A Kiss like Roses: Fairy Tale Synergy Book 1

by Colton, Eliza

  Linking her arm with mine, Isabella led me out.

  I tossed a final glance back in admiration of the castle forest.

  Chapter 34

  As soon as I entered the ballroom, the scent of gingerbreads and cakes overpowered my senses. Princess Gretel’s kingdom was known for their numerous exceptional patisseries, and her family had spared no expenses in hiring their best bakers to cater for the engagement celebrations.

  Although I’d arrived right on time, it was already filled with nobles and foreign diplomats, who were eager to devour the famous desserts for themselves.

  Above me, glittering chandeliers swayed down from the ceiling, and the faint multicolored lights highlighted the guests in their eye-catching, flamboyant masks.

  I squeezed through the crowds of people, murmuring “Excuse me” whenever there was too large a group for me to simply pass by.

  “I don’t recognize you,” said an unfamiliar male voice. I turned, unsure if they were talking to me. “It’s impolite to ignore someone.”

  “I-I’m a guest from Perintas,” I replied, peering at the man through his red-and-green mask, which tapered off to a large bird beak. “Are you supposed to be a parrot?”

  He nodded, and he tapped his chest in pride, puffing it out as if he really were a bird.

  “Hans,” he said. He leaned into me conspiratorially, but he misjudged the size of his mask; his beak bumped into my cheek, and I gasped as I jumped back. “Sorry, sorry. I forgot about my darned mask.” He shook his head. “I’m the lucky lady’s brother. Nice to meet you.”

  And I’m the girl who plans to steal your sister’s betrothed.

  I laughed uncomfortably, unsure how I was supposed to respond to him.

  “Oh, Prince Hansel,” a female voice sighed. “I understand you’re bored, but could you stop harassing every poor girl you come across?”

  Prince Hansel lifted his arms, palms out, as he glanced at her. I took this as an opportunity to flee. “Now, now, I was simply making a new friend.”

  “Does she feel the same way?”

  They turned towards me, but I was already several feet away, making my way over to Shao. He was standing in the center of the room by the orchestra, his mask reminiscent of a lion. Beside him was a woman with thick blonde braids. Her warty green mask covered her entire face.

  What was she supposed to be? A witch? I’d expected her to look elegant for this ball, since she was getting engaged, but I didn’t have the time or energy to wonder about it.

  My heart hammered in my chest as I approached them, and I took deep breaths to ground myself.

  A moment before I reached Shao, he glanced over in my direction, his eyes widening as they met mine—

  And the orchestra began playing a soft, harmonious waltz, signaling everyone to begin dancing.

  Princess Gretel expectantly held out her hand to Shao.

  “Wait,” I said instinctively, my voice hoarse.

  While I could have waited, I detested the idea of Shao touching anyone else. Of him getting close enough to another woman to feel her pulse.

  My pace quickened as I approached them, and I turned towards Shao after giving the princess an apologetic smile. “May I have this dance, Prince Asha?”

  I could feel the piercing gazes of all the bluebloods around me. Though they said nothing, they watched me intently, no doubt wondering who I was and how I dared to take the attention off the star of the ball.

  A pair of nobles in front of me tittered with each other, excited as they waited for the prince to snub me.

  Frankly, I expected to be escorted away.

  My hands felt clammy, and I wished for a sinkhole to appear and suck me in.

  Why did I even come here? I mentally screamed at myself. This was the worst thing I’d ever done. I was actively causing an unnecessary scandal and drama for my selfish whims—and the only thing I’d get out of it was lifelong incarceration for disrespect towards the royal family.

  “I’d be honored,” Shao replied rather than berating or ignoring me. Instantly, the whispers began, and I took a heavy step back.

  Taking a step closer to me, Shao gave me his hand; the nobles surrounding us drifted away as they tiptoed and spun, giving us space to join them.

  “Who might you be?” Shao asked, one arm sliding behind my back—and halting mere inches away, awaiting my permission to hold me.

