© ItalRT4u, 2012

      Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I felt the plane take off.  Cane squeezed my hand reassuringly.  I’ve always hated the takeoff but it’s the landing that made my body shudder.  I’ve only been on a plane a few times throughout my life and that discomfort never seemed to ease with each travel experience.  I partially blamed it on my empathic abilities seeing as I knew with my own personal discomforts, my walls were lowered and the anxieties from everyone surrounding me on this jet were feeding into my own.

     “Are you sure you want this?”  William eyed both Cane and I.

     “Surely, if there was a way out of this, you would have found one.  It’s not like we can fake it.”  I told Will softly, squeezing Cane’s hand.

     “We could but I don’t know if they’d be convinced.”

     “What do you mean?”  Cane eyed his father – he too wasn’t entirely happy that control was stripped from the both of us.

     “We could bluff them but I don’t know how far they’re willing to take things for irrefutable proof.”  Will explained.

     “What do you think would happen if they didn’t fall for it?”  I asked Will.  Perhaps the repercussions wouldn’t be as negative as I was envisioning.

     “I shudder at the thought of what they could do.  One thing you need to know is that these folks are a little rough and tough around the edges; more than what we’re accustomed to in America.  Getting caught in a lie wouldn’t do any good for restoring faith in the Royal bloodline.”  He explained.

     “But what if we said we weren’t but we were on our way to, eventually?”  Cane interjected, throwing me a look of sympathy and a tight lipped smile.

     “I suppose.”  Will started.  “But it’s not what their demands are.”

     “We know what they’re damn demands are!”  Cane said slightly irritated and harder than a hushed tone.  A few heads turned our way.

     “We have another four hours to figure it all out.”  Will said in a freakishly calm state.  “It’s not what I want for either of you, at least not in this manner, but it’s more complex than what wewant at this point in time.”

     “Hold on!”  I stopped our conversation.  Somehow, I had forgotten all this time, about who I was.  How could I have allowed myself to become so submissive?  Cane and William’s eyes met mine.  I straightened myself and felt myself grow inches as I regained the composure I had somehow lost along the way.  “I’m their Queen, right?”  The men nodded.

     “Go on.”  Will urged me forward.

     “Then why am I to give into their demands?  Shouldn’t my word mean anything?  Shouldn’t they be the ones giving in to my demands?”  I wondered aloud and didn’t miss a beat.  “Cane and I being there together should be proof enough for them all.  Eye color changes, exchange of abilities aside, why shouldn’t verbal and physical confirmation directly from me not mean anything?”

     “I don’t know.”  Will stated simply.

     “Who’s to say that next, they won’t demand that Cane and I conceive an heir?”  I asked, Cane’s head snapped in my direction, his eyes bulging.  I couldn’t help the light chuckle and patted his hand reassuringly.  “I realize that the Royals live to serve their people but come on!  This is entrapment and I won’t have it!”

     “Then it’s settled?”  William asked.  “Your mind’s made up?”

     “I think so.”  I mumbled.  “It’s high time that people learn that despite being in the dark all this time, I’m still a force to be reckoned with.  I might be new to this whole Royal business but I’m not going to be taken advantage of.”

     “I agree.”  Cane stated, lacing his fingers through mine.

     We spent the rest of the flight in silence mostly with the exception of some minor light-hearted conversation.  As the plane made its approach and began its decent, my confidence waivered only slightly.  Could I really be leading us into a wolf’s den by standing up for myself and the Royal bloodline or should I give in to these requests?  After all, it wasn’t entirely that bad of a demand.  Something told me I needed to stand my ground, though; and with that, the wavering tendencies dissolved and I had resolved to stick to my final decision.

     Angus MacDougall was a respectable man and I wasn’t questioning how this quite sizeable man managed to assert himself and maintained the order over the Fae people of Glasgow and surrounding areas as well as assist with governing the whole of Scotland with a few other major players that I’m sure we were to be introduced to eventually.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being played – my senses were on complete alert and I found myself on edge.

     “I have to mention that William here has notified me, my Queen that you and your match haven’t given in to our demands.”  He eyed mine and Cane’s intertwined fingers.  Cane squeezed my hand reassuringly.

     “I’m your Queen, I’m here with enough proof.  To contest with my word would be foolish.”  I announced.

     “I’m not the one who needs proof.  I know enough about the Royal bloodline to know what to look for.”  He announced and I nodded in comprehension.

     “Then I urge you to convince your people, our people that it’s all real.  I know that they would never force their children to do what they’re trying to get Cane and I to do.”  I stated firmly.  A movement in the hall caught the corner of my eye. 

     Huh?  I could have sworn…  Nah! 

     I shook my head of those thoughts.  Maybe a nap before dinner would be a good idea.  I had to have been seeing things just now.

     MacDougall had us escorted to our rooms but not before sharing a little insight on things; something I would have thought William and Sandy would have addressed with Cane and I by now; something that confirmed how he knew that Cane and I had failed to give in to his demands; something that told me that he knew a thing or two about the Royal bloodline that even Cane’s parents seemed oblivious to.

     “I simply don’t get how you two haven’t completed the full transition.  No one can go that long without sealing it.  It’s in your genetics; something that goes on with all matched Fae.” 

     I felt like wires had been crossed and that perhaps we weren’t talking about the same thing.  I made a plan to find out sooner, rather than later.

     I let myself plop backwards down onto our bed.  The room was truly beautiful; decorated with white and light aquamarine colors as accents – it was a room befitting a Queen’s stay.

     “What does he mean he’s surprised that we’ve been taking our time with sealing the deal?”  I mumbled.

     “I don’t know.”  Cane said quietly as he sat down on the edge of the bed.  Something was bothering him since the plane ride, I could just tell.

