Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  “I read up about magical runes in my search for answers before so perhaps that’s what we’re looking at. Maybe we can find out more about these ones specifically,” Cassian said with a sigh and I could tell he was wishing that we’d been able to get more answers from my haul.

  Cassian opened the bottle of pills and tipped them into his palm. He inspected them for several seconds but they were white and nondescript. They could have been for anything. Or nothing. “I suppose there’s no way of knowing what these do,” he admitted finally.

  “Unless we take one?” Kyra suggested. “They might be tasty?”

  “Erm, no, Kyra. I don’t think we should be sampling mystery pills found in a Shaitan’s pocket,” Cassian disagreed as he tipped the pills back into the bottle.

  “Oh well, it was worth a shot,” I said with a shrug, turning my attention back to my food.

  “Maybe we can glean something from the runes on this bone if we find a way to translate them,” Cassian said hopefully and I nodded in agreement, though I felt the chances of us managing that were fairly slim.

  A knock came at the door and Cassian eyed my haul on the table with concern. I tossed a napkin over it, rolling my eyes at him and he headed to the door.

  “The names have been drawn for the next bout, sire,” a servant said, looking at me as he held out a letter. I motioned for Cassian to take it, not bothering to rise from my seat as he dismissed the servant and moved towards me, breaking the seal.

  “It’s Hariot,” Cassian revealed with a sigh of relief. “That’s good. If you can beat him it buys us more time before you have to face Kahn.”

  “I get the feeling you don’t think I can beat Kahn,” I said, not bothering to hide my irritation at the idea.

  Cassian didn’t deny it and I got to my feet, feeling a surge of annoyance that yet another of these so called friends of mine didn’t think I was good enough.

  Which is exactly why I’ve never bothered to have friends before now. When it comes down to it, no one will ever truly think I’m good enough.

  I got to my feet and headed for the door before I let my anger spill over. “I’m going to the bathhouse,” I said quickly, not wanting to sit about and discuss the fight with Hariot. I’d beat him easily enough and I’d do it fighting my own way. I wouldn’t be pretending to be anything I wasn’t in the ring anymore.

  Before Cassian or Kyra could say anything to stop me, I made it outside and closed the door between us. I headed down the corridors quickly before stepping out into the blazing sun of the gardens.

  It was barely mid-morning but the sun was already unrelenting. By the time we got to the bouts it would be hot enough to fry an egg on a rock.

  I let myself drown in self pity for a little while as I walked, knowing I needed to let these pathetic feelings run their course before I could bury them again where they could hide away for as long as humanly possible.

  I passed the spot where I’d met Rapunzel last night and a smile tugged at my lips as I remembered the taste of her kisses. I shouldn’t have been looking at any other women anyway. I had the Princess of Osaria wanting me for her own and my mind should have been fully focused on her. I just hadn’t wanted to see her as mine yet because I still had to make it through the pageant. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, fighting Kahn was going to be hard as hell.

  But I had to believe I could do it or I’d be going into the fight with it already lost.

  My thoughts shouldn’t have been on him anyway. I needed to focus on defeating Hariot. He wasn’t as intimidating of an opponent as Kahn but I knew the sea dog would be hard enough to beat all the same. He wouldn’t make it easy for me. Though I was confident I’d take him out.

  As I thought about the Captain, the man himself stepped into my path.

  “Count Nazari,” he said, his voice filled with dislike as he looked me over.

  “I’m not in the mood right now,” I replied with a sigh. “Can we just save the bullshit for the ring?”

  “I think not,” he replied with a smirk.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I felt someone approaching from behind me and I spun to face them a moment too late.

  Four of Hariot’s men lunged at me, snatching my arms into their grip and fighting to subdue me.

  I growled in outrage, thrashing against their hold as I fought to free myself from them, but I’d been too slow. My pity party had distracted me from my surroundings and I’d managed to walk right into this trap.

  Asshole!

  One of the guards kicked out the backs of my knees and forced me to kneel before the Sea Captain whose face had come alive with pleasure as he gained this power over me. I’d wandered into a secluded part of the walled gardens and I had no doubt that trapping me here hadn’t been accidental.

