Ruby Treasure (The Tales of Happily Ever After Series Book 2)

by K. E. Drake

  Ruby herself looked like a shimmering star with her long, red hair cascading loosely to her waist and her white satin and tulle, off-the-shoulder wedding dress sparkling like the brightest star in the sky. The delicate gown was trimmed with silver ribbon and adorned with tiny, silver beads which were sewn artfully into the bodice. The snow-white fabric of her skirt was styled with multiple layers of tulle and satin to create a light, wispy skirt which fell just above her ankles for her glass slippers to be seen.

  A half an hour after Ruby and the prince shared their first kiss as husband and wife and he slipped the Night Ruby ring onto her finger, Samuel became distracted speaking with King Roland of Kently, who had traveled to the neighboring kingdom to attend his friend’s wedding. The king’s younger brother, prince Jeremiah, had stayed behind at their palace in Kently.

  Ruby received the young king’s well wishes and exchanged pleasantries soon before politely leaving the two men to converse. She searched through the crowds of gentlemen and ladies at the reception, eagerly scanning the sea of unfamiliar faces until she spotted the back of a familiar young woman.

  The woman had long, dark-brown hair and wore an elegant gown of midnight-blue. The man standing at the woman’s side had a head of rich, chocolate-brown curls and wore fine clothes of silver and black.

  Ruby laughed and threw herself at the woman, causing the lady to lurch forward at the startling onslaught. “Oh, Mel, I’m so glad you could come!” the redhead squealed in excitement, hugging her friend fiercely before finally releasing her.

  “Ruby!” Melody Monroe gasped, her cheeks burning as her husband and the nobleman they spoke to both ran a hand over their mouths in a futile attempt to hide their broad grins and muffle their amused chuckles.

  “I’m sorry, Mel,” Ruby apologized, though she too laughed softly. She then looked to the two men and smiled brightly. “I need to borrow my friend. If you’ll excuse us.” She grabbed Melody’s hand and pulled her away from the crowd. “I just had to talk to you, Mel. I’ve missed you so much.”

  Melody gave a genuine smile and wrapped her arms around her in a real hug. “I’ve missed you too. I’m sorry we were late. Lyall has been awfully busy with business recently.”

  “That’s all right. I’m just glad that you made it.” Ruby beamed as she pulled back from the hug. “Did anyone else come?”

  Melody shook her head. “No. My father stayed behind to manage the estate in Lyall’s absence, and my mother sends her apologies that couldn’t make it for Prince Samuel’s wedding. She couldn’t find time to get away from the palace. She sends her regards.”

  “I understand,” Ruby nodded as her eyes swept over the crowd again and she spotted Jenni Newport a few paces away. The young maid wore a pretty dress of lilac-purple, and she stood beside a handsome, young man with thick, brown hair so dark it appeared almost black. The young man, Lord Dominic, smiled down at Jenni as she said something to him. He slipped an arm around her waist and pressed a loving kiss on the top of her head.

  Jenni noticed Ruby watching and her eyes lit up. She waved excitedly before she held up her left hand and pointed to a glittering, diamond ring on her third finger.

  Ruby giggled and smiled sweetly in return to Jenni. Her eyes continued their search through the gathering and she saw Lianna a short distance away, sitting on a smooth stone bench in front of a small garden blooming with soft-pink peonies and scarlet-red roses.

  Lianna wore her best dress for her stepsister’s wedding, a dress with a pale pink bodice, short sleeves, and a soft, pink and white striped skirt. She looked into the crowd with a hint of wistful sadness, seeming to not be paying attention to the handsome, fair-haired nobleman who stood at her side eagerly speaking to her.

  Ruby heart hurt for her younger stepsister before turning back to Melody. “My stepmother and Lianna came, but Lia told me that Cora refused to come at all.”

  “I’m sorry, Ruby...” Melody began but trailed off. She arched a brown and then smiled at something behind her friend.

  Ruby tilted her head at Melody and began to glance back over her shoulder, but she gave a squeal as she was swept off her feet and twirled around in a circle.

  Samuel then came to a stop and grinned at Ruby and then Melody. “There’s my beautiful wife, speaking to the lovely woman who could have been,” he teased and kissed Ruby’s cheek. “Hello, sweetheart.”

  “Hello.” Ruby giggled with dizzy giddiness as she beamed up at him.

  Samuel set Ruby back on her feet on the cobblestones.

  Lyall Monroe came up to his wife’s side when he parted ways with the other noble man. “You know, you may have been the one to court her, but I was the one that won her heart. The best man won,” Lyall jested good-naturedly.

  “All went as it should.” Samuel laughed and gave Lyall and Melody a formal bow. “If the princess had accepted my courtship, I never would have met this beautiful young lady and my heart never would have known true love.” He pulled Ruby close into his side and sweetly kissed the top of her head.

  Both women blushed at their husbands’ words.

  “Indeed. And I congratulate you on your marriage, Your Highness,” Lyall told the prince and slipped an arm around Melody’s shoulders. She blushed deeper and stepped out of his grasp.

  Samuel chuckled. “There’s no need for formal titles. We’re all royalty here.”

