by Scarlett Kol
Heir of Beauty
Kingdom of Fairytales book 22
Scarlett Kol
J. A. Armitage
Contents
1. 27th May
2. 28th May
3. 29th may
4. 30th May
5. 31st May
6. 1st June
7. 2nd June
After the Happily Ever After…
Join us
A note from the author
The Kingdom of Fairytales Team
About J.A. Armitage
About Scarlett Kol
Copyright © 2019 by J. A. Armitage and Scarlett Kol
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Edited By Rose Lipscomb
Cover by Enchanted Quill Press
Created with Vellum
Kingdom of Fairytales
You all know the fairytales, the stories that always have the happy ending. But what happens after all those storybook characters get what they wanted? Is it really a happily ever after?
In this prequel, you will find out what happens next, be transported back to those lands you fell in love with and be prepared to meet some new characters along the way.
Kingdom of Fairytales is a new way of reading with one chapter a day and one book a week throughout the year beginning January 1st
Lighting-fast reads you won’t be able to put down
Read in real time as each chapter follows a day in the life of a character throughout the entire year, with each bite-sized episode representing a week in the life of our hero.
Each character’s story wrapped up at the end of every season with a brand new character and story featured in each season.
Fantasy has never been so epic!
1
27th May
Dusky moonlight filtered through the high library window painting lines across the shelves of books. When did night fall? I rubbed my hands over my face and blinked my tired eyes as the words in the open book across my lap began to blur. I slammed it shut then chucked it onto the pile of ones I'd already read and lay back on the floor. Another dead end. Another waste of time.
My father still hadn’t come home and no one seemed to have any idea where to look. No rumors had surfaced from the neighboring kingdoms. No news or gossip on where he’d gone in the morning paper. Just embellished recounts of the ‘market massacre’ accompanied by a blurry image of him splashed across the front page, his teeth bared and stained with blood. The guards took turns in an endless loop of search parties, each one returning empty-handed, my mother's heart breaking piece by tiny piece with every failed attempt.
The last few days played over in my mind. Every time I wasn’t concentrating on something else, the memories crept in. Like insects that buzzed around my head and nipped at my skin when I least expected it. Tiny pinpricks to keep me from forgetting. The stench of blood and sweat on my clothes. The sharp grit of rocks cutting into my back as I begged for my life. The hollow, cracking sound of the guard’s bones snapping so easily, like brittle twigs in the forest. Each image haunted my thoughts and poisoned my dreams until sleep wouldn’t come at all. Every time I closed my eyes I relived the horror again and again.
I grabbed another book from the never-ending pile and cracked it open. If only I'd taken the time to read most of these when I been assigned them by my tutors, instead of skipping out to find something more fun to do, I might not be stuck scouring over them now. Searching for answers to questions I hadn’t even figured out to ask yet.
I thought of Veda. Her charming crooked smile, and the way she bit down on her thumb when she concentrated hard on something. The way her amazing brain spun faster than I could ever expect to catch up to. She would be great at this research. She read fast and everything always seems to make more sense with her around. I'd asked her to look for me at the castle when her father finally let her go, but she still hadn’t arrived. Or maybe she'd heard about the chaos in the marketplace and stayed as far away from me as she could get. Whatever the reason, I wished I had a chance to explain. Maybe then I could focus instead of trying to think about what I’d done wrong.
The door creaked and a sliver of light from the hall grew larger as Mom entered the library. Her stare narrowed at the burning lantern on her desk then popped wide again as she spied me sitting amongst piles of books on the floor.
"Fallon, here you are. No one has seen you for hours, but I just assumed you'd gone out for a while. I never expected to find you in here."
She clicked the door closed behind her, then rested against the wooden frame. Her normally glowing face seemed dull, even in the flickering firelight. The toll of my father's condition slowly sucking the life out of her beautiful looks.
"I can leave if you wanted some time alone." I brushed the dust off my knees and grabbed a few more books from the pile, clutching them tightly in my arm, then stood next to the desk.
"Of course not, stay as long as you like. I just needed to get something quick anyway."
The stiffness in my back and shoulders ached now that I'd stood upright again. I stretched my arms over my head, a relieved squeal escaping my lips.
“Been a long time since I've seen you reading in here,” Mom said as she cast her glassy eyes to the ceiling. “I remember when you were small, you used to hide in the corner every evening and wait for me to come look for you. I’d sit in my chair, then you would climb up on my lap and we would read stories together for hours. Just you and me and all the magic in the world."
She gave a quick nostalgic smile, then scurried from the door and pulled open a long thin drawer on the desk. She rummaged through the pens and papers until she found a small blue envelope and tucked it into her palm.
She closed the drawer and tapped her fingertips on the desktop. “It would be nice to have some of that magic right now, don’t you think?”
