Out, Out--

In which there is a lot of banter. Also, angry!Cypress.

               The next morning found a tired and bewildered Eliza sipping cocoa and warming her hands by the crackling fire in Cleven’s dining room. She had awoken to find Marina laying out a light dress for her and instructing her, a bit urgently, to go see Tam so she could “get her face on” for Zayric. It had been strange, going to bed with Ellyra’s body and waiting up with her own. She wondered when the spell had worn off. Now, as she sat before the fire, gazing into the leaping flames, she couldn’t help but think of Tam’s face when she had gone to see him. He was pale. Paler than normal. The life and vivacity that normally sparkled behind his eyes had been extinguished sometime in the past twenty four hours and though had greeted her with a smile, Liza could tell that the smile was only for appearance’s sake, plastered on at the last minute to keep her from worrying. He still hadn’t told her what, exactly, had happened, but Liza was sure whatever it was had had a huge effect on Tam’s behavior, even if he didn’t show it outwardly. At least Cleven hadn’t done any physical damage. Yet. Exhaling slowly, Liza closed her eyes and thought about Tam’s behavior that morning.

                “I’m not sure how long we’re going to be able to keep this up.” Tam had remarked as he spread the magic through Liza’s body. “If Zayric keeps showing up like this we’re going to have to conserve the power.”

                “Can we do that?” Liza asked nervously, blinking as the magic twinged the color of her eyes to a duller hue, one closer to Ellyra’s.

                “Sure, we just need something to contain it in, like the watch. I think I can work it so you’ll look like Ellyra every time you have the container on you. A piece of jewelry, perhaps. Something silver.”

                Tam crossed the room and picked up a brush from his nightstand. Liza followed him with her eyes, simpering – she decided it was best not to ask how it got there. 

                She reached for it, but Tam shook his head and held it away. “Let me. Ladies have friends and servants to help them get ready.”

                “I’m not a lady.” Liza had pointed out for the thousandth time, although she didn’t struggle, squaring her shoulders and sitting up straighter in her chair.

                “Well as long as we’re pretending, you might as well be treated right.” Tam said firmly, though in a quieter, more reserved tone than Liza would normally expect from him.

                Despite herself, Liza enjoyed his touch – she was sure she’d never brushed her hair so gently in her life. He even managed to get her morning rat’s nests out with a minimal amount of discomfort. “Why silver?” She asked, changing the subject.

                “Pure silver is the most powerful conductor of fairy magic.” Tam explained. “That’s why King Asper gave me a share of his power contained in a silver watch.”

                “Why?” Liza asked curiously. “Any particular reason?”

                Tam shrugged. “Not that I know of. Alchemy has always been a sacred art in the eyes of us fairies and as far as I know silver’s the only thing our alchemists have been able to come up with.”

                “I thought alchemy was supposed to be all about gold.”

                “Well yeah, but I guess we never got that far. Silver’s good enough, right? Why mess with what works? Apparently the first concentration among fairies was the ability to spin silver from the threads of the air. That’s why it’s such a sacred thing – when we had to make the castle in the air we held it together with silver threads and molded clouds. It seems like it shouldn’t work, but it does, and you get used to the floor springing back up after every step. Anyway, we need to get you something silver to wear to trigger the spell. A necklace, maybe? A ring?”

                Liza’s face, or Ellyra’s depending on how you looked at it, scrunched up in the mirror. “I don’t like necklaces – I fiddle with them too much and I feel like they’re choking me. I could probably deal with a ring, though. Hopefully we can get it in time for the ball.”

                “The ball? What ball? You just went to a ball.” Tam set down the brush and combed Liza’s hair with his fingers a few times before separating the hair into three sections to start a braid.

                “Zayric invited me to another one.” Liza explained. “A smaller one. I was trying to tell you that yesterday but there was too much going on.”

                In the ensuing few seconds of silence, Liza remembered waiting for the crack about how Zayric liked her. She was even trying to form a retort in her head, but, to her surprise, the joke never came.

