He looked down at her. "I didn't expect it to be this easy to make you fall in love with me again." "Was it hard the first time?" she looked up at him sleepily. "I don't think so," he said with a smile. "We were pretty attached from day one." "Then this makes sense," she replied. They had gotten dressed and had gone inside after their adventure in the tree house. The staff had greeted them with sly smiles, almost all of them having heard them outside 'making memories.' After dinner, they had proceeded to make more memories in different areas of the house, from the library to the common room of the now empty nursery. In the library, he'd taken her bent over the chair they used to squeeze together in as children. In the nursery common room, they made a nest of pillows in front of the fire. That's where they were now, naked and exhausted, yet so complete. He counted his blessings every five minutes or so, thanking the Mother that Kasdeyah's spell hadn't been enough to stop their
Abigail and Grayson were five years old the first time he had secretly used his magic on her. Despite her earlier claims that she had never fallen out of a tree, she did just that on the third day of his visit. She had finally convinced him to join her in the branches when the one she was sitting on snapped, and she fell to the ground hard. She was more in shock than anything and hadn't yet realized she was hurt. He ran to her. "Abby! Are you okay?" Abigail looked like she was trying to decide whether or not she needed to cry, when she looked up and him and decided tears were the right way to go. "Grayson, it hurts," she cried. "What does, Abby?" "My arm," she cried. He looked at her arm, and she did have a sizable scrape down her arm. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen far - Grayson didn't know if he was strong enough to heal broken bones. "Come here, Abby," he said, helping her stand. "Where can we go to get you cleaned up?" "The barn," she sniffled. "It's right over there
The year they were nine, Abigail had thrown herself into the prince’s arms upon his arrival, as she did every year. This year, instead of saying "You're here" like she did every year before, she nuzzled into his neck and said, "I've missed you," very softly. He was flustered but pleased by this new reaction to his arrival. "I've missed you, too, Wildflower," he replied softly, rubbing her back. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand. "It's starting to rain. Let's go inside. I have your gift waiting, and Hannah is making us tea." He followed her willingly, but not before grabbing her birthday gift from his bags. She had given him a painting she had done based on the way he had described Eswen Keep to her in his letters. While he didn't care much for his home, he adored the painting simply because she had made it. Even his father admitted it was a good likeness. Funny enough, he had gifted her art supplies. Upon opening them, she had again flung herself into his arms, declaring him
Prologue The Princes Dupont and Grayson had never seen the mountains before. They were transfixed by the majesty of the landscape as their carriage entered the Duchy of Lydisia within the country of Alderei. The boys had been staring out of the carriage windows ever since crossing the border out of Eswen. “Sit back and close your mouths!” their father snapped. “You are princes of Eswen, not fish from the Southern Sea!” The boys sat back and put their heads down. “My dear, they are only admiring the scenery,” the Queen attempted to soothe her husband’s nerves. “We don’t have such mountains in Eswen.” “That doesn’t give them the right to forget their status.” The king snapped back, raising his hand and his voice. The Queen bowed her head, while the boys looked on in fear. The king addressed his family coldly, settling back into his seat. He was the only one on that side of carriage. The queen was stuffed in between the two boys on the other cushioned bench. “We must represent roya
**8 years later**“Father hates me,” Grayson cried to his older brother. “Father does not hate you,” Dupont attempted to reassure his little brother. “He does! He beat me again today for playing sorcerer!” Grayson lifted his shirt and showed Dupont the fresh marks from his father’s switch. Dupont flinched, involuntarily. He had never felt his father’s anger physically. “He says I will bring down the Demon King on my own head!” Dupont stroked his brother’s hair. “You know how Father feels about magic, Gray.” “I know. I wasn’t even playing sorcerer, though, “ he explained. “I was singing and just swinging a stick around.” “I will talk to Father,” Dupont said, determination in his eyes. He was 16 now. He had stood by long enough while his father beat Grayson for every slight, real or imagined. If he was to be a great king someday, he had to learn to stand up to injustice, even within his own family. “Please be careful, Duey,” Grayson pleaded. “I don’t want Father to turn on you, too
**4 years later** Abigail Alderei Castle had been a buzz for weeks with the expected arrival of the Prince and his family. The staff had gone all out – pruning the already immaculate gardens that surrounded the castle, mending the fences around the orchards, airing out and hanging the best tapestries. There was to be a reception in the entrance chamber upon their arrival, followed by a dinner in the Great Hall. As this would be their first visit to Alderei Castle, the queen wanted the grand estate to look its best. She wanted her daughter to be on her best behavior. She was not happy earlier that day, when said daughter was brought back to the castle, dirty and scratched up, having fallen out of a tree in an attempt to escape the impending wedding. Later that evening, I fixed my dress as I waited for the arrival of Prince Grayson of Eswen, who I had not seen in four years. Queen Sarah was currently running around the richly decorated hall nitpicking everything the servants did. I
Grayson “Mother, do I have to go through with this?” I asked quietly so Father would not hear me. He had already lectured me the whole way here, I was afraid he would get physical if he heard my complaint. It wouldn’t be the first time. My mother raised an eyebrow. “Are you questioning your father’s judgement, my love?” She adjusted the veil covering the lower half of her face to hide my father’s latest “correction.” “No, Mother,” I replied without hesitation. “I just wish I had more time to meet and get to know my bride… maybe find out if we are compatible. Maybe fall in love,” I mumbled the last part. I had grown up listening to the fairy tales my grandmother used to tell me. Even though my parents hadn’t married for love, I knew it happened. Queen Sarah and King Marcus had reportedly been a love match. They met on the battlefield, in fact, defending Alderei from Godfrey, the country to the north. She was the daughter of the previous King, Patryk, and Marcus was the son of an E
Abigail King Hayden’s comments about my father only believing women to be equal because he had no sons bothered me. I knew it wasn’t true – my father had always loved us deeply and treated us well, and women were treated as equals in Alderei. I knew it wasn’t that way everywhere, but I didn’t remember this side of the king. “I wonder what the queen was thinking when she agreed to the betrothal,” Rose muttered, as if reading my mind. “Alliances and security, most likely,” I replied, just loud enough for my sister to hear. “It was 14 years ago. Let’s hope the prince has remained more charming than his father.” Rose poked me in the ribs. “You and the prince seemed to be very taken with each other. He didn’t want to let you go once he hugged you.” I blushed, but poked Rose back, and she giggled. “We’ve always been friends,” I countered, then admitted, “He has grown to be very handsome…” “You can have him then,” Cat said, walking up to us. “Did you hear what his father said to me ab