Featherlight (28 page)

The
Marshal’s special jet idling by the Tower was enough to draw some attention, so
we planned my exit early in the day when few lullary
would be awake. The
suns shining brightly in exactly the same places as yesterday made it seem like
the end of the day, but that was simply because my circadian clock was utterly
confused.

“Deep
breaths, Jacque. I’m right behind you,” John had reassured me.

It
was easy for him to say! He had been flying for years. I risked another glance
at the ground. No way could I do this. Oh gosh, I was going to do it. I took
two steps backwards, grabbed a deep breath, and then flung myself off the Tower
before losing my nerve.

I
remembered how the wind whipped my shoulder-length hair around wildly. I had
just enough control left not to scream or panic. Always so reliable, my
instincts kicked in and I began to slow my descent. My muscles didn’t burn with
the effort it took to beat my wings, so I must have been getting stronger. I
landed on my knees in one piece. It wasn’t the most graceful fall, but at least
I had managed it all on my own.

I
had stridden into the jet with my head held high. I was a folium
,
damn
it! I would not feel embarrassed. It was not my fault that I had only been
flying for a few weeks.

Even
though I tried telling myself that, my cheeks still burned at the memory of
this morning. After I had boarded, John introduced me to three young women who
he said would be helping with my disguise, one of whom was common. Other than
John and the two pilots, they were the only ones on the jet. The women stared
at my wings before stuttering out a greeting, and I forgot all of their names
within seconds.

We
had been on the jet for half an hour, plenty of time for me to get a huge case
of nerves. What if everyone saw through my disguise? How many people would be
at the festival? Did the kiren
look like everyone else? My brain began
whirring with worries.

The
three women sat at the front of the jet, and they had only looked back at me
and my white wings seven times.  I glanced at John, who was sitting in the seat
next to mine. (Like he’d sit anywhere else!) Maybe I should make him give me
some space after all this was over? Truth be told, I kind of enjoyed the
smothering. Not that I’d admit that to anyone, of course.

John
caught me gazing and turned. His eyes twinkled when I blushed. It still made me
feel uncomfortable looking into his gaze. My neck prickled and my wings shifted
slightly. I looked down at my hands, trying to control my running instincts.
Will this ever get any easier?

John
took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb across my palm. I put my head on his
shoulder and let his deep breaths lull me to sleep.

||||

“Jacqueline,
we need to get you ready,” John whispered.

What
was he talking about? I sat up straight and yawned.

“What?”
I asked with a roughened sleepy voice.

“We
have to have you common by the time we arrive and get off the jet.” He leaned
closer, “You know, this would have been so much easier if you weren’t new.”

“Tell
me about it,” I said, rising from my seat.

“This
way, Miss Winters,” the common woman told me.

I
slipped by John and gave him a small demeaning pat on the cheek. He deserved it
for giving me a hard time, and I knew that the gesture would grate on his
nerves. The common woman gaped at me, and I smiled.
Say hello to a 21
^st
century folium,
I thought.

Turning
my back was a fatal mistake. The only warning I received was a small click of
the seatbelt before I was tackled from behind. To add to my humiliation, there
were now three gaping women instead of the one.

My
left cheek was pressed against the floor, and my view consisted of bolts on the
plane seat bottom. He had both of my hands trapped above my head while his leg
secured mine safely to the floor. If I had to bet on the seat’s bolts or me
being less pinned, I would place my money on the bolts. I was not going
anywhere without John’s permission.

My
instincts erupted into overdrive, which was probably his purpose. My heartbeat
rocketed and adrenaline surged through my veins.
Run!
My body screamed
at me.

“Will
you give us a minute, ladies?” John asked, and they immediately scurried into
the back section of the jet. He sounded perfectly in control, and I wanted to
kick him. And then maybe have make-out session.

What?
Did I just think that? No, definitely no make-out sessions. What the heck was I
thinking? To convince both of us that I was so not turned on right now, I started
saying, “Suck my-”

“Don’t
finish that,” he murmured, tracing my cheek with his free hand.

This
was so not fair. He was ‘asserting his dominance’ and I did not appreciate it
one bit. This was payback two-fold for my demeaning cheek-slap.

“Now
Jacque, do you know what I could do right now that would make both of our lives
easier?”

My
hormones could think of a few things. Each nerve ending that he touched tingled
and zinged. My wings, for some reason, were especially sensitive, and right now
they were sandwiched between his body and mine.

The
best defense was a good offense, right? I’ve got to hold it together. “I know,
maybe you could suck my dic-”

John
suddenly bit my ear, and I moaned. Oh. My. Gosh. That noise just did
not
come
out of my mouth. Jacqueline Winters was definitely not a moaner.

“I
promise you, Jacqueline, that as soon as this festival is over, I am fulfilling
that deal. Don’t forget that I could change my mind at any moment and save
myself a lot of trouble.” His hand traced my collarbone and he said, “The only
reason you’re not mine right now is because of courtesy.” He patted my cheek
the same way I did his earlier. “And that courtesy can only be stretched so
thin.”

He
let go of my hands and removed his weight from my body. Even though I could get
up, I stayed on the floor. My limbs probably wouldn’t move anyways. What the
heck did I want? I was so full of contradictions right now.

Did
I enjoy John’s show of power or did I hate it? Did I want to stand up and slap
him or throw my legs around his waist and kiss him? Where did I want to run,
towards or away from him?

