Princess of Faerl

*Stacie*

She rejected me. Eliza rejected me. I had done nothing wrong, I had been patient, caving to everything she needed or could have possibly wanted and she rejected me. The pain was horrific. I let out a scream, but I would not cry. I would not let her have the satisfaction. She made a choice. A very clear choice and I was not about to allow her to break me.

“I, Stacie MaComb, reject you, Eliza Bronzetail, as my mate and life partner.” I wasn’t about to accept her rejection. But I wasn’t going to spare her the pain either. She wanted this, she was going to get it, and it was going to be done my way. It was her turn to crumple on the floor screaming in pain. I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I knew what this looked like, but I was going to trust in Aranelda. He was my Rane. He would know the truth, wouldn’t he? I sure hope so.

“Eliza, Stacie! What is going on here? What are you doing to each other? To me?” His tears were completely evident having felt the bond between Eliza and I snap. I bowed my head, trying not to cry in my own heartache, which now mixed with his. While I took a breath to steady myself, Eliza took advantage of the situation.

“She rejected me! She knew how close we were and she rejected me to keep you to herself! Please, please love, reject her so we can be happy, please…” I had to hand it to her, she was a great actress. The pain in my eyes could not be hidden at this point, a very fat tear escaped my eye.

“Yes, I did reject you, after you rejected me. Please stop, Eliza. If he choses you, he chooses you. That is his choice to make. But do not sit here and act like the prim and proper woman you are not. You aren’t even guided by your own greed of power, but your father’s. If you had told him where to stuff it, the three of us could have been happy. But now? Now there will always be a gaping hole for all of us. You were meant to be with me just as much as he was meant to be with you. How dare you… how DARE you try and insinuate that I didn’t want you. Do you know how hard it has been hiding who and what I am from my family the entirey of my life? You being the FIRST woman I could ever open myself up to, be real with, and love? Fuck, I even gave you my first kiss over giving it to Rane, just to show you that I wanted you just as much as him. You have the gall to sit here and say that I ended our bond? And if I had accepted your rejection and kept all the pain for myself, would you still be singing this tune? Tell me, what was your plan? How?” I took a deep breath, trying to keep up my courage, “Actually, I don’t want to know.” I turned my back to her, “I have a mother to mourn, a mate to mourn, and I can’t stick around to see what happens here. Rane, I trust you to do what your heart says is best, and will accept any decision you make. I love you, and I know you love me.” with that, I exited the hall as quickly as I could, running to my room. I didn’t even make it to my room before i fell, blinded by my own tears, laying outside my doorway crying.

I have no idea how long I was out there, but two very strong arms picked me up, held me close, and carried me into my room. His scent filled my nose and my heart. “Stacie, my dear sweet Stacie. I’m so sorry she did that. I never doubted you for a moment, please believe me, but I could not let the situation go without making sure she was put in her place.” He laid me down on my bed, my eyes fluttering open to try and see him as he then laid next to me, holding me close to him. “You are amazing, Stacie. Your poise and grace is beyond compare. You never should have had to deal with that. I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t respond to him, I was too tired. The break in the bond was excruciating. My breathing must have been a clear indication to him that I had fallen asleep, but I didn’t feel like I was asleep. His phone rang and he answered it quietly.

“No means no, and the rejection stands, Eliza. If you refuse to accept it there is nothing I can do about that, but I will not have a jealous woman in my life. I didn’t have two mates because I needed two mates, I had two mates because my mates needed more than just me. Because you’re not straight and that way you could feel fulfilled your entire life. If you can’t deal with that on your own, there’s nothing I can do about that. For now, I’m going to focus on Stacie. If you ever work things out with her, that’s your burden to bare, but trust me, unless she accepts you, I will not. Because until you’ve fixed that issue within yourself, you’ll never be able to be happy with anyone that you’re with. And I’m not about that life. Good bye, Eliza.”

My heart swelled to hear him say that. Maybe we would get a second chance mate? Who knows. For now, I couldn’t wait for my birthday. The day he would mark me and we could start planning a wedding, planning our life together. Maybe some day Eliza would come back around. My heart would always ache for her. Maybe she wouldn’t. Time would tell, but right now, sleep in the arms of the man I love is more than enough for me.

When I opened my eyes finally, I heard him softly snoring next to me. Okay, softly is putting it mildly. He kinda sounded like a chainsaw. I pushed his legs off my hip and rolled myself out of bed, sorely needing to pee. Per my normal routine, I grabbed my phone and headed into the bathroom. I shoudn’t have done that.

My phone was blown up with messages from Eliza, her dad, and her mom. It was stupid. Eliza was trying to apologize, her dad was threatening my life, and her mother was telling me what a horrible person and influence i was on their daughter. It wasn’t my fault they were homophobic idiots that couldn’t accept their beautiful child for what she was, or I should say is. My heart was heavy though reading the apologies. It was almost as if a spell had been broken over Eliza and the rejections hadn’t worked because I was feeling her pain. It was awful. But I wasn’t about to give into it. Not today any way. She would have to show she changed. She would have to show she could be her own woman and not power hungry. I don’t know how she could show that, but I wasn’t about to let this go so easily.

I climbed back into bed after that bit of drama, not responding to a single message. I had no need or want to deal with any more of it. Tanz knocked at the door, “Your Highnesses! Dinner is about to be served, if you are wanting to attend.” Her cheerful voice carried through my room.

“Oh, Tanz, you can come in, we’re more than decent. I promise.” I knew she was giving us space, but it wasn’t necessary. I refused to even let him see me naked until we were married. Though he, and Eliza, were the only ones that knew this. Tanz poofed into the room, a warm smile on her face.

“How are you feeling dear? It’s been one heck of a rough day for you. Your family is very worried about you.” She flittered down and gave me a hug.

“I would be lying if I said I was okay. I’m not. But I will survive and I have an amazing mate by my side that won’t let me go through this alone.” I smiled at my Rane as he started to wake up.

“Oh boy, Tanz is here, how long did we sleep for?” His groggy voice filled my ears and had effects on my body I barely understood. He was going to be the death of me.

“It’s just about dinner time, Your Highness. Time to get up and ready to go down to the hall.” Tanz flew over him and bopped him on the head, “Up and at em, morning glory!” She laughed causing me to giggle at Rane’s confused expression.

“Okay okay, I’m up I’m up. Where’s the fire?” He replied grumpliy. “There isn’t a fire, though, right?” We all had a laugh and moved to go to the dining hall. It was going to be okay. No matter what direction it all went in, it was going to be okay.

Just had to have some faith.