Ahab's Daughter
Page 26
“That night, after midnight, she awoke in bed, hearing an animal scratching at the front door. She gathered her garments and dressed, looking outside. There in the garden was a large silver fox seemingly waiting for her. She walked with caution toward it …”
“Did it bite her?” I interrupted.
“The fox did something she did not expect. He changed into a man. As a man, he walked up to her and then looked up at the sky, searching until he found what he wanted. Taking his hands, he cupped them and raised his arms so the moon appeared to be resting in his palms.
“‘The roses were not enough,’ he said. ‘But here is the moon that I give to you.’
“Quiet and tentative in her response, a slow smile broke across her face in the moonlight.
“He offered his hands to her and said, ‘I have followed you for years and have seen how unhappy you are. Come away with me to the Land of the Fey where you are not married, and I will love you as you deserve for all of your days.’
“She paused a moment, thinking of her sleeping daughter inside and her husband who was away and the loneliness she had suffered for months upon months and then took his hands in hers, feeling his warmth and smoothness.”
***
I fell asleep then and never heard the ending to the story. In the morning, my mother was dead. The physician said she had passed in her sleep from the fever that we both had fought against the whole week. I do not remember any of the events following my mother’s death, as I was with the sickness for days afterward, which father told me nearly took my life. At such a young age, to lose my mother, the difficulties of that time I still carry with me. But I am not here to write solely on my past woes. I have fresh troubles to resolve. Though, if I be honest, a part of me still wishes my mother were here. I miss her. But that is not to be, as I cannot speak to the dead.
Fairy Godmother, I wish I could have told my mother’s story to you in person because I wonder if you have heard of the Silver Fox, or if he is just the creation of my mother’s fertile imagination. You once cared for me and helped me with your magic. It has been nearly four years since you whisked me to the ball, and I met the prince, and my supposed happily ever after took place. Why have I not heard from you?
Since that time, much has happened between the prince and me. In the beginning, his affections were constant and true, but over time, as my usefulness to him declined, so did his attention toward me. His mother, the queen, has waited for me to produce an heir, and I have failed at so simple a task. The prince’s patience with me is gone, and I ponder on what I may have done wrong, only to realize that what he and I once shared is not as solid as I once thought.
I sit here in my many rooms, alone, in the dark of the night by candlelight, using a pen to alleviate my frustration and woes. Will you hear me, my Fairy Godmother? I will go to sleep now because I am weary, and I will hope to dream of better days to come in the warm sun.
Lost, book 1 in the Cinderella’s Secret Witch Diaries series, is now available. Read Lost now!
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More Books by Ron Vitale
Thank you for reading this book. Be sure to check out the other books I have written.
Cinderella’s Secret Diaries
Lost (Book 1)
Stolen (Book 2)
Found (Book 3)
Redemption (Book 4)
The Jovian Gate Chronicles
The Jovian Gate Chronicles (Short Story Collection)
Faith (Book 1)
The Werewhale Series
Ahab’s Daughter (Book 1)
The Witch’s Coven Novels
Awakenings (Book 1)
Betrayals (Book 2)
The Realms Fantasy Series
Dorothea’s Song
About Ron Vitale
Ron Vitale is a fantasy and science fiction author. Influenced by the likes of Tolkien, Margaret Atwood, C. S. Lewis, and Philip Pullman, he has a Master’s degree in English Literature from Villanova University where he studied the works of Alice Walker and Margaret Atwood. For his thesis, he interpreted Walker’s and Atwood’s novels through a psychological Jungian approach by showing how the central female protagonists use storytelling as a means to heal themselves from trauma. He lives in a small town outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and keeps himself busy by writing his blog and on learning how to be a good father to his kids all while working on his next book.
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Copyright © 2017 by Ron Vitale. All rights reserved.
Editing by Kelly Hartigan (XterraWeb) at editing.xterraweb.com
Cover design by Sanja Gombar
For any inquiries about this book, please contact: me@ronvitale.com
Version: November 7, 2018.
Learn more about all of the books written by Ron Vitale at www.RonVitale.com.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
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