Fifty-Three

MORE THAN TWO HOURS PASSED AND JAY still hadn't come back, so in the meantime good back to my chambers, took a bath, dressed a pair of black lingerie instead of pajamas, because the weather today was far from being cold enough for that, and went to bed. But I wasn't able to sleep, since I took a long nap earlier with Jay. So, I just took one of my blank notebooks and began to write all I remember from the main fairy tales back on earth.

The classical fairy tales like The Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, Rapunzel, Mulan, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, and Sleeping Beauty. Oh, and Aladdin, though it's focused on him an not Jasmine but still counts. And even the newest fairy tales such as the story of Frozen around Anna and Elsa, as well as Moana.

Though it's not about Princesses or the typical fairy tales, I also wrote it down all I remembered from the Lion King, Finding Nemo, Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, and Pinocchio. After all, I want to do this mainly for the kids, and I can't only go with the stories focused on the girls.

And well, I could only remember these, since they were my favorites when I was a child. Mine and my siblings' I should say, they were very much addicted to all of it. They are the basic stories for kids, and the ones that happen on cities from earth, I'll just switch it up to places of this world, so it'll be better for them.

I was finishing writing down the main songs I remembered from each of the stories that had songs, like the Princesses stories, Aladdin, and the Lion King; and although I don't remember all the songs from all of them, I do remember the most memorable ones, so I'll go with them. That was when I heard voices outside my chambers, but not in front of my door, so I stopped right away what I was doing.

"Is she alright?" It was Jay's voice.

"Yes, Sir," and the butler's. Are they talking about me? "After you left with Obsidian, the Lady stayed on the dining room eating, asked me if you was home, and when I said no, she thanked me for my help, and came up to her chambers."

Yes. It's about me.

"Thank you," Jay said and his voice seemed calm now. "For looking over her as I asked," he did? "You can go now. Our rooms are side-to-side and I can hear from here if something happens to her there. Have a good night, you did well."

Okay, he's surprisingly kind to these people. If that why they were all really gentle to me?

"Yes, Sir. Have a good night as well!"

Then I heard as the butler's footsteps began to get near the stairs, while Jay's door closed and he locked it. And I waited. Something in me told me he would come here, so I waited.

However, I couldn't really concentrate much, but I tried to finish writing all I remember of the beat of the songs down on another notebook, since I filled one just with the resume of the stories, then I closed it and put it aside with the pen. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands that were tainted with the ink, singing Waka Waka by Shakira, one of the most famous songs of the editions of the Football World Cup, which I was quite a fan of.

My favorites songs were this one from the 2006 World Cup on Africa; We Are One by Pitbull ft. Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leite, and La La La (also) by Shakira ft. Carlinhos Brown, both songs from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil; and Dreamers by Jung Kook from BTS, on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the last one I accompanied before I died a year later. And opposite to my siblings and my two adopted mothers who cheered for the England's team, and my biological father who cheered for the Swiss team, I always cheered for Brazil on the games, and that might have been one of the only things I had in common with Austin, besides being twins, since he also loved the Brazilian football team.

And when I finished washing my hands, and turned around, vibing with Shakira's song and moving my hips like her, I froze when I saw Jay leaning on the door frame, with a silly smile on, "Oh, babe, don't stop because of me. You were doing well," he came closer, put his hands on my hips and that was when I realized I was just with a pair of lingerie, and it made me blush hard, but then he kissed me softly.

"How did you come here? I didn't sense you entering," I blinked, trying to hide my smile and we walked to the bed.

He rolled his shoulders, "I'm sly like a cat."

"Did he scold you or something?" Did he told him about what I last said? "Are you in danger because of me?"

As he sat down with his back to the bedframe, he brought me to his lap, and he was only using an underwear, and a white open long-sleeved shirt, so a wave of warmness spread through my body when I sat on him. "Well, he was quite surprised with you, that is for sure. Slightly scared, I could tell. But no problem with that. I think he saw it coming."

"Saw what coming?"

"He was with me when I heard about you seven months ago, and having his skills, he must have noticed how interested I got on you. Which never happened. So, I think he saw it coming. Me impulsively coming here on my own accord, not caring about the dangers or all the things that would happen after, the consequences. Besides, he won't do something to me, because I'm powerful, and my power is important to the north," he grinned to that.

Well, that sounds awesome. "Do that gives you a free pass to recklessness, then?"

Jay caressed my hair and licked his lips, "Kind of. At least, in my mind it does." I still find unsettling the fact that he's so damn powerful and wasn't mentioned on the novel. It doesn't seems right to me.

Maybe it's because he's a top spy. But if he's close to Obsidian like he seems to be, he should have appeared at least one, no? Or maybe he was mentioned under a nickname like Obsidian and Opal, and I didn't pay attention. "What you in some mission with him? It took you quite long to comeback," I asked sulking.

"Missed me?"

"Yes," my honesty made him blush. "You should have seen how hard you blushed when I kissed you in front of that asshole. When you left he told me you were always shy to these things, and he called you a prude," I giggled, caressing his hair. "But I can tell that you are anything but shy and a prude."

He brushed a kiss on my lips, "That's because I'm only like this with you, idiot. And that asshole ran his mouth like that?"

"You seem kind of close. But he looks dangerous. Is it okay? Is he what? Your superior?"

"That dumbass is probably one of the only friends I have, Hope. Yes, he's an asshole at first sight, annoying as well, but he's a good person at heart. I wouldn't use the word superior but you can say so if you need a title for it," Jay ran down his hands from my hair to my waist, spreading shivers down my spine.

I gulped, feeling hot again, "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "And you know what's funny about this? It's that he told me something you have been keeping from me," oh, damn it. That big mouth.

Pressing my lips together, I bit the insides of my cheek, "Did he?"

He giggled, "Mm-hm. So, the shadows talk, hm?"

Look where I got myself into with that lie. But okay, I'll find a way to take the best from it. "I was going to tell you, but I didn't find how. If you want to know, they don't say things about you, no warnings, no words, no names, they don't work like that. They only work when they want, like, yes, I do know lots of things about many powerful people because when I was consumed by fear and anxiety of getting near any of them, the shadows talked to me. Like they told me…" I bit my bottom lip.

"Told you what?"

"That Duke Luc Von der Meer wasn't a three-type mage, but has been hiding his actual amount of powers, and it's more than three," well, I can tell details I got from the novel and just say the shadows told me. In the end it was quite the useful lie.

He gasped, "Oh my God, you lied to me."