First Kiss Read online

  I shake my head, gobsmacked she had been able to do it. She had left me there to rot, "I need to find Rosie."

  Sam’s eyes are filled with worry, "This is a dream. Rosie is dead."

  I shake my head, "I am finally awake, Sam. Don’t you see? This is me. This is my home. Rosie is here. I’ll show you. This is my house." I look around at how nothing has changed. The place has not rotted over, in despair of the missing daughter. "At least it was."

  Heidi wraps herself around my shoulders, "It will be again, miss. Do you mind if I go find my husband? Tim would really like to see his father. We don’t look like it’s been ten years, but it has in my heart."

  Bastion takes her hand, "Tell him you were on a secret mission with me. I will vouch for you."

  She curtseys, "Thank you, Your Highness." Tim bows and they both leave, running down the stairs. Lance looks at us both. Bastion takes his hand also, "My dear friend, go home to your family. I will ensure you and Heidi are both compensated for this." Lance's eyes fill with tears. His lower lip trembles, "I cannot believe it, we are home. We are home."

  Bastion hugs him, "Go rest and enjoy your loved ones."

  He bows, "Thank you, Your Highness." He turns and flees.

  Sam cocks an eyebrow, "Is there a red queen and a mad hatter?"

  Bastion laughs, "I almost feel like I should say yes. Where is Alex?"

  “He didn’t come after me. I have no idea. But where are your scars?"

  Bastion's eyes meet mine, "Lynnie took them away for me. Speaking of which, I have to go. Lynnie, you need to go into hiding. My family will kill every member of your family for this. Hide or go back into the mirror."

  I scowl, "No. Besides, your scars will be back unless we can find a way to break the curse. I can’t leave until I do that."

  He smiles softly, "If anyone can, it's you. But you must do it from your aunt’s house. She is magical too, there are rumors."

  I nod and look at Sam again. He seems stuck in his paralyzing fear that this is not a dream. I can see him looking, searching for a truth or an answer. I run my hand along his face, "I am sure I can turn the mirror back into a portal. I can send you back before I go to my aunt’s."

  He nods, "You have to come with me. This is a dream, a bad one."

  I shake my head, feeling the sadness in my eyes. I don’t want him to go. He is the one thing that makes me feel safe and sane. "I cannot. I must stay. I must help him get his throne and remove the curse. I must kill my sister."

  His eyes tense, "What?"

  "Baylor. She has to be stopped. She is evil. Our mother has died; I don’t know Rosie's fate, but I am scared she isn’t alive. There is a possibility she is truly the wind in Lakeland. I have always thought it was her. I don’t know where my father is. My sister is the root of all of this." I take his hand in mine and look up at Bastion, "Maybe my father is downstairs. He can help you see, Sam. We are not in Lakeland anymore."

  Sam groans, “Oh my God. I’m Toto.”

  I laugh, “At least you still have a sense of humor.”

  He gives me a look, “Lynnie, this can’t be real.”

  “But it is.”

  Bastion offers me his hand, “I have to go. Find your father and ask him about the curse. If he looks guilty, run.”

  “I will.” We descend to the main floor where the huge parlor and foyer are. Nothing has moved or changed. The world has sat still while we were away.

  We walk to the front door. The butler, James, is there at his post. He smiles and bows, "Your Grace, Lady Baylor."

  Bastion gives me an odd look. When James opens the door, we walk out into the courtyard. “He called me Grace. Braden must be the heir now. He never even batted an eyelash at me being here. Braden and I must look enough alike that he assumed I was the king.” I can hear the tension and worry in his tone.

  The smell of the wind is the same. It is spring and the snow has just melted. The air is fresh and clean.

  "It is spring here?"

  I nod, frowning at Bastion. He raises an eyebrow, "And it was spring at the mansion before we left, but it was fall in Lakeland?"

  I nod again. He bites his lip and walks ahead of me. Sam gives me a look, "What does that mean?"

  I shake my head, "I do not know."

  Bash sighs, “I must hurry.” He looks at Sam, “Keep her safe, at all costs.”

  I laugh, “He will. Now go.” Bash nods and walks to the stables.

