The Misplaced Prince[COMPLETE]

The Gift Of A Day

Joshua knew one thing.

This beautiful innocent faced woman with the long flowing hair walking towards them with almost childishly small, unclad feet was the most dangerous woman he had ever seen. The hair at the back of his neck prickled even as inexplicably he found himself unable to move. His heart raced instinctively in pounding panic when he couldn't shove Kasey behind him like he wanted--in fact, she was in front of him--and he would have growled if his face hadn't frozen in a lazy smirk.

"My, my..." the woman was drawling in breathy, dulcet tones, "Don't stop on my account."

Joshua was momentarily confused, until he realized it was a softly worded taunt. She had stopped them all dead in their tracks. This small woman had the power to control entire masses of people, and she wasn't even looking at them.

No. Her dead, violet eyes were fixed squarely at him.

She maneuvered around the crowd with the grace of a ballerina, her face growing increasingly curious--wearing an expression of childish wonder--as she neared him, her massive bodyguards hovering wordlessly behind her. Everything within him screamed to pounce at her, to protect those around him from her, but stuck in a suddenly useless body wearing an awful smile, all he could do was fix his eyes at her with a deadly warning.

Her widening smile showed what she thought of that effort.

"Oh, my..." she was whispering, "what a fine specimen, your Prince is. Little wet behind the ears, I suppose...but I see potential." she was sizing him up, her eyes drolly moving from his face to his shoulders, "Brimming with power, this one. Oh, yes..." she shivered exaggeratedly, giggling, and added in droll tones, "I might have almost been afraid, had he not been raised amidst worthlessly bland humans. What---" her words sharpening with the abruptness of a whip, her gaze jumped over Joshua's head, "do you expect from one with upbringing such as this, King Sebastian?"

"Unfreeze my people, Faery. Now."

With a start, Joshua realized the girl--woman--had left the King unfrozen. His voice was low with warning, and he appeared in Joshua's periphery, a blurry figure that commanded obedience. For once, Joshua realized how much of a presence this man--his grandfather--actually possessed.

"Now why would I do that?"

"You are in my court. You shall do as I say."

She seemed to give it consideration, and returned with an airy, "Your people are so boring, Sebastian. Let's leave them out of this discussion, shall we?"

She clapped her small hands, and shocked, Joshua watched people collapsing around them, failing one on top of the other like dominoes. He would have gasped harshly if not for his wooden countenance. Kasey sagged, her arm caught against his, falling against his chest. He wanted to hold her, keeping her from slipping down like she inevitably would, but found himself useless against this strange new magic, still standing in a foppish half waltz.

Anger licked at his insides at the helplessness, and a growl built in his throat.

"You have overstepped your bounds, Faery." The King was saying in a low, seething voice.

"They are not dead, are they?" she returned insolently.

A strange scent assaulted Joshua's nostrils, a noxious scent of burning hair. With horror, he realized Kasey's hair had slipped over his arms...his burning arms--

He could hurt her, standing in a near embrace with her, unable to stop his own power. Now that he was aware of it, he felt the deadly curling of flames over his fingers, dancing on his palms, yet he was helpless against stopping it. Locked close to him, she was in danger from the very person she was trying to protect.