by Matie Cole
It was closure, as well. The end of a terrible saga which had begun the day that Lauren started to worm her way into her father’s life. It put everything to rest at long last, which had needed to happen for far too long. There would still be a lot of regrets surrounding it, a lot of things that Maisie wished could have been different, such as her mother remaining alive. But she could not regret everything too much because it had brought her to Bryson. She might have lived for her whole life not knowing him otherwise.
“I am looking forward to getting back home,” Maisie mused as the smoke thickened above their heads. “I cannot wait to see all the people who I thought that I would be saying goodbye to forever. I am particularly looking forward to seeing Anice. I have missed her during the time I have been away.”
“She is missing you too,” Bryson confirmed. “Although you might have to prepare yourself. You may well be in trouble. She was very upset with you for leaving her without saying farewell.”
Maisie let out a little laugh. “I will take whatever trouble she wants to throw my way. I know that I deserve it. If I had been thinking straight, then none of this would have happened.”
“I simply hope that it does not happen again.” Bryson turned to look at Maisie. “So, now that you have ruined your dress, when shall we replace your dress so that we can get married once more?”
Maisie glanced down at herself. There was no way that she could get hitched in this. Covered in blood and dirt, she looked more of a mess than she ever had done before. It was disgusting, she was horrified at herself. She knew that she would scare people. Much as this was a horror show, letting the world know what she had been through, she did not need reminding of it on the happiest day of her life.
“I would like to get married as soon as possible,” Maisie agreed. “But not looking like I have been through hell. Our wedding day should only be about me and you and the love that we share. We have had too many happy times for it to be tainted. However, if I could get washed up as soon as we get back, and find something new to wear, even if it is not as fancy as this, I would marry you today.”
Bryson was happy with that. “I do not mind what you are wearing. You will always be my angel. Yet if you change your mind while we are on the way back and want to start all over again, I will wait for you. Since I thought that I had lost you forever, there is no time waiting that will feel like too long.”
Maisie leaned up and kissed Bryson delicately, allowing them both to swell up with love as they did. Maisie knew that Bryson was willing to be patient with her, but she was eager and keen to get this day back on track. This was meant to be the happiest day of their lives and she could not wait to fulfil it.
“Let us get back,” she gushed happily at him. “I want to live this day as it was supposed to be lived.”
“Never have I heard better words,” Bryson laughed. “You really are the best thing that has ever happened to me, my angel. If you wish to have the day that we were destined to have then we shall go and do that.”
On the ride home, Maisie leaned fully against her fiancé’s back, smiling to herself in sheer happiness. She spent every moment that she could savoring every part of him. She knew that she would never take this man for granted. Knowing what it was like to live without him, she appreciated him even more.
This man is my hero, she thought to herself, loving how that felt. He always will be.
She had love, real love. Not all of her life had been lucky, just as Bryson’s had not been, but now they were finally about to land on a real bit of luck that they hoped would stay with them forever more.
June was the first one to greet Maisie up on her return, which made sense since they had formed such a strong bond while Maisie was living in the castle. Despite the state of her, June flung her arms around her and hugged her tight. So grateful was she to have her friend back, she did not care about the mess.
“Please, never do that to me again,” June begged. “I was so afraid for you. I did not like it. I did not like those people at all, so I was pleased when Bryson made the decision to go after you.”
June pulled back to finally drink in Maisie’s appearance and gasped in horror. She looked hurt, there was bruising on her face and body from the fighting with both Lauren and Ray which stood out on her fair skin.
“Do not worry,” Maisie immediately insisted, seeing what emotions June was racing through. “I know that I look terrible, but that is what happens when you must fight for your life. I was actually hoping that you would help clean me up as much as possible because I still want to get married today.”
“Today?” June gushed in shock. “Do you not think that you have been through enough today? That is not to say that I cannot make you look beautiful because you are utterly filled with natural beauty, I just do not need you to push yourself. You must be utterly exhausted. You should rest...”
But Maisie’s eyes danced and darted around with delight. “I have never felt more awake in my life, June. Finally, I have all of my memories back. That is the one good thing to have come from today. Finally, I know exactly who I am and what I want. I want to be married to Bryson as soon as possible.”
“I have tried to tell her to rest as well,” Bryson jumped in with an amused tone of voice. “But she is headstrong and knows exactly what she wants. Who am I to deny my angel her wedding when she wishes it?”
June could see the intense light within him again. He had been deflated the moment that Maisie walked away from him, she feared that he would never recover again, but his love was back and so was he.
“Then I will see what I can do, Maisie.” She took her friend’s hand and led her inside the castle. “We must get you all cleaned up before Anice sees you. She will not understand that this is how a woman looks like when she is fighting for her life. I hope you will tell me everything that happened. I am intrigued...”
Maisie knew that she could trust June with her story, all of it, even the parts that she still feared made her look bad, so she would tell her everything while she was bathing and washing the nightmare of the day off of her. “I will tell you all of it, but it is not the prettiest of stories...”
