Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) (2 page)

“I will investigate it as thoroughly as possible.”

“I’m counting on it, Ted. Our safety is at risk…and so is your job if you don’t take care of it.”

He nodded, then turned and left.

My aunt hugged me. “I-I didn’t want you to know, honey.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m a big girl. I can handle this.”

“Well, what do you say we put the violets out in the lobby? It can use a little color,” she said. “Also, you really do need to tell Brett about this.”

I sighed. “I know. I tell him everything.”

“Good, because he’ll do all he can to protect you. That boy’s a good catch…and a cute one, if I do say so myself,” she said with a wink.

“Hey!”

She smiled, lightening the moment. “Now let’s haul those pots out before everyone wakes up. I don’t want to have to explain it to the kids. I’m really sorry your day had to start out like this, baby,” my aunt said. ”Hopefully, Ted and his people will find the guy.”

“I’m not worried about it. If I have to, I’ll track him down myself, and when I do, I’ll kick him right in the balls.”

We both burst into laughter.

“You’re just like your mother,” she said.

I smiled proudly. “Thanks for the compliment,” I said.

Chapter 2

Carla’s cruel insults had struck me right to the very core, and as hard as I tried, I simply couldn’t let them go. I’d never been very good at forgiving or forgetting, especially when it came to bullies like her. Rather than fight her or play a prank on her, I thought it would do more good to show her just how skilled I was, and Rachel and I lucked out and came across the perfect opportunity to do just that.

“I know you can make that shot without hurting her,” Rachel said, pointing at Carla, who was eating an orange on the couch. “I’ve seen you shoot. You can knock it right out of her hand.”

I smiled. “I’m glad somebody trusts me.”

“Just focus…and don’t screw it up.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m sure her face is gonna be priceless. She’ll probably crap her pants.”

I smiled at my friend, then turned to look at Carla and focused. I nocked the arrow and let it rest on the bow. Taking careful aim at my little, orange target, I drew the bow back in a smooth, continuous motion until the string stopped near my cheekbone. I lined the tip of the arrow up with the fruit and relaxed my fingers around the shaft. Then, after a deep breath, I released, keeping my body perfectly still.

The arrow soared through the air and hit the orange right out of her hands in a feat of great marksmanship.

With her eyes wide and her shirt splattered with orange juice and pulp, Carla jumped and let out a few curses.

Rachel grabbed my arm. “Let’s go!”

With our hearts racing, we took off down the corridor. When we got to my room, we couldn’t stop talking about it.

“Sky, that shot was amazing!”

“I never woulda tried if I didn’t think I could pull it off.”

“Well, I think you proved your point. You’ve got mad skills, girl!”

I smiled.

Unfortunately, my grin didn’t last long, because moments later, our governor called me into his office.

“Hi, Mr. Tams,” I said, walking into the office.

Carla was already sitting there, and she rolled her eyes at me.

“Please have a seat, Sky,” Mr. Tams said, motioning to the chair beside Carla.

“Um…okay.”

“Where’s your aunt?”

“I have no idea, but I’ll go find her if—”

He shook his head. “No, you stay put. We’ll talk to her later.”

“What’s this all about?” I asked, raising my brow and feigning naïveté.

Carla glared at me. “You know exactly why you’re here!” she screeched.

“I do?”

“You shot an orange right out of my hands!” she snapped.

I cocked a brow, pretending to be puzzled. “Hmm. That couldn’t possibly have been me. I mean, you said yourself that I have no skills. How could somebody with no skills possibly pull off an amazing shot like that?”

“Did you do it?” Mr. Tams asked.

I offered a halfhearted laugh. “Mr. Tams, only somebody with amazing talent could have done something like that without hitting Carla.”

“And, Miss Hammons, do you possess that kind of talent?” he asked.

“The arrow came from this seed nerd’s crossbow!” Carla said. “I know, because she’s stupid and cocky enough that she puts her initials on all her arrows.”

“Seed nerd? Yeah, I guess I’m kind of a freak about plants and flowers, so I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Miss Hammons, did you make that unbelievable shot?” Mr. Tams asked again.

I nodded proudly. “Yes, I did.”

He smiled. “Hmm. Impressive. I guess that makes you one of our most incredible archers, something this world desperately needs.”

“Thank you.”

“But save it for the surface,” he said sternly. “Down here, you’re more than welcome to practice on targets, as long as they’re not live ones.”

“But the orange wasn’t a live target, sir.”

He sighed at me. “Let me rephrase that. Don’t shoot at live subjects holding your targets,” he said. “That will not be tolerated. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, sir,” I said. “I guess I took it…a bit too far. I realize that now.” 

His gaze narrowed. “Why would you take such a dangerous risk?”

“To show her I have mad skills. She said I didn’t, and I wanted to prove her wrong.”

He nodded. “You’ve made your point, but what if you would’ve missed?”

“Lucky for her, I
never
miss.”

Carla rolled her eyes at me again. “Tell her to stick to planting seeds.”

I met her gaze. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

“I’m going to talk to your aunt, but I can’t let this go unpunished,” he said. “I’m afraid I’m going have to place you in solitary confinement for three days, so you can think about what you’ve done…and don’t ever pull a stunt like this again.”

“I won’t.”

“She always says that. She’s always being called to your office for doing wild and crazy stuff, Mr. Tams. Everyone just looks the other way or gives her a slap on the wrist. She gets away with murder just because her grandparents funded Asha.”

Mr. Tams then turned his harsh gaze on her. “We can afford to cut Sky some slack. If it weren’t for her grandparents, you wouldn’t be sitting here right now. None of us would.”

