The Gingerbread Princess

Cursed Objects: A Love Story

Every room in the stone palace revealed magic, but only the kindhearted could see them.

Prince Alexander transformed into a monster years before. Paw-like fingers replaced more human hands. Sheep horns grew out of the top of his head, and small vampire-like teeth replaced his normal ones. He stood half a foot taller at six-foot-five.

Oddly, his face remained similar, but a third eye blinked in the middle of his forehead. Some people screamed when they saw him, but half were polite enough, and many were outright friendly.

He honestly liked the eye, and it helped him proofread his documents. His magic eye always caught everything out of place.

A select few men and women even smiled at him and asked him where he got his cosplay outfit. Alex could go to comic-book conventions without being mocked. He made friends there.

He searched for love, but both women rejected him. At least, the second woman was honest.

It had been three years since Jane left.

Every inch of the stone walls was covered with a different magic mirror, showing the wonders of the world.

In the middle of the room was a small table with three plush chairs, and in the corner of the room was a stack of books.

His eyes fixated on the largest mirror. It revealed the bookstore, not the room he sat in.

An unremarkable but beautiful woman with curly hair and porcelain skin waved back at him, but at one time he considered her a treasure.

Prince Alexander ate the broth and cheese left to him by his servants, but at least he was eating without being forced to by the fairy mage, Zell.

Mages were unlike other fae and only born in human families, usually the strangest of the daughters, as a gift to make up for their cursed awkwardness.

Many fairy mages misused their gifts out of jealousy.

Zell sat behind him. The gangly woman placed pots of tea and hot chocolate on the table. Her pink hair was a mop of tangled curls. The woman ran and came back with a tray of cucumber sandwiches and chocolate. "Come on, it's Valentine's Day."

"Okay." He nibbled on a sandwich.

"I thought it would work, and you'd find love like the other beasts. The spell was correct, and I was positive my stepsister would break it. She promised me she would. I offered her everything—a life of luxury and a wonderful prince."

"Are you sure everyone found love?" he asked. He grinned at her when she turned away. Luckily, the mirrors were not reflective.

Zell nodded yes. "One or two died, but those were the ones who refused to love anyone." She hugged him. "I'm sorry, but I saved you from dying, and the only way was with the beast's spell. A fairy body couldn't have handled the blow from that sword."

"Zell, I'm grateful, just sad, but not about her. And it's not your fault that Jane never came back. Of course, she wouldn't keep her promise." He stood up from his table and touched the closest mirror. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said joyfully.

Alex almost died without Jane's companionship, but it was a lie. She could only lie, and he knew it now. Jane tricked two old but handsome men into large alimony payments. Jane was on husband three within the last year.

She was richer each time but didn't need the money because her grandmother left her everything.

"I don't understand it. Jane doesn't even like to read books. She only married the wealthy bookseller because I had an interest in him at one time. I should have told her I was in love with you. It would've saved you." Zell guided him back to the table and poured him tea.

"No, I was never good-looking, and I won't come into my fortune for ten years." Alex stared into his mirror and saw that she had married the handsome bookseller but never him, and he was blessed for it.

Jane was never his prisoner; he was hers. The offer to restore her father's lost ship and goods for her to stay at the stone castle was a foolish one. Zell had paid it at a great cost, and she almost died casting the spell.

"She must care for me a lot," he whispered to himself. "No, she must be in love with me, and I never saw it."

Never to become a handsome prince, or even an ugly one.

The curse was cemented, and he was blessed that he didn't die, but it was cruel of Jane not to suggest another mate or lie to him when she knew doing so might kill him.

Zell told her as much. He almost died from it, and he was also injured from the second attempt at love with another human girl. Only human girls could break it.

In the end, Jane had wealth and the man she loved, but it wasn't Alex.

"Never me," he whispered. "Even before I transformed, I was the one rejected."

"It's not too late. You can find a human girl, and she can break a spell."

"So, if I fall for a mage, I am doomed forever." He grinned at her.

"Yes, I can't help you." Zell ate her sandwich. "But I do love you; I loved you as a prince and as a beast. Loving you will keep you a prisoner, and I want you to be happy." Gold appeared in her hand. "I can make gold without making myself ill now. Most mages cannot make it out of jealousy or greed, and I was jealous of my stepsister, but I have a place in the world now and can help others."

"You have a place with me." He kissed her.

She kissed him back, but she pulled herself away. "But your happiness is what matters. The women at the conventions stumble over themselves. You're beautiful no matter what you look like, but many women find you hunky."

"Zell, I wasn't that pretty before. Jane never marries ugly men. Your kindness is beauty, real beauty." He ate a piece of chocolate. "Jane cursed me as a beast, not you, but I like who I am now and don't want to change. She broke her promise, but I realized that I'd rather be loved than her version of fixing. I feel sorry for her; I really do." He took Zell's hand and kissed her again.