“It is always the ugly tales that are more gripping,” June laughed. “I prefer to hear yours. Especially since you are alive at the end of it. Alive and here to tell me all about it...”
“Not everyone got out of this story alive,” Maisie admitted, thinking more of her parents as she made this statement, rather than Lauren and Ray. “But I am sure you have already guessed that.”
“I am sure that a lot has been lost,” June agreed. “But a lot has been gained as well. It is not always the easiest to remember that, but it is very much the truth. We have gained having you here.”
Maisie agreed, because even without her parents, she had her memories of her father and who he really was keeping her going, and the medallion from her mother to keep them alive in her heart. And maybe a time would come when she would visit her father’s kingdom once more to see if there were more trinkets, she could keep to have her family with her. But for now, she was satisfied with what she had. There were positive fragments in her story, and she could hold on to them at least.
Chapter 23
Anice could not wait until Maisie was dried and dressed before she saw her. The poor young girl had been on an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, from the happiness of the wedding to the upset when Maisie was taken away from her, so she needed to lay her eyes upon her to know that she was here for sure and staying as well. Maisie did not mind, she was keen to see Anice as well.
“Rose!” Anice ran up to Maisie and jumped into her arms. “I love you, Rose.”
“Miss Anice, have you forgotten? Her name is Maisie. She has her memories back,” June said.
But Maisie shook her head and laughed. “I will always be Rose to Anice. I do not mind that.”
A tear ran down her face as they hugged so tightly it was like they would never let go, but for the first time in a very long ti
me, it was a happy tear. She did not know what she was thinking when she left. How did she assume that she could be away from this little princess forever? Even if the tale that Lauren and Ray had been telling her was accurate, she could not have stayed away for good. It would not have worked.
“You are going to stay now, Rose?” Anice asked with nothing but concern in her voice. “You are really going to marry my father this time? Because I want you to be my step mommy. I do.”
Huh, it was funny. To Maisie, the concept of a stepmother had always been a truly evil one because of Lauren, but that was what she would be to Anice once the wedding was complete. Maisie had not considered it this way at all, but now that she was thinking it she knew that she would do better. Anice deserved someone so much better than what she was given, and she could do that for her. She could be the loving stepmother, the one who cared about Anice as if she were her own child.
“I want that as well,” she replied thickly through the emotion. “So, of course I am going to stay.”
“And I have a feeling that there might be another child added into the mix soon,” June declared with a wink. As she glanced at Maisie’s belly, she grabbed on to it, almost protectively as if there was a life growing in there. “I am usually very good at sensing this sort of thing. So, a family, you will be.”
Was that the reason she had become so sick on the journey? Because she was carrying a child who did not want to be ripped away from his or her father and sibling? It was all too possible, which made it even scarier the fact that Maisie almost walked away from everything without looking back. She nearly put herself in a terribly precocious situation. Thankfully, everything had worked out just as it should.
“Well that would be wonderful,” Maisie said with a grin. “I would love nothing more. This castle and these lands are the only place where I would like to have my family, so that is wonderful news.”
“Then why did you leave?” Anice demanded. “Why did you go with those people?”
Maisie was not sure how she could explain the complicated situation to such a young girl. It was all so messy. But she also did not want to be dishonest about anything. “I thought I owed them something. I was trying to do the right thing, but as it turned out the right thing would have made me very unhappy.”
“The things that make us happy are the right thing.” Anice nodded determinedly. “It makes sense.”
If only the world was that straight forward. But Maisie hoped that here she would be able to make it as close as possible to that for Anice. She would not be able to shelter her from all of the pain in the world, that was impossible, but she would certainly give her a better life than she had been through. A better stepmother and role model at the very least. Not someone with murder always on the brain.
“Speaking of happiness,” Maisie continued. “Do you think that you could help me pick out a dress for the wedding? The one that I was originally going to wear got all torn up as I came back here.”
“Oh, no!” Anice smacked her hands to her cheeks in shock. “But you looked so beautiful in that dress.”
“I think that I might even look better in one you pick out for me. What do you think?”
“Are you sure about this?” June whispered as Maisie stepped back and let Anice loose on her clothing. “You are allowing a five-year-old girl to pick out the dress for the most important day of your life?”
“I am certain,” Maisie nodded determinedly. “It is not about what I wear or even what I look like at all. It is about declaring my love for Bryson in front of the world and sealing myself to him forever more, exactly where I wish to be. I will be a part of his family, including Anice, and I want her to feel that.”
June smiled at her kindhearted friend, noticing that her hands remained rested protectively on her stomach. She was sure that her instincts were right on this one, and that in some months’ time, there would be another member of the clan. That would be exciting news for everyone, especially the MacGregor family.