  “Let’s see how much the Princess likes you without your pretty face,” Hariot hissed before swinging a fist straight into my jaw.

  I grunted with pain as I absorbed the blow but refused to cry out.

  I spat a mouthful of curses at him which were vile enough to make a whore blush and heat climbed up his neck.

  His men held me firmly as he hit me again and again. I tasted blood and pain splintered through my skull.

  A sickening crunch sounded as my nose broke and a deep hatred built in me as I was blinded by a mixture of blood and darkness which spiralled closer to sweeping me away on it.

  This bastard was going to beat the shit out of me while I couldn’t fight back and leave my face destroyed while I lay in a pool of my own blood.

  I was going to kill him.

  I was going. To. Kill. Him.

  I thumbed through Rapunzel's contract with a grin capturing my mouth.

  Brilliant.

  Every exit was covered. There was no loophole, no flaw. It was perfection and pride filled me that she'd done this for herself. That if Aladdin won the pageant he'd hand her the throne. And I'd be the first to bow at the feet of the Empress.

  I flipped it shut with the balloon in my chest slowly deflating. I knew what this meant. I'd already known, but now it was outlined in black and white; a fate I had to bring about, no matter what I felt personally. Aladdin had to win this competition. He had to marry the Princess of Osaria. And my heart would have to find a way to cope with that.

  It was for the greater good. Which was what I'd always been good at anyway. Self sacrifice for others. For my kingdom.

  So why does it feel like dying?

  “Cassian!” Kyra gasped and I snapped around in alarm, her hand pressed to the swirling letter A marked on her wrist. “Aladdin's in trouble.”

  “Where?” I demanded, snatching up my scimitar and attaching it to my hip in a hurry. Kyra ran to the door and I darted after her.

  “Follow me,” she urged, charging down the corridor ahead of me.

  My heart crashed against my chest as we moved at a fierce pace, storming out into the gardens and racing down the winding paths.

  “Where Kyra?” I pressed.

  Shit, I can't lose him now. He has to win the pageant. What the hell has he gotten himself into?

  “This way!” she called, darting through a rose garden and speeding toward a high wall on the other side.

  I powered after her and almost crashed into her as she halted beyond a low archway.

  She pointed and I turned. Aladdin was pinned against a wall by four men while Hariot went to town on his face.

  Not his face you asshole!

  He wasn't conscious enough to make a wish so I charged forward and rammed my shoulder into Hariot so hard that he smashed into the ground with a puppy dog yelp. I rounded on his men, unsheathing my scimitar with a snarl of rage.

  One of them released Aladdin and lunged at me. He met the blunt end of my sword, the hilt breaking his nose and he stumbled away.

  Another one took a swing at me and I almost laughed. I was an Osarian trained guard. A damn warrior. And this lot didn't even look to be proper guards, they were more likely
sailors from one of Hariot’s ships, nowhere near as well trained.

  I caught the man by the throat, slamming him to the wall and squeezing the fleshy meat of his neck joint. He passed out as I pinched the right spot and I turned to find the other men pulling Hariot to his feet and backing up.

  Aladdin was slumped down on the ground and Kyra knelt beside him, brushing the bloody hair from his eyes.

  I pointed my sword at Hariot, baring my teeth. “You don't know who you're messing with, Sea Lord. You come near my liege again and I'll cut you from navel to neck.”

  Hariot rubbed his bloody fists, his face set in a scowl. “He acts like he's already won. Tell your ill-mannered Count to take his whore and go back to the mongrel mother who birthed him.” He spat at my feet and heat raised in my blood, scorching and deadly.

  I snapped, lunging forward and snatching his collar in my fist. His guards caught my arms but I wasn't letting go. “Get out of my sight,” I snarled. “You'll be gone by this evening, Captain. Mark my words. Count Aladdin Nazari will repay you for his injuries in the ring.”

  I shoved him away from me and he stumbled into his men, brushing his shirt down and hurrying away from me like a wounded animal. One of them scooped up the guard I’d rendered unconscious and they all jogged away after Hariot.

