Happily Ever After: A Contemporary Romance Boxed Set

by Piper Rayne

  I roll over, taking in the sight of her. The most beautiful princess in any kingdom I’ve ever heard of, my girl sleeps with a furrowed brow – like she still hasn’t fully let go of all that’s happened to her. I wonder, sometimes, if I were to turn the mattress over and pull that pea out, would it be different? In truth, though, I know that it’s Darian’s sensitivities that make her so well suited for her new line of work. Having been a victim of just about everything, it helps her to work with the freaks and monsters. Of her, I could not be prouder.

  Gently moving a stray strand of hair from her eyes, I lean over to kiss her on the forehead. Then, scooting to my side of the bed, I slowly lumber out and into the modest room that takes up a third of our trailer. Today, there’s work to be done. Between a visit to the tailor and the finishing touches on our wedding veranda, my love has left me with a list long enough for three kingdoms. It’s comical how she’s learned to advocate for herself, starting with me. For a guy who never intended on stealing a fairy princess from anyone’s kingdom, Darian’s managed to convince me to do the sort of things I’d never dreamed of. Starting with Regina and my soon-to-be bride’s plan to not only lift but alter the curse, Darian can now be seen by the mortals outside her fairy realm even when her wings are spread out. It’s taken some getting used to but, with the wedding not far off now, the adjustment’s been worth it.

  I move into the kitchen to fire up the coffee, wondering if the costume designer for Lusus Naturae would consider altering my suit. More comfortable with the freaks than ‘normal’ humans in my smaller size, it might be a way to save money. But Darian would disagree. She says she deserves a fairytale wedding and worries incessantly about something going wrong. I reach for a coffee filter, trying not to think about the invitations I sent to the Kingdom of Peabody and how they will be received. There is no way Simon’s brother or any of the others will start anything with me in the human realm. Still, it makes me nervous; the merging of two species at a once-in-a-lifetime event. Whatever, I tell myself. There’s no time to worry about the past now. What’s done is done and there’s too much ahead to think about. I’ll be dammed if Darian doesn’t get what she wants.

  Two days later

  * * *

  “Truly could do it.”

  “No way. What about the twins?”

  “I guess I could try that. They’re used to costume alterations.”

  “Lusus will know what to do,” Darian says, basically ending the conversation.

  I get it. I’m not a dumb man. She wants me to figure it out and quick. There’s no way I can show up to our fairytale themed wedding with three-feet too long britches. If I’m honest, Darian really does have her hands full with the bachelorette party. Oh, how I wish I could be the fly on the wall to see it. It’s comical, really. A batch of female circus freaks and monsters, who, for all intents and purposes, have become our new family, gathered around the main ring with dancing men under the big top.

  I try not to think of my time in captivity and my bride-to-be’s sisters. We never really talked about that. Clearing my throat, I agree with her for the sake of what’s best, grab the pants, and head out into the long, gravel fairground path. Someone will know what to do about fixing them. It’s not like it’s that strange at all, in the circus, for designers to have to make special alterations for a tiny man.

  I’m about six trailers into my walk past Giant’s oddities tent when I bump, smack, into Lizard Man.

  “If it isn’t the man of the hour! How you holding up?” he asks, smiling down at me.

  “I’m good. Trying to stay out of Darian’s—sorry, Morgan’s—way for the most part.”

  “Oh, I know how that goes. Lusus is a disaster too. I keep telling her she’s not even the mother of the bride. She’s all up in a fuss about the big tent. I’m off to get the ringers on it now.”

  “Yeah. I have to find a way to get my pants sized,” I say, holding them up.

  “Try Leslie?”

  “I wasn’t sure if she was back or how much she’d charge for it. You know how she can be.”

  Lizard frowns, scratching his scaly chin. “Bring um to Lusus. She can sew anything. Her mother was a seamstress before they took the show on the road.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t tell her you ran into me.”

  I want to ask why not. But freak code dictates I stay out of it. With another little one on the way, Lusus has been in a mood for ages. But before I can change the subject, Lizard continues, “You sure about this?”