  Sam gives me his confident grin—lord, how I have missed it. "Why are you still talking weird? Talk normal."

  "I am."

  He folds his arms, "No, you aren’t. You sound stuffy, like him. You over say everything and pronounce every consonant and vowel."

  I laugh, "Do I?"

  "That sounded weird, just those two words." He bats his long dark lashes at me, "Do I?" mocking me. I shove him, "Shut up."

  He laughs harder, "You can’t even say shut up normally anymore. I think I'm hardly gonna know you in a few days."

  I grab his hand again, "You will always know me. Even if I sound stuffy."

  His eyes sparkle with mischief and his mouth twitches with the wry grin.

  I sigh, lost in him like I always have been.

  Bastion snaps his fingers in my face, "Look."

  I realize he's back beside us and has been talking, but I was flirting, and missed it. I realize how ashamed I am, his being royalty is back. He is above me.

  Sam doesn’t get it. He growls, "Don’t snap at her."

  Bastion gives him a glare, "Don’t you dare speak to me like that." And bossy Bastion is back.

  Sam steps forward, "I'll speak to you however the hell I want. I’ll kick your ass. I’m in a bad place right now, friend. And I am blaming you for all of it."

  "I'll have you killed by the guards."

  Sam laughs in his face, “Are they made of cards and will you scream ‘OFF WITH THEIR HEADS?’”

  Bastion opens his mouth, but I sigh and chuckle, "What were you trying to show us?"

  Bastion gives me a look. I shake my head, deciding he is still just Bastion and I am still just Lynnie. "Everything we have been through makes us more than just a royal and his subject. You know it. I know it. I'll still call you Bastion and I expect you will call me Lynnie."

  His grey eyes fill with a mood but he nods, "I agree to that. Except when we are with others, you must address me formally then. But not until we break this curse, Lynnie. My family must not ever know you are you. Until you reach your aunt’s house, pretend to be Baylor."

  I nod. Sam shakes his head. I laugh, "What did you want to show us?"

  He points at a girl playing in the sand, "Is that Rosie?" She has on a little pink dress and bows in her blonde hair. She is cute as a button but only about three. She doesn’t look much different than she did the day she died. All but the dress—that is very different. Her face is similar, a bit older. I cannot catch my breath. A nurse comes and grabs her, kissing her cheeks and making her giggle the way I used to.

  My mouth falls open, “That is Rosie. But how? She is still so little. Shouldn’t she be older?” I look at him, “My mother must have been the wind.”

  He shakes his head, “The wind was specific—it said it was your sister. I was to help its sister, you.”

  I smile, “Well, thankfully it was wrong. That is my sister, so it must have been my mother. She was always vain about age; maybe she didn’t want you to think she was older. I can’t believe Rosie is alive. This is like winning the lottery. Do you think she will remember me?” My heart is bursting with joy, but before I can run to her, Tim comes running to us, calling out. "My Lord, My Lord." I watch the nurse take Rosie inside of the house. My heart pulls me that way but I stay. Tim looks frightened.

  Bastion asks, "Tim, how is your father?"

  Tim looks worried, "He is unchanged, sire. The world has not moved on without us. Nothing but a year has gone by."

  “But we were there for ten years.” I look at Bastion, "I am so much older t
han when I left, and Rosie is nearly three. Mother was pregnant a year ago, according to this place."

  “But Rosie stopped aging when she was brought here, and I have not aged beyond eighteen, not much. Heidi, Tim, and Lance all look similar. A bit aged but more from exhaustion. We won’t have an issue fitting in, beyond the time we have been gone. You will, but you look so altered we might be all right. I will bring you to the castle and call you Sam’s cousin. They will know you and Baylor are separate, and there is no way you could be an eleven-year-old girl, not with that figure. Everyone knows you and Baylor are years apart. You will be fine as Sam’s sister. Baylor will die for her crimes and you will be spared and given a new name.” Bastion says it like he has won the lottery. I haven’t ever seen him excited like this before.

  Tim nods, “The search parties have only given up on searching for us a fortnight ago.”

