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The carriage rocked as Shelby dropped the large male body into the storage bin. The lid remained cracked as Shelby tried to close the man inside.
"Get dressed.” Ace commanded. The carriage was rolling again, nearer and nearer to the waiting guards. The waiting warlocks.
Either this was Ace’s best idea or the stupidest thing she'd ever done. She spared a glance as she tried to maneuver the couple so the bin would close. They looked peaceful now. Expressions of the shock gave way to something morelax. Ace pushed the lid back down, even though it tried to pop it open again, she sat on it forcing it to close and shoved the lock through.
She looked up. Fabric stretched across Shelby’s broad shoulders as he shrugged into the jacket. He looked nothing short of regal, pulling off the suit far better than Ace had expected. Well, maybe she’d spoken too soon. When she looked at them a little bit harder, she realized the arms of the sleeves were a tad bit short as was the length of the jacket and pants.
He held his hands out, palms up. "This does not fit well."
"Well, unless you would like to do a little spell there's nothing we can do about it,” Ace said pleasantly.
He lowered to the seat, brows pinching at the sound of paper crinkling. He opened the jacket pulling out a cream-colored envelope with a bright red wax seal. He gave Ace a half smile.
“Told you so.” She wrinkled her nose.
There were voices outside now and Ace hadn’t even gotten the back of the dress laced up before she threw herself in the seat next to Shelby, adjusted her hat, and heard the tapping guard at the window.
“Invitation?" the guard said.
Shelby held the invitation in one hand using the other to move the curtains back from the window and crank the handle down. He jutted the letter through the window trying his best to stay back in his seat and therefore somewhat hidden from the guard’s line of sight. The guard looked over the invitation, touching the wax seal briefly.
“All clear."
The wheels began turning again. The carriage rolled through the gates. Ace sat back and kept her posture straight, keeping an eye focused out the window on the warlocks. None of them moved toward the carriage. The pair let out a sigh of relief. Moving to stop at the steps of the castle, the driver hobbled out of his seat to open the door for the two.
"Enjoy the party, Mr. and Mrs. Thorne.” The servant averted his gaze.
Ace stood up but Shelby exited first, offering his hand. Ace supposed they looked enough like the couple in passing that was now snoozed away in storage. Some more luck from Bedesh. Shelby slowed behind Ace on the path that rounded the side of the castle.
They followed everyone else who was dropped off at the stairs but didn’t ascend. A new path had been made. Stone infused with gold that shone in the daylight, led them away from the gates. Ace didn't say a word as Shelby tightened the back of the dress, quickly tying it into a sloppy bow.
He moved swiftly enough before he stepped back to her side and offered his elbow. Now that they were out of the carriage Ace finally got a good look at the dress. It was definitely something she would have never picked out for herself with several different colors of ribbon sewn in strips on the bodice. It opened up to a green skirt that fit her mostly well and the neckline was incredibly high, covering the scar on her neck.
Rounding the castle, the event opened up to them. They’d tried to get a good look from a distance but had kept their space until they’d made it past the large courtyard to where guards weren't standing quite so close to the tree line.
A carnival. Booths filled with games, overflowing with prizes to win. People were already cheering and carrying their trophies. Ring toss and darts tossed at balloons. Something Ace had always dreamed of as a child but had never gotten to go to.
Performers dressed in costumes danced and tried to make people laugh. The smell of spun sugar was heavy in the air. The biggest and best part of the entire thing though…was the big wheel that stretched up toward the sky. So high, in fact, that Ace knew that it had an amazing view! She was immediately thankful the ride wasn’t moving yet. It likely gave the riders a good look at the castle and the surrounding forest where they’d just traveled through.
Ace wanted nothing more than to be on that big wheel. She hadn't noticed that her jaw dropped and she was staring up at it until Shelby tipped toward her and said, "Are you drooling over a piece of metal?"
She snapped her mouth shut. "I've never been on one. Doesn’t it look fun? Wait, do you even know how to have fun?" she teased.
"It’s cute that you think we’re allowed to have fun. Also, I've never been on one either." The stone walkway under them ended giving way to grass and field.
"Looks like we have some time to kill." She rocked on her heels as they slowed to take it all in.
Shelby hunched his shoulders trying to appear smaller while they took to the shade—one of the many small tents that had been erected with tables for guests to eat and cool off in. He pulled at the sleeves trying to force them to suddenly be long enough for his arms.
“I look ridiculous."
The edges of Ace’s lips tipped upward because he was right. He did look ridiculous but hopefully, it was at least passing enough. She gave his arm a soft pat and then looked out into the crowd. Would they recognize her without the orange eyes? Better yet, would they recognize Shelby?
People parted, giving way to an answer to Ace’s questions. A warlock was heading their direction with his eyes pinned on both of them.
Well, that didn’t take long.
Queen Sienna