I sighed. “Yeah, it sure would.”
“But I guess those days are long past now. I’ll let you back to your reading.”
"Mom—" I reached my hand out toward her then grabbed the air and let it drop to my side. Another opportunity to ask her about Edwin Macario's journal and the lies he claimed my parents had told me. But I couldn't do it now. My father’s disappearance already forced her to endure so much pain, I couldn’t add to her struggle. Once they found my father I could try again.
"What is it, dear?"
"Never mind." I grabbed the back of my head and stretched my neck toward the skylight. Maybe I should just take a chance and ask her.
“Okay.” She looked me over as if waiting for me to continue, then her questioning stare hardened and pierced through my skull. “There is something I need to tell you though."
I pulled my head right again as she crossed her hands politely in front of her, the true queen commanding my attention.
"The Council has asked to see you. With your father's disappearance, the kingdom is vulnerable and we need you to step up and take a more active role in the day to day operations."
An ache burned in the bottom of my stomach and I winced forward. “Shouldn't we wait a bit longer? He’s only been gone a few days.”
"The kingdom needs stability now. He's been battling the curse for a while and even if we did find him soon… I mean…when we find him soon, no one knows how long it will be before he is himself again. Or how long it will take to reclaim the trust of the Aborians.”
I huffed, the low sound of my breath echoing through the tall room.
"Fine. If that's what I need to do
.” The ache twisted. Deeper. Sharper. The red splatter of pomegranates on my white gloves flashed in my brain. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean, I doubt anyone is going to listen to me. I might just make things worse.”
Mom crossed the room and sandwiched my face in her delicate hands. “You’ll do just fine. And I’ll be there to help. I know this isn't how you might have envisioned taking over the throne, but I really need you to step up and take on the challenge. Not only me, but Aboria desperately needs a leader right now. The kingdom needs you.”
I tugged her hands from my face and clasped them tight in my own. “The kingdom needs you too, Mom."
She sighed and turned away. "I am afraid the demands of your father's search are taking up more of my time and energy then I expected. Besides, deep down I am just a village girl, when times get rough, the kingdom is quick to remind me of that fact."
"Well, just tell them all to take a flying leap off a cliff. You’re one of the strongest, smartest women in all the kingdom, probably even further than that. Anyone who doesn't see that is blind."
"You’re sweet, but I'm afraid that's not always how things work. Fair and politics rarely mix well. Now don’t let me interrupt you any longer.“ She pulled her hands away and hurried out the door before I could continue to argue. Arboria needed someone like her on the throne, not someone like me who could barely keep their head when controversy struck. I didn't have her strength or conviction. The kingdom didn’t want me. They had already made that very clear the last time.
I collapsed back down on the floor and turned up the lantern light. I had no idea what time it was, but it didn't matter, the pile of books wouldn't get any smaller until I finished going through them. If a tiny library on the side of a mountain had one journal holding the secrets of my entire family, there had to be something in this museum of literature that could help break the curse or at least give me some answers as to who I really was and what happened all those years ago.
I scanned the pages of the book in my lap, my eyes already hazy from the dusty books and the hours of strain, but I blinked and kept going. It was going to be a long night.
Click. Click. Click.
The clack of my dress shoes against the stone echoed through the corridor as I paced just outside of the war room. The rhythmic, repetitive sound helped slow my racing pulse, but even it couldn’t fully take the nervous edge off.
Didn't the Council realize what a mistake it would be for me to take more responsibility right now? I didn't have the respect of the kingdom, how would anyone expect me to have their loyalty?
"I say, Your Majesty, you’re looking very regal today." Griswold appeared at the end of the hall, as a proud smile beamed across his lips. "Your father would be so impressed to see you like this, sir." He brushed his hands over the embellished shoulders of my coat and tugged near the golden buttons so it sat properly against my chest.
"Trust me, I'd rather my father was here in general. That way I wouldn't even need to consider being king.“
Griswold chuckled, the light knowing sound tugged my mouth into a frown.
"Just nerves, my prince. Don't you think your father was nervous the first time he met with the Council too?”
My pulse started to quicken again. I wiped my hand across my face and continued pacing. “No. I bet my father was leading armies before he could even climb into the throne."
"Oh sir, you still have such wit even when your focus is elsewhere."
I shrugged. I'm glad he found that humorous since I fully believed it to be true. Dad, at least as a human, commanded attention. The subtle way he stood taller, straighter than the average man. The tranquilizing, yet demanding cadence in his voice that charmed anyone into bowing to his will. I clearly didn't inherit those skills.
