fairytalethebook

[fairytalethebook]

Chapter Three: The Red Carpet

Having been summarily dismissed by Selene, Cinderella ran into Chancellor Bianca in the second floor lobby as she made her way through the halls of the palace towards the green room.

“Please tell me Selene is ready!?” Bianca begged.

“Well, she almost was, but she got mad at me and started crying and ruined her makeup.”

“No! You have to go back up there and fix it!” Bianca ordered.

“I can’t, she made it clear she wanted me to leave.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Well, I was just trying to get her to try out some lipstick and she blew up.”

“UNBELIEVABLE! You’re supposed to be the one I can count on,” Bianca chastised.

“That’s not fair, I just tried to...” Cinderella tried to reason but Bianca cut her off.

“Whatever, I don’t care, the problem right now is Snow and Orlando aren’t here yet and if they don’t get here in the next twenty minutes we’re going to need Selene ready to walk the red carpet before them.”

“She’s not going to go for that. She’s going to want to be the finale. You know tonight is ‘all about her.’”

“God, when is it ever not about her? Well, you’re going to have to go break the news to her because I’ll only somehow make it worse.”

“She doesn’t want to see me right now, either.” Cinderella said.

“Is there someone else who can go talk to her?” Bianca asked.

“Hello!” Odette cheerfully said walking up the grand staircase.

“Nope.” “Absolutely not.” Bianca and Cinderella said in unison, trying to duck out of the way.

Odette was the most peculiar of the princesses. She was capable of being pretty and likable, but didn’t always succeed in either arena. She was awkward, both in manner and appearance, and she didn’t really have a good sense of self in any direction. She was a little too tall and a little too thin for her own good, causing her to appear more gawky than anything else amongst the rest of the more self aware Royals. Odette grew up in relative seclusion outside of the kingdoms in the forests of Midonia with only her six brothers for company after their parents had died. She recently decided she was going to “make her mark” on the Royals, and was asserting herself more and more. What she failed to notice was, more often than not, she did it wrong.

“Cindy!” Odette exclaimed, causing Cinderella to involuntarily grimace. There was no precedent for anyone calling Cinderella “Cindy” before and she certainly hoped this wouldn’t be it.

“You’re just the girl I was looking for!” Odette hollered from across the lobby.

“Ugh, she saw us,” Bianca said with a slight groan. She didn’t dislike Odette, she liked her fine. But she knew Odette could be a bit of a handful on a good day and on a high pressure day like today, Bianca had no time or patience to deal with Odette’s brand of nonsense

“Alright, you deal with Odette,” Bianca said turning towards Cinderella, completely ignoring Odette. “And I’ll go find August and send him to get Selene and take her to the car. We won’t even tell her Snow and Orlando aren’t here.”

“That’ll just make her more mad later on,” Cinderella cautioned.

Bianca glared  at Cinderella. For several moments they were locked in a battle of wills before Cinderella finally relented.

“Alright, that’s fine, I’ll just deal with it later,” Cinderella said.

Bianca pretended not to hear the last part.

“Cinderella! I’m so glad I ran into you!” Odette chirped, “We need to get together and talk about the costumes for my show. I have several notebooks full of thoughts and ideas and designs and swatches I wanted to talk to you about,” she said playfully swatting Cinderella on the shoulder. “Haha, get it? SWATches!!” she said, again swatting Cinderella on the arm. Bianca looked at Cinderella, screaming internally.

“Hello Bianca. Keeping busy?”

“Nope!” Bianca scoffed and then stormed off.

“What was that about?” Odette asked Cinderella incredulously.

“Oh, just the usual,” Cinderella dismissed.

“Do you have a minute?”

“One or two,” Cinderella answered reluctantly. She wasn’t really good at saying no to people.

“Good, because I was thinking that, for the costumes, I want feathers. Do you think that would be too on the nose?”

“For a ballet about swans?” Cinderella asked sarcastically.  

Odette laughed. “Not like feathers, feathers. I’m talking like, Feathers. You know how when you’re walking, and you’re like ‘oh, that’s a feather’…

Cinderella stared as Odette droned on for what felt like an eternity but was probably only about a minute. She had already decided what she was designing for the show and so she pretended to listen to Odette’s ideas. This was a trick she learned years ago when she made clothes for her stepsisters, Salome and Delilah. She would let them think they had a say in the design process, but she always proceeded as originally planned. They rarely ever questioned the final product and if they ever did, she simply resorted to using a few “industry” words she secretly made up to explain to them why she wasn’t able to do what they wanted.

“... and that needs to be entirely in silk. Do you know what I mean?” Odette inquired, tilting her head.

“Absolutely! Although you have to be careful with silk, it can be so transmorphative.” Cinderella said, pulling the word out of thin air.

“Oh, that is a good point.” Odette agreed. They sighed awkwardly.

“Well, can I show you my books?” Odette asked.

“Oh, not right now,” Cinderella said. “It’s just that things are so hectic, but I promise, we’ll go over it all soon.”

“Well maybe a little bit later…” Odette started.

“Sure!” Cinderella cut her off, “But I gotta go,” She said in a fluster as she darted off towards the stairs.

Odette inhaled and exhaled, “Good for you Odette!” she congratulated herself aloud. “You promised yourself you would be more proactive and you were.” She smiled, looking around for someone else to connect with, but once again, she was standing alone, grinning like an idiot.

While everyone else scurried to finish preparations for the Ball, Orlando and Snow rushed in their horse drawn carriage to get to the Ball. Barely on the outskirts of Luna, it looked unlikely they would be on time.

“We’re going to have to get dressed in the carriage,” Orlando said, defeated. He knew their being late was going to make Selene angry and he was desperately trying to save whatever time he could by not stopping for any reason.

“What?” Snow laughed, “I don’t think that’s even possible.”

“We’re going to have to make it possible,” he said climbing out the window of the moving carriage, trying to identify which bag on the roof had their formalwear.

“Oh, my, What are you doing?” Snow asked, her laughter starting to strain. “Get back in here.”

“Hold on, I think I got it.” He said, trying to pry free one of the cases from the bundle. The other bags jostled and thumped on the roof, filling the space he just created.

“Here,” he tossed the bag into the cabin.

“Can’t we at least stop to do this?” She asked, concerned. “It’ll be easier that way.” She slid across the cabin and tapped on the partition to tell the driver to pull over for a second.

“No, it’ll make us even more late., Orlando said rummaging around for the other bag. “Just keep going!” he ordered the driver, wind whipping his hair about.

“Well if we’re already late then what does it matter?” Snow asked, trying to reason with him, the carriage rattling side to side.

“No, I got it, it’ll be fine,” He said, “I think we’ll just make it this way,” He added freeing the other bag and tossing it in the cabin.

“There.” He said swooping back in. “See, no problem at all.”

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth they both heard a series of thumps. Every single trunk and suitcase fell off the roof of the carriage.

“Oops,” Orlando said sheepishly. “I think maybe we should stop.”

Lochlyn, ever the recluse, retreated to the private balcony reserved for the Royals in the back of the ballroom. Conrad found him smoking something pungent out of his elaborate mother of pearl pipe. Cerberus was curled up at his feet, catching a quick nap. The pipe had been a fixture in Lochlyn’s life for over ten years so Conrad was not surprised to see it, but it was unusual to see it so early in the evening.  Although the two never had the effortless friendship of August and Orlando, they were both the oldest of the Royals and had always had a decent, if somewhat standard, relationship.

“I figured you’d be out here,” Conrad said, startling Lochlyn slightly.

“Hah, yeah,” Lochlyn offered up halfheartedly.

The two stood in stoic silence for a minute.

“Calm before the storm?” Lochlyn asked offering up his pipe to Conrad.

“What is it?” Conrad asked taking it.

Lochlyn shrugged.

“No, not right now, we still have to get through dinner. Besides, I got something good for later on, when we’re all here,” He said patting his belt.

More often than not the two had a habit of indulging each others worst impulses but Conrad wanted to keep a relatively clear head while they remained in the public eye.

After a few moments of companionable silence two of Odette’s brothers, Orrick and Odell, burst out onto the balcony in a flurry of activity.

“S’up, dudes?!” “Sweet, hang, bros.” Orrick and Odell said sarcastically, although not sarcastically enough for either Lochlyn or Conrad’s comfort. Cerberus released a quiet growl at the new additions before laying his head back down.

When Odette joined the Royals by marrying Ashley no one knew what to make of her brothers. They were all very tall, very blond and almost indistinguishable from one another. Protocol usually demanded family of the new Royals be subjected to a vetting process to ensure they could withstand the publicity and attention associated with entering Royal society. In the case of Odette’s brothers, they had bypassed this step and inserted themselves into the Royal scene without any thought to the consequences. As a result, none of the other Princes were ever quite sure how to handle their appearances. Tonight looked like it was going to be no exception.

“Whatcha’ got there?” Odell said taking Lochlyn’s pipe.

“Actually, I wouldn’t,” Conrad said reaching for it.

“No it’s cool, dude. We can hang,” Odell said casually hopping up on the railing of the balcony

Conrad looked to Lochlyn for back-up, but Lochlyn simply shrugged “Eh. Let ‘em ‘hang’.” He said slapping Conrad on the back.

Odell took a huge hit off the pipe and passed it to Orrick, who also took an equally big hit. Together they exhaled in unison, coughing.

“Man, that is dense,” Odell said, stifling a shudder.

“But you’re cool, right?” Orrick asked Odell.

“Totally.” Odell said casually slicking his hair back. “I said I can hang. I know what I’m about.” They both bumped elbows “Right?” they laughed. “Right.” they reaffirmed. A clammy panic started to creep over Odell “Right??” he quietly asked Orrick way more sincerely. “Dude…” was all Orrick was able to muster up.

“Oh man. Uh, I have to go to… the… room.” Odell said sounding spacey.

“Man, room… me too.” Orrick muttered, eyes dilated

“Maybe you two should go lie down,” Lochlyn suggested.

“Yeah.” Orrick said.

“I think that’d be best.” Odell stuttered.

“We’ll wake you up for dinner,” Conrad said.

“Dude… I don’t think we can hang” Odell whispered as they lumbered out.

Conrad glared at Lochlyn

“What?” Lochlyn asked.

