‘Harness its energy,’ she stated. ‘Keep it on you at all times. I recommend attaching it to you. Or just keep it in your pocket.’
Stilt, who was back on dry land, coughed. ‘Great, ready?’ he asked Edward.
Edward looked back at Ursula. ‘When do you need Prince Eric?’
‘You’ll know.’ And with that, she swam off.
TIME FOR THE TRUTH
Snow looked down at the picture of her mother holding her as a baby with a huge smile plastered on her face. Next to her stood her father who Snow barely remembered. ‘You know,’ Snow said to the picture, ‘I barely remember either of your voices,’ she admitted.
Tears splashed onto the glass. ‘I’m sorry.’
Henry knocked on the door. Snow wiped her eyes and placed the picture down on the dresser. ‘Hey, Snow.’
Snow looked at the floor. ‘Hi.’
‘Just wanted to see how you were holding up. It’s a year today since your mother went missing…’
‘I know!’ Snow exclaimed. ‘I’m not going to forget it, am I?’
Henry pulled himself onto the bed, his little legs dangling over the side. ‘I want to talk to you about that night.’
Her stomach twisted. ‘What?’ she asked cautiously. She didn’t want to talk about it simply because she couldn’t handle the truth. That night, after stepping on her mother, she had to wash the remains of her shoe then go around pretending she didn’t know what had happened to her mother. Pretending that she hadn’t known she was turned into a frog. Pretending that her boot hadn’t ended the life of her last parent.
‘About your mother, how she went missing …’
Snow’s breath hitched. Did he know all this time? Her stomach flipped, and she held back the bile that threatened to spurt out of her mind. The only way to deal with the pain was to pretend to be heartless, which was what she had done.
Snow had dressed in nothing but red and black since her mother died and had done nothing but try to fight ‘evil magic’ in the form of Lori. Snow had noticed dwarves popping up all over the place and found out about Lori’s apples. Snow hated magic; despised it even. It was what had turned her mother into a frog, therefore causing Snow to accidentally kill her.
She had spent years trying to track down the culprit but no one knew, and Henry denied knowing anything about it. Henry sighed. ‘I have been dishonest.’
Snow arched an eyebrow. ‘How so?’
‘I was there the night she went missing.’
Snow felt sick. She could see it now—her name branded as a murderer. Was she not a murderer? She scratched at her wrist to take her mind off the pain of the conversation, in fact, digging and scratching her wrists were her best distraction. Henry continued, taking Snow’s pause as wanting more information. ‘She was turned into a frog.’ Snow went pale, which was surprising considering how white she already was. She sat down. Henry took this for shock and went on. ‘A man I was a servant to, the same man who made that snowflake necklace for you, was a sorcerer. To free himself from the curse to be a frog, he had to turn someone else into a frog.’
Snow felt dizzy.
‘He killed her.’
‘What?’ she spluttered.
Henry hung his head in shame. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. This must be quite a shock.’
Snow nodded her head slowly. ‘I … I don’t know what to say.’
Henry sobbed. ‘I should have told you sooner.’
‘How? How did he kill her?’
‘Stepped on her,’ Henry admitted, feeling sick.
Snow stood up, shocked. She had blamed herself all this time, and Henry had known the truth all along.
‘Sorry,’ Henry said.
‘Forget it,’ Snow said and left the room. She walked down the corridor and met James and Belle on the way. Henry ran behind Snow.
Snow huffed; she just wanted to be alone so she could throw daggers at her wall. ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked bluntly.
The tone did not go unnoticed. Belle looked from Henry to Snow. ‘Sorry, we just came to speak to the king on behalf of Lori.’
‘Lori is an evil witch,’ Snow said, angrily.
‘She is helping us. I trust her,’ Belle admitted.
Snow turned to Henry. ‘And you … Do you trust her?’
Henry bit his lip and looked at Snow sadly. ‘She can be reckless, sometimes bad. But I do trust her. Sometimes, the villains in our stories are just hurt. She’s just had a bad life. She wouldn’t hurt those around her.’
Snow frowned. ‘Yet it was you who told me to be wary of her!’
