by Emily Deady
Aden turned his unseeing but hopeful eyes back to the older woman.
“It is indeed possible, but after three days . . . I am afraid it is not likely. That kind of magic rarely lasts for an entire day. The broken piece of glass came from your mother, you said?”
“Yes, from a small figurine she treasured.”
“Perhaps the figurine was created with magic. Or perhaps it received some sort of magic from the love that was transmitted through it, or the love that it symbolized for you.”
“Magic works like that?” Ashlin swallowed, her voice thick with emotion. Aden did not know much about Ashlin yet, but his heart went out to her. He hoped that his brother's inviting her into their family would help to restore some of what she had lost.
“No, my dear,” Mistress Cedrice responded, “love works like that.”
Aden saw the two hazy figures that were Onric and Ashlin move closer to each other, and it looked as though their two shadowy shapes had melted into one shadowy shape. For a brief moment, Aden was glad he could not see the sweetness they were showing each other. Ashlin was probably wiping tears from her eyes and Onric was probably kissing the top of her head.
The sound of a light kiss moments later confirmed his suspicions. Aden felt his heart melting despite himself, but his mind was busy working over what they had been speaking of.
“Glass figurine?” he asked. “What happened to the glass rose?”
“Glass rose?” Mistress Cedrice leaned closer.
“I was holding an antique glass rose. It was quite intricate and looked to be a piece from the reign of the Majis queen. I was holding it when . . .” Suddenly, that terrible night flashed through his mind once again, but this time with startling detail. He had been examining the glass rose, taking in the delicate twist of the petals when the room darkened. Seeing Ian in danger, he had jumped across the dais immediately, reaching out towards him with the rose still in his hand. “I was holding it,” he repeated.
“Where is that rose?” Mistress Cedrice said. “It likely saved your life.”
Or cursed it. Was it worth it to still have his life if everything was entirely different? “I do not know what happened to the rose,” he said aloud, keeping his bitter thoughts to himself.
“We have left the ballroom entirely untouched until the new Councilors arrive. I’ll go look for it now!” Onric dashed out of the room.
“Let me come with you, boy,” Mistress Cedrice shuffled after him.
“How are you?” Ashlin asked, after a moment’s pause became awkward.
“Much better since I heard that you said ‘no’ when my brother asked to marry you.” Aden redirected the conversation.
Ashlin laughed, keeping the sound quiet. “I had not realized that was common knowledge.”
“It is not. He just came back here to complain about it afterwards.”
“He did?” Ashlin’s voice held a note of concern.
“I suppose there was less complaining and more . . . being proud of you. He loves you very much.” Aden found it easier to talk so openly when he could not clearly see the other person’s face, or perhaps it was just that Ashlin was easy to talk to.
“I know he does. And I feel quite unworthy of that.”
“You shouldn’t be. Feel humbled and honored. But you are more than worthy of it. It is his worthiness I have doubts about.” Aden spoke the last sentence with a note of jest.
“Well, you can stop worrying about that. I have never known someone as protecting and respective as your brother. I will not keep him waiting for too long, just long enough to . . .”
She was interrupted by the sound of the door.
“To keep him on his toes?” Aden finished her thought.
“No,” Ashlin whispered back, “to let myself get used to this new feeling of being worthy.”
“Good plan.” Aden whispered back.
“Keeping secrets?” Onric asked. “Without me?”
“No, just picking a good date for your eventual wedding,” Aden responded.
“Oh, well then,” Onric replied. “Carry on.”
Ashlin moved from Aden’s bed toward Onric. “Did you find the rose?” she asked.
“We did,” Mistress Cedrice responded as she entered the room. “And it is most unusual.”
Aden’s heart pounded. “Why?”
The older woman stepped forward and pressed something into his hand. It was long and thin, and smelled overwhelmingly of rose.
“It is no longer a glass rose,” Mistress Cedrice explained. “It has become real. It blocked the attack and lessened the power of the dark magic. As long as this rose is living, I want to believe that there is hope for you.”
“Thank you.” Aden tried to process this new information.
“We should go,” Onric said, “before we wake the entire castle.”
“I will return tomorrow, under the pretext of fitting you for new clothes.”
Aden nodded, rolling the stem of the rose through his clumsy claws. “Thank you,” he repeated.
“Do not lose hope.” The older woman quietly stepped out of the room.
“Good night,” Onric and Ashlin whispered in unison.
Aden nodded his response and watched as the hazy lantern light left the room. He waited for their footsteps to retreat down the hall.
“Wait.” Onric whispered to Ashlin. Their footsteps stopped just outside Aden’s door.
“Thank you for coming tonight,” Onric whispered. “I'm sure you must be tired.”
“It is not as though I have to rise early tomorrow,” Ashlin replied.
“Unlike you, I have a training session with the guard at dawn.”
“It must be so difficult to be a prince.”
“You have no idea.”
Aden pulled a pillow over his head in an attempt to block their conversation from his ears, but it did not stop the sound of the light kiss taking place outside of his doorway.
“We had better catch up to Mistress Cedrice so I can see you safely home,” Onric said a few minutes later.
“Thank you for always doing that,” came the whispered response.
“Doing what?”
“Seeing me safely home.”
“I always shall. That is, until the day when your ‘safely home’ is with me.”
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Acknowledgments
This story, about the power of gentleness, has been on my heart for many years. I hope that this sweet tale of Cinderella learning to be a stronger person brought you comfort and joy.
Thank you to everyone who encouraged me along the way, reading chapters as I wrote them, offering feedback, and sharing excitement. Thank you so much to Amelia, Isa, Mary, Katy, Marta, Laura, Lucia, Marie, and Gianna.
Also, thank you so much to everyone who read along in my email newsletter release. Your thoughts and encouragement each chapter were so fun and helpful!
And a huge thank you to Judith and Marti for keeping an extra eye out for typos and grammar fixes. Thanks to your eagle eyes, I felt confident enough to immortalize this project in print.
(And thank you Ethan, for letting me talk non-stop about fairy tales. You are a national hero!)
But What Happens to Aden?
Available August, 2020.
Preorder here!
Beauty is a curse.
It attracts the basest sort of men, even a beast.
With her father deathly ill, Isabel Bielsa throws herself into their mutual passion: bookbinding. Hiding in the library also allows her to avoid the unwanted attentions of the local self-absorbed noblemen. But, there is only so many times one can read the same book. When the governing council demands her father's skills she happily goes in his stead.
However, her new library assignment is far from private. Prince Aden of Iseldis, cursed into the form of a beast, keeps interrupting her work. With his idealistic standards and comfortable self-righteousness,
she sees him as just another man besotted by her beauty. That is, until Isabel discovers that his curse has also affected his eyesight.
As her feelings for him grow, Isabel nears the end of her assignment. Can she break Aden's curse before the magical attacker comes back to finish him off for good?
Preorder here: www.amazon.com/dp/B08B9XFK2M
About the Author
Emily Deady grew up as an avid reader who hated writing. One day she realized that most authors loved cats and tea, her two favorite things. So, she stopped fighting the inevitable and she began to write. Her stories contain a generous helping of romance with a sprinkle of magic.
She loves growing things in dirt, brewing lightly roasted oolongs, chatting with her real-life hero who patiently listens to all her plotlines, and hitting the trails for a hike in sunny San Diego.
If you would like to connect with her directly, click here join her email newsletter where she has a tendency to give away free stories.