“We can’t just leave them like that.”

“They’ll be fine,” Lochlyn scoffed, “… probably.”

Conrad continued glaring at him.

“Alright, fine,” Lochlyn said, taking another pouch of ambiguous looking herbs out of his vest pocket and stuffing it into his pipe.”

Conrad laughed, “You just carry around an antidote with you?”

“Yep” Lochlyn said “Although, it’s not exactly an antidote. It’s an entirely different drug altogether,” he said flicking the bulb of the pipe, “but if you mix it just right, they completely cancel each other out. Or wait…” Lochlyn stopped, “Does this one just compound…”  he trailed off staring dead into space for a couple of seconds doing the math in his head. “Yeah, no. This is the right one.”

“I can hear it now,” Conrad muttered, “Remember the Midsummer Ball when Lochlyn and Conrad killed two of Odette’s brothers?”

“C’mon they’ll be fine,” Lochlyn said heading off after them “And besides, it’s not like she doesn’t have four more nearly identical ones. It’d be a few months before anyone even noticed.”

Conrad shook his head in exasperation and followed after Lochlyn.

Bianca stalked the halls of the palace looking for August. Instead, she ran into Ashley carrying a boar over his impeccably dressed shoulders.

“Good Lord, Ashley, what are you doing with that thing?”

“I’m looking for someone to tell me where to take it. It’s for the feast tonight. Hunted it down and slaughtered it myself,” He stated proudly.

Ashley, as the middle prince, had always tried to distinguish himself from the others by mastering whatever task he tried. Because of this he was a bit of a savant. He also had a very keen sense of style and was always at the forefront of whatever trend was on the horizon.

The fact Ashley had single handedly killed and butchered a boar did not actually surprise Bianca at all, but she did find it unnerving he was endangering his outfit by carrying said boar around on his shoulders. Ashley was attired in almost head to toe pink velvet. His knee high boots were midnight blue leather and had a masculine chunky heel. His dark pink velvet pants were extremely tight. They met at his waist, with a cincher in the same leather as his boots. His jacket, a slightly lighter shade of pink velvet, was left open to show off the cincher. At the sleeves and neckline, frills extended from a white flowy undershirt. The outfit was topped off with a sash extending from shoulder to hip, prominently displaying the crest of Midonia.  His red hair was coifed into his usual stately pompadour.

“But that will take hours to cook.” Bianca protested.

“Luckily we have all night.”

“You know the kitchen is that way.” She pointed down the hall.

“Oh I know, but do you know where the guys are? I’m trying to show off.” He said grinning.

“No, I don’t. I’m looking for August but he hasn’t answered any of my calls.”

“That’s probably because he isn’t wearing any pants. You can’t pay that boy to wear clothes. Not that I’m complaining.” Ashley winked.

She rolled her eyes and started to storm off.

“Wait! I think I know where they are.”

“Yes?” Bianca waited.

“Well, you can’t come. It’s a secret.”

“It’s a secret? There are no secrets, not from me!”

“No, Yeah, I know. It’s just that no one else can know.”

“That’s called a secret, honey. Look, I don’t have the patience to play these games with you children right now. I have to find August and get him dressed so he and Selene can walk the red carpet, and Selene can talk to Ursula and officially launch this bloody new perfume line of hers. AT this rate we are going, The Ball will commence two hours late.”

“Ok, I get all that. I’ll go get August and bring him to you.” Ashley offered.

“Absolutely not. No more middlemen. I’m going to get things done from here on out.”

“Alright, fine. Well here, take this.” Ashley said removing the boar from his shoulders and holding it out to her.

“I’m not touching that thing.” Bianca said stepping back, disgusted.

“Good, that’s what I thought.” Ashley said tossing it at her and running off.

“Goddamn it,” Bianca cursed as she tried to dodge the boar with little success. It knocked her to the ground. “Ashley, get back here and... Ashley! I know you can hear me!” she screamed as he sprinted down the hall and out of sight. “Seriously?! And he’s in heels,” She added, impressed.

Safely away from Bianca, Ashley paused and surveyed his surroundings. Once he deemed the coast was clear, he grabbed hold of a sconce and opened a secret panel in the wall leading to one of the boys many hideouts. They had one in every castle that only they knew about. This particular entryway led to a den under the Grand Staircase and sure enough, the other Princes were there, smoking, drinking, basically up to the same old mischief as when they were thirteen. Dane was off to one side, suspiciously sniffing the drink in his hand as though it might explode. Conrad and Lochlyn hovered over two of Odette’s brothers stretched out on the billiards table across the room. Conrad waved Lochlyn’s pipe around over their heads. Ashley made a mental note to ask about it later.

“Ah-ha,” Ashely said “I knew you guys would be here.”  

“This is supposed to be the boy’s club, who let Ashley in here,” Conrad joked, looking over his shoulder.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Just as funny now as it was fifteen years ago.”

Conrad shrugged in response.

Appearances suggested Ashley and Conrad were polar opposites, when, in fact, the two were quite close. Conrad was impressed with Ashley’s ability to take his jokes and teasing and respond in kind. And Ashley looked up to Conrad as the oldest of the Princes but was unafraid of him and unwilling to take the worst of his bullshit. The relationship worked perfectly for the two of them.

“My god, is it filthy in here,” Ashley said, brushing a thick layer of dust off of the end table next to him “How can you guys even breathe?”

“Look what Conrad found!” August said waving a blue cigar in the air at Ashely, “Tonight is going to be even better than I thought! I can’t wait until Orlando gets here! We haven’t had a real party like this in years…”

A familiar feeling encroached upon August when he thought about how the Royals used to cut loose. To curb the melancholy, August took a big puff of the cigar and exhaled a swirling nebula of glittery smoke

“Turns out, breathing’s not really the number one priority right now.” Dane said, moving to sit in a dilapidated armchair next to Ashley.

“Jesus, isn’t it a little too early for…” Ashley stopped, again noticing Orrick and Odell laid out on the old billiards table, “Are they ok?” He asked, a little worried.

“Yeah, they’ll be fine, they’re just sleeping it off.” Lochlyn said nonchalantly.

“Sleeping what off?” Ashley asked impatiently. He could think of few drugs capable of laying out two grown men so easily.

Lochlyn looked around “… It” he said vaguely.

Ashley’s brain short-circuited for a moment at the non-answer.

Lochlyn rarely thought about the consequences of his actions, but Ashley took comfort in knowing he would never intentionally endanger another Royal’s family member. Unable to deal with Lochlyn, Ashley refocused on the issue at hand.

He turned his attention to the task at hand. “August! Bianca’s furious. She said she’s been searching for you everywhere.”

“Well, I’ve been in here, haven’t I?”

“That’s not the defense you think it is,” Dane said, shaking his head.

“Regardless, you need to go get Selene, get dressed, and head out to your car so you two can make your entrance.” Ashley said.

“Oh no, is it time already?”  

“Yeah,” Ashley said, completely exasperated.

“Hold up,” August stopped looking at the cigar in his hand.

“Don’t do it” Ashley said.

August inhaled the rest of it in one puff.

Dane shook his head disapprovingly.

“I shouldn’t have done that.” August choked, his eyes watering.

“Just go,” Ashley said with the tone of a disappointed parent. August stumbled up the few stairs to the secret doorway and back into the palace halls. “And take the back way, you don’t want to run into Bianca.”

August bolted out of the den, down the hall, and up the stairs until he came to the hall with Selene’s bedroom. He paused for a few seconds trying to catch his breath and prepared himself for whatever mood Selene might be in.

“And, action,” he said under his breath as he swung open the double doors to her bedroom.

“Baby! Bianca needs us to go walk the red carpet. Are you ready?”

“Baby?” He called again. He looked in her closet, and in the bathroom.

“Selene!?”

Overwhelmed by her earlier tantrum, Selene had laid down in bed to calm herself and inadvertently fallen asleep.

“Selene,” he said quietly yet forcefully enough to rouse her, “Selene, baby.”

She stirred slightly, “Shhh, she’s sleeping,” Selene said coyly keeping her eyes closed.

“Well, could you maybe tell her it’s time to wake up?”

“I don’t know,” Selene whispered through pursed lips, “She’s really comfortable right now.”

“It’s time for us to go walk the red carpet. Make sure to tell her that.”

“She’s intrigued, but again, she’s really comfortable,” Selene murmured.

“Well, this is a pickle,” August sighed.

“Maybe if you kiss her, she’ll wake up?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know, you’re not really supposed to kiss a woman without asking,” August flirted back.

“She said it’s fine.” Selene insisted.

“Alright” August said. “Here goes.”

He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Aghast, her eyes shot open, “Gross! You’ve been smoking already?!” She said sitting straight up and shoving him out of the way. She never minded his smoking at parties. After all, they all had their innocent vices. But the party hadn’t even started and, unbelievably, August was already high.

“Oh, come on,” He said, trying to recapture the lightness of a moment ago.

“‘Come on’, my ass!” she scoffed causing him to explode with laughter at the unintentional entendre.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” she snapped.

“I know, but… it’s just…” he managed in-between snickering.

Selene ignored him and went over to her vanity and started fussing with her makeup.

“You’re just mad because you can’t do it,” August muttered under his breath once his laughter had subsided.

Selene’s nostrils flared as she spun around, “I can do whatever I want. I choose not to get high because it’s not good for my…” she stopped short, “You know what, whatever. Just get dressed.”

“You’re not actually mad at me? Are you?” he asked.

“It’s whatever. Just don’t do or say anything thing to embarrass me tonight.”

“I won’t,” August said chagrined.

Selene sighed, “Your stuff is over on the chaise.”

August walked over to the chaise covered with four identical looking, but presumably different, vests.

“Which one?” He asked perplexed.

“The pink one,” Selene said, “You’re meant to match me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The pink vest,” Selene said standing up, holding out her dress for comparison.

August looked at it and then back at the four vests on the chaise and then back at her.

“Oh for the love of…” Selene muttered as she stormed over to the chaise and picked up the third vest “The pink one.” She said handing it to him forcefully.

“They all look the same to me” August said under his breath. Selene rolled her eyes.

