Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series (35 page)

She disappeared into the massive closet. Allen woke while she was gone, so Kyle got him out of bed and held him. He looked afraid and confused by his surroundings. Emily appeared a short time later and went into the bathroom to get dressed.

She stepped out and looked extremely unhappy, “I can’t find my suitcase, and all that’s in that closet are dresses.”

Kyle smiled. He liked the way the peach, floor-length babydoll fit her, “I like it.”

“Of course you do,” she said, taking Allen from her. “How about breakfast first?”

He nodded, “I’ll have some trays brought up.”

“No, let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll make us something,” she said, remembering the extravagant dinner that was brought up the night before.

Emily carried Allen and followed Kyle through the palace to the kitchen. It seemed like quite a distance from her room, and then it dawned on her that until her arrival, there probably wasn’t a need for a kitchen.

“What’s with the cape?” she asked as she began making some pancakes. The kitchen was exceptionally well stocked.

“I’ve been made a Captain of the Guard. This is just part of the uniform.” He watched her work quickly and played with Allen to keep him busy.

“Nice,” she said, impressed.

Emily turned quickly when a strange heku walked into the kitchen. Kyle stood up and took a step to place himself between them.

The heku’s eyes grew wide when he saw the Captain, “So sorry, I was coming to make breakfast for the mortal.”

“Her name is Emily, and this morning, she’s chosen to make her own,” Kyle said sternly.

Emily frowned. It seemed rude of Kyle, so she stepped around him and held her hand out for the heku. He looked terrified as he took her hand, unsure what to do with it. Emily laughed and repositioned his hand for a hand-shake.

“It’s nice to meet you…” She paused for a name.

He didn’t respond. He was watching the ominous eyes of the Captain of the Guard.

“Your name?” Kyle ordered.

“Atkinson, Sir,” he said before pulling his hand away from Emily and leaving quickly.

She turned and frowned at Kyle, “What was that all about?”

“Em, you’re going to have to get used to the heku in this palace being afraid of you. If they upset you or do something wrong, they have to face the wrath of the Elders,” he explained, turning back to Allen.

“Great,” she grumbled and went back to making breakfast. When she finished, she set a plate of pancakes in front of Allen and sat down with hers. She ate quickly, still hungry from the night before.

“Anything in particular you want to see today?” Kyle asked, watching them eat.

“I don’t need a babysitter, Kyle. I can explore the palace on my own,” she said, eating.

“Well not today. I don’t want to have to find you when you get lost.”

“Who says I’ll get lost?”

Kyle grinned, “I do.”

“Fine, first I want to see Chevalier,” she said, and picked up her plate. She started the water in the sink to clean the dishes.

“Emily, we have servants for that,” he told her, laughing.

“Daddy,” Allen said, pointing out the door.

Kyle picked Allen up and took Emily’s arm, “Leave it,” he said to her.

She sighed and turned away, then followed him out the door. She had to admit to herself that there was no way she’d be able to find her way in this palace. It looked larger than her entire ranch and possibly the neighboring ones, too. They walked through endless corridors past innumerable doors and entryways. She saw no one, which made the stark interior seem all the more uncomfortable.

Finally, they came to a large mahogany door and Kyle knocked. He opened the door for her and stepped back. Emily walked into the office and her eyes took in the large surroundings. Chevalier’s office was more like a library with full bookshelves lining the walls. He sat behind a large mahogany desk filled with more books and stacks of papers. He got up and moved to her.

“Good morning,” he said, pulling her close to him in an embrace.

She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest, “They hate me here.”

Chevalier looked at Kyle, who explained, “She wanted to make her own breakfast.”

Chevalier laughed, “They don’t hate you.”

“Oh yeah? Let’s see… they are terrified of doing something wrong around me because then they would have to face you… and then you put the Captain of the Guard with me and that makes it all worse.”

Kyle grinned, “It’s not that.”

“Kyle’s right, they will get used to you,” Chevalier said.