  “-and another thing!” Aladdin slurred. “You fishy fish fondler.”

  “He's gone,” I muttered as Aladdin peered through his puffed up eyelids.

  My heart twisted as I knelt before him, taking his chin in my hand and inspecting the damage.

  “Wish it away, I can't bear it,” Kyra breathed, her fingers brushing over his cheek.

  “Don't touch me. I don’t want you touching me anymore.” He waved her back.

  “Oh,” she whispered and I frowned at his dismissal of her.

  “You can't wish it away,” I said, releasing his chin and wiping my bloody hand down my shirt. “Hariot will suspect something if you show up to the fight without these injuries.”

  “Well Hariot can go to hell.” He leant forward with a groan of pain and spat a wad of blood on the ground. A tooth came out and he gasped in horror, snatching it up.

  “Kyra I wish my injuries were healed,” he blurted.

  “No!” I tried but his face returned to normal in an instant, the tooth in his hand gone, the blood evaporated.

  He took a breath and pushed himself to his feet, snatching hold of my arm and dragging me up with him. “Hariot can't mention my face without revealing what he did to me.”

  I nodded, realising he was right.

  Kyra moved to my side and remained a foot away from Aladdin.

  He was such an asshole sometimes. But maybe this meant he was actually fully committing to Rapunzel at last. That didn't mean he had to cut Kyra off so brutally though. She was only just adjusting to the world as it was.

  Aladdin ran a hand over his face as if checking it for imperfections. I noticed the tiny scar in his eyebrow that Kyra had mentioned.

  “How'd you get that?” I pointed to it and he smacked my hand away.

  “Get what?”

  “That scar.”

  “What scar?” He flashed me a grin that said he wasn't going to tell me and turned away, striding back through the garden. He could have wished it away, so I wondered why he'd opted to keep it.

  A cheer went up in the distance and my heart stammered. “Shit, the first brawl's started.”

  We quickened our pace, weaving through the immaculate gardens. We soon arrived at the ring, slipping into the edge of the crowd and dropping down onto a couple of cushioned benches. A servant held up a folded pile of clothes at the base of the seating area, looking flustered.

  “Toss them up!” Aladdin called to him, holding his arms above the heads of the nobles before him.

  The servant hesitated a moment before doing as he'd been ordered and Aladdin caught them out of the air.

  “You're not going to-” I started but Aladdin whipped his shirt off in answer. “Apparently you are.”

  The noblemen around me gasped and shielded their wives’ eyes as Aladdin dropped his pants. His bare ass was two inches from my face and I jerked away with a grimace.

  “By Osaria, Aladdin,” I growled.

  He chuckled, tugging on the white linen clothes and dropping back into his seat. I eyed the stricken faces around me and my discomfort gave way to amusement.

  What do I care if he acts like a caveman now? They're not going to kick him out of the pageant for it. And the look on the noblemen's faces is priceless.

  I spotted Hariot on the opposite side of the ring, looking at Aladdin's perfectly healed face in utter confusion.

  I couldn't help but grin at his stumped expression.

  You can enjoy figuring that one out, Captain Shitbag.

  Kahn and Prince Gurvine were circling each other in the ring, but it didn't look like any punches had been thrown yet.

  Captain Marik stood on the edge of the circle, watching closely as they stalked around one another. The Prince looked a little pale as he prepared to attack an opponent three times his size and my heart went out to him. He might have been well-built for a teenager, but in front of Kahn he was a mouse before an elephant.

  The crowd called out to them, the excitement over this fight clear. My gaze trailed to Rapunzel and I noticed the Emperor was missing from the royal podium. The Queen had taken his throne and that set my blood pounding in all kinds of nasty ways.

  Gothel didn't look smug like I expected, but on edge. She kept wringing her hands and checking her pockets. I frowned at the strange display then an OHH! sounded from the entire crowd and my attention was dragged back to the fight.

  Prince Gurvine was on the floor, falling under the onslaught of Kahn's iron fists. Over and over and over until everyone in the crowd was wincing.