She sat back down at her mirrors and started touching up her makeup. Electric pink eye shadow was applied from lid to brow with a lime green liner and glitter under her eyes and around her hairline. Confirming her makeup was flawless, she removed her rings and bracelets and sprayed a liberal amount of mousse in her hands before flipping her head upside down and running her fingers from roots to tips to give her hair its weightless look.

“There, how’s that?” August asked from the corner.

She flung her long hair up and over her head as she stood up and turned around to get a good look at him.

“Good! Good. Come here,” she motioned and he sprinted over to her. She got some more mousse and tousled it through his hair.

“I am sorry,” He said sincerely.

“It’s fine. I don’t know why I get so angry sometimes.”

She took one of her smaller brushes and started smoothing the sides of his hair back.  

“Well, you’re under a lot of pressure.” He said. “Like… all the time.”

“I am under a lot of pressure.” She said laughing.

“But you know the thing about pressure?”

“What?” She asked intrigued.

“Without pressure we wouldn’t have any diamonds.” He said, proud of himself.

She blushed. Considering how frustrating he could be, he had a way of surprising her.

“And you’re the biggest diamond of all!” he said enthusiastically.

Selene burst into unrestrained laughter.

“That didn’t really work, did it?”

“No. It didn’t, but it’s fine.” She said, recovering her composure. She picked up a sheet of gold leaf and began applying it under Augusts eyes and up his temples to his hairline.

“There, perfect!” she said. The two of them stared into each others eyes, savoring the nice moment.

“Wait, there’s one thing missing,”

“What?” she asked surprised.

“Hang on,” he said, stepping out of the room.

“I thought we were running late,” she called out.

“I’ll just be a minute.” He sprinted down the hall.

She smiled warmly for a moment before she caught her reflection in the mirror and spent the remaining two minutes obsessively primping.

“Here,” he said suddenly behind her. “I hope you like it,” He handed her a red leather necklace box.

She opened the box to reveal a spectacular three tiered gold chain necklace covered in emeralds. At the bottom of the longest strand, was the biggest emerald she had ever seen.

“Oh,” She said, hand to her chest, breathless. “It’s stunning.”

“You like it?” August smiled.

“Like it?” She delicately lifted it out of the box. The intricate gold chains draped in between her fingers “I love it! Here, put it on me.”

“You want to wear it tonight?” He asked surprised.

“Of course.” She said turning around and pulling her thick hair aside.

August carefully wrapped the necklace around her, connected the clasp and then gently laid it against the nape of her neck. He slowly brushed his hand across her shoulders and down her back. She turned her head to the side to look at him.

“It matches my eye.” She said softly.

Despite the generous amounts of makeup Selene constantly painted them with, her eyes always managed to stand out. They were easily one of her best features, second only to her voluptuous hair.  Of course the tiny emerald implanted just outside the iris of her left eye did help.

A bell on the wall rang insistently.

“Shit, it’s Bianca.” He said.

“Yeah, we gotta go.”

They grabbed the last few things they needed like Selene’s lime green sash and August’s pants, inexplicably always the last garment he put on, and bounded down the halls of the palace.

“Wait,” Selene huffed. “I can’t be running like this, I’ll ruin my hair and makeup and dress. What if I trip?”

“Here,” August said casually gathering her into his arms. He was shorter than the other boys, but he was easily one of the strongest.

She laughed as he sprinted down the hall. “I feel like I’m in the climax of some big adventure story.”

“What, like I’m the prince who just rescued the princess from a dragon?” August laughed.

“Right, and I fell and hurt myself, so you have to carry me to safety.”

He gently put her down when they reached the elevator.

“And then what?”

“What do you mean?” She said coyly

“After I get you to safety?” He said moving in.

“Well, then we kiss,” She said seductively, caressing his cheek.

The elevator doors opened revealing an incredibly irritated Bianca. “It’s about time” she scolded, “Whatever, just come on, your car is waiting.”

They giggled like two children who narrowly avoided being spanked. Once downstairs, Bianca quickly ushered them to their car. Everything appeared to be going smoothly. Selene rested her head on August’s shoulder but the peaceful moment didn’t last long because, they were soon at the drop off.

Receptions for the other Royals paled in comparison to the eruption of cheers and flashes Selene and August encountered as they exited their car and waved to their adoring public. Giant banners of Selene unfurled down the walls of the palace depicting her various products and showcasing her brand. Some for her perfumes, some for hair care products; one even showed her holding a delicate tea cup in one hand and seductively licking a silver spoon in the other. No one was really sure what this ad was for but Selene thought it was the most “effective”.

They walked the red carpet like pros, stopping every so often to pose and adjust their angles. Selene blew kisses as August pointed and winked at no one in particular, his standard red carpet pose. Reaching the staircase, they gave the people a big wave and took each others hand.

“Where are your rings?” he asked.

“Oh my god, I forgot to put it back on. I need it, can you even imagine what Ursula will say if she sees me without it?!”

“Maybe she won’t notice.” He said hopefully.

“Well someone will, it’ll be on camera, that’s hard evidence. God, I can just hear the rumors now.”

“Ok, do you know where it is?” He asked trying to be helpful.

“Yes. It’s upstairs on my dresser, I took it off when I was fixing my hair.”

“I’ll go get it,” he offered.

“No, don’t leave me alone with her, that’ll look even worse!” Selene exclaimed.

“It’s just upstairs. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

“No, no, no,” she begged, but he was already on a mission to retrieve the rings.

Selene whimpered. The rings had been passed down through the royal families for generations. Each Prince always presented the family ring to his intended bride. Unification by August and Selene’s wedding between the Kingdoms of Luna and Onyx resulted in two rings being fused together to form one enormous ring Selene was very proud of. The absence of them would indeed be very noticeable to Ursula.

“There you are!” a flustered Leo said, grabbing Selene and dragging her through the flaps of the production tent. “You’re late! We’ve had to kill time playing old commercials of yours,” he explained as he ushered her through the maze of equipment and trunks scattered all around. Leo careened through the obstacles so quickly Selene nearly tripped over some of the camera wires on the floor before wrenching herself free.

“Oh, but I’m not ready.” Selene protested while smoothing out her dress and hair from the whirlwind trip to the set.

“Sorry, but I’ve gotta get you to Ursula or she’ll have my head.” He said, turning to face Selene nervously. “She’s already fired me twice today. Although, that’s actually low for an event day!” He exclaimed, brightening immediately.

Behind him, on giant screens, Selene could see the commercial for Basically, Selene’s sixth perfume playing. In it, Selene wore a simple white toga-like dress and twirled with white chiffon in between marble columns. The camera rested on her face: ‘If you’re gonna do it, do it Basically.’ She cooed. White doves flew out from behind her in slow-motion.

“Still, I can’t help you stall right now.” Leo brought her to a vanity just off stage left. “And how are you on hair and makeup? Do we need to give you a primp?” he said flicking his wrists about absentmindedly. Selene looked at him almost incredulously.

“I’m sorry, I don’t even know what I was thinking. I’ll just get you wired and then we can introduce you and get this over with.” With that he clipped the microphone to her dress and left to go put out the inevitable next fire.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a makeup artist approaching her with an eyeliner pencil in one hand and a mascara wand in the other. “Absolutely not,” she said, grabbing his wrist when he got too close.

“You’ll have to forgive him, he’s new.” Ursula said, walking out onto the platform while simultaneously shooing the makeup artist away. “She’s fine, go away now!”

“Oh, hello, Ursula,” Selene stammered, turning at the sound of Ursula’s voice. “Uh, you, uh, startled me.”

“I startled you?” Ursula asked amused, “What? Were you not expecting me?”

“Oh no, it’s just that, I’m not ready, do you think you could give me a minute, or twenty?”

“Twenty? You must be joking.” Ursula responded exasperated, “We’re already way behind schedule, and besides, what do you mean you’re not ready? You look positively radiant!” she said taking Selene’s reluctant hands and immediately noticing Selene’s vacant ring finger.

“Oh?” Ursula asked intrigued.

“It’s nothing,” Selene said, “I simply left it upstairs.”

“Say no more,” Ursula said with a devious glimmer in her eye.

“No really.” Selene protested.

“Don’t worry, mama bear will take care of you, besides look, look, look, We’re premiering your commercial for your new perfume.” Ursula cut her off pointing to the monitors behind the cameras.  The commercial played behind them as they got set up for Selene’s interview. It was three minutes of Selene dramatically running from paparazzi wearing huge black sunglasses and a series of more and more elaborate gowns and hairstyles. In the final scene of the commercial Selene turned around with a camera and began snapping photographs of the paparazzi. As soon as the flashes of her camera started going off the paparazzi disintegrated. The last shot of the commercial was Selene looking over her shoulder directly into the camera with a coy smile.

“That was the world premiere of the commercial for the fragrance ‘Selebrity by Selene’. This is the eleventh fragrance in your collection. Now tell me, Selene, doesn’t that seem like a lot? I mean, are there really twelve different ways to smell like you?”

Selene stuttered a bit, “Well, they’re not meant to smell like me.”

“They’re not? Do you not wear your own perfumes?”

“Oh, Of course I do, it’s just that…”

Ursula laughed. “Oh Selene, I’m just giving you a hard time.”

Selene responded with a brittle laugh.

“But in all honesty,” Ursula placed her hand on Selene’s shoulder in a comforting gesture to try and ease her through the interview. “What makes this particular fragrance different from the ten others?”

“Well”, Selene started, “This one is for anyone who has ever wanted to feel special.” Ursula nodded, “This is about being exciting and different, it’s about being the life of the party and the center of everyone’s attention. It’s about passion, and drive, and confidence. You see, the thing is, most people wear perfume to smell good to others, but with this perfume, well, all of my perfumes, but this one in particular, you wear this one for you. It works from the inside out. When you smell good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you look good. That’s Selebrity.” She finished, exhaling a deep breath and knowing she’d done well.

“My,” Ursula said, hand on her chest. “Well, consider me a fan.”

Selene smiled. She didn’t know why she’d been so nervous and worked up about this interview; she’d been doing this since infancy. This was the kind of thing she could do in her sleep. She was feeling especially confident about the rest of the interview when the trumpets sounded the fanfare for The Kingdom Of Levander.

“Is that Snow White and Orlando? They’re supposed to already be here.” Selene asked perturbed.

