Jade grinned. “I’d like that very much.” Camille seemed like a genuinely nice person, plus she was an excellent target for upping her magic potential. The whole family was. Since Will had told her that the first King was a fantastic earth mage, and two of them had earth magic so far, it seemed that magic was a fairly hereditary thing. Obviously, there were probably some exceptions, but once the magic got into the blood, it seemed to run strongly. She’d have to wait and see the others to be sure, though.
Camille stepped gracefully to the side as the younger girl behind her practically bounced into her place. She was jittery with excitement, and she almost smashed her nose into Jade’s trying to kiss her on the cheek. Blushing, but undeterred, she bubbled with energy. “Hi! I’m Tisha! Your hair is so pretty! It’s like you’ve got a crown of hair! I’m not old enough to go to Dracona yet, but I will be in two years! Can you teach me how to do my hair like that?” Her mouth was going a mile a minute as she chattered gleefully. She was like a tiny blonde doll, her hair in perfect ringlets almost all the way to her waist and shining baby blue eyes accenting her round face.
Jade broke out into a huge grin, unable to stop herself. Tisha’s energy was just so infectious. She laughed softly, nodding. “Thank you, and I’d be happy to come teach you sometime. My world was very into fashion, so there were all sorts of creative hairstyles there. I only know how to do a few of them, though.” She had to include that last part because she’d run out of ideas soon enough. Thank heavens for nurses who were always trying to figure out a new way to put their hair up when they had energy, which granted, was usually when they had a date after their shift. Well, it didn’t matter. She was sure she could wing it and try to recreate at least a few of them. Tisha’s hair was resplendent and as fine as silk, so there was probably a lot she could do with it.
“Yay! Soon? You’ll come soon, right?” She pressed, obviously super excited about it.
Jade laughed and demurred, “I’ll do my best. I’m not quite sure how busy I’m going to end up being yet.”
Seemingly satisfied, Tisha drifted out of the way so the last two boys could approach. They looked to be around fourteen, she’d guess, though she wasn’t sure. They were still so tall and shiny. Their hands were softer than the other men, and their hair was identically flopped over their ears and eyes in what she associated with the skater style. Their eyes seemed to have little golden flecks, and she absently wondered how she’d be able to tell the boisterous puppies apart. They each claimed one of her hands, bending over in unison. If she hadn’t been sure they were twins before, she was now.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Hayden.”
“And I’m Hunter, his better half.” He winked precociously, and she laughed in response.
“It’s lovely to meet you both.”
She grinned at them indulgently until Hunter asked curiously, “So, are you the zombie healer?” She was unable to keep her expression from falling in dismay.
Chapter Nineteen – View
She had instantly recoiled, surprising them by yanking her fingers back and out of their grasp, since they’d still held her hands captive. She recovered a moment later, but not before everyone had seen her expression and actions. Trying to put a smile back on, she asked quietly, “Do I look like a zombie to you?” Her voice had an undercurrent of menace, and her expression had turned colder. She was so happy to look normal, and if these boys dared suggest she still resembled a zombie, she was going to lose it.
“Of course you don’t, ignore the pipsqueaks.” Will had chosen this moment to butt in, whacking his little brothers on the back of the head as he said simply, “Apologize, now.” They both mumbled a quiet ‘sorry,’ and Will cuffed them again before saying, “Well, now that introductions are out of the way, shall we sit down?” He was giving his brothers a look when he thought she couldn’t see him, but there were a bunch of mirrored surfaces around the room, now that she was surveying it more thoroughly. Probably so people couldn’t do sneaky things.
“Yes, of course! Sit down, sit down! Have you eaten? Would you like something? We’ve got plenty to choose from.” Queen Ashanna was quick to take control, leading Jade away from the twins with Will and pointing at the spread of food at the side of the room.
“We’ve already…” Will started to say something, but Jade quickly spoke over him.
“We’d love something to eat, thank you.” Uhm, hello? She gave Will a look, as if trying to remind him that you did not get between her and food.
“Right, of course. We’d love some.” He went along with it almost reluctantly. He was full!
“Perfect, help yourself and then come sit with us.” Only then did Jade notice what she should have seen first! They had delicious plates of food on the little end tables next to them, as if they were eating while chatting. She wholeheartedly approved of this!
Will led her over to the side table and she started to choose the tastiest looking things to put on her plate. Will didn’t seem to want any, so she indicated a few things he should take; she’d steal his plate later. With exasperation, he sighed and whispered, “Where do you even put it all? I don’t understand how you can still be hungry...”
She merely smiled at him serenely as they walked back to the others. He purposefully took a seat where he could put his plate between them so she could sneak the food as she liked. He seemed like a good chap, Will. He was giving her food! Smiling, she began to munch while listening to the conversation going on around her. There was distinctly no mention of zombies to be had.
“But papa, I need a new dress for the welcoming ball!” Tisha’s voice was plaintive as she begged Derrick for new attire.
“You’ve got several closets of dresses, Tisha. I’m sure you can find something appropriate.” Ashanna interjected, tsking at her youngest daughter.
“But…everyone has already seen them! Please? I know! I can take Jade with me! She needs a new dress too!” Jade was startled, caught mid-motion putting something in her mouth when everyone turned to scrutinize her clothes. Self-consciously, she quickly chewed and swallowed.
“I’m sorry, what?” She had been spacing out on sugary goodness and only half paying attention to Tisha’s whines.
“It’s actually a good point. Where have you been getting clothes? Do you have the necessities?” Ashanna was scrutinizing her with concern now. She could almost see the whole, ‘she’s a multi-mage, we need to keep her happy here’ thought bubble over their heads.
Jade shrugged a little self-consciously again, then intoned quietly, “There were some things for me in the closet of the room I arrived in. I’ve just been using those. I uhm… I have a pocket watch and a library card that Eric gave me?” She realized her personal belongs were a little on the pitiful side, now that she was listing them out. Not like she’d had much more than a laptop, headphones, and some clothes at the hospital either, though. She was used to living without many accoutrements.
“That’s...it?” Even Camille looked aghast at her words. She nodded mutely, putting something else in her mouth so they wouldn’t expect her to say anything. And because food. Camille turned to Ashanna. “Mother, can we…?”