Griswold laughed and shook his head. ”Your father was as nervous as a pig bound for slaughter as he stood outside this door. I think he may have even vomited a few times that morning as well. But in true Aldric fashion, he collected himself and dazzled the Council. Just as I'm sure you will." He fussed with my collar once more. "It's like looking into a mirror beyond time, seeing you stand here reminds me so much of that day. Like a painting. A moment captured in history.“
I tried to let his words sink in. Tried to take comfort in the sentiment, but the logical part of my brain wouldn’t let me. “Thank you, Griswold. I'm glad to have you here with me, as I'm sure my father was grateful for you as well."
The old man's wrinkled skin blossomed a pale pink. "Just doing my job, sir."
I stopped pacing and held the wall as I steadied myself against the dizzying sensation in limbs. ”How long have you worked at the castle exactly?"
His eyes rolled towards the ceiling as he tapped his index finger over his lips, contemplating the question. "It's been a very long time sir. Thirty-eight or forty years maybe?"
"So you were here the first time that my father…you know?”
"Yes. But that was a long time ago.” His posture stiffened and he inconspicuously slid back a step. “A dark time."
"But isn't it a dark time now too?”
He stared over my shoulder down the hall, refusing to meet my questioning stare or maybe reliving the past in his mind. "Fair point. But with each new year, we receive the opportunity to rewrite our own stories. This is now, and not then. We need to move forward and find a new solution. Besides, I’m afraid I don't have anything that will help with your father's curse. If I did I would be sure to share it with you and bring him home."
"I'm sure you would. But I wish I knew more about my father when he was younger, about what kind of leader he was, and even about how he met my mother."
"I am afraid I don't have much to tell." Griswold dropped his hands and stepped back again without trying to hide it this time. A chill infused the air between us. “And even then, it’s not my story. I suggest posing any questions to your mother first. If she would like me to discuss it further, that will be up to her."
"You have always been discreet, haven't you?"
"Of course, sir. It's all part of the job. Now if you will excuse me, I have other duties to attend to."
He turned on his heel, precise and sharp, then hurried back the direction he came.
"One more thing, Griswold,” He stopped and glanced over his shoulder, his blank expression clear that he didn't want to get involved with my line of questions.
"Have you ever heard of someone at the castle named Ed—"
The war room door thundered open and Mom slipped through the doorway, stepping in front of me. "Darling, you look wonderful."
I tilted my head around her, but Griswold had already disappeared. "Thanks."
"They’re ready to see you now." She tapped my shoulder then pulled the door open again guiding me through in front of her.
I walked into the center of the room, and took my place before the Council, my hands crossed politely behind my back and my shoulders rolled high to compensate for the weakness in my knees. Around the outer walls of the room hung luxurious red and gold tapestries that depicted battles won in times long past, and I chose to examine them, hoping it would be viewed as reverence and not just a stall to swallow down the dry bread-like lump in my throat. Mom strode around me to the far end of the long oak table that spread across the front of the room. Lord Covington, Lord Marchand, and Lord Anwar stood at attention as they adjusted their cuffs and engraved buttons on their jackets until my mother sat down and they could resume their seats.
"Your Majesty," Lord Anwar said. “It is a pleasure to finally see you in this context. I feel like it were mere moments ago that you were running through the castle halls brandishing a wooden sword in search of dragons."
The Council laughed, almost in unison. I gripped my right hand tighter with my left, still feeling ever the boy with the useless weapon.
He continued, “Let us first begin by assuring you that the Council operates to provide wisdom and guidance in the best interest of the crown and the kingdom.
We will always be at your full disposal as king and—"
"I'm afraid you must have mistaken me for my father, the true king of Aboria."
The gentlemen looked quickly at each other, their wide stares flitting between the other faces at the table.
"Perhaps Lord Anwar misspoke, Prince Fallon,” Lord Marchand interjected from the middle of the table, his hands crossed politely on top of the oak. "As acting king, the Council will be at your full disposal with whatever you may need."
“Yes, exactly. Thank you.” Lord Anwar cleared his throat. "However, we must address the fact that the longer your father remains in his condition, the quicker we need to solidify your claim with a full coronation. The turbulent times at the castle are a call to any other parties who wish to seek the throne for themselves."
"What other parties? With my father still alive, and both my mother and me at the castle, no one would be able to make such a claim."
A grave shadow cast over their faces, as Lord Anwar stroked his hand over the lower half of his face and the dark stubble that grew there. "Without a competent king in place, the entire kingdom is vulnerable for takeover."
I dug my fingernails into my palm, the sharp pain soothing the humiliation building in my cheeks. I should already know this. I should've paid more attention.
I stretched up on my toes, trying to force myself taller, maybe channel some of my father’s charisma. “Then I am willing to do whatever it takes to maintain the throne for my father's eventual return."
"And we hope that he will be returned to us swiftly as well, but our job is to be practical,” Lord Covington said.