“Well, it has been wonderful talking to you, Selene, maybe we can continue this later?”

“But I wasn’t done, I still had to...”

“Thank you, Bye!” Ursula cut Selene off and took her outside the tent.

“We need to get these cameras down to the red carpet immediately,” Ursula instructed Leo. “The ball is about to start and we need footage of Snow and Orlando arriving.” Crew members scurried about grabbing things and ran back towards the red carpet leaving Selene standing there in a combination of surprise and anger.

“This is supposed to be my night,” Selene lamented, stomping her foot and looking around for someone to blame. For several minutes she stood alone looking at the monitors showing Snow and Orlando’s arrival. Her anger increased by the second. Not only were they late, they also took an exceptionally long time walking the carpet, stopping to talk with almost everyone along the way.

Selene glared at the monitor, barely believing Snow and Orlando’s audacity. Her anger was nearly at its peak when August rushed up behind her. He sank to one knee dramatically, echoing the playful interaction they’d had when he left, grabbed her hand and put her ring on her finger.

“Your rings, your highness” he said playfully.

“I don’t care about my stupid rings,” she erupted furiously.  

“What? What happened?” August asked, dumbfounded.

“That stupid cow Snow White showed up in the middle of my unveiling and Ursula cut my interview short.”

“Oh yeah, that.”

“You knew that was going to happen?” She rounded on him.

“No, No... kinda, I knew they were running late,” He explained

“And you didn’t tell me?!”

“I thought you would get upset.”

“Oh, so you are capable of thought. I was really starting to worry there,” She said snidely.

“You don’t have to be mean. It wasn’t my fault.”

“Oh my god! It’s bad enough they’re late, but I at least thought you of all people could be honest with me!” she said as she flipped her lustrous blonde hair so fiercely it smacked August in the face as she whirled and stalked back up to the castle.

[fairytalethebook]

Chapter Two: The Impossible Princess of Luna.

Founded by the descendants of seven prominent families, the country of Electerra had officially existed for over six hundred years. Prior to their unification the world had been very loosely governed with everyone mostly taking care of themselves. When the families joined together, each representative was given an equal share of the power and for many years they all lived and traveled together across the country building palaces and capital cities in each kingdom. Whenever they finished with one they would move to the next until each family had an official homeland and kingdom to watch over as they saw fit. The leaders would periodically meet to discuss matters impacting the whole country. This delicate balance of power between the seven rulers ensured that they never needed an official King or Queen.

Luna was the fourth kingdom to be developed and was, by far, the most unique. The Royals of the time hadn’t originally wanted to colonize a part of the country completely without sunlight for all but three days of the year. However, when they realized the bioluminescent plant and animal life, as well as the waters of Luna had medicinal properties they decided it would be the perfect place to base their science and medical organizations. This gave Luna the odd distinction of being one of the most technologically advanced kingdoms, while also being the most sparsely populated.

Contrary to most of the other palaces, which towered over their surrounding lands, the Palace of Luna was laid out much lower to the ground, and had been constructed using very pale stone to contrast with the constant darkness. Beautifully intricate mosaics made of glass, tile, gems and precious metals depicted both legends and historical events from Electerra’s past. Instead of being very tall and grand, the palace was a sprawling structure which took up acres of the Royal grounds. Everything was designed with rounded shapes in mind. Balconies jutted off all sides of the palace, seemingly at random; onion-domed roofs covered the tops of nearly every room of the palace, even the landscaping was designed in such a way that the entire palace resembled nothing more than an elaborate building made of clouds, floating on a glimmering night sky.

The usually dormant Kingdom of Luna was exploding with life. The first day of the three day annual Midsummer Festival celebrating the summer solstice and the start of a new season was at hand. The festival was held in the Northernmost kingdom of Luna because, on the opening night of the festival, and the night of the ball, the sun would rise above the horizon for several hours. Being in the middle of summer, this had always been the most popular Ball and people traveled from all seven kingdoms to attend. The Ball was comprised of three tiers. First, the entire Kingdom of Luna awoke to an abundance of drinking, dancing, and exotic foods and performers from all corners of the world. People lined the streets all the way up to the palace gates to watch as the Royals arrived in their carriages and cars. A second, slightly more formal party was held in the courtyard of the castle. The photographers and reporters gathered here along the red carpet in hopes of gathering the latest news and gossip from people of note. The red carpet led to the third and final tier: The Ball itself held in the grand ballroom. A luscious gold and marble rotunda with an enormous balcony overlooking the crowds of attendees always kept the royals on display.

Inside the ballroom, servants frantically tried to finish all of the last minute details. Chancellor Bianca Heart, a striking and imposing woman oversaw every movement made. She was tall and fashionable with long blonde hair always coiffed in an elaborate and uptight style to add half a foot to her height. As always, she had an earpiece-cum-microphone stuck to one of her ears. Tonight’s was gold to match her dress; an ornate, gold tailored gown covered with large sequins resembling a dragon’s scales. The role of Chancellor had once been a ceremonial one, but after a tragic accident killed all the Royal’s parents, Bianca had found herself in the peculiar position of having all the power and control in the kingdom. She was hardly a mean woman, but after years of running the country and cleaning up the Royal children’s messes, she was finding it more difficult to be light hearted.

Only a few hours remained until the first dance and the ballroom was still not ready. Bianca was busy barking out orders through a megaphone when a nervous hush fell over everyone. A half dressed Princess Selene, the most famous woman in the world and the only Royal born female walked in.

“No! It’s wrong, it’s all wrong.” She said shaking her head.

“Good Lord, who let her in here?” Bianca hissed to herself.

Selene stormed down the ornate marble staircase and out into the ballroom and started snatching things out of the attendants hands as they passed by.

Almost immediately, Prince August, also half dressed, dashed in and scanned the room for Selene. Irritated, Bianca approached him “August! You had ONE job!” “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.” “You fell asleep?” Bianca asked, incredulously. “Have you ever spent the day with her? She can be exhausting.” “Just go get her and take her back upstairs.” Bianca demanded, looking back over to where Selene was pushing her way through various workers and attendants before finally setting her sights, and anger, on the centerpieces.

“Are those peonies?” She shrieked. “I hate peonies!” she insisted, as she started pulling flowers out of the displays. August came rushing up behind her. “No, you don’t, you love peonies,” He said taking the flowers out of her hand and setting them down. “Well, I hate those peonies,” Selene’s voice whined. “No, you don’t.” August sighed, carefully sliding the peonies back into the arrangements, one by one. “You hate hydrangeas and carnations.” Even from across the room, Bianca could tell by August’s tone this was a conversation they’d had many times before.

“Well, yeah, carnations are cheap and tacky,” Selene scoffed, offended by the mere mention of carnations in her presence. “Wait, are there carnations? So help me god if there are carnations in here.” She fumed looking about for any evidence of the garbage tissue-paper flower. “There aren’t carnations, there aren’t daisies, and there aren’t roses. Now…” “Ugh, roses.” Selene cut him off. “Could you be any more obvious? Like, ‘Oh, I like roses, I’m so sweet and innocent, and pretty.’” Selene prattled on, mocking the imaginary girl she just picked a fight with in her head. “Here,” he said, taking her by the arm and gently leading her back toward the foyer and, hopefully, her bedroom. “No. I can’t.” She said quite literally putting her foot down. “There’s too much to do here, and clearly I can’t trust ANYBODY to do their JOB properly!” She screamed, nearly causing a nearby panicky gay assistant to drop the tray of pastries he carried. “Bianca has everything under control!” August insisted forcefully, taking her by the arms. “They’re all doing their jobs,” he motioned to the attendants all around them, “Now it’s time for you to go do yours. Go upstairs and get dressed.”

Suddenly they heard a roar from the crowd outside. Trumpets played the fanfare of the Kingdom of Saffron and Selene excitedly ran towards the foyer. “Cinderella’s here!” She exclaimed, rushing towards the foyer, “I have to go meet her, she has my dresses!” Bianca glared at August. He sighed in frustration. He already knew he needed to get Selene away from the preparations. Bianca’s continued harping was not helping him remain calm in the face of Selene’s misplaced anxiety.

“I’ll go greet them, you go upstairs and finish getting ready. I’ll send Cinderella right up with your dresses,” he said as he passed her off to a handmaiden. “Do not let her leave the bedroom until it’s time for us to walk the Red Carpet,” he whispered under his breath. The handmaiden nodded, escorting Selene back up the stairs to her bedroom.

Once Selene was safely out of sight he turned and sprinted towards the grand staircase to welcome Cinderella and Prince Dane of the Kingdom of Saffron. He was glad his first batch of reinforcements had finally arrived as he’d already been trying to keep Selene distracted from the party preparations all day. At this rate he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the festivities he’d been looking forward to for months.

“No matter how many times I do that, it is still overwhelming,” Dane said in greeting as August approached to formally welcome the couple. “I don’t know, I mostly find it exciting,” Cinderella countered. Although Cinderella had been the first Princess to marry into the group, she still found the red carpets and events as exhilarating as the first time she’d done it. “Well, you haven’t done it nearly as many times as we have,” Dane responded, “I keep waiting for them to get bored with us.” “Bored!?” August laughed, flipping his sandy blonde hair back, “What on earth would they get bored with? It’s the biggest party of the year!”

Dane rolled his eyes at the arrogance of his old friend. It would be far more off putting if August actually felt this way. But August was essentially an excited puppy, always ready for whatever fun lay ahead and never thinking past the next thrilling adventure.

Cinderella and Dane were considered the two most likable royals. Cinderella was pretty, though a little plain and waify. There was nothing particularly striking or noteworthy about her physical appearance. Her true beauty came from her easy temperament, genuine kindness, and unsinkable sense of optimism that bordered on naiveté. Dane was tall and thin, verging on lanky, with a long neck, light brown curly hair, and warm brown eyes. Multiple piercings adorned his ears and nose. A childhood accident had left scars on his neck, down his left side and partially crippled his left arm. To maintain some mobility he wore an elaborate silver brace on one shoulder with straps and rigging that extended down his arm to his hand and then to each finger. Though the brace was helpful, it had limitations. In his youth Dane had been a promising painter and while he still painted occasionally in his free time, his full skill had never returned after the accident.