     “Are you okay?”  I asked him softly as I sat up, letting my hand rub his lower back from under his shirt, a leg over his lap and the other behind him as I wrapped myself around the side of his torso.

     “Of course.”  He answered all too quickly, lacking his usual convincing charm.  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

     “You seem off.  Like something’s on your mind.”  I kissed his shoulder through his shirt before reaching up and turning his head so his eyes met mine.  His eyes betrayed him because in the moment that our gaze met, I knew there was something within him that he was fighting with; something he was trying to hide.

     “There’s a lot on our minds.”  He stated the obvious and I nodded that I understood him.  “Right now, I think we need to bring Dad back in here and see if he knows what MacDougall was talking about.”

     The surprises just keep on coming.  MacDougall had been brought in because William didn’t know of this whole completion business; it was new news to him and he only assumed a traditional wedding.  Sealing the deal as I had now adopted to call it, was a wedding, but not the kind you’re thinking of; more of a commitment ceremony of sorts.  Yep, the one demand that I had grown over the last twenty four hours to accept, until our flight across the pond that is, just so happened to be the way to finalize Cane’s and my bond.  To everyone else, it’s just a piece of paper that legally binds them.  What had floored MacDougall was the fact that, in the Fae world, it was nearly impossible for two matched people to avoid this final binding process because it was a force that naturally drove them into it; a force that I hadn’t felt as of yet.  I don’t think I have; at least not in the sudden strong urge that he had described.

     Now, let me put this together for you so you understand.  For Royals, this wedding isn’t your typical one like I’ve said before; you know, the one with the white gown, the tuxes, the flowers, and the whole shebang; it was a small ceremony performed by a witch or warlock that finalized the magical binding between the matched pair.  For ordinary Fae, they’ve been known to get hitched quite early in their relationships and seeing as it seems to be a trend in the human world, no one typically questions those actions; especially nowadays.  Plainly speaking, the ordinary matched Fae would be united via regular wedding ceremony.  For Royals, things were slightly different, thus this commitment ceremony that Angus had told us about.  It explained why William had initially come to the conclusion that they had demanded that Cane and I get married.  This ceremony wasn’t meant to be anything romantic in its basis and was predominantly performed privately.  For Cane and I, it was just a crucial part of the puzzle that was missing all this time that literally left us weaker than we had imagined.  I couldn’t fathom how much more powerful can one person such as myself get?  Hell, I gained more strength and control over my abilities and my match’s and so did Cane with every passing day.

     “Without this final process, you are both at risk of being torn apart and judging by recent events, it’s been tried.”  MacDougall spoke out of concern and I knew that he was a trustworthy source.  When MacDougall left, Cane asked for an audience with his father, leaving me by myself, pondering a variety of what ifs.  I took that time to have that nap I so desperately had desired.

     I awoke with the most wonderful physical sensations.  As I crept slowly to full wakefulness, I was realizing that something was lacking despite its familiarity – it didn’t feel right; my missing link – Cane.  But someone was in my room with me.  The moment my eyes opened, I couldn’t help the blood curdling scream that escaped my mouth. 

     It couldn’t be! 

     In truth, it could be and it was.

     No one had seen him in weeks.  We had expected him to be dead for his lack of results in his servitude to Matt but here he was; Gage was positioned between my legs, in nothing but his boxers.  I heard the thunder of footsteps reaching my bedroom door and a doorknob being turned with no results.

     “Get off now!”  I commanded.  Gage’s eyes widened, pupils dilated but there was no result of obedience to my order unless you call a cocky smirk a result – one not in my favour that’s for sure.  Realizing that I was close to being fully naked from the waist down, panic began to flow through me.  What would have happened had I not woken?  I shuddered at that thought.

     “Are you going to tell me that we don’t belong together?”  He stated; the banging on the solid oak bedroom door continuing; orders for me to open the door right this damn minute being shouted from the other side.  “Your body says it all.”

     “My body says nothing in your favour.”  I spat at him which only caused him to sneer at me.

     “Oh Payton.  That’s where you’re wrong.”  He gently rubbed my bottom lip with his thumb, trailing the rest of his hand down to the tender skin between my breasts as he hovered above me, making me shiver with disgust; the succubus in me wanting to take control and suck the life force out of him and be rid of him once and for all.  I knew that wouldn’t yield the results I ached for.  I heard wood splintering with every hit given to the door to my salvation.

     “I have my match.  We’ve completed the process.”  I stated, hoping that I was convincing enough now that I knew it not to be entirely truthful.

     “Oh, but you haven’t seen a witch, have you?” 

     Damn!

     “How would you know?”

     “You forget how much I know you.”  He said in an amused tone, attempting to pull my underwear to the side, inching his midsection closer to mine, making me push my butt down into the mattress, wishing I could melt through and get as far away from him as possible.

     “You’re forgetting that you’re about to wish you were dead.”  I held his eyes sternly, my fiery gaze far from wavering.  “For someone who seems to know a lot about Royals, you’re forgetting a few key points.”  I said as I attempted to wedge my legs up in hopes to kick or push him off of me but I found myself unable to do so; the banging on the door remained continuous.  “Let me enlighten you.  After all, you’ll be taking these secrets to the grave with you very shortly when Cane gets his hands on you.”

     “Cane can’t do a thing.”  He said convinced.  “You’re mine.”

     “Far from it.”

     “We’ll see.”

     “You’ll never have my love, you don’t have my mark therefore; you’ll never be my match.  Get.  Off.  Me.  Now.”  I hissed at him, just as a battered fist splintered through the middle of the door. 

     Thank the powers that be!

                                          *************************************

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