Awake: A Fairytale

by Jessica Grey

  “We were a little stressed at the time,” Alex pointed out.

  Luke raised an eyebrow. “How did the two of you pipsqueaks move him? He has to weigh nearly what I do.”

  “With great difficulty,” Alex grinned, before reaching up and pulling him down for a kiss. “Your reward for being all smart and efficient.”

  Becca whistled teasingly. “Break it up guys, we’ve got a rock to move.”

  ~

  Alex had hoped that Nicholas would simply never remember what had happened—that somehow Lilia knocking him out and Luke being trapped in the magic bed would somehow be magically wiped from his memory. But it was a vain hope.

  Alex and Becca were chatting with Maureen at the secretary’s desk right before opening on Tuesday when Nicholas came storming in. One look at his face and she could tell he’d remembered at least enough to be angry.

  “Where is she?” he demanded.

  Alex blinked at him. “Who?”

  “Don’t give me that innocent crap. You know exactly who I am talking about.” He turned to Becca. “Well, where’s the enchanted princess girl?”

  Becca looked at him with wide eyes. “I don’t—”

  “Don’t lie to me!” he yelled, loud enough to bring Dr. Fredericks out from his office.

  Maureen gaped at him. “What are you talking about, Nicholas?” and then she added in a hiss, “You need to stop yelling at the students.”

  “Students, ha! They’re in cahoots with that magic girl,” he spat out.

  “Nicholas?” Dr. Fredericks had finally reached Maureen’s desk, his forehead creased in concern. “What seems to be the problem?”

  “My artifacts—the ones from France—are gone!” Nicholas gestured wildly toward the back of the museum. “They,” he jabbed a finger in Alex’s direction, “messed with them. There was a bed—an enchanted bed with a girl, and her friend,” here he jabbed again toward Alex, “Luke, kissed the girl awake but became enchanted himself and was asleep on the bed.”

  There was a pregnant pause as they all stared at Nicholas.

  “Nicholas, you realize this sounds—” began Dr. Fredericks.

  “I know how it sounds, but I am telling you it is true! They know it, too! Where is she? Where’s my bed? Where’s Luke?”

  “I’m pretty sure Luke is on a college scouting trip,” Maureen said helpfully. “You signed his absence forms yourself.”

  Alex nodded in agreement with Maureen, still not trusting herself to say anything. Nicholas narrowed his eyes at her, looking between her and Becca. Alex was suddenly glad that Dr. Fredericks was there. Nicholas looked angry enough to do something stupid.

  “You two,” he accused, “you’re in it together; what did you do with my artifacts?”

  “Nicholas, please, come into my office so we can discuss this,” Dr. Fredericks said tightly. “The artifacts haven’t been delivered yet; surely you must know that.”

  “No, they were delivered Wednesday night, and then Thursday morning these two, along with their magic girl side-kick knocked me out and stuffed me in a storage room for days! Days!”

  “Oh my god, Nicholas, what are you talking about? You weren’t knocked out anywhere; I saw you working in your office on Thursday and Friday,” Maureen finally burst out. “You sound like a deranged person; just shut up and go with Dr. Fredericks!”

  Alex resisted the urge to shoot Becca a speaking look. Lilia’s distraction spell coupled with the light in Nicholas’s office had worked so well that Maureen was actually convinced she’d seen him. Lilia would be thrilled.

  Dr. Fredericks grabbed Nicholas by the elbow and tried ushering him in the direction of his office. The older man was a few inches shorter than Nicholas, but he didn’t seem intimidated by his size or level of agitation. “Let’s just calm down and talk about this rationally. You’re obviously agitated, but in front of the students is not the place—”

  “They aren’t just students! They are part of it! Maybe they are even magic themselves!” He pulled against Dr. Fredericks’s grip.

  At that, the girls finally did look at each other, exchanging uneasy glances.

  “Ha! See!” Nicholas caught the look between them and shouted in triumph. “They are trying to destroy my career!”

  “You’re doing an okay job of that yourself,” Becca muttered under her breath and Alex shook her head at her sharply. She felt bad enough about the situation; antagonizing him wasn’t going to help. If he’d just shut up and play along, he and his career would likely be fine, but he seemed intent on being proved right, no matter how insane his accusations sounded to Dr. Fredericks.

  At Becca’s words, Nicholas started toward her, but the museum director pulled sharply on his arm.

  “Be careful, Mr. Hunt, you don’t want to do something you’ll regret, something that would jeopardize your employment here,” he said tightly.

