They walked inside and found the King inside the room with the mirror. He was talking to the Queen once more. And they gasped when they heard her voice as it should be.
"How?" Theron asked.
The Queen looked at them. "When my blood found true love, it broke part of the curse."
"That wasn’t a rhyme," Anessa said.
"It broke that too." The Queen smiled. “It really was annoying.”
There was a growl behind them, and the beast slowly got up.
Anessa tensed when he lifted one hand to his head.
Garrick stared at his father. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and his head swung to Anessa. "What happened? Did you do this to me?"
"Rothe did, sweetheart." The Queen looked sad. "But Anessa will see that your curse is broken, and when it is you’ll break another part of my prison."
All eyes swung to Anessa.
"How?" Garrick asked.
"A power she only just discovered," Theron lifted her hand in his and kissed the back of it. A tingle slid along her scared palm.
The Queen smiled, "True love. Rothe made his gift out of a false sense of love and only the real thing can break it."
Anessa looked around at the rubble. “You can stay in my cottage until your castle is repaired. Garrick, I think it best you stay here until we get the curse on you broken. You can guard the mirror. Rothe will think the mirror is at the cottage with the King and focus his efforts there.”
The King scoffed. “You can’t possibly think one man is enough to guard a castle.”
“There are still the protective spells. Anessa sealed off the meadow which is the only reason Rothe got inside today, so that won’t be a problem again. And besides we have a secret weapon,” Theron said.
“What’s that?” The King asked.
The Queen laughed. “A dragon. Yes, that will do quite nicely. Snow can go back to school with her prince. Garrick, you’ll oversee the repairs here. Of course, you’ll need someone to go between you and the workers. Yes, this plan will do.”
“I must return to the black mountain. Let me know when you’re ready to go to the cottage.” Anessa wrapped her arms around Theron, and together they transported away.
Epilogue
When they arrived in the Queen chamber under the black mountain, Grizelda met them.
“Glad to see you are done with that magician.” Grizelda clucked her tongue and three giggling lesser witches entered the room.
They began pulling Theron away.
“Where do you think you’re taking him?” Anessa glared, and the three witches paused looking at Grizelda.
The old crone huffed. “You’re the first Queen since the wars to have a blood bonded male. You’ll have a proper bonding ceremony under the full moon. They’ll make sure he’s prepared.”
“Moon rise is hours away.”
Grizelda shoed the lesser witches out with Theron. “You have treaties to sign before we get you ready.”
The hours passed slowly and her hand cramped from signing so many documents. The preparations for the bonding ceremony were similar to that of when she became Queen. She was bathed in milk before dressing in the gown from the water coven. It was white this time, with a sheer overlay that swished when she moved.
The walk to the top of the mountain was lit with shining gemstones. Glittering frost covered the ground at the top of the mountain. But there, in the same place she’d received her crown, Theron stood in the moonlight.
He wore black, dark like a starless sky.
He lifted a finger and caressed the scar on his other hand. Anessa felt the stroke of a lover’s promise on her matching scar.
It took only a minute for her to reach him. Imelda, the life witch, took both of their scarred hands and wrapped a ribbon around them. It melted into their skin sealing the bond for all to see in an ink like mark. A symbol of their own eternity.
Singing and dancing broke out from the covens. As a gentle snow began to fall Theron and Anessa danced. The warmth of their love enough to keep the cold at bay. Theron twirled her, and the warmth grew.
Anessa paused. Rothe’s love was a candle, Theron was her sun.
She sent a pulse of warmth down her scar, and Theron’s feet missed a step. A slow smile spread across his face and he took her in his arms. The wind swirled and together they left the celebration behind.
About the Author
Jessica is a mom, author, commercial underwriter, and scuba diver. When not stuck inside she dreams of diving the ocean with her husband. However as she lives in the desert she also dreams of camping in the rocky mountains with her kids and dogs.
To find more works by Jessica, visit:
JessicaParkerStories.com
You can reach Jessica by email at [email protected]
Follow Jessica Parker on:
Instagram: JessicaParkerStories
Twitter: @jparkerstories
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/JessicaParkerStories/
Snow White's Witch (Tales of Eventyr Book 2) Page 9