  Sam looks lost completely. He gives me a blank stare. I smile, "A fortnight is two weeks."

  He cocks his head, "I'm not an idiot. I know what that means."

  Bastion shakes his head, "How is your father?"

  Tim bites his lip, "Father was angry that Mother never came home for a year, and now he’s refused to see me as his son. He called her an adulterer and has stated she is no longer his wife, nor I his son."

  Bastion looks back at me and I nod, "Go save her. We will wait here for you. Her house is close by."

  “I’ll be back. Don’t move from this spot.” He waves his hand as he walks very quickly to the stables, "A horse." The stableman gets him a fine black horse. He mounts, pulling Tim up into the saddle with him and he's off.

  Sam blinks, "Shit, we're really here, aren’t we? This is real. I can taste the horse crap smell in my mouth."

  I nod, looking back at him, "Let me send you back. This is about to blow up into a huge mess."

  He shakes his head and I see the fire in his eyes that I used to. He squeezes my hand, "I will not leave you here, not with these people. They're screwed up. This is what happens when you don’t have TV and video games. You mull about and ride horses and gossip."

  I smile at him, "Just know what you're getting yourself into. The Lake curse has nothing on this place."

  The wry grin crosses his lips again, "Yeah, but here, I can kiss you all I want." He grabs my face and kisses my cheek, close to my lips. I push him back, breathless and wanting the kiss we are so close to having. "People here don’t do that. I'll be named a whore if we kiss."

  He turns and pulls me to the house, "Then we find a room. I have been waiting a long time to kiss you."

  I pull him back, "Me too. But Lance is going to be in the same trouble as Heidi. We have to go to him. We have to save him. I look just like my mother did, and I have to assume Baylor and I are now almost twins. She should only be nineteen if only a year has gone by. I am now the elder sister. I can pretend to be her, the servant in the house already called me by her name."

  He turns, "How far is it?"

  "Half an hour."

  He scowls, "Half an hour walking?"

  "Riding a horse, fast. Might be longer though; I suspect you haven't ridden before?"

  He shakes his head, "Not since I was a kid." I can’t fight the smile on my face, "Then this will be interesting." I pull him to the stables, standing as tall as I can, in my mother's dress, "We need a horse and for you to tell His Highness that we have gone to Lance’s and will return shortly."

  The stable master doesn’t even bat an eyelash at me, but I see him eyeing up Sam. We forgot to make him change clothes the way the rest of us did, so he is in a sweater, jeans, and a Bench jacket. I think he looks sexy but the people here will not understand his jacket at all.

  "Just one, miss?"

  I nod, impatiently. I have to remember how Baylor always acted. The man jumps to the task, and within minutes the horse is there, again a very fine specimen. Sam cocks an eyebrow, "Really?"

  I smile at him and scowl at the stable master. He frowns, "Would you like help, miss?"

  I give him my best impression of my sister, a disgusted look. "No."

  He bows, "Very well."

  I hate treating him that way, but I can’t risk anything. I look at Sam. He is giving me the worst look ever. I shake my head, "I'll explain."

  He nods, "You better, that was messed up."

  "Get up and help me into your lap. I'll do the steering and controlling."

  He nods and lifts himself up into the saddle. I step into the stirrup, aware I have only regular underwear on suddenly. The breeze lifts my skirts. The stable master blushes. I laugh, "Give me your hand."

  Sam grabs my hand and lifts me up into the saddle with him. I wrap my bare legs around the horse, making the stable master nearly faint. I pull on the reins, and cluck. The horse backs up for me. I turn him and give him a light tap. He takes off. Sam wraps his arms around my waist, "Why were you such a bitch?"

  I nod, "My sister never would have been polite to him—ever." I feel him pressed into me and sigh.

  He leans over my shoulder and kisses my cheek, "I have always wanted this, Lynnie."

  I smile and lean back into his embrace, “Me too.” We ride until we reach the small village I know Lance lives in. It's called Port's Pond. I smile when I recall the way he stammered its name and turned it into Portland when he met me, the other me.

  It all makes sense now though. The whole thing. Except maybe why Bastion waited so long to come and find me. A decade is a long time. Feeling Sam's arms around me, I can’t help but be a little grateful he did wait so long. I never would have met Sam if Bash hadn’t taken so long.