                 “Ah.” Tam had responded simply. “Well then we’re going to have to get you a ring as soon as possible. Tomorrow we’ll go into town and get you one. You should come in person too – it’s going to be hard to fit those stable-tough hands of yours.”

                “They won’t be too rough pretty soon, without some more actual work.” Liza commented, regarding her hands, or rather, Ellyra’s. She had always assumed that a lady’s hands should be soft and pampered, but Ellyra’s hands were actually closer to her own – smaller and less calloused, but toughed from the long hours of housework that Lady Lynnette had forced on her. Deep in her heart, Liza suffered a pang of sorrow – maybe after all of this things would somehow be different, although something made Liza seriously doubt it.

                “Eliza?”

                “Oh! Um. Sorry.” She bit back the question of what was wrong with Tam, guessing that he didn’t want to talk about it. Instead she asked, “This silver ring… it sounds expensive. Do you think we’ll have enough to get one?”

                Liza felt Tam shrug. “Cleven’s a prince. I’m sure he’s got some form of treasure lying around. It shouldn’t be too difficult.” Finishing the braid, Tam tied it off with a length of white ribbon that he had evidently produced from thin air. That or he made a habit of keeping ribbons on him. Liza suspected the latter, although she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. “There.” He said. “You’re ready to go down now, if you like. I’m sure Zayric’ll be down soon.”

                “Aren’t you coming down for breakfast?” Liza asked, turning suspiciously to him. “Or second breakfast, in your case.”

                “Actually I’m not really that hungry.” Tam confessed, avoiding her gaze. “I think I’ll go look in on Cypress. If you could do me a favor and entertain Zayric I’d be most grateful.”

                “Since when is Tam ever not that hungry?” Liza thought to herself now, as she finished off her cocoa. Thinking back on it now, Liza wished she had asked Tam what was wrong, because something was definitely not right.

                “Miss Ellyra?”

                Liza continued to stare into the fire, lost in her thoughts.

                “Miss Ellyra!”

                Liza jumped as she felt the hand on her shoulder and turned to see Zayric looked at her, his eyebrows raised.

                “Oh! Sorry Zayric. I was… thinking.” Liza mentally kicked herself for failing to respond to Ellyra’s name – it was something  she’d struggled to get used to while she was in “lady training” and she still had a bit of trouble with it now.

                “That’s understandable.” Zayric said, taking a seat next to her. “We all have a lot to think about, considering what happened last night.”

                Liza nodded. “Where’s Cleven? I haven’t seen him all morning.”

                “Fallin insisted that he be locked in the east tower for the night. It’s the only place in the castle that locks from the outside, so he figured we’d be safe from him if he went crazy again.” Zayric picked at his cuticles; Liza could tell that he wasn’t altogether happy with the arrangement. “He ate breakfast with me early this morning and then returned there and made me lock him in again. He said he needed to think.”

                “I’m sure he’s just concerned about our safety.” Liza said reassuringly. “Especially yours.” Slowly, gingerly, she reached over to brush her hand against his arm. Zayric, to her astonishment, tolerated her touch and did not flinch away. Liza glanced over at him in surprise and took in his face. The hard angles of his cheek bones and the lines around his mouth seemed softened by the firelight, and the few wisps of auburn hair that hung in before his eyes glimmered reflectively, complimenting the dusky red and gold cast by the flames. His eyes themselves shone with inner light, the flames bringing bizarre colorings to their stark greyness, warming them, deepening them, opening them. For a moment Zayric appeared strangely vulnerable, unguarded by his wit and his air of aloofness. To Liza looked almost common. 

                “He’s being treated like a rabid animal. He’s treating himself like an animal. He’s not.” The irrepressible pain in Zayric’s voice shot through Liza like a needle.

                “I know he’s not, Zayric, but by the way he acted last night…” Liza shivered and huddled a little closer to the fire, setting her now empty mug down on the hearth beside her. “Tam seemed really shaken up about it, too. Do you know what happened to him?”

                The prince’s eyes darkened with the mention of Tam’s name and at once his face hardened, snapping back into its mask. Liza was immediately sorry she brought it up. “I’m not sure exactly, but I assume that my brother tried to kill him or threatened him or something, because he wet his pants and he looked terrified beyond all reason when I saw him.”  

