Sleeping Beauty Is Just Not That Into You

by Aron Lewes

  As the knights bound her wrists, Donnabella smiled at Fenix, who had recently resurrected and was back in human form. Then she winked at Rank, whose pinched brow suggested he was more than a bit concerned about the fate of his teacher.

  “You can try to imprison me, Your Highness,” Donnabella heckled the prince as she was hauled away, “But I should warn you... you will regret it.”

  “Threats? Ha!” Sharman cackled. “It's not wise to threaten me! You just added more time to your sentence, Witch!”

  Prince Elliot watched the spectacle with a lopsided frown. “She did save us, though...” he whispered to himself. “That doesn't really seem fair.”

  As soon as Donnabella was gone, Elliot readjusted his spectacles and sidled over to Rose, who was holding hands with her stable boy. Tye and Rose were no longer hiding their affection. Even though Elliot was standing right in front of them, their fingers were permanently entwined.

  “Rose...” Elliot sighed as he uttered her name.

  She leaned closer to Tye. “Yes, Elliot?”

  “What comes next shouldn't be a surprise,” Elliot began. “I'm releasing you from our engagement.”

  Rose made no attempt to hide her relief. She turned her eyes skyward and shouted, “Thank God!”

  Elliot scowled at her. Others regarded him as a moderately handsome, thoroughly genial, perfectly pleasant prince. He didn't understand her aversion to him. “We were supposed to be soulmates, you know,” he quietly reminded her.

  “Yes, yes, I know!” Rose dismissed the idea with a roll of her eyes. “It's silliness, though. I'm not going to base the biggest decision of my life on some stupid witch's curse!”

  “I suppose I can respect that.” When Elliot turned to Tye, the grinning stable boy wrapped an arm around his lover. “I, uh... I wish you well.”

  With a heavy sigh, the shy prince stormed away from the shamelessly embracing lovers. He wondered if his pride would ever recover from such a devastating blow.

  * * *

  “I'm ready to make my wish,” Rank reported to Gloriosa, who was enjoying a piece of Rank's peppermint stick. Every time he unwrapped a new treat, he always shared it with her.

  “Oh?” Gloriosa raised a tiny eyebrow. She had been secretly dreading this moment. Though she would never admit it, she enjoyed her time with Rank. Being stuck in his pocket was far better than being stuck in the urn.

  “I want you to make Terra fall in love with me,” Rank announced. “I like her, but she'd never like me, would she? So I need to resort to magic to make it happen.”

  Gloriosa tried to talk him out of it. “But do you really want to do that? Wouldn't it be far more fulfilling if she fell in love with you on her own?”

  “Ehhh...” Rank slowly hitched a shoulder. “Maybe.”

  “Besides,” the little witch continued, “my love spell would only be temporary. Maybe it would last a day... maybe it would last a year. Only one thing is certain... it would wear off. Poor Terra would realize she was under a spell the entire time, and she would probably hate you for it.” Gloriosa held her breath and hoped her friend would change his mind.

  “Alright. It's a bad idea. I get it.” Rank collapsed on a bench and watched his lady love. Terra and Cinda were walking around the courtyard, checking on soldiers who were injured during the dragon's attack. When his gaze dropped to Terra's crutches, he had a revelation. “Oi! Maybe I can heal her legs!”

  “Hmm.” Gloriosa's lips tightened. “I wouldn't advise it. Once again, my spell would only be temporary. She would walk for a short while, and then it would wear off.”

  “That's rubbish!” Rank sat back with a snort. “Why is there a time limit on all your spells, woman? That seems bloody inconvenient!”

  Gloriosa flew down from Rank's pocket, sat on his thigh, and shook a fist at him. “Hey! Don't insult me! I do what I can!”

  “Sorry.”

  Gloriosa's tirade continued. “You're a mage, aren't you? I don't see you casting love spells! I don't see you casting healing spells! Before you criticize me, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself, Rank! Is your own magic really that grand?”

  Rank's lips slipped into a pout. “I think it's pretty good, actually.”

  “Well... I think my magic is pretty good too!” Gloriosa's arms crossed as she defended herself. “It might not be on Donnabella's level, but I try! Speaking of which, that witch is exactly where she belongs! I hope she's stuck in the dungeon for eternity!”

  “She won't be,” Rank replied, then his gaze drifted back to Terra. “She's really special, ain't she?”

  “Who? I sincerely hope you aren't talking about Donnabella!” When Gloriosa followed his gaze across the courtyard, relief poured through her tiny body. “Oh... you mean Terra?”

  “Aye.” Rank heaved a dreamy sigh. “She's the special one. And she's the love of my life, she is.”

  One way or another, Rank was determined to win her heart.

  * * *

  “I love you.”

  As soon as she heard Sharman's whispered words, Cinda had to suppress a gasp. Love? She could understand infatuation. She could understand lust. But she refused to believe the prince could have fallen in love with her after such a short time.

  “You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know... I adore you,” Sharman went on. “It's a shame we're not married now. The interruption was... regrettable. However, I intend to turn a negative into a positive.”

  Cinda's arm was linked with Sharman's as they strolled around the garden. She thought it was odd to see hummingbirds and butterflies flitting between flowers so soon after the dragon's attack.

  “What are you planning?” Cinderella asked her fiance.

  “We'll have a grand wedding, even greater than the first one. And we won't have to share our special day with anyone else. Additionally, we'll have more time to prepare. The palace sustained some heavy damage, but as soon as repairs are made, we'll have our wedding.”

  “Good,” Cinda apathetically replied. “I'm looking forward to it.”

  “Cinderella...” Sharman spun her toward him. As his blue eyes sparkled down at her, he asked, “Do you care about me?”

  “Of course, Sharman.” Cinda still struggled to call him Sharman instead of Your Highness. She didn't feel important enough to drop the proper form of address.

  “Do you think you could ever... love me?”

  Fenix's face flashed in her mind, as it often did. If Fenix didn't want her—and he clearly didn't—there was nothing holding her back.

  “Of course,” Cinda replied. “I'm already falling for you.”

  “Really?” The worry lines on his forehead were lifted by her answer. “Well, that's a relief. For some reason, I was afraid my feelings were one-sided.”

  “No.” Cinda corrected him with a shake of her head. “Of course not.”

  “Then...” Sharman leaned a bit closer to the woman of his dreams. “Do you think I could kiss you?”

  “Absolutely.” When Cinda smiled up at him, the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. “You're welcome to kiss me any time. You needn't ask.”

  When Prince Sharman's lips touched hers, a somewhat happy sigh escaped from Cinderella's throat.

  It almost felt like a happily ever after.

  Almost...

  Thanks for reading my book! The third (and final) part of this tale, The Wicked Witch's Prince, will be available in April 2018.

  If you're liking this series, you might enjoy School for Spirits as well: https://www.amazon.com/School-Spirits-Dead-Girl-Samurai-ebook/dp/B078YNFD4F/

  If you have any interest in finding out what actors I imagined in this book, follow my blog: https://aronlewes.tumblr.com/ (I sometimes give tips on how to get my books for free)

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  Thanks again!