Henry sighed. ‘Well, yes. I may trust her with me, but probably not with you.’
‘Well,’ Snow said, ‘it appears I can trust no one.’
Henry sighed at the dig. ‘Right, Belle and I have some dealings with your grandfather on behalf of Lori. I admit. Remember, she isn’t a bad person, Snow. Just misunderstood. What have I said about judging people?’
Snow looked at James quickly then looked back at Henry. ‘That we should give everyone a chance until they prove us wrong. However, I only take my own advice now.’
Henry let out a patient breath. ‘See you both in an hour for dinner. We will be feasting with the king in the ballroom,’ Henry said and walked off with Belle. Henry glanced back at Snow before rounding a corner. She used to be so sweet. So royal. So good. Since Mary died, she had turned darker. More revengeful. He hoped, strangely, that perhaps James could help her.
Once they were alone, James turned to Snow. ‘Yes, prejudging people is a terrible thing to do.’ He grinned and arched an eyebrow.
‘I follow my intuition,’ she said moodily.
‘What does your intuition say about me?’ he asked and took her hand.
She pulled her hand away from his and took a deep breath. ‘It says I should probably not get involved with you.’
‘I’m one of the good guys, sweetheart,’ he said.
She frowned. ‘I am not your sweetheart!’
James’s expression darkened. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing.’
The playful smirk turned into a hard line. ‘Seriously … are you okay?’ He placed his hand on the side of her arm.
She pushed it off. ‘Please, leave it.’
She walked off toward the gardens.
***
The guard looked down dreamily. ‘That’s the most delicious looking apple I have ever seen,’ he said as he picked it up off the blanket of snow. The other guard tried to snatch it.
‘Apples are my favourite fruit!’ the other guard said.
The guard held the apple close to his chest. ‘Tough, it’s mine,’ he said and took a bite. The other man walked off grumpily. Lori appeared not far from him, smiling.
‘Guess you’ll do,’ she said, waiting for the apple to take effect. She was glad now that she had taken a walk around the palace grounds. Rarely did she get to actually see someone eat an apple. He shot down to below half his size, and his face warped and wrinkled. ‘What have you done to me, witch?’ he asked.
She laughed and vanished, leaving the guard alone. His wife would surely leave him now; he was almost unrecognisable. Angrily, he stormed to the castle and ran into Snow. ‘Sorry, Princess.’
‘What happened to you?’ she asked. He was wearing the royal guard's jacket which dragged across the grass.
‘I’m Michael,’ he squeaked. ‘A witch stole my looks. I shrunk to a dwarf’s size and lost all my looks.’
‘Lori,’ she said angrily. He was not the first to appear in their kingdom spewing the same story.
‘I ate an apple—’
‘Yes,’ Snow interrupted. ‘Heard it before. Probably my fault. I threw it after she tried getting me to eat it.’
‘Where does she live?’ Michael asked, grinding his teeth.
‘Dead Forest,’ Snow informed. ‘I have been secretly gathering a group of people to fight her. You will get revenge and potentially get your beauty back. We can
take her out, and in doing so, I will hopefully find the person who murdered my mother. She just disappeared,’ Snow said and looked back. James was approaching. ‘Meet me in the dungeons later; we will be having a meeting there,’ she whispered.
The man nodded and walked away. ‘What was that about?’ asked James, who had caught up with her.
‘I thought I told you to leave me alone.’
James smiled. ‘Thought I told you that I’m not working with Lori to destroy you? I’m just looking out for my mother.’
That hit her where it mattered. She understood. If it were her, she would have done anything to protect her mother, had she known she was in danger or upset.
James swallowed hard. ‘Why do you still dislike me? You seemed quite smitten with me to begin with?’
Snow opened her mouth to speak but closed it. She was speechless for once. She had an excuse to dislike him when she thought he was working with Lori. But now, she didn’t. Maybe it’s because she was scared of getting hurt, and handsome, confident men like him always end up hurting girls. ‘I just know your type,’ she said.
‘You don’t know me. Give me a chance. I wasn’t lying when I said I liked you!’ James stated.
Snow took a deep breath. ‘I’m not looking for a relationship if I’m honest.’