  “Jeopardize my employment?” Nicholas hollered. “These girls have stolen artifacts from this museum! And you’re talking about my employment? Well, guess what? I quit! I’ve had a better offer from Professor Gagnon anyway.”

  “Then I suggest you pack up your office and leave. Immediately.” Dr. Fredericks’s voice was calm, but it had a hard edge to it. “Actually, why don’t you leave now? Maureen will pack up your belongings and we will have them delivered to you.”

  Nicholas glared at Alex. “I’m going to prove it someday,” he shot at her. “You both are going to regret messing with me.”

  Dr. Fredericks dropped Nicholas’s arm and stepped between him and the girls. “Threatening young women is beyond the pale, Mr. Hunt. Leave now, before I have to call security.”

  Nicholas bit out a curse and whirled around and stormed out of the front offices. The slamming of the employee exit door was so loud that they could hear it from Maureen’s desk.

  “I’m sorry you girls had to witness that,” Dr. Fredericks said, turning to face them. “I apologize for Mr. Hunt’s behavior. I’d ask if you knew what he was talking about—” Both Becca and Alex shook their heads as Dr. Fredericks continued, “but asking about enchantments and magic might be a bit insulting to your intelligence.”

  Alex sighed in relief. They didn’t even have to come right out and lie; Nicholas had done all the work for them. She felt bad that he’d effectively thrown his museum career out the window, but he had been the one to make the choice, and thanks to the three sisters and their “magic of coincidences,” he at least had a job to go to with Professor Gagnon.

  “As your advisor has just quit, we might need to revaluate the intern program, however. Would you like to take the rest of the day off?”

  “No, it’s okay,” Alex replied steadily. “I was planning to do some filing today.” She looked at Becca, who nodded in agreement.

  “Well, I am sure Maureen would appreciate your help,” Dr. Fredericks said distractedly. “I’ll leave them in your capable hands then, Maureen.”

  “That was classic Nicholas,” Becca said as they left the museum at the end of their shift. “Always more concerned for himself than anyone else.”

  “Yeah,” Alex agreed. “Hopefully, that is the last we hear about it, though. Dr. Fredericks didn’t seem like he thought anything of it other than Nicholas had gone around the bend.”

  A week later, the intern program was suspended for the rest of the summer. Without the museum to go to Alex found herself with extra time on her hands, and for the first time in her life, she was filling her time with people. She and Becca helped Lilia look for a place to rent, and the three girls had fun picking out furniture and introducing Lilia to modern kitchen and laundry appliances. It turned out to be disturbingly easy to procure fake documents on the streets of Los Angeles, and within a short amount of time, the newly minted Lilia Fôret found herself filling out college applications like any other American teenager. Except that she didn’t have to worry about financial aid with the stash of near priceless gems tucked safely away in a series of safety deposit boxes.

&n
bsp; Most of the extra free hours in Alex’s day, however, were spent hanging out with Luke as much as possible before he left for college. She had been right: her mom had been thrilled that Alex and Luke were dating, almost thrilled enough to overlook the small tattoo around Alex’s wrist. But not quite. She’d received a lengthy lecture on the evils of tattoos before her mom had finally sighed and declared, “Well, I suppose you are eighteen and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just wish you’d gotten it in a less conspicuous place.”

  Alex, who had never in her life even considered getting a tattoo had silently agreed with her mother. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to regret the mark. It was a tangible reminder not just of Luke but of how powerful she herself was. All in all, a hell of a souvenir of her time in the Fae Realm.

  ~ Epilogue ~

  BEFORE ALEX LEFT the museum for the last time, she rescued Elanthe from the small white box it sat in, replacing it with a much larger and more expensive diamond from the enchanted bed. They had put both the diamond and the gold nuggets back in their places before they could be missed, but Alex found herself thinking about Elanthe more and more. It had helped her recognize her own power and lent her its own. The thought of it sitting cold and lifeless in a box in the storage room for years tugged at her heart. As she tipped it out of the box and into her hand, the stone flared against her palm with the warm recognition of a friend.

  Alex slid the stone into her jeans pocket and walked toward the exit. The museum hadn’t changed much in the four years she’d spent there, but she’d bet some changes were coming. Lilia had insisted on “rewarding” Luke for waking her up with a fortune in gems, even though he had insisted he didn’t need them. He had a full sports scholarship to school and wasn’t hurting for money; and Alex thought he might be a little embarrassed about the reminder of his misguided heroics. He ended up selling the gems and donating the money anonymously to the museum. So hopefully, the next time she visited GeMMLA, she’d be able to see some of that money put to good use. It was nice to think that they were leaving their mark on the museum; it had certainly left its mark on all of their lives.

