In Chains - C. Noble (ebook reader ink TXT) 📗

you ready in a few days. Until then, you can use this one. It’s good and waxed, been waiting for a decent rider all week.” Dawson carefully handed a deep blue board decorated in black swirls and flowers to Hadrian before disappearing into his hut and closing the door. Hadrian looked at the board appraisingly for several moments. Satisfied, he shot a look back at Darcey before stripping off his tunic to reveal his dark purple board shorts and running into the water.
Darcey looked after him wondrously. Could one little surf session make him so much more pleasant? Darcey tore off her skirt, letting the red bikini she wore get some sunshine. She grabbed her board and ran after him, leaving Dawson standing alone amidst his forest of surf boards.
Will and Mary Ann watched them for a moment before wordlessly grabbing their clothes and wandering back up the stone pathway. Darcey hadn’t even noticed them until she saw Will’s orange board and Mary Ann’s pink one disappearing around a corner. A part of her wanted to go after them, but another wanted to stay and surf. She decided that she’d talk to them later. She hadn’t had any fun in a long time, and this was the only time that Hadrian appeared to be enjoying himself since he arrived.
After sharing a few waves, Darcey came in to lie on the beach. She grabbed a beach towel out of Dawson’s store room and spread it out on the white sand. Not bothering to get an umbrella or lotion, she propped herself up on her elbows and watched Hadrian surf. He was excellent. His form, his moves, even the way he angled his feet all spoke of years on a surf board.
He caught her watching and came in, a wide grin plastered on his face. He too grabbed a towel and dropped down beside her. A great deal of stress had been removed from him. His shoulders no longer drooped, but reflected their owner’s youth and strength. When he smiled, it was no longer with a grim set. It was a wide, genuine smile that brightened everything around him. It made Darcey feel a little more at ease with an arranged marriage. Not entirely, but a little bit.
“So, what did you think?” Hadrian asked, breaking that glowing smile to prop himself up on his elbows. He twisted so that his face and chest were facing her, awaiting her reply.
“Not bad,” she giggled. For the first time in all of her sixteen years Darcey felt free. There was something about Hadrian that just made her feel at home. Even Will, in all his perfection, couldn’t make that feeling come up in her. Maybe Hadrian was right. Maybe she did need to break up with Will. She pushed the thought out of her mind. She didn’t want to shatter this pristine moment.
Hadrian dropped down and lay still on his blanket, his chest softly moving up and down as he drew breath. His thick eyelashes fluttered shut, hiding his murky black-purple eyes. Darcey watched as he tilted his chin upwards, reaching for the warm rays of the sun. He had fallen asleep. She smiled before relaxing back down, letting the sun and the sand warm her from above and below. She felt herself drifting into unconsciousness, and fell into a warm
They didn’t stir for almost an hour, lying in the sun. Only when a dark shadow stood over them did Darcey’s eyelids open. Slowly the dark shape of Will came in to focus. He had his hands on his hips, staring down at the sand between her and Hadrian. Darcey looked down. Her hand was lying dangerously close to Hadrian’s. She quickly withdrew her hand.
“Will…we need to talk,” Darcey began. Will looked down at her for a moment before answering: “Yes, I really think we do.”
Darcey got up and walked to the shore several yards away. She felt the soft sand in her toes, the cool water lapping at her feet. Will walked up behind her. For a minute, neither said a word. Darcey finally broke the tension.
“Will, I always want to be your friend, but my parents have involved me in an arranged marriage. To Hadrian. I can’t break it off, Will, I just can’t –”
“Darcey, it’s ok. I know that your family has a history of arranged marriages. I understand, and I’m fine with it. I knew that we couldn’t stay together when you became a princess. So we didn’t work out. I’ll always be your friend. Just…be careful, ok?” Will was so understanding and kind that it was almost unbearable.
“Why do you have to be so awesome?” Darcey smiled, nudging him with her shoulder. Will laughed and gave her a hug before turning around and heading back up the beach. “I’ve got to go…Mom and Dad seem to think that they’ve found someone that I just have meet.”
Darcey smiled as she watched Will climb the cliff ridge to the stairs. She looked over her shoulder and saw Hadrian sitting up on his towel, his arms flung casually over his legs. He didn’t smile, but merely nodded to her, beckoning to her to come and sit down.
She crossed her arms and walked back up the beach to Hadrian. She sat down cross-legged on her towel, facing him. He pivoted to look at her. For a few moments neither said anything. They just stared at each other. Then Hadrian, in one quick motion, had jumped up from his towel, twisted in midair, and landed again on her towel in the exact same position.
Hadrian flashed her his brilliant, day-brightening smile. Darcey smiled feebly back. Maybe it was because Hadrian was a stag and Darcey was a doe, but she felt really comfortable with him. She sighed and tilted her head towards him. He extended an awkward arm and cautiously put an arm around her shoulder.
