by J. E Hanson
Amber appears like a cheap hooker.
My mom sighs, “Rosalie isn’t happy, and I think she dislikes like your girlfriend.”
“Are you trying to tell me that Rosalie likes me now? I doubt it, Rosebud.”
“She will come out, and read you the riot act. She was fine until Amber walked in. You might want to tell her to leave.”
“You can tell Rosalie that I have no intentions on marrying Amber. That should calm your contractions down.”
Everest flirts with his girlfriend. The sick thing is that she flirts right back with him.
“I need your help with her crib,” mom tries to lift a box.
Joey never thinks twice as he picks up the box for her, “I will do anything for you and Rosalie.”
My husband follows my mom upstairs. We watch Amber confront Everest, “Joey refuses to fuck me. Will you do his job for him?” We watch Everest walk into his bedroom with Amber, and they go to town. Joey is too busy helping my mom with my crib.
Everest and Amber reemerge to watch Joey laugh as she speaks, “I tell you that one day my daughter will mop the floor with you. When she does you be sure to eat your words, Joseph.”
He chuckles as he puts up one railing, “I like to see that one day, and I doubt she will be any better than me.”
“There goes that arrogance again! I give my daughter the gift to do things on the dance floor that will give her dad a hernia. Rosalie will give me peace of mind knowing that a piece of me just kicked your ass all over the dance floor. I give her this as my fairy wish.”
He laughs again, “I believe Blaze will be pissed at you for giving her your fairy wishes. If she’s better than me, I will give her a million dollars.”
Hearing him say that makes me giggle aloud.
She continues, “I also give her the gift of beauty, and may she turn many heads. The last gift that I give her is to find a man, who is exactly like her father. I wish for him to notice her as soon as she walks into the room. I know he will automatically want to protect her from the rest of the world. I want him to fall hard for her, and make beautiful dancing grandchildren for us too. I hope our daughter carries a piece of both of us with her always. I want her to find a great father for her babies, who will be her equal in every way.”
He finishes putting my crib together, and her water breaks, “Oh shit! She’s coming! Joey, you need to call Blaze!”
Everest helps my mom into bed, and they get my father. I watch my mom writhe in agony. Amber disappears, and Joey never pays attention. He leaves the room with Everest and they spoke to each other.
Everest laughs, “I think Rosebud almost described you for her daughter.”
Joey twists his lips at Everest, “You’re a sick fuck. If that happens, Rosalie will be an adult, and she will make up her own mind. You need help Everest. She’s only a baby right now.”
They fast-forward my birth to show me. I also have cerise hair, when I was born. Joey leaves, and he tells my parents to take me back to Avalon. They say that they will leave really soon. He glances at me, and his face seems to soften into happiness. He kisses my forehead, and he will disappear until I’m eighteen years old. Everest actually holds me as a baby.
~~~***~~~
The next four months pass. My dad is trying to figure out who framed his brother. He carries me close to him, while I cry again. He continues to make phone calls to people as he tries to see what happened to Phoenix. He’s irritated with the runaround he’s receiving.
Michaela is finally full-term, and she sings to Ember. “I want to name her Ember Rayne McCloud. What do you think Everest? I hope she has your green eyes.”
Everest makes me so angry, “I hope so too, baby. I hope she can sing like you too.”
He returns to Avalon, and he picks up the prescription for the tranquilizers. The pills he takes will be what seal my parents’ fates. Everest calls Reno, “I’m ready to help, and that’s the correct address.”
We are watching the horror as he puts the pills in a pitcher of water. Everest sticks the pitcher back in the fridge. My mom makes a bottle out of the same water, and she appears exhausted.
She turns to Everest, “I hope Blaze can prove his innocence. That is bullshit! I heard you got Michaela into trouble, Everest. You need to come clean with everyone. You can’t keep Ember a secret any longer. Why don’t you bring Michaela over? I want to meet my new niece. Maybe Ember and Rosalie will one day become best friends.”
