by Aron Lewes
Aurora collapsed on the bed and buried her face in the pillow. She couldn’t blame her sadness on anyone but herself. It was her own fault for failing to tell Lyric how she truly felt!
But even if she did tell him, how would he have reacted? If he would have given her the cold shoulder, she would have felt much worse than she did right now.
When the tears came, they wouldn’t stop. She cried and cried and cried, and she wished she had another cup of hot cocoa. She wept into her pillow until reams of snot seeped from her nose.
She wondered what Lyric was doing at the moment. Was he back at his palace yet? What would he be doing tomorrow? Would he be happy? Would he get in contact with one of the many women who allegedly worshiped him?
It was impossible not to worship him. He was beautiful and funny and caring—and frustrating, of course, but Aurora loved that too. She loved everything about him.
Everything.
She would have gladly celebrated an Every Day Parade in his honor. Oh, how pathetic she was!
Her pillow soaked up another wave of tears.
And then there was a knock on the door.
“Go away!” she bellowed into the pillow.
But the person behind the door didn’t go away. In fact, they had the audacity to knock again. With a groan, Aurora raked herself out of bed and marched to the door. She threw it open, and the staunch little butler was standing on the other side. He held out an envelope.
“A letter for you, Your Highness.”
Aurora snatched the envelope and tucked it under her arm. “Thanks.”
“Is there anything you’d like, Your Highness?”
“No. I’m fine.” She flashed the butler a slightly acerbic smile as she closed the door on him. I’ll be in a better mood tomorrow, she assured herself. She knew she was acting a bit rude, and she didn’t want people to get the wrong impression of the new princess. She certainly wanted to make a better impression than Rachelle!
Sighing, Aurora ripped open the envelope. There was a slip of paper inside, where a few calligraphic words were written:
Meet me at the Tower, Under the Moonlight
Aurora felt a strange sinking sensation as she read the words. Her first instinct was the assume the message was from Medea. She was probably coming back to kill her, once and for all. Nevertheless, her curiosity got the best of her. Aurora tossed the empty envelope onto her bed and headed for the tower.
“The Tower” could only mean one thing. Avalon Castle was huge, but it had one enormous keep that towered above the rest. As she headed up the spiral staircase to meet the author of the mysterious missive, her feeling of dread grew stronger.
Or maybe she was nervous? A tiny voice in the back of her head tried to tell her it was Lyric waiting for her at the top of the tower, but she tried to subdue that voice. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Besides, Lyric hated stairs. There was no way he’d climb up a million of them just so he could participate in the romantic rendezvous of her dreams. By the time she got to the top, even she was winded.
Upon arriving, she saw the silhouette of a man standing by the turrets. The moon cast a silvery glaze on his head.
“Hello?” Aurora cautiously approached. “Um... did you give me this letter?”
Lyric turned around. “Well, yeah! Of course I did!”
When she saw his face, her legs nearly melted out from under her. “You’re still here!”
He put his hands on his hips and swaggered toward her. “That’s not a nice way to greet me, is it?”
“No... I mean... it’s... it’s good to see you.” Her head was so muddled, she was surprised she managed to utter any words at all.
“I couldn’t leave yet,” Lyric told her. “Because I was thinking about something.”
“Oh?” Her hands were trembling, so she clasped them behind her back.
“You know how I was saying something about fairy tales? About the evil witch being subdued, and the princess returning home? I said that was like a fairy tale, but I was forgetting something.” Lyric stood directly in front of her, his gaze burning down on her. “The princess always has a prince at the end of those stories, doesn’t she?”
Aurora nodded. “Y-yeah. I think so.”
“Charmaine’s out of the picture, though. And he’s the only prince I can think of. Can you think of any others?”
Aurora shook her head. “No. Not at the moment.”
“See? That’s what troubles me.” Lyric gave his chin a ponderous scratch. “The princess needs to end up with the prince, but there isn’t another eligible prince in sight.”
“No.” She kept shaking her head. “No, there isn’t.”
“The princess never ends up with an emperor, does she? That just doesn’t quite sound right. The princess and the emperor.”
Aurora tried to look away, but Lyric grabbed her chin and coaxed her to look at him. “But the princess shouldn’t be alone...” Lyric continued. “Especially when the princess in question has never been kissed.”
Aurora’s throat was dry. She couldn’t function. She just kept staring into Lyric’s eyes, wondering if she should pinch herself into reality. This was a dream, wasn’t it? He hadn’t even said anything to make her think he was going to kiss her, but her mind was already a mess.
“But the princess in question has conditions. Correct me if I’m wrong.” Lyric let go of her chin, lifted his hand, and tucked a stray piece of hair behind Aurora’s ear. “Aren’t you saving your first kiss for the man you love?”
Aurora nodded. “Uh-huh. I did say that.”
“So, have you fallen in love yet?” Lyric asked. His lips crept into a smile—or was it a grin? “Because I’ve fallen in love. More specifically, I’ve fallen in love with you. And I couldn’t leave without telling you that, because I’m hoping Princess Aurora wouldn’t mind settling for an emperor instead of a prince.”
If she took a running leap off the tower, she swore she could fly. That’s how happy she was. “Actually, I think an emperor is much better than a prince. A prince is so cliché.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Uh-huh. And incidentally... I’ve fallen in love with an emperor.”
Lyric bobbed up and down. It looked like he was restraining a whoop of victory. Without another word, he scooped her up in his arms and cradled her against his chest, but only for a moment. He had other matters to discuss. “You know...” Lyric tipped his head closer to hers. “I think the best fairy tales end with a kiss. Don’t you?”
Aurora nodded adamantly. “I do! I definitely, definitely do.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
Aurora closed her eyes as Lyric’s mouth descended.
And it was a perfect first kiss.
Author's Notes
I hope you enjoyed this book! Aurora Abroad was one of the first books I wrote as an adult, and it was originally published under my own name several years ago. If you like fractured fairy tales, I encourage you to also check out Lady of Locksley, A Farm Boy in Oz and Cinderella & Dragons. (Please note, however, they're a bit more violent and may contain stronger language)
I currently write romance and fantasy under the pen names Aron Lewes and Caylen McQueen. For news on future releases, sign up for my mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/c-PqSH
Thanks for reading!