He grinned. ‘Well, can we at least be friends?’
‘Yes,’ she replied and walked with James to the top of the garden. ‘If we are to be friends, then I must know if I can trust you. Tell me something personal about you.’
His expression darkened. ‘I like daisies.’ She laughed, but he groaned. ‘I can’t help it,’ he admitted. ‘They’re so pretty.’
Snow bit her lip then smiled. ‘Enough with jokes. Tell me about your life. How did you end up here?’
James brushed the snow off a log and gestured for Snow to sit down then sat down next to her. ‘My grandfather was cursed by a beastly man. My mother and I went to the castle to see if we could make some sort of trade. He was cursed to die. Anyway, when we got there, the man who cursed my father lifted the curse and kept us there as prisoners. Except he treated us nicely, I guess. My mother fell for him.’
‘Oh,’ Snow said.
He sighed and fiddled with the hilt of his new sword. It was a present given to him by Lori for joining her plans. ‘He thought of himself as a beast. I know now that he was cursed to be as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside.’
Snow grinned. ‘Wow, was there a beast?’
‘Well, he wasn’t actually a beast. It was more of a metaphor, I think … Anyway, I was being taught to sword fight so didn’t mind staying. I wanted a way to protect my family so used the castle as a way to do that.’
Snow nodded. ‘I would’ve done the same thing.’
He raised an eyebrow and smiled. ‘Well, it was a mistake. Long story short. Mum fell in love with him. I should have been there to talk some sense into her. Maybe then she wouldn’t have sought comfort with him.’
Snow looked at his expression. She could see he was hurting over it. He was remorseful after all. ‘Anyway,’ he continued. ‘He kissed her and the curse broke completely, and then … he left.’ Snow showed nothing but compassion. He noticed she had an almost innocent aura about her. Well, he would have believed it if he hadn’t got to know her. ‘I found out more when they left. I read through diaries. Stilt ate his own child!’ James’s eyes widened. ‘Like his own real-life child. Lori cursed him, which I don’t agree with.’ Snow didn’t look surprised. Instead, she gave him a told you she was evil look. He continued. ‘And Edward was a frog for years. Apparently, the first kiss didn’t work, so he found another. She became a frog, and he killed her. Then he came to the castle to get more power, and the enchantress used his own ego to trick him into a kiss ... Snow?’ He realised she was no longer listening. Her face had warped into one of pure anger.
Snow opened her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes. Tears of anger. ‘That man, Edward. I think the woman he killed was my mother. She died as a frog. I thought for so long that I had killed her. I stepped on her and only found out this morning that she was already dead. I hated myself for so long, and now, I barely have any family left, only my grandfather, the king. The fate of the kingdom, the continuation of the dynasty falls to me. This man, Edward, ruined everything!’ She stood up and pulled out her dagger. ‘Where is he? I will remove his head from his shoulders!’
Tears fell like a veil down her face, and for the first time in a long time, she felt vulnerable.
James grabbed her hand and lowered the dagger. ‘We’ll have to be careful. I want him dead too. Join me with Lori and my mum. We are going after them.’
‘I can’t,’ Snow admitted. ‘I have promised the people whose beauty she stole that we would destroy her. A group of dwarves out for revenge. I’ve been hiding them in the dungeons. We were planning an attack.’
‘Ask for their help,’ James offered. ‘Tell them to wait. If they help us kill Edward and his sneaky friend Stilt, then we will take Lori out. I promise.’ James took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. ‘We will get our revenge. Let’s help each other. It’ll be our little secret.’
She looked back into his and grinned. ‘So what do we do first?’
HOME
Edward finally arrived at the iron gates of Dolorom. A guard peeked into the carriage. ‘Your Majesty,’ he said and bowed.
Stilt walked alongside Edward. ‘It has been a long journey. I must get back to the castle.’
The guard bowed again. ‘Of course, Your Highness. Would you like us to escort you?’ he asked.
‘Please,’ Edward said. They followed alongside the carriage on horses until they arrived at the gates of the palace.
They could have just reappeared at the castle, but the constant use of magic was wearing them out. They didn’t mind the scenic journey.