“You are a lovely woman, Maisie,” June told her in all seriousness. “We are all so lucky to have you here and I am so happy that you decided to return to us. Of course, I am very sorry about the circumstances that led up to it, but life is much better with you around. I love that we now get to keep you here for good.”
Maisie held her friend’s hand and smiled back. “There is nowhere else that I could ever be.”
She knew that she meant that now, she meant it all because she had all of her inside of her brain. Everything that she had been through had brought her to this point, and it was perfect.
The wedding was beautiful. So much nicer and more poignant than Maisie ever could have imagined. Almost having the day snatched away from them made them appreciate it so much more. Especially Maisie. She now knew that her life could have been totally different, but this was what she wanted. In the sweet green dress that Anice had picked out for her as well, she felt like the person she was always meant to be. This version of her was always there inside of her, she had only just been set free.
All the guests loved it as well. There was not a dry eye in sight. Not a single person moaned that the wedding was back on again, they were all simply pleased for things to be back the way they were meant to be. Everyone had been sad to see Maisie go, she was the ray of sunshine that they all needed so desperately.
Bryson, as soon as the ceremony was over, felt compelled to make a speech. He needed everyone to see just how much this beautiful woman meant to him. The ceremony alone was not enough.
“Thank you everyone for joining me here today,” he boomed over the silence, causing everyone to look at him. “I know that it has been a hard day because the initial wedding that we were supposed to have was cruelly shaken apart by people who we now know are liars and killers...” Gasps raised up around the room. It only occurred to Bryson at that moment everyone had not been fully aware of all the details pertaining to what happened when Maisie was away. Without wanting to get into all the details and make the day about Lauren and Ray who were definitely not welcome, he continued talking rapidly. “But we have regained our day and our love. We have been lucky, and that will always stay with me. I will always be grateful for what has happened here today, and I do hope that it offers you all an insight into how kind life can be. We can all get caught up sometimes in life being cruel, when that is not always the case, as this has proven. So, we can all remember what has happened here today when times are dark. Maisie will be our symbol of hope.”
He held Maisie’s hand and raised it into the sky causing everyone to erupt with glee. At least for today, they would all be caught up in positivity, into how incredible life could be, which was the sort of vibe that Maisie and Bryson knew that they always wanted to spread. Life did not get better than this.
The wedding soon rolled into a party. Everyone was in the mood for a celebration so it was clear that it would last into the night. Despite Maisie’s long and tiring day, she wanted to join in anyway, but it came to a time, not long after Anice had crashed out asleep, that she felt the need for rest as well. There was no denying that the events of the day and the injuries she had sustained had taken it out of her.
“I am sorry,” she whispered into her very happy husband’s ear. “I think I might need to go to bed soon.”
She thought that he might be upset with her because he wanted to continue on with the fun and he wished to have his new bride beside him at the same time, but he simply nodded and grinned at her.
“Oh, Maisie, my angel. I have been waiting to hear those words all night long from you. It is time for us to retire to our chambers. I do not believe that you have ever seen inside my bedroom before...” Maisie nodded realizing that was the truth. Anything that had ever occurred between them had been snatched moments in the room where she was sleeping at the time. “Well, now it is your room as well.”
Excitement began to brew inside of Maisie as they said their goodnights to the rest of the clan, who clearly had no intention of
ending the party any time soon, and it grew as they headed back inside the castle. She no longer felt the same weariness as before, it was more a tingle of thrill. Desire, perhaps. Maisie was happy to know that as Mrs. MacGregor, life was going to be a little different, and she was also thrilled to be allowed deeper into Bryson’s life. But the feeling sparkling at her core was the intense throb of need. She wanted this man, even more so now that he was her husband.
“You know, June said to me that I might have a baby in my belly,” she declared, testing the waters, just wanting to see how Bryson would react. “She believes that she is good at seeing these things.”
Bryson span her around immediately and planted a kiss up on her lips. She could not stop herself from giggling at his glee. Thank goodness the idea of raising a child with her did not frighten him.
“I certainly hope so. I would love to have a baby with you,” he declared proudly. “Otherwise, I will have to make sure that a baby is within you soon enough. I am ready for this family to grow and expand. I feel like I have so much love inside of me that we need children, just so I have somewhere for it to go.”
Maisie’s life suddenly got a lot bigger in her mind, and a lot more exciting as well...
Chapter 24
“W ow, your bedroom is amazing,” Maisie gasped as soon as she saw the inside of the bedroom. “And you already have a lot of my clothing within here. You have been preparing for me.”
“Of course, I have.” His hands circled her waist, and he pulled her closer to him. “I have been preparing for this moment ever since I met you. I am simply grateful that we may now have this much needed time together. I was not sure that I would ever be able to step into this room again with you gone.”
As Maisie span around and she laced her fingers through his, guilt raced through her body. She would have left him in a state of despair had she not returned to him. In doing what she thought was the right thing, she would have upset the people who truly cared about her. Never again would she make that mistake. This was the only place in the world that she wanted to be.