  Lyall’s face twisted into a scowl, causing the rest of them to laugh.

  “If you will excuse us,” Samuel said, bending at the waist in a bow.

  “Prince Samuel, Princess Ruby,” Melody bid warmly and Lyall offered his arm to her. She took it and together they disappeared into the crowd.

  Ruby looked to Samuel, but before she could say anything, he took her hand in his with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and swept her away from the crowds. She giggled as he led her off to the side of the palace and stopped next to one of the stone watchtowers that sloped out of the palace wall. They were separated from the guests and even the hum of the party was just a whisper on the breeze. Not even the silvery glow of the moon’s light reached them where they were. They were alone.

  “What are you doing?” Ruby asked with a breathless smile before Samuel captured her lips in a sudden, warm kiss.

  She sighed contentedly against him and slipped her arms around her husband’s neck, gently responding to his kiss.

  “We need privacy,” Samuel muttered in the second that he pulled back from Ruby before kissing her again. He tightened the grip of his arms around her waist and pulled her firmly against him before Ruby felt her feet being lifted from the ground.

  She gasped and broke the kiss. She glanced down at the ground below them, which grew further away as they floated straight up into the air, safely hidden within the cover of the shadows. “Now what are you doing? You’re going to be seen,” she lightly scolded him as he took them even higher.

  “I said we needed privacy.” Her husband grinned handsomely as they floated up near the roof of the palace and then in through a wide, open window.

  Ruby glanced over her shoulder to look around the spacious room. It had a dark, high-polished, wooden floor and crimson-red walls. A large bed with dark-red covers stood in the left corner, and a wide, red and gray stone fireplace with a crackling fire already lit greeted them from the middle of the right wall.

  Ruby looked back to Samuel. “Where are we?”

  “This is my room.” Samuel grinned mischievously, making Ruby’s heart flutter. He pulled her closer and began trailing tender kisses up the side of her neck.

  “We’ll... we’ll have to be back soon,” Ruby sighed softly, feeling tingling shivers rush up her arms as Samuel’s lips found the bottom of her left ear.

  “I know,” Samuel growled under his breath. He moved his lips from her ear and placed lingering kisses along the delicate line of her jaw until his lips found hers again. “I love you, my sweet princess,” he whispered, his lips brushing over hers.

  Ruby smiled. “And
I love you, my sweet prince.”

  Samuel grinned and then lowered his lips on hers again, slowly and lovingly kissing his love, his princess and his wife.

  They had found a priceless treasure and a new adventure in each other.

  Later that night, Lianna Trent sat curled up on a cushioned bench on the balcony outside of her guest room at Avon’s palace. She rested her folded arms on the smooth, stone railing as she gazed up at the silver stars twinkling like flawless diamonds in the midnight sky.

  A cool wisp of air danced past her, rustling the stray curls that slipped from the loose braid holding the soft curls of her strawberry-pink hair in place. Lianna tugged her blanket tighter around her shoulders and breathed a small sigh at the familiar weight on her heart, remembering the first time she and Reece Daniels spent the night under the stars.

  It had been five years ago. She had sneaked out of the estate after everyone had gone to bed and went to meet Reece outside of the house where he had laid a blanket out on the grass for them. They had laid down side by side on the old quilt and talked for hours, enjoying the peaceful quiet as they watched the clear night sky and counted every star within sight.

  Each night, as the sun began to bring the first rays of light to the sky, Reece would leave her to help his father at the bakery, but he always left her with a promise that he would see her again, and he always did. Until their last farewell.

  Lianna cherished the sweet memories of every precious moment she and Reece spent together. They were the only things that had kept her from losing hope when he disappeared almost four years ago.

  A tear fell from Lianna’s eye and she quickly brushed it away. Another small sigh slipped past her lips and she rested her chin upon her hands on the rail, glancing up at the full, silver moon. Somehow, deep inside, she felt that Reece was looking at it too.

  A glimmer of hope renewed within her heart at the thought. The corners of her lips turned up in a soft smile and she gave a soft whisper to the sky. “Good night, Reece.”

  Reece Daniels blew out a heavy breath and picked up the empty water canteen that lay next to his pallet on the ground inside of his tent. He ducked out of his tent into the crisp night air and walked through the bandit camp. He moved around the dying embers of the camp’s main fire and passed the band’s captive, a woman who slumbered with her hands and feet bound by cords of rope.

  Reece then approached the night patrol and briefly held up his empty canteen, nodding to the two men who stood posted on night watch over the bandits’ camp before he slipped out, disappearing into the surrounding forest.

  Using only the pale moonlight that streamed through the canopy of leaves overhead, he made his way to the stream near the camp, his booted footfalls nearly noiseless on the uneven forest floor. Almost four years now under the tutelage of Ryder, the leader of the Hoods, had taught him to move without a sound.

  Reece came out the other side of the trees and stopped at the riverbank. The water shimmered silver under the moonlight as it flowed downstream, and he took a moment to clear his head. He crouched down at the muddy riverside and dunked his canteen into the cool, clear water.