  “About?”

  “Marriage. I mean, it can be a bitch. Me and Lusus have been through everything. Losing the show, getting it back, Dog Boy’s murder spree. All of it. And you seen what happened to Al. Me and him were just talkin’ about it. The single life? That’s probably the one for me. You don’t have to marry her, pal.”

  I want to laugh. He doesn’t know Darian very well. Now billed as the show’s top freak, Morgan Flutterby has a way of getting what she wants. Whether it’s that royal blood or just plain luck, my princess of a bride has a way of pulling shit off. And, in truth, I don’t mind at all.

  “I’m sure. And it’s not like we haven’t been through it all too. Did you ever hear the story of how we met?”

  Lizard nods, scratches his head, and bends down. “I’m not sure.”

  “In her native kingdom.”

  “Oh?” He tilts his head in, like Maria does on the Wheel of Death when Sal’s been drinking. “Do tell.”

  “Well, obviously she isn’t originally of this world. And I was doing some travelling. Selling things from door to door and offering a bit of life coaching.”

  He nods.

  “I ran into a witch. She put a curse on me and the rest? Well, let’s just call it history. Those fairies are ruthless. Locked me up, them fairies. They are the reason, to this day, that I am small. Darian—Morgan—was the only in the kingdom to be nice to me. She basically saved me.”

  Hearing the words come out of my own mouth makes my heart swell. Me and my girl really have done it all. From breaking out of that kingdom, to the witch’s curse and back again just for the sake of logistics, to our shared work in the monster and circus worlds, we have a lot to be proud of. For a princess with no interest in being royal at all, Darian sure is special.

  His lips curl into the type of circle the tiger trainers make the big cats jump through and he lets out a quiet, “wow.”

  “You’ll hear it all at the reception. Lusus insisted we put on a show. But what Darian doesn’t know is that her family will be there too. I’m praying I haven’t screwed it up. Her sister, Lily, has promised me that they’ll be on their best behavior. But, well, she didn’t exactly run off to the circus for nothing.”

  Lizard Man winces. “Oh. Dude. You might want to tell her. I can’t imagine a surprise like that will go over well.”

  I shake my head. “I’m going on gut with this. For as many issues as she has with her native kingdom, they’re still family. If they can just behave and do the right thing, she’ll be glad for it.”

  Nothing Lizard says will change my mind about this. I’ve spent the better part of six months asking questions just to be sure it’s the right choice. I’ve made my trips in and out of Peabody too – just to be sure. When Darian sees her family happy to wish her well in her new world? Well, it’ll be the happy ending she’s worked so hard for.

  “If you say so. I’m pulling for you.”

  “Thanks. See you soon,” I say. And, with that, I head off to Lusus’ trailer, reminding myself about the saying about a happy wife, a happy life. God, I better have this right.

  Night before wedding

  * * *

  Darian

  * * *

  I smile up at Tibby as she gives me her final piece of advice for a bride on her wedding night, as if I haven’t been sharing a mattress with a darn pea under it for ages with Sebastian. It’s hard not to think about what it might have been like had I been force
d to marry Zane back in the Kingdom of Peabody. The idea of Lily giving me this talk makes my stomach turn. At the same time, I miss my sisters. If only they could be here to celebrate; to be okay with me leaving and the whole of it. It’s not like I stole anyone’s crown.

  “Well, then, I’ll be on my way. It was nice tonight. You need to go home and get your sleep.”

  Between Lusus and the rest of the core crew insisting I can’t wake up in the morning with Sebastian because it’s bad luck, I’m not even sure what the rest of the night will hold for me. Still, we’ve agreed to at least meet. We have until midnight to spend together before I basically turn into a pumpkin like Cinderella after the ball. Looking down at my tiny watch, I inhale the cool breeze. We have three hours before saying goodnight.