Everest blatantly lies to her, “I will be sure to bring Michaela here soon. I would love for you to meet my daughter.”
Everest stays there as he watches them drink the water. My dad picks me up, and he places me in my crib. Daddy picks up mom, and he carries her to bed. Everest follows right behind him. Dad’s last words to my mom are that he loves her.
My dad walks over to me, and he sits right by my crib, “I forgot to give you my fairy wishes, Rosalie. My fairy wishes are for you to have easy births. I want you to find a good man who is willing to stay up with the babies all night long to let you sleep. I want you to have all the nice things that you deserve. I fear that I won’t be able to provide for your mom as I hoped. I want you to marry for love, but not to struggle either. We have struggled to get this far. I love you, and if you ever rebel, make sure it’s for the right reasons. I want you to hold your ground, and never be a doormat. Never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough. There will come a day, when you will become a woman. I understand that, but I want you to marry someone who I can trust. He has to have proven himself to your mom and me. I know you will like dudes, but I want you to like him for his soul. That has to be first. You might as well look good, while you take all those boys down. I hope they put me on enough tranquilizers for when you grow up. I want you to be noticed, when you enter a room. Please remember this always that your mom and I love you very, very much. No matter where we are, we love you, Rosalie. I will see you in the morning, my little daddy’s girl. Daddy loves you always.”
I lean into Joey to muffle my pain to him. The irony of it all is that the only fairy they really trusted is sitting right next to me. Everest gives my dad his mug. He watches my dad go into their bedroom, and he crawls into bed next to my mom. Everest walks out the door, and he gives Reno the okay to kill them. Before he gives Reno the okay, he moved me out of my crib, since he believes I’m dead. He left me in their closet, and he covers me with my pink blanket.
Everest left me there, and he closes the door. The horror continues when he left the house, and he makes it to the birth of Ember.
Michaela screams in agony. She births Ember finally, but she never meets her. Michaela is out of it. We watch him kill her by lying to her about Ember. The grief takes over her soul and it kills her. She stares up at the ceiling, and she gives the scariest high-pitched scream. The sound really hurts our ears. We notice her eyes turn from sky blue to starless. Michaela vanishes from the bed. He laughs at her, and he picks up Ember. Ember screams and she has a head full of cerise hair like her mom. He drops her off on the front doorstep of a shady looking house. Somehow, Ember will make it to the Tucker household.
Everest returns to my house, and he hears me crying in the closet. I glance over at my husband, and there are tears streaming from his cheeks. We watch Everest freak out, and he calls the mortal social worker. He dishonors my parents by spitting on their dead bodies in their bed. My parents turn to dust, and disappear into thin air. He walks out of their house, and he waits for the social worker to pick me up. The next five years of my existence will be a fucking nightmare. He laughs and thinks that it’s funny. He waits, until she leaves, and he calls Oberon to inform him that my parents were murdered. He hides from a distance, and he watches Oberon scream in agony over my mom's death. Uncle Oberon continues to scream for me as he searches for me around the house, “ROSALIE!” He’s frantically searching for me everywhere. Everest remains hidden, and he’s laughing.
I stare at the table where Uncle Oberon sits at. His head i
s down, and I can see his tears dropping from the table. Christian and Alexander are crying tears of blood too. The horror story remains right there in his visions.
The bailiff takes out the rod, and the chief judge orders a fifteen-minute recess. We left the courtroom for air. From a moment I lock myself inside the bathroom stall, I lose everything I ate this morning in the toilet. I have no idea, how I was able to keep it down for this long.
Ember joins me in the next stall, and she sits on the toilet, “I should have never seen that. He did all that to my mom. He broke her soul, and the cruelty of what he did to you. I want to kill him for what he did to us, Rosalie. I’m so sorry for being so mad at you. I was just confused and angry with you. I just am... I’m in shock! I don’t even know what to say!”