  Alex smiled as she pushed open the employee exit, temporarily dazzled by the bright afternoon sunlight.

  “Got what you needed, short stuff?” Luke was leaning up against the outside wall of the museum, waiting for her.

  “Yup.”

  “Ready to go then?” He pushed himself off the wall and reached for her hand.

  She gazed up at him. The sunlight was catching in his dark blond curls. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Go somewhere with you? I might need an incentive.”

  “Oh really? I think, maybe, I could come up with something.” He laughed down at her, pulling her closer as he bent his head toward hers. Alex giggled as she lifted her mouth to his, but he paused just before their lips touched. “Wait,” he said mock-seriously as he quirked an eyebrow, “you aren’t wearing any jewelry, handmade or otherwise, that might turn itself into a magic tattoo when I kiss you are you?”

  Alex snorted with laughter. “Nope, but I think I’ve got the whole magic thing under control anyway.”

  “I don’t know, Lex, I’d hate to make you go all magical and glowy,” he sighed dramatically. “I can’t help it, I guess my kisses are just that good.”

  “Yes. You lead a hard life, what with your awesome kisses causing unsuspecting girls to burn up with ancient and powerful magic.”

  “I do. It’s my cross to bear, but I try to bear it with dignity.”

  “Hmm, well then.” Alex lifted her hand to the back of his head and pulled him closer. “If it’s so dangerous for you to kiss me, I’ll just have to kiss you instead.”

  And she did.

  ~ The End ~

  Acknowledgements

  This book would not have been possible without the love and support of my husband, Edward, and my children Maddie and James. Thank you for letting me sneak off to the coffee shop and into the world of Sleeping Beauty. Many thanks to my parents, Mark and Sharon, for instilling in me a love of fairytales and beautiful words, and the truth of the “Deeper Magic from before the dawn of time.”

  There are so many people who gave me the very best of themselves in helping me tell this story, chief among them my wonderful cover designer and sounding board Victoria Austen-Young whose contribution to the mythology and rules of my brand of fae magic cannot be overstated. I was blessed with several brilliant story and copy editors, C. Allyn Pierson, Nancy Kelley, Rebecca Nyenhuis, and Mark House: thank you for giving so much of your time, effort, and brilliance. A very special thank you to Jennifer Becton who inspired and encouraged me to join the world of self-publishing.

  And to all of my favorite local coffee shops—thank you for the use of your tables and the copious amounts of caffeine.

  About the Author

  Jessica Grey is an author, fairytale believer, baseball lover, and recovering Star Wars fangirl. A life-long Californian, she now lives in Montana with her husband, Edward, and two children, Maddie and James, where she spends her time writing, perfecting the fine art of toddler-wrangling, and drinking way too much caffeine.

  You can follow Jessica on Twitter @_JessicaGrey or read her blog at www.authorjessicagrey.com.

  The Fairytale Trilogy

  The Fairytale Trilogy by Jessica Grey is a series of Young Adult fantasy novels that are a new envisioning of classic fairy tales. The series follows three teenage girls as they are drawn into stories that they once thought were only make-believe.

  Awake: A Fairytale –2012

  Atone: A Fairytale – 2013

  Aspire: A Fairytale – 2014

  For more information on the Fairytale Trilogy please visit www.fairytaletrilogy.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright & Disclaimers

  Dedication

  ~ Chapter One ~

  ~ Chapter Two ~

  ~ Chapter Three ~

  ~ Chapter Four ~

  ~ Chapter Five ~

  ~ Chapter Six ~

  ~ Chapter Seven ~

  ~ Chapter Eight ~

  ~ Chapter Nine ~

  ~ Chapter Ten ~

  ~ Chapter Eleven ~

  ~ Chapter Twelve ~

  ~ Chapter Thirteen ~

  ~ Chapter Fourteen ~

  ~ Chapter Fifteen ~

  ~ Chapter Sixteen ~

  ~ Chapter Seventeen ~

  ~ Chapter Eighteen ~

  ~ Chapter Nineteen ~

  ~ Chapter Twenty ~

  ~ Chapter Twenty-One ~

  ~ Epilogue ~

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  The Fairytale Trilogy