I
rolled over onto my back, thankful that the jet floor was spotless. John looked
down at me, and my only desire was to wipe that smirk off his face. He held out
his hand and I let him help me stand. Without any warning, he gave me a quick
kiss, spun me around, and urged me towards the back of the jet.

One
woman peeked her head out and ushered me through the door. I glanced back
before it closed and caught John’s darkening gaze.

||||

“You will be disguised as a brown-winged girl with the use of contacts
and strong perfume. Most of Roya knows what you look like, cause you’re all
over the screens and stuff, but they won’t recognize you as long as you keep
your head down. For the most part, the disguise is meant to fool the kiren
.”

Ever since I entered the bedroom/bathroom of the jet, the three lullary
women had constantly filled the silence with jibber-jabber. They bustled
about, yanking off my clothes and dragging a brush through my hair. Even while speaking
they avoided my eyes, choosing to look at my wings instead. It took a lot of
effort, but I kept my mouth shut throughout the whole ordeal. Yes, I was still
irritated at John. The women, however, could not stop talking about him.

“Oh, and so handsome! You know, any woman would love to be chased by
him. Oh yes, you two are perfect for each other. A lot of jealous girls now,
huh?” The common woman told me.

I nodded mutely.

“You know, he has always been alone, and he had never really gotten
along with the Marshal, his father. Once, even, several years ago, they-”

“Janice! Enough with the gossip!” One woman hissed, to my
disappointment. As soon as she had started to tell an interesting story… Oh
well.

Luckily, the large room held the three women and me comfortably. I was
led by the hand to the large tub. Climbing in shyly (I wasn’t accustomed to
being naked in front of other people), I sank chin-deep into the bubbly bath
and sighed as heavenly water soaked my limp wings. The women continued conversing
over my festival outfit while I washed my hair and body. For the most part I
tuned them out and focused on relaxing.

After reluctantly climbing out of the tub, Janice sat a stool beside a
tall mirror. She motioned for me to sit, so I did, and then she brought over a pint
of some dark brown liquid. Oh, buddy. This was going to get messy.

“We will dye your wings first,” she told me and I nodded. Samantha had
already filled me in on the plan for tonight.

She dumped the paint into the bathtub. It blended and swirled with the
water. I grimaced at the thought of my beautiful white wings being dipped in
that muck.

As if reading my thoughts, she said, “It will come out within a day.
Don’t worry, you’ll have your wings back to their old selves soon.”

With that, I leaned back until my wing tips touched the brown water.
The gooey paint clinging to my petals made me want to leap out of my seat and
take a hot shower, but I kept submerging them.

One of the other women asked, “May I?”

I nodded, and she dipped a cup into the water and poured it over any
remaining white spots. After the deed was done, I sat up slowly. The brown
drops made a soft pat as they fell from my wings and back into the tub. I
stretched them out slowly and cringed. Whose idea was this? The robe waited by
the door, so I wrapped myself in its warmth. Conveniently enough, it was backless,
allowing my wings to dry.

Janice handed me a two small cases. “Here are your eye-covers.”

Contacts. They are called contacts,
I wanted to correct her. The two lenses swirled
into a beautiful brown, much like my eye color had been before the change. After
walking over to a mirror, I placed them on my eyes. Large, light brown irises
stared back at me.

The women were all standing around a chair with various instruments of
beauty in their hands. I had never been one for playing dress-up, so the tools
closely resembled torture devices, in my opinion.

“If you could have a seat?”

I slowly made my way to the chair and realized just how much pain I
would soon be feeling. Janice held a pair of tweezers in one hand and I
cringed. As my aunt would always say, ‘Beauty knows no misery.’ I of course,
would beg to disagree.

Part XXVIII

Thirty minutes later, I was completely and utterly miserable. Those
women had tweezed, tugged, and tortured every hair on my body. Not to mention
they sprayed enough pheromone-infused perfume on me to last a year. All to hide
my own scent, they assured me.

They extracted a champagne colored dress from the closet, and I gaped.
It was completely gorgeous, obviously, with shimmering material from the waist
down and an intricately beaded top. It was an ethereal style, shape, color,
everything.

“It’s so beautiful,” I whispered. “I thought I was trying to blend
into the woodwork?”

“Well, an expensive outfit is expected for John’s consort.”

Surely I heard incorrectly. “John’s what?”

“You’re his consort.”

“His consort? Like a mistress?” I demanded.

“Well, um, yes, that was what we were told. It is uncharacteristic for
John to have one, but the kiren
will never suspect a thing. They do that
all of the time.”

“I bet they do,” I mumbled.

Honestly, I could see the logic behind the disguise, because it would
give him an excuse to keep me by his side the whole night, but he could have at
least told me earlier.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I said.

The women were relieved that I was not going to take my unhappiness
out on them. They eagerly helped me into the dress while keeping up a stream of
compliments.

“Oh, how beautiful.”

“Simply amazing.”

“So stunning, so stunning.”

The back laced only halfway up my spine, leaving my wings free. Janice
opened the closet door to give me a full length mirror. I overcame my
reluctance and glanced at my reflection.

My eyebrows were arched delicately over large brown eyes. My hair curled
graceful in a Marilyn Monroe 50s style. The floor-length tight champagne dress
accented my curves and provided a lovely complimentary color to my light brown
wings. I turned around and hugged each woman in turn.

“Y’all did such an amazing job, really,” I said after they got over
their initial shock.

“Oh, you’re such a sweet girl. You will have so much fun tonight. Go
out there and enjoy yourself,” Janice whispered, returning my hug.