The Honoured Guest by Aurelia Destiny Page A

child came towards her shyly, her eyes lowered. Her hair was long and flowing, with locks braided at her temple and flowers were wound about her head, here and there. Her robes were gold and white. She held something small in her hands and stopped next to her chair. Mutely, the object was held up and as the girl raised her wrist up, Chelsea she saw it was a small bracelet of flowers and stems braided tightly about each other.
    Finvara spoke to the child softly and then he reached up and tapped her fondly on the chin. She giggled at him and looked up at Chelsea with wide gold eyes. “Dia wishes to give you a gift,” his eyes narrowed. “Do you accept?”
    She blinked at him and looked to the little girl and nodded, not understanding the tension in the air.
    Dia grinned happily and slipped the flowers over the girl’s wrist, saying something that Chelsea couldn't make out. A sharp pain bit into her skin and she cried out, arm jerking away from the gift. She looked at the cuts in her skin and saw that she was bleeding. “Ouch.” She winced, cradling her injured limb.
    Finvara spoke sharply to Dia and the child’s grin widened. She turned, and fairly skipped away, clutching the bracelet in her hands and disappearing into the crowd again.
    She was loathe to think badly of any child, but she was certain that she hadn’t mistaken a faint glint of malice in Dia’s wide eyes.
    It’s like she meant to hurt me, but I can’t think why.
    “Are you harmed?” he asked her in concern. “Dia must have had thorns in with the flowers. Please forgive her.”
    He looked so apologetic and remorseful that she felt bad, hiding the wound in her lap. “It's nothing,” she lied. In reality she was feeling a sharp pain where the gift had penetrated her skin. Why didn’t Dia leave me the gift, even if it did hurt me? She wondered, staring into the crowd of Fae, where the child had vanished.
    The prince’s expression changed as he quickly reached down for her arm, fingers circling her wrist over the silvery silk dress and drawing it up. Chelsea watched with wide, wondering eyes as his hand glowed brightly gold and the wound began to heal before her eyes. She gasped in disbelief. Magic! Just like the water in the clearing that had healed her wounds from the giant. Many about her chuckled in amusement at her wonder and she looked away from them, holding her unblemished skin up. Amazing! “Thank you,” she said shyly.
    “You are very welcome, Maiden.”
    “Why do you call me that?” Chelsea asked curiously.
    Finvara’s gaze flickered with something dark, but then he smiled charmingly. “You are a Maiden, are you not? Untouched by a man?” When she went red and stared at him in disbelief, his brows drew together and mouth tightened.
    She felt eyes on her and glanced up to see many at the table staring hard at her also, their expressions cold. That was weird. “Umm…yeah! My parents won't let me date.” The red-head replied awkwardly. Why did he ask me that? How embarrassing!
    The tension immediately broke and people turned away to resume their conversations, but Chelsea couldn't shake the feeling that something important had just happened and that she'd been in danger for a moment. But that couldn't be right; they were all so kind to her. Yet, why had it been so important that she was virgin? Was this like meeting a unicorn or something? Could she not be around magical creatures if she’d slept with some guy?
    “Then you are indeed a Maiden.”
    “Of course,” Chelsea sat up straighter, that uneasy feeling persisting. She felt as if eyes had been on her all night and abruptly recalled where exactly she was and that the sun would be rising soon back home. “I-I need to leave, Prince. I’m sorry.” It had dawned on her that she was there all alone in a strange land, completely helpless. She wanted to leave now .
    Finvara looked at her and shook his head. “The world moves differently here. You need not be concerned that your