“Can I ask you something? What was your impression of me the day we met?”
He smiled with undeniable fondness, causing my heart to flip. “Ah, the day the spell began. I’ll never forget it. You utterly delighted me, right from the start.”
“Really? Because you didn’t look delighted.”
He chuckled. “I’ve been told by a fine lady that I’m a bit too serious.”
“That’s true most of the time.” I lightly traced his lips. “But I can penetrate your serious-guard persona. I did so the day we met—your lips twitched the way they always do when you’re trying to hide your amusement.”
“As I said, you delighted me. You seemed like a character straight from a fairy tale—fresh, innocent, imaginative, and bewitching. You eclipsed both my thoughts and my attention. I kept hoping you’d speak, just to hear the unexpected words from that creative mind of yours, which I’d recall over and over, even when we were apart.”
“And then you played along.”
He cupped my face. “That admittedly surprised me. Looking back, I think it was because I realized you were living in your own story, one I desperately wanted be a part of, so I thrust myself as a character onto your pages. Even when you initially cast me as the villain, it didn’t matter; I was willing to play any role so long as I could be a part of your story.”
“Poor Ali. It took me awhile to realize you were only meant to play my hero.” I crawled onto his lap and he promptly looped his arms around my waist to hold me closer. “You didn’t know what you were getting yourself into when you let me steal your heart.”
“There will never be a dull moment, that’s for certain.” A beautiful, smoldering intensity filled his eyes as he stared into mine. “But I’ll love every moment, for you’re my perfect heroine, and every day with you will be an incredible adventure.”
His words filled me with blissful warmth. “And we’ll live happily ever after,” I murmured.
He contentedly nuzzled against my neck. “I’ll do anything to please my princess.”
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and withdrew…ah, bliss! Lit by the candlelight was the most beautiful of rings; the metal twisted into a rose with a tiny diamond crowning its center. He started to gently push me off his lap, but I wrapped my arms securely around his middle to keep me there. He cocked his eyebrow.
“You don’t want me to kneel?”
“I don’t want you to move, so kneeling is not an option.”
He chuckled. “As always, you’re determined to write our story the way you see fit.” He hooked one arm snugly around my waist and held out my ring. “Darling Rosalina, Spinner of Stories and Teller of Tales, will you do me the greatest honor and become my Co-Author and Princess?”
It was the most perfect of all proposals, far better than any I’d ever read about, for not only was it written to fit my character, but it was mine and, most importantly, it had been made by him.
“Dearest Alastar, my Fellow Adventurer and Prince in Disguise, I’d love nothing more than to live our fairy tale together with you by my side.”
He slid the ring on my finger and kissed me, and thus began our first day of never-ending happily ever afters.
Epilogue
I poked my head out from the upper story window of our bakery and beamed when I saw Ali waiting for me below. “Excellent, you got my note.”
“Well, it did promise me another midnight stroll, the most exciting one yet.” In the moonlight I could see the curiosity simmering in his eyes. “What do you have up your sleeve?”
“It’s a surprise. Wait a moment.”
I ducked inside my room and double-checked that my note to my family was on my pillow before seizing my trunk and dragging it to the window. But try as I might, it was too heavy to hoist up. After many moments of struggling, I sighed and poked my head back out the window.
“My trunk is too heavy. Do you think we could send someone for it later?”
Ali’s eyes widened. “Send someone—what’s going on, Rosie?”
I pressed my hands on my hips. “What do you think? We’re eloping. Keep up with the story, Ali.”
“Eloping? But dear, I just secured your parents’ permission to marry. Such drastic action is unnecessary.”
“I’m thrilled with my parents’ approval and know we don’t need to go to such extremes, but eloping is so much more adventurous. Indeed, this is the proper way for the Heroine Rosalina to begin her happily ever after.” I pressed my hand to my heart. “She runs off at midnight with her prince charming, where they marry beneath the moonlight.” I sighed in contentment. “Isn’t that the most romantic start to our life together that you can imagine?”