                “That bad?” Liza asked, her heart thumping a little faster. “I didn’t realize…”

                “What do you think he’s hiding?” Zayric interrupted, turning his head toward Liza and intently studying her face.

                 “Huh? Who?”

                “Tam. Cypress too, maybe, but definitely Tam. He’s up to something.”

                Liza sputtered and tried to ignore the fact that the bottom had just dropped out of her stomach. “Up to something?” Liza repeated, trying to regain her composure and hoping against hope that Zayric hadn’t seen the color drain from her face.

                “Yes. And by the look on your face you suspect it, too.” Evidently he had seen it.

                “I just… he’s… strange.” Liza admitted carefully, sticking to solid truths that she knew wouldn’t give him away. “But up to something? What is it that you think he’s up to?”  At the very least, she could use this conversation to figure out if Zayric knew anything and warn Tam and Cypress is necessary. She felt a pang of guilt for intentionally lying to Zayric, but to be fair she knew that he would react far too strongly if he found out, and then everyone’s future would be in jeopardy, including her own. Fairy magic was strictly outlawed and using It, especially under Zayric’s nose…

                “Ellyra? Look at me. Look at me!”

                Suddenly Zayric’s hand was on her cheek, steadying it, tipping her chin up so she was forced to look into his eyes. For a split second, time slowed.

                “I think he’s a fairy.” Zayric intoned secretively, his voice low.

                Fortunately Liza’s expression of surprise at having been grabbed so suddenly overrode the fact that this suspicion didn’t surprise her at all, making her shock at least pseudo-convincing. “What? No! Where would you get an idea like that? He hasn’t got any wings.”

                “I know, I know. I’m still trying to work that out. But Cleven said something before he made Fallin and me leave with you. After you fainted. He said, ‘leave the unwinged diplomat to me. What do you think that means? He had to have been implying that he’s a fairy, just without wings.”

                “Zayric, that’s ridiculous. Cleven was… insane. He was just responding to the animal inside himself. He could’ve made up any number of things. I think you’ll need a bit more proof than that to confirm any suspicions.” Liza exhaled slowly and softly, glad when Zayric’s intense glance was turned away from her.

                “I… suppose.” He was quiet for a few moments. “He could be a half-breed.”

                “Half-breeds aren’t a threat to you in any way, Zayric. Fairy blood doesn’t have any power without wings. Didn’t Fallin teach you that? Plus, there’s been a lot of intermarrying over the centuries. I bet a lot of people have fairy blood in them that they don’t even know about.” 

                At once Zayric’s eyes locked on hers again and this time his stare pierced through her, electric.

                “Is… something wrong?” She ventured, bewildered. For a few, agonizing seconds, her world was consumed by what Zayric thought of her, whether his opinion of her had changed in the past conversation, what she could have done to earn his stern look. The feeling was nauseating; she was grateful when he finally responded.

                “You’re right.” He said curtly, and then abruptly changed the subject, turning his eyes back to the fire. “I got a finch from my father today. He said tomorrow I’m supposed to have high tea with some of the nobles.”

                “High tea?” A few crinkly lines appeared on the bridge of Liza’s nose as the searched for the phrase in her memory bank. A few months back Lady Lynette had said something about high tea and then Liza had been forced to wear an itchy dress and act as a servant girl to a bunch of stuffy nobles, all in all an excruciating experience. “That awful practice of getting snooty ladies and gentlemen together for an extra meal so they can listen to themselves talk?”

                “Yes, that about sums it up. Quite accurately, in fact.” Zayric answered, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

                “Oh. Well I suppose you’ll be leaving soon, then, won’t you?” For the moment, Liza chose to ignore the internal ache she suffered at releasing these words. Despite herself, she would miss Zayric – he was interesting to talk to, despite his obvious flaws, but sometimes his love for his brother made her forget the size of his ego.

                “Well, actually I wanted to talk to you about that.”

                “About what? Leaving?”