  I jump down from the horse, like I did as a child . . . savagely. I had my moments.

  I run to Lance’s house. I can hear the sobs of his wife behind the door. I tap lightly. She answers, giving me a strange look momentarily and then curtseying, “Miss Devereaux, please forgive our humble home.” Miss?—that means my sister and Braden are not married yet. Interesting.

  I smile, “I wanted to remind Lance that I would prefer him not speak of the ill events that occurred. He and the prince’s men are all exhausted but they must not speak of the events. They were hunted by wilds on the borders near River’s Cross, where they hid in the woods for many months and then went with the young lord there on the horse to Norland. They stayed with him, trying to figure out the attempt made on the prince’s life. That is all they are allowed to discuss.” I look her right in the eyes and I say, “I still have to tell my father all about it over dinner.” There is no change in her face.

  My father lives.

  She nods obligingly, “Oh yes, miss. Lance was just telling me that there was no way he could share the story. A year is a long time, but I wouldn’t pry.”

  I can tell by the look of her, she would. She looks rough and common. Lance winks at me, “Have a safe trip home, Miss Baylor.”

  I smile and look back at Sam standing with the horse. “Not sure where home is these days, Lance.”

  He nods once, “You’ll know it when you see it, miss.”

  I could hug him but that would be inappropriate. I nod once, “Please, come to the castle and see Bash . . . the heir prince. He will compensate you. For the suffering and hardship.”

  He nods, “I have more than I need.”

  His wife turns, “Oh go on, you old goat.”

  I wave, “Good day.” I turn and go back to the horse. There is no one in the yard so I take my chance at climbing onto the horse, flashing my bare legs. When I’m nestled back on the horse, Sam shakes his head against mine, “I won’t ever get used to this, Lynnie. I’m screwed, this is weird. I don’t even like old-fashioned movies. My mom made me watch Les Miserables and I hated it. I fell asleep. This sucks.”

  I look back at him, “My ass is killing me too, Sam.”

  He laughs and I urge the horse to go faster.

  Chapter Twelve

  The sun is setting on my estate when we get back. Bastion is waiting in the yard for us. He helps me down,
“Was he all right?”

  I nod, “He was, and by the sound of things, our siblings are not married and my father is alive.”

  Bastion smiles, “And he is home. The stableman just told me that he just arrived there. Let’s pay him a visit, shall we? Can you pretend to be Baylor with your father?”

  I nod, “I think so. If he doesn’t get too close, maybe. I have allies in the house too. No one liked my sister. They knew she was wicked.”

  He looks back at Sam, “We need you to change clothes, and we need to create some sort of backstory for you.”

  Sam shakes his head, “There is no way anyone is ever going to believe I’m anything but a guy from the future.”

  I shake my head, “Your parents are horrid snobs, just act like them. Exactly like them. That’s all these people are.” Bash gives me a look.

  Sam laughs, “I can do that—God knows how many of those upper-crust dinners I’ve had to attend.” He says it in the same annoying East Coast, rich-asshole tone his father uses.

  Bastion’s eyes glow almost with something he isn’t saying. He offers me his arm and we walk to the house.

  Sam nudges me, “I think we should totally come up with some kind of plan before we just attack your dad though.”

  “I agree.”

  Bastion shakes his head, “I am my brother and you are your sister. Simple, until we have to complicate it.”

  It seems like a bad idea to me, but I don’t have the wind here. There is nothing to guide my decisions. The doorman gets the door, “Good evening, Miss Baylor. Your Grace, sir.”

  We walk inside and I notice the smell instantly. My stomach grumbles, but Bastion and Sam’s make noises like I have never heard. I start to laugh. Bastion looks down at his stomach, “I’m starving.”

  Sam nods, “I don’t know what that is, but we need to get invited in for it.”

  Bastion smiles, “The invite is implied, it is Baylor’s house. The real issue is what have we been doing for a year?”

  I give him a smile, “I have already stated Sam is a duke from Norland that you hid with when an attack was made on your life.”