“Then let me go around by myself… I’m sure Allen would love to spend some time in his new room with Kyle,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Not now, ok? Maybe later, when you know the palace better and when the heku here know you better,” he suggested.

Her eyes narrowed.

“No, promise me… I know that look. Neither Kyle nor myself doubt for an instant that you can get away from us, so I’m asking you to promise me you’ll stay with him,” Chevalier said, taking her hand.

“Fine,” she said, but he knew she was mad about it.

He kissed her lightly and then sat behind the desk, “Go look around. I’ll come find you when I’m done here.”

She sighed and headed out the door with Kyle in tow, and Allen in his arms.

“Where would you like to go?” Kyle asked.

Emily didn’t answer. She was still mad about being guarded and just started walking, taking turns at random and opening doors along the way. She found nothing interesting. Most of the rooms were guest or servant quarters. The library was impressive, but there were heku in there reading, they looked up and panicked when they saw her, so she stepped back out.

She turned one corner, not paying attention, and ran right into a large heku guard. She slammed against him and fell backwards to the floor. He turned, irritated, and then gasped when he saw who it was. Before she could react, he reached down and picked her up, standing her on her feet.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, brushing her skirt down.

Kyle stepped between them and glared at the guard, “Never touch her,” he hissed.

The guard took a step away from them and saluted his Captain, “It was my mistake, Sir. I will report immediately for punishment.”

“Wait!” Emily said as he turned to walk away and he froze and looked back at her.

“That was my fault,” she said, and his eyes opened wide.

Kyle hissed at him and he turned and walked away quickly.

Emily spun on him, “He’s not going to be punished for that!?”

“He knew better than to pick you up,” Kyle said angrily as he watched the guard disappear around a corner.

Kyle turned to walk down the hallway and missed when she broke into a run after the guard, disappearing around the corner. He took off after her and stopped just as Emily put a hand on the guard’s arm. The guard looked massive beside her, over a foot and a half taller than her and his muscular build made him look like he could crush her.

“Please,” she said, and when he turned, his terrified eyes fell on Kyle.

The guard froze. He didn’t know what to do. The Elders issued strict orders that Emily wasn’t to be touched, but she was touching him this time.

“That was my fault, not yours… you were only being polite helping me up and I appreciate it,” she said to him, and he looked down at her.

“Return to your post,” Kyle said angrily, and the guard pulled away from Emily and disappeared.

She turned and glared at him, “What was that?”

“You can’t interfere with how we run things around here,” Kyle said, glaring at her.

“Then don’t punish them for something I’ve done to myself,” she said, squaring off against him.

“He knew not to touch you, those were strict orders.”

“He touched me because I’m a klutz and he was being polite.”

“Doesn’t matter. He knew better than to touch you and he’s not off the hook. I’ll report him when we’re done.”

Emily just growled, spun on her heels, and walked down the hallway. Kyle glared at the eyes in the shadows that had just watched what happened. He saw them slink back to their jobs.

The rest of the tour was done in silence, broken only when Allen would ask Kyle a question. He answered pleasantly, but kept an extra close eye on Emily.

“Take me back,” she said finally. The palace was boring. She didn’t find any sort of entertainment, just offices and guest quarters, and she was tired of being watched from the shadows.

Kyle turned and headed back to her room, he figured the heku had enough time to finish the renovations Chevalier ordered.

She stepped into the room and smiled, the room was now well lit with lamps and there were soft chairs and cushions in one corner surrounding a large TV. She peeked into the bathroom and saw a toilet and jetted tub along with mirrors and sinks set into a beautiful granite counter.

“Better?” Kyle asked.

Emily nodded, “Will you watch Allen? I need a shower.”

“Sure,” Kyle said, and sat down on the cushions next to the TV after handing Allen the remote.

Emily walked into the bathroom and quickly stripped, then stepped into the steamy shower. The hot water felt incredible, and she laid her head back and let it stream down her body.