                “No, about high tea. It would be less… intolerable if you were there. It has to be dull staying here all the time with nothing to do. Well, not nothing but you know what I mean.”

                “Why Zayric! I’m horrified. How dare you force me to come to something that you know already is such a terrible bore?”

                “I wasn’t forcing you. I was asking you.” Zayric responded hotly, but the amused glint in his eyes let Liza know that he wasn’t actually upset.

                “Well in that case I’m afraid I must refuse.” Liza said stoutly, folding her arms primly across her chest.

                “You know, I was kind of hoping that would be your answer.”

                “Oh? Any why, pray tell, is that?”

                “Because now I can force you. Ellyra Sweetspire, I command you to accompany me to high tea at my father’s castle tomorrow.”

                “Oh, so you were never actually offering me a choice, then?”

                “Not in so many words, no, I was not. But I figured I should at least give you the illusion of being able to choose first. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

                Liza scoffed. “And since when have you ever been a gentleman?”

                This time Zayric’s brow furrowed and his lips pursed in a pout. “Since I was born. I thought you knew that, birdbrain.”

                “See? A gentleman does not insult a lady. Just because you’re born with money and power and influence doesn’t make you a gentleman, much less a good person. Take Tam for instance—”

                “You leave him out of this!” The prince snapped. “Don’t you ever compare the two of us. I’m nothing like him.”

                Liza was going to say that Zayric’s statement was the point she was driving at, but she thought better of it – it would probably only make him mad, no matter how true it was. “Sorry.” She said instead, averting her gaze.

Fortunately Zayric softened after a few awkward moments of tense silence. “But keep an eye on him, Ellyra. I trust you to make sure he doesn’t do any more damage to my brother.”

                “I… yes! Yes. Of course.”

                “Good. Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow for tea. Have the carriage drop you off mid-afternoon. I’ll find you.”

                It was only then, as Zayric pulled away to get up, that Liza realized that her hand had been resting on his arm for nearly the entire conversation. She watched him cross the room and leave it, enthralled, slightly, by the rhythm of his boots against the stone floor and by the sheen of his hair. “He trusts me.” She whispered to herself. How ironic.

               

*

 

                “Cypress?”

                “Oh, good morning, Tam!” Cypress glanced up cheerfully from his breakfast to smile at his cohort. “Are you feeling better?”

                “A little.” Tam closed the door behind him and crossed the room to sit on the chair next to Cypress’s bed. “Still getting the breakfast in bed treatment, huh?”

                “Yes. I tried to insist otherwise but Tasmine insists that I rest for one more day.” Cypress coughed lightly. “I really am feeling much better, though.”

                Tam smiled faintly. “I’m glad for that Cy.”

                “Me too! It was such a joy not to have been cooped up in this bed last night. I haven’t stretched my legs in such a long time! It must be even worse for poor Ellyra, though. Have you looked in on her?”

                Tam nodded. “This morning and briefly last night. She was asleep both times, pretty heavily too. I think the ghosts slipped something in her tea again.”

                “That poor girl. She seemed so lucid last night when I talked to her. At least up until the point where she started babbling on about fairy lights.”

                “Fairy lights?” Tam cocked his head to the side. “She spoke about that earlier when she was accusing Eliza of being Rosaline. I wonder if it means anything.”

                “I don’t know. She said that they were a part of her childhood, fighting darkness and whatnot. Symbolic?”

                “Of the fact that she’s still sick. With any luck she’ll get better soon.”

                 “Yes…”

                Tam used the lull in the conversation to change the subject to something he’d be wondering about all night. “So… do you mind telling me what you were doing out of your room last night?”

                Cypress sighed. “We’ve been through this, Tam. I went for a walk. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was rather strange, actually, as if I came into myself while I was outside.”

                “You don’t remember going downstairs and out the door?”

                “No. That’s the really strange thing. One moment I was up here, presumably sleeping.” Cypress paused to cough lightly. “Then I was outside walking around in the moonlight. It was very odd. And I had this feeling like I was somehow disconnected from everything – far away. It took a long time to get rid of.”

