Not My Fairytale

Chapter 18

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A Musical Allusion

"Could you find a different tree to do that under?" I snapped finally, shooting a glare at the aggravating man across from me.

Angelo looked up at me from where he lounged against an upraised root a few feet away. A barely concealed smirk found his lips as his fingers paused on the fretboard of the guitar, "Am I really so awful at it?"

I grit my teeth.

In all honesty, he wasn't awful at all. He was actually surprisingly skilled, and I had been finding myself subconsciously leaning into the music before I caught it and pulled fully away. His skill was exactly the problem.

He was the enemy, and I couldn't afford to find any redeemable qualities in him, even something as small as musical talent. Not when every fiber of my body seemed to be screaming at me to close the distance between us, plop myself down in his lap in the space his guitar was currently occupying and never let him go again. I shook the intrusive thought from my head for what felt like the millionth time that hour.

It was bad enough that I had finally caved in and broken my resolution to avoid visiting the willow tree, but could I really be blamed? The Midwinter Ball had been an entire week ago, and the last of our esteemed guests, had only just finally packed their things and returned to their own respective homes yesterday evening. On top of having my every move monitored by even more busybodies than usual, the daily council meetings I attended were growing increasingly disheartening with each passing day. We had been stuck on the same question for a while: how can the Blood Fangs move such a large group of foreign men all over the kingdom without attracting any notice? When the meeting had ended that morning, it was all I could do not to immediately sprint from the room.

I hurried to the Grand Library after a quick stop in my rooms to change from my formal clothes. There, I perused the aisles until I found what I was looking for: a book of maps. It was the most accurate one we had of the geography of the region after the devastation of the Last Human War. I had tucked the book into my pack, and decided to take my chances with the willow tree.

It may have been a mistake.

"If you aren't going to help me in any way, then I would appreciate it if you didn't distract me from my research." I looked pointedly back down to the book in my hand and continued the mind-numbing task of trying to find a viable path the Blood Fangs could have used inconspicuously. I did not miss the irony of having a member of that very group sitting beside me while I searched.

"Research, is it?" He set the guitar down against another root, and rose, sauntering over to where I was sitting, propped against the trunk of the willow. He crouched down beside me, causing me to have to lean away to avoid his knee brushing against my side. He reached out a hand and gently pried the book from my grasp. For some reason, I let him do it, studying his expression as he flipped through the pages. After a few moments, he simply let out a low hum, deep in his chest, and placed the book back in my hands.

"That's it?" I asked, raising a brow.

The smirk on his face grew. "I'm sorry, princess," he tilted his head in curiosity, "were you expecting something from me?"

I narrowed my eyes, "Am I at least on the right track?"

He began rising from his crouch, "On the right track for what?" But from his knowing smile, I could tell he already knew.

"You know what I mean," I said, exasperated, "now help me, damn you."

He chuckled, "Such a wicked mouth for a princess." He crouched back down to look me in the eye, a bit of a challenge swimming in the blue depths of his, "Help you, or what?"