Tie It With a Ribbon

When I awoke I realized that I was not lying in my bed as I had been. I opened my eyes carefully to find that I was leaning against Zanzibar, who had presumably pulled me out of bed and sat on the floor with me on his lap. I tilted my head back, and he immediately kissed my lips gently, his golden eyes smiling.

“Good morning,” he murmured as I stood up carefully. He pulled me into his arms instantly, kissing the bend between my neck and shoulder. “It’s noon. Are you ready?”

“Do I look ready?” I grumbled, pulling myself out of his arms and shuffling over to my trunk, pulling out the elegant, burgundy dress Chastity had constructed for me. I held it to my body, watching as the silk swayed and the golden chain moved just as easily. I smiled at the amount of thought that had surely gone into the intricate, crisscrossing design.

“She certainly has talent, doesn’t she?” Zanzibar murmured happily, taking the dress into his hands and examining it. “Out of all of the birds in your kingdom, she is the only one I like.”

“What about me?” I asked, stealing the dress back from him and walking over to the window to glance out into the open sky.

He stuttered nervously. “Well, Alena, actually… I love you.”

I froze for a moment, turning to look at him with my mouth hanging open slightly. “What?”

He smiled timidly, so unsure of himself, which was unlike him. “I love you, Alena. I really do.”

I stumbled to find words as he waited, as still as a statue. I tried to respond to him, but there was a knock on the door.

“Alena? It’s your mother. Can we talk?” she called, knocking once more.

I bit my lip, glancing to the boy who was surely about to have an anxiety attack. “Get in the closet,” I whispered, pointing to a door. He nodded, scrambling to the closet and closing the door quietly behind him. I allowed myself to breathe as I called, “Come in!”

I placed the dress on my bed as the door opened slowly. She smiled upon seeing me, but her face fell suddenly. “Is something wrong? You look awfully tense.”

“I’m just nervous about the ceremony.” I held up the dress. “Chastity crafted this for me. Isn’t it gorgeous?”

“It certainly is. I just wanted to ask you how yesterday went.” She paused for a moment. “How was it?”

“It did not go very well,” I admitted regretfully. “He told me to burn in Hell, and then he told me I won’t be able to bring peace no matter how hard I try. We didn’t get very far, I don’t think, so might I go today as well?”

She looked rather nervous at the idea. “How can you trust the lions so much?”

I smiled, shrugging thoughtfully. “They’re perfectly harmless. They won’t attack me as long as I give them no reason to attack me. And they’re actually pleasant, if you give them a chance. Camille is really helpful, and Salina wants peace just as much as I do.”

“What about Zanzibar Giovanni?” she asked quietly, looking at her feet.

“He’s…a charming idiot,” I told her with a smile. “And he admits it. He’s just Zanzibar, I think. And Cadence and Grayson just tie their family together so effortlessly, and they’re really nice, too. I’ve not once been in danger there.” Well, except for when my guards decided to step in.

“I suppose you can go, but be careful. I’ll tell the guards to allow you to pass. Just make sure you’re back at a reasonable hour, and don’t do anything rash. The war is at a hiatus right now, due to the peace talks, but you never know when something might happen to interrupt that…” She sighed, pausing for a moment. “Just be careful, Alena.”

“I will.”

She excused herself from my bedroom then, and I gathered my dress in my arms as Zanzibar let himself out of the closet.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked him, filling the rather awkward silence.

He nodded. “I’ll take the back way, so your guards won’t kill me on the spot.”

He left just like that, dropping off of my balcony and disappearing in the marketplace crowd. I sighed, grabbing a bag and carefully placing the dress and a change of clothing inside as I slung the bag over my shoulder. Sprouting eagle’s wings, I glided from my balcony to the ground below, hurrying to the border’s edge. The guards let me past without a fight, and I walked the length of the forest alone, because Zanzibar was nowhere to be seen.

The Imperial Guard greeted me warmly as I stepped onto Leonian land at one o’clock, and one actually accompanied me to the dungeon where Alexandros slept. He bid me to be careful and insisted that he would track down Zanzibar when it was time.

“Alexandros?” I called quietly, half of me wished he would sleep through my visit. But he opened one ruby eye, watching me as I stepped closer. “Can we talk—alone?”