  How was it that I felt a tingle of electricity spread through my back? Why was heat rushing through my neck, my cheeks, my ears?

  Heavens, he wasn’t even touching me.

  I gave a subtle nod, my heart aching with anticipation.

  His hand brushed against the arch of my back; my breath hitched.

  “I-I’m a beast,” I said, my voice unsteady as we circled each other. I tugged his other hand to gesture towards my mask, which Shao was grotesquely familiar with.

  The mask of the vanquished beast.

  “If you’re a beast, how were you invited to the ball?”

  “Some people want me to steal you.”

  “Oh?” Shao’s eyes sparkled with mirth, and I gulped. I wasn’t sure what response I’d been expecting, but this… wasn’t it. “Will you oblige them, my dear beast?”

  His beast?

  His dear beast?

  I wanted to bask in those sweet words, but if I allowed myself to melt here, it was possible I’d never get a chance to so much as speak with my prince again.

  “I would’ve regardless of them,” I replied, spinning out of his reach. “I came with the explicit intent to sweep you off your feet.”

  “How do you plan to do that?”

  My throat felt parched.

  Could I do this?

  I had to.

  “Like this.” Twirling back into his reach, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

  Audible gasps filled the hall, and I closed my eyes, suddenly dizzied by the bright lights and dazzling costumes.

  Shao brushed my cheek, then broke our contact. I swallowed. How would he react now? Would he yell at me? Banish me? Grow as cold as he had when I betrayed him, pushing me away with a frosty voice and visible disdain?

  “I think the one being swept off their feet will be you,” he said instead.

  I blinked, my lips parting. “What—”

  Shao lifted me into his arms with one fell swoop, causing me to yelp.

  “Sh-Shao?”

  “You’ve really never given me any choices, have you?” He asked, but his kind voice contradicted his words, and he lifted me higher to give me a quick peck on the lips.

  “Wh—let me down—”

  “Soon, Beatrice,” he said, and I swallowed as he casually strode out of the ballroom, giving a curt salute to everyone around us.

  As I was carried out, I glanced at Princess Gretel. I couldn’t make out her expression because her face was covered, but based on what little I saw, she… simply looked amused?

  I shook my head.

  “Sh-Shao? I can walk by myself!”

  I lightly punched his shoulders in retaliation, but he refused to release me, and I remained in his arms.

  My pulse raised, and my hand rose to my forehead. I didn’t understand. What was going on?

  Surely Shao hadn’t decided that he wanted to give me false hope only to take me to a jail cell himself.

  He only halted momentarily once we reached the heavy doors to the garden that I’d passed through with Isabella mere hours ago; he continued holding me up with one arm as he unlocked and thrust open the gates before stepping in.

  At last, he gently let me down.

  I felt a pang of disappointment; Shao saw it in my face and chuckled as the door shut behind us, clicking as it locked itself to outsiders.

  “I missed you,” he said, cupping my cheeks.

  “Um. Um.” I wanted to be coherent and romantic and grateful, but all I could express was confusion. “The engagement?”

  “It was never real,” he said. “Neither
of us wanted it, but we knew our parents wouldn’t allow us to break it unless we caused a public scandal. Gretel was supposed to reject me after the dance.”

  “Wh-why would you…?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish. I didn’t have to.

  “I’ve never been able to get you out of my head, Beatrice.” He stepped closer to me, and I struggled to stay in place, my heart on the brink of exploding. “You may have rejected me, but I knew could never forget you. Your beauty. Your strength. Your stubbornness.”

  “You could have grown to love Princess Gretel,” I said. “You wanted to be King.”

  “How many times do I have to repeat myself?” He growled, causing my belly to flip-flop. “Nothing matters if I don’t have you.” He caressed a strand of my hair, and I took a deep, shaky breath. “You love me.”

  “I do.” I bit my lip. “Can… I assume you love me back? Even though I rejected you and continuously pushed you away?”