  Rapunzel looked disgusted as the Prince's blood splattered the sand. He rolled away at last, slamming a kick into Kahn's knee. He stumbled backwards and Gurvine got up, hurrying to the edge of the ring as he wiped the continuous flow of blood from his nose.

  “Come on my liege!” one of his servants called to the Prince.

  An encouraging cheer went up in response and Gurvine regained a little of his confidence as he began circling the ogre once more. And since Kahn good looks had been stripped away again, he really did look like an ogre.

  “Hey are they letting vegetables enter the pageant now?!” Aladdin suddenly called out to Kahn. “How is a potato going to produce any heirs?”

  Laughter crackled through the crowd and Kahn snarled in a rage, his neck turning a dangerous shade of purple. He turned to locate Aladdin in the audience and the Prince seized the advantage, leaping into the air and landing a hard punch to Kahn's jaw.

  Kahn staggered aside then whipped his arm out, catching Gurvine in the ribs and sending him tumbling to the floor. My gut clenched as he stalked toward the Prince with murder in his gaze.

  Aladdin rose from his seat, cupping his hands around his mouth, “Kahn! You couldn't satisfy a cabbage let alone a Princess!”

  Kyra jumped up, seeming excited by the game. “Your father was a root vegetable!

  Aladdin released a loud laugh and the crowd fell into hysterics. Rapunzel joined them, wiping tears from under her eyes and Gothel threw her a death glare.

  Kahn's head spun toward Aladdin again, his teeth bared in fury. Hope swelled in my chest as Gurvine jumped to his feet once more. If Kahn was stupid enough to listen to this bullshit and there was no rule against it, then what the hell?

  I stood up, calling out, “Is that why you're so purple right now, Kahn? Your father was a beetroot?”

  Kahn's eyes swivelled to me at the same moment that the Prince dove onto his back. He pummelled Kahn's fat head with his fists and Gothel's son twisted around in anger, reaching over his head and catching Gurvine by the collar.

  My heart stumbled as Kahn threw him over his shoulder and the Prince whacked into the ground with a crash that shook the earth
. He rolled, avoiding Kahn's haphazard fists as he threw punches blindly. Kahn was shaking, yelling, seeming to lose control of his senses as he lashed out wildly.

  This was his weakness, it had to be.

  Yes yes yes!

  Aladdin gave me a wide grin, elbowing me in encouragement as he hollered, “I heard a broccoli turned you down for a date!”

  Laughter burst from my mouth and Aladdin rested his hand on my back as we both lost it.

  “Stop!” Gothel cried. “My baby needs his medicine!”

  I frowned, sharing a look with Aladdin.

  Medicine?

  Kahn roared to the sky as Gurvine slammed a heavy kick to his stomach. Kahn caught his ankle, flipped him over and the Prince smashed into the ground once more. My laughter fell away as Kahn marched forward and took hold of the Prince's head, shaking him like a dog with a bone. His movements were violent and predatory. My stomach knotted and a breath got trapped in my lungs.

  The Prince hit the ground again and Kahn's hulking form descended on him. Gurvine was face down as blood poured from his shattered nose and Kahn knelt over him, grabbing hold of his hair.

  Kahn lifted his head, his eyes locking on Aladdin as he slammed the Prince's face into the ground again and again.

  Gothel wailed, standing from her throne as she clutched her head in her hands.

  Rapunzel looked to her in fright, her face pale and her lips parted. “Stop this!” she cried.

  Marik had already called time but the crowd was roaring too loudly to hear. Marik charged out into the ring, snatching hold of Kahn's arms but he threw an elbow back and my old captain face-planted onto the ground.

  The crowd fell deathly quiet and Kahn stood upright, slamming his heel down on Gurvine's head. He was so still. The world was achingly quiet and all I could hear was the persistent drip of blood from Kahn's hands. A sound I wasn't sure I'd ever forget.

  Gothel ran down from the podium, gathering Kahn into her arms. Her son was stiff and his eyes glazed. “It's alright baby we'll find your pills,” she murmured soothingly.

  The Prince's attendants were helping him onto a stretcher, but he was so still, certainly dead. His head was a mess of blood and his body a broken heap.