Darcey looked up and saw Hadrian looking down at her. A smile flickered at the corners of his perfect mouth. A powerful urge to see that smile again overcame Darcey. She grinned and watched as he responded in kind. That smile made her feel so good, it was crazy. She had no idea what a smile could do until she saw his.
“So what’s next?” Darcey asked as she leaned farther into his chest.
“Well…legally, nobody can get married until they’re eighteen, at least not here. And you’re seventeenth birthday is in two days. Which means we’ve got another year,” Hadrian said, something between regret and relief in his voice.
“My…birthday? I totally forgot. So what do you islanders do for birthdays, anyway? Some big royal bash, I assume.” Darcey laughed, pushing the wedding date out of her mind.
“Actually, birthdays here really aren’t a big deal. A family dinner party with a few select guests is all that is required. The only big birthday is when you are born, but nobody can remember that,” Hadrian smiled his dazzling smile again.
“You’re coming, right? I mean, your family is supposed to be here for weeks, and the party thing is in a few days…” Darcey was surprised by a touch of nervousness in her voice. It had never held that tone before.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” Hadrian reached out the other arm, much more comfortably than he had previously. His fingers interlocked behind Darcey’s back, forcing her to turn her body to face him. “But there’s something I should probably warn you about. Tonight and tomorrow night are probably going to be a bit hectic. Big parties, you know, to make up for the one little one. Of course, they’re not just for your birthday. Mostly they are for your coming home, and…us. You know, first time we’ve met. It’s kind of like a sendoff into…well, marriage and adulthood.” He danced around the word ‘marriage’, as if it was dangerous.
“Oh. So…oh,” There really didn’t seem like there was anything else that they could talk about. Hadrian seemed to sense her wordlessness, as he stood up and dragged her with him. Releasing his hands, he grabbed their towels and dumped them in a basket next to Dawson’s tent. He put his borrowed surf board back in the forest of boards and grabbed Darcey’s green board off of the sand. He swung it under his left arm and outstretched his right to Darcey. Smiling, she grabbed their clothes off the beach and slipped her skirt back on over her bikini bottom as she threw him his purple tunic.
Hadrian laughed as he slipped it over his head with a single hand. He then reached out and grabbed Darcey around the waist. She squealed but did not fight. Instead, she wrapped her left arm up around his shoulder, letting her hand hang in front of his chest. He looked down at it, smiling.
They walked back up the long, winding stairs together, smiling but silent. Darcey beamed at him for no particular reason. As they neared the palace, she could see both of their parents standing together, watching them, talking. She ignored them and pulled Hadrian around into a side entrance that led to her bedroom quicker. She wanted to put her surf board away, wanted to get out of their parents’ sights. She felt their prying eyes and didn’t like the feeling.
Darcey reached up and grabbed Hadrian’ hand off her shoulder and pulled him through the quiet halls. She knew that the servants rarely used this hallway as it connected to no major part of the palace.
They reached her rooms in a remarkably short time. Darcey locked her doors, then grabbed her surf board from Hadrian and placed it gingerly in the corner by her patio. She then wandered into her massive closet, curious to the extent of its habitation.
She found something tucked away that she never expected to. She called Hadrian over to show him a period ball gown. It was a violent shade of deep red with sprigs of golden lace exploding around the bust line. It was corseted, its whalebone ribs stiff. The red silk piled in oceans of fabric, fanning around their legs. Its skirt was so long that it would have required four servants to hold it up and keep it from touching the ground.
Darcey stared at the gown a little bit longer before quietly tucking it back into its corner. She was devastatingly curious about the dress, but that would get her nowhere. She would ask her lady’s maid, Tania, later.
Walking back through her bedroom, Hadrian reached out and grabbed Darcey’s left hand. He spun her around so that she was inches from him. He placed her right hand on his shoulder, his on her waist. A grin flickering at the corners of her mouth, Darcey asked, “What on earth are you doing?”
“You dance well, but you will need refining for the parties to come. I have had to endure seventeen years of dance lessons with one of the best in the world. I’ve picked up a few things,” Hadrian replied airily.
“Oh, have you? Can you open a can of soup with a knife, mop a floor or fix a tear in your pants? I think not,” Darcey smirked. If he thought he could impress her by his dancing, he had another thing coming.
“But you are a princess,” he whispered into her ear as he began to spin her across her floor. “You do not need to do those things anymore. Now, step, step, step, turn…very good.” He loosed another heart melting smile that had been fighting for freedom for hours. He nodded as she stepped correctly, wincing when she stepped on his feet.
“Sorry! Sorry…I don’t mean to hurt you,” Darcey said nervously. Her hand had, unbeknown to her, had moved from her shoulder to curl around his neck. Hadrian had noticed this, but had not made a move to remove