Kyle watched silently, leaning against a wall by the bathroom so he could see through the cracked door. The glass shower door was slightly tinted, but showed Emily’s silhouette. He let his eyes run over her toned thighs to the curve of her breasts and her tiny waist. When she turned off the water, he blurred back to Allen.

Moments later, she came out towel drying her hair and she was back in the peach dress, “Find anything good to watch?”

“Not yet, I think he just likes to switch through the channels,” Kyle said, smiling up at her.

She grabbed a brush and brushed through her hair then quickly put it in a French braid. She picked Allen up when he yawned, “He needs a nap.”

Kyle nodded.

“I need to do one more thing in the bathroom, would you rock him to sleep and put him down for me?” she asked, heading into the bathroom.

Kyle picked Allen up, tossed him into the air, and then took him into the nursery as the toddler giggled.

Emily, bare footed to help hide her movements, was out the door the second Kyle disappeared into the nursery. She looked behind her as she quickly ran down the stairs, holding her dress up so she didn’t trip. Once her feet hit the polished marble on the ground floor, she took a random corner, running as fast as she could. She ran for a while, rounding corners and taking no time at all to decide which path to take when the corridor split. When she thought she was well away from Kyle, she leaned against a wall to catch her breath.

The shadows stirred slightly and she heard voices whispering.

“Please,” she said to the shadows. “Don’t tell anyone where I am.”

The whispers stopped suddenly, and she continued. Emily loved the sense of freedom, of doing something she wasn’t supposed to do. She thought of the look on Kyle’s face when he saw she was gone and grinned. That’d teach them to guard her.

She turned corner after corner, and they were all beginning to look alike. She checked doors once in a while, some were locked, and some opened up into the usual offices and servant’s quarters. She was beginning to wonder if this was the most boring place on the planet when she saw a guard up ahead of her. He pushed against a wall and disappeared behind it when it revolved.

She smiled and walked up to the same wall, then pushed on it, but it didn’t budge. She pushed harder and it gave a little, but not enough that she could get through to the room on the other side.

“Are you lost, Lady Emily?” She heard the voice behind her and spun quickly.

“No, no I’m fine,” she said to Elder Maleth.

He smiled at her, “You have slipped your guard, have you not?”

Emily didn’t answer. She just leaned back against the revolving door.

Maleth laughed, “Come, let me show you to your room.”

“Do I have to go back right now?” she asked him.

He smiled, “No, I suppose you don’t, but you shouldn’t be running around the palace alone either.”

Emily shrugged, watching him.

“Was there something you were looking for?” he asked, watching her with an amused expression.

“Not really.”

“Come, Child, let me show you something,” he said, and reached his hand out to her.

She hesitated and then took his hand and let him lead her down unfamiliar hallways in silence. He stopped in front of a large door and opened it for her. She stepped through and smiled broadly. Elder Maleth had led her to a large game room full of pool tables, video games, and a large entertainment center with a projection TV and shelves full of movies.

She stepped inside and walked through the room as she ran her hand along the felt of the poker table and pulled at the arm on a video poker machine.

“I must be off, Child,” Maleth said as he shut the door behind him.

Emily was ecstatic. She was alone in a room full of games and entertainment. She walked quickly to the movies and looked through them one at a time, there were thousands of titles. This was just what she was looking for, something to break up the monotony of her day. She picked out a fun science fiction movie and fell into an overstuffed beanbag.

Emily pulled a soft blanket off of the rack and put it over herself as she settled down to watch the movie. About an hour later, she heard the door open and several strange voices began talking about some sort of wager. She froze, unsure if she should make herself known or just stay where she was, hidden behind the layers of pillows and blankets. She decided to just stay and watch her movie, she knew if she made herself known, that whoever was in the room with her would leave.

Emily’s attention turned from the movie to the conversation of the heku as they sat at the poker table. They were betting each other and boasting about past games. She stifled a giggle. They were no different from mortal men when they were alone at a poker game. Keith had hosted several poker games at the ranch, and she loved to listen to the men interact. It was almost primal the way they tried to always show each other up, and these heku were no different.