                “Hmm… that really is strange. Perhaps you were in a trance or something, or sleepwalking. Yes, that could make sense. Your illness made you sleepy and subconsciously you really wanted to be outside. You must’ve sleepwalked out and then woken up when you were outside on the grounds.”

                “Without being roused by all the commotion downstairs or running into anyone?” Cypress asked doubtfully. “No… I don’t think so.”

                “Oh for goodness sake, Cypress!”

                Both men jumped as Tasmine floated through the door, her sharp eyes taking in the room and sweeping over it disapprovingly. Bisecting the room and drifting straight through Cypress’s bed (something that she did fairly often, yet it still made Cypress just as uncomfortable every time) Tasmine approached the wide window.

                “How do you ever expect to recover when you have all of this cold air rushing in from the outside? Why did you even open this?”

                Cypress turned his head to look in confusion. He had noticed that it was a bit more drafty and usual that morning, but he hadn’t thought anything of it – Cleven’s castle was drafty by nature. But now that he was looking at it, he realized that the window was, in fact, open. Not thrown open all the way, but cracked slightly, about enough for someone thin to slip through if they went in sideways. “I really don’t know, Tasmine.” Cypress answered honestly. “I didn’t even notice it until you pointed it out just now. I certainly don’t remember opening the window.”

                Huffing, Tasmine reached out to pull the window closed and latch it firmly. “Well do a better job of remembering next time. You nearly caught your death once – I won’t let you do it again while you’re in this house! Next time you want some fresh air have someone come in and put a few more blankets on your bed.”

                “Yes Tasmine. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.” Cypress said gratefully.

                Tasmine nodded curtly. “Of course.” Eying his still half-finished breakfast, Tasmine shook her ghostly head. “Eat your omelet before it get cold, Cypress. You’ll need all your strength to beat this illness once and for all.” Turning to Tam, she added, “and Tamarisk, you’d do well to eat something too. I’m surprised no one’s seen you poking around the dining hall yet today.”

                “Er, yes. Haven’t gotten to it yet. I’ll get there, Tasmine. I promise.”

                “Good.” The housekeeper glided silently back though Cypress’s bed, causing him to shiver slightly despite the now-closed window. “Rest well.” And with that, she was gone.

                “You haven’t eaten yet?” Cypress asked, picking at his omelet a little more. “That’s not like you at all.”

                “I… no. Not yet. Haven’t really been hungry, truth be told.”

                Cypress ate a few more mouthfuls and looked up in concern. “Not hungry? Tam, you’re always hungry. Is there something wrong?”

                “What, besides the fact that you nearly got killed last night? No, none whatsoever.” Tam replied sarcastically.

                “Cleven said he was sorry, Tam. That’ll just have to do, for now. I’m sure he didn’t really mean to hurt either of us.”

                “You have five lethal claws nearly tear your throat out and tell me that.” Tam muttered.

                “What?”

                “Nothing.”

                Cypress swallowed another mouthful of onions and eggs. “Well if you weren’t eating, then what have you been doing all morning?”

                Tam leaned against the back of his chair, staring up at the ceiling. “I helped Eliza get ready and then I came to see you.”

                “Get ready?” Cypress inquired, puzzled. “Did she need help getting dressed or something?”

                Tam froze, then squirmed a little, realizing he’d talked himself into a trap. “Ah… no. You see… Cypress… there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

                Cypress’s fork clattered onto the tray as he recognized Tam’s tone. “Oh no. What did you do?”

                “Well… you were sleeping for most of the day yesterday until the whole fiasco happened so I didn’t get to tell you, but Zayric is here.”

                “Oh.” Cypress relaxed. “That’s not so bad, then.”

                “No, you don’t understand. Remember two days ago when we had to make Eliza go to the ball in Ellyra’s place?”

                “Yes, I remember. You said Eliza was a vision.”

                “She was, but then she was a vision with a mask covering her face. We could get away with having her look slightly different because no one was looking too closely. But the problem is, Zayric finched us early yesterday morning and said he was coming over for a surprise visit. He would expect Ellyra to be here, you see, and this time Eliza would have no mask to cover up her real face.”