She swallowed hard.

“We owe them everything,” he said. “Carla, you’re dismissed. Sky, I’ll be escorting you to—”

“Lockup hell!” I said.

Carla smirked and walked off, and I wanted nothing more than to rip the smile off her smug little face.

“Please take me to see my aunt and Brett first.”

“You don’t get to give the orders here, young lady.”

“Please?” I begged.

Nothing I said would change his mind, and I was quickly escorted to lockdown. It wasn’t a cell with bars on it; rather, it was just a big, empty room, furnished with a lumpy, uncomfortable cot topped with an itchy, threadbare, smelly blanket. The walls were metal and filthy, and a musty smell assaulted my nostrils. The only view outside those walls was from a tiny, circular window, a porthole that just reminded me that I was still stuck underwater.

“I hate this place!” I screamed, my voice echoing in the small, confined place.

A little while later, the door opened, and Brett walked in.

I ran to him, and he greeted me in a tight hug as I briefly explained everything. “Carla’s a twit,” I said. “I can’t stand that girl!”

“Yeah, she seems to be carrying that old grudge way too far.”

“Tell me about it…and it’s hard to stay away from her when we’re both stuck down here. This stupid undersea bubble isn’t big enough for the two of us.”

“I love you, girl. You know I do, but please don’t go around shooting arrows at people.”

“Look, Brett, I know you’re all about talking things out, but that doesn’t work with her. I had to
show
her. It was the only way.”

“Well, I think you showed her all right,” he said. He looked closely at my face. “Did she attack you or something?”

I touched the cut on my face. “Well, yeah, but she did it fairly. We were sparring.”

“I’ll get you something to clean it up.”

“No,” I said. “I’m fine, and I’m not about to walk around with a Band-Aid on my face. She’ll never let me live that down.”

“You’re so stubborn.”

“But you love me anyway.”

He kissed my lips. “Yes, I do.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and my jail guard walked in.

I ran up to him, since he just so happened to be a pretty good friend of mine. “Daryl, this is crazy. Get me outta here.”

He sighed. “You know I’d do anything for you, Sky, but I can’t. Just do the time, and you’ll be out before you know it.”

“I just got here. Can we just have a few more minutes…alone?” Brett asked, reaching for my hand.

“Sorry, but Mr. Tams says visiting hours are over. C’mon. I think you can handle being away from her for twenty-four hours.”

“Not three days?”

“Nope.”

“What?” I asked. “Is he lettin’ me out early for good behavior?”

Daryl laughed. “No. Your aunt talked him down a bit. She told him you need to be out to water the plants and stuff, to keep ‘em alive.”

“I do have a greenhouse to run…and people to feed.”

Brett kissed my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Just promise me you’ll be good and stay out of trouble.”

“You know I can’t promise that.”

His gaze narrowed. “Sky…”

“Oh, all right.”

He kissed me one last time. “Be good.”

“I will…for you.”

He smiled.

“What am I gonna do in this empty tin can for a whole night?”

Daryl threw me a spear that I caught with one hand.

I blinked. “What’s this? Since when do you give weapons to dangerous criminals who assault fruit?”

“Sky, we all know and love you, and we know you wouldn’t hurt a fly. Mr. Tams is just trying to teach you a lesson. You may as well have some fun and practice your footwork while you’re in here.”

“Do you happen to have a picture of Carla I could hang up?”

He chuckled. “For target practice?”

“Smart boy.”

“I can’t help ya there, but if you’re good, I’ll bring you a deck of cards.”

“I’ll hold you to that because I can only practice footwork for so long. So cards will fill my time. Playing solitaire will be a whole lot better than staring at these rusting walls.”

Brett waved goodbye, and the two of them walked out, letting the door creak shut behind them.

After hours of practicing my footwork, I settled down on the lumpy bed. It was so quiet down here. Of course I had a lot of peace and quiet when I worked at the greenhouse, but this was different. It was as if they’d put me in time-out, forced me into submission. Still, in the long run, it did give me time to think about my life. I decided it would be in my best interest to just be a good girl and play by their rules.
For now.

Daryl took so long coming back to me with the deck of cards that I fell asleep out of pure boredom. I awoke when the door creaked shut again. I smelled a familiar scent and sat straight up and glanced around me, only to find more pots full of African violets. “Oh my gosh!” I said, my hand darting to my mouth. “But how…”

I shuddered, as the thought of my secret admirer breaking into my cell to drop off more floral gifts completely freaked me out.

I got up, ran over, and began banging on the locked door like a girl gone mad. “Daryl!”

The door creaked open, and he walked inside.

“How did all these flowers get in here?” I asked frantically. “Why did you let him in? And who is he?”

“Calm down, Sky,” he said. “It was me. I brought them in.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Wait…they’re from
you
?”

“No. I went to get that deck of cards for you, and I saw these sitting by the door when I got back. I figured your aunt dropped them off to cheer you up.”

I shook my head. “No, they’re not from her.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”

I crossed my arms. “I just…know.”

“I don’t see why you’re so upset and getting all jumpy. That boyfriend of yours is a really great guy, and he really loves you, so—”

“They’re not from Brett, Daryl.”

“Hmm. Well, maybe Carla felt bad and wanted to apologize.”

I didn’t feel like explaining everything to him. I just stared down at all the purple blossoms, biting my lower lip in anxiety, and a flash of red caught my attention. I reached down and picked up the little card and read it out loud: “You’re mine forever.”