell” for him. But looking at him now, I knew that I had to say it, as if in this moment my saying the words were the most important thing in the world.
“I love you,” I whispered into his ear.
His head jerked back in surprise and his face flushed deep red. He seemed immediately aware of the crowd of people around us right now and looked around nervously. But that was only for a moment, because he was smiling now, that handsome smile that I loved so much.
When he spoke, he didn’t whisper. “I love you too, Ana.”
“Awws” rang out from the crowd and some began to clap. Maybe some of them thought it was all staged. Or maybe that I was just a kid overcome by the moment, in which case it probably helped our case that I wasn’t the monster they might have thought me to be. But I didn’t care what they thought, not right then. I was in love, and I would cherish tonight always.
Darren took my hand, and we started down the velvet path that twisted and then straightened out again, leading toward the ballroom. The people gathered in the hall followed us, and I could hear them chatting eagerly behind us as we approached the double doors.
“Nervous?” Darren asked.
“Extremely,” I answered.
“No pressure,” he smiled.
“Lots,” I laughed.
The doors opened and immediately we saw people’s heads leaning into view to get a look at us. There were no breathtaking displays of magic this time. Instead, there were people. The place was packed. The sliver of velvet carpet was the only available space, and Darren and I were greeted with a blinding barrage of flashes from cameras and camera phones. People were calling my name and stretching their hands through the wall of guardians that lined the velvet carpet. It was probably why there was no magic this time, they were all here to see me—that didn’t help with my nerves.
Ratcheting my nerves up even higher was how quickly the mood changed once we’d made it about halfway to the velvet throne on the other end of the room. Cheers and smiles were replaced with disgusted stares and headshakes and I had a hard time meeting some of their eyes. I leaned into Darren for strength. These were the people whose minds I needed to change. My supporters were placed near the entrance to give me confidence, I guessed. That type of thing wouldn’t have escaped my grandmother.
Finally, we turned, and the velvet throne came into view. My mother and grandmother were standing in front of the throne; the other three heirs were standing just beyond them, positioned around it. I’d gotten the chance to meet them all this morning before school. They were polite, though cautious, except for Genevieve. She seemed very excited to meet me—a total surprise considering our last encounter— mentioning something about a big destiny. She was the only heir smiling as we approached them now.
Darren gave my hand a final squeeze and I walked up to the elevated portion of the room alone, turning around, once I’d reached my mother and grandmother. I could still hear the cheers from the other side of the room, but the people whose faces I was looking out at were anything but supportive. I felt my heart leap up into my throat when the microphone was handed to me. I was supposed to welcome these people to the ceremony?
I knew what I needed to convey to them, and I knew that it was supposed to be brief. Only, at that moment, I had no idea how to say it. After what felt like an eternity of silence on my part, I was ready to hand the microphone to my grandmother when I felt a surge of confidence fill me. Sometimes I forgot that there was more to me than just Ana now. I allowed myself to step back, allowing more of Aleksandra into my consciousness and immediately the words came.
“Hello everyone and I welcome you to my sixteenth birthday coronation. A special welcome to the folks from St. Petersburg whose haven I simply cannot wait to visit.” An almost deafening roar filled the ballroom, all of it generated by the section near the entrance. “For a great many of you there is a lot o
f doubt about me, I know this, but also know that I can only be what I am—just a kid who, a couple months ago, thought witches melted when you threw water on them.” Chuckles sounded across the ballroom, even cracking some of the stone-faced contingent in front of me. “This is all so new to me. Coming into your world has been like a fairytale come to life. And a privilege. Having two months under my belt, I can say this with confidence—I’ve never been so busy! I’ve got spells to learn, a driver’s license to earn, parents to annoy, a gazillion laws to learn, college to apply for, a boy to love…So yes, I am a conjurer.” The crowd rumbled restlessly at the mention of that word. “But the truth is, I just don’t have time to be evil.” I ended with a playful shrug.
Laughter filled the ballroom, followed by more cheers, and I was pleased to see that there were a great number of smiles in front of me now. Relieved, I smiled back at them and turned to hug my mother and grandmother simultaneously.
“That was simply wonderful!” my grandmother whispered in my ear. We’d never spoken again about the night she and Tristan had words, and I think that was how we both preferred it. What she had no problem telling me, was how happy my choosing Darren had made her.
“Lexy always could charm an audience,” my mother whispered into my other ear. She gave me a wink when the hug ended. An image of her as a bratty ten year old popped into my head and made me smile.
Next, it was on to the heirs surrounding the throne. I took a moment to thank each of them for being here, as was rehearsed, and then took my seat, facing the audience again. There were “oohs” and “ahhs” as the heavily jeweled crown made its way up. The other heirs lifted it up together and placed it on my lap. I wouldn’t be crowned with that until I was twenty-five, this was just to show that it was within my reach. Instead, the three of them placed a shiny gold tiara on my head. I stood up to more cheers and blinding flashes from cameras and phones. Suddenly the crowd fell quiet. Okay, so we didn’t rehearse this….
“Happy Birthday-ay-ay-ay toooo you,” My jaw dropped. Someone had given Darren a microphone, and he was singing me “Happy Birthday” all by himself. In rehearsal, someone was supposed to lead the audience in singing the birthday song. For all his good looks and obvious charms, he was a terrible singer. Even the word “terrible” didn’t quite cover how bad he was. He was completely tone deaf, and he made long ill timed runs that had the audience cracking up. Thankfully, he knew that he sucked and was having fun with the crowd.
With the ice broken, it was just a matter of mingling now. The ceremony was technically over and people were shepherded outside where hundreds of tables had been set up, the October chill tamed by some type of “warming” magic. I smiled and acted polite as my grandmother took me around to the various tables, even shaking the hands of the people I knew had said the nastiest things about me. Maybe I did have a future in politics.
Once we’d hit all the important tables, my grandmother let Darren steal me away. He took me back inside, up to my room. Corinne and Amelie seemed unsure if they should follow, and I’m glad they didn’t, though I assured them that nothing like what they might be thinking was actually going to happen. We had already decided to wait.
However, that didn’t mean we couldn’t kiss. He pressed his lips to mine as soon as we got into the room, and it was magical. It was sweet but passionate, and I felt hot and tingly inside. Darren pulled away abruptly, laughing to himself about the dizzied state he’d left me in.
“Happy Birthday, Ana,” he said reaching into his pocket and producing a ring box.
“You’re not gonna ask me to marry you, are you?” I asked with a grin.
“No way. Why buy the cow when the milk’s free?”
I laughed and stuck out my tongue.
“It’s a promise ring,” he said.
“Hopefully you’re promising not to sing anymore.”
He smiled. I could see in his face that he was trying to be serious now, so I stopped with the jokes.
“I just want you to know that I choose you too,” he said next. “That I’ll always choose you.”
The memory of Aiden’s making me choose resurfaced out of the blue and so did thoughts of Tristan. Worry began to creep back into my mind.
“Is everything alright?” Darren asked.
“Um, yeah…of course.”
“Well, are you going to open it?”
My face flushed. “Oh right.” I flipped it open. “Um…”
His face dropped. “You don’t like it?”
“There’s nothing here.”
His eyebrows rose, and I turned it around to show him that the box was empty.
“It must have fallen out or something. I was looking at it in the car—I’ll go check.”
“Darren you can give it to me tomorrow—”
“I’m sure it’s in there, I’ll be right back.” He stood up and left the room at a run.
Part of me was relieved to see him go. I needed to check in on Tristan again. I had to know he was still alive. “Tristan!”
“Hello, Ana,” came a reply.
I froze. It wasn’t Tristan who had answered my call. It was London.