“Speaking of beautiful,” August said taking Cinderella’s hand and kissing it. “You’re looking particularly lovely tonight.”

She was wearing a fitted strapless white gold gown that flared out at the knees. Her jewelry was simple yet elegant, and it mirrored Dane’s brace. Platinum cuffs at her wrists and elbows connected to her simple platinum necklace with delicate chains that traveled up her arms. Her signature tulle stole was pinned to her bodice and wrapped around her body like a diaphanous cocoon. Her naturally mousy brown hair had been given champagne highlights and cut into a choppy a-line bob, at Selene’s suggestion.

“We weren’t speaking of anything beautiful at all, you big flirt!” Cinderella teased. “How do you like the hair?” She asked primping her new shorter do. “It’s not too short?” “Not at all. Although you’d look beautiful with any style.” August responded with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. Although their relationship had always been platonic, they were often very flirtatious with each other. August flirted with virtually every person he came in contact with, but Cinderella was generally more reserved.

“Well, if you’re finished shamelessly flirting with me in front of my husband, I have dresses for Selene. How is she tonight?” August laughed, “How do you think she is?” “Yep, that sounds about right,” Cinderella said. “Is she upstairs?” “Yes, I have her barricaded in her room to keep her from harassing the staff.”

Cinderella adjusted her hair and dress as if preparing for battle. “Alright boys, you behave yourselves in my absence.” she said ascending the staircase.

August and Dane stood politely for a minute until Cinderella was safely upstairs.

“Drink?” August propositioned. “Absolutely,” Dane responded before August even finished.

Upstairs, Selene obsessively brushed her long honey blonde hair and admired her reflection in the menagerie of mirrors that dotted and lined her vanity. She had each mirror positioned in such a way that she could see every angle of herself by a mere shift or pivot. A large television blared red carpet coverage in the background, but other than that one technological addition, her childhood bedroom remained a youthful time capsule dedicated to charting, and indulging every whim of the very special and, once thought, impossible princess.

Being the first and only royal born female to survive past infancy awarded Selene a great deal of cachet. From the moment of her birth, she had never been placed into any situation capable of compromising her health. Over time, this incrementally included even the slightest inconvenience or discomfort.

Selene continued brushing her hair and gazed around the room taking in all the trappings of her childhood. Everything was decorated in pastel pinks, blues, and purples like the rest of the palace. Although large for a child’s room, the bedroom and all the furnishings, were nowhere near as grand and opulent as her bedroom in Onyx. Her attention turned to her vast collection of beautiful porcelain dolls. Selene had asked for a doll once in her childhood and was subsequently presented with an exquisite doll sculpted and dressed to look just like her. Unfortunately, she’d never been able to play with it or any of the dozens of other dolls that followed since they might have broken and cut her. Now, they all sat, just as they had for her entire childhood, pristinely in the corner.

Her gaze continued to move around the room and her brushing slowed as she caught sight of an old music box. Once her most prized possession, it was given to her by her mother on her ninth birthday, shortly before the accident. Though she hadn’t opened it in years, she could still hear it’s song. Almost entranced, she put down her brush, walked over to the box covered in a faint layer of dust, and opened it. Slowly, the plinky twinkles began and a little figure of a beautiful blonde woman holding a child began to twirl around. Tears welled in Selene’s eyes.

“Knock, Knock!” Cinderella’s cheerful voice called out as she came in the room wheeling a cart stacked with her various trunks and caboodles.

Selene snapped the box shut and put it back. Quickly she wiped a tear from her eye as she spun around to greet Cinderella with a fabricated smile.

“You ok?” The ever astute Cinderella asked, intentionally filling her voice with casualness so as not to further trigger Selene.

“Yeah,” Selene said sniffling. “Dust.” She offered up, sliding her finger along the shelf and shrugging. “I mean, I’m only here once a year, you’d think the staff could muster up a little more gumption.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Cinderella scanned the room and noticed the perfume mockups on the table next to her vanity.

“Ooh,” Cinderella gushed, “Are these for Selebrity?”

“No,” Selene said,  “They couldn’t be for Selebrity, I’m launching Selebrity tonight. Those are for Surface.”

“Oh,” Cinderella said looking at the boards with images of a scantily clad Selene caressing her face and laying in a shallow pool of water. Bold, stylized letters reading “Surface: Scratch the surface” splashed across the images. She didn’t remember Selene talking about Surface, but considering Selene was on her eleventh perfume, it was not hard to get them confused. Cinderella flipped through the designs until she came to another one, called Clique with a picture of Selene, Penelope, and Rapunzel in a group, pretending to gossip. She was surprised because Selene barely knew Penelope, the newest Princess.

“I don’t think you told me about this one,” Cinderella said, showing Selene the mockup for Clique.

“Oh, that,” Selene scoffed, “that’s nothing. I invited Penelope for her welcome brunch and Rapunzel came too, we just had a little fun.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you’d had Penelope’s brunch already." Cinderella said shuffling the mockup boards. The welcome brunches were a tradition Selene started when Cinderella married Dane. Since then, Cinderella had been involved in each subsequent welcome brunch for all the other princesses.

“Yes, well you were busy with Odette that day, and it was past time we welcomed Penelope officially,” Selene shrugged. She got up and took the boards from Cinderella and placed them back, face-down on the desk.

Cinderella was a little put out she hadn’t been at the brunch for Penelope, but she remembered the day in question and she had indeed been busy with Odette. She also knew Selene hadn’t meant anything hurtful by excluding her, it was simply Selene’s way sometimes. She was not very good at considering what may or may not hurt other people’s feelings. Cinderella had learned a long time ago to pick her battles when it came to Selene and this was one moment she knew it was better to let things slide

“Well, I’m glad you had the foresight to welcome her before the Midsummer Ball, anyway. It would have been awkward for Penelope’s official debut to occur before you could properly welcome her. Did you give her her gift?”  

“No, it wasn’t ready. I have it now, though, and I’m planning to give it to her at dinner,” Selene waved to her bedside table where a black velvet box sat with a silver ribbon tied around it.

Another tradition they’d started together was giving each Princess an elaborate piece of jewelry on their entrance into Royal society, which they were encouraged to wear to the official balls. Each piece was commissioned specially by Selene to reflect the princess in question. Cinderella had been given a delicate platinum brooch in the shape of a spider, which she was using this evening to pin her stole to her dress. Snow had been presented with the hair comb. Odette was given a large, silver filigree bangle in the shape of a swan feather, and Rapunzel had received a colorful jeweled macaw pendant.

Cinderella walked over to the box and opened it to see an exquisite diamond skull belt buckle with moth wings on each side.

“Oh my, that certainly is perfect for Penelope. And it’s lovely work,” she complimented.

“Yes, I know. So!” Selene spun around enthusiastically in a whirlwind of hair “What do you have for me?!”

“Oh. Right!” Cinderella snapped back to the matter at hand. “Well, per your request, I have three dress options.” Cinderella said parading back over to her cart full of trunks and dress bags. “But this is the one I think you’re going to go for.” She said pulling out a dress.

The dress was typical Selene, bright, bold, and flashy. A melon pink, strapless satin sheath was covered with a deep purple velvet overlay. The thick, soft fabric was gathered and cinched on the left side and gathered into the obligatory bustle in the back. A long sleeve on the right side was embroidered with gold trim around the cuff and neckline. Topping off the ensemble, an eye-catching lime green embroidered lace sash slung over the opposing shoulder and draped dramatically down, ending well below the hip. The sash, as well as the rest of the dress was covered in live fuchsias, Selene’s favorite flower.

“I LOVE it!” Selene said, jumping up, running over to Cinderella, grabbing the dress, and twirling around with it, before her mirror.

Cinderella laughed, “I knew you would. So thats why I didn’t even bother to make the other two.”  She said unloading her things from the cart.

Selene glared at her.

“Oh come on.” Cinderella said, “I’ve been styling you for years, you should really learn to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

Selene wanted to be more angry at Cinderella’s deliberate disobedience, but ultimately, in a rare display of restraint, she decided she loved the dress Cinderella made and nothing else mattered.

Cinderella often had this calming effect on Selene. Usually, Selene would take every opportunity she could get to make the tiniest hill into the biggest mountain. But more often than not with Cinderella, she simply let things go. Secretly, she knew deep down she needed Cinderella, although she would never admit it; and certainly not to anyone outside the two of them. They had a very close friendship, one the others sometimes found odd because they appeared to be polar opposites. However, their friendship actually made an enormous amount of sense at its core. Selene was fabulous, bold, loud, and demanded everyone’s attention. Cinderella, on the other hand, was quiet, shy, insecure, and more than willing to let Selene have the spotlight. Cinderella had also been the first girl to marry into the group of Royals. Once Selene determined Cinderella was not a threat, the two princes quickly formed a strong bond.

A voice erupted from Selene’s television. “We’re getting word that Princess Rapunzel and Prince Conrad of Valencia are on their way up the road,” the voice on the TV said. Cinderella turned her attention to see what was going on. It was renowned reporter and gossip monger Ursula Majors and her panel of underlings commentating on the red carpet.

As a largely fashion based society, Electerra’s airwaves were dominated by coverage of the Royals and whichever Royal event was happening at any given time. Occasionally there would be an actual news story or headline, but for the most part, the news was dictated by who wore what and where it was worn. Or who was seen doing what with who and what they had been wearing at the time. Why rarely factored into the mix.

There were a few reporters of prominence in the kingdoms, but none compared to Ursula; the host of “MAJOR News: with Ursula Majors”. Though no one knew her exact age, Ursula’s commanding presence had been a fixture in the kingdoms for nearly three decades. She was taller than most men, a fact she took pride in, voluptuous with dark skin the texture of satin, and warm golden brown eyes. She wore color exceptionally well and often favored dark bold colors like sapphire, burgundy, and violet. She had an impressive head of hair which was always either styled in an elaborate bouffant or an enormous mane of curls closely resembling a lion.

On this night she had her hair dyed a vibrant red and styled in a variation on her normal bouffant: very tall and swept to the back of her head with a few long tendrils escaping to cascade down the sides of her face. She was elegantly outfitted in a midnight blue satin gown with a mermaid silhouette. The dress was covered in diamonds, strategically placed to look like constellations in the night sky.