His lips twitched. “Indeed, Rosie dear. I’ll happily oblige this unexpected yet not-so-unexpected twist, for I’m quite eager to make you my wife.”
I grabbed a few items of clothing and threw them into my satchel before scrambling onto the windowsill. His smile immediately faded as his eyes widened.
“You’re climbing down?”
“How else is one supposed to elope?”
“Here’s a wild suggestion: you could always use the stairs.”
I gave him an exasperated look. “You know why that’s the most terrible of all ideas. Not only is it less romantic, but surely I’ll get caught.” I squeezed through the window and carefully balanced on the sill, trying not to look down, for the height was farther up and more dizzying than I’d anticipated. “The point of eloping,” I continued, “is to slip away undetected.”
“I suppose this is the way it’s done in books,” Ali conceded.
“Exactly.” Finally, he was on the same page. “Now prepare to catch me. I’m dropping.”
“Rosie, I don’t think—”
I pushed myself off the sill and fell backwards. After a brief moment of fright as my stomach fluttered with the sensation of falling, Ali caught me with an oof. I snuggled deeper into his hold.
“Now that the hero has captured his heroine, may we ride off into the night and secretly marry so that we may spend the night in one another’s arms?” I pulled him into a kiss.
He fully grinned against my lips. “Hmm, that sounds like a lovely way to begin this new chapter of our fairy tale.”
He kissed me again before carrying me over to his horse, where he lifted me up before climbing up behind me and looping his arms around my waist to snuggle me close. As the horse broke into a trot, I twisted around to look at him.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?” He burrowed against my hair.
“About how the entire love spell was resolved. You told me it was true love that would break the spell, but considering Prince Liam was only pretending to be spelled, obviously it didn’t.”
“It did, Rosie. Prince Liam agreed to pretend to be under your spell until you confessed your scheme, which I knew wouldn’t happen until…”
“…I finally recognized my true love. So it broke the spell after all.” Just like it was supposed to. I sighed happily.
“Not our spell,” Ali said, giving me an affectionate snuggle. “Remember, I expect to be spelled by you forever.”
I beamed. We rode in silence for a few blissful moments as I savored the setting of the moment I’d always dreamed about—the pleasant late summer evening, the glowing starlight, the warmth of Ali’s snug embrace enfolding me, and especially the fact that we were riding off to our new life together.
I played it all out in my mind: marriage, children, grandchildren, all within the Sortileyan palace walls, for Eileen had made me her official lady-in-waiting, whereas Aiden had made Ali Captain of the Guard and given us one of the married couples’ suites of rooms. Eileen even promised to allow me access to the palace kitchen whenever I wanted to bake. Imagine: I, Rosalina, was going to live in the palace with my prince. It was utterly perfect. I couldn’t believe how wonderfully my story was playing out, far better than I could have ever imagined.
Which reminded me…
I twisted back around. “Do you think the love spell would have worked if Prince Liam had taken it?”
“I’m relieved we never found out,” Ali murmured. “I hate the thought of anything interfering with our happily ever after.”
“As am I, but I’m still curious. I shall have to write a story of possibilities and you can write it with me, not just in this instance but in every adventure we’ll embark on as we live out the rest of our fairy tale together. We’ll write an entire series of books, for we have a whole lifetime ahead of us, chapters and chapters and pages and pages. Forever.”
Ali swept a kiss across my cheek. “I love the sound of that. I can’t wait to discover how it all turns out.”
I couldn’t wait either to experience the twists, turns, and magic of my unfolding story, played out with my most unexpected true love. It was not only the most fitting ending to my romance story, but the most perfect and magical of all beginnings.
Identity
Chapter 1
This was Princess Lavena’s riskiest scheme yet—a remarkable feat, considering she’d had plenty of contenders over the years. How could she be sneaking out so close to her wedding, especially with her fiancé only a few corridors away? I peered through the slit in the drapes in Her Highness’s bedroom, searching the night for any sign of her. It was nearing midnight, and she’d already been gone for three endless and anxiety-ridden hours.
