Ellie and the Prince (Faraway Castle #1)(55)
She nodded and gulped again.
“But may I think of you as my girlfriend, for lack of a better term?”
Again Ellie’s heart seemed to swell in her chest, restricting her breathing. She gave a short nod before she could think of possible consequences.
He sucked in a shaky breath and sat back on the bench, then blew a few breaths in and out. “Thank you,” he said so quietly that she might have missed it had she not been watching him. “This is more than I dared hope for!”
Ellie could not imagine why he would feel so nervous and concerned. She was the one being honored beyond reason!
“May I tell my parents that we are . . . seeing each other?” he asked. “They will need time to adjust to the idea. I sincerely believe they will love you once they get to know you, just as the children do. I suspect my mother has already been considering the idea, and my father has a tender heart beneath all his adherence to tradition.”
Even the mention of his mother sent a flood of apprehension over Ellie. She didn’t think she could bear it if the gentle queen were to look upon her with disapproval. But when Omar rose and extended his hand to her, she took it and gave him a quivering smile. In the moonlight he could not see her expression clearly, but he must have felt the tremors in her hand, for he looped it through his arm and pressed it close to his side. “Ellie Calmer,” he said in a meditative tone. “My girl. My intended.”
Ellie melted all over again at the sound of her name in his charming accent. They returned to the castle at a quick pace, hardly noticing the night’s beauty, so absorbed were they in contemplation of the future. As they climbed the deck stairs, Ellie glanced up at Omar, and his smile nearly blinded her.
Just as they approached the ballroom door, Ellie heard a terrible crash followed by screams, shouts, and a general panic near the buffet tables. A wave of panicked people, male and female, flooded the dance floor, caught up the dancers in its current, backed up around the doors, then began to pour outside, still shouting in horror.
Ellie heard snatches as people rushed past: “. . . hideous!” “ . . . crawling all over the floor!” “ . . . cake and pie and . . .” “ . . . thousands of them!” “. . . never believed the rumors, but . . .”
“Oh no!” she moaned. “Geraldo!”
Ellie let go of Omar’s hand, rushed to the side of the deck, climbed over, and jumped to the ground three feet below, heedless of her rustling gown. From there she dashed to the service door, opened it with a wave of her hand, and began to work her way around the outside of the room toward the buffet.
A frightful sight met her eyes as the tables came in sight. One had collapsed, and it and the surrounding floor were covered in small humanoids swarming like rats over pies and cakes, slipping and falling in the mess, and fighting tooth-and-nail for the most delectable selections. She spotted Geraldo atop a flattened chocolate cake, beating off competitors with butter knife and fork.
Around this pitched battle scurried brownies wringing their hands over the chaos, desperately trying to clean up the mess but beaten back by hobgoblins protecting their booty. Ellie paused to catch her breath. Her spray bottle was in her backpack . . . somewhere. But on this night when she felt magic flowing through her veins, just maybe she could resolve the situation with her voice alone. She had to try.
Fixing her gaze on Geraldo first, then letting it drift from one hobgoblin to another, she spoke in a calming tone. “My friends, you know that theft and disturbance are not allowed in the castle where you live so comfortably. You have deliberately shown yourselves to guests, which is also strictly forbidden. Do you truly want to find yourselves evicted and sent away? Stop quarreling at once and help the brownies clean up the mess you’ve made, and I will do my best to calm the humans and make them forget this disaster.”
When she first began to speak, Geraldo dropped his weapons and shoved his fingers into his big ears. The others also tried to ignore her. But she firmed her tone and injected more power into her voice, and one by one they stopped quarreling. By the time she spoke the last sentence, every hobgoblin looked up at her with sheepish expression and sorrowful eyes. Geraldo held out longest, but at last he hung his head. “I am sorry, Miss Ellie and Madame Director.” His withered chest rose and fell in a sigh. “We will help clean up the mess.”
Only then did Ellie realize that Madame Genevieve stood behind her, observing all. Her grim, accusing expression might have intimidated Ellie at another time, but just now she still had work to do. She was uncertain how long the hobgoblins’ change of heart would last, so she hovered nearby during the clean-up. The ugly little creatures proved true to their word, and between brownies and hobgoblins, the floor was spotless in amazingly short order.
“Great work, Marielle. We’ll help them remove the heavy items,” Briar paused to say in her ear. Ellie blinked, but he moved away before she could question him.
She heard Omar say to Briar, “I didn’t know the little people could be seen if they chose. Remarkable!”
Little did he know how disastrous this could be for the resort, and for Ellie herself. If she couldn’t calm the non-magical guests, they might leave Faraway Castle in horror and never return—and she would quickly be out of a job.
Omar and Briar set a sack of shattered china on top of the broken table, then lifted it between them and carried it out of the ballroom. The brownies cleaned and straightened everything behind them, and soon no evidence of the catastrophe remained.