  “You don’t have to assume,” Shao whispered into my ear. “I love you, and I’ll say it to you as often as you like. I love you, Beatrice. I love you. I love you.”

  My breath hitched. “I…”

  “Will you tell me you love me?”

  “I-I already told you—”

  “Again,” he whispered. “Using the word love.”

  I shook my head, tears prickling at the edges of my eyes. He brushed them away.

  “I see you’re still a crybaby,” he said.

  “And I see you’re still unreasonable.”

  It should have been easy to tell him how much I loved him, but the words refused to leave my lips.

  I felt far more vulnerable than I ever had before in my life, and the words felt like a beautiful poison.

  “Well?” His voice was intoxicating, and it enveloped my mind with dreams and wishes and, most of all, love. “Do you love me, Beatrice?”

  “I do,” I cried, burying my face in his chest. “Heavens help me, I do. I love you, Shao. I love you so much I can’t stand it. So much my heart feels like it bursts whenever you so much as look at me—and I live for every second of it.”

  Affection filled Shao’s eyes as he leaned down to kiss me again. I closed my eyes and lifted my chin, allowing myself to drown in the tenderness of his lips against mine.

  Chapter 35

  A thundering crash reverberated through the forest as the doors were thrust open. My eyes widening, I turned and saw a well-dressed older man with a crown storm inside, flanked by several guards and a woman with gentle eyes.

  The king and his queen had arrived.

  Shao stepped forward and spread his arm in front of me defensively.

  “Father—”

  “What is the meaning of this?” The king boomed, and I flinched back. I had no doubt Shao would try his hardest to guard me, but what if his love and protection weren’t enough?

  “Allow me to introduce you to the love of my life,” Shao said. “This is Beatrice Heather, the artist’s daughter.”

  “I know who she is,” the king barked. “Her identity is irrelevant. How could you shame Princess Gretel in such a manner? Do you know how humiliating that is? Do you know how much the foreigners and our own nobles will scold and shame us?”

  “Princess Gretel and I arranged in advance to break up the engagement during the ball. While Beatrice’s appearance was unexpected, it changed nothing.”

  “Do you know who you’re speaking of? It’s Princess Gretel, the darling of the entire rotten continent! It doesn’t matter what she wants. The world will side with her—at our expense!”

  “Everyone already scorns me,” Prince Shao said quietly. “Including you, Father.”

  The king paled. “You ungrateful imbecile!”

  “I respect you as a king, Father, but where were you when I begged you to see me after Mother was cursed? What was your response when I pleaded you to allow me to stay? Why did you never write back to my hundreds of letters?”

  The king averted his gaze. “That has nothing to do with the matter at hand.”

  “For the longest time, you were the greatest man I ever knew, and there was nothing more than to become a king as honorable and prodigious as you.”

  “I gave you a chance to become king, which you’ve hereby crushed.”

  “Because that is no longer my dream,” said Shao. “Now, all I see in my future is an idle life with my beloved besides me. Kingdoms, admiration, achievement… Nothing matters if I can’t have Beatrice with me.”

  “She may have saved you from your curse,” said the king, and I blinked. So, he’d heard about that. “But she’s nothing but an impudent commoner who harassed countless nobles for her own selfish gains.”

  “And although you were more a king than a father to me, I’d have done the same as her a thousand times over to save you,” Shao said.

  “You—” The king sputtered. Although his back was square and his muscles rippled with anger, his eyes were shaking with fresh uncertainty.

  “I was abandoned by everyone I loved and trusted when I was ten. The only person who ever showed me true love—the only person who showed she cared for me without any conditions or catches—was Beatrice.”

  The king’s lower lip trembled, but he did not respond.

  “I love her, Father,” Shao said. “I plan to marry her. While there’s nothing you can do to stop me, I’d appreciate your blessing.”

  “What good is love when you’ve disgraced our family?” The king asked, but his voice shook.

  “Didn’t you marry Mother for love?” Shao asked. “She was common-born, too, but you risked your crown for her hand in marriage after falling for her at some ball.”