I stop puking long enough to wash my mouth out, and face off. I’m visibly shaking with anger, “I’m trying not to make myself angrier, but he truly fucked me over good. I’m pregnant with Joey’s baby now. That’s weird how things came full circle.”
“It’s kind of eerie. We never age, or grow old unless we’re leaders. He stayed the same Rosalie. The only difference is his horrible hairstyle from the nineties!”
“What’s up with the name imprint on the side of your head?” I joke.
We laugh about it, and we hug each other until we start to cry again. We sit on the couch in the bathroom sobbing violently.
“She really did love me!”
“I knew Michaela loved you! You can tell it in her eyes!”
Grandma Titania walks in, and she notices us huddling together sobbing.
She was fine until she overheard us talking to each other, “I’m so sorry girls! I never knew, or anticipated to have such an evil son! Watching you two, breaks me. I feel horrible, because there’s no way I can ease both your pains! There’s nothing I can do as a queen—or as your grandmother, and this makes me so angry!”
We hug our grandmother together, “We love you grandma, and he’s not your problem anymore. We need to let the court decide his fate. We watched the truth unfold, and even though it does hurt—we are strong. We have each other, and we can make it through anything together.”
Ember adds to ease our grandmother, “We are sisters for life. I agree… we can handle anything as long as we have each other. We suffered the worst, and now we will look out for one another.”
We walk out of the bathroom with renewed confidence. Ember feels better, and she kisses Gabriel. He squeezes her tightly to his chest.
Joey hugs me, “They made sure that all their wishes for you came true. I think they trusted me more than what they let on. I love you Rosalie and I will always keep you safe.”
I kiss my husband affectionately, “I love you too, and your cheesy hairstyles.”
He stifles a small laugh, and then he hugs me. We return to the courtroom hand in hand. I stare at my rings, and I know that I’m no longer that lonely little girl anymore. I have a wonderful husband, who loves me for me.
The court proceedings continue with the chief judge frowning, “I will go ahead, and end their anguish. I would like to speak directly to Princess Rosalie Cirrus and Princess Ember Aduro. Our hearts break after hearing your tragic stories. This is not fiction. You will never be able to bond with your parents, and that’s such a shame. This monster took them away from you for his own gratification. There are no words for your tragedies. I’m happy to hear that both of you have two wonderful husbands, who love you very much. We have come to a unanimous decision, and it reads as follows; on all felony counts; we clearly see the cruelty. You sir, were never criminally insane! I’m appalled that you would think, and believe you’re above the law! You’re not above anything! You sir... you are a monster! You did this to your own family! Who needs enemies, when they have you? I have heard enough, and I’m ending this today. Prince Everest Pine McCloud, the court hereby sentences you to the following on all ten counts of felonious charges—an automatic beheading. I hope for your sake that the Creator shows mercy on your light and soul. The bailiff will go ahead with the execution right now.”
The bailiff takes out a large gold sword. Everest begs as the dog he is, but the bailiff shows no mercy for him. Within five seconds, it finally ends. His head rests on the floor with yellow blood escaping his body. Ember and I gasp with horror. The wizard throws dust at his body, and Everest disintegrates right in front of us. He’s gone within five seconds.
The chief judge speaks, “I need Princess Rosalie Summer Cirrus to step forward please.” I stare at Joey confused and nervous, and he ushers me to the front. I stand in front of the large podium.
The chief judge speaks, “Prince Everest would have been the first in line to the throne. Your mother would have been second to the throne. Since you are her only heir, you are next in line to take your grandparents' place should something happen. I know fairies want Oberon McCloud Jr., but I must make it clear to the Fairy Court. He is third in the birth order with Skylar fourth in the birth order. The Courts of Meropis has given our final decision on this matter. Ember and Derek no longer qualify in the fairy realm, because she serves as the Angel Princess of Avalon, and he serves as the Werewolf Prince of Meropis. We need to make it clear to you Rosalie, that you’re next in line to your grandparents' thrones. Any children you and your husband have together, will take your place should anything happen to either of you. That is all, and these court proceedings are now adjourned.”
