Cursed Hearts

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Lilah

After supper, I pull Archie aside. I have to tell him about the curse. I know Sage and Milo made tonight eventful so I really don't want to add to any of Archie's stress but I have to tell him.

   I lead him to my room and he immediately starts making out with me. Our tongues meet and the kiss is good, but I didn't bring him here for it.

   I pull away fast. "Archie, we need to talk. It's important," I say.

   He looks concerned and squeezes my hand tightly.

   "When I was a baby, Calliope cursed me," I don't meet his eyes. I can't.

   "What's the curse?" my fiance asks.

   "On my twentieth birthday, I'll prick my finger on a spindle and fall asleep for a hundred years," I say sadly, still not meeting his baby blue eyes.

   He lets go of my hand, stands up, and starts pacing around the room. "How come you never told me this? That means we have what, two more years together?"

   He's angry.

   "Archie, I just found out a few days ago. I can't help it," I say, still looking down.

   "So what am I supposed to do? Break off the engagement? You'll be gone soon. There's no point in trying to build a future together if it won't happen."

   Tears form in my eyes.

   How could he say all of those words to me?

   "I don't know, Archie," is all I can get out before I start to sob.

   "Lilah," he says softly and sits back down next to me. He wipes my tears away.

   "We can talk to Calliope," I say confidently. "We can get through the curse. I can convince her to break it."

   "I'll go with you. I'll convince her," Archie says while giving me a tight squeeze.

   I know he's upset but he comforted me when I needed him to. If I can't convince Calliope to reverse my curse, I don't know how I'll be able to live without him.

♡♡♡♡

We finally agree that I'll travel back to the Charming Kingdom with Archie and his family, and then we'll continue on to Oz. Calliope and Crystal left so quickly that I didn't get a chance to talk to the infamous Wicked Witch.

   I travel back with Queen Ella, King Liam, and Archie.

   Looking at the king and queen of the Charming Kingdom makes me wish I could have a love story like theirs.

   When King Liam was looking for a wife, he held a royal ball and he met Ella. At the time, she was a poor maid who worked for her stepfamily. Aurora, the good witch, helped transform her into the belle of the ball and of course, Liam fell in love with her. I mean who wouldn't? With her perfectly blonde hair tied up in a neat updo and her gorgeous baby-blue eyes, Liam would've fallen for her even in her maid clothes.

   They're the perfect royal couple. I want to live the life that they have with Archie, but our fate is in the hands of a wicked green witch.

Brielle

"That Sage is what you need to be like," Mom says to me as we get back to our castle in Wonderland.

   "Yeah, if only I could do magic," I laugh.

   "You don't need magic to be a badass. Sage didn't just learn magic until recently. It was just the spark that she needed to let her true side out," she says.

   Mom's right. I think Milo being an ass was the spark that ignited me to want to be like the witches and Mom. I don't want the perfect happily ever after with Milo anymore. I want to live my way, careless and free.

   Callan approaches us as we arrive back home and it seems that he ran the kingdom just fine without us.

   "You have a visitor," he tells me.

   I swear if it's Milo again, I will murder him right here.

   Callan leads me to the living room and when I walk in, familiar eyes meet mine. It's the man from a few nights ago who was smoking with his friends.

   "Which one are you again?" I ask as I laugh. "Eddie, Teddie, or Freddie?"

   "I'm Eddie," He laughs at me. "And I'm completely sober this time I swear. Just wanted to see if you really were the princess of Wonderland."

   "Oh, she is," Mom says and smiles. I almost forgot she was there. "Have fun you two," she says as she walks away.

   I roll my eyes at her then look at the musketeer.

   "So where are the other two?" I question Eddie.

   "They're off messing around. Both of them are with their girls. Teddie knocked up his witch girlfriend and Freddie is with his on-and-off girlfriend right now," he replies.

   "Damn, Teddie knocked up a witch? You guys really are having fun." I laugh and observe Eddie.

   He's the typical common man with blonde hair and blue eyes. But there's something special about him that makes me want to get to know him.

   I invited him to eat dinner with us.

   "Favorite food?" I ask.

   "Hell, I'll eat anything. I'm starving."

   "I can work with that," I smile and lead him to the kitchen.

   I've only been away from Wonderland for a day but I miss cooking. It's therapy for me.

   I grab a frozen chicken from the icebox and heat up the stove. It's a simple but quick meal I can make.

♡♡♡♡

"This is amazing," Eddie says as he stuffs his face with chicken and vegetables.

   "You really were hungry," I laugh.

   We eat with Mom and Callan, they don't mind my new friend. We're always used to someone else joining us for dinner. Mom's new fling, or one of the girls from the Wonderland School of Ballet that Callan fancies. Milo used to eat supper with us. It's weird having one of my guests be someone new.

   After dinner, I led Eddie out.

   "Thanks for dinner and for letting me stay," he smiles.

   "Of course, you're always welcome to visit while you're in Wonderland," I smile back.