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A raucous pounding on the door is what drives me out of my deep and peaceful sleep. Releasing a long groan, I stretch my tired and aching limbs wincing every time I hear something pop or crack. I sigh as I listen to the person on the other side of the door continue to hammer away with no consideration or sign of stopping until I either say something or open the door.
"I'm awake!" I yell, rubbing the sleep from my eyes I tilt my head slightly up so that I'm looking at the closed door.
The head-splitting knocking ceases at the sound of my voice, and I sigh with contentment. However, this relief doesn't last long and only a few minutes later the knocking resumes, even louder and more demanding than before.
"Oh for..." I internally scream as I throw my covers off me and rush out of my bed and toward the door.
I quickly grab the cold and dusty handle and jerk the door open startling the man standing behind it.
"Ahh!" he screams as he jumps back against the wall behind him. Holding his hand over his heart, which I'm assuming is beating at a lightning pace he looks over at me with wide and frantic eyes. His other hand is clutching at a snow-white envelope which causes my heart to drop into my stomach. It's probably from someone I don't want to hear from, I think. Maybe my brothers are finally going to reach out to me. Not likely they hate me as much as I hate them, they wouldn't dare contact me especially after I've run away.
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at the man who interrupted my perfectly good sleep. "You better have a damn good reason for waking me up the way you did."
The man shoots me a quick glare back before regaining his composure. "Are you," he looks down at the envelope, "Valerie Bernard?"
"Unfortunately," I groan. I've never wanted to have a different name so badly!
The lips curl upward into a small smile as he stretches his hand out offering me the now slightly crumpled envelope. At first, I stare at it with every fire in my body willing me to refuse it and tell the man to take it back to where it came from and burn it in front of whichever member of my family chose to write this. But as much as I would love to do that I can't and I betray myself by reaching out and accepting the envelope.
"That's an odd choice of clothing for a lady." His eyes rake up and down my body examining my loose, long-sleeved shirt and baggy pants.
YOU ARE READING
Thorn in the Rose {Book 1 Of The Once Upon A Time Chronicles}
FantasyBelle is a maid living in service of a handsome prince who she falls madly in love with. Jealous of all the other women and angry at his refusal to notice her she curses him and turns him into a hideous beast. For years they remain together in the c...