  I wonder what he’ll think of me, dressed in the finest of gowns Lusus was able to find for me at the back of Leslie’s closet and altered perfectly for a pixie like me. But above all, I wonder more what he’ll think when I finally tell him I’m perfectly okay with him forever losing the curse that changes him from tiny to big and back. We’ve experimented with it, of course. The circus is the perfect place for such things. But having asked him to be little for our wedding, it’ll come as a surprise to him that I won’t mind his human form for the long term.

  It would be such a hypocritical thing. After all the time I have spent with Coming Out Monster and the freaks, I can’t possibly expect him to be anything other than his authentic self. It’s a thing I’ve felt bad about since the beginning, molding him to me. But in that way, I’m human. Spreading my wings high above my head, I wave goodbye to Tibby and remind her one last time about the flowers for the big tent anchors before flying off to find my one true love.

  It’s like a fairytale, only better. It’s not the kind you read about or even what it should have been like in the Kingdom of Peabody. Now, soaring above the circus just under the monster realm, I am truly free. Tomorrow, I will marry the man meant for me and only me. And while I’m sad that I can’t share it with Lily and the others, I am certain this was how it was intended to be.

  Sebastian

  * * *

  We laugh about my conversation with Lizard Man and all warnings my soon-to-be wife has gotten from Tibby and the other female freaks. Perched above the big tent and staring down at the elaborate backdrop Lusus has orchestrated for us on the high fly boards, I hold Darian’s hand and ask her if she ever expected all this.

  “Well, you know. I am a royal princess,” she says, laughing and batting her eyelashes.

  I want to ask her if she has any regrets. While the circus has planned an elaborate event, I can’t imagine that our wedding will be bigger than it would have been had Darian’s marriage united two kingdoms. But the question isn’t necessary.

  “I’m just so glad,” she whispers.

  She doesn’t need to finish. I know what she’s getting at. It’s like that with Darian and me and probably always has been.

  Pointing out the Alice in Wonderland backdrop set up at the entrance of the tent, I ask my bride if she knew about that. She nods, reminding me that she’s a perfectionist and has been kept apprised of every detail.

  “Whispers’ idea,” she says. “We tried to hit every fairytale. It’s neat how it all came together and she managed to stick with the themes. After the ceremony, they’ll open the backdrops for pictures.”

  Excited for what will be a day not of nerves or rethinking commitment, I imagine Giant dressed as the Mad Hatter and Lusus as Maleficent. Darian, of course, is already a royal princess. But me? Who am I to be?

  I frown.

  “What’s wrong?” And then, without much hesitation, she follows me. It’s a trick I sometimes wonder might be tied to the curse or just another thing that makes Darian so special. “You’re the prince. You’re Prince Charming.”

  I tell myself the prince isn’t Zane. Fairytales have been spun and told over and over throughout generations. It was me who first noticed Darian’s sore wings and even cared about that awful pea. Hell, it’s been me sleeping on a lump with her since leaving the Kingdom of Peabody. We’re in this together.

  “Yes. That’s me,” I say, laughing and throwing my bride a wink.

  Wedding day

  * * *

  Sebastian

  * * *

  “Once upon a time, there lived a princess who had run away from her kingdom. One night, there was a rainstorm. Torrid wind and water fell from the sky. The princess, with nowhere to go, knocked on the door of a castle. A queen let her in and told her she could stay for the night. But aware that her own son, a prince by every right, was looking for a bride, she skipped past the royal maids in order to make up the unexpected visitor’s bed. Under it, she placed a pea. A real princess would have particular sensitivities. The next morning, the queen asked the princess how she slept. She told the queen she hadn’t slept a wink. A lump under her mattress had kept her up and bruised her skin. It was then that the queen knew a royal wedding was meant to be,” Giant pauses, smiling at my bride. She is most certainly a sight to behold. He continues, “That, my friends, is only a fairytale but it’s not unlike Morgan and Sebastian’s story. It’s a simple pea and a long journey that has brought them to their happy ending.”