He rose to his feet, stepping towards the metal bars. “What is it? Finally realize that lions aren’t for you?”

I shook my head silently, biting my lip. “I just have a few questions.” He waited silently. “Why did you call him a sexual predator?”

Alexandros laughed haughtily. “You always were a curious kitten, weren’t you? Do you know anything about lions? I mean, real lions.” I shook my head. “Well, surely you know that eagles mate for life, which makes it understandable that Aquilans are betrothed at a young age. The Leonians, however, have a free choice. But I bet you don’t know why.” I shook my head again. “It’s because in the wild, the lioness does not only mate with one lion when she is in heat. And they mate twenty to forty times in one day for several days. I think that is rather sexually inclined, wouldn’t you say?”

“Who says Leonians are like that?”

He rolled his eyes. “Such a naïve little bird. Alena, think about this for a minute. The Leonians are so keen on physical contact and showing emotion whereas Aquilans don’t care for the sort in public. They know restraint, but the lions do not,” he explained. “If you stood here and told me that Zanzibar hasn’t made a sexual advancement toward you, I would drop dead right now. Go ahead, lie to me.”

I bit my lip, recalling the many times he kissed my hand and gazed into my eyes intensely, causing me to blush so hopelessly. “I have another question. Do you know a lion named Monica?”

He looked up, his brow furrowing. “Yes. She’s dead. Why?”

“She’s dead? So… Zanzibar and her…?”

“Insecure little flying rat,” he commented dryly, shaking his head. “They were an item, but then she died. I don’t know the specifics; I’d been at the Nest during that time frame. You’d have to ask the lion, not me.”

I sighed, looking towards the stairs as light spilled into the dark room. A body strode elegantly down the stairs, and I did not know if I was glad to see him or not, after the rather awkward situation at the Nest. I turned away from the prisoner, clutching the strap of my backpack.

“You still need to change?” he asked, striding up to me and taking the bag from me. “The coronation is in an hour.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just wanted to speak with Alex—”

“You shouldn’t want to,” he told me, suspicion laced into his typically relaxed voice. “And you shouldn’t be down here all alone, but what’s done is done.” He turned from me and walked towards the stairs. “Are you coming?”

“Yes,” I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest as I felt a sudden chill.

Alexandros laughed tauntingly as we ascended the stairs, walking to Zanzibar’s room. I recognized the flute case lying on the bed. I glanced around as he placed my dress on the bed. He opened his mouth, but he turned from me and walked to the door.

“I’ll wait out here, and we’ll go to the lobby.”

He closed the door behind him, and I changed hurriedly into the dress after some difficulty with the intricate design. I glanced around the room and scrambled to find something about Monica, whoever she was. I had no right to pry, I knew that, but he had never brought up any girl named Monica.

After a few minutes of searching, I found a picture stashed under his pillow. It was a picture of Zanzibar and a young girl with sapphire-blue eyes and black, straight hair. The back read, “R.I.P.” and in the bottom corner the name “Monica” was scrawled out in desperate penmanship. I bit my lip, unable to find anything more about her. I would have to ask him, but we were already so strained. I wished my mother hadn’t walked in when she did, which had been the worst possible time for her entrance.

With a small sigh, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway to my waiting fiancé. His golden eyes scanned up and down my form, and he smiled nervously.

“You look absolutely stunning,” he murmured carefully, trying to read my face for a response.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, blushing only slightly as I took the arm he offered.

Zanzibar was not as dressy as I, but he managed to look gorgeous without expensive evening wear. He wore a tight burgundy shirt and leather pants, the pants that he had worn while playing that flute during my first visit to the Den.

“You’re very handsome,” I whispered quickly, not daring to look at him.

We walked into the lobby then, which was empty, and he stopped walking. He turned to me, catching my hand and raising it to his lips, that intense look in his eyes again.

“Thank you very much, Alena,” he breathed seductively, and my breaths caught in my throat. Alex couldn’t be right, he just couldn’t.

“Okay!” Camille exclaimed, stepping up to Zanzibar and I. “Oh, how cute. You color coordinate!” Zanzibar released my hand, smiling to his sister. “We’ll see you soon.”