  He lifted his eyes to the full moon and blew out another heavy breath in the quiet of the woods. It was nights like this that he felt the most hollow, like a piece of him was missing, an empty and gaping hole with no possible way to be filled.

  He was all too aware what the constant pain was. He longed for Lianna Trent. He had known that he loved Lianna since the very first moment she had stepped into his father’s bakery eight years ago. While his father was busy in the back of the shop, Reece had snatched one of the still steaming rolls out of its cooling place in a basket and given it to the fair girl.

  Reece heaved a sigh at the memory of the first meeting as he lifted the filled canteen out of the cold water. He replaced the cap and then dried his hands on the untucked tail of his white shirt.

  The pain wasn’t so bad some nights, nights after the Hoods had pulled off another heist and the lingering exhilaration and nerves kept his thoughts occupied, but other nights… the pain would become so unbearable that he couldn’t even sleep.

  Reece desperately longed to see Lianna again, to see her sweet smile, and to spend another night like this one under the stars again, just talking and watching the sky until the sunrise.

  Reece found himself smiling at the now bittersweet memory and looked back up to the bright, silver moon. Somehow, someway, he knew in his heart that she was looking at it too. “Good night, Lianna.”

  Happily Ever After for Some More

  Note From The Author

  Thank you for reading my book. I hoped you enjoyed it!

  If you have a moment, would you consider leaving my story a quick review? It doesn’t have to be much. It can be as short as saying you enjoyed or would recommend this book. If you don’t want to write out a full review, even just leaving it a quick rating would be great!

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  I read and appreciate all reviews and ratings, whether positive or negative. Also, if I can, I’ll give you a shout-out on social media as a thank you!

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  Special Note About Ruby Treasure

  Samuel and Ruby's story isn't over yet.

  In Ruby Treasure, there are a few threads left untied and a few questions left unanswered. I purposefully kept those left in the story because I have another book, a continuation of sorts, planned out that will be the final book in the Tales of Happily Ever After series. The book will occur two years after Ruby Treasure took place, and will follow Ruby and Samuel on one more adventure as they discover more about the mysterious Kings' Jewels.

  In the final book, many questions asked during Ruby Treasure will be answered. What does the jewels’ magic do? How did they get to be where they did? Why was the note Samuel found at the start of the story written in his own handwriting? Will the dragon secret ever be revealed?

  Every loose thread left during the first book will be tied up, and Samuel and Ruby's story, as well as the entire series, will be wrapped up.

  There are also characters and questions that will be further explored throughout the rest of the series. Things like what happened to the jewels after they were stolen by the bandits, the bandit’s terrible plan, delving deeper into the magical system, guardians and sparks, and so much more!

  The Story Behind Ruby Treasure

  I got the idea for this book when I had barely even started writing my first book Beautiful Melody. I had only been writing for a few days at the most and my mind was abuzz with so many ideas for characters and stories.

  I adored Samuel and Ruby even though they were only side characters in Beautiful Melody. I couldn't stop thinking about them until I mentally mapped out their characters, thought up fairy tales, and planned out books for them.

  I created Ruby with Cinderella in mind, or at least quickly decided she was going to be my Cinderella. Samuel, however, was a side character who was a complete blank slate. I knew I wanted to incorporate dragons into my world somehow. It soon came to me that I could add to Samuel’s backstory by having him be one in a long line of dragon shifters. His story pretty much wrote itself from then on.

  The more I wrote Beautiful Melody, the more Ruby’s and Samuel’s stories fell into place. It was when I was working on the scene of the masked ball in Beautiful Melody that I got the idea to pair Ruby with Samuel. The ideas for this book started coming to me immediately,
and that’s how this story came to be.

  I jumped into writing Ruby Treasure immediately after finishing Beautiful Melody. I was sixteen when I started this book in September 2015, and I finished it in February 2016, after much trial and error.

  After completing the first draft of the story, it’s been rewritten and edited about half a dozen times by myself, and it’s been checked over by my two editors a multiple times apiece.

  When I started out writing, I did my writing on a Word document, on a clunky, half-dead computer that was probably older than I was. I was also manually saving my work by backing it up on flash drives. I lost so many pieces of this book due to that faulty system, and I had to rewrite or recreate what was erased from scratch every time.

  The original ending of the story was… bad. I ended up heavily rewriting the last three chapters and writing a whole new chapter to add to the ending. It was worth it. I and my editor, who first pointed out the problem with the ending, were much happier with the final product.

  A few other additional scenes or chapters were added to the story after I had completed the first draft.

  It was a labor of love for sure, but I do and always will love this book with all of my heart, and I hope you loved it too!

  ~Katie Drake

  About K.E. Drake

  K.E. Drake writes stories of love and adventure, all with that perfect happily ever after ending.

  She loves the escapism and happiness she finds when reading, and that’s what she hopes her readers experience with her stories as well. If her books can take the reader away or bring a smile to their face even once, she considers it a success.

  She lives in a small town in Missouri, USA, and she’s mama to her two precious bunnies, Dustin and Phoebe.

  When she’s not writing, or otherwise stretching herself too thin on her many bookish tasks, she spends her time reading, with her family, baking cookies, or binging a newly discovered television series.