Cinderella noticed Ursula and her co-anchors were decamped in a tent at the edge of the red carpet set up as a makeshift replica of her permanent studio in The Valley. The interior walls of the tent were covered with screens showing a rotating collection of the best Midsummer gowns of the past. Although the image being broadcast looked calm and collected, Cinderella knew there were at least a dozen cameras, monitors and panicky assistants, specifically Ursula’s main assistant Leo, hovering just out of frame in the time honored dance of organized chaos keeping the production functioning on a daily basis.

As was often the case at the biggest events of the year Ursula was joined by two other commentators offering opinions on the chosen outfits of all the important attendees, especially the Royals. They would also discuss any noteworthy updates and provide color commentary on what the Royals had been up to since the last celebration.

A picture of a young Conrad in his prime was put on the screen before cutting to Ursula and her commentators in their tent discussing his recent retirement as an athlete. The screen changed to a photo of Conrad and Rapunzel laughing together at their recent Valencia Food and Wine Festival.

“As you can see, he has started looking a little worse for wear lately. Some say he should have retired years ago. What do you all think?” Ursula asked.

“Well,” began the first commentator, in a conspiratorial tone, “from what I’ve heard, it was more of a forcible retirement than a voluntary one.”

“Yes,” interrupted the second, “I’ve heard that as well. After his extremely rough season last year and his latest knee injury, it’s honestly surprising this hasn’t already happened. He’s the very definition of an over the hill athlete.”

“So true,” echoed Ursula, “And when you add in recent rumors of philandering, reclusiveness and his alleged drinking problem, along with his well known anger issues, I’m afraid we really are looking at a ticking time bomb.”

Ignorant of the color commentary happening at their expense, Rapunzel and Conrad sat awkwardly in the back of their town car. The two hadn’t been on good terms lately, for many reasons, but they weren’t exactly ready to face their issues, either. Rapunzel nervously petted her impossibly long tangerine hair she had subconsciously positioned in between Conrad and herself.

He finally spoke to her for the first time in hours.“What’s wrong?”

His incredibly deep voice cut through her like a sword.

“What? No. Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” She stammered, “Why?”

“You seem distant,” He said.

“I’m right here,” She said feigning a smile “Right where I always am.”

“Here,” Conrad said, handing her his flask “For your nerves.”

“No,” She said shaking her head.

“Sure?” Conrad gestured again with the flask.

“I’ll be fine,” She said looking out the window at the masses of people lining the streets.

“Alright,” he grunted, downing what was left as the town car lurched to a halt. “It’s showtime” he said with a wink.

Conrad exited the car and trotted around to open Rapunzel’s door for her. Rapunzel shuddered for a moment but managed to expel all negative thoughts and emotions; the red carpet was no place for such feelings. She recognized the I’m portynce of appearing happy and excited for the public. Extending her exquisitely bejeweled foot and taking Conrad’s hand, she unfurled out of the car in a sumptuous mass of hair and fabric. Her gown’s skirt was multiple layers of different silks, chiffons, and crepe, in shades of red, orange, maroon, and deep magenta. It had a lot of body and swayed back and forth when she walked. It was a daring two piece with a lavish bikini-like top with detached flowing sleeves cascading to the ground. Her macaw pendant rested in the center of the top. Her red hair, glazed with tangerine highlights, was pulled up and back in a mound and tied with ribbons. The rest of it, and there was a lot, fell to the ground in perfumed ringlets. Various lilies and citrus peels decorated her hair and framed her face. Her eyes were big and bright and her cheeks glittered. She was luscious in every sense of the word.

Conrad was built like an ox and was first of the princes in many distinctions: the oldest, the tallest, the biggest, the strongest. Along with those accolades, he was also first in arrogance and temper.  These unwelcome traits increasingly surfaced recently with his unceremonious retirement, subsequent weight gain, and bout of depression he refused to acknowledge in any way, shape, or form. He was still very handsome though, masculine in every way, from brow to nose, jaw to chin, and though heavier now than in his heyday, he retained much of his definition and shape. His most prominent features were his rarely covered broad chest and arms and his long sable hair he wore proudly like a mane. Masculine as he was, he was not above the subtle elements of flamboyance one would expect from royalty: some dark eyeliner, jeweled rings, and thick metal and leather cuffs. Conrad’s signature fashion statement was the series of embellished championship belts he wore to all occasions, an ostentatious visual reminder of his place in the world.

Conrad offered his hand to Rapunzel as they began their ascent up the staircase to the red carpet, but she either didn’t see it or chose to ignore it. Instead she gathered up her skirt with both hands. When they reached the extended landing they were met with a barrage of cheers and applause from the spectators gathered outside of the palace gates. It was all very overwhelming. Though she had done it nearly a dozen times, Rapunzel still felt nervous. Flashbulbs exploded left and right and the air was thick and still. Rapunzel felt faint. A familiar feeling started to rush over her. She was about to have a panic attack. Refusing to succumb to the attack, but unsure of what to do, she zeroed in on three young fans pressed up against the fence to her left. Next thing she knew she was on her way over to them.

“Baby, what are you doing?” Conrad asked concerned as she approached the mob.

“I’ll be right back, I promise,” She said faintly.

 The three children appeared to be related, two slightly older, a boy and a girl, and a younger girl with a pet parakeet on her shoulder, who couldn’t have been older than ten.

“Who’s your friend?” she asked, extending her finger to rub the birds neck.

“Her name’s Rapunzel,” The girl said shyly.

“It is?” Rapunzel said pretending to be surprised “Why that’s my name!”

“I know,” the girl laughed, “I named her after you.”

“I see. Well, aren’t you concerned bringing her out here with all these people?”

“No.” The little girl said confidently “She’s very well trained, and besides, I wanted you to meet her, I know you like birds.”

“I do like birds. In fact, for most of my life, birds were my only friends.”

“Because of the tower?” The girl’s older, teenage sister asked.

“Well, yes.” Rapunzel replied, taken slightly aback “Because of the tower.”

Everyone knew about the tower. When Conrad famously found and rescued her from her tower on the edges of the forest of Inconcessus, the story traveled quickly throughout the Kingdom. But it was rarely spoken of so casually.

“They cared for me.” Rapunzel said, a sweet nostalgic smile crept across her face. “They brought me food and flowers, and they kept me company.”

“They probably felt sad for you.” The little girl said, “Because you were in a cage.”

Rapunzel considered her, “Why yes, I suppose I was.”

“Well at least you’re not anymore.” The boy said.

“No.” Rapunzel smiled tightly, glancing back at Conrad, “Not anymore.”

The crowd roared.

“Another car must have just arrived.” Rapunzel said, “Well it was nice meeting you.”

“Wait!” The older girl said, “Can we take a picture with you? You’re our favorite. You’re so pretty, I hope one day I can be half as pretty as you.”

Rapunzel laughed, blushing. “Of course. And here…” she said taking two lilies out of her hair and positioning them behind each of the girls ears, “Now you are.” The girls beamed. “Although, I don’t have anything for you.” She said thoughtfully, looking the boy over.

“Could I, maybe, have a kiss?” He asked boldly.

“A kiss?” Rapunzel said surprised by the moxie of the kid.

“I mean, on the cheek. That is, if it’s ok? I just can’t imagine… If I could tell the guys at school, it would… wow.” He stammered, suddenly flustered. His sister elbowed him in the side.

Rapunzel laughed and leaned in to gave him a chaste, albeit playful, kiss on the lips.

The crowd erupted in cheers and whoops. Startled, Rapunzel looked around and realized the cameras had zoomed in on them. They were being broadcast on the monitors and screens set up all around the red carpet. Slightly embarrassed, Rapunzel laughed and said, “Well, looks like you won’t even need to brag to your friends.”

Conrad came up behind Rapunzel and grabbed her under the arm. “It’s time to go.”

“Oh,” she said. “But wait, I told these kids I’d take a picture with them.”

Conrad looked at the kids and smiled insincerely, “I’m sorry kids, but we have to get going,” he said as he took her up the stairs.

Cinderella made final alterations to Selene’s dress while Selene became increasingly annoyed with the spectacle she was creating on the red carpet.

“Ugh, seriously?” Selene sneered as she watched a replay of Rapunzel kissing the boy.

“What?” Cinderella asked, looking up from her work.

“We’re royalty, at least have some decorum,” Selene said, dousing herself liberally with her fifth perfume; Problématique.

“Alright, that’s enough red carpet for you,” Cinderella turned the television off. “You need to finish getting ready,” she said taking Selene to her dressing room. “And try to remember, Rapunzel is our friend, and we like our friends.”

“Ugh, stop with that.” Selene said rolling her eyes.

“If you keep rolling your eyes that way, you’re going to get vertigo.” Cinderella said.

Downstairs, August and Dane waited in the Green Room, each already with an empty glass in hand. Although they had grown up together, their friendship had never been effortless.

“So?” they both said in unison and then laughed.

They laughed.

“No, you go…” They both said again in unison.

Again they laughed.

The two never had much in common, and although they got along well, they often struggled to keep a conversation going when it was just the two of them. August was always so popular and athletic. Even as a child, he was climbing before he could walk. He was good at pretty much every sport, but he really had a penchant for water sports like swimming and surfing. He also liked boating, but that was more Orlando’s territory. Though not very tall, August was effortlessly built, a common trait for the Onyx bloodline. Dane on the other hand, lacked all these traits, but, he was taller than August. They did have one thing in common: whiskey.

“Here,” August said, unnecessarily hopping up and over the bar.

“Pfft, Ok,” Dane said chuckling, “You could’ve just gone around to…”

“The most direct route is always the best route,” August interrupted cheekily, juggling a couple of empty shakers.

“What’s this, what’s happening?” Dane asked bemused.

“I’m making us drinks,” he said, spilling whiskey all over the place. “I’ve been practicing my flair, I’ve gotten pretty good at it.” He said tossing a glass over his shoulder and catching it with the other hand.

“It just seems like there’s a more efficient way to go about it,” Dane said laughing.

“Where’s the fun in that?” August asked topping the drink off with a twist of lemon and sliding it across the bar to Dane, who lurched forward to catch it before it crashed to the floor.  