‘You’re home,’ Edward’s mother said and hugged him tightly as he walked into the room. ‘Where did you go?’
‘Long story,’ Edward said tiredly. He looked down at his mother’s stomach, which was now flat instead of rounded. His mother beamed. Her hair looked softer, and she looked radiant. He had never seen her look so motherly. ‘Congratulations,’ Edward said.
‘Would you like to meet them?’
Edward grumbled. ‘Yes, of course.’
Stilt smiled broadly. ‘I would love to meet my daughter.’ The queen frowned but said nothing.
She led him up to one of the top rooms, which had been converted into a nursery. As he entered the room, he saw two cribs, side by side. He walked over to them slowly and looked inside. The left child looked up at him and smiled. ‘Aw, she likes you,’ his mother said. He smiled back the little girl then looked at the other. She was asleep. ‘I’m going to find it hard to part with one,’ she admitted.
Both girls had blond hair and blue eyes. ‘We’ve called ours Aurora,’ she said. ‘Stilt, I believed you named yours—’
‘Cinderella,’ Edward finished, knowing already.
‘Yes,’ Stilt said and picked up the beautiful child. She cooed lightly in his arms. His eyes bulged with tears. He wished that, more than anything, Sadie could have been here to see this.
‘Aurora and Cinderella, my sisters.’ He couldn’t help but smile. Little Aurora kept smiling every time she looked at Edward. It was adorable. ‘I need to go. Stilt and I have unfinished business.’
‘Don’t leave again,’ Kathryn said, tears brimming in her eyes. ‘Every time you leave the gates, I never know when, or if, you are coming back.’
Edward placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘I will do my best, Mother.’
‘I know you will,’ she replied, her lips spreading into a warm smile. ‘I love you, son.’
Edward nodded in reply and walked out of the room, leaving Kathryn alone with her daughters. One of which, she would have to give to Stilt. It killed her inside because she wanted, needed, to keep them both together. But King Thomas would not agree. A deal was a deal, and
he was happy to keep to it. One daughter, and maybe more children after, was enough. He wouldn’t even look at baby Cinderella for fear of growing attached.
Stilt cried as they walked down the corridor. ‘She’s beautiful, and once we have completed our quest, she can come home with me. The king and queen will have her here until then.’
Edward and Stilt walked into his chambers where Johnathan was lying on his bed. ‘What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?’ Edward barked, noticing that Johnathan had his feet up, reading one of Edward’s books. Johnathan jumped off the bed and dropped the book on the floor then scrambled to pick it up and put it back on the shelf.
‘So sorry, Your Highness. I was just—’
‘I need your help,’ Edward said, firmly. ‘Even if you are a blithering idiot, you are loyal. I don’t know who I can trust anymore. There is a woman, Belle. I love her. I need to find her and bring her here. My ex, Lori, has her.’ Edward paced around the room. Johnathan had never seen the prince looking so distressed. ‘So much to do,’ Edward mumbled. ‘I have to keep to so many deals.’
Johnathan scratched his floppy white hair and pressed his lips together. ‘It will be okay, Majesty.’
‘Will it?’ Edward asked. For once, he spoke to Johnathan, not with anger or authority, but with fear.
‘What do you need me to do?’ Johnathan asked.
He took a deep breath. ‘I have heard whispers that Lori lives in the Dead Forest near Northmanni. I didn’t believe the whispers until now. Send spies to the town. They will be looking out for a sixteen-year-old boy, James. Brown hair, brown eyes. Belle, brown hair, brown eyes, beautiful. Lori, black hair, green eyes. And a dwarf, Henry. I can’t help but feel that he is a part of this all. He has a personal vendetta against me. Send them, the boy and Belle must not be harmed. Lori is dangerous, so they cannot make themselves known.’ Johnathan bowed and left the room to find spies to bribe with gold.
‘Majesty, the king would like to know about the trade deal with Forosh,’ a guard said who entered the room.
‘I could not do it,’ he admitted. ‘I will go over there again in one month. In the meantime, I have much bigger things to do. Johnathan will be head of trade in my absence.’
The Enchanted Kingdoms (Haunting Fairytales Series Book 1) Page 14
