Black Forest: Magicks Rise (Black Forest Trilogy) by Riley LaShea

Author:Riley LaShea [LaShea, Riley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-07-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

A Test of Character

As far as evenings went, the one at the Genuine Palace was deceptively normal. Gathering around the table for dinner, the inhabitants of Caratasa’s kept the food and drink flowing, and the conversation light, though Rapunzel could not help but notice those who were missing, or the woman who looked every so often toward the exits, as if she was the one who should be distressed by her presence there.

Food well-prepared, flamed over an outdoor fire by Gurr with Jack’s help, it had little taste upon Rapunzel’s tongue, and, glancing toward the dark beyond the window, she felt alone for a moment amongst her friends.

“Has anyone checked on… Esteban?” She stopped just short of giving away their secret, glancing down the table at Akasha, who seemed not to pick up on anything out of the ordinary.

“Just before we came to the table,” Jack said. “I took him a leg. He is having a most delightful time. We may have discovered Esteban’s true calling.”

When Jack winked down the table at her, the feeling of isolation let up somewhat. The statement bringing the slightest of smiles to her lips, Rapunzel tried to hang onto it, not sure when she might feel like smiling again.

Cinderella did not know which would suffocate her first, the oppressively small quarters or the dwarf’s hot air. Every moment she had to sit listening to the miniscule dolt’s made-up escapades, she swore she felt the power she had diminish, so that, by the time she got free, she would be capable of little more than waving goodbye and being on her way.

She had gone after Esteban in every area in which she thought he had weakness, but he laughed off every attack, as if each was its own joke and the insults he hurled back at her were all the best punch lines.

Put simply, he was enjoying his time with her, and it was incredibly irritating.

“Wah, you know one I forgot?” Esteban reared back in his chair to deliver his next story, and Cinderella exhaled agitatedly across her lips. “The other night, the other night, I was telling the owner of the pub ‘bout you and Rapunzel, you know, to get free ale?”

Cinderella’s eyes gave a painful roll.

“And he just did not understand at all, not at all, when I told him all the things you two do together. You know, the sexy stuff? So, what I told him, what I told him was that you are a miner too, but you only dig in one cavern. Do you get it? Do you get it?”

“Of course, I get it, you slimy imbecile,” Cinderella tested Esteban’s proud expression. “Your attempts at humor are not lost on me, aside from the fact they are meant to be humor.”

As Esteban paused in his mirth, his face screwing up in consternation for a moment, Cinderella thought she might have actually struck a chord, until he burst into sudden laughter and she admitted to herself, yet again, he was simply made without strings to pluck.

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