They both cheers’d and took a drink, Dane more cautiously so. It wasn’t great.

“Oh crap, here, lemme do it again. I always forget the fire part,” August said, to an increasingly nervous Dane.

Rapunzel entered in a fluster.

“You okay?” August asked, furiously shaking his latest concoction.

“Yep.” She said, unconvincingly, scanning the room. Rapunzel tried to ignore a TV in the corner playing footage of Lochlyn and Penelope’s entrance on the red carpet.

“Alright, lets try this again, are you okay?” Dane asked standing up and pulling out a seat for her at the bar.

She laughed, and relaxed a bit. “It’s just, it can all be so overwhelming sometimes.” She said sitting down. “I think people forget that I’m new. Well, newish, But still.”

“Here, I got something for you. Man, I’m so excited for tonight. Its going to finally be like old times again! You have no idea how much I’ve missed us all together like this,” August said, enthusiastically sliding a drink down the bar. It whizzed right by Rapunzel, slid off the bar, and shattered on the ground.

“You were supposed to catch that.” Dane said dryly, tipping his glass at her. He took another drink, realized his mistake, and slowly spit it back into the glass. August was too preoccupied making Rapunzel’s drink to notice.

From the television on the wall they could hear the fanfare of The Valley of Thrones as Lochlyn and Penelope finally exited the car and ascended the carpet, waving at the crowds. They were followed, as always, by Lochlyn’s enormous wolf-hound Cerberus

“And here we have… No, it can’t be. It is.” Ursula’s voice purred from the TV screen. “Lochlyn and Penelope looking more sophisticated than usual.”

“Yes, I agree,” answered the first commentator, “It looks like Penelope wanted to make a good impression on her official debut as a Princess for the Midsummer Ball tonight. This is certainly the most ‘Royal’ we’ve seen her look so far. It appears she’s making a real effort, which is lovely to see.”

“Absolutely, and it looks like she’s bringing Lochlyn along for the ride, too. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen him looking so cleaned up,” Ursula agreed. “It even appears Cerberus has had a trip to the groomers.” She finished, laughing.

Typically Lochlyn and Penelope didn’t give appearance a second thought. They usually dressed the way they would on any given day, which is to say, not great. Penelope was merely a glorified groupie of Lochlyn’s band when they’d gotten together. And even after they married, she’d continued to make little effort to be seen as elegant or sophisticated. But this time, they had both given it a go. Penelope’s too blonde, and obviously fake hair, had been combed and pulled back and to the side in an elaborate knot adorned with a diamond skull and grey and lavender roses. Her tattoos looked particularly vibrant and lush, Ursula wondered if Penelope’s makeup artist had gone over them again. Penelope wore a very sleek and sexy grey-lavender gown made of silks and satins. The bottom flowed beautifully to the ground in the back and hiked up above her knees in the front to show off her tall leather boots. The top of the dress was draped elegantly from each shoulder and was just sheer enough to show that, although she had indeed made an effort, in true Penelope fashion, she was not wearing a bra.

Lochlyn was also appropriately dressed for once, appropriately for Lochlyn at least. He wore his usual clunky leather boots covered in straps and buckles, leather pants with fashionable, but also functional knee pads, and a leather formal kilt which had tails in the back. Instead of a shirt he had a dark leather vest covered in sliver studs. His lower arms were covered with fingerless gauntlets to complete his look. His normally messy mohawk of hair had been cleaned up, pulled back into a loose tall braid down the center of his head, and fastened into a bun at the crown. The sleeker look was somewhat muted by the fact that his hair had been bleached and streaked with hot pink dye. He was also still wearing his normal amount of black eyeliner. But overall, like Penelope, the change was striking.

Fanfare from the kingdom of Midonia rang from outside as Cinderella helped Selene with her makeup.

“We need to hurry up, Ashley and Odette are here.”

“Yes, I know,” Selene dismissed. “I really want my eyes to POP!” she enthusiastically instructed Cinderella for the third time.

“Selene! Listen to me!” Cinderella snapped grabbing Selene under the chin. “I know! Not only have you told me four times.”

“Three times” Selene interrupted.

“Not only have you told me, three times, but, I know what you want. And you already have enough makeup on your eyes for four princesses.”

Selene relaxed again, not so much because of what Cinderella said, butmore because of the tone of her voice.

“Now I want to try something,” Cinderella said cautiously. “I have this lipstick I think would just completely bring-”

“NO!” Selene said. “Absolutely not, I don't like it.”

“You haven’t even seen it.”

“I don’t need to, I don’t like it, I don’t want to. You KNOW that!” She said.

“It’s not that bad!” Cinderella protested, “It’s all in your head.”

“I don’t care! This is supposed to be my night!” Selene shrieked as mascara soaked tears welled in her eyes. “and you’re ruining it!”

“Honey, I haven’t ruined anything,” Cinderella laughed consolingly, “You, however, are ruining your makeup.”

“I don’t care!” Selene pushed all the makeup away and started pacing about the room, “This is supposed to be MY night, it’s the launch of MY new perfume, at MY Ball, in MY kingdom! And YOU are ruining it.” She paused “I want you to leave,” she said as she stood tall and crossed her arms petulantly.

Selene was considered a very pretty girl. Everything about her was long and slim: her legs, her arms, her neck, and her waist. Even her hair was sleek and elegant. It was warm and golden, like thick silky honey and lifted at the roots, swept up and back, cascading over her head like a waterfall down her back until it crashed upon the proverbial rocks at the bottom in a mass of volume and curls.

Yes, Selene was very pretty indeed. Unfortunately, her personality so often got in the way. From birth she was always told she was a miracle and the constant reminders, quite obviously, had an adverse effect on her humility. Her obvious beauty was oftentimes eclipsed by her inconsistent temper and her notorious mean streak. If she felt she was being made fun of at all or if attention was being drawn to what she considered a flaw she often flew into a rage which could take hours to calm under poor circumstances. The stress of a Ball nearly guaranteed that tantrum would be one of epic proportions.

While everyone agreed Selene had a classically pretty face anyone would envy, Selene herself believed it was ruined by one very minor flaw. In the center of her face, and only when she parted her lips, a small gap between her two front teeth was noticeable. Most people would believe such a “flaw” gives a face character, but Selene believed it was a serious physical shortcoming and she did everything in her power to conceal it including minimizing attention to her lips at all costs.

If the past was a good example, it appeared Selene’s tantrum would be one for the record books. Cinderella knew the best cours of action was to get out of the way.

“Alright, I’ll leave.” She said, resigned. Typically, one would be more put off by the infantile display, but Cinderella took it in stride. She was accustomed to Selene’s ever changing moods and took comfort knowing Selene was mostly stressed out by the public event. Selene would likely calm down shortly once left alone.

[fairytalethebook]

Chapter One: Snow

Gusts of wind from the rapidly approaching storm pushed the carriage back and forth across the winding forest path. Snow glanced down at the delicate gauzy veil in her hands. It was such a little thing and she hardly knew how it could have caused a problem. The night had taken such a terrible turn, seemingly out of nowhere. She sighed to herself. If she was honest it really wasn’t out of nowhere. She should have seen it coming a mile away. Selene always managed to turn small situations into ridiculous and petty fights. Snow heaved another deep sigh and looked back out the window. The air carried with it a strange electricity, more than the usual energy involved with a thunderstorm. Snow chalked it up to the heightened emotional state she was in; she just wanted to be home. The carriage wheels thumped and clattered as they raced across the rocky terrain. She looked out the window at first unsure of where she was. But then the carriage sped along the edge of a ravine, whipped around the mountain side, and headed through what could only be the forbidden forest of Inconcessus. But that couldn’t be right; it was the exact opposite direction from where they should be going.

“Um, driver?” She wished she could remember his name. She slid across the cabin and tapped her fingers on the partition to get his attention, “Are you sure this is the way back to the coast?”

“The road to the Western Gate washed out in the storm, so we’re taking a brief detour, Your Highness,” he said attempting to mask the apparent distress in his voice.

“How brief?” She asked trying to gauge how concerned to me. “Just try to relax, Your Highness, we’ll have you home in no time.”

Snow sat back in her seat and tried to calm her nerves. She reached over to the bar and pulled out an apple. She had hardly eaten all evening and thought something crisp and juicy might help settle her stomach a little. The moment Snow bit into the apple, a deafening boom of thunder and a jolt of blinding blue-white lightning roared through the air. She felt the carriage swerve as if to avoid an obstacle in the road. There was a splitting sound, a swishing, and then, the carriage slammed into a fallen tree, thrusting Snow out of her seat and into the partition. The forward momentum of the carriage caused it to repeatedly whip forward and to the side. Inside the carriage, Snow slammed back and forth within the cabin shielding her head from debris as the contents of the cabin went airborne and the windows smashed inward. Before she had time to process what was happening, she was upside down, along with the carriage. She couldn’t breathe. Struggling against the bulk of her too-tight velvet dress and the absurdly heavy metal-framed corset she had been obliged to wear, she pried her way out of the window in an attempt to catch her breath.

The night was dark and frigid. The icy rain hit her cheeks and her eyes stung as makeup and hairspray streamed down her face. Panic overwhelmed Snow as she stumbled around trying to get the corset off. Somehow, it only seemed to grow tighter. As she pried at its metal lining, she heard a horrible screeching sound. The massive wings of a white barn owl descended upon her.

Snow awoke with a gasp.

Panic stricken, she lurched out of bed reaching out for anything tangible. She grabbed hold of the bedside table knocking the lamp over in the process. Her heart was racing so fast she was having a hard time catching her breath. Frantically, she touched her face and chest with clammy hands while her subconscious allowed her mind the moment it needed to realize it was only a dream. She breathed in and out deeply a few times before fully sitting up in bed. It had only been moments but it seemed like hours had passed. Snow was prone to intense dreams and nightmares, but this one was different. She scanned the room for her husband, Orlando, wondering why he wasn’t still in bed with her.

“You okay?” Orlando asked stepping out of his closet, buttoning his traveling shirt. Just the sight of him had a calming effect on Snow. She took in his appearance and shook off the remainder of the dream. Orlando was very tall and handsome, as one would expect of a Prince, but he was dark and brooding in a way the others weren’t. He had olive skin, large brown eyes and slicked jet-black hair long enough to tuck behind his ear on the off-chance it would haphazardly fall into his face.