  I remember Darian’s battered wings. Still not used to referring to her as her chosen name – Morgan Flutterby – I can’t help but remember her skipping through the dirt path toward my tiny cage back in Peabody. Never would I have guessed that it was a royal princess who’d take such an interest in little old me. Cursed and nearly doomed to be killed by the fairies, it really is amazing that she and I are here.

  “On this day and under the big tent, it is both my honor and privilege to seal the union not of two kingdoms, but of two breeds. Sebastian, a human, and Morgan a fairy princess, it is a marriage that will merge two realms and tangled histories. For years, there’s been tension between the breeds. But with this marriage, it is my hope that we can begin to move toward better relations,” Giant says. “And, so, ladies and gentlemen, look this way. For while the circus hosts its fair share of both peculiarities and oddities, this moment offers us the same. For it is true love where we find magic as spectacular as any to hail from a flying trapeze.”

  Giant continues his speech and I try not to think of the pea. Darian’s agreed that she will give it to him. Never will she spend another night proving to be anything. Instead, the simple pea will be housed under a glass case with the other oddities. There’s a part of me that will never quite understand why she insisted on going back for it. A token of what she survived in Peabody? A memento from a world she escaped? It’s impossible to know, but I, for one, will be glad to be rid of it.

  Tonight, we’ll sleep on the most luxurious of mattresses in a trailer set up by Lusus herself. Lined with imported silks and even Esmerelda’s favorite crystal lamps, the place is really magnificent. For all the travelling I’ve done, I have to agree with Darian – the circus really is starting to feel like home. Between our work with the monsters and a daily routine we’ve carved out between the realms, for the first time in my life, I feel no need to get out.

  “…travelling the world as a life coach and looking for his one true love. Of course, he didn’t realize it. A man worthy of a true princess would never bother with tests at all. But it was that, her broken wings, that set him apart. He didn’t care if they worked or not. He saw past her flaws. And she the same. Small or large, she took him for what he was. And that, children of all ages, is what we call the very real and fantastical thing of love!”

  I shift my weight to my back leg, wondering when Giant will ever shut up. For as grand of an event as our wedding is, I really just want to be alone with Darian. Since seeing her walk through the makeshift aisle lined with rose petals, I’ve only wanted to kiss her. No different than how I felt between the bars of my cage in Peabody, all of me needs to get to her – to pull her into my arms.

  Darian

  * * *

  Ther
e’s something surreal about knowing my father and sisters’ eyes are on me. I want to look back and wish Giant would hurry it up. While his speech is something I will look back on for years, I can’t understand how they got here – or why. Why doesn’t Father look angry at me? He looks almost – proud? That can’t be. How did he even know? I try to focus on Sebastian, who holds my hand in his, and thank the creator that Simon isn’t here to ruin this for me. This is our moment and I won’t let anyone steal it.

  It’s the wedding of the century – better than any I’d ever have had in Peabody, where forced grins and some historical transfer of crystal balls and deeds would outshine even the bridesmaids. As for mine, they are stunning. Dressed in their favorite fairytale gowns, even the circus’s best clown has managed to outdo the little mermaid.

  My focus shifts back to Giant as he asks Whispers for the rings.

  “I need you to repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed,” he says, tilting his cap.

  Holding out my hand, I smile as Sebastian slips a simple gold band on it. And then, letting my wings free of my back, I do the same for him. In moments, we are one.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife,” Giant says, beaming. “You, sir, may now kiss your bride.”

  He doesn’t have to tell my husband twice. As the crowd of freaks and monsters erupts, Sebastian takes me into his arms. His lips land on mine and I can’t help but sink into my very own happy ending.

  Ten minutes later, Sebastian and I walk hand in hand down the aisle meant to look like a path in Alice’s garden. Stopping to greet guests—dressed in their fairyland bests—we take our time with it. That’s when I see her in the very back row. There is no doubt. Her purple wings are what gives her away – something I heard about for years in the Kingdom of Peabody. Tucked behind her lavender gown, they peek out at the edges of her shoulders. Quickly, I pull up the bottom of my gown, moving into the air effortlessly. “Mom?” the word tumbles right out, like I’ve been saying it for years.