Kingdom of Mirrors and Roses

by A. W. Cross

  Annabelle

  Swann spent over an hour preparing me for what I would see in the city. Most of what she told me, I already knew from her previous reports, but I was thankful for the refresher.

  The cinema was nothing like I imagined. I suppose I expected the grandeur of the old opera house with glittering chandeliers, plush red velvet seats and men and women dressed in their finest. Instead, I saw a slight disappointment.

  The lobby was awash in artificial light so bright it was blinding. A few kernels of spilled popcorn littered the floor, the air so pungent with oil and butter that if I were human, I would have been nauseous. Most shocking of all was the way people were dressed. The level of casual comfort astounded me. A few individuals even wore slippers and pajamas.

  Swann made me dress down for the evening in a knee-length sun dress and strappy sandals. Even in what was a casual outfit, I felt overdressed.

  Once we found our seats, I relaxed into the comfort of the chairs. The seats were large with plenty of room between rows to stretch our legs. Hawthorne held my hand. When the lights dimmed, and the giant screen came to life before us—I couldn’t breathe for the beauty of it.

  Hawthorne brought my hand to his lips, brushing the sweetest of kisses across my skin. I looked toward him, our gaze finding each other despite the dark.

  “I love you, my darling,” he whispered, causing my heart to skip a beat. “There’s no one else I would rather spend eternity with.”

  An evening at the movies would probably seem mundane to most people. To me it was heaven. I couldn’t wait to experience this and all things with Hawthorne—the man who saved me from the curse.

  If you enjoyed Kingdom of Sand and Wishes

  Check out our other Fairytale retelling boxsets:

  Kingdom of Salt and Sirens (Little Mermaid retellings)

  Kingdom of Mirrors and Roses (Beauty and the Beast retellings)

  Kingdom of Thorns and Dreams (coming soon)