“Yes,” Snow replied trying more so to convince herself than Orlando. He glanced at her knowingly, aware that she wasn’t being completely truthful. “I’ll be fine,” Snow smiled, attempting to dismiss his concerns. “Another dream?” “It was nothing,” She insisted standing up and walking over to the heavy, burgundy curtains that separated their bedroom from the balcony.

“What was it about?” Orlando asked.

She threw open the curtains to reveal a spectacular magenta sun setting into the ocean. It was so low it practically sat on the calm waters. “I don’t really remember,” she shrugged.

“Was it the owl again?” He asked, coming over to join her. “I think so.”

Snow watched as the sun quickly melted into the glassy horizon. Time always seems to move so slowly until she wanted to revel in it.

As the sky darkened, lights beneath the surface of the water ignited, casting rippling blonde streaks through the aqua waves. The moon was abnormally large and bright. Snow’s alabaster skin looked luminescent. Her thick black hair was high and short in the back but left long and sleek in the front. The ocean breeze blew strands across her face while she gazed at the sunset.

“I don’t want to go,” she said quietly.

Orlando winced. He knew that she didn’t want to go to The Midsummer Ball. She never wanted to go to any of the Balls. But they had to go; all the Royals had to go. And as it was, she had already missed too many.

“We have to, you know that,” He said sympathetically.

“Can’t we say that I’m sick or something?” She walked along the balcony tracing her fingers along the marble lines. “You’re not though.” “Well, I don’t feel good,” She said, uncharacteristically pouty. “You stress too much about being on display during Royal functions. Why does it bother you so much?”

“Because I’m on display,” she insisted. Laughing, he agreed with her, “Yes, you are, but that’s just because you’re so beautiful,” He said stepping up behind her and kissing her neck. She smiled and turned around to face him, rubbing her hands on his chest.

“Don’t think you can charm me into anything.” “But Charming is my middle name,” He winked as he kissed her hands before drawing her in closer for a hug. “Come on, we’re already running late, and the Ball will be over before you know it. I promise.” She scoffed, smiling, “Well, as long as you’re promising things, promise not to act like a fool with the rest of your friends.” “When do I ever?” He playfully protested. “All the time! You and August get together and it’s just like ‘old times’. You two get drunk and go off gallivanting around doing god knows what, and next thing I know, you’re gone for three days.”

“Ok, like two times did that happen,” he defended himself. “Well, it’s two times too many. You guys go off and then I’m left with the girls...not to mention, her,” Snow shuddered.

“Oh, come on, Selene’s not that bad,” He said buttoning the collar of his shirt. “Not when you’re around, but you don’t know how she can be.” “I’m sorry. Believe me I know how she can be. I grew up with her. But you haven’t made an effort to befriend her. Or any of the girls for that matter.”

He was right.

“You know you can be somewhat, standoffish. Maybe if you embrace The Ball for what it is you’ll have a better time.”

He was right again.

“Fine,” Snow relented, “Fine. It’ll be fine. But you’ll owe me.” “When we get back here, we won’t leave this room for a week,” He said grabbing her around the waist and kissing her. She laughed and pushed him away. “That’s going to have to wait for later. Remember, we’re already late as it is and I haven’t even picked out a dress for the Ball, let alone started packing.”

“Oh, I’ve already picked out your dress.” “Well,” she said feigning offense, “that’s rather presumptuous of you.” “Which one of us has the eye for fashion?” He snarked back. “That feels like it should be a loaded question, but it’s really not.”

“I also thought you could wear what Selene got you,” he added. “Seriously? I have to wear the comb?”

The comb. It was a gift from Selene. Selene got all the girls presents when they became Princesses and she always took meticulous consideration in designing and making them, which made Snow’s all the more glaring. It had nothing to do with her personality or taste, and was clearly one of Selene’s old pieces; a silver hair comb shaped like a crescent moon with a bee and an emerald in the center. Selene always maintained that it was because Orlando and Snow had such a whirlwind courtship that she didn’t have time to get to know Snow, let alone commission a piece of jewelry for her. But the fact that it contained two of Selene’s most obvious symbols; Snow almost felt she was being branded.

“Oh come on, it was a present.” Orlando protested, “Honestly, she’ll be so flattered.” “You give her too much credit,” Snow muttered. “And besides, I figured you could use it to attach your veil,” He continued as if he hadn’t heard her response.

One of Snow’s signatures was her ever-present veil; a subtle nod to her homeland where the women were considerably more modest than those in Electerra. Though Snow’s homeland and her life before meeting Orlando was a bit of a touchy subject, she retained a pride in her heritage and still observed the customs she had grown up with. Tradition dictated that whenever Snow left the privacy of her bedroom, she had to wear some type of head covering. Many women chose to wear full face and head coverings, but Snow generally stuck to wearing a simple scarf or veil.

“So where is this oh so fashionable ensemble you so stylishly picked out for me, oh vogue one?” Snow teased. Orlando smirked at her, eyebrow cocked. It was more fashion related words than he’d ever heard her utter. Snow laughed, “Ok, that’s it. That’s the extent of my fashion…talk” “That’s what I thought,” he smiled, “And I laid it out for you, in your closet,” he gestured to the open closet door as he continued packing up the rest of their trunks and cases for the trip.

Snow laughed as she walked into the closet. Inside was a skintight purple velvet dress, with an elaborate gold and purple wireframe corset. Her veil laid across the top.

“Oh?!” She said flustered. “Doesn’t it just take your breath away?” he asked

[fairytalethebook]

Prologue

Long ago, when the world was still new, there was a great and powerful being known only as The Lord. So great was he and so immense his power that he was able to enlighten and unite the people and bring them out of the dark age. He erected a magnificent city in the middle of the land and there, from within his castle, he ruled for centuries. The Lord was a kind and just ruler, generous to his subjects and unflagging in his efforts to bring peace and unity to them. Eventually, his kingdom was settled. As a result he had little to occupy his time and mind. He sat idle and restless in his kingdom as a melancholy spread across the land.

The Lord realized he was lonely and decided to venture away from his kingdom to find a bride with whom he could share his life. He traveled to the farthest reaches of his world, exploring every area he’d never had the chance to experience. The mysterious, snowy forests in the East, to the North cloaked in darkness, and West, moving to the very edges of his lands, never finding his equal. After months of traveling he reached the western coast. There were vast beaches covered with golden, sun-kissed sand, but again, he found no one to share his life. His despair and loneliness turned to rage as he fell to his knees and pounded the ground with such ferocity that a volcano breached the surface of the earth.

Finally he decided to travel to the lush jungles of the South. This region was very different from the rest of his kingdom, there were strange fruits and flowers and animals he’d never seen before. In his exploration of the jungles he noticed a jade green snake about the length of his forearm following along. When he settled the next evening the snake came into his camp and coiled itself up right in front of The Lord and looked in his eyes. Immediately The Lord knew the snake was meant to be his familiar. Each night he told the snake tales of his kingdom and all he’d accomplished. He told the snake of his loneliness and his search for a companion. Given strength by both The Lord and the story, the snake grew larger each night. By the end of The Lord’s story, the snake was over three feet long and thick as one of the jungles vines.

The Lord and his snake continued their exploration of the jungle, until one day the trees gave way to sky. They found themselves overlooking a vast endless desert of white sand. Discouraged, the Lord decided to give up his search and return home. Undeterred, the snake moved swiftly and confidently into the dunes. Knowing he must either leave his new friend or follow into the wasteland, he chose to enter the desert.

He traveled for so long in the desert that he ran out of water. Kneeling to the ground, atop the highest dune, he thrust his fist deep into the sand. Pulling his arm back up toward the sun he released with it a cool clear spring of water. The spring flowed down the dunes creating a massive river which weaved deep into the desert. They followed the flowing water until, many days later, The Lord noticed something on the horizon. He moved closer to it and found that he had stumbled upon an oasis. As he made his final approach to the oasis he realized it was inhabited.

An unusual group of people greeted The Lord at the edge of the oasis. The inhabitants looked human, but they were somehow more than human, as he was. They were also very different than The Lord. Where he was very dark, they were almost completely white. Several amongst them had elaborate antlers growing from their heads and The Lord quickly realized the inhabitants were Sun Dogs, a race with the ability to see the true nature of people. The largest and most intricate set of antlers were attached to a wizened old man who stood at the front of the group, his arms held wide in welcome. The Lord could feel the power and strength from the chief and though it was not as great as his own, The Lord approached cautiously, knowing he was outnumbered.

An immediate kinship developed between the chief and The Lord and they agreed to dine together that evening at dusk. Upon entering the chief’s tent, The Lord’s gaze was immediately drawn to a strange, beautiful young woman across the table. Her skin and hair were very white, like the rest of her people, but with a pinkish hue. Her eyes were the palest gray The Lord had ever seen. A small, pure white owl perched on her shoulder as she prepared the table for the meal. The Lord was struck silent not just by the beauty of the woman, but by the power he could feel coming from her. It was almost equal to his own. The chief noticed his interest and introduced the young woman as his daughter and explained she had been the one to create the oasis for their people.

The Lord, convinced that he had finally found someone worthy of being his companion, asked for the chief’s permission to marry his daughter. The chief was resistant, explaining that his daughter’s powers were dangerous and not under enough control for the outside world, but The Lord would not be swayed. He had fallen so completely under the young woman’s spell he could not hear a word against her.

And so it was that The Lord escorted the chief’s daughter back through the desert and the jungle to his castle. All he felt was happiness at finally finding his equal.

For every Lord must have his Lady.

Excerpt From: William S Brooks. “Fairytale.” iBooks.

[fairytalethebook]

Fairytale Cover Art

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Just some more super old concept art for my book, Fairytale. This is Princess Selene with her husband Prince August

[fairytalethebook]

Just some more super old concept art for my novel, Fairytale.

[fairytalethebook]

Just some super old concept art for my novel Fairytale

[fairytalethebook]

Just some more (old) concept art for my novel, Fairytale. 

[fairytalethebook]

Just some old concept art I was working on for the book

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A super outdated cover draft.

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more cover drafts

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rough draft mockup for the book cover. Official version coming soon.