                “Oh dear. That is a problem. How did you resolve it? You didn’t have Eliza put on a mask, did you?”

                “Er… no. Not as such. See, that’s the part you don’t know about.”

                Shifting uncomfortably, Cypress leaned forward. “Stop stalling, Tam. What don’t I know about?”

                Tam got to his feet and paced back and forth in front of Cypress’s bed for a few moments, thinking. “Well… before we came down to Calassi, your father sort of…”

                “My father?!” Cypress’s hands shot up in surprise, knocking over his teacup in the process. Cursing under his breath, Cypress grabbed the cloth napkin from his tray and began to dab away the tea. “Go on.” He charged Tam, in annoyance. “What did my father do?”

                Tam winced; it was undoubtedly the most commanding tone that Cypress had used since they’d left the fairy kingdom. “Don’t get all upset, Cypress. You knew he was skeptical of your coming down alone, and he was already bending the rules having me come with you—”

                “Oh and I suppose your assignment is really to just watch me, is it?” Cypress spat angrily.

                Tam stopped pacing and was silent.

                “It is, isn’t it?” Cypress gasped, but his next words quickly became a snarl, his coffee-colored eyes flashing with anger. “Well that’s just perfect. He’s successfully made a mockery of the whole practice. Why am I even down here, now? Who does he think he is?”

                “He’s your father, Cypress.” Tam responded defensively. “He cares about you and he cares about the kingdom. He just wanted to keep you safe. He gave me a silver watch with some of his power in it so we would have a way to escape if anything bad happened. I used some of it on Eliza yesterday to make her look like Ellyra and it’s a good thing  I did, otherwise Zayric would’ve found us out and we’d have been done for.”

                “My… my father did what?” Cypress asked, stunned into silence for a second before his wrath returned, redoubled. “Magic? That breaks so many rules I can’t even count them! Magic!” By now Cypress’ skin was white with fury and his eyes burned with rage. He fell back against his pillows, shaking. “I don’t believe this. It’s all wrong.”

                “Now you listen to me, Cypress.” Tam fumed, coming closer to his friend. “Your father was only trying to protect you. And as of now it’s a good job he did, too, otherwise you might be dead right now.”

                “But that’s not the way it works!” Cypress cried. “Doesn’t he understand anything?”

                “He understands that while you’re down here you’re in danger.” Tam said, glaring at Cypress. “You don’t seem to get that, though. Cypress, you’ve barely been here a fortnight and you’re life’s been put in jeopardy twice already. Twice! Look, I know how important this is to you, all right? I know you’ve got this cute, romantic notion that somehow our being down here is going to save the day for everyone and call off the war and all of that lovely, fanciful nonsense. But wake up, Cypress! This isn’t a story you read in some book, this is real. If you get hurt, or worse, captured, King Asper will have no choice but to start a war with Calassi. And the really scary thing is, you could get hurt. That’s a possibility that’s becoming clearer all the time. I’m worried, Cypress. I was worried before, but now it’s even worse. It’s a good thing King Asper lent me some of his magic we would’ve been discovered—”

                “And how do you know we won’t be?” Cypress shot back, his gaze latching onto Tam’s. “You said you used some of that magic on Eliza, which means that you must’ve told her that we’re really fairies. Who else did you tell?”

                “Fallin and Cleven. And it was only a matter of time before Fallin figured it out anyway. We… I wasn’t careful enough with that. That was my fault. But Fallin isn’t going to betray us – he’s on our side, remember?”

                “You told Cleven too.” Cypress pointed a quivering finger at Tam. “No wonder he came and tried to kill us last night! You’re insane if you think Cleven doesn’t want revenge on us for screwing up his life, and who better to go after for vengeance than the son of the queen who got him into this mess in the first place? You imbecile! How could you possibly think that that was a good idea?”

                Tam took a step back from Cypress’s bedside; he too was shuddering, although is eyes gave away his doubt. “There was no other way, Cypress! We had to do something fast. Do you think it would’ve been better for Zayric to have come and discovered that Eliza had come to the ball instead of Ellyra? We would’ve been in even more trouble then, and King Clemantias himself probably would’ve banished us, or at least checked us out a little more. I did what I thought was right.”

