Tie It With a Ribbon

“I just do not see how this is going to work!” I insisted, blinking furiously to set the colored contacts in place.

“I must insist that you hold still,” Camille reprimanded playfully, brushing my chestnut hair until it was perfectly straight. “You have such pretty hair, if you only would refrain from hiding its length. You know your hair reminds me a lot of Zanzibar’s.”

Camille Giovanni was eighteen years old, and she looked much like Zanzibar. Her hair was lighter, and as such it appeared to be a dirty blond color. Camille’s skin was the perfect golden color so that it was tan without appearing too dark or too orange, and she shone with a certain radiance that fit her personality from what I could tell in the short time we had known each other, which was about ten minutes or so. Her eyes were the typical striking golden color, but I was getting more used to it. She had the elegant body of the slim lioness, and she appeared regally tall and elegantly gorgeous.

I did not know what to say, so I remained silent, scowling at myself as my skin crawled, not relishing the feeling of lion skin. I heard a deep, throaty chuckle, and I whipped my head around—to Camille’s dismay and protest—to see the more familiar lion, Zanzibar.

“Can’t you see you are making her uncomfortable?” he laughed, pushing himself away from his wall and striding up to me gracefully. “And it is a compliment, one should think—though I cannot say I would ever allow my hair to grow to be as long as your hair.” He smiled half-heartedly, looking at my eyes. “I’m not sure if I like it.”

“I think it is the perfect shade of regal gold!” Camille hissed back at him, placing her hands on her hips in outrage.

“I know that it’s perfect, but on her…” He shrugged innocently. “Call me an oddity, but I prefer her pale eyes. They may be less striking, but beauty can be found in the oddest places.”

“I do believe that’s a compliment,” Camille muttered dryly, looking into my eyes with her head slightly tilted to the side. “I think she makes an absolutely gorgeous lioness—certainly one worthy of being your woman for the night.”

She gave me a light push towards her brother, and I stumbled over my feet, thankfully being caught by my savior. He gripped my forearms gently rather than let me go, telling me that we needed to speak.

“I want these next few days to be perfect for you, Alena,” he murmured quietly, so the conversation would stay between us. “I know you must feel horribly out of place, but I will do my best to make you feel as though you belong here, and maybe that will make this decision so much easier—for both of us.”

“Why is it hard for you?” I asked out of pure curiosity, relishing the fact that I did not have to conceal that inquisitiveness.

“I am stealing you from a man that seems to love you very much. My conscious is not clear, Princess; far from it, I’m afraid.” He paused for a moment. “But I don’t want to ruin this, so let’s not talk about that right now.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, able to forget for the moment that my enemy was holding me so cautiously yet caringly. I actually found myself leaning against him, too anxious to remember formality and polite distance.

“Oh, I knew he was being romantic!” a high-pitched voice squealed, and I glanced around to see a girl who looked much like Camille—only a smaller version—run into the room, clasping her hands together with delight scrawled all over her round face. She looked much more at ease than she had appeared during our visit to our “homeland.”

“Salina, my sweet, must you barge in from room to room?” Cadence scolded lovingly, opening the door and leading a man with her.

Grayson looked much like his wife and daughters in the way that he and Cadence both held the perfect tanned complexion and slim physique—and of course the golden eyes. Cadence had very long and dark hair while Grayson had chocolate colored hair, which was cut very short.

“Zanzibar, who is this charming young lady? She certainly is not an awkward little eaglet!” Cadence exclaimed with a broad grin on her youthful face. “I’m sure everyone will love her, my sweet. Have we discussed the throne?”

He nodded, releasing me suddenly. I did not move away from him, because I trusted him the most out of the entire pride. He smiled involuntarily as his gaze drifted over to me momentarily before he returned his full attention to his parents. “Of course it has been the main priority—well, that aside from getting to know each other. I want to show her around, let her become used to how things work around here. I think it will be quite the shock to her, considering her home was shocking to me.”

Then I had a thought. One day I would have to reverse our roles, and he would linger among my people. In order for this to work even remotely, we would both have to be comfortable in living two separate lives in two separate worlds. I smiled absentmindedly. Zanzibar would probably feel perfectly at home, because he was so charismatic.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked me gently, holding out a hand uncertainly.

I smiled but shook my head. I mumbled, “One second,” hurrying over to a nearby mirror and looking at myself. My jaw dropped, I’m sure, as I stared at an entirely new person. My typically pale skin had tanned so much, and it was hard to believe that it was only an illusion allowed by a special lotion. My eyes startled me for a moment, and I was not used to my hair flowing so naturally, because usually it was thrown up in a bun or something else of that nature. I glanced over to Zanzibar, who smiled and offered his arm without saying another word. I took it cautiously, but the movement seemed so effortless. I smiled up at him, and he smiled gently in return.

“This is going to be a complete shock to you, but nothing will seem familiar.”

“That’s not true.” He stared at me with curiosity. “You’re right here, and you’re pretty familiar. I’m probably going to use you as a crutch, to be honest.”

“That’s alright,” he laughed softly, opening the door and leading me out and through winding hallways until we were in the bustling area that was surely the lion’s marketplace.

Not another word was said, because people seemed to flock to him—pardon the rather avian terminology. He handled them with ease, like a magician controls his spells with a wand, and I watched, mute, as he answered questions before I was able to fully comprehend them. He introduced me as merely a friend, a lioness with the name Katrina. He had explained earlier that he did not want to introduce me as myself, because he did not want to lie to his people about their potential Queen. I was to pretend to be someone else entirely, which was O.K. with me.

I spent the next few hours meeting hundreds of Leonians, and I learned a great deal about how they lived. A lot of the women greeted their prince with…much affection, but thankfully he had dismissed them to show me more about his people other than those who found him to be quite the handsome man. The lions moved with a feral grace, though I had guessed as much from the time spent with Zanzibar. They were also very open, and problems were resolved more quickly and efficiently there. Zanzibar even split up a few fights, and in my kingdom royalty would never be allowed near a conflict.

I should have felt homesick as I spent the entire day away from the Nest, but I did not miss it. By the time it was nightfall, the only thing that made me wish to return was the duties to which I was tied. My people needed me, but had they not I would have put up more of a fight to stay. I did not initially wish to go, but Zanzibar had promised that I could return tomorrow, as long as Chastity would promise to fill in for me as flawlessly as she had today.

“Tomorrow, then. You promise?” I whispered, glancing over to the Nest with despair.

“I promise, Alena,” he mumbled, kissing my hand once more. “I would never lie to you.”

“Why not?”

He smiled, realizing that I was going to make him say what we were both thinking. “Because you are too precious for me to betray. Now go to bed. I promise I will come for you tomorrow morning, nice and early.”