  “That’s not the same. My marriage to her solidified my popularity with the masses because it gave them hope and made the royal family seem more accessible.”

  “You didn’t know that then, though, did you?” Shao clenched his jaw. “Father, we may be more alike than either of us want to admit.”

  “Asha—”

  The king’s veins rose, and the queen instantly clasped his arm in her hands, smiling gently at him. “Darling.”

  Immediately, the king soothed, his tense muscles relaxing. “Dear—”

  “Haven’t we heard enough to gauge how serious our darling Shao is?” She tiptoed to brush away a stray strand of hair from the king’s face. “I understand your feelings, but as we’ve… discussed…”

  “As you’ve yelled at me over,” the king grumbled in a voice so quiet I barely heard him, and I almost snickered despite the serious situation. So even the terrifying, regal king was soft and powerless against his wife.

  “Yes, well, as we’ve discussed very heatedly, what you did was wrong, and Shao has grown up without us.” She kissed her husband on the cheek, and he exhaled, the last of his energy and wrath seeping out with his breath. “We must allow him to make his own decisions, particularly after abandoning him to his own devices for so long.”

  “I understand that, but…” The king shook his head, then turned to Shao. “No. I was in the wrong. I’m sorry, my son.”

  I felt that such a simple apology was useless against the decade of suffering the king’s selfishness had caused Shao, but a thousand emotions passed through both their eyes as they watched each other.

  Shao heaved a sigh, taking a step back.

  “I’ll never forgive you,” he said. “But now that I have Beatrice, I… I think I finally understand your feelings, although I could never justify your actions. To lose her…” He shook his head.

  The king set his jaw. “I’d say I shall never forgive your action today, but I suppose that’s quite meaningless. I could never atone for what I’ve made you endure.” He slumped in place, his hands rising to his eyes.

  “Oh, so this is where everyone has gathered,” a female voice chimed, distracting us from our somber thoughts.

  I looked up to see a braided woman with a shawl draped over her dainty nose and large, doe-like green eyes.

  “Princess
Gretel? Why—” The king began, and Princess Gretel simpered as she curtsied.

  “You don’t have to worry, your highness,” she said. Even her voice was alluring, and I could listen to it for the rest of my life. How in the world had Shao chosen me over her again? Not that I was complaining. “I’ll speak with all the guests to ensure that no one wishes to speak ill of Prince Asha.”

  “Why would you do that?” The king peered at her, his brows knit.

  Princess Gretel winked. “Prince Asha has promised me two cures in return for this service.”

  Shao shielded his face with his hands. The king’s rage returned to his eyes, and his muscles went taut—

  “Darling,” the queen chided, her voice firm. Just like that, all the negativity dissipated from the king; this time, I couldn’t help but giggle. The king gave me a dirty glare, but with Shao—and the fearsome queen—by my side, he was defanged and declawed.

  “This is ridiculous,” the king muttered.

  “This is settled,” the queen corrected. “Let’s give these children some space, shall we? We’ve scared our poor future daughter enough.”

  Shao widened his eyes. “Does that mean—”

  “What does it matter?” The queen asked, beaming proudly at him. “You said you’d marry her regardless of our wishes, and frankly, I think that’s the only correct way of thinking.”

  She ruffled Shao’s hair as though he were a child again, and while he inched back in discomfort, he didn’t seem displeased. No doubt he’d missed his parents’ touch, which had suddenly been stripped from him at a young age.

  “Thank you, Mother,” he whispered.

  “No, thank you, Shao,” she said. “If you hadn’t found love, I’d have stayed a rose forever, and I wouldn’t have reunited with my adorable little husband.” Grinning, she reached up to pinch her husband on the cheeks, and I covered my widening mouth.

  “I’m not adorable, and I have a good two feet to you,” the king grumbled. Rolling her eyes, the queen grabbed his hand and began dragging him away.

  “Let us talk some more later,” she said, waving towards us. “He’s just groveling because he’s missed me. Didn’t you, darling?”