                “Well you made the wrong decision.” Cypress snapped. “We’ve got to get out of here before Cleven comes after us again.”

                “I thought you trusted Cleven!” Tam cried helplessly, throwing his arms in the air. “Make up your mind!”

                “I have! I’ve decided that this mission hasn’t been worth it. Why didn’t you tell me that we were foiled before the beginning? I can’t believe my father did this, to me, taking away everything I was going to become. It was my last shot at being something other than just another prince!” Cypress was shouting so loudly and with such venom that Tam stumbled backward and into the door. His hands groped to find the latch; he couldn’t meet Cypress’s burning eyes.

                “But I can’t believe you let it happen, Tam. You did this to me.” His voice softened to little more than a hoarse whisper. “Why would you betray me that way?”

                “I saved your life doing it. I saved both our lives.” Tam responded weakly, but there was no passion or assurance in his words.

                “Not for long, you didn’t. I hate you.” Cypress’s voice was strangely dispassionate, and he turned to face the wall. “Get out of here, Tam.”

                There was silence.

                “Cypress… I—” Tam started, reaching out.

                “Get out of here Tam. As your prince I command you. Get out.”

                “You’re not a prince until you start acting like one, Cypress.” Tam told him bitterly. “Think about that.” As Tam slammed the door behind him, he heard Cypress’s teacup smash against it.

                “So much for a reasonable conversation.” Tam murmured, slinking away from the door. “Heavens help us, are we in trouble now.”

 

Author's Note

So, to make up for the lack of snarky banter in the last chapter, this one is more or less made of dialogue. This chapter was a little out of control though - Zayric waltzed in and decided to confide in Liza and then Tam spilled the beans about the whole magic thing. Not what I was planning, but I suppose it worked well. There's also a lot of shameless word padding to make up for the fact that I'm hopelessly behind, so please excuse the wordiness.

Does the dialogue make sense? I went back and added some things so it might sound a little clunky at points...

Reviews

[Hannah!]

Don't you hate it when you have a nice, long review typed up, and then you actually delete THE WHOLE STUPID THING! Honestly. I am very irritated right now at myself, so I apologize if this review isn't as in-depth as I'd like it to be. Stupid computer.

That being said, I liked (and hated) seeing this other side of Cypress. It gave him a depth that, as yet, he had not attained--he's one of your weaker characters in your story, but this gives him a much stronger personality, I think. It was interesting to see Tam and Cy switch roles, and even more interesting to see Tam lose his happy-go-lucky attitude and be serious about something. One thing that occurred to me, though, is that in the chapter that Tam decides to use the fairy magic on Eliza, his hesitation seems...somewhat minimal. That which is there isn't as concerned about Cypress's assignment as I think it should be (though I might need to reread that part to be really solid on that point; I do remember a certain amount of unwillingness, but can't recall if thoughts of Cypress even entered into that scene). Tam does know Cy well enough to know that he would hate this breech of the rules (which you showed very well in THIS chapter, what with his hesitation and everything), but because it wasn't addressed, it was the slightest bit confusing.

The scene between Zayric and Eliza made me smile. I've figured out why I like their scenes together so much--it's because every time they have one, each character tends to walk away differently. No other scene showed that point quite so perfectly as this one, though; I have mentioned this before, but the dynamic you've created between the two of them is really great. I didn't notice anything really off about the first part of this chapter, except for the occasional typo (I am too lazy to point them out again; forgive me). The dialogue flowed perfectly and made sense, and carried the same wit that I've come to expect from Zayric and Eliza.

There were bits when the Cypress/Tam conversation got clunky and confusing...especially towards the end. Personally, I think Cypress has been quite princely throughout this whole book (at least, he embodies qualities that I imagine would be nice to find in a prince), and so Tam's comment to him before leaving the room seemed oddly out of place. Beyond that, though, that scene added A LOT of spice (haha, that makes me sound rather silly) to the story. The last sentence was pure gold.

As always, this was a lot of fun to read, and I can't wait for the next chapter!