I paced the perimeter of the princess’s elegant bedroom, as if my restlessness could somehow urge her to return sooner, all the while praying Their Majesties wouldn’t come check on their wayward daughter. Despite Princess Lavena’s claims, I knew they’d never be fooled into believing I was her; the façade only worked for those who didn’t know the princess well. If I was caught impersonating a royal…my stomach clenched at the thought.
Why must the princess be perpetually besotted with so many different men and have the habit of sneaking out after dark to meet them?
A familiar and relieving tap on the window interrupted my pacing. Finally. I yanked the window open. Cool summer air washed over me, along with sweet relief at seeing Her Highness. She’d returned before midnight, a new record. Perhaps tonight I’d actually get some sleep.
“Welcome back, Your Highness.”
She slid expertly through the window before righting herself to pat her still-flawless hair and smooth her wrinkle-free skirts. “Thank you, Anwen. It was a lovely night.”
“How so?” I didn’t really want to know, but I’d learned early in my service to the princess that she loved to be asked; feigning interest in her exploits was one of my primary duties.
She sighed wistfully, her eyes bright. “My minstrel and I took a romantic stroll beneath the stars. It was like a dream.”
I scrunched my forehead. “Your minstrel? I thought you were meeting the stable boy.”
“He was last week’s interest. Keep up, Anwen.”
If she hadn’t been royalty I’d have rolled my eyes. “My apologies, Your Highness.”
She brushed my apology away as she pattered to her bed and fell onto it with a contented sigh. “Tonight was lovely. I think he’s been my favorite.”
It was high praise indeed to be the current favorite among the countless men the princess had fancied herself in love with over the years. “He must be quite remarkable.”
Another wistful sigh. “He is. It’s a pity he’s a common man, or I could be engaged to him instead.”
The princess’s expression twisted at the thought of her unwanted engagement. I bit my lip to suppress a sigh. Here it came: Her Highness’s usual fiancé-bashing, which had become more frequent with every passing day since not only were we visiting his home, the Dracerian palace, but their union was in three days.
To my relief, the princess didn’t launch into her favorite stream of complaints. Instead, she spent a moment lost in her dazed “princess who thinks herself in love” expression as she stared unseeing up at her canopy before sitting up.
“Prepare me for bed, Anwen.”
I obeyed and retrieved her nightgown from the wardrobe. Princess Lavena stood rigidly as I went through the usual mechanical motions of dressing her. The princess was more talkative some nights than others. Unfortunately, tonight seemed to be one where she had much to say.
“Tonight truly was magical, Anwen, especially compared to the tedium I endured this afternoon.”
“You didn’t enjoy your time with Prince Liam?”
“Ew no, you know I never do. We got in another fight, of course, and I gave him those juicy insults I brainstormed with you yesterday.”
Insults I’d tried and obviously failed to persuade her not to give. As usual, she hadn’t listened to me.
“It’s been the longest week of my life,” she continued. “I’ve never had to endure him this long before. It’s felt like a thousand years.”
“You two need to become better acquainted before the wedding.”
She wrinkled her nose towards the door, as if trying to send her disgust to its intended victim. “Don’t mention the wedding. It’s most unfair. Why do I have to marry someone I can’t stand?” Her hand clenched in a white-knuckled fist. “Three days until I’m leg-shackled to that ridiculous prince forever.”
This time I did roll my eyes, but thankfully I stood behind the princess doing up her nightgown so she didn’t see. I couldn’t fathom what the princess’s problem with the Crown Prince of Draceria was. He was not only handsome and charming, but he seemed like a very friendly and fun-loving sort…at least when he wasn’t around her.
