A Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry guys. Short chapter today.  I promise tomorrow's chapter will be longer!

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"James. A word, please." I whisper when we make it back to the dining area. I'd practically had to drag Marilla here. I watch her smile coyly at Sage, making his face light up. I do hope she keeps her word. I don't want to make a habit of killing others. Besides, I actually like her.

"Have you decided to stop ignoring me?" He says when we're out of earshot. He crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

"Don't make me regret it. Marilla knows."

"Pardon?" He stutters. "Tell me you don't mean what I think you mean."

"She knows I'm Jasmine."

"Gods, this is terrible. We have to stay on the cruise for three more days." He rubs a hand over his face.

"Lower your voice! She said she wouldn't tell, but obviously we can't trust her." I say. "We should pretend to be in love for the next few days to keep any suspicion off us... And I plan on getting her to confess to Sage to distract him."

"That's manipulative as hell, Jas."

"She already likes him. It's not like I'm manipulating her into liking him."

"Gods... This is terrible."

"It is, but we can get out of this unscathed. We need to pretend to make up."

"Alright... But we should keep our distance from them. I shouldn't have gotten friendly with Sage." The guilty look on his face hurts my heart. Enough that I pull him in for a hug. I don't even think twice. Why can't I think when I'm near this boy?

He must be as surprised as I am, because it takes him a few seconds to hug me back. Gods, I missed human touch. This takes me back to the best day of my life.

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It was my 11th birthday. I'd thought that everyone had definitely forgotten about it. Why else would they treat me as they would any other day?

It put me in a gloomy mood the entire day. How could they have forgotten my birthday? I'd asked Alanna if we could go for a walk earlier in the day, and she'd agreed.

We walked in silence while Alanna was reading her book. It took everything in me not to ask her if she'd forgotten my birthday. I played with the hem of my shirt. It'd gotten hotter in the past few days, so Alanna had sewed me a few new shirts to accommodate my growth.

When we got back to the house, Alanna let me in first. It wasn't unusual for her to do so, so I wasn't surprised.

It wasn't until Melody jumped out from behind the chair that I'd screamed. The room was dark, so I could only see the parts of her that her flashlight, which she was holding, illuminated. It'd scared the hell out of me, making me run back out of the house.

"Jas... Wait!" Melody ran after me and gave me a hug. "We organized a surprise birthday party for you!"

"So you didn't forget my birthday?"

"Of course not, sweetheart." I still remember her warm smile. It always made me feel safe, even the last time I saw her.

They'd prepared my favorite chocolate cake with sprinkles.

The day after I turned 10, Bash sat me down and told me that I was getting older, and that meant that I needed to take better care of my body. It meant that I consumed a lot less sugar and more nutrient dense food that I'd grown to prefer anyway. After a while, I stopped wanting sugary foods. Except for that cake. It was, and still is, my only sweet craving.

We ate, danced, and laughed all night until I was high on a sugar rush and had aching legs. Then Melody took me to the kitchen and showed me how to make the cake from scratch. I learned the recipe by heart, and yet I've never been able to replicate it; hers always tasted sweeter, as if filled with love.

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Miles' body felt solid against mine. It is exactly what I needed and yet not. Getting close to him felt dangerous. Like I was risking my poor heart again. But his touch felt sweeter than even Melody's cake, and I was willing to let it consume me.