Chapter 18
We walk outside with the case resolved. The paparazzi are going nuts as they constantly take pictures of us. My friends also have pictures taken of them. They shove their cameras right in our faces. My husband could snap us out of there; however, he wants us all to be together. Christian and Alexander want to have a talk with us. I refuse to be rude to our friends. We sit together inside the limousine with our husbands.
“Why are they taking so many pictures of us? We never go through any of that in Avalon. I want to know what these photographers receive from taking all these pictures of us,” I asked Joey again.
“Your husband is a very prominent man along with the rest of us. You are both princesses, so that also piques their curiosity,” Christian already answers for Joey.
I’m still confused, but we return to the FOL mansion. I don’t care—or pay attention to what my husband earns.
~~~***~~~
My husband and Ember's husband take the other leaders to a separate room to conduct their business meeting. Ember uses my spare bathroom to shower, and I walk inside my master bathroom to shower. I know that my belly will never glow here on Earth. I want to go home just to make sure our unborn baby is okay. Ember finishes before me, and she saunters in my bathroom. She shuts the toilet lid, and starts talking to me.
“Do you ever notice that when it comes to business, the guys always seem to get rid of us?”
I pull the shampoo down, and take a few drops from it. I quickly lather my hair with it, “I don’t understand what you’re saying?”
She taps her fingers on my bathroom counter, “Do you ever pay attention to what our husbands do? I mean, I grew up with the Tuckers. They never had houses this big. I’m curious to know what my husband does for an existence. Are you curious to know, what your husband does for an existence?”
I rinse my hair out, and then I lather my body, “I have never really thought of it that way. I guess I grew up with our grandparents. I never had crappy clothes as I did in foster care. I never stank and I was always able to buy cute shoes. There are no issues from my end.”
“I have floors that are heated. I have a bathroom that is three sizes bigger than my bedroom with the Tuckers. I never asked Gabriel, what he does for an existence. I think we might have rushed into things too fast. I love him though. I focused in on his personality to bother with what he does for an existence. I can’t believe that I jumped at the first man, who wants me. Don’t get me wrong, this lifestyle is okay. I just want to know what he does for an existence.”
“I know w
hat you’re talking about. Joey reopened a club in Avalon, but he still has businesses that he runs here on Earth. He didn’t sell a lot to Christian. I want to stay out of his finances.”
I change into pajamas as she continues, “My family never had that many cars. They were not able to afford the cars that our husbands can. It’s insane to see how much Gabriel owns. My adopted parents had a van, truck, and a couple of cars. My car on Earth was a used car. I walked inside his garage the other day, and I can’t believe the amount of transportation he has. I’m even surprised with what the others from the Angels Of Mercy also own. My husband owns three motorcycles. Gabriel has a Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, and a variety of other sports cars. I had to leave for a late night craving, and he hands me a set of keys. I’m standing in the garage trying to figure out, which car has these keys. I just want to satisfy one simple craving. A trip that should have taken me ten minutes turns into two hours. I wound up with the last car that I tried. He gave me keys to a Volkswagen Beetle. I was furious, by the time I had my craving.”
“Why did he give you a Volkswagen to drive?”
“He worries about me too much. I’m less likely to wreck it. He keeps forgetting that I’m the better driver from the both of us.”
“You make it sound like I’m such a horrible driver!”
She seems disappointed, but apologizes, “I’m sorry, Rosalie. You can dance your happy little tail off, but when it comes to driving, I don’t think all those driving lessons helped you out any. Remember that time you thought you hit the brakes, but you ran through a fence?”
“That was not a functional car, Ember.”
She starts to pluck her eyebrows, “Rosalie, you’ve had five non-functional cars with three speeding tickets. I’m so thankful that your husband drives you everywhere. He has a valid point when it comes to you, and your terrible driving skills.”