Prince Liam seemed just as disenchanted with the princess as she was with him. I’d served as their invisible chaperone on multiple occasions and witnessed both their epically long silent treatments and their harsh battles of words. If their marriage actually happened—which at this point seemed inevitable—one of them would surely murder the other shortly thereafter.
“Forgive my saying so, Your Highness, but perhaps you shouldn’t sneak out anymore, considering your wedding is so soon. What if His Highness catches wind of it?”
She snorted. “I wouldn’t care if he did. I don’t intend to stop just because we become legally bound together for the rest of our miserable lives. If we’re forced to marry, then he’ll discover my habits soon enough.”
I gasped. “But Your Highness, it would be wrong for you to continue meeting men when you’re married to another.”
“Stop scolding,” Princess Lavena snapped impatiently. “I’ll need to do something to make my upcoming sentence bearable. Now stop your worrying; you do it far too much.”
At least one of us does—but I bit my lip to silence that retort. Handmaidens didn’t talk back to princesses, as much as they deserved it.
She pouted. “Besides, don’t I deserve a bit of freedom after I become a prisoner to contracts that benefit everyone except me?”
“The alignment of two great kingdoms will be to the benefit of countless people,” I recited, having heard the argument many times from Their Majesties during Princess Lavena’s frequent whines and complaints about her upcoming match. “It’ll not only strengthen trade but also—”
“I know, Anwen, don’t lecture.” Princess Lavena sighed. “But why should I have to sacrifice my happiness for a bunch of people I don’t even know?”
“They’re your subjects,” I said as I picked up her hairbrush and began her nightly hundred strokes, which would be difficult to keep track of with her current ranting. “As a princess and future queen, you should care.”
“Well, I don’t. Being a queen sounds terribly dull. Living life with my minstrel would be much more enjoyable. Think of all the places we’d visit and the freedom from responsibility we’d enjoy.”
Doubtful. The princess would only enjoy it for a time before finding something new to complain about; nothing would compel her to give up her favorite hobby.
The princess tugged some of her hair away from my brushing in order to twist and untwist it around her finger.
“I can’t believe the union I’ve dreaded for so long is nearly here. I can’t marry Liam. He’s simply awful, Anwen.”
Prince Liam could be a saint and the princess would still hate him. Once Her Highness made up her mind against something, there was no dissuading her.
“Lately we’ve taken to ignoring one another,” she continued. “We need to practice for our marriage.”
“I truly don’t see what you have against him; he seems an amiable sort.”
“Spoken by one who doesn’t even know him. But even if you did, I’m sure you’d force yourself to find good in him, like you always do. You’re so strange, Anwen. Too bad you can’t marry him instead.”
The princess suddenly froze, staring wide-eyed at nothing in particular. I could almost see another scheme unfolding in her devious mind. She gasped and twisted around in her chair to clasp my hands in hers.
“That’s it!”
Dread pooled in my stomach. Princess Lavena had that gleam in her eyes that always accompanied words I didn’t want to hear. “What is it?”
The princess smirked. “I’ve just had the most brilliant idea, my most spectacular one yet.” She leaned closer, her eyes glistening darkly. “You shall take my place and marry Prince Liam instead.”
I gaped at the princess as her words jumbled in my mind. “What?” I stuttered. She couldn’t have suggested what I thought she had. But by the scheming glint in her eyes, I knew I hadn’t misheard.
“You will marry Liam instead of me.”
I continued to stare at her. She couldn’t be serious. But the longer I searched her expression, the more I realized she was. Trepidation knotted my stomach. “Are you insane?”
Princess Lavena’s eyes narrowed dangerously in warning, but I didn’t care I was speaking disrespectfully to a princess. There were times to remain the silent and submissive servant, and moments when doing so was suicidal. This was such a moment.
“I can’t marry Prince Liam,” I stammered. “I’m only a handmaiden. I couldn’t possibly take your place in a political alliance between Lyceria and Draceria. Not only is it far too important to tamper with, but it would never work; we don’t look that much alike.”
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